Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

The most devoted music fans won’t just see their favorite artist when they play a show in their city, they’ll travel hundreds of miles to see them perform in different cities, or even different countries! Now, Pastor Jeff wants you to imagine what it’s like to pursue Christ just like a superfan pursues their favorite artist. What is Jesus asking of you today? Are you willing to lay everything down to draw closer to Him? Whatever you give up to follow Him today will be returned to you a hundred times over in Heaven.

In 1859, Charles Blondin accomplished the impossible by crossing over Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He made this crossing many times, and he even crossed with someone riding on his back! Can you imagine trusting someone with your life like that? Well, Jesus asks you to trust Him with all of that and more, but He doesn’t leave you to make those decisions alone. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that Jesus gives you all the assurance you need in God’s Word. You can trust Him with everything!

The reason that faith is able to protect you from all of Satan’s attacks is that it doesn’t come from you! The enemy knows how to exploit your willpower, your resolve, and your intellect. But Pastor Jeff is here today to remind you that when you have faith, you are given supernatural protection! The enemy can’t harm you because he can’t even touch you! As a child of God, you are given the shield of faith that will knock aside every single one of Satan’s schemes. His attacks bounce off of that holy shield!

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. 

Have you actually seen how water slides off a duck’s back? Duck feathers are naturally waterproof, thanks to a special oil that the duck’s body produces. It creates a shield that stops water from soaking through their outer feathers into the interior layers of down feathers. In today’s message, Pastor Jeff reminds you that when you have the shield of faith, God protects you from the enemy’s attacks against your peace! Satan’s missiles will bounce and slide off of you like water off a duck’s back. 

One of the best descriptions of God’s peace is found in Psalm 23. When we’re at peace, we have everything we need thanks to our Good Shepherd. He leads us to still waters and green pastures, and He protects us from our enemies, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Well, Pastor Jeff teaches us today that Satan is trying to destroy every element of that peace that we have in the Lord. He stands against every good thing the Lord has given us in this life.

The saying goes that you become like the people you surround yourself with. If your closest friends lead you into sinful actions, or they distract you from pursuing God, the best thing you can do to take care of your soul is to walk away from those friendships! Pastor Jeff reminds you today that a true, Godly friend will encourage you as you chase after the Lord’s holiness. The pain of losing those ungodly friendships is only going to be temporary, but the reward for following Jesus is eternal life!

If you watch a professional demolish a wall with a sledgehammer, they make it look easy! Just a few swings of the hammer, and the whole wall is knocked down. But when you go to pick up the hammer for yourself, you realize it’s much heavier than you thought, and knocking down that wall becomes harder than it looked. Well, in today’s message, Pastor Jeff teaches you that the strongholds in our lives are built out of the heavy bricks of lies. You can’t knock down those walls without God’s divine strength! 

One of the ways that false teachers try to deceive you is to disguise their untrue doctrine with the words of the Bible. The Jehovah’s Witnesses use a lot of the same vocabulary found in the Bible, but its meaning is twisted beyond recognition for human gain, while the Mormons try to elevate the Book of Mormon to the same level of honor as the Bible itself! Pastor Jeff reminds you to be aware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and to learn God’s Word for yourself so you can defend yourself against false teachers.