Where’s the Beef?
Part 3
The Gospel
The gospel is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1: 16).
Jesus went around preaching that the
time had come for people to repent and believe the gospel for the kingdom of God
was at hand (Mk. 1: 15). In other words he was saying that we are to turn from our
natural, limited, thinking and believe the good news that God has already done
the needed work and it is now within our grasp. He was saying that everything
was now in place in the spirit realm, in the kingdom, and it is now time for us
to “go for it” with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is time for us
to persist in the spirit until we possess our manifested victory or miracle. He
constantly preached it, the people believed it, and there was a constant demonstration
of the reality of that good news.
What is the gospel? Gospel means “good
news.” The good news is that because of what Jesus has done for us our sins
have already been taken away. Our sicknesses have already been healed. Satan and
death has already been defeated. Poverty has already been destroyed. The
blessing and favor of God has already been released. We see that it is all in
the Word and available to us in the spirit realm through the name of Jesus. Now
we are to believe the Word by rejoicing with and acting on the Word in order to
receive the manifestation of that which God has already put in place for us through
the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Jesus did for us, his life, death,
resurrection, and total victory over all things, is like having an unlimited
amount of money in the bank, and it is now time to write checks on it. That’s
exciting! That’s something to shout about!
The trick of Satan in the garden was
to get Adam and Eve seeking after something they had already been given. Satan
told them they would be as gods if they partook of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:
1-6). Adam and Eve were already created in the image of God himself. They were
born of, created by the Word of God, and they were in communion with the Spirit
of God. They were already perfect in him. Had they stood their ground, they
would have not pursued the lie. The good news was that they were already in the
exalted position. They should have boldly stood their ground in the authority
of the Word and sent the devil running.
The triumph of Christ is that he has
accomplished a full restoration for us and has given us an exalted position in himself
in God’s kingdom. He said, Fear not little flock, it is the Father’s good
pleasure to give you the kingdom (Lk. 12: 32). Paul
said in Ephesians that we are seated together with him in heavenly places far
above all opposing spiritual powers (Eph. 1: 17-23; 2:6). When we are born
again by the Word of God and in communion with the Spirit of God, it is all
ours by Jesus the Word and the Holy Spirit. Here’s how we are to partake of that
good news for ourselves: we are to hear it, believe it, speak it, act upon it,
and persist in this faith until we possess the promise of God’s full blessing. Fiery
faith and persistent patience is the order of the day. The violent take the
kingdom, that which is available to us in the spirit realm, by force (Matt. 11:
12). Multi-faceted salvation is now ours
in Jesus our Lord and Savior.
The gospel is not to just get us “saved”
then we go on to something else. The gospel, the good news of Jesus, is what
God has ordained for us to believe and keep on believing so that we can be saved
every day in every way until we go home to heaven. Through the gospel we get
our sins washed away, yes, but we also have the infilling of the Holy Spirit,
we have our bodies healed, the dead are raised, we are delivered from Satanic
oppression, we have power over “self” and the flesh, we have our minds set at
ease, we have our families blessed of God, we have our finances to prosper, and
we have favor in every way. All things that pertain to life and godliness has
already been obtained for us and is awaiting disbursement to us through our
exercise of persistent, active, faith (2Pet.1: 3,4). I say again, all things
are now in place. The kingdom is now within our grasp. Now, good news, Jesus
has put it in place for us, the Spirit is our helper, and now we can go for it
until we manifestly get it! That’s what we see demonstrated in the ministry of
Jesus on earth and in the early church. That is for us today!
The power of God is in believing the
gospel. Whether we feel like it or not, we are to believe the gospel and act on
it so we can be supernaturally blessed and be a supernatural blessing to others,
and so, reap the harvest.
This is why Jesus gave a general
command to every believer to preach the gospel to every creature. No special
call is required to do this. The general commission has been give to every
follower of Jesus. Whether we feel like it or not, we are to do it. We are to live
by and preach the gospel because this is how the kingdom operates effectively, and
this is how the harvest is reaped, as Jesus constantly demonstrated. We submit
to what the Word says, we resist the devil, we yield to the Spirit, and we do what
God says to do. We repent, we turn from natural inclinations and from the
limited way of thinking and feeling and acting, and we believe the Word of God
and act accordingly. This is the instruction Jesus gave his followers. This is
the instruction we are to live out and give to others. Constantly believing the
gospel in this way brings constant salvation to us and to others in every way.
This is true discipleship: Believing
the Gospel! It is following the Word whether we feel like it or not, believing
the Word, the good news, that we already have abundantly available to us everything
we need to duplicate the supernatural life and ministry of Jesus. As we persist in this way of faith and love,
we will experience personal change for the better and we will see the power of
God manifested and a mighty harvest of souls, and all good
things in every way will be reaped!
So we understand what Paul was telling
Timothy: we as soldiers are in a battle between the flesh and the Spirit and we
are to follow the way of the Word and Spirit, we as athletes seek the prize of
the manifested presence and power of God for all people, and we as farmers realize
the time is now to lay aside “life as usual” and give ourselves to reap the
harvest of souls and all good things to the glory of God.
As we give ourselves to this way of
life, we will see the miraculous power of God manifested in our lives and
ministries today.
There’s the beef!