Let there be light!

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. repent, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:14-15 MKJV

Over the years I have worked with hundreds of non-believers who have lived perfectly normal and mostly happy lives. They have generally accepted my Christian"lifestyle" as an oddity or eccentricity in an otherwise relatively normal person. I have never encountered open hostility for my religious beliefs, and I have certainly never been persecuted for my faith.

I have heard numerous sermons that imply either explicitly or indirectly that unbelievers lead unhappy and unfulfilled lives. For a long time I attempted to "convert" my colleagues convinced that my lifestyle was better than theirs, that they were dissatisfied with their hollow lives, and that they would respond to the call of Jesus if I could show them that He was the answer to all their problems.

If my colleagues were unhappy, afraid, lonely, friendless, poor or broken, then Jesus was the answer to their problems.... there is nothing wrong with that message, it's absolutely true, but it's only part of solution!

Most unbelievers are not unbelievably miserable, they delight in their unrighteousness, they enjoy their sin, usually not even acknowledging it as sin. 

By concentrating on the negative aspects of life, by stressing that Jesus was/is a "problem solver" I was reinforcing the generally held belief that Christianity was/is for weaklings, and more specifically Christians are feeble people, unable to cope with the vagaries of life.

This is not the message of the Gospel! 

The message of the Gospel is twofold.... the first message is the one that most of us familiar with: namely the Christ died for our sins to reconcile us to Father God.

There is another aspect to the Gospel that we don't hear much about today. Luke records Jesus' thoughts on the message of the Gospel "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been." Luke 16:16 MKJV

The Apostle Paul confirmed that message in Acts And he (Paul) went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 19:8 MKJV

The Kingdom of God was a constant message of Paul's. Acts 20:21-25 says “I have gone preaching the kingdom of God…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” He preached the same gospel to both Jew and Gentile. The Kingdom of God is the government of God, and its King is Jesus.   Many Christians proclaim a “gospel of salvation,” still others a “gospel of grace.” Some Preach a "gospel of miracles" or a "social gospel"   Yet others teach the “gospel of healing” or of “faith.” And there are some who merely think of “gospel music” when they hear this word. These man-made concepts all ignore the awesome truth of the Bible.    For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 KJV   Christ's Kingdom Of God message is a direct hammer blow to the counterfeit kingdom that the dark lord had set up after the fall of mankind. In Matthew 9:35-36 we read that "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”   The battle line was drawn right from the beginning. Right after Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, He was sent out into the desert to do battle with Satan. After 40 days without food and water, Jesus had made His point… He was setting out to destroy the dark lord's kingdom.     The light of the Gospel burns brightest when it's Kingdom Light!    And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed ... You saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold ... The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. Daniel 2:44-45

 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11 NKJV