Not Just Words
Perhaps the message today was inspired from listening to the news for the last few weeks. Watching how words from powerful people and the news media seem to control the masses. A couple of weeks ago I preached a message titled “Insignificant Words” and the more I listen to the news I am convinced it is true.
The last few weeks we have watched our economy falter; people have lost millions in their personal wealth. Presidential candidates and their aides have wooed the voters and criticized their opponents. From the media to the powerful there has been nothing but words.
Who can tell the best story, get the best zinger in, or capitalize on someones mistake seems to be all anyone hopes for.
My theory is this: Words are a whole lot easier to come up with than substance.
This sometimes is why the Gospel is so misunderstood. Words are all that anyone can come up with anymore. The educated have diminished the reality of the Gospel by psycho analysis. Doctors of theology have written blasphemous words about relationships in the Bible just to advance their own social and political agendas. Denominations have divided the Church since its creation. Everyone pointing to their singular claim of truth.
People who refuse to open their Bible and study the precious scriptures and learn of the Living Word have listened to others mouthing condemnation and hatred. Self righteousness and ignorant they press forward with hurtful and condemning words.
Fasten your seat belts and let’s have some fun.
God never intended the message of the Gospel to be wrapped in words. This great work of Grace that He freely gave to the world is not just something to talk about.
I Thessalonians 1:5 KJV
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.
Amplified
For our [preaching of the] glad tidings (the Gospel) came to you not only in word, but also in [its own inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction and absolute certainty [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved [ourselves] to be among you for your good.
Not just words; but power. Not at my direction; but by the Holy Spirit. Not carried by opinion; but firmly resolved.
We are talking about living characteristics. The Gospel is not about being wrapped in words but it is steadily moving through a living, growing body.
A body with Christ as the head. Him being the chief cornerstone. A body that is wholly and purposefully following Christ with one single purpose. To live or die for Him.
I am sick and tired of talking about it, and hearing others talk about it. Now understand my heart. It is because the Gospel message is not just words; but it is the power to change a life.
Either we serve a sovereign God who reigns in Majesty on high or we don’t. Maybe He was just an historical figure who managed to get a lot of books written about Him.
Or could it be He was a man of few words but more action. For the Apostle John said that He did so many things that if they were written in books the world could not hold them all.
It is time for the world to see and not just hear the Gospel.
Hear it from a people that are alive. Alive with hope, alive with faith, alive with truth, and alive with Grace. Alive with destiny and living for Christ with firm assurance. In the passage we read Paul spoke not just words but living words. Words that moved in the power of the Holy Spirit and were established with firm conviction of their truth.
Why?
So they would multiply.
I Thessalonians 1:6 Amplified
And you [set yourselves to] become imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord Himself, for you welcomed our message in [spite of] much persecution, with joy [inspired] by the Holy Spirit;
Nobody wants to imitate a bunch of talk. They want to be a part of something real. Something that is life changing. Something that loves them just as they are.
People are tired of hearing about it; they are ready to experience it.
It is a message so alive that people will hear it and experience and be persecuted for it. It is a message so real that people will leave the comfort of their homes and the love of their families to carry it to inner cities or third world countries.
It is a message of multiplying. One that is not just words, but living and growing spiritual awakening A message that must be experienced.
Perhaps this is why God early on entrusted His message to simple fishermen, thieving tax collectors, prostitutes, and misguided zealots who had experienced the Truth incarnate and their lives were changed.
Even today, not just words are changing the lives of people who will experience the Truth Incarnate. The Christ who said “ I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He is still entrusting His message to the simple, to the thief, the prostitute, the educated, the addicted, the whosoever will that will not only hear the words of the Gospel but will experience the Truth of the Gospel.
The ignorant are learning great mysteries at the foot of the Cross. The educated are casting it aside to follow in the footsteps of someone that they can only hope to understand.
The sick are being healed and comforted. The demon oppressed are being set free. The broken and downtrodden are living free from their wounds and their past. The addicted are trading in their crutches and standing on their own two feet.
The poor are living in the luxury of the Grace of God. The rich are understanding there are things that money can’t buy.
The fearful are finding faith on their knees in the presence of a conquering God.
Why? Because they are not just hearing words but they are experiencing the Truth of the Gospel and becoming part of a living growing Church.
Trading in their own life for the life of Christ. So that the Gospel will multiply in the world and experiencing it will change others along the way.
Galatians 2:20 Amplified
I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
It’s not just words but life. It is not just living; but living for Him.
I Peter 4:2 Amplified
So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills.
Consider this; Christ came to free us from ourselves. It is our natural tendency to push our lives down a path of destruction. Our will often leads to failure and fear. There are all kinds of folks telling you all kinds of things, that may or may not be real.
Even among Christians there is often division and uncertainity.
Let me clear it up for you now.
The gospel is not just words; it is an experience. That experience you have when you truly believe the Truth incarnate. The Truth that will set you free.
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