There is a process to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus teaches.
This process makes ministering with power, faith and love – easier. Knowing this process, you are more than clear about what to do next. Also, how to help someone take that next step.
I call this The Gospel Process.
The Gospel Process underlies the structure of how Jesus Ministered. He taught the Good News of the Kingdom of God. But preaching or teaching that Gospel is not the underlying process, although it uses that process. He often taught us to heal in that context. A context which changed the atmosphere, told an essential truth confirmed in listeners by Holy Spirit. Creating the atmosphere of the Anointed, his Anointing, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you want to minister more like Jesus, learn The Gospel Process and put it to work when you minister. When your ministry has been successful, you are probably already applying this process.
Like so much of what Jesus teaches & shows, this can work explicitly or implicitly. (You can look for and notice how he did this in Scriptures. You can learn a lot, especially if this is new to you and when you are ready to learn.)
Ministering healing and freeing people from unclean spirits is much more simple and easy when you understand The Gospel Process and allow it to work in and through your ministry.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God taught in the shortest form in your bible is in Mark 1:15:
Now is the time, the Kingdom of God is at hand (within reach); repent (make a new and better God-oriented, Kingdom oriented decision) and believe (rely, trust, and depend upon the Kingdom of God – and our King).
This scripture reveals the process when you read and meditate on this description. The process looks something like this:
- (Hear the Word of God, because faith comes by such hearing, with the help of Holy Spirit confirming that truth to our spirit: have faith!)
- Now. The time has finally come, and the time is now. (No other time is available; only now.)
- The time – a Kairos moment, a Divine Appointment, if you will accept it being said this way.
- Make a new decision, turning from your old life and orienting totally around the King and the Kingdom (rule) of God.
- Believe and trust in the King and his Kingdom.
Now…notice especially the actions, the inner actions of the person hearing and acting on this:
- Hear God’s Word and choose faith.
- Make a new decision that totally turns around your life. Turning away from how you’ve been to orienting completely towards your new and alternative way of living – towards the King and his Kingdom.
- Trusts and believe in God and his Kingdom.
Put those inner actions together and you have a process.
The same process that underlies and is The Gospel Process:
- Hear God’s word and choose to trust it, having faith. (Sometimes this is done implicitly, and that’s another article)
- In healing, a person at some deep level decides to be healed, to accept healing. Like the hemorrhaging woman who was so determined to touch the hem of the garments of Jesus (his fringes, or tallis) and receive healing: bringing her faith into contact with his Anointing. Her determination was so single minded and great that it reminds me of the being single and not double minded as in James 1. She already had great faith and determination. (From an experiential point of view, it’s hard to tell any difference between great determination and faith.)
- In exorcism, like the man who ran to the feet of Jesus before a legion of demons could overcome and prevent him, he ran to Jesus and fell at his feet. He already wanted to be freed! Jesus then used his authority and power (which he gave to his disciples and to us) to tell Legion to leave, and even how to leave.
In healing – with the help of Holy Spirit, faith, love, power and authority – already given by Jesus, we encourage and help someone decide to be healed (or decide to receive healing).
In exorcism, or freeing someone from one or more unclean spirits – with the help of Holy Spirit, faith, love, power and authority – already given by Jesus, we encourage and help someone decide to be freed healed (or decide to receive freedom).
So….
+In each case (healing or exorcism) we create an atmosphere of faith and the experience of the Presence of God (with Holy Spirit and by saying what God says so Holy Spirit can confirm this to the spirit of the person being helped) for God’s work to happen.
+We help or encourage them to make a new decision, orienting around God’s truth instead of orienting around their previous problems.
+To trust, rely on and believe in this new Kingdom of God reality. That is, to believe.
=This, put together, is The Gospel Process. It’s the same process that undergirds the Preaching or Teaching of the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and that works in creating a context for ministering healing or freedom.
I believe this is also true for cleansing lepers (a kind of healing, in my view) and for raising the dead – though I have not yet done these two things. I’m convinced that it’s the same Gospel Process at work.
Oh – and I did not yet mention that this same process undergirds the making of disciples. Again and again – from the first decision to follow Jesus and do what he said, to deciding to receive and act on every other moment of teaching.
The Gospel Process undergirds the entire (every step of) the Great Commission as in Matthew 28!
Now…review this. Follow the links and review what’s written on this page. And pray – talk with and listen to God. And meditate.
Get personal revelation about this through Holy Spirit. Write that revelation in your Journal. Whether it’s a Prayer Journal like mine, or any other journal for this. And if you do not have one, please start one.
And get your own personal revelation and insight on this. Then be a real disciple – apply what you are learning. And as you make other disciples or help disciple other disciples (or as you disciple each other) – share this and help them have their own revelation of this, too. And encourage them to apply what they are learning in their ministry.
Disciples perhaps for generations – and those healed or set free – will be glad for such powerful and effective ministry. Even if they do not know all the details of what happened and how you ministered with power, faith and with love.