Gospel Thrills

Preaching and teaching through The Heart of the Kings series has been one of my favorite things we’ve done as a church.  I know the Spirit has used these Old Testament texts and kings’ stories to reveal my own sin, to encourage me in Christ and to have my hope in the gospel fortified.

Something I mentioned on Sunday, as we wrapped up with King Zedekiah, is that it is ok to be bored with the repetition of so many kings of Judah “doing evil in the sight of the Lord”.  We encountered that a lot this summer.  The truth is our sin is boring because it’s predictable and unimagined.  It’s overly familiar to us - we find ourselves in cycles of sin and disobedience that never yield the grandeur of the Spirit, but instead reap the mundane of the flesh.

To that end, let me ask you a question at the risk that it sounds like an advertisement for a cruiseliner:  “Are you ready for some excitement in your life?”  If your answer is “yes”, what I am proposing is not a cruise or a vacation or a pharmaceutical.  What I’m thinking about is so much better than that and echoes through eternity.

Receiving and relishing in the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ - nothing is more thrilling.  Dead people come alive.  Sleepers awake.  2D becomes 3D.  Sour becomes sweet.  Stench becomes fragrant.  But those of us who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good in our salvation often find ourselves drifting to the mudpies in the slum when we’ve been invited to holiday on the sea.

Our sin always overpromises and underdelivers.  But our deceptive hearts forget that the next time and so we double down on the flesh and expect a different result.  The mundane cycle of sin that numbs the soul makes God’s gospel message look like the junk mail we throw away.  

So I’ll ask again - “are you tired of your boring sin?  Are you ready for something that never gets old even as itself is an old, old story?”  What could possibly be dull about God the Spirit, who is present at the creation of the universe, bringing everything to life by His power and through the word of God, now residing inside of you?  Supernatural awe.  Other-worldly excitement.  Think of the adventure God is calling you on in Christ and with Christ.  

To continue to humble yourself and receive the gift of faith and forgiveness - incredible!  To see chains break off your sinful heart - wonder of wonders!  To hear your agnostic neighbor say she’s been wanting to learn more about Jesus - here we go!  

The gospel is the most extraordinary thing we could ever imagine - and it’s real and here for our taking! 

By Jeff Jamison