The Gospel Substance
Colossians 1:27-29 (MSG) Godwanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Introduction: Calvary greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
🙏 We shall continue to dwell under the shadow of the Almighty as we study at His feet in Jesus name.
🛑 Living a Christian life is becoming more difficult as iniquity is abounding in every new Generation thereby making the love of many Christians to wax cold.
🤔 Some of us grew up to receive comfort in the Church as emphasis were based on Faith in God’s words. Those days, Church members were relieved of Heavy worldly burden to receive light burden of Christ and they removed hard worldly yoke in exchange for Christ’s easy yoke.
▶️ Scriptures speak about the call Jesus Christ made in order to become Christians;
Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
🛑 As Generations are passing and new Generations are coming, the SUBSTANCE (fundamental) of the GOSPEL are changing to EMPTINESS as Christians without the knowledge of Gospel Substance are empty-handed in the Church thereby still carry heavy burdens and are still with Hard yokes in the Church of Christ where false prophets and teachers are leading many astray. This makes the love of many to wax cold as we approach the end times.
▶️ Scriptures speak about this end times;
Matthew 24:11-12 (NLT) And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people astray. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
❓What is the Gospel Substance?
🤔 I received invitation for MPR (Management Performance Review) in the Church to come and explain why attendance dwindled during certain months. I then remembered my secular job experience in the money market for a financial institution where such invitations were received to come and review performance on dwindling fixed deposits. Fear will appear especially where deposits dropped because the meeting can end with strong warnings or relief from job. Many Christians went to church for prayer, words of faith and some even got assistance from members or church funds to boost their deposit base.
▶️ Now that similar letters are received from the Church for review performance of dwindling Church attendance in the body of Christ, who do you run to?
🛑 Many fearful pastors without knowledge of Gospel Substance run to the world. Worldly Formula are designed to increase members in multitudes NOT disciples of Christ. Then such pastors get promoted in the church to higher position without spiritual substance. This is what breeds Loveless, Corrupt, Compromising, Lukewarm, and Dead Churches in this end times. Faithful and Persecuted Churches are going into extinction as new Generations appear.
🤔 Getting to the Church MPR, I raised vital issues using incidence in John chapter 6 where many disciples departed from following Christ leaving the twelve. The Twelve were asked by the Master if they also will go away. The twelve except Judas Iscariot that did not go received life and turned the world upside down after Jesus Christ departed.
👂Hear the Scriptures speak;
John 6:65-68 (AMP) And He said, This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him [unless he is enabled to do so] by the Father. After this, many of His disciples drew back (returned to their old associations) and no longer accompanied Him. Jesus said to the Twelve, Will you also go away? [And do you too desire to leave Me?] Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (the message) of eternal life.
🤔 None could justify the reason for the Church MPR meeting. All I could get was that it is the mission’s directives to accomplish the vision of getting more members to the mission and some senior pastors were relieved of their positions for noncompliance. It then occurred to me that many pastors comply to keep their positions.
❓The question is; who owns the Church?
Matthew 16:18 (NLT) Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
▶️ The Rock on which Christ the owner of the Church is built is the revelation Peter received on Whom Christ is; “Christ the The Son of the living God”
Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
🛑 Christ is the Substance of Gospel message without addition, this brings everyone to maturity in relationship with Christ.
Colossians 1:28(MSG) We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less.
Colossians 1:28 (NLT) Everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.
▶️ In those days, after delivering Gospel message during evangelism, we used to tell them to go to any Bible believing church without forcing them to attend our local church.
▶️ In John chapter six when the crowd looked for Jesus because they were fed previously, call it CSR (Christian Social Responsibility) and He introduced Gospel Substance, the crowd reduced to twelve.
John 6:24-27;30-32;48,58,65-66 (NLT) When the crowd saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. When they arrived and found him, they asked, “Teacher, how did you get here?” Jesus replied, ” The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the miraculous sign. But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose. ” They replied, “You must show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What will you do for us? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” Jesus said, ” I assure you, Moses didn’t give them bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven Yes, I am the bread of life! I am the true bread from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and not die as your ancestors did, even though they ate the manna.” Then he said, ” That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me. ” At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
🛑 Most ministries have left the Gospel Substance and now looking for crowd under any evangelical guise, since the crowd now feed churches through tithes and offerings. In this end time, leaving one ministry to another without God’s direction is like going from fry pan to fire.
▶️ This is why we need to be rooted in Gospel Substance. Therefore, anywhere we find ourselves to serve God will then be with knowledge and understanding even where it seems you are one voice in the wilderness.
🛑 Irrespective of what people will say or call you, the Gospel Substance, which is Christ, MUST be in you as a new creation without giving the Old nature opportunity to live. It is Christ that matters.
Colossians 3:11(NLT) In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
🛑 The Kingdom of God is NOT the kingdom of this world. No matter the gimmicks used in evangelism, salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit.
John 6:65 (AMP) And He said, This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him [unless he is enabled to do so] by the Father.
▶️ Ours is to preach Christ, the Gospel Substance warning people not to add to the Message; Christ! No more, no less.
🛑 The world has mingled with the church as approach to evangelism is now after the knowledge of man while Holy Spirit has been ignored.
👂Hear Scriptures speak about the early Church as regards those who left the church;
1 John 2:19 (AMP) They went out from our number, but they did not [really] belong to us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But [they withdrew] that it might be plain that they all are not of us.
🤔 I am yet to see in the Bible, appraisal of ministers by early apostles for souls retained in the Church which now determines spiritual promotion in the ministries at this end times.
🛑 Ambitions in this end times church is taking members from other churches to meet targets for growth. Do you know that for pastors to meet attendance targets, church members are offered money if they can bring someone to the church? This wasn’t the case in the early Church.
Romans 15:20 (AMP) Thus my ambition has been to preach the Gospel, not where Christ’s name has already been known, lest I build on another man’s foundation;
▶️ The apostles in the early Church were not feeding on members nor put burdens of church needs on anyone, no wonder they were not afraid to dispense the Gospel Substance unlike now that members are cajoled with enticing words to come to church because their absence affects income.
2 Thessalonians 3:8 (AMP) Nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and struggle we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden or impose on any of you [for our support].
✍ Finally brethren, Gospel Substance, which is Christ in us the hope of glory makes the difference, and enables us to overcome Satan, the World and the Flesh in any generation we live.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
LET CHRIST BE YOUR SUBSTANCE as you preach the gospel message.
✋ Maranatha