Preaching
Bible Matters 511 Preaching
The prophets chose God and spread his
belief, starting with Noah. His son’s
experienced the wickedness and lived with the righteousness of Noah. Three sons that feared God saw how to live a righteous
life pleasing God.
Genesis 6:5,8 – And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 9:1,18-19,26-27 – And God
blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth. And the sons of
Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is
the father of Canaan. These are the
three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. And he said,
Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell
in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
The message of living a life pleasing
to God was preached and received differently among the different civilizations
around the world. Several generations
after Ham, his descendants led to the building of Nineveh.
Genesis 10:6,8,11 – And the sons of
Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and
builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
God sent Jonah (a descendant of Shem)
to preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. God saw their works and they turned from
their evil ways.
Jonah 3:1,2,5,9,10 – And the word of
the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that
great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So, the people of Nineveh believed God, and
proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his
fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned
from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he
would do unto them; and he did it not.
God’s preachers were his witnesses.
Isaiah 43:10-12 – Ye are my
witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know
and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed,
neither shall there be after me. I, even
I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have
saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: there fore
ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
God sent Jesus to preach of the
kingdom of God. A gospel that did not
require a script. A gospel to repent and
believe.
Matthew 10:7-10,13-14 – And as ye go,
preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass
in your purses, Nor scrip for your
journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is
worthy of his meat. And if the house be
worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace
return to you. And whosoever shall not receive
you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off
the dust of your feet.
Mark 1:14-15 – Now after that John
was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Luke 9:2-6 – And he sent them to
preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take
nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither
money; neither have two coats apiece.
And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And
whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very
dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went
through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
One witness gave testimony for the
disciples to bring their own script.
Luke 22:35,36 – And he said unto
them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?
And they said, Nothing. Then said he
unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his
scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
After God rose Jesus from the dead, Peter
gave testimony of the gospel.
1 Peter 1:21,23,25 – Who by him do
believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your
faith and hope might be in God. Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever. But
the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the
gospel is preached unto you.
A gospel of peace.
Romans 10:15 – And how shall they
preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
A gospel that is given, without
expecting anything in return, but to praise God.
John 3:27 – John answered and said, A
man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Acts 3:2-8 – And a certain man lame
from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the
temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the
temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave
heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none;
but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up
and walk. And he took him by the right
hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength. And he leaping up stood, and
walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and
praising God.
Revelation 3:3 – Remember therefore
how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou
shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what
hour I will come upon thee.
All eight New Testament witnesses took
their own gospel and preached. Not a
gospel written by any particular disciple, but the gospel that Jesus brought to
the earth. A gospel with a single message
delivered to the world. A unified gospel
of Love that is found in the testimonies of all eight witnesses.
• Believe in one God
• Repent of your sins and surrender
to God.
• Judge no one
• Love God
• Love your Neighbor
• Keep yourself in the love of God,
unto eternal life.
Do all you can do from this point forward to
please God and live his gospel of Love.
A time to preach his gospel. The
truth starts with the understanding God’s word from the testimony of the
witnesses.
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Thessalonians 2:13 – For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because,
when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually
worketh also in you that believe.
To God be the glory in all you do, Amen.