Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
- Repent: for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying,
- The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Luke 4:18-19 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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Romans 10:15 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!
1 Corinthians 9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
1 Corinthians 9:18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
We are to preach the Gospel. But, what is the Gospel. The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS. What is the GOOD NEWS, it is Christ, and Him crucified, risen and sitting on the right hand of God making intercession for our sins. The Good News is that Jesus died for our sins, He literally took our place on the cross so we would not have to die for our sins. It is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (Galatians 3:13). This curse did not belong to the only sinless man who ever lived, it belonged to us.
The Good News is that Jesus made a way for us to escape what we truly deserve - death and hell. The Good News is that Jesus says, "All is forgiven, come on home".
It doesn’t matter how "good" we are or how much we "DO" in the name of "goodness" or "religion". "Works" do not save us. If you do "good works" as an unbeliever, your reward is with this world, only. We do "good works" because we are saved. These "good works" have eternal rewards with Christ in heaven. Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
So, what is the Kingdom of God which we are to preach? The Kingdom of God is literally His Kingdom on earth – God’s way of doing things – Godly living, Godly doing, Godly being, GODLY. It means doing all things as unto the Lord. It means being all God has for you to be. It means living under the authority and promises of God. It means total surrender to Him – be it the Father, Son or Holy Ghost – total surrender. It means living by the written and verbal commandments of God – not as a legalist, but as a true worshipper. How does God expect us to worship Him? John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The Word says: (John 14:15) If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 15:10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. Keeping God’s commandments is an act of love toward Him.
What do I mean when I talk about "verbal commandments"? I am talking about the ones that the Holy Spirit drops into your spirit. When God tells you to do something or not to do something, directly. When He speaks directly to your heart.
Not keeping His commandments is an act of rebellion against
God. God hates rebellion and has no part in it. (1 Samuel 15:23)
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity
and idolatry.
Isaiah 53:3-12
- 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. Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
The Good News is that He did all of this for us and all we have to do is accept what He did for us by repenting of our sins and asking Him to impart all of Isaiah 53 to us as individuals. How do we do that?
We don’t need to go through another human being. When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, the veil in the Temple, which separated man from God, was torn from the top to the bottom. We, as individuals, can go to God and ask Him for forgiveness of our own sins. Forgiveness does not come through a Priest or through any saint or person, but only through Jesus. He said, (John 14:6) "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
So then, how do we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior? It’s easy and painless to us. The pain was already borne by Jesus.
Romans 10:9-13 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, Christ? Have you accepted what Christ did for you? If not, what is there to stop you?
After all He has done for you, what small thing is it to invite Him to be your Savior? Remember, you are either making a decision for Jesus or against Him right now. There is only "Yes" or "No". Say "Yes" to Jesus and let all that He has done for you be accepted in your own personal life.
Will you pray the sinner’s prayer with me? If you don’t want to do it now, think it over and pray it later. If you don’t know how to ask Him into your life, here is an example:
- Dear Jesus. I am sorry for
my sins and ask you to forgive me of my sins. I believe that You
died on the cross for me and that God raised you from the dead on the third
day as the scripture says. I will confess that you are Lord and will
allow you to be the Lord of my life, from this day forward. Jesus,
please come into my heart and become my Lord and Savior. Fill me
with your sweet Holy Spirit so that I may have your power in my life to
be able to stand against the evil in this world. I thank you for
saving me. Amen.
If you pray to accept Jesus as your Savior, please call us and let us know so that we may rejoice with you.
In Christ’s Love.
Marlene
Contact Information:
Cornerstone Tabernacle
PO Box 17 Drakes Branch VA
23937
Phone: 434-736-8555 E-mail at drdan@marlene.org