Believe and Preach and Believe Some More

We are gathered here this morning because we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not just a religious idea, a religious box to check. This is the announcement that because Jesus died for sin and was raised from the dead on the third day, He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and He is in the process of conquering this entire world with His grace. And we are gathered here because Jesus is conquering this world through the preaching of this gospel. When the gospel is announced by faith, it is what God uses to overcome the darkness. In the end, we believe that because Jesus rose from the dead, He will wipe away every tear from every face: the tears of abortion, the tears of abuse, the tears of violence, the tears of death, the tears of lies, the tears of loneliness, the tears of regret.

But we don’t just say that, we don’t just say “gospel” and “Jesus” a lot and hope it makes us feel better. What we want to do is ask God to apply the gospel of Jesus to our lives and push it into all the corners. Healing is a mysterious miracle, but part of the way God brings healing is by understanding the gospel of Jesus more deeply. If it’s just a bunch of words, then we’re putting band aids on tumors. But if the gospel is the power of God to bring the healing grace of Jesus to every hurt, then all there is to do is believe and preach and believe some more. So preach to yourself, preach to your kids, preach to your neighbors, preach to your spouse. Explain again and again that Jesus was betrayed into the hands of wicked men because of His great love for sinners like us, and though He was convicted as a criminal, God the Father raised Him on the third day and justified Him, proclaimed Him innocent and righteous. And as you trust in Him, all that is His is for you and for this entire broken world.