I am not ashamed

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ

Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,”

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ - I am also not ashamed to admit lifting some key phrases from my Pastors message for 2013 this week.

·        There is no plan B – plan A is still on course. God sent Jesus once to die for our sins once and to provide us with the way of Salvation once. That was and still is plan A. He has no intention of starting over because Jesus did it once and there is no need for plan B to try to do it again. If plan A doesn’t work for you – see the next bullet point.

·        Everybody wants to go to heaven but no-one wants to talk about hell. Everybody thinks they will get to heaven because they have been a good boy or girl. That is tantamount and about the same credibility level as believing in Santa Claus. If heaven is so real, why is there such an anathema of talking about hell? Is hell so unthinkable? If so, how come so many people have no idea that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and that no-one comes to the Father except through Him, Jesus?

·        Mission is an extension of the welfare state. This simple statement is at once so good and yet so sad. It is good in that the church is stepping in to try to ensure that no-one ‘falls between the cracks’ between state care offerings. It is so sad in that the church has become a necessary part of the state system but without the heavy handed state bureaucracy. That the church is being the church rather than just talking about it is wonderful. That we have to have a state system because the church hasn’t been doing enough speaks volumes about the society we have become and the expectations the people have laid upon the church which have all but drowned her efforts.

·        Preaching is a collection of sound bites because no longer are very many preachers prepared to condemn sin – any sin – lest they offend someone. Ear-tickling is almost “de rigueur” among those who preach a lesser gospel. Snappy little catch phrases is all the worldly church can handle. Truth is not just at a premium – it is mostly absent from the plethora of meaningless but ‘theologically sound’ words tumbling from most pulpits each week.

·        Worship is more entertainment these days because the demands of the world have encroached so far upon the demands of God for His church that we now have to entertain people rather than worship God. Entertain them to get them in – titillate them with an easy watered down gospel – get them saved without repentance and boast to the world how successful your programs have been. Where is the turning away from sin? OR the discipleship training?

·        This is a landmark moment for the world and the church. As the world demands and legislates more and more against Christianity, so the church cowers lower and lower in submission to the world but in denial and rebellion against our God.

No – despite media vilification of all things Christian - I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. It is time for the Gospel to be demonstrated with power and with Holy Spirit unction. It is time to look out rather than looking in. It is time to present the Gospel as Jesus wanted it presented – in actions as well as words.

It is time to realise there is no plan B and that we have to live with plan A. It is time to teach people the difference between heaven and hell and then to tell them how to get to one whilst avoiding the other. It is time to make our missions real and an extension of the welfare state rather than a prop for the welfare state and one that fails both state and biblical tests. It is time to make our preaching bite and bite hard. Time to preach the real and full Gospel of Jesus Christ – repentance – ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven – all the real Gospel. It is time to worship in Spirit and in Truth – forget the entertainment factor. It can be entertaining but its purpose is to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is time to reach that landmark decision to define our faith by being the church and not just going there.

Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.”