Come Alive (Audio)

Have you ever been face to face with sin in your life that you've heard in a sermon or read in the Bible, and you just turned a blind eye? Sometimes we downplay what we know is God's voice, and sometimes we ignore the Holy Spirit when He's convicting us. As Pastor Mark continues his teaching series through 1 Samuel, he'll be challenging us to not simply be hearers of the Word only, but to be doers as well. God demands change when He fills us with His Holy Spirit. God requires us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He sanctifies us and makes us more into the image of Jesus.

The Bible say's that sin is pleasurable, but only pleasurable for a season! There comes a point when the destructive nature of sin will begin to bear fruit in your life and the amount of grief and decay that takes place will greatly over shadow the temporary season of pleasure that sin gives. Today, Pastor Mark will be reminding us that Satan doesn't just bring random situations our way, but he baits us with specific temptations that appear “not so bad”. He is called the father of lies, and he manipulates and deceives us into believing that sin doesn't have consequences. We need to submit to God, and reject that devil and he will flee!

There are many false teachings out there being preached in many churches that say Christians are never supposed to experience trials and hardship. Jesus Himself sent His disciples into a boat to cross the other side, knowing there was a storm that would challenge their faith and cause extreme discomfort. Thankfully, Jesus had His eye on them the whole time as they were going through this trial. When we live in obedience to God's Word, no matter what the trial or hardship, Jesus is right there covering us. He works out all things for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.

As Pastor Mark continues his teaching through the book of 1 Samuel, he'll be encouraging us to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to cooperate with His leading. As humans we tend to like the idea that we are the ones in control of our own lives and fate. Now, as Christians we unfortunately still struggle from time to time with letting this go and giving our lives over to the Lordship of Jesus in our day to day decisions. Thankfully God is gracious, and even when we make a mistake God provides us with a U-turn back in the right direction. Our goal is to die to ourselves, and to allow more of Jesus to reign in us.

Jesus said: “I am the Vine, you are the branches, a part from Me, you can do nothing”. This is a scripture that we should truly take to heart, because it has major implications for our lives. It's a foundational truth that once applied, will allow us to have victory over any sin that has a stronghold over our lives. As Pastor Mark continues his teaching series through the Book of 1 Samuel, he'll be encouraging us to spend intimate time with Jesus in prayer and through His Word. It's only by this intimate connection to the Vine, that we can produce the fruit of the Spirit. Are you producing good fruit, or bad fruit?

Do you realize that you're in a spiritual battle? As a Christian, you have an enemy that wants to destroy your walk with the Lord every moment of your life here on Earth. Since Satan can't harm God, he tries to ruin God's children. Today, Pastor Mark will be reminding us that the only way we can be successful in this spiritual battle is by giving it over to the Lord. The Bible say's: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit say's the Lord of Hosts. Sometimes we try to overcome our flesh and temptations in our own strength and too often we are left defeated. We simply need to cooperate with the work and power of the Holy Spirit in us!

It's been said: “ The family that prayers together, stays together”. This may seem like a nice sounding quote with a ring to it, but it's actually quite biblical. The only way we have a shot at maintaining a successful marriage, is by having a close, intimate relationship with Jesus first and foremost. Today, Pastor Mark will be exhorting us to have harmonious fellowship with God, and in doing so all our other relationships will thrive as well, especially with our spouse. When you choose to sacrifice your time in the morning or in the evening to pray and read the Word of God, you'll end up reaping a spiritual reward!

Marriage is a sacred covenant that has been instituted by God. It was meant to be a symbol of the covenant made between Jesus and the Church, His bride. This is the main reason that marriage is so viciously attacked by the Devil, because he wants to ruin any picture of the love of God towards His people. As Pastor Mark teaches us the account of Abigail and Nabal, he'll be reminding us that just because your spouse may fall in sin or act foolish, it doesn't mean the other should abandon them. The Bible say's two heads are better than one, and you need to lift up your spouse when they fall, not just give up on them and walk away.

As Pastor Mark continues his teaching series through the Book of 1 Samuel, he'll be reminding us that God's desire for us is to act on our will and not on our feelings. The heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it? If we were to act on our feelings, we would be in a lot of trouble. Our flesh is unfortunately still a part of us while we are living on this Earth. We need to learn like David did, to keep our emotions in check while making decisions, and to act according to the will of God. All throughout the Bible we are commanded to refrain from things that our emotions would desire us to do.

Have you ever read a command from the Lord in the Bible that you just knew you couldn't obey in your own strength? Today, Pastor Mark will be challenging us to obey God's Word supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit that now lives within us. We don't battle against flesh and blood, our warfare is against spiritual principalities and demons, our only shot at living a victorious Christian life is by God's Spirit. In order to turn the other cheek and love those that persecute us, we need to be abiding in Jesus the Vine. The only way we can bear the fruit of the Spirit is by staying closely connected to Him.