Skinny Gospel (Matthew 7:16,20; 12:33ff; Romans 16:27; Acts 20:27; Hebrews 13:17; 2 Timothy 3:5; Luke 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:9)

PLANTING

I remember as a young child, every Spring, helping, with my other siblings, and my grandfather, preparing the ground on our 2-3 acres for planting. To a small child that large plot of ground seemed massive, and the corn; potatoes; and rows of peas and carrots, seemed unending, both in the planting and in the weeding. Every year we always gave away much more than we seemed to keep. I guess that was my grandfather's ultimate intention, since he was continuously giving of his time; talents; and garden produce.

FRUIT

We never planted potatoes and ended up with radishes coming up, nor did we plant corn, but it produced a crop of cabbage. Jesus said, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?...by their fruits you shall know them" (Matt.7:16,20). Again, He said,"...the tree is known by (its) fruit" (Matt.12:33). Specifically, He was speaking of what we individually produce, or what comes out of our lives, and in Matthew 12:33ff, He was speaking about how our words, and the treasure of our heart, is manifested through our lives.

OUR GOSPEL

Paul spoke of "...Him that is of power to establish you, according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ..." (Rm.16:27) Again, he said,"...if our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost..." In both texts, he personalized and claimed ownership of his message, calling it "my gospel", or "our gospel".

WHOLE PURPOSE

Again, Paul declared, "...I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) [Amplified].

"For I have not fallen short at all of preaching to you the whole purpose of God concerning you" (Berkley/TCNT)

WHOLE PLAN

Many well meaning pastors and leaders, have shrunk back from declaring the whole plan and purpose of God, to the point where their congregation, that they "...must give account.." (Heb.13:17) for, have "...a form of godliness but they are strangers to its power, not giving expression to its power" (2 Tim. 3:5, Berkley/Williams). The congregation is anemic to the flow and power of the gospel of God.

THE SEED

The seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11), and "the gospel" that you sow in the field of your heart, [because we are God's garden (1Cor.3:9, Amplified), "...you belong to God as His field to be tilled..." ( Williams)], will determine the harvest in your life!

YOUR GOSPEL

You need a healing gospel to reap a harvest of expectation to be healed. You need a financial prosperity gospel, to expect to prosper financially. You need a praying in tongues gospel to partake and enjoy the blessing and benefits of that manifestation of the Holy Spirit. You need a deliverance gospel to experience freedom from demonic oppression. You need a manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit gospel, to see tongues; interpretation of tongues; gifts of healings; special faith; working of miracles; word of knowledge; and all the nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit, showing up in your church.

WHOLE GOSPEL

You will live the gospel that you preach, and enjoy the benefits, or the lack thereof. Please do not let the naysayers and purveyors of doubt and unbelief, rob you of the whole gospel of God. Nothing of God's Gospel passed away with the early church. All the gifts and all the offices of power go with the gospel, and you decide whether you will accept the whole counsel of God, or just bits and pieces.

FULL GOSPEL

The story is told of the individual who came to church, and the pastor noticed that the bible he was carrying seemed really thin, so the pastor asked the member, "What happened to the rest of your bible?" The member responded, "Well pastor, I just tore out all the pages that you said aren't for us today, and this skinny little bible is all I have left". You can settle for a skinny little gospel, or a FULL gospel of all that the Father has for you.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours