Sermon Recap: Run With the Right Message

There is a difference between being eager to deliver a message and actually having something worth saying. You can run with all your strength, get there before everyone else, and still fail to deliver what people need to hear. Speed means very little if the message is wrong.

In 2 Samuel 18, we find a story of two messengers racing to bring news to King David. A battle has taken place, and the king is waiting anxiously to hear the outcome. But his greatest concern isn't who won or lost. It is his son Absalom. He wants to know if his son is alive.

During the battle, Absalom's mule runs out from under him, leaving him hanging by his hair in a tree, suspended between heaven and earth. Joab finds him and thrusts three javelins into his heart. Absalom dies, and the news must be carried back to the king.

One messenger, Ahimaaz, is eager to run. He eventually outruns the other messenger and reaches the king first. But when David asks about his son, Ahimaaz cannot give him the answer he desperately wants. He offers a general report that all is well but avoids the hard truth.

The second messenger brings the actual news. Absalom is dead.

There is an important lesson in this story: Not everyone who runs is carrying the right message.

We can have all the passion in the world, but if we aren't carrying the truth, our running is in vain.

The Message Has Already Been Finished

The imagery surrounding Absalom's death offers a striking opportunity to reflect on the cross. A man suspended from a tree, three weapons piercing him, and a king waiting for news of his son. While Absalom's character and actions were nothing like Christ's, the imagery points our attention toward the sacrifice Jesus would one day make on a tree.

At Calvary, Jesus took upon Himself what belonged to us. He carried our sin, bore our punishment, and shed His blood so that we could have victory over sin and death. What we deserved was placed on Him, and through faith in Him, we receive what we could never earn for ourselves.

The Gospel is not a message about what we must do to finish what Jesus started. It is the good news of what Jesus has already finished.

From the cross, Jesus declared, "It is finished" (John 19:30, NIV). Those three words changed everything. His sacrifice was sufficient. His blood was enough. There is nothing we can add to make His work more complete.

Hebrews 10:12-14 reminds us that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins for all time. Unlike the sacrifices that came before Him, His work did not need to be repeated. He sat down because the work was done.

This is the message we have been entrusted to carry. Not a gospel of Jesus plus our good works, Jesus plus religious traditions, or Jesus plus something we can accomplish in our own strength. It is Jesus, fully and completely. We don't need to improve the Gospel, update it, or make it more appealing by taking away the parts that challenge us. We need to believe it, live it, and share it.

Don't Run Without the Right Message

In Romans 10:2-3, Paul describes people who have a zeal for God but lack the right knowledge. Their passion was real, but their understanding was misplaced. They were busy pursuing righteousness on their own terms rather than submitting to the righteousness that comes from God.

It is possible to be passionate about ministry, eager to serve, and excited to reach people, yet lose sight of the very message we are called to proclaim.

We can become so concerned with making people feel comfortable that we avoid talking about sin, repentance, the cross, and the need for a Savior. We can become so focused on attracting a crowd that we forget our responsibility to point people to Jesus.

But the Gospel was never meant to be a feel-good message that leaves us unchanged. When we truly understand what Jesus did for us, it moves us. It brings us to our knees. It reminds us that the punishment we deserved fell on Him. The response of a heart that understands the cross is not complacency, but surrender.

Paul warned the Galatians in Galatians 1:6-9 not to turn to a different gospel. Even a message that sounds spiritual can become dangerous when it distorts the truth. We must be careful not to add to what God has already established or take away what He has commanded us to proclaim.

The World Needs the Full Gospel

In Mark 16:15, Jesus gives His followers a clear commission: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

Notice what He tells them to carry. The Gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ.

Mark's Gospel gives us a picture of the miracle-working power of Jesus. We see Him calm storms, heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, and feed the hungry. These miracles reveal His authority and compassion. And the same Jesus who worked miracles then is still able to work in people's lives today.

But the greatest miracle of the Gospel is the transformation of a human heart. The message isn't simply that Jesus can change our circumstances. It is that He can change us. He can forgive sin, restore what is broken, and give us new life.

There are people all around us who need to hear that message. They may come from different backgrounds, hold different beliefs, or see the world differently than we do. But we cannot write people off or decide they are beyond the reach of God's grace. We are called to carry the truth with courage, compassion, and love.

The question isn't how fast we can run, how loudly we can speak, or how many people we can gather. The question is whether we are carrying the complete-message Jesus entrusted to us.

The world doesn't need another version of the Gospel. It needs the real thing. It needs to hear that Jesus died, that He rose again, and that salvation is found in Him alone.

The work is finished. The message is complete. Now it is our turn to run with it.

If you missed the message from yesterday, you can listen to it here.

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