Good News About God

God is not mad at people
God is not mad at you. God loves you. That is central to the gospel of Christ. God loves people. In that wonderful verse, John 3:16, we are reminded that “God so loves the world that He gave His only son…” He loves you. God loves everybody. God is not mad at people, He’s mad at sin! God has no time for that which separates people from Himself, but He’s not mad at people — He loves them!

In Romans 5:8 it says that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I like that word “demonstrates” (NKJV), for God not only loves us but He proved it by sending His Son to the cross of Calvary to die for you and me. When we accept Him, Romans 5:5 tells us that “the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” His love has been poured into me, into you! That is why we are like Him, for I John 4:8,16 says that “God is love.” That is all part of the good news of Christ.

God wants only the best for you
Amazing as it is to learn that God is a good God, that He is a people-person and is not mad at you, I also teach you constantly and unashamedly that God has only the best for you. We not only teach this but we practise it also.

The “best” for you includes health, wealth, and happiness. Even the Old Testament believers were told that God would deliver them “from the perilous pestilence” (Psalm 91:3). They were not to be “afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:5-7). “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (verse 16). God wants the best for His children. He does not want anything to happen to you that is destructive, that is downgrading, that will set you back.

Health is good for you
In Psalm 103:3 we are told that God is the one “Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.” God is as interested in your health as He is in other parts of your life. Jesus spent a large part of His ministry helping people with their health problems. Acts 10:38 says that “He went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.” Health is part of the full or complete good news of Christ.

A sick person cannot usually help another sick person, a poor person cannot help another poor person, a depressed person cannot help another depressed person; God needs people who are enjoying life to the full and maximising their potential to be able to lift a hand to help someone else.

Wealth is good for you
God has made a provision for your wealth too. I teach strongly and will continue to do so that God has laid down a principle in the Bible regarding giving and receiving. “Give, and it shall be given to you…” (Luke 6:38). God’s will for you is not only health but also wealth. God does not want you to have just enough to scrape by. Jesus came that we “might have life and that we might have it more than abundantly” (John 10:10). That is not just an existence, but an abundance.

We all need more money than is necessary to pay our bills, so that we can help someone else along life’s way. If you do not have abundance, something left over, you will not be able to help others. We must understand this great truth in the light of what God teaches us in the Word about His supply and our possessions. “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers” (III John 2); that is a key verse on God’s desire and provision for your wealth. There is a relationship there that needs to be fulfilled in order to enjoy the flow of God’s prosperity.

Happiness is good for you
Of course, God wants you to have happiness also. Why endure your religion when you can enjoy it? God’s plan for you is clear I Timothy 6:17, “Trust in… the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” Life is meant to be enjoyed. This too is part of the good news of Christ.

You do not have to drag your body around and be miserable all your days. We do not put joy on the shelf when we become a Christian. We actually pick true joy off the shelf and really start to live and enjoy life. God wants only the best for you: health, wealth, and happiness. The reason God has set teachers in the church is so that they can motivate and encourage you to make a contribution to life and enjoy it while you are doing it.

Good news about God
Yes, the good news of Christ is that God is a good God, He is a people-person He is not mad at you, and He wants only the best for your life. Will you rise to His challenge and believe it?

An extract from the final teaching of Rev. Peter Wade after nine years of ministry at the Community Christian Church, Ingle Farm, South Australia, 7th August 1988.

Copyright (c) 1997 Peter Wade. The Bible text in this publication, except where otherwise indicated, is from the King James Version. This article appears on the site: http://peterwade.com/. In print as chapter 18 of the book “Exploring God’s Amazing Word” by Peter Wade.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]