Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

Every piece of pottery in the entire world starts out as a lump of clay, harvested from the earth itself. It takes the work of a craftsman to transform that piece of clay into a vase, a plate, or any other object that you can imagine. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that while you and I are products of this world, we are meant to be shaped and formed into completely different beings. That’s where the Holy Spirit comes into play, because as we faithfully follow Jesus, He renews us from the inside out.

So many stories that are in the Bible are there to be instructive to the Christian life. The reason that the Bible spends time looking at Jesus casting out demons is because you and I have the task of fighting Satan’s forces in our time as well! Pastor Jeff will show us today how to recognize demonic influences in our world, and how we can call on the name of Jesus to cast out those evil spirits. It is not by our strength that we can do this, but it is through the power of Christ that is already in us.

When we go to see a stage play, we are usually only seeing part of the cast and crew on stage at any given time. Behind the scenes, there are all sorts of people making the show happen. Although these people work together to create an enjoyable experience for the audience, Pastor Jeff teaches us today that there are dark forces behind the curtains of our reality. Satan is real, and his objective is to push humanity further away from the love of God. But with Jesus’ help, we can fight back against the enemy.

There may be some of you listening to this program today, and thinking that you’re too small of a target for Satan. Maybe you’re not involved in ministry, and you’re not really doing anything to grow God’s Kingdom. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that since you have a unique and special calling on your life, that does make you a target in the enemy’s eyes! But God isn’t going to leave you exposed to danger. Satan and his forces cannot harm you, but they will do everything they can to lead you astray.

The book of Proverbs warns against pride, reminding us that it leads to destruction. Well, we also learn in today’s message that pride is the sin that turned Lucifer against God. Pastor Jeff doesn’t want us to indulge in pride, because when we think we’re the smartest people in the world, we put our own opinions over God’s. The wisest thing we can do as followers of Jesus is to be willing to die to ourselves every day so that we can follow the Lord better. That’s how we set ourselves apart from Satan.

The Bible teaches that all of life is precious. From the people you pass on the street every day, to unborn children around the world, every person on this planet is uniquely designed by God. But Pastor Jeff teaches you in today’s message that not everyone holds that same view of human life. One of the easiest ways to forget about the sanctity of human life is to ignore the One who created humanity in the first place. God made the entire universe, but humanity is His most prized creation.

Everything in this world has a beginning, especially the world itself! Pastor Jeff reminds you today that there are people who deny that there is an intelligent design to this world, and instead believe that it is the result of random chance. But if you’re going to have a Biblical worldview, you need to believe that God was involved in the Creation of the world! The Bible teaches that God created the entire world and called it good, and you are called to glorify God’s name by glorifying His handiwork in the world.

Aren’t you glad that there is a source of absolute truth in this world? It seems like that for every thing you hold to be true, there is a complication or an argument to be made against it, however minor it may be. However, Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the Word of God is a source of absolute truth, and it is still relevant today! While modern times are vastly different from Biblical times, Scripture gives you a solid worldview through which you can understand the world in the way that God sees it.

If you were to go ziplining, wouldn’t you trust a braided steel cable versus a ragged nylon rope? The stronger the material making up the rope, the more tension it will be able to withstand. And just like that zipline, you need the strongest materials, in order to get through the challenges of life. Pastor Jeff encourages you today to recognize God as the ultimate source of strength for your life. If you build your life on His principles, you won’t need to worry about what the world puts in your way.

When you’re in the Kingdom of God, there is no going back to the way things used to be! You can’t just turn back the clock and go back into a life of sin. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that just like the Israelites were taken out of slavery and left Egypt behind, Elisha left his former life behind when he chose to follow Elijah. His old line of work was left in the dust because Elisha had chosen to pursue the things of God. What is the Lord asking you to leave behind, to pursue His will for your life?