A Message of Hope

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  Matthew 4: 23
            Jesus proclaimed the “good news of the kingdom.”  Great crowds gathered to hear the teaching and be healed.  First century Judea was an amazing time in the history of the world.  God came to earth to save His creation.  What is different today about that message?  Is it still good news?  Can people still come to Jesus for healing?  Is God still working to save His creation? 
            These are the questions we want to explore today and during the upcoming study of the Sermon on the Mount.  People flocked to hear to hear the “good news of the kingdom.”  Large crowds from every town and region came to hear what Jesus had to say (vs 25).  They came to be healed of every disease.  They came to experience God on earth.
            Today in the year 2012, we need to consider why people should be drawn to Christ now.  Can they still respond to the “good news of the kingdom?”  Can they still be healed by the power of God from their diseases?  How we talk about our Savior to the world indicates the answer to these questions for us and others.
            The “good news of the kingdom” is still a viable message in our world today.  We enter His kingdom and serve Him in this world not for a reward after death, but for life here and now.  We spread His kingdom by our every action in this world.  We are his change agents that seek to fulfill the prayer that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  People flock to the message of the “good news of the kingdom.”
            God heals people in the world today.  James tells us to pray for healing.  We are told to have faith in God for that healing (James 5).  People come to Jesus for all kinds of healing.  They look for healing from their physical ailments.  They seek healing from all types of addictions.  Primarily, we come to Jesus for spiritual healing.  He is able to save us from ourselves (see Romans 6 and 7). 
            Our message to the world must be filled with the “good news of the kingdom.”  We must tell people about the wonderful healing associated with Jesus.  While we know that we may always have physical issues, God wants to provide the spiritual healing necessary for us to enter His kingdom and live with Him forever.  That is an eternal message that connects with everyone. 
Scripture:  Matthew 4: 23-25

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2: 11

Our goal this week is to understand our commission to reach out to the world around us and show them the gospel of God’s salvation. The good news of a Savior who enables us to have eternal life in God’s household. In doing this, we can examine Paul’s instructions to Titus on the island of Crete. Here we find practical guidance for our lives that tells us how to influence those around us.

We remember chapter two of Titus because that is where he is told what to teach the different demographic groups in the churches. He begins with the older men, then moves on to the older women who teach the younger women, and then gives instructions on what to teach the younger men. These lessons are as applicable today as they were then in the first century in the midst of a culture that was filled with “liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons.” (Titus 1:12)

But let’s focus on the last group Paul tells Titus to minister to. Let’s examine the words to the least people that were Christians there on Crete. In verse 9, Paul tells Titus to teach slaves how to act. Servants, people subjugated and forced to work for others. Paul’s guidance to this underclass is to be subject to their masters and please them. Don’t talk back or steal from them, he says. Slaves are to show their masters they can be fully trusted. But why?

Paul’s conclusion speaks to us. He says be good servants so that the gospel will be attractive. We have good news. People should flock to it. Paul says our actions have a direct impact on others’ response. We offer God’s salvation to the world by what we do; by our attitude; by our whole lives. Perhaps we should embrace our role as a slave to God in this world and, by our actions, offer his grace to the people around us.

Scripture: Titus 2:9 – 3:8

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12: 2
How do we become transformed?  Paul tells the Romans to renew their minds.  But how and why?  First, Paul responds to the unasked question of why transform?  He just told the Romans to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God as their true and proper worship (Romans 12:1).  The why of transformation has to do with his first comment in verse 2.  Our natural state as people is to conform to the world.  We are naturally conformists.  We fit into our culture, society, and families.  Outcasts are just that; cast out from their social group.  In Greek, the words conform imply fitting into a pattern.  Paul is telling us not to fit into the worldly pattern any more.
So what is a worldly pattern?  Simply, these are the things that separate us from God.  It is the opposite of giving ourselves as living sacrifices.  It is seeking our good instead of the good of others.  It is falling into the materialism trap that says we need more and better instead of being content with whatever God blesses us with.  It is living as the world lives without God.
            So what does a transformed life look like?  How do we know what our renewed minds should be?  Again, a focus on God is key.  Read the rest of Romans 12.  Paul describes what our lives should be like in their renewed state.  My Bible titles the section love in action.  I like that summation of our renewed lives.  We become love in action to the world.
We concluded last week with Philippians 2, and that is where this week we will find Paul explaining again what our renewed minds need to become.  Here in the letter to the Philippians, Paul says “become like Jesus.”  As we consider our spiritual growth, let’s seek to follow Paul’s advice and become like Jesus.  That should lead us back to the true and proper worship of a sacrificial life.
Scripture:  Philippians 2: 1-18