Ownership Spirit
1st Thessalonians 1 verse 5 Living Bible
"For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know how our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message".
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in follow up of gospel of Jesus Christ they took to them. In King James, Paul personalised the gospel by referring to it as "..our gospel..." This evening, the preacher called it ownership spirit. Paul was not compelled to work for Christ. Rather he saw a light that revealed the ultimate truth to him which he had desired, and he follow suit.
Paul did not preach hearsay, rather, he preached his experience and encounter. So, the lesson is that we must personalised the gospel of Christ by the way we live our life. Preachers should preach what they know, experience, and believe in. We are joint heirs with Christ. The message we preach is all about Christ. The gospel is our gospel because we are in Him and He in us.
The preacher asked a crucial question.
How do you defend the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The understanding that we are part of this gospel will help us. Paul advised, that it should be committed into the hands of faithful men who will in turn commit it to others.
Thus, we should defend what was committed into our hands if we are faithful people servants. The disciples of Christ put their lives in line for the sake of this gospel. Now it is in our hands, should we add or remove, or be cold about it? God forbids. It can't change or suffer in hands.
How To Personalise And Defend The Gospel Of Jesus?
We should internalise it so that it manifests in our daily dispositions, our words, character, relationship etc.
We should practice what we preach.
Our lives and resources should be put into spreading this gospel.
The preacher will continue tomorrow. In the same book,chapter, and verse