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BIOGRAPHY OF DOYLE DAVIDSON:
Doyle Davidson was born on a farm near Sarcoxie, Missouri in 1932. He served
as a hospital corpsman in the United States Navy during the Korean War,
spending 27 months in Yokosuka, Japan. After his return to the states he was
one of thirty students admitted to the University of Missouri, School of
Veterinary Medicine in 1958. In August, just prior to entering veterinary
school, he was rotating the tires on his car and the presence of God fell
upon him and he heard, "I don't want you to be a veterinarian, I want you to
be a minister of the gospel." He did not obey God that day and went on to
receive a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He moved to north Texas and
established a successful equine veterinary practice.
In 1968 God
moved in Doyle's life and for two years, the presence of the Lord rode in
his car asking him when he was going to preach the gospel. The Lord directed
him in 1969 to sell his hospital and practice and obey him. January 2nd,
1970, the sale was finalized, and he drove away not knowing where he was
going. Although born again as a small boy, Jesus became Lord of his life
that day and he was subsequently baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.
God sent him to Israel in 1974, anointing him to preach the gospel at
the Garden Tomb, June 16th, with Acts 1:8 burning in his heart. In 1980, God
instructed Doyle to speak to the people of Plano, Texas. He established
Water of Life Ministries, and in 1982, closed his veterinary practice.
Doyle is called as a servant and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. In
2017 the Lord said to him, "I have chosen you, sent you, to the four corners
of the earth to deliver my word without despair or fear."
PREFACE
The purpose of this book
is to answer the question: What is the gospel? I rarely meet a person who
knows the answer to this question; yet it is the most important question you
can ever answer. A revelation of the gospel is essential to be a disciple of
Jesus Christ. In John 15:8, Jesus states:
Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
We
are disciples of Jesus when we bear fruit. In this book, I will show you
that the gospel is what brings forth fruit in your life. The gospel bears
fruit in your life, because it is the power of God. The Apostle Paul writes
in Romans 1: 16:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek.
The gospel is the power of God unto
salvation. I will show you in this book that salvation does not end with
receiving Christ. Salvation includes everything that you need. You must
believe the gospel to experience a manifestation of God's promises in your
life.
Once you have a revelation of the gospel, I want to encourage
you to trust in, rely on, and adhere to it. I can warn you now, you are in
for a fight. Your soul will want to do anything but hold fast to the gospel.
God taught me how to overcome my soul. Here are some of the things that God
taught me to 'do:
Read the Word of God Aloud Daily
God taught me to read the Bible, specifically the Psalms and the New
Testament, aloud, In Jeremiah 23:29, God said -His word is like a fire and
like a hammer. You will find the gospel written throughout the Psalms and
the New Testament. The gospel works like a fire and like a hammer to deal
with our hearts.
Humble Your Soul with Fasting
You can find
various fasts throughout the Bible. In Psalms 35: 13, David said that he
humbled his soul with fasting. Isaiah 58:6-7 tell you the kind of fast that
God honors. These verses state that we should fast to loose bands of
wickedness, to undo heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and to
break every yoke. Isaiah 58:8 gives us the results that we can expect from
this kind of fast.
Seek to Be Led by the Spirit
Romans 8: 14
states that you must be led by the Spirit of God to be a son of God. In John
10:27, Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. To hear the voice of God,
you must believe that
you can. You must believe that you are one of God's
sheep. Hebrews 8: 11 states that all can know God from the least to the
greatest. To be led by the Spirit, you must hear the voice of God and then
obey Him.
Learn to Pray Without Ceasing
I Thessalonians 5: 17
states that we should pray without ceasing. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told His
disciples to watch and pray that they enter not into temptation.
Meditate on the Word of God the Gospel Daily
In Proverbs 4:20-22, the
writer of Proverbs says that we should incline our ears to the words of God,
that we should not let them depart from our eyes, and that we should keep
them in the midst of our hearts. The result is life and health to our flesh.
In Philippians 4: 9, the Apostle Paul writes:
Those things, which
ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the
God of peace shall be with you.
I will show you in this book that the
Apostle Paul determined to not know anything but the gospel. You and I
should endeavor to do the same.
CHAPTER 1
THE
CALLING OF GOD
I would like to begin by sharing how God
intervened in my life and called me to be a minister of the gospel. Just as
God revealed the gospel to the Apostle Paul and sent him to preach to the
world, God has revealed the gospel to me and sent me to preach to the world.
In August 1958, I was rotating the tires on my car. I had just been
accepted into the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of
Missouri after being discharged from the United States Navy. Suddenly, the
presence of God was all around me. It was as though a cloud of clear gas
surrounded me. God’s words encompassed me as He said, “I do not want you to
be a veterinarian. I want you to be a minister of the gospel.” There was a
great fear with the presence of God, and I found myself sitting there in the
street praying aloud.
I could not believe that it was God, however,
and I went ahead and entered the School of Veterinary Medicine in the fall.
Several years later, God showed me that my unbelief was the reason I did not
obey Him when He initially spoke to me that day in 1958.
Over the
next ten years, I graduated from the University and conducted a very
successful equine practice in North Texas. Yet, during those years, the
Spirit of the Lord spoke to me on numerous occasions, saying, “When are you
going to preach the gospel?”
In 1968, I began earnestly reading the
Bible. Between 1968 and 1970, I read the Bible through twice from Genesis to
Revelation. For the first time in my life, the scriptures would leap off the
pages at me as I was reading. God was revealing the Word to me.
While
practicing veterinary medicine, I invested in a number of businesses. One of
those businesses was a corporation in which I held a twenty-five percent
interest. In June 1969, I told God, “If this is You who has been bugging me
all these years to preach the gospel, sell my interest in this corporation,
and I will do anything You ask.” The next day, quite to my surprise, two of
the other stockholders came to me and offered to buy my interest in the
corporation. We completed the transaction within two hours.
Two weeks
later, God told me to sell the veterinary hospital that I had built in
McKinney, Texas. I told God, “I did not say that I would sell my veterinary
hospital.” He replied, “You said that you would do anything that I asked.” I
then said, “Well, I did not mean that I would sell my hospital.” However, I
knew that God was speaking to me, and I knew that “anything” meant just
that—anything, so this time I obeyed. Over the next several months, I sold
my hospital and began divesting myself of many of my business investments
and holdings. In May 1970, I said to the Lord, “Forgive my sins and be Lord
of my life.”
The Gospel of Your Salvation
One of the first passages of scripture that God began revealing to me
was Ephesians 1:13-14. These verses state:
In whom [God] ye also
trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
holy Spirit of promise (v. 13),
Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory (v. 14).
I saw in verse 13 that the “gospel
of your salvation” is called the word of truth. The word “gospel” and the
word “salvation” were two words that I had heard all of my life in church,
but I did not know what either word really meant.
Also, I found two
separate experiences in verse 13—salvation through the gospel and a
subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit. I really knew nothing about either
one, but over the next three or four years, God revealed them to me as I
began an intense study of the Bible.
CHAPTER 2
THE
GOSPEL DEFINED
In my studies, I was astonished one day
when I saw that the gospel is defined in I Corinthians 15:1-4, just as faith
is defined in Hebrews 11:1. People frequently refer to Hebrews 11:1 as the
definition of faith. Yet, seldom do you hear anyone refer to I Corinthians
15:1-4 as the definition of the gospel.
Read I Corinthians 15:1-4,
and then we will look at each verse in more detail.
Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
also ye have received, and wherein ye stand (v. 1);
By which also ye
are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have
believed in vain (v. 2).
For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures (v. 3);
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the scriptures (v. 4):
Paul
Preached the Gospel
Look at verse 1:
Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
Paul said he
preached the gospel to the Corinthians and they received it. You have to
receive the gospel. Where do you receive the gospel? You receive the gospel
in your heart—not your intellect.
Verse 1 then states that once you
have received the gospel, you must stand in it. You cannot simply stand on
any word of God. In Romans 1:9, Paul states this:
For God is my
witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without
ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Paul said
that he served God with his spirit in the gospel. That is what you and I
should do. We must stand in the gospel, because the gospel is the power of
God for our salvation.
The Power of God
How do we know that the gospel is the power of God for our salvation? Well,
in Romans 1:16, Paul states:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The word
“power” in this verse is the Greek word, "dunamis." It means ability. The
gospel is the ability of God unto salvation to every one who will believe.
Salvation
The word “salvation” in Romans
1:16 means soundness or to be set at safety. It includes the born-again
experience, but it does not end there.
God made it very simple for
people to be born again. All you have to do is call upon the name of Jesus
and believe that He was raised from the dead, and your spirit will be saved.
Romans 10:13 says that whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.
However, salvation includes much more than simply being
born again. Salvation includes everything that you need. III John 2 states:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Prosperity and health will
come to you as your soul prospers.
How does your soul prosper? I
Peter 1:22 states:
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying
the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that
ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
You must obey
the truth to purify your soul. The word “obey” in this verse means to
hearken submissively. The truth under the New Covenant includes the words of
the Lord Jesus and any other thing that God has commanded you to do by His
Spirit. The way to purify your soul, then, is to hearken submissively and do
what God has commanded you to do.
Keep the Gospel in
Memory
Look back at I Corinthians 15:2:
By which
[the gospel] also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Verse 2 states that you
must keep in memory, or hold fast to, the gospel to be saved—be made
sound—spirit, body, and soul. If you hold fast to the gospel for one hour
and believe something else the rest of the day, the gospel will not save
you.
It is God’s desire to make you sound spirit, body, and soul.
Look at Ephesians 3:16. This is a prayer that Paul prayed for the church at
Ephesus:
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
God wants you to be strengthened in your inner man which includes your will
and your emotions.
How does God strengthen your inner man? One way is
to pray in other tongues. Jude 20 states:
But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Believe the gospel and mix faith with it while you are praying in
tongues, and you will build yourself up. You can also read the Psalms or the
New Testament aloud the same way and build yourself up.
Ministry of the
Spirit is another way that you can be strengthened in your inner man. In
Romans 1:11, Paul states:
For I long to see you, that I may
impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
A person ministering the Spirit will impart spiritual gifts to you and
establish you.
The Definition of the Gospel
I
Corinthians 15:1-2 tell us that when we receive the gospel and stand in the
gospel, we are saved by the gospel. I Corinthians 15:3-4 tell us what the
gospel is:
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I
also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures
(v. 3);
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures (v. 4):
There it is; the answer to
the question, “What is the gospel?” The gospel is that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose
again the third day according to the scriptures. But what are the scriptures
that the Apostle Paul is referring to here? Jesus spoke of the many
references to himself and the gospel found in the Old Testament in Luke
24:44:
And he [Jesus] said unto them, These are the
words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must
be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me.
We would not have enough time
to go to all of those things written, but let us look closely at one. The
prophet Isaiah wrote of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus 700
years before Jesus came to earth as a man.
Look at Isaiah 52:13-15 and Isaiah 53:1-12:
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and
extolled, and be very high (v. 13).
As many were astonied at thee;
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons
of men (v. 14):
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall
shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they
see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider (v. 15).
[53] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD
revealed (v. 1)?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when
we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him (v.2).
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and
we esteemed him not (v. 3)
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted (v. 4).
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed (v. 5).
All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all (v. 6).
He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth (v. 7).
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who
shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the
living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken (v. 8).
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;
because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth (v. 9).
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand (v. 10).
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities (v. 11).
Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the
transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors (v. 12).
How do we know that these scriptures are
speaking of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? The answer is
found in the New Testament, in not just one, but two places.
Matthew
refers to this passage of Isaiah’s when describing the work Jesus was doing
among them. Look at Matthew 8:16, 17:
When the even was come,
they brought unto him [Jesus] many that were possessed with devils: and he
cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick (v. 16):
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses (v 17).
Acts 8:26-35 contains yet another account referring to this same passage
from the book of Isaiah, Philip preaching Jesus from it.
And the
angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south
unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert (v.
26).
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch
of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge
of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship (v. 27),
Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet (v.
28).
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to
this chariot (v. 29).
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him
read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest (v.
30)?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he
desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him (v. 31).
The place
of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his
mouth (v. 32):
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and
who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth (v.
33).
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom
speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man (v. 34)?
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached
unto him Jesus (v. 35).
The death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus, the gospel, is not just a New Testament doctrine. As Paul states, the
gospel is according to what was written in the Old Testament scriptures.
Struggling with the Flesh
When God first started
showing me these verses of scripture—that Jesus died, was buried, and rose
again the third day, I struggled greatly between my intellect and my spirit.
My intellect wanted to say that the gospel included all of the specific
events that took place from the time that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss
until Jesus ascended into Heaven with His blood after the resurrection. For
example, I thought that the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head was part
of the gospel. At the same time, my spirit knew the truth—that the gospel
was simply that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again on the third day.
I will show you
that the Apostle Paul also experienced and wrote about the struggle between
the intellect (flesh) and the spirit.
Paul tells us in Galatians
5:17:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye
cannot do the things that ye would.
In I Corinthians 2:11, he
states:
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God.
Then, in I Corinthians 2:14:
But the
natural man [flesh or intellect] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned.
The flesh lusts against the
Spirit. No man can know the things of God except by the Spirit of God. The
things of the Spirit are foolishness to the natural man. This is the
struggle that every one who walks in the Spirit will experience.
Overcoming Your Flesh
I knew John 16:13 stated that
the Holy Spirit has to “guide you into all truth.” I simply had to humble
myself and say to the Lord, “I cannot understand this on my own. You will
have to teach me.”
I began to practice II Timothy 2:7:
Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
The writer of Proverbs makes a similar statement in Proverbs 4:20-22:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings (v.
20).
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of
thine heart (v. 21).
For they are life unto those that find them, and
health to all their flesh (v. 22).
Paul told Timothy to consider
what was being spoken. The writer of Proverbs goes a step farther saying
“incline your ear” or, put another way, bow down your ear or pay close
attention to what is being spoken.
God is the only One who knows the
struggle that I had to overcome my flesh. I will give you two passages of
scripture that God used to encourage me during this time. Look at
Philippians 1:6:
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform [complete] it until the day of Jesus
Christ:
Then, in Philippians 2:13:
For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
The
Lord, ministering these two verses of scripture to me by His Spirit, gave me
the encouragement that I needed to continue to apply Proverbs 4:20-22 in my
life.
Over a period of several months, the Lord convinced me by the
Holy Spirit that the gospel was simply—“Jesus died for our sins according to
the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures (I Corinthians 15:3-4).” I will show you later
that this is what Jesus preached, this is what the apostles preached, and
this is what you and I are to preach.
“Jesus Died for Your Sins”
Is Not Enough
Before we continue, I want to emphasize once again that
the gospel is that Jesus died, that He was buried, and that He rose again
the third day. Preaching “Jesus died for your sins” is not enough.
Look at I Corinthians 15:13-17:
But if there be no resurrection of
the dead, then is Christ not risen (v. 13):
And if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain (v. 14).
Verse 14 plainly states that if there is no resurrection, our preaching is
vain. Not only is our preaching vain, but our faith is also vain.
Read verses 15-17:
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God;
because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised
not up, if so be that the dead rise not (v. 15).
For if the dead rise
not, then is not Christ raised (v. 16):
And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins (v. 17).
Notice in verse
17, if Jesus was not raised from the dead, we are still in our sins. You
cannot just believe a part of the gospel and be saved. More specifically,
you cannot believe “Jesus died for your sins” and be saved; if you do not
believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, you are still in your sins.
This explains why the Church today has so many problems with sin. They
do not believe in the resurrection. In Matthew chapter 9, the scribes were
upset with Jesus, because He told a man sick with palsy that his sins were
forgiven. In verses 5-6, Jesus says:
For whether is easier, to say,
Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk (v. 5)?
But
that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go
unto thine house (v. 6).
Jesus made no distinction between
forgiveness of sins and healing the sick. Why? Because He trusted in the
power of the resurrection. He knew that when that power touched a person,
sin would leave, just as sickness had to leave.
The Resurrection
Power
Everything that Jesus did for us became ours when Jesus was
raised from the dead. Jesus took our sins on the cross, but they were not
forgiven until Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus took all of our
sickness on the cross, but we were not healed until He was raised from the
dead. Jesus took our poverty on the cross, but we were not made rich until
Jesus was raised from the dead.
Look at II Corinthians 1:20:
For all the promises of God in him [Jesus] are yea, and in him Amen, unto
the glory of God by us.
All the promises of God are yes and Amen
through Jesus, but you do not experience the manifestations of the promises
(i.e., forgiveness of sins, divine health, prosperity, etc.) by standing on
the promises or by standing on the Word. You experience the manifestations
of the promises by believing the gospel, or, put another way, you experience
the manifestations of the promises by relying on the gospel to perform them.
Ephesians 1:17-23 is a prayer that Paul prayed for the church of
Ephesus. It is a prayer that I frequently pray for the world. Look at verses
17-20:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
him (v. 17):
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that
ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints (v. 18),
And what is the
exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power (v. 19),
Which he wrought [worked] in
Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand
in the heavenly places (v. 20),
Before you can know the same power
that raised Jesus from the dead, you must receive a spirit of wisdom and a
revelation of the knowledge of Jesus, and the eyes of your understanding
must be enlightened. The power that will bring to pass all of the promises
of God in your life is the same power that God worked in Jesus when He
raised Him from the dead. That is why a revelation of the gospel is
essential.
CHAPTER 3
WHY THE GOSPEL IS HID
During my years of ministry, I have frequently had people come up to me and
say, “I did not know what the gospel was until I met you.” Others have come
up and said, “I went and asked my friends what the gospel was, and not one
could give me an answer.” The reason for this can be found in II Corinthians
chapter 4.
Look at II Corinthians 4:1-2:
Therefore seeing we
have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not (v. 1);
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation
of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of
God (v. 2).
Notice in verse 2 that the gospel deals with the
conscience of a man.
Continue reading verses 3-4:
But if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost (v. 3):
In whom the
god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds [thoughts of the heart] of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them (v. 4).
Do you see why
the Devil is able to blind the thoughts of the lost? It is because they do
not believe the gospel.
Read verses 5-7:
For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’
sake (v. 5).
For God, who commanded the light ….
The light,
as you saw in verse 4, is the glorious gospel of Christ.
For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ (v. 6).
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (v. 7).
All that
is required for the light to shine in your heart is that you believe the
gospel.
Why Men Will Not Believe the Gospel
John 3:19-20
explain why men will not believe the gospel.
And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil (v. 19).
For every one
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved (v. 20).
It plainly states in these verses
that men love darkness more than the gospel, because their deeds are evil.
Verse 20 even states that they hate the gospel, because they do not want
their deeds reproved. That word “reproved” means “to convict.”
Then,
verse 21 states:
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that
his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The
deeds of a person who walks in the truth will be manifest that they are
worked in God.
CHAPTER 4
JESUS PREACHED THE GOSPEL
I John 2:6 states that a person who says that he abides in Jesus
ought to walk as Jesus walked. If we are to walk as Jesus walked, then we
should examine His preaching.
Look at Mark 1:14:
Now after
that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel
of the kingdom of God,
What did Jesus come into Galilee preaching? He
came preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
Preaching
The
word “preaching” in Mark 1:14 means to publish or proclaim. Jesus came
publishing or proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Jesus did
not simply preach words; He demonstrated power with His preaching. Luke 8:1
states about Jesus:
And it came to pass afterward, that he went
throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing [exhibiting] the
glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
Jesus was not only preaching, He was also exhibiting the glad tidings—the
gospel—of the kingdom of God.
Look at Acts 8:5-7:
Then Philip
went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them (v. 5).
And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip
spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did (v. 6).
In verse
6, the people heard and saw the miracles that Philip did. What did they hear
and see? Read verse 7:
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice,
came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies,
and that were lame, were healed.
This is what happens with the
preaching of the gospel. The people heard the unclean spirits cry out, and
they saw the lame walk.
Jesus also preached with authority. Mark 1:22
states:
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them
as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
The word
“authority” in this verse is the Greek word, exousia. It means privilege.
Over what did Jesus have authority or privilege?
Read Luke 4:32-36.
This is the same account as Mark 1:22. Begin with verse 32:
And they
were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power [authority or
privilege] (v. 32).
Continue with verses 33-35:
And in the
synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried
out with a loud voice (v. 33),
Saying, Let us alone; what have we to
do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know
thee who thou art; the Holy One of God (v. 34).
And Jesus rebuked
him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had
thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not (v. 35).
In verse 35, Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man,
and the spirit came out.
Now, look at verse 36:
And they were
all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for
with authority [privilege] and power [ability] he commandeth the unclean
spirits, and they come out.
Jesus preached with authority and power.
He had authority over evil spirits, and the evil spirits had to come out
when He spoke.
The Kingdom of God Is in Power
Do not be
deceived. If you are preaching the word only and not demonstrating the
power, you are not preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Paul
writes in I Corinthians 4:18-20:
Now some are puffed up, as though I
would not come to you (v. 18).
But I will come to you shortly, if the
Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but
the power (v. 19).
For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in
power (v. 20).
In I Thessalonians 1:5, Paul writes:
For our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among
you for your sake.
When Paul states that the gospel came not in word
only, the “word” to which he is referring is the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus. It is not any word of God. It is the gospel—that
Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day. The gospel is the
power of God.
Not with Enticing Words
If you are preaching
the way Jesus preached, you will not preach the word only, and you will not
preach with enticing
words. Look at I Corinthians 2:1-5. In these
verses, Paul makes this statement:
And I, brethren, when I came to
you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God (v. 1).
For I determined not to know any thing
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified (v. 2).
Paul did not
come to the Corinthians to impress them with his excellent speech and his
great wisdom. Paul said he determined not to know anything but the gospel.
Why?
Continue reading verses 3-4:
And I was with you in
weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling (v. 3).
And my speech
and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power (v. 4):
Paul says that he
did not preach with enticing words. He did not preach from his intellect.
Paul was interested in only one thing—demonstrating the Spirit and power.
Read verse 5:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of
men, but in the power of God.
Now you can see why Paul determined to
not know anything but the gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus. The gospel is the power of God, and it is the only thing that can
change the hearts of men.
The Cross and the Gospel Are the Same
In church, you frequently hear preachers refer to the cross or the
preaching of the cross. I would like to show you that the cross is not the
two wooden beams on which Jesus hung, but that the cross and the gospel are
the same.
Paul, writing in I Corinthians 1:17-18, makes this
statement:
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of
none effect (v. 17).
For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (v.
18).
Verse 18 is very important. I would like to examine this verse
again using two other translations. The New International Version (NIV)
states this:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The Interlinear Bible’s translation is very similar to the NIV translation.
It states:
For the word of the cross is truly foolishness to those
being lost; but to us being saved, it is the power of God.
Notice the
preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are “perishing” or “being
lost,” but to us who are “being saved,” it is the power of God.
Romans 1:16 states that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In I
Corinthians 1:18, the preaching of the cross is the power of God. This is
what convinced me that the cross is not just the two wooden beams. Neither
is the cross the events of the cross (i.e., the soldiers casting lots for
Jesus’ coat). The cross and the gospel are the same—that Jesus died, was
buried, and rose again the third day.
God Approved of Jesus
Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God in power, and He was
approved by God. Look at what Peter says in Acts 2:22:
Ye men of
Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you,
as ye yourselves also know:
If God approves of your preaching,
miracles and wonders and signs will follow your preaching, just as they
followed Jesus’ preaching.
CHAPTER 5
REPENT AND BELIEVE
THE GOSPEL
I would like to go back now and examine Mark 1:14 in
conjunction with verse 15:
Now after that John was put in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God (v. 14),
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel (v. 15).
Jesus came saying, “Repent
and believe the gospel.” I would like for you to examine the word “repent”
and the word “believe” in greater detail.
Repent
If you
grew up in church, you have probably heard the word “repent” many times.
What does it mean? The word “repent” means to change your mind or to have
another mind. When you repent, you change your mind to agree with God. You
give up your will for the will of God.
God has to lead you to
repentance. Look at Romans 2:4:
Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance?
It is the goodness of God
that He leads each one of us to repentance.
Consider II Corinthians
7:8-10:
For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent,
though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you
sorry, though it were but for a season (v. 8).
Now I rejoice, not
that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were
made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing (v. 9).
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not
to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (v. 10).
Notice that “sorrow” and “repentance” are not the same thing—that simply
saying you are sorry is not the same as repentance or changing your mind to
agree with God. Verse 10 states that Godly sorrow brings repentance unto
salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death.
I had lunch with a
well-known preacher several years ago. Over lunch, he related to me that he
had spent the previous day with a local television preacher. He stated that
they had spent the entire day repenting. God had me tell this man that he
was involved in worldly sorrow—not Godly sorrow, and that worldly sorrow
produces death. His response was: “Well, brother, don’t you believe in
repentance?” I said, “Sure—if it is Godly repentance.” This man could not
hear what God was saying through me that day. Three months later, he died.
Repent then Believe
Once you have repented, you have to do
something. You have to change your mind to something else. Jesus said,
“Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
The word “believe” means to rely
on, to adhere to, to trust in. In other words, you have to trust in, rely
on, and adhere to the gospel—that Jesus died, that He was buried, and that
He rose again the third day.
If you are believing the gospel, you
will not depart from it. If you are believing the gospel, you will not look
at your predicament or your grim circumstances. You will hold fast to and
rely on that Jesus died, was buried, and the third day God raised Him up by
the power of God. You will hold fast to that power until God manifests
Himself on your behalf.
Mix Faith with the Gospel
As you
are believing the gospel, you must mix faith with that gospel. Consider
Hebrews 4:2:
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto
them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it.
The “word preached” in verse 2 refers to the
gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. According to Hebrews
chapter 3, the word “them” in Hebrews 4:2 is referring to the Jews in the
wilderness. The gospel was preached to the Jews in the wilderness, but it
did not profit them. Why? Because they did not mix faith with the gospel.
So, let God lead you to repentance. Trust in, rely on, and adhere to
the gospel—that Jesus died, that He was buried, and that He rose again the
third day. Mix faith with that gospel, and it will profit you.
CHAPTER 6
THE APOSTLES PREACHED THE GOSPEL
After
Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared unto His disciples. Look at Luke
24:44-48:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake
unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which
were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me (v. 44).
Then opened he their understanding, that they
might understand the scriptures (v. 45),
And said unto them, Thus it
is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead
the third day (v. 46):
What were the “words” that Jesus spoke to his
disciples while He was with them? Verse 46 answers this question—“it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.” Jesus spoke the
gospel to them.
Continue with verses 47-48:
And that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem (v. 47).
And ye are witnesses of
these things (v. 48).
Signs Follow the Preaching of the Gospel
Mark 16:15-18 give an account of what Jesus commanded the apostles
before He ascended up into Heaven:
And he said unto them, Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (v. 15).
He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned (v.16).
Jesus told them, “He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved.” What do you have to believe to be saved? In verse
15, Jesus commanded the eleven to go preach the gospel. You must conclude,
then, that if you believe the gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus, you shall be saved.
Read verses 17-18:
And these signs
shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues (v. 17);
They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover (v. 18).
These verses tell
us that signs follow the preaching of the gospel.
During the time
that God was revealing the gospel to me, I was attending different
Charismatic meetings. In these meetings, I heard preachers read these verses
in Mark chapter 16 and then say, “If you want healing, preach on healing. If
you want tongues, preach on tongues. If you want prosperity, preach on
prosperity.” Yet, these verses are very clear and simple—signs follow the
preaching of the gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Proof of the Gospel
Once I saw the gospel defined in I
Corinthians chapter 15, the Holy Spirit proved to me that the death, burial,
and resurrection was indeed the gospel by showing me what the apostles
preached in the book of Acts. We looked at Mark chapter 16 and saw that
Jesus commanded the eleven to go and preach the gospel.
In Acts
chapter 2, Peter was preaching before the crowd that gathered on the day of
Pentecost after the disciples had been filled with the Holy Ghost. In verses
23-24, Peter, speaking about Jesus, states:
Him, being delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by
wicked hands have crucified and slain (v. 23):
Whom God hath raised
up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he
should be holden of it (v. 24).
Peter preached that Jesus was
crucified and that God raised Jesus up again—in other words, Peter preached
the gospel.
I would like for you to give particular attention to
verse 37:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do?
This is what happens when you preach the gospel—the
death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The people’s hearts were
“pricked.” That word “pricked” means to stab or pierce thoroughly.
When I first started attending Charismatic meetings, I heard various ways to
minister to a Jew. One day the Lord asked me, “Would you like to know how to
witness to a Jew?” My reply was, “Sure.” He said, “Read Acts chapter 2.” I
saw in Acts chapter 2 that Peter preached the gospel to the Jews and it
pricked their hearts.
If you continue reading in Acts chapter 2, you
will find that three thousand souls were saved that day. That is what the
preaching of the gospel will do.
The Lame Man Was Healed
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John were going to the temple to pray. On their
way, they found a man lame from his mother’s womb. Peter and John prayed,
and the man was healed completely.
Read Acts 3:11-12 with me:
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran
together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering
(v. 11).
And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men
of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as
though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk (v. 12)?
Look at the next several verses and see what Peter preached:
The
God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath
glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the
presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go (v. 13).
But
ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted
unto you (v. 14);
And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised
from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (v. 15).
It was the gospel
that made the lame man whole. Keep in mind as we look at each of these
scriptures that Mark 16:17 tells us that signs follow people who believe, or
hold fast to, the gospel. Healing the sick is one of the signs that follows
people who believe.
The Apostles Preached the Resurrection
Next, look at Acts 4:33:
And with great power gave the apostles
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them
all.
In Acts 17:18, Paul also preached the resurrection.
Then
certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him.
And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to
be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and
the resurrection.
We have already discussed the power of
the resurrection, but I wanted you to see that the apostles gave witness to
the resurrection. They did not preach “Jesus died for your sins” only.
They Spoke with Tongues
In Acts chapter 10, there was a centurion
named Cornelius. Cornelius was a devout man and a man that feared God. God
instructed Peter to go and speak in Cornelius’ house. Read verses 34-35:
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is
no respecter of persons (v. 34):
But in every nation he that feareth
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him (v. 35).
God is
not a respecter of persons. The apostles had been preaching to the Jews only
until this point. Cornelius was a Gentile. Jesus died, was buried, and rose
again for Jews and Gentiles alike.
Continue reading verses 39-40,
because I want to show you what Peter preached.
And we are witnesses
of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem;
whom they slew and hanged on a tree (v. 39):
Him God raised up the
third day, and shewed him openly (v. 40);
Do you see the gospel in
these verses? Peter was preaching the gospel to the Gentiles in Cornelius’
house.
Look what happened in verses 44-46:
While Peter yet
spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word (v.
44).
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as
many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out
the gift of the Holy Ghost (v. 45).
For they heard them speak with
tongues, and magnify God (v. 46).
The Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles
as Peter was preaching the gospel, and they spoke in other tongues. Mark
chapter 16 states that one of the signs that follows a person who believes
the gospel is speaking in new tongues.
CHAPTER 7
THE WORD
OF FAITH
There are a lot of preachers today who teach that you
must stand on the written Word or, put another way, that you must find your
promise in the Bible and stand on it. As God taught me in II Timothy 2:7, I
would like for you to consider the passages of scripture in this chapter and
let God give you understanding.
I would like to begin by looking at
Romans 10:8-9:
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach (v. 8);
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved (v. 9).
Verse 8 states that the “word of faith” is nigh thee.
What is the “word of faith”? Is it any word of God as many preachers teach?
I want you to look closely at the punctuation in verse 8. You will find
that verse 8 ends with a semicolon. This should tell you that verse 9 is
closely related to verse 8. So, what is the “word of faith, which we
preach”? The word of faith is the gospel—that Jesus died, was buried, and
rose again the third day. That is what verse 9 states.
Faith Comes by Hearing
Another teaching that you hear is that faith
comes by hearing any word of God in the Bible. Look at Romans 10:13-15:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (v.
13).
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall
they hear without a preacher (v. 14)?
And how shall they preach,
except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things (v.
15)!
Verse 15 tells us what preachers should be preaching. They
should be preaching the gospel of peace.
Continue reading verse 16:
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who
hath believed our report?
They have not obeyed the gospel—the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In verse 16, Paul equates obedience and
believing. If you obey the gospel, you will believe, or rely on, the gospel.
Now, look at Romans 10:17:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
This is very important. “So then
faith….” You must read Romans 10:17 in conjunction with the previous verses.
You cannot pull this verse out of context and say that faith comes by
hearing any word of God. The previous verses clearly refer to the gospel,
and the gospel is the word of God by which faith comes.
The Holy
Spirit Bears Witness to the Gospel
I would like to go back to Acts
chapter 10 and look at some other verses of scripture. Acts 10:36-38 states:
The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by
Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) (v. 36)
That word, I say, ye know,
which was published throughout all Judæa, and began from Galilee, after the
baptism which John preached (v. 37);
How God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power [ability]: who went about doing
good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him
(v. 38).
I heard a well-known television preacher in the Dallas/Fort
Worth Metroplex say that verse 38 is the gospel. Many of you may have heard
this as well. What this preacher was saying is that the gospel is—“God
anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and power, and He went about doing good
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.”
Well, Jesus
operated in the power of the gospel, and healing is one of the signs that
follows those who believe the gospel. However, Acts 10:38 is not the gospel.
I want to make sure that you understand this, because if you and I are
supposed to hold fast to the gospel—if you and I are to go into all the
world and preach the gospel, then we need to have a clear understanding of
what the gospel is.
Look at Acts 5:29-32. Peter and the other
apostles were before the council:
Then Peter and the other apostles
answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men (v. 29).
The
God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree (v.
30).
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a
Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (v. 31).
And we are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost,
whom God hath given to them that obey him (v. 32).
To what does the
Holy Spirit bear witness? Look at verse 30 and 31 again. The Holy Spirit
bears witness to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
If all
you preach is that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power or that
Jesus healed the sick, your preaching is empty, and you are not preaching
the gospel. You are preaching the letter. Consider II Corinthians 3:6:
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.
The Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth. The Holy Spirit
bears witness to Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day.
When the Holy Spirit bears witness to your preaching, it will produce
life in the people who hear.
CHAPTER 8
THE PARABLE OF
THE SOWER
Having established that the gospel is the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus, I would like to take a look now at the
parable of the sower. You can find an account of this parable in Matthew
chapter 13, Mark chapter 4, and Luke chapter 8. In Mark 4:13, Jesus said
that if you cannot understand this parable how can you know all parables. I
want to start with Mark’s account of the parable of the sower.
Look
at Mark 4:14 with me:
The sower soweth the word.
By now, you
probably know what I am going to say, but please humor me. The “word” that
Jesus is talking about here has got to be the gospel—the death, burial, and
resurrection. In Matthew 13:19, Matthew calls it the “word of the kingdom.”
We saw in Mark 1:14 that Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God. As we continue on with this parable, I believe it will become even
clearer that the “word” sown is the gospel.
The Way-Side Heart
Read verse 15:
And these are they by the way side, where the word
is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away
the word that was sown in their hearts.
In Luke 8:12,
Luke says:
Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should
believe and be saved.
Notice two things. First, the word is sown in
the heart—not the mind or intellect. Second, Luke says that Satan comes to
take the word out of a way-side heart “lest they should believe and be
saved.” This is what convinced me that the “word” sown is the gospel. I have
shown you throughout this book that the gospel is what saves you.
The Stony Heart
Continue reading Mark 4:16-17:
And these
are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard
the word, immediately received it with gladness (v. 16);
And have no
root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction
or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended
(v. 17).
People with stony hearts immediately receive the word with
gladness (“Oh, that is great preaching, brother!”), but they have no root,
and when affliction and persecution come, they are offended.
Verse 17
states that affliction and persecution come for the word’s sake. Look at
Acts 14:22:
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them
to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter
into the kingdom of God.
The apostles were exhorting the disciples to
“continue in the faith” and “through much tribulation” enter into the
kingdom.
Be assured that once God starts revealing the gospel to your
heart, Satan will immediately come with tribulation and affliction to make
you stumble. Consider Luke 16:16:
The law and the prophets were until
John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth
into it.
That word “press” means to force. You must forcefully enter
the kingdom of God. How? Romans 1:16 states that the gospel is the power or
the ability of God unto salvation to every one who believes. You must trust
in, rely on, and adhere to the gospel—that Jesus died, was buried, and rose
again the third day—to overcome the affliction and tribulation that Satan
brings against you.
Be of good cheer. Jesus is our example. Jesus
suffered more than we will ever have to suffer, and Jesus overcame the same
way you and I will overcome—by believing the power of the gospel. Look at
what Jesus said in John 16:33:
These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus overcame
the world by trusting in, relying on, and adhering to the promise that God
would raise Him up the third day. That is the same gospel that you and I are
to believe.
The Thorny Heart
The third kind of heart in the
parable of the sower is a thorny heart. Read Mark 4:18-19:
And these
are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word (v. 18),
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts
of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful (v.
19).
Look at Colossians 1:5-6:
For the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the
gospel (v. 5);
Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and
bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it,
and knew the grace of God in truth (v. 6):
Verse 6 states that the
gospel is what brings forth fruit in your life. If you have cares of the
world, deceitfulness of riches, and lusts of other things in your heart,
they will choke the gospel that was sown in your heart, and Luke 8:14 says
that you will bring no fruit to perfection.
The Good
Heart
The fourth heart in the parable of the sower is the good and
honest heart. Look at Mark 4:20:
And these are they which are sown on
good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit,
some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
A good heart hears
the word and receives it. Matthew 13:23 states that a good heart hears the
word and understands it. Luke 8:15 states that a good and honest heart hears
the word and keeps it and brings forth fruit with patience.
If we
receive and hold fast to the gospel—that Jesus died for our sins, that He
was buried, and that He rose again the third day, it will bring forth fruit
in our life.
CHAPTER 9
THE GIFT OF CHRIST
Once
you have received a revelation of the gospel, you must abide in Jesus to
bear fruit in the kingdom of God. In John 15:4-5, Jesus states:
Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (v. 4).
I am
the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (v. 5).
So many people in the Church today think that once they receive a little
knowledge of the Word, they have the right to go anywhere and preach. Yet,
in verse 4, Jesus states that we cannot bear fruit of ourselves. Verse 5
states that without Jesus, we can do nothing. It is Jesus, abiding in us,
who bears the fruit.
Look at Galatians 2:20:
I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Dead people cannot bear
fruit. If you are crucified with Christ, you are no longer alive, and you
cannot bear fruit.
In the mid-1970s, Jesus spoke John 15:16 to me:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
It is Jesus who chooses us and ordains us for the work of the ministry.
Now, look at Ephesians 4:7:
But unto every one of us is given
grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
You cannot
study your way to God. You cannot confess your way to God. God’s calling on
our lives is a gift, and it comes by grace. How do we access that grace?
Read Romans 5:1-2:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1):
By whom also we
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God (v. 2).
Verse 2 states that we access the grace
of God by faith. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the word of
God. I showed you earlier in this book that the gospel—that Jesus died, was
buried, and rose again the third day—is the word of God you need to hear for
faith to come.
The work that God has for each one of us, then, comes
when we believe the gospel. Continue reading Ephesians 4:8-10:
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men (v. 8).
(Now that he ascended, what is it but
that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth (v. 9)?
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.) (v. 10)
Do you see the
gospel in these verses? When Jesus was raised from the dead, He gave gifts
to men. What are the gifts that He gave us?
Look at Ephesians 4:11:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers;
It is the measure of the gift of
Christ the apostle that is the gift to the Church. It is the measure of the
gift of Christ the prophet that is the gift to the Church. Accordingly, it
is the measure of the gift of Christ the evangelist, pastor, and teacher
that is the gift to the Church.
What are the purposes of these five
ministries—the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, and evangelist—in the
Church? Read Ephesians 4:12-13:
For the perfecting [completion] of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ (v. 12):
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ (v. 13):
Apostles, prophets,
pastors, teachers, and evangelists, ministering the gospel by the Spirit,
perfect or complete the saints.
The Apostle Paul was a minister of
the gospel. In Romans 15:15-19 he states:
Nevertheless, brethren, I
have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind,
because of the grace that is given to me of God (v. 15),
That I
should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the
gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable,
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost (v. 16).
I have therefore whereof
I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God (v.
17).
For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ
hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed (v.
18),
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of
God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ (v. 19).
In Romans 15:29, Paul states:
And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
The fullness of the blessing of
the gospel brings forth fruit to perfection.
