Do We Have a Deal?

I called a pastor friend of mine Monday morning to get his report from the previous Sunday. When I asked what he preached, the question stumped him. It took him several seconds to think about what he communicated just 24 hours earlier.
We preachers have a tendency to do that. We often forget what we preached. We are the only creatures I know who can pour their heart and soul into a message, preach it one, two or three times on Sunday morning, and then not remember much of what we said the following day. It is a strange phenomenon that we preachers experience. Perhaps many of you experience something similar when you leave CrossPoint on Sunday morning and ask, “What did he just talk about?”
I may not remember everything I said last Sunday, but there is one part of that message I have no problem remembering. That is the part of my message which pertains to preaching the Gospel. Allow me to cut to an excerpt from my manuscript:

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of hearing messages about achieving your divine destiny or discovering your true purpose in life or how to find happiness. The church has heard enough messages about our selves. We have heard enough about how to be happy, how to achieve success, how to be prosperous, how to have a happy marriage, how to be all you can be.

Instead of hearing that junk, I believe we must hear more messages about God and His Gospel. I, myself, have been weak in this area. And I am asking you to hold me more accountable to preaching a Gospel-centered message each week. We need to hear the Gospel in every message.

Just so you will know the true Gospel to which I am referring, let me explain it with greater detail. I am doing this because sometimes my Gospel presentations are weak and watered-down to “God loves you, you are a sinner, and you must repent and be saved.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so much more than that. It is also so much more then praying a simple prayer.

Here is a good starting point for us to work on:

• There is a God and we are not He. There is only one God.

  We must acknowledge that God is our Holy Creator and Righteous Judge. He created every part of creation, and He stands as Righteous Judge of every human being.

  All people have sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger.

  As a result of offending God with our sin, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that we deserved for our sins.

  Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:1) If you want to call me narrow minded for preaching this way, then so be it, because the Bible says the way to Christ is narrow.

  We must respond to His Gospel News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come. Jesus’ first recorded message on earth was this: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15).

I trust you sensed my deep conviction Sunday morning when I said that. I am convinced that I cannot preach the Gospel enough every time we meet.

I will make you this promise when it comes to preaching the Gospel: every week I will do my best, with the Holy Spirit’s power, to preach the Gospel if you promise to do your best, with the Holy Spirit’s power, to bring JUST ONE MORE with you to worship. That is a deadly combination when it comes to introducing the world to Jesus Christ.Do we have a deal?