Let me turn your attention to some words that we find at the end of Mark's Gospel. Mark's Gospel in the chapter number 16. And let me read from the verse number 9 of that particular chapter. Mark's Gospel chapter 16 and the verse number 9. Word of God says that when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. She went and told them that I'd been with him, as they mourned and wept. They, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed not. After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked and went into the country. They went and told that unto the residue, neither believed they then. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and abridged them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 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. that he that believeth not shall be damned. Amen. We'll end our reading there at the end of the verse 16 of Mark's Gospel, chapter 16. We'll unite briefly in prayer. Father in heaven, we now commit the preaching of thy word to thee. We pray, Lord, for the infilling of God the Holy Spirit. We pray, O God, that hearts will be open lives changed and transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. So bless our time around thy word. Pray these hard petitions and prayers in and through Jesus' precious and glorious name. Amen. Amen. Whenever anyone comes to preach, they often will take a passage of scripture, take a verse of scripture, and they'll expound the truth that is contained therein. But this afternoon, I don't intend to preach upon this particular passage as such, the entirety of which I have read. It's not my intention to take even a verse out of the Bible reading from Mark chapter 16. I don't even want to preach upon a sentence, or upon a clause, or upon a number of words. But simply I want to preach about one word. One word that we find in Mark's Gospel, chapter 16, and the verse number 15. Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ, prior to his return on to heaven, he commissioned his disciples with these words. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And this afternoon I want to take one word, as I've said, from that particular verse. I want to preach a gospel message from it this afternoon. I want to preach on the word gospel. The word gospel simply means good news. And if you're to understand the good news, then you must first understand the bad news. The bad news that is contained within scripture reminds us that we're all born sinners. The scriptures are very clear that there's no man on earth that's sin if not Romans chapter 3 we're told that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Thereby the bad news is that we're all sinners and therefore we find ourselves in trouble with God. We find ourselves at enmity with God. We find ourselves far off from God because of our sin. This afternoon I want to preach the good news. I want to take each of the letters of the word gospel, I want to draw your attention to a number of things that we come to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I think of this word gospel, my mind is taken to the very first letter in that particular word. It is the word G. And that reminds me this afternoon about the grace of God in the gospel. The grace of God in the gospel. When Paul met the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, he said these words in Acts chapter 20 verse 24. None of these things move me, neither can I die my life here unto myself. I may finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. This verse, the apostle speaks about the gospel of the grace of God. We ask ourselves the question, what is grace? Grace is simply God's undeserved favor towards fallen, sinful man. It is God's undeserved fever towards fallen, sinful man. And surely in the gospel, we find much of the grace of God. God's undeserved fever towards fallen man. You see, our sin deserves God's punishment. Our sin deserves God's wrath. Our sin causes us to be brought into a state of enmity with God. And as a result, we are deserving of the righteous wrath of God. And yet God in his gospel has found a way whereby sin can be paid for and the sinner at the same time can be justified or declared innocent in heaven's high court. Christ, by taking to himself humanity, lived our life, a life that we could never live, a life of perfection, a life that adhered itself and obeyed the law of God entirely. And then at the age of 33, Jesus Christ went to the cross of Calvary, and there he paid the sin debt on behalf of all that would trust in him. Christ by His death has satisfied the justice of God. Christ by His death has paid the price of sin. And thereby God can be gracious to the sinner because one has paid the price of sin. Whenever I come to read the Bible, I read about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I read about God, and I read about how the God of the Gospel is a God of grace. Let me read a verse from Psalm 145, verse 8. The Bible says, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. And so the God of the gospel is a God of grace. Not only that, but in the gospel God displays his grace. Titus 2 verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Paul would write on another occasion, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. And so the gospel displays the grace of God, this undeserved favor. And yet God also saves us by grace. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For grace is the opposite, the antithesis of works. By our works we attempt to appease God. By our works we attempt to bring ourselves into favor with God. But grace Grace has nothing to do with works. Rather, it is the opposite of works. Grace is God giving us, as I've said, what we do not deserve. You know, this afternoon, the God of the Bible waits to be gracious unto you, the sinner. Even if you find yourself having rejected Him for many years, Even if you've despised the gospel of grace, even as it's preached here on a bi-weekly basis, God wants, desires, to be gracious unto you this afternoon, because the God of the Gospel is a God of grace. He is a gracious God. He wants to give you eternal life. He wants to spare you from going down to hell and into destruction. And so in grace He has devised the means whereby He can save you and reconcile you to God. John Newton. was a great sinner. He was a slave trader many years ago and he found himself in the midst of a storm there on a boat one evening and realizing that he was about to meet God. God is an unsaved man. John Newton came to put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Years later he would write many hymns. One of the hymns we know so well, even if you don't go to church, I'm sure you've heard these words, Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. John Newton came to experience the grace of God in the gospel. I wonder this afternoon Would you not desire, would you not long to experience God's grace in your life? Would you not desire to come to know this God who is gracious and who is plenteous in mercy? This one who would save you by his grace, aye, and keep you by his grace? The gospel is a gospel of grace. But the second letter that I think about in this word gospel is the letter O. That speaks to me about the origin of the gospel. You know, there are those that they think that the gospel was dreamt up by the church many years ago. And maybe you think that, maybe you're one such person. Maybe you think the gospel is the invention of man. Maybe you think the gospel is the innovation of the church. Can I say to you that the gospel does not find its origin, does not find its source in churches, or in creeds, or in councils, but thank God the gospel finds its origin in the loving heart of God. It is God's gospel. Seven times in the New Testament we read about the gospel of God. That's a statement. The gospel of God. And that simply reminds me that this gospel belongs to God. It isn't my gospel. It's not the church's gospel. This is God's gospel. God's good news to fallen humanity. And because it is the gospel of God that we preach, then the gospel's message must be viewed then as God's word to sinful man and must be accepted by man if it's God's gospel. Ah, you're not rejecting my gospel this afternoon as you pass by. You're rejecting God's gospel. This is the gospel of Christ. Not only if it finds its origins in God, that its message must be believed by men, then the gospel's remedy for sin The death of Christ on the tree and his resurrection from the dead, the gospel's remedy for sin, must be seen then as the only remedy for sin, if this is God's gospel, and it is. Not only that, but every gospel command must be obeyed, since it is the gospel of God. And what is His command this afternoon? It is for you, the sinner, to repent and to believe the gospel. That's the gospel command. Come unto me, O ye that labour, and are heavy laden, Christ said, and I will give you rest. That's the gospel command. Call unto me, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's the gospel command, because it is the gospel of God. It is therefore for you, the creature, to obey the gospel and to obey the gospel command. And I say this afternoon, I'm not here to preach my gospel. I'm not here to preach the church's gospel. Today I'm here to preach God's gospel. The gospel originated in the heart of a loving God. Before man ever fell into sin, God had already devised a way whereby fallen man could be reconciled to a holy God. I wonder have you come to experience God's gospel in your life. I'm not asking you, do you believe your church's take on the gospel. I'm asking you, do you believe the gospel as it's contained in God's holy word? God's gospel, the origin of it, is in the very heart of God. The heart of God. In the third place, I think of the letter S. And as I think of the letter S, I think about the scope of the gospel, the scope of this gospel. We get an idea of the scope of this gospel, its reach, its embrace, here in Mark chapter 16 and the verse number 15. Because Jesus Christ, he said, going into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. There's the scope of the gospel. There's its embrace, sinner. The gospel is for all the world. and for every creature, every man, woman, boy, girl, teenager that finds themselves in this world. The gospel and its amazing embrace. I say this afternoon that this gospel is suited for every people group. This gospel is suited for every nation, for every individual that lives in this world. This gospel is as good enough for the Protestant as it is for the Roman Catholic. This gospel is needed as much by the Muslim as it is by the Buddhist. This gospel is needed by the atheist as much as those who are deeply religious. all the gospel in its grand scope this afternoon. Aye, and it's for you here in Portland Old, and wherever you're listening to us from, the gospel of Jesus Christ is for you this afternoon. It's for all classes, it's for all colors, it's for all creeds. Listen to these words. It lists for us the kind of individuals that were found by the gospel of Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 6 tells us that fornicators found that the gospel was good for them. And idolaters, and adulterers, and effeminate, and abusers of themselves with mankind, and thieves, and covetous, and drunkards, and revelers, and extortioners, all found that this gospel was able to deliver them from their sin. For it goes on to say that such were washed and such were sanctified by the Spirit of God. Oh, what a grand message we have to tell this afternoon. The Gospel's for you, sir. The Gospel's for you, madam. The Gospel for all people. Maybe you're here today and you think, well, the Gospel's not for me. Can I say you're in the world and so this gospel is for you? You may say, Preacher, I'm too big a sinner. I'm too great a sinner. You may say, Preacher, I've rejected the gospel too many times. God could never save the likes of me. I tell you, sinner, this afternoon, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that includes you. Thank God he can save you this afternoon, even from your sin. The scope of the gospel takes in those from the north, south, east and west of this globe. It embraces all of humanity. The scope of the gospel. I want to think about a fourth word. The fourth letter is the letter P. This speaks to me about the power of the gospel. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he said these words, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the great. Paul spoke about the gospel of Christ being the power of God unto salvation, and surely if there was a man who was able to write such words, it was the Apostle Paul, for Paul came to experience in his own soul the power of the gospel, his own testimony, He said that he was a blasphemer. He was injurious. He was a persecutor. Here's a man who hated Christians so much that he desired to have them arrested and incarcerated in prison. He would even consent to the very death of Stephen, one of the Jerusalem deacons. Here's a man who found himself as a great sinner. Thank God, one dramatic day on the Damascus road, Saul met God. God met Saul. Saul was saved. Saul was transformed and Saul was converted in the middle of a road. In all places, in the middle of a road, Saul of Tarsus became a born-again Christian. He came to experience the power of God in the gospel. His life was transformed. He was converted. He was changed by the power of God in the gospel. There is a power that accompanies the gospel of Jesus Christ. Power that overcomes the blindness of the mind. Power that overcomes the power of darkness. Power that overthrows the devil and sin and unbelief. Power to regenerate the heart Power to illuminate the mind. Power to lift us out of the dunghill of sin and set us on the rock, Christ Jesus. Power to cleanse our sin-stained soul. Power to sanctify. Power to keep. And power to bring us to glory. There's power in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe you've tried and failed. trying to change your life and clean it up. Can I say to you, it'll always be you, that there is a power, a power that's in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Power to regenerate, power to save, power to transform, power to sanctify, power in the gospel. Do you not want to know the power of God in the gospel too? Last letters quickly. Think of the letter E. speaks to me about the effects of the gospel. When a person experiences the gospel in their lives, certain effects flow from that. Let me explain. There is, first of all, an upward effect. God, once angry with the sinner, when they come to believe the gospel and receive the gospel, God's anger is put away. Man is not reconciled to God. God is not reconciled to man. And so there is an upward effect when I believe the Gospel. I am now as one who is at peace with God. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is an upward effect in the Gospel and when the Gospel is received there is an inward effect. Because if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away and behold all things are become new. A new nature is given. A new heart is bestowed. New desires are implanted within the soul. New life. New life where death reigned. Life comes and reigns within. There is now assurance. There is now peace. The Holy Spirit comes to live within. Oh the blessed inward effect of the Gospel. And thirdly, there is an outward effect, an outward effect, because the person who comes to believe the gospel is a changed individual. Whereas before they were argumentative, we would use the word thrah, whereas before they were dishonest, full of anger, out of control, now they're peaceable, now they're honest, now they're gentle, now they're self-controlled. I say a religious experience that does not radically and does not permanently change a person's character and conduct is a fraudulent experience. Because the gospel of Christ changes, changes man and woman. The final thought is the liberty of the gospel, the letter L, the liberty of the gospel. According to Isaiah 61 verse 1, the gospel proclamation, it brings liberty to the captives. You see, by nature we are captives. We're captives to our sin, we're captives to Satan, but whenever Jesus Christ comes into the life, He sets the sinner free. He would say in John's Gospel, the chapter reads in the verse 36, if the Son therefore shall make you free, Ye shall be free indeed. Glorious freedom. Wonderful freedom. No more in chains of sin I repine. Jesus the glorious emancipator. Jesus forever. Yes, Jesus is mine. Ah, we're not free to live as we like. I'm not speaking about that kind of liberty. Oh, I'm speaking about liberty, liberty of conscience and liberty of soul. Once shackled and chained by sin, I find myself now in the freedom, the freedom of gospel liberty. God's Word, God's Word says that Christ can make you free. I wonder, do you long for liberty today? Do you long for freedom from the guilt and power of your sin? Well, such is offered to you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel. So whenever I think of that word gospel, I think about the grace of God in the gospel. I think of the origin of the Gospel, the very heart of God. I think about the scope of the Gospel, all the world. I think about the power of the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation. I think of the effects of the Gospel, an upward effect, an inward effect, an outward effect. And I think about the liberty of the Gospel. No wonder it excites us to tell out this Gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, come and receive the gospel. Believe the gospel. This gospel that tells you that you're a sinner. And thank God it also tells you that there's a savior for sinners. And that savior is Jesus Christ. Oh, that you'll come. Today, believe the gospel. And find all that I've said to be true. to a far greater extent to which I have been trying to explain it to you this afternoon. May God by His Spirit work in your heart and help you to come to Him and today believe and receive the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May the Lord be pleased to bless his word to our hearts this afternoon. Can I thank you for just giving us of your time. We appreciate that those who are listening. We appreciate you coming. And I want to just invite you again to hear the gospel. of Jesus Christ. I'll be in the church this evening, Portland-Owen Free Presbyterian Church. Make your way across the mini roundabout here on the left-hand side as you make your way towards Cullabacke. We're there in at the left-hand side just before you hit the final outer limits of the town. Portland-Owen Free Presbyterian Church, 6.30 this evening. And I'll be there to preach the gospel. I'd love to have you as our guests. But above and beyond that, as we always say, I care not whether or not you come and place yourself in a pew in the church, for we desire that you'll come and you'll place yourself at the foot of the old rugged cross, there repent of your sin, believe the gospel, and then thereafter live the Christian life by the grace of God and by the help of the infilling of God the Holy Spirit. May God bring you then to Jesus Christ this afternoon. We're bowing in a word of prayer just at this time. Our Lord and our Savior, We thank you this afternoon for this gospel. What glorious news we have to tell. We rejoice that the gospel is a display, a manifestation of God's grace. For a man did not deserve, God aware, salvation to be found, to be devised, but God in grace. is found a way whereby his justice can be upheld and at the same time the sinner be released from the sin debt that is theirs. It all happens at the place called Calvary. where Jesus bled and suffered and died for our sins. Oh, bring sinners, therefore, to Christ and to his cross. And may they come, even this afternoon, and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me pray these, our prayers, in and through the Savior's precious and holy name. Amen.