The True Gospel

Behold,I will send my messenger,(John the Baptist)and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1 KJV

This tells us that Jesus Christ was the messenger "of the covenant" of the gospel(good news), not the message and this message is the very heart of the Bible.

Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put into prision, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Mark 1:14 KJVT

The word kingdom means government. The word gospel means "good news". So Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news of the government of God. This is the Gospel.

And saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15 KJV

What gospel? The coming government of God. Note: (my words) repent means find out, study Gods word to see what God says about the topic in question and change your thinking to agree or align with him. Obey him from now on. Turn from your ways to His ways. So; change your thinking to align with God's word and believe the good news of the kingdom of God.

In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul is warning the Galatians and us today. Anyone who preaches any gospel other than the one the prophets preached, the apostles preached, he preached and Christ himself preached "Let him be accursed." This means all the preachers and priests today who would answer the question "What is the True Gospel?" or "What is the gospel?" in any other way, Paul says thay are cursed.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Seeking this kingdom of God is so important to the true Christian that our Lord and Savior is telling us to seek it and his righteousness FIRST.

What exactly is the kingdom of God? Read my next post for the answer!

What is Character?

In the home, it is kindness;
In business, it is honesty;
In society, it is courtesy;
In work, it is thoroughness;
In play, it is fairness;
Toward the fortunate, it is congratulation;
Toward the weak, it is help;
Toward the wicked, it is resistance;
Toward the strong, it is trust;
Toward the penitent, it is forgiveness;
And toward God, it is reverence and love.

God First, Then the Extras

               

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

See how the Bible opens: "In the beginning God." Let your life open in the same way. Seek with your whole soul, first and foremost, the kingdom of God, as the place of your citizenship, and His righteousness as the character of your life. As for the rest, it will come from the Lord Himself without your being anxious concerning it. All that is needful for this life and godliness "shall be added unto you."

What a promise this is! Food, raiment, home, and so forth, God undertakes to add to you while you seek Him. You mind His business, and He will mind yours. If you want paper and string, you get them given in when you buy more important goods; and just so all that we need of earthly things we shall have thrown in with the kingdom. He who is an heir of salvation shall not die of starvation; and he who clothes his soul with the righteousness of God cannot be left of the Lord with a naked body. Away with carping care. Set all your mind upon seeking the Lord. Covetousness is poverty, and anxiety is misery: trust in God is an estate, and likeness of God is a heavenly inheritance. Lord, I seek Thee; be found of me.
  
  
   

The Mighty Magnet

               

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32)

Come, ye workers, be encouraged. You fear that you cannot draw a congregation. Try the preaching of a crucified, risen, and ascended Savior; for this is the greatest "draw" that was ever yet manifested among men. What drew you to Christ but Christ? What draws you to Him now but His own blessed self? If you have been drawn to religion by anything else, you will soon be drawn away from it; but Jesus has held you and will hold you even to the end. Why, then, doubt His power to draw other? Go with the name of Jesus to those who have hitherto been stubborn and see if it does not draw them.

No sort of man is beyond this drawing power. Old and young, rich and poor, ignorant and learned, depraved or amiable--all men shall feel the attractive force. Jesus is the one magnet. Let us not think of any other. Music will not draw to Jesus; neither will eloquence, logic, ceremonial, or noise. Jesus Himself must draw men to Himself; and Jesus is quite equal to the work in every case. Be not tempted by the quackeries of the day; but as workers for the Lord work in His own way, and draw with the Lord's own cords. Draw to Christ, and draw by Christ, for then Christ will draw by you.
  
  
   

The Leadership of Our Guide

               

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)

Truth is like a vast cavern into which we desire to enter, but we are not able to traverse it alone. At the entrance it is clear and bright; but if we would go further and explore its innermost recesses, we must have a guide, or we shall lose ourselves. The Holy Spirit, who knows all truth perfectly, is the appointed guide of all true believers, and He conducts them as they are able to bear it, from one inner chamber to another, so that they behold the deep things of God, and His secret is made plain to them.

What a promise is this for the humbly inquiring mind! We desire to know the truth and to enter into it. We are conscious of our own aptness to err, and we feel the urgent need of a guide. We rejoice that the Holy Spirit is come and abides among us. He condescends to act as a guide to us, and we gladly accept His leadership. "All truth" we wish to learn, that we may not be one-sided and out of balance. We would not be willingly ignorant of any part of revelation lest thereby we should miss blessing or incur sin. The Spirit of God has come that He may guide us into all truth: let us with obedient hearts hearken to His words and follow His lead.      C Spurgeon
  
  
   

Fishers Follow Him

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17)

Only by coming after Jesus can we obtain our heart's desire and be really useful to our fellow men. Oh, how we long to be successful fishers for Jesus! We would sacrifice our lives to win souls. But we are tempted to try methods which Jesus would never have used. Shall we yield to this suggestion of the enemy? If so, we may splash the water, but we will never take the fish. We must follow after Jesus if we really want to succeed. Sensational methods, entertainment, contemporary services and the like--are these coming after Jesus? Can we imagine the Lord Jesus drawing a congregation this way?  What is the result of such means? The result is nothing which Jesus will count up on Judgement Day.

We must keep to our preaching as our Master did, for by this means souls are saved. We must preach our Lord's doctrine and proclaim the same gospel He did, for this is the net in which souls are taken. We must preach with His gentleness, His boldness, and His love, for this is the secret of success with human hearts. We must work under divine anointing, depending upon the Holy Spirit. Then, coming after Jesus, and not running before Him, or beside Him, we shall become fishers of men.
  
  
  

No Fear of Death

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:11)


The first death we must endure unless the Lord should suddenly come to His temple. For this let us abide in readiness, awaiting it without fear, since Jesus has transformed death from a dreary cavern into a passage leading to his Kingdom.



The thing to be feared is not the first but the second death, not the parting of the soul from the body but the final separation of the entire man from God. This is death indeed. This death kills all peace, joy, happiness, hope. When God is gone, all is gone. Such a death is far worse than ceasing to be: it is existence without the life which makes existence worth having.



Now, if by God's grace we fight on to the end and conquer in the glorious war, no second death can lay its chill finger upon us, We shall have no fear of death or the grave,  for we shall receive a crown of life which fadeth not away. How this makes us ready for the fight! Eternal life is worth a life's battle. To escape the hurt of the second death is a thing worth struggling for throughout a lifetime.



Lord, give us faith so that we may overcome, and then grant us grace to remain unharmed though sin and the continual battle with Satan.