A young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” The manager replied, “Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.”
So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that we create a thirst for the gospel. But we undoubtedly live in a society that simply does not thirst for the gospel. Men and women live their entire lives without feeling any emptiness or void by a lack of the gospel. Why? They don’t really know “The Message of the Gospel!”
Title: The Message of the Gospel
Text: Hebrews 4:12
Main Point: We, as Christians, know the inherent power of the Gospel. That’s why we are so receptive and attentive – we have been personally impacted by the message of the gospel. What must we do in order to make the world thirst for the gospel? Let them know the message! But what is the message of the gospel?
Discussion Points:
· Pardon for the Guilty – Acts 26:15-18 – Guilt is one of the most frustrating emotions – but it is also one of the most empowering. It is frustrating because it reminds us of our personal weaknesses and shortcomings. It is empowering because it motivates us to make better decisions to avoid future guilt. However, the message of the gospel is that we can avoid guilt altogether. The gospel offers forgiveness, pardon from guilt.
· Peace for the Troubles – Ephesians 2:14-17– We are all well acquainted with the trouble that sin brings into our lives – unexplainable grief, insufferable pain, inevitable heartache, and eternal death. But the gospel negates all of the trouble that sin guarantees and offers peace instead. It comforts the grief, eases the pain, treats the heartache, and offers life. The gospel yields peace through all the trouble, all the pain, and even through death.
· Power for the Weak – Romans 5:6 – We, inherently, have no spiritual strength. Those whose lives are given to sin are even weaker. We need salvation but have no strength to save ourselves and no other human can save us. We must rely upon the power of God to strengthen us. God’s power was displayed in the cross that in return empowers us.
· Purity for the Defiled – Acts 15:8-9 – Sin not only brings guilt in our lives but it troubles the heart, weakens the faith, and defiles the soul. Paul wrote that Christ’s purpose for the church is to “present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). The blemish of sin will condemn the soul. The only hope we have is the purifying message of the gospel. If only the world knew the purifying power of the gospel they would be motivated to hear it, know it, and accept it.
· Pleasure for the Joyless – Philippians 4:6-11– Sin has a way of sucking all of the joy out of life. But the gospel can restore that joy. Romans 15:13 reminds us that “the God of hope (can) fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.” The joy we have in Christ is found in a two-fold blessing: (1) eternal joy = salvation, (2) temporary joy = contentment. But this joy only comes through total commitment to Christ and submission to the gospel. The joy the world seeks through licentious living can only come through submission to the gospel.
That’s the message of the gospel. It can give us everything the world cannot. If only we can get that message to the world they would be better motivated to hear and accept all it has to offer!
-Andy Brewer