The Glad Tidings of the Kingdom !

    
     “Everywhere there are hearts crying out for something which they have not. They long for a Power that will give them mastery over sin, a Power that will deliver them from the bondage of evil, a Power that will give health and life and Peace ! . . .

     The world needs
today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago — a revelation of Christ.”

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace (Shalom) be unto you. As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you . . . !”    
John 20:21

“When Christ sent out the twelve disciples on their first missionary tour, He bade them, “As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7-8.

To the Seventy sent forth later He said: “Into whatsoever city ye enter, . . . heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” Luke 10:8-9.

The Presence and power of Christ was with them, “and the Seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.” Verse 17.

After Christ’s ascension the same work was continued. The scenes of His Own ministry
were repeated.
“Out of the cities round about” there came a multitude “unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits:
and they were healed every one.” Acts 5:16.

And the disciples “went forth, and preached (proclaimed the Glad Tidings) everywhere, the Lord working with them.”

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake. . . . For unclean spirits . . . came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” Mark 16:20; Acts 8:5-8.

Luke, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name, was a medical missionary. In the Scriptures he is called “the beloved physician.” Colossians 4:14.

The apostle Paul heard of his skill as a physician, and sought him out as one to whom the Lord had entrusted a special work. He secured his co-operation, and for some time Luke accompanied him in his travels from place to place. After a time, Paul left Luke at Philippi, in Macedonia. Here he continued to labor for several years, both as a physician and as a teacher of the gospel (the Glad Tidings). In his work as a physician he ministered to the sick, and then prayed for the healing power of God to rest upon the afflicted ones. Thus the way was opened for the gospel message. Luke’s success as a physician gained for him many opportunities for preaching Christ among the heathen.

It is the Divine plan that we shall work as the disciples worked. Physical healing is bound up with the gospel commission. In the work of the gospel, teaching and healing are never to be separated.

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world (your town and neighborhood), and preach the Glad Tidings to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized (with the Holy Spirit – For ye must be born again . . . ref: John 3:3-7, and Titus 3:4-5), shall be saved ! . . .

And these signs shall follow them that believe. In My name (authority and power) shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new languages; They shall take up (loose the hold of) serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; and they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover !”
Mark 16:15-20

Note: We encourage you to take the time to look up the Hebrew and Greek definition of the gospel words of “Saved” and “Salvation.”

The work of the disciples was to spread a knowledge of the gospel (the Glad Tidings – ref: Luke 1:67-79). To them was committed the work of proclaiming to all the world the good news that Christ brought to men. That work they accomplished for the people of their time. To every nation (and denomination) under heaven the gospel was carried in a single generation. The giving of the gospel to the world is the work that God has committed to those who bear His name. For earth’s sin and misery the gospel is the only antidote. To make known to all mankind the message of the grace of God is the first work of those who know its healing power.

Grace = (G5485, 5463), the Divine Influence upon the heart and It’s reflection in the life, benefit,favour,gift

When Christ sent forth the disciples with the gospel message, faith in God and His Word had well-nigh departed from the world. Among the Jewish people, who professed to have a knowledge of Jehovah, His Word had been set aside for tradit-ion and human speculation. Selfish ambition, love of ostentation (vulgar display of wealth and success designed to impress) , greed of gain, absorbed men’s thoughts. As reverence for God departed, so also departed compassion toward men. Selfishness was the ruling principle, and Satan worked his will in the misery and degradation of mankind.

Satanic agencies took possession of men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, became the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the organs of men were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men. Human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which men were possessed.

What is the condition in the world today? Is not faith in the Bible as effectually destroyed by the higher criticism and speculation of today as it was by tradition and rabbinism in the days of Christ? Have not greed and ambition and love of pleasure as strong a hold on men’s hearts (a stronghold) now as they had then?

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (fleshly, weak), but mighty* through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself (rises in opposition) against the knowledge (knowing) of God . . . for this is Life eternal, that they might know Thee, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou has sent ! . . . . and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedienceof Christ !”
II Corinthians 10:4-5, John 17:3

In the professedly Christian world, even in the professed churches of Christ, how few are governed by Christian principles. In business, social, domestic, even religious circles, how few make the teachings of Christ the rule of daily living. Is it not true that “justice standeth afar off: . . . equity cannot enter. . . and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey”?      Isaiah 59:14, 15.

We are living in the midst of an “epidemic of crime,” at which thoughtful, God-fearing men everywhere stand aghast. The corruption that prevails, it is beyond the power of the human pen to describe. Every day brings fresh revelations of political strife, bribery, and fraud. Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life. Every day testifies to the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide.

Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind, and defile and destroy the body?

And while the world is filled with these evils, the gospel is . . . . the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth ! . . . too often presented in so indifferent a manner as to make but little impression upon the consciences or the lives of men. ref: Romans 1:16

Everywhere there are hearts crying out for something which they have not. They long for a Power that will give them mastery over sin, a Power that will deliver them from the bondage of evil, a Power that will give health and life and Peace. Many who once knew the power of God’s Word have dwelt where there is no recognition of God, and they long for
the Divine presence.

The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago — a revelation of Christ !
 A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only through the Grace (Divine Influence) of Christ that the work of restoration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.
– Ministry of Healing p.139-143

“Our condition through sin is unnatural, and the Power that restores us must be supernatural, else it has no value. There is but One Power that can break the hold of evil from the hearts of men, and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ.

Only through the blood (Life – ref: Leviticus 17:11) of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin. His Grace alone can enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of our fallen nature !”

– Ministry of Healing p.428

Leave a Comment