Preaching The Whole Gospel
Pastor Bruce Hines Spiritual Freedom Church Waco
Matthew 24:14 (NASB) says, "This gospel of the Kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." When
we read this scripture, most
of us think about preaching salvation by the forgiveness of sins,
through Christ Jesus'' atonement.
We think of evangelistic crusades, Church out reaches, street
ministries and feeding the poor.
I thank God for all of these ministries, yet I believe we have fallen
asleep concerning the rest
of our assignment. The message of salvation is a message that is to
release Kingdom power
through salvation, healings, deliverances, miracles. What I am seeing
more and more is, when
people accept the message of grace and the salvation of their souls,
the power of the Holy Spirit
is gloriously touching not only their spirit, but their souls, and
their bodies. Their spirit is being
borne again, their souls are obtaining release from demonic spirits,
and their bodies are being
healed. Even over the phone, people are falling under the convicting
power of the Holy Spirit
and are receiving salvation, healing, deliverance and the baptism of
the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says in Luke 9:56, "for the Son of Man did not come to destroy
men''s lives, but to save
them." How are peoples'' lives destroyed? The meaning is to die, put to
death or cause to perish.
It is through sin, sickness, torment of soul, poverty. Yet Jesus said
He came to save, not to
destroy. The word is "sozo" in the original Greek. It refers to the
removal of something; the
forgiveness of sin, the healing of disease and the deliverance from
evil spirits; it means to
rescue and deliver from danger what threatens life. If we are
preaching the right message, God''s
Kingdom is confirming it with power. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:20
that the Kingdom of God
does not consist in words but in power.
Healing, inner-healing, and deliverance was a major part of Jesus''
ministry. There''s no sickness
in heaven, or demonic torment in heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 18:18
(Williams N.T.
Translation), "I solemnly say to you, whatever you forbid on earth
must be already forbidden in
heaven, and whatever you permit on earth must be already permitted in
heaven." Jesus'' life and
ministry shows us what heaven is like and what God desires in the
earth. Jesus prays in Matthew
6 that God''s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus
says in John 5:19 that He did
nothing of Himself, He did whatever the Father desired. After
examining the life and ministry
of Jesus, I''ve come to the conclusion that it is the will of God that
all mankind be saved, it is the
will of God that all mankind be healed and delivered from evil.
The issue is people''s revelation of Christ, His Kingdom, and who the
Church is. Derek Prince
says that Jesus is Lord over the Church, and the Holy Spirit is Lord
in the Church. That would
mean that the ministry of Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit is
at work in the Church
through salvations, healings, deliverances, signs and wonders and
miracles.
The question Jesus asked was, will He find faith when He comes back.
Faith is the primary tool
used to access and release the power of God, but if it is not mixed in
relationship, no power.
Relationship comes from an enthusiasm for the presence of God. As a
Pastor, one of my many
blessings is to release the power of the Holy Spirit in McLennan
County. When Christ''s power
is being released, the atmosphere has in it a potential for revival.
Jesus said in Mark 9 that some
standing here will not die until they see the Kingdom present with
power. Jesus was speaking
about a clothing of power from the Holy Spirit. What ignites God''s
power? Hunger! It is a
hunger to see hell plundered and heaven populated.
In Luke 5:17, the power of God was present to heal. I really wonder
how many Churches see
healings and deliverances each week. I wonder how many Churches in
McLennan County are
holding healing or deliverance services with signs, wonders, and
miracles. Let''s not struggle with
the great commission any longer, preach the gospel with signs to
follow as in Mark 16. If you
are not seeing God''s manifested power through healing or deliverance
each week, you might
be in attendance of a meeting and not in the sphere of God''s Kingdom.
I believe people will be
surprised who is left behind.
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