"Gospel Offers Savior's Precious Everlasting Life!" (G.O.S.P.E.L)
By Ramesh
C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard
Tuesday,
Jan 15, 2008
SCRIPTURE:
“The beginning of the gospel about Jesus
Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1, NIV)
The
big inning did not begin when ace pitcher Curt Schilling of the Boston
Red Sox courageously pitched against the New York Yankees for a victory
with the help of his teammates.
It also did not begin when their team came back from a 3-0 deficit to
win the American League Championship Series (ALCS) 4-0 against the
Yankees or when Schilling pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals, whom
they swept 4-0, to win their first World Championship Series in 86 years
but “the big inning” began with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A big inning in baseball is when a lot of cool things happen: hitting a
grand slam as Johnny Damon of the Red Sox did in the 2nd inning of Game
7 of the ALCS against the Yankees, stealing base after bases, or going
to bat in the 9th inning with the game on the line and hitting a home
run as David Ortiz did in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees.
However, the big inning will come to an end sooner or later in baseball
as the innings do end as the World Series ended that year.
It is not so when it comes to “the beginning” of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
A lot of cool things can happen with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which
we can learn as we look at our playbook, the Bible. This is the “big
inning,” and it will not come to an end.
It starts with listening to our coach, Jesus Christ, looking at his
playbook (the Word of God) and studying it where we learn about the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, we will learn the GOOD NEWS to
have an Eternal Life as we spend time alone with Jesus Christ in the
Word and prayer. This is sometimes referred to as QUIET TIMES or
DEVOTIONAL TIMES or TIME WITH THE LORD.
It is also important to have a good supporting cast who are the body of
believers in Christ to help us in training. This begins with the church
being one of our training facilities as we go to condition ourselves
frequently. But this training facility needs to be a Bible-believing
facility where the entire Word of God from Genesis to Revelation is
believed and applied. There should be no picking and choosing in the
training. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will remain the Gospel of Jesus
Christ whether we like it or not!
We need to condition ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit to face
our fiercest opponent---Satan, the devil---when we are at bat. To do
that we need to understand about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would like to propose John 3:16 as the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a
nutshell.
Once
we understand this, all the other verses in the Bible will make sense
because eventually everything in the Word of God points to Jesus Christ
and what He came to do!
This
means everything following Mark 1:1 will make that much more sense
because we will understand the beginning of the GOOD NEWS about Jesus
Christ, the Son of God.
Let me share with you this Gospel in a nutshell as shared and taught by
Bill Jones and Terry Powell but slightly revised by me.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, KJV)
Observations:
I asked myself what do we learn from this most
famous verse?
1. For God so loved the world
2. That He gave His only begotten Son
3. That whosoever believeth in Him
4. Should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Interpretation:
I asked myself why this verse is so famous?
The reason John 3:16 is so famous is because it summarizes the
Bible in four spiritual truths. If you understand these four spiritual
truths, you will understand what the entire Bible is about.
Observation/Interpretation:
POINT 1: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
I asked myself what does ‘For God so loved the
world‘ mean?
Three things stood out: “God“, “Loved“, and “World”
GOD created MAN to have a personal relationship with Him. He wants this
relationship to be one of LOVE. One where GOD shows His LOVE to people
in this WORLD and where people show their love to Him.
And yet we see that people of the WORLD do not always have a personal
relationship with GOD. If this is not happening, there is always a
reason. In this case it is a three letter word called SIN. SIN is
disobeying GOD or missing the mark. When someone is offended, it causes
problems in a relationship. In this case, SIN causes a separation
between GOD and MAN.
So I
decided to look at the phrase ‘Should not perish”
POINT 2: “SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE”
I asked myself ‘why is PERISH even mentioned?’
What came to my mind is that MAN without having a relationship
with GOD, will PERISH. The Bible says that if MAN dies physically while
spiritually separated from GOD, MAN will spend eternity in a place
called HELL. That is the bad news.
I asked myself, ‘why is ETERNAL LIFE’ mentioned?
What came to my mind even though there is bad news, there is also GOOD
NEWS. The GOOD NEWS is that GOD does not want man to spend eternity in
HELL. His desire is to have a personal relationship with MAN so that MAN
and GOD can live together in a place called HEAVEN.
Now I know the BAD NEWS and I know the GOOD NEWS!
I asked myself how is the GOOD NEWS possible?
It is then that POINT 3 came to my mind.
POINT 3: “THAT HE [GOD] GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN
SON”
The GOOD NEWS is GOD’S only BEGOTTEN SON.
Another word for GOOD NEWS is GOSPEL.
Another word for BEGOTTEN SON is JESUS CHRIST.
Mark 1:1 states, ‘The beginning of the GOSPEL
about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD.
I asked myself, how did GOD give His only BEGOTTEN
SON?
GOD sent JESUS CHRIST to the WORLD born of the Virgin Mary. JESUS
CHRIST’S life can be explored in detail in the Gospel of Mark, Gospel of
John, Gospel of Matthew, and Gospel of Luke.
I asked myself, ‘how did GOD tackle the SIN
problem?’
Again, the answer is JESUS CHRIST. GOD took care of the SIN problem by
sending His only BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST, to live a perfect life then
die on the cross in order that a person’s SIN could be forgiven. The
amazing thing is after JESUS was dead and buried, JESUS rose from the
dead, proving GOD has the power to save people from a destiny of
torment.
GOD did His part to show His LOVE for humanity and the WORLD by sending
His only BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST so that MAN should not PERISH but
have EVERLASTING LIFE.
I
told myself that is great to know this GOOD NEWS but knowing the GOOD
NEWS is not enough if it is not put into practice.
In this case, I asked myself ‘How can the GOOD
NEWS be put into practice?’
It is then that POINT 4 came to my mind.
POINT 4: ‘THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM’
I asked myself what MAN needs to do ‘not to
PERISH’ but have EVERLASTING LIFE with GOD?
1. It is not enough to simply know that GOD loves MAN.
2. It is not even enough to simply know that MAN’s SIN will ultimately
send MAN to HELL because a LOVING GOD cannot have SIN enter into His
presence.
3. It is not even enough to simply know that ‘the
beginning of the GOSPEL about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD’ or
‘the beginning of the GOOD NEWS about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD’
4. It is only when MAN BELIEVES in CHRIST to be MAN’S LORD & SAVIOR that
MAN does CROSS over the separation caused by MAN’S SIN and begins a
personal relationship with GOD. JESUS CHRIST becomes the BRIDGE for MAN
to reach GOD where the CROSS on which JESUS CHRIST died became that
BRIDGE to walk over to GOD.
JESUS CHRIST took away the SIN of the WORLD to those who accept His
sacrifice on the CROSS and BELIEVE. Because they BELIEVE they have
ETERNAL LIFE.
I ask you now dear friend, what does the GOSPEL
mean to you?
Dear friend, you have seen the four spirituals truths explained
based on John 3:16. You have seen the role of GOD, the role of MAN, the
role of SIN, and the role of JESUS CHRIST. All of the roles have a part
in imparting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you. You need to understand
each role to really understand the GOSPEL or GOOD NEWS. Once you have
understood it, you have to act upon it.
In this case, friend, you have the opportunity to have EVERLASTING LIFE.
This is exciting to know! Having EVERLASTING LIFE is not dependent on
you first because GOD initiated the transaction. You have to receive it!
It is
dependent on GOD and His willingness to send His only BEGOTTEN SON,
JESUS CHRIST to fulfill His role. GOD has fulfilled His role for you and
so has JESUS CHRIST fulfilled His role. Now it is time for you to
fulfill your role of MAN.
You can do that right now friend, whether you are a man or woman. The
promise of EVERLASTING LIFE is for you. It starts with BELIEVING but it
does not end there because once you BELIEVE, oh the transformation you
see in your life when Christ touches the hearts of those who come to
Him, will be real that others will notice too.
You will come to understand ‘the beginning of the
GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD,’ has so much to it.
You
will be excited and you need to look no further than the GOSPEL to KNOW
about the ONE you BELIEVE in. The GOSPEL in a nutshell is JOHN 3:16 but
the GOSPEL in its entirety is revealed by GOD from GENESIS to
REVELATION through inspiration. It is all about JESUS CHRIST.
Do you see anything keeping you from placing your
faith in CHRIST and crossing over to GOD right now?
Jesus saves you by His grace so don’t ever think you are not worthy to
come to Christ. None of us are worthy. If we were worthy to come to
Christ then there would be no reason for Jesus to have told the
Pharisees, ‘it is the sick that need the doctor, I
have not come for the healthy but the sick’. In other words,
Jesus is making a point that those who think they are righteous cannot
experience His grace because He has come for those who are unworthy.
Honestly, friend all of us are unworthy to come before GOD because of
our SIN. But GOD in His LOVE for MAN, sent JESUS CHRIST for us to die
for our sin and come back to life to save.
This is exciting to know and believe friend. I am excited that Jesus
accepts me as I am to come to Him and He will take care of the rest.
Your coach, Jesus Christ went up against the devil and defeated him by
resisting his pitches of temptations and also conquering sin and death
for us. Jesus who had no sin became sin for us to deliver us from this
virus known as sin. His antidote has been His precious cleansing blood
shed on the cross for the remission of our sins. Because of Jesus’
willingness to give us a transfusion of change through His blood we are
saved when we accept what He has given us and totally surrender to Him.
Come to God as you are and receive what He offers to you through Jesus
Christ. Pray the prayer below believing in your heart, for if you just
say the words without belief then they are just words.
You have a golden opportunity to start this NEW YEAR of 2008
with the Lord Jesus on your side no matter what happened before. Let me
assure you, the transformation you will see in your own life. When
Christ touches the hearts of those who come to Him, there life will
never be the same again, never be the same again. You will have a
totally new perspective on life as you spend daily time with Him
praying, reading & studying the Bible meditating on its precepts, and
being plugged into a Bible believing fellowship of believers. Even as
you face the storms of life, the winds cannot shake you for you will
have a firm foundation on the Jesus
Christ, the Rock of Ages!
Even in your sufferings and pain, He will strengthen you as He
has our own family when our beloved dad and my mom's beloved husband of
37 years passed away before Christmas of 2007.
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ to come and dwell in your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart and believing. Yes, you can!
During my dad's illness, my mom and all of us have seen the Lord's
wonderful miracles throughout and His grace being imparted upon our dad
even before he passed away. Now he is in a better place in Heaven with
Christ the Lord who offers His free gift of grace even to you. This
means you don't have to earn Salvation but accept it as a gift of His
love. Today excitingly, Savior's Truth identify following Yeshua!
"Gospel Offers Savior's Precious Everlasting
Life!" (G.O.S.P.E.L)/"What does the G.O.S.P.E.L mean to you?"
Prayer:
Dear
Jesus, I am so excited that I learned today the beginning of the Gospel
about you. I also learned the Gospel is the Good News. I also
learned the famous verse from John 3:16 that you shared with Nicodemus.
Jesus, this verse shows how I can have Everlasting Life too. I want that
life Jesus. So I come to you right now as I am and seek you with my
whole heart believing in what you did for me. I believe that Father God
sent you to earth for us, to die for our sin on a rugged cross where
your blood was shed to save us! Then you came back to life and now sit
at the right hand of the Father.
I believe Jesus that my sin separated me from
God and you became the bridge for me to cross over to God because of
what you did on the cross for me. Thank you so much Jesus. Even when my
sin made me so dirty on
the inside and attacks of Satan have wounded me, you did not abandon me
but came for me. I am never out of your love and never out of your
reach. Thank you so much Jesus.
I do believe Father God for all that Jesus did
for me. Jesus, I know you care for me and laid down your life for
me on the cross to give me new life as you shed your blood for me to
wash away all my sins. Your Blood became the transfusion for those
of us wounded by Satan. I accept the transfusion! Your blood heals all the wounded areas to give us a
new life cleansing us of our sin. Thank you so much Jesus.
I want that new life that you offer so I turn to you now as a sheep that has
gone astray and ask for your forgiveness of all my sins! Wash me in your
precious cleansing blood. Thank you for washing me in your Blood.
Please come dwell in my heart and save me
Jesus. Deliver me Oh Good Shepherd! Thank you for your free gift of
grace! I know you can save me when I turn to you and ask you to be my
Lord and Personal Savior.
I want you to stay with me Jesus in my heart and make my heart your home
so I can always have you as my Lord and Personal Savior who will guide my path. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit
and lead me in the right paths when I go the
wrong way so I can be led to green pastures. I love you Jesus! Thank you
for making my heart your home, for living in me Jesus and I will live
for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life.
I acknowledge you Jesus as my Lord and
Personal Savior believing in my heart and that God raised you from the
dead. Thank you for being the Lamb of God. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal
Savior and changing me. Thank you for filling me with the Holy Spirit
and I believe you who began a good work in me will finish it to
completion. I give myself to you, all that I am and ask you
to make something of my life. Thank you Jesus so much. Thank you have heard my prayer and
answered me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
No matter what you feel in your heart,
know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To
make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him
as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the
Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into
prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel
of John or Gospel of
Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord
show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to
help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches
the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our
crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But
beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but
there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.
As a
student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too this
blessed New Year of 2008! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His
love now and forever! Amen!
Feel free to email me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible,
pray with, talk about spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My
number is 412-720-4579.
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
|
.Click
picture to read my dad's memoriam:
' I AM ' Series
Archives:
What kind of L.I.G.H.T do you follow? (Dec 13,
07, 10:09 a.m.)
"What kind of B.R.E.A.D do you eat?" (Dec 08,
07, 10:10 a.m.)
"Who is your S.H.E.P.H.E.R.D?"
(June 30,
06)
Gospel of Mark Archives:
Mark 1:1-4: "How
seriously do you T.E.S.T.I.F.Y about prophesy?" (Jan
12, 08, 11:18 p.m.) |
