ACTIVATING THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
Today we are seeing many things happen right before our eyes that point to the lack of presence of the church. As I said in my last blog, “the church has been busy being nice and not being godly or speaking truths.” Many churches have had corruption and have led people into a humanistic gospel. A lot of what is being preached or written about is actually self-help which is, in many ways, new age. This has hurt the church very badly.
But I believe there is a remnant rising. I believe there are people who are searching out “the faith that was once delivered to all the saints.” (Jude 1:3) They’re saying, “Lord, I don’t want the humanistic gospel! It leaves me empty inside! I want You!!” Jesus Christ is the only one who will satisfy. Nothing else will have the eternal fulfillment. But how do we activate the power that is held within the gospel?
Number 1: Forsaking ourselves
Jesus made a very staggering statement in Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Did you get that? Do we often read that correctly?
Let’s look at the word forsake.
Forsake: to set apart, separate
1. to separate one's self, withdraw one's self from anyone
- to take leave of, bid farewell to
2. to renounce, forsake
Wow! That is quite different from what some are preaching today. Today, there’s entire messages about attaining “things”. Messages about you and I being millionaires. What has this done? It’s changed the heart of believers and had them go into a place of greed. Greed does not forsake all. It actually begins to elevate us into pride. But God has called His church, His bride into “forsaking all”! Is there anything wrong with you being blessed? No, of course not. Is there anything wrong with you having money? No, of course not. But we must look at all of this as responsibilities we are to steward. Stewardship leads to humility; greed leads to pride.
So, we have established forsaking all is part of being a disciple of Jesus.
Number 2: Live our lives as living sacrifices
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
A living sacrifice... what does that even look like? Well, it looks like you and I sacrificing our own wants and desires to fulfill the will of the Lord. It looks like a people not conforming to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our mind. Saying not to our fleshly desires and saying yes to all God wants for us! Walking in accordance and willingly obeying the word of God and following His voice.
Number 3: Have an intimate relationship with God to host His presence
As we are doing numbers one and two it’s crucial that we have an intimate relationship with God through His Spirit by way of Jesus Christ. We should desire to know God and be known by Him. It is a place of conversion that looks so different than what we have seen in most places.
Exodus 33:12-18
Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.
Did you get all of that? Moses is asking God for God’s presence to go with Him! Then Moses says, if Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here! How will we be any different from anyone else? So, Moses asks for the presence of God, which we all need! We must walk in a relationship that hosts the presence of God! What does that look like? It looks like you and I walking in the fruit of the spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law
Right now, you may be thinking, “I thought you were going to talk about the power of God?” I am doing that. You cannot properly walk in the power of God if you don’t walk in His nature. His nature is the fruit of the Spirit. It is not the gifts, it’s the fruit. Anyone can walk in the gifts. But if we are going to do number one, contend for the faith that was once delivered to all the saints we must desire His nature! Remember, intimacy with God brings His presence, which brings fruit of the Spirit.
Number 4: Seek the face of God
Moses continues and asks a very powerful question from the above text; “Please, show me Your glory.” Never before had anything like that been asked that we see in scripture. What a remarkable thought! Show me Your glory! I sometimes think and wonder what Moses had going through His mind? What was it like to be so intimate with the creator of all of creation, the Ancient of Days, Yahweh Himself?! But you see, that is the awesome thing about salvation through Jesus Christ, you and I can have just that! It is remarkably interesting that the very thing Moses desired now teaches you and I to desire the same thing! That intimacy with God brought the deliverance of an entire nation! It brought the power of God on the most powerful nation on the face of the earth at that point in time! Seek the face of God! Desire to see His glory!
Number 5: Abide in truth
In this hour of creation, we are hearing statements like, “My truth”. As if truth is relevant to a perspective. But the word says there is only one truth, His name is Jesus Christ. The messiah. In Him is the express image of the Father in truth and life.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Recently I was with my family and we were doing our family Bible study. We began to discuss the attributes of wisdom, in doing so we talked about how truth is key attribute there. It is remarkably interesting that today, people try to give truth feelings. Well, truth does not have feelings. Truth is truth. Whether you like or not. So, the quicker we come to the place of walking in the truth, the greater freedom we will walk in and the people we meet will walk in.
Number 6: walk in the fear of the Lord.
Today now more than ever, we need the fear of the Lord in our lives. We need it to be able to navigate these tumultuous times. The fear of the Lord keeps me in a place that I don’t want to grieve His Holy Spirit. I don’t want to spend a millisecond away from Him! From His presence! The fear of the Lord keeps us from becoming hard hearted to our current times. It’s keeps us walking humbly before God but boldly before man!
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You and I need the fear of the Lord! Ask God for it! Desire to be so pleasing to God, not out of legalism or law, but out of a place of devotion! It is interesting to note that in Isaiah 11:1-3 it talks about the seven-fold spirits of God. But verse 3 says; “His delight is in the fear of the Lord.” Who is delight? Jesus delight. If Jesus walked in it and delighted in it, maybe we should too!
Number 7: DO IT!
The gospel is not a reflective conjuring of intellect. No, in fact it’s the power of God into salvation! God has called you and I to go out and be His ministers of reconciliation! It’s not up to the pastor or the 5-Fold ministers. No, it’s on you and I! You want to walk in the power of God! Be bold and start to talk to people about Jesus! The church needs to begin to speak out!! Politics won’t change the soul of a man! It must be through the salvation that Jesus Christ gave us on the cross! How will people know unless they have a preacher?
Romans 10:14-18
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
You are sent by God into this world to share your story of His salvation alive in your life!
Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
So, you and I are to go! You want to walk in the power of God? You must be willing to be used for this to happen! You must be willing to GO!
I pray this encourages you and edifies you in your daily walk with Jesus! Be blessed!