Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

Jesus had to endure the absolute worst of humanity. Not only did He come face-to-face with every form of sin, but He was also subjected to some of the worst torture that humans could come up with. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that Jesus spilled blood seven times as He stood tall against sin. But in all of the pressure He faced, Jesus never resorted to sinful anger. The same strength that helped Jesus endure the violence of this world is available to you today, as you endure trials in your own life.

Throughout the Bible, God has called people to give their very lives to receive a greater reward in Heaven. If you study Church history for even a brief moment, you will read story after story of people who faithfully answered this call. Now, Pastor Jeff isn’t trying to tell you that you will be forced to choose between the Gospel and your own life! But there will come a time when following Jesus will cost you something, and choosing to remain faithful to Him will grant you a greater reward in Heaven!

When you’re stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway, the only way to get out of traffic is to take an exit or to stay the course and wait to get through the bottleneck. But when we’re facing a trial in our walk with Christ, we don’t always get to choose how we overcome it! In today’s message, Pastor Jeff teaches us that sometimes God rescues us from the difficult times we are facing. But there are also times when His deliverance manifests as a supernatural strength to endure and outlast our trials. 

Moses could have spent his entire life without giving a single thought to the plight of his fellow Israelites. He lived the life of a prince and had access to all of the riches in Egypt. While you and I probably didn’t grow up in royalty, we similarly have the opportunity to live for worldly things. But Pastor Jeff teaches us today that to live a truly fulfilling life, we need to reject the riches of this world! When we leave that all behind to obey the Lord, we establish a place for ourselves in His eternal Kingdom!

One of the three essential elements to building a strong spiritual root system is reading God’s Word! The Bible wasn’t just written for people two thousand years ago; it is full of wisdom that is relevant to you and me today! Pastor Jeff teaches us that we can never learn too much from God’s Word. Every day that we open our Bibles, we are opening new opportunities to hear from our Heavenly Father. The Lord has already given us all of the tools we need to succeed in this world, and it starts with His Word.

Trees can grow extremely deep and complex root systems! These roots help anchor trees to the ground, but are also useful to draw moisture from deep underground. These root systems can even stretch down hundreds of feet, depending on the environment! Well, Pastor Jeff wants to teach you in today’s message that your faith in Jesus is a lot like a tree. With weak, shallow roots, your faith can be uprooted in a mild breeze. But with deeper roots, you will be able to withstand strong storms.

Everyone knows that a boomerang is supposed to come back to you when you throw it, but have you actually tried it for yourself? It turns out that it takes some practice to properly throw that boomerang without it crashing to the ground. Today, Pastor Jeff teaches you about the story of Moses, and how his life began with a giant act of faith! His mother placed her newborn son in a basket on the Nile River, entrusting him to God, and was soon rewarded as Pharaoh’s daughter enlisted her to care for her own son!

In the documentary Free Solo, a rock climber named Alex Honnold (HAWN-old) performs the first-ever free solo climb of El Capitan, a three-thousand-foot-tall rock in Yosemite National Park. He has to have complete certainty of his abilities because he has no tools or helpers to assist him on his climb. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that Abraham had to have an even greater level of faith in God! He had faith that even though he was climbing a mountain to sacrifice his son to the Lord, he would not be returning alone.

In C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape gives instructions to his nephew, Wormwood, on how to make a Christian man lose his faith. Wormwood is told to use subtle methods to undermine the man’s faith in God, so that it crumbles from the inside out. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that Satan will employ those very tactics against you! He places trials and obstacles in your life to attack your faith in God, but you can resist him by choosing to trust in God, despite your struggles. 

The easiest way to get discouraged from the difficult path you are on is to look back. After all, if the road ahead is so hard, wouldn’t it be easier to go back to where you were before? But Pastor Jeff encourages you today to stay on the straight-and-narrow path God has called you to! Abraham knew that God’s promises ahead were greater than the challenges he would face on his journey. He was able to stay the course and become the father of a great nation, all because he didn’t look back!