Leaving Laodicea

One of the great things about the Lord is the fact He is slow to anger and abounds in mercy. In fact, Lamentations says “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They (His compassions) are new every morning; Great is Your (His) faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). Do you know what that means? It means no matter how bad yesterday was, we can always begin again tomorrow with our God. Always!

Do you believe that? Do you truly believe that?

If so, it means that no matter how great your sin, or failure, or disappointment, or bitterness, or unanswered prayer you suffered from yesterday, it is just that— yesterday’s news. And today it is all forgotten, all forgiven, all put to rest.

God promises His compassion is new, fresh, and in abundant supply every time we open our eyes and behold the new morning. They are new every morning. Not some mornings, but every morning. God provides His mercy and compassion to us each new day, regardless of how we defiled the day before.

Therefore, in wonder and appreciation, we cry out to our God, “Great is Your faithfulness!”

Absolutely. But the problem we often struggle with is not condemnation from God. But self-condemnation. We can’t imagine God’s mercy and compassion are so great it will revive us of our guilt for the things we have done wrong. But it does! All we have to do is accept it.

How should we respond to God’s mercy and compassion as we enter into the turbulent waters of 2021? Consider the following.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things (tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword) we are (present tense) more than conquerors (how) through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded (to be fully assured, confident, convinced) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 8:35-39.

And if God’s Word is true then we must learn to rest in how God sees us, even in our sin, and not how we see ourselves. For nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing. And that includes our own self-condemnation.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

486: Ask Yourself, “What Do I Truly Believe About…?”

485: How Can We Recover What We Have Lost

484: Some Questions I Really Want to Ask Joseph

483: Hey! Where Did All Our Leaders Go?

482: How to Experience God… Personally

After all the chaos and upheaval we’ve seen in our country these past few weeks that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of our republic and the church, we have come to a place in our lives where we must ask ourselves the question, What do I believe?

That’s right. What do I believe?

•  What am I willing to die for?

•  What is the mission and calling of my life?

•  What means the most to me?

•  And what truth will I not compromise on?

Or, as Martin Luther said when commanded to recant his beliefs to save his life, “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God.”

So let me ask you, what do you believe about the times in which we live?

I can’t speak for you, but I can tell you with confidence what I believe about the future. And it is summed up in seven short points.

•  I believe we are entering the end times.

•  I believe things will get very bad in the US over the next two years.

•  I believe inflation is a certainty.

•  I believe there will be shortages of food, gas, etc.

•  I believe we will face persecution as Christians.

•  I believe there is a great possibility of civil war.

•  And I believe we must prepare spiritually right now!

And since I believe these things, I will once again implore you, as the church, the Bride of Christ, to consider a deeper commitment to Him than ever before. In 2021 (or until He comes), consider following Him this way:

•  Consider opening your home for Bible study this year.

•  Consider getting together with others for Bible study, fellowship, and prayer.

•  Consider creative ways to teach your children about the “exceeding riches of His grace” in Christ.

•  And, if you don’t feel compelled to “Go” for the gospel, then consider bringing the lost to you (both home and church) to make disciples of them.

Ask yourself the same question: What do I believe? And pray we have the faith to see this journey to the end.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

485: How Can We Recover What We Have Lost

484: Some Questions I Really Want to Ask Joseph

483: Hey! Where Did All Our Leaders Go?

482: How to Experience God… Personally

481: Learning How to Pray to the Holy Spirit

When we compare the church today with the example given in the book of Acts, we come up short and wanting. It looks like what life was like in the book of Acts and our church life now are not even related, like they were from different parents, from different planets. And if you are honest with yourself, you will see how much we have lost and how far we have fallen from the prototype God gave us in His Word. Which begs the question: How can we recover what we have lost?

What do we know about the early church? Consider the following:

•  They lived in communities, like one large, extended family.

•  They met in homes or rented facilities. There was not a million-dollar building on every street corner that sat empty six days a week.

•  Their key distinctive was worship and evangelism. Or, worship expressed as evangelism.

•  They were led by lay leaders. You and me. The guy next door. There was nothing of the clergy, laity divide. There were no hired holy-men. Everyone was obedient to the command of Christ, individually.

•  They were guided by Scriptures. Not tradition, nor public opinion, nor vote of the congregation. God and His Word was the final authority.

•  Everyone was a priest. Each believer had direct access to the throne of God. Hence, they were all equal in His sight.

•  They had all things in common. This is probably the hardest concept to get our heads around since we are happy living in a narcissistic world.

•  They were known, both within and outside of the church, as holy men who lived sanctified lives.

Looks a bit different from any church I have ever been a part of. Can you say the same?

The early church took the commands of Jesus seriously. They did not pass them on to someone else or assume they were meant for only those who were “gifted” or “specifically called” to total commitment. They took responsibility knowing that Jesus’ commands still applied to them, and also to us, some 2,000 years later. Consider this command:

Matthew 28:18-21 – And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go (not stay) therefore and make disciples of all the nations, (how) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As Keith Green once sang, “Jesus commands us to go. It’s the exception if we stay.”

So as 2021 dawns on us, consider following Him this way:

•  Consider opening your home for Bible study this year.

•  Consider getting together with others for Bible study, fellowship, and prayer.

•  Consider creative ways to teach your children about the “exceeding riches of His grace” in Christ.

•  And, if you don’t feel compelled to “Go” for the gospel, then consider bringing the lost to you (both home and church) to make disciples of them.

Let 2021 be a year of spiritual renewal and revival for us as individuals and as His church. After all, it has to begin somewhere. Why not let it begin with you?

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

484: Some Questions I Really Want to Ask Joseph

483: Hey! Where Did All Our Leaders Go?

482: How to Experience God… Personally

481: Learning How to Pray to the Holy Spirit

480: How to be Filled by the Holy Spirit, Revisited

One of the most important things we can do to combat the coming apostasy, as we have shared before, is to develop an intimate relationship with both God and His Word. In essence, to have an experience with Him through His Word.  And we do this by slowing down and asking questions of the text, just like we would if we experienced it, first-person. As if we were actually there. Today, being close to Christmas, we will briefly look at the birth account of Jesus through Luke’s eyes and see if some questions arise when we read Luke’s words. Maybe some questions we would want to ask Joseph about the trip to Bethlehem.

And why is that so important?

To begin with, the first step in learning how to experience God through His Word is to slow down and take your time. In essence, give God time to speak to you. Remember the points we discussed earlier?

•  Take your time. After all, this ain’t no race, and the prize doesn’t go to the one who finished first. The winner is the one who hears from God.

•  Therefore, you must wait for God to speak to you wherever you are reading. Slow down and take your time. Remove the yoke of bondage you have placed on yourself with your agenda or Bible reading plan that is more important than experiencing God in His Word.

•  Again, slow down and take your time.

•  Wherever you are at in His Word, read the passage over and over again, out loud. Emphasize each word or phrase. Let your ears hear what your lips are reading. Use dramatic effect in your voice if necessary. Become the characters. Feel what they feel. And think what they must have been thinking.

•  Then ask the obvious questions or wait for questions to arise. They will if you don’t rush your time with Him. And when they do, watch what happens.

As an example, today we will look at Luke 2:1-21 and see if we can experience God in this account of Jesus’ birth by waiting for our questions to arise.

Can you think of any questions you would ask Joseph if he were sitting with you at a small cafe telling you the story you have heard every Christmas? What would you ask him?

How far along was Mary? Was she in much pain during the trip? And how many days did it take? Where did you sleep at night?

Why did you take her with you in the first place? Couldn’t you have made the trip faster alone and returned quicker if she stayed with her parents in Nazareth?

Did her birth pains come on suddenly, like a surprise, totally unexpected? Or did you have some warning her time was coming close?

Where did she give birth? Was it in a barn or stable? Or maybe in a cave where animals sheltered at night? Was it in an open field? Where did His birth take place?

How did you feel when the shepherds came to visit you that night? Did you immediately believe their story? Or did it take some time for it to sink in?

After the birth of Jesus, why did you not return to Nazareth? Why did you stay in Bethlehem? And what did you do to support your new family in Bethlehem?

And the list of questions could go on. The point is, none of these are specifically answered in Matthew’s or Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. But they are questions we would ask of Joseph, nonetheless. And by asking these questions, the Scriptures become more alive to us as we begin to experience God, through His Word, like never before.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

483: Hey! Where Did All Our Leaders Go?

482: How to Experience God… Personally

481: Learning How to Pray to the Holy Spirit

480: How to be Filled by the Holy Spirit, Revisited

479: The Stages of Our Commitment to Christ

As we see the church beginning to bend to the whims of our culture we struggle to ask how we, as the church, have let this happen on our watch? How did things in our society go so wrong, so fast? If the church is the light of the world and the salt of the earth, we have gone AWOL and abandoned our posts. And the reason is simple, we have a crisis of Godly leadership in the church, in our marriages, and in our families. Where did all our leaders go?

Part of this crisis is found in our assumptions about the church and the expectations of the Christian life. Consider the assumptions we, as men, constantly make regarding church and our responsibilities to lead our wives and children in the things of the Lord.

We assume:

•  There will always be a church on every street corner so I can freely church-shop without having to make a commitment to any in particular.

• There will always be paid staff to do ministry for me so I won’t have to.

• Praise and worship will always be what I enjoy. And if not, “I’m outta here, bub!”

• There will always be a preacher/pastor/teacher, my personal hired holy man who will do the heavy lifting for me and my family so I can spend my time doing other things that I enjoy more.

•  There will always be good study materials available for free so I won’t have to spend my money on learning the Bible but can spend it on what I want.

• Church will always be about me.

•  I can come when I want, late or not, no matter.

•  I can do what I want, no matter how it affects others.

•  I can live the type of life I want, sin and all, and if someone has a problem with that I can always leave and go to another church of my choosing.

But these are all just assumptions. And church life is quite different on the front lines. Again, where did all our leaders go?

Great question. But before you ask where all our leaders went, you need to ask yourself the most important question as you look in the mirror. How would you answer these questions:

Do you know enough about the Bible to spiritually lead your wife and children if you had to?

Are you personally growing in your faith in the Lord?

Can your wife and children see your growth?

And if not, why?

Do you judge your success as a man by your spiritual growth and knowledge of Christ?

Or are there other criteria you judge yourself by?

Does your wife feel confident with you to ask you a question she has about the Scripture?

Has she ever done that?

Could you give her the correct answer?

Or were you too busy with other stuff to be “diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, (how) rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)?

And now, the good news.

Would you like to know how to be proficient in “rightly dividing the word of truth?”

Would you like to acquire the skills necessary to understand the Word of God on your own, without having to have someone else explain it to you?

Would you like to have confidence in teaching and explaining His Word accurately and intimately?

If so, this message (and the ones to follow), will give you the tools you need to grow into the man of God you were meant to be.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

482: How to Experience God… Personally

481: Learning How to Pray to the Holy Spirit

480: How to be Filled by the Holy Spirit, Revisited

479: The Stages of Our Commitment to Christ

478: It’s More Than Just Stumbling Forward

One of the best ways to soar above the apostasy that seems to be raising its ugly head in the church today is to have a true, passionate, life-changing experience with the Lord. No, we’re not talking about memorizing more Scripture or doubling your time in prayer, although those things will help you experience God personally. And we are not talking about growing in your knowledge of the Lord if that means knowing Him as we know George Washington, all history and facts, impersonal doctrine and theology. What changes your heart is to experience God in a personal way, where He speaks to you and you recognize His voice.

But how is that done? How do we experience God? And why is that even important?

Let’s answer the last question, first, by listing some troubling facts discovered about evangelicals in a recent Barna survey. This alone should show us that knowledge has replaced experience in the church today.

According to a recent Barna study of professing evangelicals:

• 48% believe a person who is good enough or does enough good works can earn eternal salvation

• 44% claim the Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion

• 44% do not believe that history is the unfolding narrative of God’s reality

• 43% maintain that when Jesus was on earth, He sinned

• 43% do not believe that there is a common, God-given purpose to humanity (i.e., to know, love, and serve Him)

• 42% seek moral guidance primarily from sources other than the Bible

• 42% do not identify and confess their sins on a daily basis

• 40% do not believe that human life is sacred

• 40% accept lying as morally acceptable if it advances personal interests or protects one’s reputation

• 39% identify the people they always respect as being only those who have the same beliefs as they possess

• 36% prefer socialism to capitalism

• 36% fail to seek and pursue God’s will for their life

• 34% reject the idea of legitimate marriage as one man and one woman

• 34% argue that abortion is morally acceptable if it spares the mother from financial or emotional discomfort or hardship

• 32% do not thank or worship God each day

How is this even possible in a nation that has “In God We Trust” on its currency?

Most of the church boasts of head knowledge and little experience with the living God. After all, it is the experience with God that made ordinary men heroes in the Old and New Testaments. Think about it.

Adam and Eve – Genesis 3

Moses – Exodus 3

Israel – Exodus 19, 20

Elijah – 1 Kings 19

Isaiah – Isaiah 6

Peter – Matthew 16

And so many more.  Remember,

God, who at (what) various times and (what) in various ways (what) spoke (when) in time past to (whom) the fathers (how) by the prophets, (God) has (when) in these last days (what) spoken to us (how) by His Son, (described as) whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. – Hebrews 1:1-2

God can speak to anyone He wants, at any time, in any place, and for whatever reason. All we have to do is be ready to listen. And when He does speak and we experience Him like never before, ah, hang on, for the adventure has just begun.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

481: Learning How to Pray to the Holy Spirit

480: How to be Filled by the Holy Spirit, Revisited

479: The Stages of Our Commitment to Christ

478: It’s More Than Just Stumbling Forward

477: Right Now, Where Are We In Prophetic History?

If you ask most Christians, they will tell you their prayer life is usually directed to the “Father” or “God” or “Lord” and in the “name of Jesus”. Yes, there are some who actually pray to Jesus but seldom, if ever, do you hear of someone praying to the Holy Spirit. And why is that? Often it is because we have been taught by well-meaning Sunday School teachers that “We are never to pray to the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit always gives glory to the Father and the Son, and never to Himself.”  Which is basically true but misses the point altogether. So the question remains, is praying to the Holy Spirit wrong?

In order to understand this key question, we have to look once again at the definition of the trinity. These are the facts from Scripture, even though they are difficult to understand.

One, God eternally exists as three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Two, each of them is fully God.

Three, there is one God.

This means Jesus and the Father are the same, yet separate. Therefore, if you have seen Jesus, then you have seen the Father (John 14:9).  In fact, Jesus said “the Father who (what) dwells in Me (ménō – to remain, abide, live, to be united with someone in heart, mind, and will) does the work (referring to the works that Jesus does that He offers as proof that He and His Father are one and that He exists “in” His Father and His Father exists “in” Him.)

But what does that say about the Holy Spirit?

As you will discover in this message, the relationship Jesus has with His Father is the same relationship the Holy Spirit has with us. Let that sink in. Jesus is “in” His Father and His Father is “in” Jesus (John 14:10). And we will find that the Holy Spirit resides “in” us as we are “in Christ.” The implications are staggering.

Consider the following few truths:

“And I will pray (ask, request) the Father, and He will give you another (állos – another of the same kind, not another as in different) Helper (paraklētos – just like Jesus), that He may abide (menō) with you (how long) forever— (described as) the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot (no, not, never, under any circumstance) receive, (why) because it (the world) neither sees Him (John 3:8) nor knows (ginōskō) Him; but you know (ginōskō) Him, (how) for He (what) dwells (menō) with you and will be (what) in you” – John 14:16-17.

Therefore, since Jesus was soon to be crucified, resurrected, and ascended into heaven, He was able to encourage His disciples by saying:

“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (in the Person of the Holy Spirit)” – John 14:18.

And it gets even better.

But what does this have to do with our praying to the Holy Spirit and not just to God the Father or Jesus His Son? Ah, much. To discover more, keep listening.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

480: How to be Filled by the Holy Spirit, Revisited

479: The Stages of Our Commitment to Christ

478: It’s More Than Just Stumbling Forward

477: Where Are We In Prophetic History?

476: What is the Condition of the Church Today?

If you look around, you can see darkness coming upon our land. There is no denying it. Just watch the news. It’s depressing. And the church is not immune to what happens in the culture. In fact, the church often follows the culture to its own demise, which is what we are seeing today. We are in the early stages of the great apostasy Jesus warned us about in Matthew 24. But we also have a mighty weapon to confront the darkness. And that weapon is the Holy Spirit. So the most important question we can ask ourselves is this: How can I be filled with the Hoy Spirit? How can I have more of Him in me?

But when it comes to the Holy Spirit, many of us are confused and conflicted as to what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Is it a Charismatic thing or is it for everyone? Is it something that comes naturally, or do we have to ask for this filling? And if we have to ask, are there any conditions we must meet first? Again, if there are conditions, what are they?

Ah, so many questions and so much confusion.

D.L. Moody once spoke about the need to be filled by the Spirit (and he was a pretty non-Charismatic guy). Look at what he said:

“I believe firmly, that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and self-seeking, and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Ghost will come and fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit, and ambition and self-seeking, and pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God; and I believe many a man is praying to God to fill him when he is full already with something else. Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him to empty us.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. But how is someone filled by the Holy Spirit?

The key to living a life of assurance and confidence in Him is learning how to remain filled with the Holy Spirit. And before you can remain filled, you have to be filled in the first place. This is what this message talks about.

We talk about some steps you can take to prepare yourself for His filling. They are as follows:

First, you must desire to live a life that will please the Lord.

Second, be willing to surrender your life totally and irrevocably to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Third, confess every known sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and experience the cleansing and forgiveness that God promises in 1 John 1:9.

Fourth, ask Him, by faith, to fill you with the Holy Spirit. You can pray something like this:

Dear Father, I need You.

I hunger and thirst for a more vital relationship with You. I admit that I have been in control of my life. And, as a result, I have sinned against You. Thank You for forgiving my sins through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now confess and turn from my sins and surrender the control of my life to the Lord Jesus. By faith, I invite You to fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled. You promised to fill me if I ask according to Your will. I pray this in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ.

To demonstrate my faith, I now thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit and for taking control of my life. Amen.

But that’s not the end of it. There is so much more about all this that we cannot do it justice in this simple summary. To find out more, you will need to keep listening.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

479: The Stages of Our Commitment to Christ

478: It’s More Than Just Stumbling Forward

477: Right Now, Where Are We In Prophetic History?

476: What is the Condition of the Church Today?

475: How to Understand the “Why” Questions

Each of us, when presented with the call of Christ, goes through certain stages of our commitment to Him. This happened with all the disciples, even Peter. We start out optimistic and full of hope and then, if we’re not careful, we end up sad, apathetic, and discouraged because things didn’t turn out the way we envisioned in the beginning. Or, we begin our relationship with Christ at a full sprint, with reckless abandon, only to lose our fervency over time as we see others do the same.

But this is not the way our life with Him was designed from the beginning. If you remember, we were bought with a price and no longer belong to ourselves. We are now His and His alone.

Just think, in John 2:11 the disciples believed in Him but had yet to totally commit their lives to Him. Their belief and commitment to Jesus at this time was much like our commitment to Him today. We maintain our independence and call our own shots yet claim total devotion to the Lord. But that is not what He was looking for then.

Nor is it what He is looking for now.

In this study, we’ll look at how long it took Peter to move from part-time follower to forsaking all for the Lord. It is a gradual process of letting go of what you know and embracing the unknown by faith. And as it was with Peter then, so it is with many of us today.

Consider the following in the life of Peter:

•  Peter is introduced to Jesus in John 1:41-42.

•  Peter was obviously following Jesus as he witnessed the miracle in Cana in John 2:1-11.

•  And Peter “believed in Him” (John 2:11) but had not yet fully committed himself to the Lord.

•  Peter, still following Jesus part-time, went with Jesus to Jerusalem and witnessed His first cleansing of the Temple in John 2:13-22.

•  Jesus calls Peter (and the other three) to follow Him the first time (but they later returned to their old life) – Matthew 4:13 -22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 4:31a.

•  Jesus then heals in the Synagogue in Capernaum – Mark 1:22-28, Luke 4:13b-37.

•  Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law in Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-34, Luke 4:38-41.

•  Jesus continues to minister throughout Galilee – Matthew 4:23-24, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42-44.

And then something changed in the call of Christ and Peter’s response when Peter “forsook all” to follow Jesus.

•  Jesus later calls Peter (and the other three) to follow Him the second time (and they responded and forsook all to follow Him) – Luke 5:1-11.

Where are you in the continuum of God’s call on your life? Do you know what life He is calling you to? Do you know what is standing between where you are now in your spiritual life and where He wants you to be? Are there some things you are still holding on to and have refused to give to Him?

If so, you are in good company. So don’t get depressed and quit. Keep moving forward. Keep striving to be more like Him. After all, each of us is on our own journey to completeness with Christ (Col. 2:10), and no two people’s journey is the same. Be faithful. Trust completely. And God will complete what He has begun in you.

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

478: It’s More Than Just Stumbling Forward

477: Right Now, Where Are We In Prophetic History?

476: What is the Condition of the Church Today?

475: How to Understand the “Why” Questions

474: It’s Time to Call a Sacred Assembly

In the Christian life, surrounded by our brothers and sisters who, like us, have failed in their walk with Christ, we often define sanctification as simply stumbling forward. We hear sermons, Sunday after Sunday, that tell us to grow closer to Him and bear His fruit (John 15:1-8), but they never seem to tell us how. And we are left feeling like we have to put together a dresser from Ikea without any instructions. But the Christian life, once we know the “how” to do what we must do, is so much more than stumbling forward.

And the key is knowing how to do the things we know we need to do. Or how to obey the commands of Christ that we struggle with. Consider these “how to do them” questions:

•  How to live by faith (Gal. 2:20).

•  How to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

•  How to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh (Gal. 5:16).

•  How to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

•  How to lay my life down as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2).

•  How to have victory over sin (1 John 5:4).

•  How to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17).

•  How to rejoice always in every situation (Phil. 4:4).

•  How to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

•  How to experience the peace of God (Phil. 4:7).

•  How to hear God’s voice (2 Peter 1:18).

•  How to have God’s Word become alive to me (Heb. 4:12).

There are so many how questions in the Christian life. And there is so little teaching on how to answer them.

The best way for our faith to grow so we will no longer stumble forward in our spiritual life is to believe the promises of God. All of them. Every last one.

And in order to have that kind of faith to trust God at His Word, there are some things we must learn. And they are difficult. For example, we must learn to trust the promises of God. We must learn to lean and rely on Him and not on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6). We must learn to let Him work out all the details of our life, no matter what they are. We must learn to say “yes” and not “why?”, “how?”, “what for?”, “how long?”, or “that doesn’t seem fair.”

In essence, by faith we must learn to see by believing. And not seeing in order to believe.

Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible (not able) to please (to be well-pleasing, to take pleasure in) Him, (why) for he who comes to God (to approach, to come near) must (is necessary) believe (faith, trust, be firmly persuaded) that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (seek Him out, to search diligently).

Which means, without having faith you cannot, under any circumstances, be pleasing to God. Why? Because those who come near to God, those who approach Him must (there is no other way) be firmly convinced that He exists and that He will prove Himself to be a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him out.

Join us as we take just one simple promise from God, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5) and use it to grow our faith in Him by believing and living victoriously in that belief. After all, it’s so much better than stumbling forward and then trying to convince ourselves this is the abundant life we were promised (John 10:10).

To download the slides to this message, click – HERE

477: Right Now, Where Are We In Prophetic History?

476: What is the Condition of the Church Today?

475: How to Understand the “Why” Questions

474: It’s Time to Call a Sacred Assembly

473: The Link Between Self-Examination and Salvation