OBC Gospel Youth Force

The word "Gospel" means "good news". In ancient times it was used in the military when a war had been won. A runner would return to the home city, shouting as he entered, "Good news! Good news! Total victory over the enemy!" The Gospel is God's power at work in us, bringing us total victory over the work of our enemy, Satan, and all the evil he has brought upon our lives.

"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed..." Romans 1:17a. You could never live up to God's righteous standard of living by yourself so, in the Gospel, God has made it a free gift. By believing and receiving His free gift it becomes a reality in your life (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed..." Romans 1:17a. You could never live up to God's righteous standard of living by yourself so, in the Gospel, God has made it a free gift. By believing and receiving His free gift it becomes a reality in your life (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

"... a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" Romans 1:17b.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.

The old has gone ...
"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour ..." Colossians 1:21.

The new has come ...
"... But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation" Col.1:22.

Jesus died for you ...
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8 (Rom.5:6; 8:34).

Jesus died as you ...
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live ..." Galatians 2:20 (Rom.6:1-5).

Jesus lives in you ...
"... but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" Galatians 2:20 (Romans 6:8-14).

Jesus lives through you ...
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" John 7:38 (John 20:21).

On the Cross, Jesus not only dealt with your sins but he also dealt with the "factory" that produced the sins – your old self. Your old self is everything you were "in Adam" – everything you were as part of the fallen Adamic race. Three things make up your "old self" ...

What you have received
All you've inherited from Adam down through your generational line until you were born into the world – all the accumulated sin, curses and personality defects inherited from past generations.

What you have done
Your sins, your self-justification, unforgiveness, selfcentredness, everything that displeases God and its effects upon you – the effects of shame, guilt, fear, pride etc.

What has been done to you
The effects of others' sins on you – all the abuse, hurts, rejections, wounds of every kind that others have done to you have affected you and the kind of person you have become.

Read Romans chapter 7. Paul describes what the old self is like under the Law – the "I" still with the "law of sin and death" as a reality on the inside trying to fulfil the standard of God's righteousness that is on the outside.

"For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:22-24 .

The body of death
The body of death Paul refers to spoke of a particular means of execution devised by an ancient king against his enemies. If a man was found guilty of murder the body of the victim was chained to his back. The corruption and decay of the dead body would eventually work through the live body, causing an excruciating death.

Who will rescue me?
"Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:25.

Your body of death – the old self - was chained to the back of Jesus on the Cross. In God's eyes he became you. He died – that was the old person you were in Adam dying. He was buried – that was your old self being buried. He rose, leaving the "body of death" in Sheol where it belongs. He unchained you forever from your old self! You rose in Him, a whole new creation, a new self.

"The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" Rom.6:10-11

The fact about Jesus' death is that he died to sin once – count it the same for you!

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" 1 Corinthians 2:2.

The Cross is the centre of the Gospel message. Anything that distracts from the Cross of Christ waters down the power of the Gospel. Everything that the Holy Spirit does in your life revolves around the finished work of the Cross. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing can be taken away from it. It is all by faith, all by grace, from first to last.

Satan's biggest weapon against believers is to try to get them to believe and follow something other than the true Gospel (see Galatians 1:8- 9; 2 Corinthians 11:2-4).

A Gospel of Legalism
"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified...Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:1-3 (see Gal.1:6-7).

The Galatians had believed in Christ and received salvation by faith, knowing it was by God's grace alone and that they did not deserve it by their own good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, they were trying to reach the goal of full maturity in Christ (Romans 8:29) by observing the Old Covenant commandments.

A Gospel of Human Wisdom
"For Christ [sent me] ... to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" 1 Corinthians 1:17. Adding the world's "wisdom" in how to handle and solve the Enemy's work in people's lives will empty the Cross of its power.

A Gospel of Worldly Living
"... men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain..." 1 Tim. 6:5 (see James 4:2-3; 1 John 2:15-16). This "gospel" teaches that the purpose of the Christian life is to get the good things in life. It preaches a "give-me" attitude and focuses solely on the blessings God has promised the Christian in this life. It emphasises worldly motives and wordly methods. It causes the Christian to set their hearts on what the world sees as the most important things - wealth, success and power.

A Gospel of Mysticism
This "gospel" has its roots in the ancient heresy of Gnosticism. In its modern form, it outworks in such areas as impure prophecy, an unhealthy obsession with the demonic and "Satan's so-called deep secrets" (Rev.2:24). "Do not let anyone who delights in false humilty and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great details about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions" Colossians 2:18-19.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead was not only the demonstration of God's power in and for His Son, but was for you His new creation person.

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know ... his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" Ephesians 1:18-20.

The same exertion of power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead He is now using for you! It is so great no other power in the world can be compared to it! This same miracle working power of God raises you to a whole new life and empowers you to live like Him.

"... just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" Romans 6:4.

"... the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way count yourselves…alive to God in Christ Jesus" Romans 6:10-11.

The new creation in Christ is "alive to God". He is now the focus of your life, the centrepoint of your whole existence.

"And he died for all, that those who live should not longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" 2 Corinthians 5:15.

"... he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" 1 Peter 1:3.

The new creation is back on the track of God's original purpose again (Genesis 1:26- 27) – to have a people in His own image, like His own Son. Read Heb.1:3; Col.1:15-20.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" Romans 8:29.

This is the glorious hope ahead for you in Christ (Colossians 1:27).

Like little babes born in the image of the father you are growing more and more like Him.

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation"1 Peter 2:2.

You have received the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit whose whole purpose is to work in you, using all circumstances of life, to cause you to grow into the full mature image of Christ (John 14:16-18; Romans 8:28-29).

"But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. We are transfigured in ever-increasing splendour into his own image, and the transformation comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18 (J.B.Phillips).

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" 2 Peter 1:3-4 (Colossians 1:28-29).

From the moment you are born into the Family of God you have been given "everything you need for life and godliness". In other words, the tools necessary to live a life of victory over all circumstances you may face in the godless world around you.

The Holy Spirit
"... he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" John 20:22 (Gen.2:7) "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being..." Eph.3:16.

The grace of God
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" 2 Corinthians 12:9.

The Word of God
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (Hebrews 4:12).

His Great Promises to You

He is always with you
"...God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'..." Hebrews 13:5.

You have an open Heaven
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" Hebrews 4:16.

He will speak to you
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27.

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24.

Set free from the past through the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, you can now live each day without any "baggage" hanging on and, because you know his promise to take care of you, you can live each day without adding the worries of tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). The Christian life is designed to be a daily walk with the Lord - you live it a day at a time by His enabling grace.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1.

It is now your turn to run your lap of the race. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 ran their lap and fulfilled God's purpose in their generation. They have passed the baton on to you. The whole of Heaven is cheering you on!

Every day and wherever you go there are people ready to respond. A great example of this is when Jesus was led by the Spirit to go to Samaria. There he had a Divine appointment with the woman at the well. Not only did she believe in Him but, through her, the whole town came to the Lord (John 4:4-42).

You too can have Divine appointments. Every morning set your focus for this with the Lord and you will be ready when He brings someone across your path.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" 2 Timothy 4:2.

Every person has the same basic needs...the need to be loved, the need to be secure, the need to be a success, the need to be creative. All these needs are met in the Lord. The Lord will show you which is the particular need of the one you are ministering to.

You have the Holy Spirit to guide you. He will give you words of knowledge and words of wisdom as you minister the word of God to people. He can give you insight into their hearts.

"To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit..." 1 Corinthians 12:8 (read through vs 1 to 11).

One of the most powerful tools you have in sharing the Gospel with someone is your own experience. This is what makes what you are sharing real to them. You are the message in the flesh. You can minister the word of God to individuals, your family, two or three gathered together, small groups or larger gatherings in churches.

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power" Eph.3:7 (Acts 8:4).