Mon 7 May 2007
That you may know – Demonstrate the Kingdom
Posted by Paul Ferree under General Teachings , The MinistryIt’s my opinion that we’ve been selling the world short with our gospel message.
Do you remember the story of when Jesus was in the crowded house and a man with palsy had a few friends carry him to Jesus to get healed? This story has burned in my heart for some time now and it pierces my heart everytime I think about it.
Do you remember the first thing Jesus said to the man? (This story can be found in Luke 5:17-36 & Mark 2:1-12) He said “Your sins are forgiven”. This drew harsh criticism from the Pharisees. To which Jesus responded “Which is it easier to do, say ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or is it easier to say ‘Get up and walk’?”
Well, the obvious answer is that it’s easier to say “Your sins are forgiven” because no man can truly tell if his sins are forgiven or not because it’s an issue of the heart. To say “Get up and walk” is a measurable command…either he gets up or he doesn’t.
In the midst of this dilemma Jesus says “So that you may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins…get up and walk.” Jesus basically says “If I can do something impossible in the physical then you can trust that I can do the same in the invisible (spiritual realm).” We know the rest of the story, the man get’s up and carries his bed out and all the people are bewildered.
We (or at least in my experience) have been running around giving the world a weak, partial gospel. We go around telling people that their sins are forgiven but we are missing the part where we say “so that you may know”.
If you are thinking “Well, that was Jesus, we don’t have that power.” Look at what Jesus told us as disciples:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
John 20:23
If Jesus gave us the same commission as He had (look at verse 21), to go about and forgive the sins of man, shouldn’t we have the same power and authority behind that commission?
Wouldn’t it be much easier to witness, evangelise, and share the gospel with the world if everytime we shared the gospel with a person we could say “So that you may know your sins are forgiven…” and bring the kingdom of God in their midst with real tangible evidence. With the genuine power of God. Remember when Paul said “The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power”. This is true, Jesus not only preached the gospel, but He demonstrated the gospel.
We need to add “So that you may know…” to our gospel message.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I have often wondered where are the great wonders & miracles for today! They happen overseas in Developing nations but not as often here in the USA.We hear great sermons, sing great praise & worship songs but no real evidence of the miraculous taking place. I was a part of the movement in the 70’s(was a very young teen) but I still recall the healings, the hearts being broken & restored, true repentance. There were signs & wonders following many back then. What about now? When did the body fall asleep? The sleeping must awaken, stir up the gift within them & get back to the place of first love with Jesus.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Yes! Yes! Yes!
(Don’t need to say any more)
May 8th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Great post!
It’s so hard seeing such a comparatively small measure of power in our ministries. Would anyone need to study church growth or evangelism techniques if we were raising the dead? Healing cancer?
I doubt it.