Unhindered – week 4

Joke: There was a young priest who was having trouble both writing and delivering his sermons. So he asked his Bishop for some guidance.

The wise old Bishop said, “Well you might start with something to attract and hold their attention, such as, ‘Last night I was in the warm embrace of a good woman,’ that will get their attention then you go on to talk about how warm and accepting she was and at the end you reveal that the woman was your mother; that is great for sermons about love and family.”

The young priest decided to take the advice.

The following Sunday he got into the pulpit and said, “Last night I was in the arms of a beautiful woman,” he paused.

The congregation was totally transfixed; no lack of attention now. He went on and on about how great she was and how good she made him feel.

I forgot who it she was. While the people were waiting aghast of what they just heard he thought about how to get out of the seemingly difficult situation, looks out at the congregation and concludes with, “Well I may not remember who she was, but she was recommended by the Bishop!”

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Week 4 – Unhindered Gospel

How many of you are aware that the gospel is for everyone? There’s no partiality, bias, or hindrance to who can receive the good news that forgiveness of sin and eternal life are available to all through Christ.

Isaiah prophesied about it in the Old Testament, and Jesus fulfilled it in the New.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (TPT): For all of God’s promises find their “yes” of fulfillment in him. And as his “yes” and our “amen” ascend to God, we bring him glory!

Welcome church, today we are wrapping up our series Unhindered and I want to wrap it up today talking about the Unhindered Gospel.

Over the past few weeks we’ve looked at how the final word of Acts leaves us with how we should live as followers of Christ in the modern world. And that is Unhindered.

And through Him we can experience;

● The unhindered Kingdom
● Unhindered forgiveness
● Unhindered power
● And as we’ll see today, an unhindered gospel.

The word “gospel” comes from the Old English word “godspel,” which simply means “good news.”

The good news of the gospel is that God loves us and has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

The gospel includes the truth that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, Scripture tells us that.

Let’s look at it a moment. . .

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (NIV): For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, The gospel is a message of hope, grace, and forgiveness, available to all who believe.

The gospel is the foundation of the Christian faith if there was no resurrection, well frankly. . .

1 Corinthians 15:14 (TPT): And if Christ has not been raised, all of our preaching has been for nothing and your faith is useless.

And the gospel, the good news, amazing as it is, is also unhindered.

It is for you and me, and all who will accept it. But in order for them to accept it they need to hear it, and see it at work in our life’s. And frankly truth be told there are a lot of people that say they are a Christian but don’t represent the Gospel all that well in how they act and live.

Maybe you have heard people say something like, “the light of the gospel.” And the gospel, is often referred to as light because it leads mankind out of darkness and into the marvelous light of Christ. And as followers of Christ, we are to spread the light of the gospel to every one, every where.

We are to be A Light.

Look at this form Isaiah chapter 49. . .

Isaiah 49:5–6 (NIV): And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength— 6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

In this passage, God is speaking to his servant, some scholars believe it to be a prophecy about Jesus. And that phrase “a light for the Gentiles” means that the salvation that God offers is not just for the Jewish people, but for all people, regardless of where they are from or their background.

I might add some in the first century church struggled with that whole idea.

Watch this. . .

Acts 10:9–18 (NLT): The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” 14 “No, Lord, ”Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.” 15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. 17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a  man named Simon Peter was staying there.

Let’s skip to verse 28. . .

Acts 10:28–29 (NLT): Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 29 So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

Jump to verse 34. . .

Acts 10:34–36 (NLT): Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

As Christians, we are called to be a light to every one, not just the ones we like, not just the people we think would make good disciples. Let’s face it the disciples Jesus called weren’t all the elite in the social spectrum.

Andrew, James, Peter, and John were all fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector. We don’t know specifically about what Judas did before he began a disciple, what we do know is that he kept the money for the group and he was a thief. That’s not normally who you would put in charge of the funds. Some of the other Jesus called we  aren’t sure about either.

And no matter your social status, your occupation all of us are called to be an ambassador for Christ, that means we are to share the message of the gospel with others, live lives that reflect the love and character of Christ, do good works that demonstrate the love of God to those around us. So that they have an opportunity to encounter  Jesus.

We need to reach out to people of all cultures, and backgrounds with the good news of the gospel, seeking to bring light and hope into their lives.

We are called to be a living testimony of God’s love and grace, sharing the hope and joy that we have found in Jesus Christ so that others can have the opportunity to encounter Him. Our culture today want’s to hinder that command, but we must not compromise, give in or give up. We need to share the good news with every tribe, nation, and tongue under heaven.

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

In the book of Revelation we read about the visions John had of heaven, God, eternity, and other things pertaining to faith.

And admittedly, Revelation for most is a difficult book to understand, scholars have been picking it apart for centuries. But one thing from Revelation that comes across clearly is the fact that heaven will be filled with diversity.

Revelation 7:9–10 (TPT): After this I looked, and behold, right in front of me I saw a vast multitude of people—an enormous multitude so huge that no one could count—made up of victorious ones from every nation, tribe, people group, and language. They were all in glistening white robes, standing before the throne and before the Lamb with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they shouted out with a passionate voice: “Salvation belongs to our God seated on the throne and to the Lamb!”

There’s going to be people there that you thought were there, and there will be people there that you never thought would get there.

But one thing I know for sure is that Heaven is a place where we will worship and praise without the hindrance of racism, classism, sexism, or any other “ism” for that matter.

When I think about the fact that there will be no more sorry, pain, sickness, tears shed, and a place where we will be in the presence of God for all eternity that sounds like a great place to be, and I think that’s probably why Jesus encourages us to go and tell everyone about the forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life available through Him.

He wants as many people as possible to find salvation and eternal life.

2 Peter 3:8–9 (NIV): But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Maybe you have heard of this thing called the great commission, it comes from the very end of Matthew’s gospel where Jesus says,

Matthew 28:18–20 (NIV): Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

At the beginning of verse 19, Jesus says, “go and make disciples.”

It’s important to remember that this is not a singular destination of arrival, but rather a way of living out all your days on earth.

One author says, “wherever you are going, whenever you are going, and for whatever reason you are going, your assignment is always the same – As You are Going Make Disciples.”

Whether you’re in prison or politics. Whether you’re headed to the same coffee shop week after week, or you’re trying to become the next franchisee owner of a Starbucks. Whether you’re a student or a teacher, mother or father, pastor or pediatrician. . .The commission is always the same. . .You are to share the gospel with others.

Scripture tells us we are the light of the world, and salt of the earth.

Acts 13:46–49 (NLT): Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” 48When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

We are to live with eternity in our minds and the gospel on our lips. But the truth is sharing the gospel with others can be intimidating and scary. We can have anxiety over rejection, humiliation, and other things that can happen as a result of our evangelism.

But I know still we are to share the light of the gospel with others.

And I know the Holy Spirit will not only give opportunities but strength as well to do that.

So, as we wrap up our series today, I want to leave you with this thought from Romans. . .

Romans 1:16–17 (NLT): For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Share your faith confidently, without hindrance. Live your life in a way that pleases the Father, and let your light shine. The Kingdom of God has come, forgiveness is available, and the Holy Spirit will give you power to share.

And let everyone know that, “If the Son has set you free then you are free indeed.”

Let us run the race together, without hindrance, without fear, and without reservation. Let’s live Unhindered.