The God Of New Beginnings: Hope For The LostSample

The Power of the Gospel

The main point in any broken and restored person’s testimony is not how bad they used to be. That is only a prelude to highlighting what Jesus had made them to be today. Human beings whom God redeems and restores have the capacity to keep displaying God’s splendor year after year, through easy times and hard times. Nothing quite shows God’s power like a life that has been raised out of the depths of darkness into the beautiful sunshine of his glory. The apostles believed 100 percent that the gospel was a game changer. They were willing to get beaten up, jailed, and even martyred for this belief. How were they so sure? Because the gospel had changed them personally.

It seems people today are more bound, more broken, than ever. We need help from above. We cannot be good enough without God. The truth is, Jesus has rescued each of us from the same pit as the addict, the wife beater, the extortionist. None of us could have scratched and clawed our way up out of the pit of sin on our own. But Jesus can renovate us from top to bottom. And he can do it now, in the present. Not only in the future, at the end of time. Today.

In a context of genuine love and care, the gospel can be received as the very good news that it is. When we build relationships where we can share the gospel, we must be convinced ourselves that we’re speaking the truth about redemption. We must believe that evil and God are not equal foes. Darkness never stands a chance against light. He is the Light of the World. Following the real Jesus may turn out to be costly, and we do no one a favor to hide that fact. But the benefits far outweigh the price. No web is too tangled, no life too trashed to be redeemed by the gospel of Jesus.

Do you aspire to go deeper, to get personally involved in, as Isaiah put it, bringing “good news to the poor” and “bind[ing] up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1)? Doing so requires going beyond occasional events to building real, authentic relationships. It means sitting down and saying, “I’d really like to hear your story.” It means going with a heart as much to learn as to teach or help. It means being willing to embed yourself in their reality and engage face-to-face as you really are. Real relationships involve two people being honest with each other, hearing what’s really going on inside, and not reacting with condemnation or disdain. Redemptive work happens through engagement, involvement, and open sharing of how we’re struggling, how we’re upset with God at times, how we’ve failed and have to get back up again.

Start praying and looking for ways to connect with people in need of Jesus. You will make mistakes, and some will not respond to you positively, but don’t give up. The relentless love of Jesus and his people can break through. Listen to people’s stories and share your story with others. As you build relationships, the power of the Holy Spirit will help you meet their greatest need: the gospel. And you’ll never encounter Jesus so deeply as when you love a broken, wounded person.

Respond

How have you seen the power of the gospel transform a life?

How willing are you to participate in what God is doing to bring the gospel to hurting and broken people? What needs to change in your life and thinking for you to serve in this way?

If you were asked to tell your story of redemption, what would you say?