WEEK 5 | THE MESSAGE
THE MESSAGE
Mark 1:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Luke 4:43 (ESV) — but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
Jesus brought a message of good news to a people ravished by sin, a people who had placed their hopes and dreams in the empty promises of false gods and weak men. The spiritual climate of the first century was bleak: the religious leaders were self- righteous, the poor were systemically impoverished, and fear and insecurity defined people’s everyday interactions with one another and God. The same gospel that Jesus proclaimed to first century Palestine is the message we proclaim today.
Gospel means “good news”. The good news that Jesus proclaimed wasn’t limited to a singular message about sin and redemption. The good news that Jesus proclaimed all stemmed from what he called “the kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven”
(Mark 1:14-15, Matt. 4:17, 10:7, Acts 28:31).
In concept, the rule of a king and the establishment of a kingdom are easy to understand... new king, new rules, new reign, new power, new kingdom. But think of all the implications of each political coup or transition in local government. The effects are vast and wide-spread and different depending on your proximity and relationship
to the ruling order. Under a new administration, previously held prisoners of war may be released. Under a new administration, relationships with neighboring countries may be mended or exacerbated. New laws are likely to be implemented. Not to mention
the impact on the hearts of the citizens: some citizens panic, some brim with hope
and expectation, some wait in silent reservation. All of these things happen every time leadership changes in even the smallest of governments. Think of all the implications of God’s rule over humanity and this earth.
“So when Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God has come near, he doesn’t mean that a place is approaching, but that God’s own royal authority and power have come on the scene. So, we could paraphrase Mark 1:15, which summarizes Jesus’ preaching, as follows: “God’s reign is at hand. God’s power is being unleashed. Turn your life around and put your trust in this good news.” – Mark D. Roberts
Let’s look at how the good news manifests itself differently to the poor, the oppressed, and rejected, as Jesus describes it in Luke. This will inform us about the types of messages we should bring to the people God puts in our path.
THE QUESTION : WHAT DID JESUS PROCLAIM?
Luke 4:18–19 (ESV) — 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR
Jesus starts by proclaiming that he has come to declare the Good News to the poor. Who were the poor in Jesus’ time? Do you think he was strictly alluding to the financially poor?
To understand how the gospel relieves poverty, we must look at two of the defining characteristics of poverty: 1) those who are poor have no way to pay incurring debt; and
2) the hunger pains of the poor regularly remind them of the insufficiency of their resources.
UNDER THE RULE OF JESUS, YOUR DEBT IS PAID
How does the gospel relieve spiritual debt? How will he someday eliminate physical debt and poverty?
When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, he teaches them to pray:
Look up Matthew 6:9-13
How do these verses contribute to the concept of spiritual poverty and where the solution to our spiritual poverty resides?
Colossians 2:14 (ESV) — “...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) — “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Go through the LIVING ON MISSION list of people you are praying for. How are these people spiritually impoverished? How would the gospel be good news to them?
UNDER THE RULE OF JESUS YOU WILL NEVER THIRST
How does the gospel satisfy our deep inner hunger?
Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV) — for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
According to Jeremiah, why were the people of Israel always looking for satisfaction in other things? Why is this a futile effort?
How are you looking for satisfaction in things other than God?
How are the people on your MULTIPLY list looking for satisfaction in other things? How does the gospel speak into this?
Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman at a well.
John 4:13–14 (ESV) — 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
What is the water that Jesus offers?
LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES
Next, Jesus proclaims “liberty to those that are captive, sight to the blind, liberty to the oppressed.” Those suffering from blindness, captivity, and oppression all share the same problem. They are stuck and there is nothing that they can do to free themselves from their current state. How does the gospel liberate those who are trapped?
UNDER THE RULE OF JESUS YOU ARE FREE INDEED
The good news is that God is king, and he has sufficient power to break the grip of these things that enslave us.
Think about a time in your life when you were enslaved, oppressed or blind to the truth. How was the message of Christ able to bring liberty into that situation? If you feel as though you are there now, what does liberty look like today?
How may the message of the gospel liberate those on your LIVING ON MISSION list?
YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOR
Life in this world is full of insecurity. The insecurity often stems from our uncertainty of how others feel about us. Do your kids appreciate you? Does your boss recognize your hard work? Is your spouse still enamored by you? What does God think of you?
Sin leads to insecurity about how we stand before God. What do you think about when you hear the phrase “the Lord’s favor?” Why do you think this favor is a source of comfort to those who are rejected and isolated?
UNDER THE RULE OF CHRIST YOU ARE FAVORED
John 3:16 (ESV) — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that He sent His only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Why did Jesus eat with sinners and tax collectors? What was he communicating to those who felt rejected by the religious system because of their sinful choices?
Luke 15:22–24 (ESV) — 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.
Has there been a time when you questioned God’s favor or his goodness toward you? How was the message and ministry of Christ able to show you the favor of the Lord?
Why do you think that Christ desires to express the favor of the Lord to those who are rejected?
1 John 4:16 (ESV) — So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
THE EXCUSE : I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY
“I don’t know enough to share.”
“What if I have nothing to say?”
“What if they ask a question I don’t know the answer to?”
Proverbs 3:27 (ESV) — Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
What does this verse say about our responsibility to share what is good with those that God has put around us?
How do you think you have been withholding something good from those around you?
Acts 1:8 — But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
What does this verse say is the source of our ability to be a witness of the gospel? How does this challenge your fear of not knowing what to say?
If the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to be witnesses, what would you say that your responsibility is when it comes to sharing the gospel?
THE HOPE : THE GOSPEL IS MORE THAN WE THINK IT IS
IN POWER
Romans 1:16 (ESV) — For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
What do you think Paul means when he says that gospel is the “power of God?”
Do you ever feel as though the effectiveness of the message depends on your delivery?
How would you act differently if you really believed that the power of God was in the message of Christ?
In what ways have you stopped believing that the gospel is actually God’s power? How does this verse encourage you to proclaim the Good News with confidence?
IN SCOPE
1 Corinthians 15:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believe in vain.
In this verse, Paul highlights the centrality of the gospel as it pertains to our faith, salvation, and continued growth in Christ. This means that we will never exhaust the power of scope of the gospel’s work in our lives. This gospel isn’t just the message that you needed to hear when you gave your life to Christ; it is the message that will continue to save you from self-rule, spiritual poverty, captivity, fear and insecurity for your entire life.
In what ways does the gospel speak much needed truth for you TODAY?
THE CHALLENGE : PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS
READ JOHN 4:1-30 ‘THE WOMAN AT THE WELL’
The truth of the gospel brings freedom to spiritual bondage. This requires listening, asking questions, and speaking boldly, but humbly. Note how Jesus does this in John 4.
How does Jesus engage this woman into conversation? Why does this show love?
How does Jesus turn the conversation almost immediately to both spiritual and meaningful direction?
What is the significance of Jesus revealing to her that he is the Messiah? Even though we can’t say that we ARE Jesus, what CAN we say that brings about the same truth?
In what ways would you consider this woman poor, captive or rejected? How was Jesus able to identify and address this need?
What do you see in the disciples’ responses when they see Jesus engaging this woman? What does it tell you about the people God may put in your
WHAT DO I SAY WHEN?
Do you ever feel like you want to point a person in your life to Jesus but have no idea how to do it in a way that feels encouraging and helpful to them?
The answer is found in the broad scope of the Good News.
The gospel has something to say to the woman trapped in a loveless marriage.
The gospel has something to say to the man who struggles to provide for his family. The gospel has something to say to the addict, the idolater, and the deeply insecure. The gospel has something to say to the person who doubts the goodness of God.
ABOVE ALL, CHRISTIANS MUST BE KNOWN BY A MESSAGE OF HOPE
The Good News is really good news. Our message to a lost, hurting, and deceived world, a world ravished by the sin and despair, is a message of hope.
Therefore, as a disciple of Jesus, and one who hopes to make more disciples I too must be characterized by a message of hope. Too often Christians focus on fixing people’s lifestyles, correcting their beliefs, or arguing a set of theological principles rather sharing the hope-filled message of Jesus to captive and impoverished people.
Your task is to prayerfully recognize in the ways in which those people that surround you are captive and poor. Then, go and proclaim!
THE ASSIGNMENT
1) When thinking about how Christ wants to move in the lives of others, it’s helpful to reflect on the way he is moving in our own lives. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that we are continually being saved by the Gospel, which implies that this process of identifying spiritual depravity and good news continues as we grow.
Spend some time reflecting on your own story, and ways in which you are currently poor, captive, or rejected. Pray and write in your journal about what the good news is for you in the midst of this moment, what freedom God is leading you to, or how accepting the Lord’s favor would address those needs.
2) Make time for at least one of the people in your life God has been opening your
eyes to invest in spiritually. Invite them to get together this week. Whether it’s a coffee date, play date, dropping by their house, etc - make an intentional effort to spend time focused on them. Listen, ask questions and make the time about them and what’s going on in their life. As they are sharing (and amidst your other conversations this week as well) practice identifying where people might be bound by a lie and inserting the Good News into your conversation.