Week 2 – The Gospel by Pastor Mark Cowart
We’re talking about the gospel of salvation versus the gospel of the Kingdom. The latter is the former plus the gospel of repentance. This element is essential to operating in the Kingdom of God, and this determines your eternal state. The importance cannot be overstated.
We know that the way that leads to destruction is wide, and the Lord said many are on that road. The way that leads to life is narrow, contracted with pressure, full of trouble, and few are on that road.
Let me tell you about Lester Sumrall, a general in the faith, whom I had the privilege of knowing. He made a decision at age 17 to serve God. While suffering a serious illness from which he was not expected to recover, he saw a vision in which God gave him the choice between a coffin and a Bible. He was a young, feisty Irishman, and he didn’t want to commit to serve God, even though he had a godly, praying mother.
Lester Sumrall changed his mind. He repented and changed course from the way he had been going. In his life of more than 80 years, we see the evidence of his true repentance and commitment to serve and obey the Lord. For example, he was called upon once to cast a demon out of a young woman quite publicly, and he went.
This is evidence of the gospel of repentance. You continually follow the Lord, no matter what he tells you to do, no matter the cost. This is contrary to the feel-good “Christianity” we’ve created in America. That right relationship with God Almighty is the most important aspect of our salvation.
You are a human being, not a human “doing”. We have to be very careful that we don’t get caught up in works while neglecting sustaining our intimacy with the Lord. It is first about who we are, then what we do.
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel 11:31 KJV
When we talk about the gospel of the kingdom, we are talking about the lordship of Jesus in your heart. That is where real spiritual warfare begins, in your own heart.
Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,…. Proverbs 10:18a NKJV
And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.
Matthew 18:34-35 NKJV
As a Pastor, I hear stories often that remind me there is only one way to forgive people who have acted wickedly toward you, betrayed you, hurt you, wounded you. You must draw upon the life, the power, the love of God that comes to us at the new birth, when we are born again of His spirit.
We must be careful that we don’t just learn to do and say all the things that look like we are doing that, while inside we are “full of dead men’s bones” . The Pharisees are a great example. They were the religious leaders of their day. By the time they turned 13 years old, they had the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, memorized.
They followed the laws on the outside. They not only tithed, they brought in a tenth of their herbs and spices, down to the tiniest amounts. They were religious to the bone. But, the Lord Jesus made the following statement to them.
He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
Mark 7:6-7 NIV
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23:27-28 NKJV
So, what is true repentance that keeps us in true righteousness and keeps us from the false appearance of godliness? It starts inside of us. When the Kingdom rules your heart, you are committed that you will change anything in your life that is found to be out of alignment with God’s Word. You deny your own plans and desires to follow Him and His direction.
Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ Luke 9:23 NKJV
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:25 KJV
In the United States, prosperity affords most of us our dreams and plans. We have our lives and our lifestyles, and many just kind of fit Jesus in when it looks good. As you know, the Bible is always good for a profound quote when you need one. But, we are talking here about what is in your heart. Have you made the Bible your daily bread, your essential sustenance, that which fills you and keeps you alive in the Spirit? Then your quote can have true substance and power. Again, hear what the Lord Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day.
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:34 NKJV
“It is no wonder Christians are so weak today. They feed their bodies three hot meals a day and their spirits one cold snack a week.” — F.F. Bosworth (Christ the Healer)
God doesn’t want a bunch of “doers”, per se. He wants those who are in Christ, and Christ living in them, sustained by His Word, nourished and strengthened thus. Think about it. The food that you eat helps keep your immune system strong to resist disease organisms all the time. Food gives you strength to move. When I encounter a Christian plagued by defeat, I wonder, “Are they feeding on the Word of God, and is the Word living in them?” This is central to the gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of repentance. We turn away from that which does not align with God’s Word.
In other words, anything in your life that comes to you or at you must be judged according to the Word of God, and that truth must be the final authority and the final say in your life.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 NKJV
It is indeed work, studying to show yourself approved unto God. The enemy will shame us if we are not a student of the Word. He will begin to have entrance into our life that otherwise he would not. As you study, The Lord will show you things that are powerful, and He will shine light in different areas of your life. That will be a tool in leading others to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Leonard Ravenhill also said of the apostles during the early church: “They had no gold but they had lots of glory. We have lots of gold but no glory. The Book of Acts shows us the church before it became fat and short of breath by prosperity.” I think this is a true statement we need to ponder. Prosperity is a gift of God, part of His covenant with us. When you study this out, the Lord has made it clear He wants us to prosper. Just remain aware of from whom all your blessings come.
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, ‘Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.’ Psalm 35:27 NKJV
That is from the Old Testament, and they were servants of God. We who are born again into the new covenant, we are sons and daughters. So, if He takes pleasure in His servants prospering, how much more does He delight in that of His children?
There is a lot of focus in the church on doing. You want to get involved and be busy with this and that. Indeed, faith and works do go together. However, we want to make sure that we have our relationship with the Lord prioritized before those concerns and tasks. We have worked with the Body of Christ in Uganda through our missionaries to help facilitate the growth of what they call “emerging leaders.” These individuals, from many walks of life, have a lot of potential and character, they want to grow in their faith and walk with the Lord. When asked to teach for this group on maintaining intimacy with the Lord, we made a video that incorporated a living plant and the connections between the branches to illustrate our essential relationship with the Lord.
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:1-8 NKJV
I learned early on that, if I’m going to make it in ministry, I must have a vital relationship with the Lord. I must stay attached to the vine, or like so many Christian leaders I observed, I could also fall by the wayside. Whatever your specific calling, we are all in full-time ministry.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. II Corinthians 3:6 KJV
In the video for the “emerging leaders” in Uganda, I cut off a leaf of the plant to demonstrate how it still looked pretty good without the flow from the larger branches. But, all of us know the thing is already on its way to dying. It will quickly wither and shrivel up out there on its own. Cut off from the source of life, it dies. What I learned is I had to put the Lord first in my life. It doesn’t matter if I feel like reading the Word or not. Doesn’t matter if I feel like studying and meditating. And, this is not just for preachers. I know a businessman who travels all over the world and remains disciplined in His Bible reading. Every single morning, he is in God’s Word, doing devotionals, studying and praying.
Part of the reward for this faithful pursuit, this abiding in the vine, is divine revelation here and now. That businessman has shared things with me from the Word that have become part of my messages. The truth, flowing from God, through him to me and through me to you. There are no big “I”s and little “you”s in the Body of Christ. We are all part of that body and need to be attached to the vine. Attached to the vine, we do not become just a human “doing” but rather a human being who can bear the fruit of the Spirit, displaying God’s character.
For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28a NIV
Here is how to accurately share Christ with others.
And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Mark 16:15 NKJV
This is what we call the Great Commission. This is not just what the church is supposed to do, it is why we exist. To carry out this mission, the church has got to go into the world. There would not physically be room in all the church buildings we have to take in everyone if they would come, but we can go to them. So, the church is supposed to be about equipping the believers to go out and do the work of the ministry.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16 NKJV
That New Testament word for “believes” means obeys, not just gives mental assent. You must act upon that belief to truly fulfill this requirement. This is where the gospel of repentance must come in, in order to operate in the gospel of the Kingdom. You alter your course in response to His leading. You do something differently to become more effective for the Kingdom work that is yours.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16:17-18 NKJV
You might be the only Bible some people ever get to read. Each of us has the responsibility to share the Gospel by the way we live.
You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men. II Corinthians 3:2 NKJV
We are to be in the world but not of the world. One way to think of this is like a ship. It is in the ocean, but it is not of the ocean.
“A ship lives in the water, but if the water gets into the ship, she goes to the bottom. So Christians may live in the world, but if the world gets into them, they sink.” — D.L. Moody
So, what happens in the gospel of the Kingdom is I keep the world out of me through my relationship with the Lord. I’m empowered with new life in Christ. People see this life in me, and they want it.
I had this experience at my last secular job. I worked around a lot of unsaved people, and their language and crazy behaviors showed it. They made fun of me for being a Christian, and I didn’t think I was having any impact. Then one day the worst of them pulled me aside and said, “Mark, how do you get your prayers answered?” I honestly thought the guy was messing with me. Turned out he was very sincere. People are reading you all the time. They are seeing you. They know when you are walking with the Lord.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 NKJV
Then, ask the Lord how you can share you story with them and be that witness to God’s goodness. Through this, the Holy Spirit can work to convict them and to save them. He knows everything about both of you, so who better to arrange this divine encounter? I believe many times we are connected with particular people by divine appointment in order to bring the gospel of the Kingdom to them. That can be as simple as telling your salvation story when the opportunity arises. Ask if you can pray for them.
Then, the most important part of the conversation is to ask if they want to receive the Lord into their life and to follow Him. Explain what we’ve been studying, especially what repentance is. It means a change of mind to the degree that behavior changes. I have known many people whose lives have been transformed by following the Lord Jesus and denying their own way. That’s all you’re doing. If you are saved, you just share your story and offer them the opportunity to do the same.
Pray this over your life:
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, grant me boldness and understanding to let my light shine and bring others to You.
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