Believe the Good News

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four biographies of Jesus that we call “The Gospels.” Mark gets right into the story of Jesus in chapter 1, verse 14 saying. “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News!”

The instruction to repent and believe the Good News is the first of what we now call the seven basic commands of Christ. We teach these seven basic commands to help people live as disciples of Jesus. As church planters we know that peoples’ lives will be transformed if they trust and obey Christ. We understand that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but that Jesus has come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). And we know that all kinds of people are looking for a fuller life, a life of peace and hope and purpose, a life filled with love.

So why is it so hard for some people who hear God’s big story and the story of Jesus and his love to repent and believe the Good News?

Maybe it’s because they do not really believe that the Kingdom of God has come near. People who practice traditional religions believe in God, but they think he is far away from them. People who practice Islam often emphasize the transcendence of God, that he is utterly beyond and independent of the created universe. Many nominal Christians believe that God is too busy with big, important matters to be concerned about them.

But Jesus said that the kingdom of God has come near. If people can believe that the kingdom of God has come near, it will be much easier for them to repent and believe the Good News. So, a big part of our work as church planting evangelists is to help people know that the Kingdom of God really has come near. Our evangelistic work is to communicate that the powerful, loving King, Jesus, is here with us now, to forgive and heal, to redeem and to save. If people can just believe that the Kingdom of God is near, it will be much easier for them to repent and believe the Good News.

There are three main ways we help people believe that the Kingdom of God has come near. We share our testimony, we share the story of Jesus and we pray. We tell what Jesus has done for us. We speak clearly about his power and his love at work in our lives. And we tell of his mighty works and his amazing love when he lived in bodily form on this earth 2,000 years ago. And we pray with people and for people so that they see the power of God revealed in answered prayer. When people hear our story and the story of Jesus; when people see God answer prayer, faith rises up within them. They begin to say, “Maybe the kingdom of God really is near. Maybe Jesus really can give me an abundant life full of hope and joy, peace and love and purpose.” It is at that point that we should clearly but gently invite them to repent and believe the Good News about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When our friends know that the Kingdom of God is near, they too will repent, believe and be transformed by the power of God.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

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