HIGHLIGHTS: “The Gospel Cycle”
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe, in my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. (Mark 16: 15-18)
Whenever a born-again Christian obeys the commandment of Jesus Christ to go out, controlled by the “Spirit of Faith” (as we discussed last week) and preach the gospel to the lost, the Christian will enter into what I call, “The Gospel Cycle.” The Gospel Cycle (shown below) consist of six distinct supernatural experiences that will forever change the life of the Christian, but even more importantly, the lives of multitudes of people who hear and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In essence, the gospel is the good news about all Jesus Christ accomplished on His cross for mankind and the world.
More specifically, the gospel is the testimony of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (I Cor. 15:1-19) The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the most important facet of the gospel message. For if Jesus did not rise again; then our faith, preaching, and all the church stuff we do weekly is for nothing! All people would still be in misery and destined for hell. But thanks be unto God that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. He was seen by well above 500 men, including His own disciples and the Apostle Paul. (V. 5-8) And even though we as Christians were not there to see the Lord after His resurrection, having heard of His testimony, we have believed the report and have been blessed to receive His faith. (John 20:29)
I strongly urge you as Christians to let the Lord lead you to people who are unbelievers in Jesus Christ and drifters. Pray and ask God to lead you to those who do not know Him and to those who have strayed. When you meet with them, in love and truth, tell the unbeliever about Jesus Christ, give your personal testimony about how Jesus has changed your life. Tell them to repent of their sins, invite them to receive Jesus as their Lord, and invite them to come to church with you on Sunday.
As you preach the gospel to sinners, you will enter the “Gospel Cycle.” Some of the people you preach to will hear and believe in Jesus Christ and receive salvation, including being baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire and healed of all manner of diseases. Thereafter this will set the stage for God to use you to perform miracles for a multitude of other people who are sick and oppressed by evil spirits. (John 14: 12 & Acts 1:8) Other people will observe these miracles and come to you wondering how you did them, which will present more opportunities for you to preach the gospel. As you preach the gospel, it is for certain that you will suffer persecution by people in society, including your some members of your family and even church folks! But rest assure that God will deliver you! Lastly, for your labor with God, He will pay you wages and give you divine favors that meet and far exceed your expectations. (Luke 10:7 & I Timothy 5:18)