GENEROSITY

 1 Kings 17:8-16; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 2:1-11

Introduction

The 'Gospel', is basically understood as the good news. In Children's Service, my teacher will say, "Good news..." and we would shout, "Christ died and rose again for me and you!" The Gospel (good news) is all about the virgin birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His passionate death on the cross (dying in our place and for our sins), His resurrection from the dead, His ascension, and His second coming.

Therefore, the Gospel is Jesus Christ Himself, anything apart from Him is false. So Paul says, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV)

The Gospel is not just about saving humanity from the coming judgment of God but to transform lives here on earth. The Gospel does more than get people saved, He gives us transformed life in the power of God. We see the demonstrative power of the Gospel in the life of the Christian. 

The apostle Paul puts it, 

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord... (1 Thessalonians 1:4-7 ESV)

If the power of God will manifest, the Gospel must be demonstrated in the life of the Christian as the world sees and imitate through conviction. 

Is your life as a Christian - the living gospel, showing the power of God? Can you say to others, you know what manner of person I am among you for Christ Jesus? 

The Power of God

Elijah demonstrates to us the power of God in His Word when he visited the widow of Zarephath. He declared, "For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” (1 Kings 17:14 ESV)

The power in His word came to pass in verse 16, "The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah." (1 Kings 17:16 ESV)

By the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ, the water turned into wine. Jesus did this miracle to manifest His glory in the power of God to the people and the Bible says, "His disciples believed in Him" (John 2:11)

It is by Christ's name, the power of God manifests in our lives (Acts 4:30; 5:12-16, 16:25-26). We are flooded with the power of God in generations that cannot be recorded in books.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

1. The Gospel, the Power of God to Redirect Lives

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are..." (1 Corinthians 1:26-28 ESV)

It is the power of God that redirects lives from foolishness to wisdom, weakness to strength, and the lowly to authority to despise the world. 

To the Thessalonians, Paul writes, "He [God] has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power … so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, 7 ESV)

In verse 9 he says, "you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God," (1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV) 

These people did not know God and kept hold of their idols as part of their culture - way of life. Until the Gospel was preached to them, their way of life was miraculously redirected in the power of God, "to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ESV)

Luke, the writer of Acts indicated that they "were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women." (Acts 17:4 ESV)

The power of the Gospel redirects us from the evil path leading to death to the righteous path of God.

2. The Gospel, the Power to Impact Others through Your Life.

In the setting of the world, the gospel is folly but to us Christians, it is the power of God (1Co. 1:18) 

The world demands physical or tangible experience to believe and be saved. "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom," (1 Corinthians 1:22 ESV). In fact, the gospel message preached alone becomes "a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV) 

God makes a transformational impact in "signs" and "wisdom" to the world through our transformed life and living. With this, they see and use us as examples by imitating to be like Christ. 

He says, "...consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth." 1 Corinthians 1:26 (ESV)

In Acts, when the leadership - scribes, elders, high priest, and emperor, enquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Acts 4:7 (ESV), Peter answered in the power of the Holy Spirit saying, 

"...let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well." Acts 4:10 (ESV)

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. "But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition." Acts 4:13-14 (ESV)

God's power manifested in the gospel being preached with the transformed life they saw in the disciples who were "uneducated" and "common men" they were astonished. This is where they saw the Gospel as the power of God.

"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" 1 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)

Beloved, Christ in you, is the hope of this dying world. When Christ manifests in you, He makes a transformational impact on others.

The church is making a lot of impact in the world today - education, health, transport, housing, water, etc. But when we fail to use our schools, hospital, buses, and all the other social interventions to preach the gospel to the people, we disarm the power of God. The church must not listen to people but must God alone to impact the lives of others.

Conclusion

The gospel is all about Jesus Christ. We must be transformed by the gospel to transform the world. The power of God in the gospel must emanate from us as living testimony and example to the world. 

Precious one, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Shalom aleichem...