So, this morning I got up, turned the coffee pot on and opened all the shades on the windows and I unsecured and opened the front door, I sat down and turned on the television and seen an advertisement of a church, advertising that they’ve been spreading the ‘Good News’ for 49 years.
Immediately my morning turned into writing this lesson.
Last week we studied in the Book of Romans, and I intended on continuing with the 13 epistles that Paul wrote for us, but I think I need to make a substitution for at least 1 week.
Do me a favor and ask yourself: what is the ‘Good News’ found in the Word of God … do you know?
What then might this ‘Good News’ be that this church was trying to sell this morning in that advertisement?
I went to google.com, and I asked the question: what exactly is the ‘Good News,’ found in the Bible?
The Good News is that God loves us so much that he sent his Son Jesus to live, die and rise for us—to save us from sin, death and the devil, and to offer us a share in his own divine life as adopted children of the Father. That’s the heart of the Gospel.
I was raised in the Catholic Church, and I don’t ever remember hearing about the Gospel written by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. I remember our primary focus, laid on the four synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (MMLJ).
I can’t find one verse in those gospels, where we are told about the ‘Good News.’
There is nothing about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, unless you count the times when Jesus told His disciples beforehand.
Ask yourself, how many times did Jesus tell His disciples of His death, burial and resurrection?
How many times was it written about in the synoptic gospels?
Jesus predicted His death, burial and resurrection: 3 different times.
It is written about in 3 different synoptic gospels, and 3 different times, in each gospel.
Matthew 16:21-23; 17:22-23; and 20:17-19.
Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; and 10:32-34.
Luke 9:21-22; 9:43-45; and 18:31-34.
And the writing in Luke, to me, explains what Jesus wants, for us to see.
Luke 18
vs31 ‘…Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished…’
vs32 ‘…For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on…’
vs33 ‘…and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again…’
vs34 ‘…And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken…’ AKJV
MMLJ were NEVER meant for us Gentiles to FOLLOW, how could they be, the Gospel to SAVE us is not mentioned in any one of them+.
MMLJ told of Jesus’ earthly ministry where Jesus tried to gather up God’s Chosen people (the Jewish nation), back under His care and protection.
But the Jews found a more reliable source in their man-made religion, Orthodox Judaism.
This was, in all essence, the Jew’s god. It definitely wasn’t Jesus Christ; they had Him crucified and put to death.
Here is the Gospel that we were given by God. It can be found in 1 Corinthians 15, it was written by the apostle Paul, CHOSEN by Jesus after His crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension.
1 Corinthians 15
vs1 ‘…Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand…’
vs2 ‘…by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain…’
vs3 ‘…For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures…’
vs4 ‘…and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…’ AKJV
This Gospel by the apostle Paul is what can SAVE us Gentiles from Eternal damnation, all you have to do is believe the Word of God.
Throughout my years of teaching, I MUST admit in my early years, I too was teaching the wrong message that God intended for us to HEAR.
It took a young man preaching one morning that ‘Jesus’ is not even mentioned in the Bible, for me to find the Message that I was supposed to teach.
This young man read from the 1611, King James Version of the Bible, and the font that was used for a ‘J,’ at that time in English, looked like a small ‘l.’
So, in a way, Jesus was written as lesus, and this young man found his crutch that would allow him to spread a lie to whoever heard him speak.
I on the other hand, I was intrigued with this early English writing, and God opened my eyes to see a Message that has been missed for nearly 2000 years now.
God is a Sovereign God. He is able to tell His people that He kept secrets from us.
Deuteronomy 29:29 ‘…The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law…’ AKJV
God is Sovereign and He can tell us what ‘He’ wants for us to know as well as ‘He’ can keep certain things, secret.
Luke 4
vs16 ‘…And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read…’
vs17 ‘…And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written…’
vs18 ‘…The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…’
vs19 ‘…to preach the acceptable year of the Lord…’
vs20 ‘…And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him…’
vs21 ‘…And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears…’ AKJV
In God’s Sovereignty, He intentionally didn’t finish reading all of the verse that was written by the prophet, Isaiah
Isaiah 61
vs1 ‘…The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…’
vs2 ‘…to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all that mourn;…’ AKJV
Jesus knew that the ‘Vengeance of our God’ would not happen until the start of the Tribulation. Those in that synagogue, they didn’t have a clue.
To me, one of the stronger books that show us how Sovereign God is, is the book of Acts.
God portrays a CHANGE that He didn’t have to.
With that being said, 90 to 95 percent of the population on this earth, since the 1st century, have missed the importance in this one book.
After Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, He came back to this earth to live with the Jews living in Jerusalem and with His remaining disciples.
Acts 1:3 ‘…to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God…’ AKJV
Jesus kept moving forward when God resurrected Him from His grave.
Christendom keeps returning back to Jesus’ earthly ministry every Easter Sunday morning.
This is nowhere written in the Word of God that we should partake in this practice of returning back to when Jesus was alive.
Just a few verses further in Acts 1, where we are told of Jesus returning to this earth, we can read of Jesus ascending up into heaven.
Acts 1:9 ‘…And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight…’ AKJV
Even after the ascension, Jesus kept moving forward.
In Acts 9:3, Jesus confronts Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus.
Acts 9:3 ‘…And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven…’ AKJV
There a 2 key words: he and light, ‘he’ is speaking of Saul of Tarsus and ‘light’ is speaking of Jesus Christ.
Acts 9:10 ‘…And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord…’ AKJV
The crucified, resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ confronts Ananias (a believing Jew, and a member of the Christian group, the Way), IN A VISION.
And to me, the strongest, most pivotable verse found in our entire Bible, that has been missed by millions.
Acts 9:15
‘…But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)
‘…The Lord said to Ananias, Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)
‘…But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel…’ ESV (English Standard Version)
‘…The Lord said to him, Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel…’ GNT (Good News Translation)
‘…But the Lord said to Ananias, Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel…’ NIV ( New International Version)
‘…But the Lord said, Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel…’ NLT (New Living Translation)
Jesus CHOSE Saul of Tarsus to be the world’s teacher, and millions have missed it.
I want to invite you to follow me in my pursuit to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
We are ONLY ever going to know what God wants from us if we LISTEN to His Word and stop hearing what this world and Satan want for us to hear.
Join me and together we will FOLLOW Him.
I love ALL of y’all.
Here is a reading plan I’d like to suggest for the one searching to find God in the 21st century:
Day 1 – Galatians 1-6, 1Thessalonians 1-5
Day 2 – 2Thessalonians 1-3, 1Corinthians 1-8
Day 3 – 1Corinthians 9-16
Day 4 – 2Corinthians 1-13
Day 5 – Romans 1-10
Day 6 – Romans 11-16, Philippians 1-4
Day 7 – Colossians 1-4, Ephesians 1-6
Day 8 – Philemon 1, 1 Timothy 1-6, Titus 1-3, 2Timothy 1-4
Day 9 – Acts 1-7
Day 10 – Acts 8-13
Day 11 – Acts 14-20
Day 12 – Acts 21-28
The entire Bible, ALL SCRIPTURE has been given to us by God (2TIM3:16), but NOT ALL Scripture has been meant for us ALL to follow … we are told we MUST know how to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the truth of God (2TIM2:15).
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