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A Different Gospel

9/25/2021

Did you know there are different gospels of Jesus? Paul talked about it in his day. Today we still see different gospels being preached and practiced. Can you identify these different gospels? (Hint: Tele-evangelist)

In the epistle to the Galatians, Paul said,
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:6-8)

Paul also warned the Corinthian church of being led astray…
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

A different Jesus? A different Spirit? A different gospel? Only twenty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection and already false gospels are being preached. How much more will we see it in 2000 years?

In his book, “Conversion & Discipleship”, Bill Hull states, “If we are not preaching the biblical gospel, we are preaching what Paul would call a different gospel. A different gospel leads to a different Christ, a different church, a different Christian, and a different culture.”

It is said, “What you win a person with, is what you win that person to.” In other words, if we offer a gospel that guarantees health and wealth, then that’s what we’re winning people to. If we offer quick and convenient weekly soundbites of truth catering to our needs, with no real push to grow and follow Christ, then that’s what we’ve won people to. Jesus is not the “fix-it” man. Jesus is God who died for our sins. He is holy and we are sinful. We are selfish and rebellious towards God and His ways and we must turn from our ways to follow Him. This is the gospel we preach. As it is our churches are filled with self-seeking and self-absorbed people who have no fear of God or any desire to truly lay down their lives to follow Him. We have developed a model of Christianity that caters to the needs of people and following Jesus is optional.

In the next few weeks, I will share the six known gospels we see being preached in our churches today. Why is this so important? Because the gospel we preach today is the kind of disciple we will develop tomorrow.

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What’s Your Mission in Life?

9/18/2021

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For the past four weeks I shared about values, purpose, vision and strategy. Today I will share about mission. Mission holds all the above together. Your mission in life is the power behind all that you do. As mentioned before, these five concepts form the philosophies that guide your life.

Mission in general, has many characteristics. We may say things like, “I’m on a mission to clean my yard this weekend.” Or, we might go on a “mission” trip for church. But even then, we need to differentiate whether it’s a long-term or short-term mission trip. Either way, in this case, your mission is only “a trip”. A business could call a particular case, a mission, giving you a new mission each day, week or month. A mission could also be seen as a shelter designed to rehabilitate a person. So, as we see, there are many ways we tend to use the term “mission”.

How do we figure out what our life mission should be? When creating a mission statement for a church, a business or a club, your mission statement describes “why you exist.” In the same way when creating your personal mission statement, it should describe why you exist. A person who believes we all evolved from apes may have a radically different understanding for his/her mission in life than a person who believes that God created us all. A person whose core values are money and power will have a different life mission than a person who values social justice. Even within our religious systems and our Christian churches we can find a myriad of differing personal mission statements. So, to begin with, we must ask, “Why are you here?” “Why do you exist?”

Isaiah 43:1-13, gives us a clear account that we were created by God for His glory and He redeems us to be His witnesses to the whole world (Created, Redeemed and Commissioned). In his gospel, Matthew uses the word “kingdom” 52 times. Matthew’s gospel is all about restoring God’s kingdom. In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, “the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” This verse tells me that preaching (sharing, teaching) the good news of God’s kingdom is so important that once everyone has a chance to hear it, His plan is fulfilled, and the end will come. That’s the mission.

Consider this, God created this world and it was all good. Sin entered in and we now live in a fallen world. The entire Bible speaks about Jesus coming as a Savior to restore what was lost. God in His mercy saves us by grace through faith in Jesus. He now commands us to go into all the world and make disciples of Jesus. The gospel message and the Great Commission is not just about making disciples, the Great Commission is about world revolution. The gospel redeems, restores, revolutionizes and transforms. It brings us into an eternal relationship with God and His Son and makes the world a better place. That’s why it’s called “The Great Co-Mission.”

God is on a mission. When creating a mission statement, we don’t just simply throw ideas into the wind but rather we line ourselves up with God to accomplish His mission. As I’ve said before, it’s not that the church has a mission (that could be anything under the sun), but rather, “THE MISSION has a church.” God designed the church to accomplish HIS mission. This mission is not only for the church, it is a mission for every Christian. You can’t separate the two; we are the church.

Preaching the good news to all the earth and making disciples of Jesus is why I exist. Why do you exist? Your answer is what drives you. Your answer is your life mission.

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Values, Purpose, Vision, STRATEGY, Mission

9/4/2021

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Last week we talked about vision. Vision is the ability to see beyond the norm; to dream big; to think like God. But vision is not just about seeing, it’s about doing. Vision is a gift; it allows people to accomplish great things in the midst of opposition. Vision takes faith. Vision says, I can do anything!

STRATEGY is vision in motion. Behind every great idea and accomplishment there has always been strategy. As mentioned before, vision is where I want to get to and strategy is how I will get there. You can’t have vision without strategy. All too often people dream big dreams and hope for the best as if something big were to just fall in their lap. If you plan to climb Mount Everest, you need to prepare years in advance! Rule of thumb: My future is the outcome of my actions today. And as Francis Chan once said, “stop asking God, ‘what is His will for your life.’ Instead, ask God, ‘what is His will for you today.’”

PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE
Proactive is all about strategy and taking the necessary steps ahead of time to align with and accomplish your vision. Reactive is spontaneous; it doesn’t have a strategy; it just responds to the matter at hand.

The definition of strategy in the dictionary included something rather interesting: “STRATEGY - In military usage, a distinction is made between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the utilization, during both peace and war, of a nation's forces, through large-scale, long-range planning and development, to ensure security or victory. Tactics deals with the use and deployment of troops in actual combat.” For the security and victory of our country, our men and women in military and homeland security work proactively, ahead of time, to be prepared when the battle occurs. They don’t simply sit around eating bonbon’s all day then react when a threat looms on the horizon.

The world teaches us to be reactive. Just look at an infant’s behavior. Sadly, we have adults who still react like infants when things don’t go their way. Sadly, even Christians do, I do at times. It’s part of our fallen nature. God’s word teaches us to be proactive. The Bible warns us of the impending battles and to be prepared. Paul states it clearly in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” Putting on the full armor of God DAILY will help me to resist the enemy later when the battle takes place.

When considering our “vision” (where we want to go in life) we must ask these questions: In general, do I live my life proactively or reactively? Am I living for God proactively or reactively? Do I face battles proactively or reactively? Do I pray proactively or reactively? Do I read my Bible proactively or reactively? Do I give of my time, talents and treasures proactively or reactively?

God is a strategist. He works proactively. He had a plan before the creation of the world. He also has a plan for you and me. My vision is to do my part in fulfilling that plan. That requires me to be strategic and proactive to follow Him daily. Let’s strategize together to see God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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A Different Gospel

What’s Your Mission in Life?

Values, Purpose, Vision, STRATEGY, Mission

KHCN

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​A Different Gospel

What’s Your Mission in Life?

Values, Purpose, Vision, STRATEGY, Mission

KHCN

Archives

Categories

A Different Gospel