Leaving Laodicea

When you surrender your life to the Lord, you will notice it is not a one-time event. You don’t just say a prayer or make a vow and it’s done. It is a process, usually full of ups and downs, that may take some time to master. But even as a process, it must have a starting point. And that point recognizes who God is and your responsibility to yield to His lordship. Everything follows this first step.

The seven steps of surrender are as follows (in Cliff Notes form):

1.  Recognize and embrace a truth greater than yourself (which is God and His lordship)

2.  Confess and repent of any known sin in your life

3.  Learn to die to yourself daily (or more often)

4.  Present yourself daily as a sacrifice to God

5.  Trust completely in God’s sovereignty

6.  Rely on the Holy Spirit for daily guidance

7.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus

Today, we will look at the first step— the step where every springs from. And we will cover the subsequent steps in future broadcasts.

The journey of surrendering your life to God begins with one essential first step: recognizing God’s complete lordship over everything— especially you.

What does it mean to recognize God’s lordship? It means understanding that He rightfully deserves your full allegiance, devotion, and obedience. As Revelation 4:11 declares, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

Since God created you and gave you life and breath itself, He deserves first place in every area of your existence. Recognizing Him as Lord means enthroning Him as the supreme ruler and focus of your life. It requires willingly choosing to dethrone anything else that has occupied that rightful place— relationships, career, wealth, success, self-interests, you name it. And the operative word is willingly. You must be willing. God will not force His lordship on you.

Recognizing His lordship calls for an honest evaluation of who or what is currently on the throne of your heart and decisions. What do your priorities, schedule, entertainment choices, and bank statement reveal you worship? What consumes your thoughts and passions? Ask the Holy Spirit to bring conviction about any idolatry that may be hidden in your life. As J.C. Ryle wrote, “Where Christ rules in the heart, the whole course of a man’s life will bear witness to the fact.”¹ If God rules your heart, your lifestyle will clearly reflect it.  So, how is your lifestyle measuring up to your confession of Christ right now?

Remember, this first step of surrender will lead you to reorder every area of your life— your plans, job, time, possessions, habits— and center them around God’s priorities rather than self-centered pursuits. It will mean letting go of anything He calls you to release or change. And it will mean embracing a purpose defined by His eternal impact rather than your temporary comfort. But I think you already know that, don’t you?

Ultimately, recognizing God’s lordship requires pursuing intimacy with Him like you may have never done before through heart-felt prayer, consistent reading of His Word, and obedience to Him as your highest aim, and not just an add-on for a temporary, spiritual high. He must become your supreme treasure and consuming passion.

Surrendering requires submitting your life completely to His authority, which is something you give up to Him. But you receive so much more. As J.I. Packer reminds us, “He does not exploit our submission, but gives us glory, joy, peace, and fullness of life” only found in Him.² Our sacrifice brings the blessing of His intimate presence, which nothing on earth compares. Nothing.

Surrendering our lives to God begins with the crucial first step of recognizing His complete lordship and willingly choosing to make Him preeminent in every area. Though sacrifice is involved, the blessing far outweighs the cost. For when we enthrone Christ as Supreme Ruler in our hearts, we gain incomparable treasure, namely, the intimate presence of the King of kings. And as A.W. Tozer said, “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free…to give them victory o’er the grave and grant them life eternally.”³ This is the glorious exchange of surrender.

And it is something we can experience this side of heaven, right now, when we surrender our lives to Him. So take the first step today.

Next, we will look at step two, the confession and repentance of sins that bring true freedom.

Notes:

1. J.C. Ryle, Holiness (London: James Clarke & Co., 1902), 79.

2. J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 207.

3. A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1993), 15.

566: Embracing a Full Understanding of Salvation

565: Experience Freedom and Power in Your Christian Life

564: Letting Go and Letting God – Steps for Total Surrender

563: How One Person Can Bring About Lasting Change

562: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going

Dark times can profoundly shake our faith and assurance in God. Ongoing trials, deep hurts, and spiritual warfare can make us lose sight of the incredible hope we have in Jesus Christ. But despite the darkness, Christ’s resurrection guarantees our justification, sanctification, and future glorification. This living hope is ours both now and for all eternity.

What does justification mean? Simply put, it is God’s complete forgiveness through Jesus Christ. When we put our faith in Christ, trusting in His sacrifice for us, God sees us as righteous in His eyes – as if we had never sinned at all. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through Christ’s redeeming blood, all our sins are forgiven – past, present, and future.

This justification before God happens instantly when we are born again into God’s family. We go from being condemned sinners to forgiven saints in an instant, even before we have time to change our outward behavior. Our right standing before our holy God depends entirely on Jesus’ atoning death for us, not on our own effort. Our only role is to have genuine repentant faith, trusting that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross secured our redemption once and for all.

But God does not just justify us and then leave us alone to struggle against sin. No, when He forgives us, He also sends the Holy Spirit to begin the process of sanctifying us – or transforming us into Christ’s image and freeing us from sin’s power in our lives. Scripture says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Justification (forgive us our sins) and sanctification (cleanse us from all unrighteousness) work hand-in-hand.

Though temptations still come, we as believers are no longer helpless slaves to sin. After all, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Christ’s death and resurrection have broken sin’s power and its penalty. We now have the Holy Spirit living within us, empowering us to say no to sin and walk in ever greater freedom from its grip.

We all know this sanctification process has its ups and downs. We make progress but also stumble. Yet even when we do, God still keeps us securely in His hands. Jude says, “He is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

What comfort we have in knowing that our eternal salvation does not depend on our strength to hold on to God, but His ability to hold on to us. And just as Christ’s tomb could not contain Him, nothing can snatch us out of the Father’s mighty hand (John 10:28-29). The same almighty power that raised Jesus from the dead now works in us to transform our lives to look like His (Eph. 1:19-20). It doesn’t get much better than this.

But this living hope in Christ also includes an amazing future promise – that one day we will be completely free from sin’s presence and will be perfected with Him in glory. We are promised to “see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2). Although we often stumble in this life, the day is coming when we will be fully glorified with Christ, being made completely righteous in Him.

Dark times will come that shake our faith. That is a guarantee. But Christ stands unmovable and unchanging as our “living hope” through all the storms in life. His resurrection powerfully guarantees the full salvation He purchased for us. So when discouragement sets in, let us remember that He who promised is faithful (Heb. 10:23), and He will never stop His sanctifying work within us until we see Him face to face.

By His atoning blood, we stand fully pardoned and justified before God. In the strength of His Spirit, we can walk in ever greater sanctification, rejecting sin’s power. And through His flawless redeeming work, we will one day be presented glorified and spotless before God with exceeding joy (Jude 1:24).

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

565: Experience Freedom and Power in Your Christian Life

564: Letting Go and Letting God – Steps for Total Surrender

563: How One Person Can Bring About Lasting Change

562: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going

561: Church Ain’t Working, Its Got No Power

Let’s talk about something that has captivated believers for generations— the Higher Christian Life. This term refers to a life of intimate fellowship with God that goes beyond the ordinary Christian experience. Popularized by 19th-century revival and devotional preachers such as Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, and R.A. Torrey, and brought into the Christian mainstream by the Keswick movement, this life is characterized by holiness, surrender, and a depth of relationship with God that taps into His supernatural power in ways seen in Scripture, but seldom experienced in contemporary church.¹

In this article, I want to provide a biblical overview of the Higher Christian Life— what it looks like, how we enter into it, and then answer some common questions that often keep seeking believers from experiencing the “abundant life” Jesus promised (John 10:10), or what has been called the Higher Christian Life. My prayer is this will inspire and equip you to experience the abundant life in Christ that He intends for each of us as believers.

Simply put, the Higher Christian Life is:

A life of holiness, consecration, and victory over sin that is available to every Christian who fully surrenders themselves to Christ’s lordship in faith. It is considered ‘higher” because it transcends the defeat and constant struggle that plagues much of Christian living and reveals a new dimension of faith-filled living in the power of the Spirit.

Some key aspects of the Higher Christian Life include:

•  Complete surrender and consecration to Christ: Relinquishing our self-will and ambitions by surrendering every area of your life— your time, relationships, work, and resources — to Christ’s complete control and lordship.

•  Death to self and sin through co-crucifixion with Christ: By reckoning or understanding that our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ, we are able to break sin’s mastery in our lives (Rom. 6:6). By faith, we count ourselves dead to sin’s power and alive to God since our old self is crucified and dead and we have new, resurrected life in Christ (Romans 6:11).

•  Filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit: By praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us and take full control, and by depending on the Spirit’s power to overcome sin, we then produce Christlike character and are supernaturally equipped for ministry. The results: We are guided, moment-by-moment, and empowered by the Spirit as we yield to Him.

•  Victory over sin’s power: Sin’s mastery is broken because by faith, our old self is crucified with Christ, and sin has no dominion in our lives (Rom. 6:14). Though temptations remain, we have Spirit-given power to overcome anything our flesh or the enemy can throw our way.

•  Deeper intimacy and fellowship with God: We find our time in God’s Word and prayer becomes sweeter as we relate to God more deeply. We desire to know Christ more as the Spirit reveals His presence and character in ways not known to us before. And, as a result, our walk with Him is characterized by joyful obedience and not legalism.

•  Fruitfulness and power for ministry and service: Our energies go toward serving Christ wholeheartedly and caring for others, rather than living selfish, self-consumed lives. We learn to depend on Christ working through us as we trust and abide in Him.

This abundant life liberates us from defeat and brings new joy, passion, and power through our relationship with, and dependency on, Christ. It is the normal Christian life as God designed it.²

This intimate walk with God impacts every area of life. As 19th-century missionary Hudson Taylor said, “I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” What seems impossible in our strength becomes real to us by surrendering our life to Christ and embracing His power within. It is often called full salvation, or complete surrender. Theologians call it practical sanctification.

Living the Higher Christian Life brings freedom from sinful habits and attitudes that previously felt unbreakable. Things that once caused irritation and resentment quickly lose their power. We become more loving, patient, kind, and self-controlled as a result. As Charles Finney said, it is “dying to self and coming alive to Christ.” Our marriages, families, and relationships are strengthened as we experience victory in ways previously unimaginable.

Pioneer missionary C.T. Studd said it well: “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” Serving God in our daily lives becomes natural and joyful, rather than burdensome. We overflow with worship and praise as we fall deeply in love with Jesus. And walking faithfully with Christ fills our hearts with “inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Pet. 1:8).

When you compare this to our own experience with Christ, it is not hard to see why it is called the Higher Christian Life.

So how can we enter practically into this life of intimate surrender to Christ? Here are some key steps:

1.  Admit your inability in your own strength through prayer – “Lord, I confess I cannot conquer sin or live the Christian life by self-effort. I surrender my weaknesses and failures to You.” Express dependency in your prayer.

2.  Make a definite, complete surrender/consecration to Christ – Give Him express lordship over every area in your life— your time, relationships, work, resources, and future. Plead with Christ, “I surrender my entire life to You to do with as You please. I no longer want to live for myself but only for You.”

3.  Claim the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit – Pray to be filled and empowered fully for God’s service and yield to His control. Pray, “Holy Spirit, I ask You to fill and empower me fully for Your service. Take control of my life.”  Then depend fully on the Spirit’s power.

4.  Reckon ourselves dead to sin, alive to God in Christ based on our co-crucifixion and resurrection with Him (Rom. 6:11). Thank God your old self has died, and your new life is hidden with Christ. Then, by faith, affirm sin’s mastery over you is now broken.

5.  Maintain daily surrender through ongoing prayer. Begin each day yielding and surrendering yourself completely to God for that day. Pray, “Lord Jesus, I surrender myself and this day to You. Have Your way in my life today.” Choose to walk in continual dependence on the Spirit.

When we enter the Higher Christian Life by faith, what changes practically in our daily experience? Here are some key implications:

Sin’s mastery is broken as you count yourself dead to it daily (Rom. 6:14). Though temptations still come, sin no longer has dominion over you. By continually identifying with Christ’s death, sin’s grip is broken, and you gain new power through the Spirit to walk in obedience.

You experience inward transformation as Christ’s resurrection power works in you. Old habits and thought patterns begin to lose their hold as you are inwardly renewed. Relationships start to align more with God’s kingdom values of love and holiness rather than selfishness. Your ethics and integrity reflect more of Christ’s righteousness. Priorities shift from self-centeredness to glorifying God.

Obedience becomes joyful as you relate to God in a deeper way. Serving Christ is no longer drudgery, but delight. Legalistic striving fades, being replaced by freely flowing intimacy with Christ. Prayer becomes a lifeline rather than a duty. Digging into God’s Word fuels your spirit like never before.

You bear Spirit-empowered fruit for God as you abide in Christ (John 15:5). Instead of anxiety and fruitless striving, you experience new effectiveness and fruitfulness in life and ministry. Gifts flourish. You depend on Christ’s life in you to reach people, disciple others, and advance God’s Kingdom. Fear gives way to boldness.

This does not mean perfection. Temptations, failures, frustrations, and trials will come. But you now have resurrection power and victory available to weather the storms of life differently than before. The Spirit empowers you moment-by-moment.

In essence, the Higher Christian Life transforms daily experience by breaking sin’s power, renewing the mind, producing intimacy with Christ, and bearing new fruit through depending on the indwelling Spirit. This brings radical new freedom.

What does it mean that we are “co-crucified with Christ”?

More than just agreeing doctrinally that Christ died for us, it means our old sinful self was crucified with Him. As we identify with Christ’s death by faith, we experience inwardly a death to our old sinful habits and desires. Sin’s mastery is broken in our lives, and we are now, probably for the first time, able to live a consistent life of holiness to Him (Rom. 6:6-7).

What are the implications of being united to Christ?

The implications are profound! For starters, sin no longer defines us. We are freed from sin’s tyranny as resurrection power operates within us. We count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God daily by faith in what Christ has accomplished on our behalf (Rom. 6:11). And now, sin loses its grip on us as we live out of our new identity in Christ.

What does “walking in newness of life” mean practically?

Practically, it means Christ’s resurrection power, which resides in us, transforms everything in our lives— our relationships, ethics, habits, and character. As we now are free to live to honor God, our ungodly patterns lose sway, the fruit of the Spirit develops, and our energies advance God’s Kingdom rather than our own self-interest. It is truly a supernatural life!

Can this life ever be lost?

In a word, absolutely. The abundant life (John 10:10), or the Higher Christian Life, is maintained by ongoing surrender, faith, and obedience. We can lose it by taking our focus off Christ and failing to walk in step with the Spirit. Therefore, continually yielding to the Spirit is essential.

Is this way of living only for “super saints”?

No, it is for every believer (including you) who totally surrenders to Christ’s lordship. It is not a higher class of Christianity, but this abundant life Jesus promised is intended as normal Christian living for any who yield fully to the Spirit. Therefore, it all depends on you. So yield to Him today.

Doesn’t this lead to pride and perfectionism?

It shouldn’t, if properly understood. This life depends completely on Christ and the Spirit, leaving no room for pride. The focus is consecration, not perfection. Therefore, just like everything else in the Christian life, humility and faith are key.

In summary, the Higher Christian Life is a life of intimacy, fruitfulness, and victory available to every believer through full dependence on Christ and surrender to the Holy Spirit. It liberates us from sin’s power and unlocks the supernatural promises of Scripture. May God give us grace as we surrender to the abundant life He intends for us in Christ.

If you are ready to leave spiritual defeat behind, take time to prayerfully process the truths shared here. Ask the Lord to show you any areas you are not fully surrendered to Him. And as you take steps of faith to yield to Christ’s complete control, trust the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence to make this new life real. Remember, you were created for so much more than constant struggle. God longs for you to experience the Higher Christian Life of intimacy with Him and victory over sin.

So begin that journey of surrender today.

564: Letting Go and Letting God – Steps for Total Surrender

563: How One Person Can Bring About Lasting Change

562: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going

561: Church Ain’t Working, Its Got No Power

560: If He’s the One Who Builds It, He Will Come

As followers of Jesus, you and I long to live the spiritually charged, victorious life He promises in Scripture— an abundant, overcoming life marked by joy, peace, purpose, and the wonder of having the mind of Christ. But let’s face it, our everyday experience often falls painfully short of the dynamic faith and unimaginable blessings described in God’s Word (Eph. 3:20). But it doesn’t have to be that way.

So what’s the key to unlocking this life to the fullest in the power of the Spirit? Complete and total surrender to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Surrender means letting go of our wants, rights, and expectations and fully embracing God’s perfect plan for our lives, even if the future seems unclear and we don’t know what that plan is. Surrender requires trust, obedience, and complete reliance on His supernatural power at work within us, even when we struggle to feel His presence at times. And surrender is trusting Him even when the future is uncertain, and we can’t see what tomorrow holds. But that’s to be expected. After all, we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). But when we surrender completely, release control of our lives, and submit to His will, we open ourselves up to the blessing of becoming all God created us to be in Him. And the results are breathtaking.

True surrender brings freedom— true freedom to thrive in our identity as children of the Most High God and not be constrained by the world’s definition of who we are. Surrender leads us deeper in our relationship with Him, far beyond surface-level faith, into an intimate walk with the Almighty, the Creator of All. This surrendered life overflows with heavenly abundance, just as Jesus promised. But it only comes through daily submission and complete dependence on Jesus.

If you want to live out the fullness of God’s calling, then it’s time to surrender your all to Him— your plans, dreams, possessions, relationships, everything— even your life itself (Matt. 16:24-25). Lay it all down at the feet of the One who gave it all for you.

If you’re ready to experience the spiritual abundance Christ offers, here are some practical steps to help you surrender yourself completely to the Lord:

The first step towards the surrendered life is admitting, “I can’t do this on my own!” As humans, we’re all flawed sinners falling short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). Pride and self-sufficiency erect thick barriers separating us from the Lord and each other. So get honest with yourself about the areas where you fall short and confess those sins to Him. Ask God to show you where you need to grow spiritually and recognize that no amount of effort will ever make you holy or righteous in His sight, outside of Christ. Approach God with humility, knowing you desperately need Him.

For example, when you catch yourself complaining about long lines or bad traffic, pause and acknowledge the pride behind your disgruntled heart. Or when you experience a major failure at work, use it as a reminder that you need God’s strength and grace every moment of every day. For without Him, you can do nothing (John 15:15)

Once you’re aware of your shortcomings, take those sins to God in repentance— don’t justify or downplay them. It’s your sin that separates you from God (Isa. 59:2). True repentance restores your fellowship with God when you acknowledge your sins and ask for forgiveness. Plus, God promises that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And once we repent and confess our sin, the crushing weight of shame and guilt gets lifted when we experience the healing power of God’s forgiveness. It doesn’t get any better than that.

So examine your conscience before bed and confess specific sins like losing your temper with your kids or lying to a colleague or cheating on your taxes. Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any unconfessed sin you need to confess. And if you ask Him to reveal the sin that is separating Him from you, He will tell you, in no uncertain terms. The rest is up to you.

This requires surrendering your desires, plans, and expectations to the Lord. You must release the tight grip of trying to maintain control of your circumstances to Him. Remember, God sees the full picture, while we only see a small part of it. Therefore, submitting your will means trusting that God’s way is higher than your way (Isa. 55:9) and that His plans for your life are much better than anything you could come up with yourself. And it’s only by surrendering to God’s plan that you will experience freedom, joy, and a supernatural peace that is beyond all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). It is something you will have to experience yourself to fully understand.

Try it for yourself. For example, when you pray about a career change or move to a new city, instead of telling God what you want, try asking God to show you His will in this decision. So when you have a major decision to make, pray as Jesus did in the garden, “Father, not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42) to align your heart with His, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel. And once you do, your faith will soar. Try it, you’ll see.

Since God is all-knowing, He knows exactly what you need and when you need it, even better than you do. Timing is everything; surrendering means waiting patiently for God’s perfect plan to unfold in His timing, not yours. So don’t try to rush and manipulate outcomes or make things happen in your timing. Let go of preconceived timelines, trusting that God has a purpose in any difficulty or delay you may experience. Fully believe that God is working all things out for your good according to His wisdom, and not your wants and wishes (Rom. 8:28). After all, He alone sees the full picture, the end from the beginning, while we only catch fleeting glimpses of what is going on (Isa. 46:10).

So, when you are impatiently waiting for months to finally land your dream job, choose to believe God’s timing is purposeful and perfect even when it feels painfully slow. Release all your anxiety over the situation into His sovereign hands and have faith, not only in His plan, but also in His timing.

Once God gives you clear direction in His Word or through the Spirit’s still small voice, rely fully on His supernatural strength to help you follow through in obedience. This is the essence of sanctification. Stay grounded in Scripture, praying continuously for empowerment from the Holy Spirit. Obedience demonstrates the sincerity and completeness of your surrender. But trying to obey God in your own inadequate strength, leads straight to compromise or failure. The key to victorious Christian living is understanding you can do nothing of eternal value apart from Christ’s power living and active in you (John 15:5). So yield to that power daily.

For example, ask God to help you respond with grace and forgiveness when a friend hurts you instead of lashing out in anger. Freely admit to yourself and God that you cannot begin to exhibit Christlike character without the Spirit empowering you from within. And then rest in His Spirit and let God work His forgiveness through you. Just be a channel of His Spirit in you to others. This is one of the greatest blessings of surrender.

Make prayer, God’s Word, and practicing Biblical meditation non-negotiable priorities in your day. Set aside quiet time to hear God’s voice as you slowly read Scripture. His living Word will gradually transform you as His truth renews your mind and sanctifies your heart to become more like His (Rom. 12:2), just as He promised it would. Stay intimately connected to Christ through continual, two-way conversations with God about everything going on in your life. Learn to depend on His strength, wisdom, and guidance to get you victoriously through each day in Him. And remember, the blessings of living in constant, complete reliance on the Lord Jesus is the core lifestyle of the surrendered life. And it is yours for the asking.

While surrendering fully to God is challenging, the rewards are life-changing. Here are just a few of the blessings your total surrender to Him can bring:

•  Feel a deeper sense of belonging through an intimate relationship with God.

•  Experience increased spiritual strength by relying on God’s power at work within you.

•  Gain a greater sense of purpose and meaning when you know your life matters to God.

•  Feel more peace and less stress when you trust God with all your worries.

•  Receive clarity about decisions when your will aligns with God’s will.

•  Discover joy and contentment when you focus less on yourself and more on serving God.

The choice is yours. Will you take that first step of humility today and admit your desperate need for Jesus? Will you choose to let go of control and surrender everything— your will, plans, dreams, possessions, relationships, and even your very life— to God? This total surrender will forever change your life and launch you into the greatest adventure imaginable.

The words of Jesus remind us of this precious promise:

“If anyone (including you) desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” – Luke 9:23.

The choice is yours. What will it be?

563: How One Person Can Bring About Lasting Change

562: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going

561: Church Ain’t Working, Its Got No Power

560: If He’s the One Who Builds It, He Will Come

559: Apostasy and Deception are Key Signs of the End

Saul Alinsky (1909–1972) was an American community activist and political theorist whose teachings have had a profound effect on the radical Democratic agenda and the philosophy of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In 1971, right before his death, he published Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, which is a book about successfully running a movement for cultural change.

Rather than list his 13 rules for radicals, let me sum them up for you in how they are practically applied to a society. And this is exactly the same blueprint the Nazis used in post-WWI Germany.

•  Words and Terms are Redefined

•  History is Revised and Rewritten

•  Questions are Not Encouraged Nor Allowed

•  Rules are Established

•  Compliance and Obedience is Expected / Demanded

•  Gatekeepers are Empowered

•  Power Now Rests with the Few and Not the Many

•  Decision and Authority Flow from the Top Down

•  All Organizations Naturally Seek Control

•  Double and Triple-Down Until No Dissent Exists

By the way, this is also how control is exercised over the church by the clergy, denominational leaders, and family gatekeepers. It is not a pretty sight.

But God had something completely different in mind when He instituted His church. And today, we are going to see how He empowered, not just the clergy, but all His people with His Spirit and gave them bold access to His throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). The implications are life-changing.

Remember, it only takes one person to make a difference.

Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; but by (who) a man (singular) of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged – Proverbs 28:2.

Maybe that person is you.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

562: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going

561: Church Ain’t Working, Its Got No Power

560: If He’s the One Who Builds It, He Will Come

559: Apostasy and Deception are Key Signs of the End

558: The Most Important Prophetic Scriptures

People see the chaos all around and want to know where we are as a culture today and what the next eighteen months will look like. As a preview, we can expect economic turmoil, especially inflation and hyperinflation. There will be deception, falsehoods, and lies coming from our sacred institutions. Jesus said to expect wars and rumors of wars which will lead to the downgrading of America as a superpower. Narcissism will become the mental illness of the land, and the church will experience the great apostasy the Scriptures warned about.

In a word, our future looks dark and bleak. 

For each of us, there are three questions we need to be asking ourselves: One, what is the end goal or what is going on? Two, what is the Lord’s will for me and my family during this time? And three, why do we seem to feel or sense that time is running out and the time for playing church is over?

In June 2020, Tim Keller was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. This diagnosis had a profound impact on his life. For one, he realized his life had an expiration date, and only the important things were now important to him. And two, he realized how much time he had wasted on unimportant things. Time, he could never get back and never redeem.

The same could be said for each of us.  Here is Tim’s assessment of what he has learned about prayer since his diagnosis (he died on May 19, 2023).

“Despite the pain and fear associated with cancer, Kathy (his wife) and I would never want to go back to the kind of prayer life and spiritual life we had before the cancer. Never.

I realized, I never really did believe I was going to die. At some deep level, I just didn’t. Looking back on it, I just don’t think there’s any way to go through the change that happens in you when you know that you really are going to die: the way you look at your time, the way you look at God, the way you look at your spouse— the way you look at everything just changes when you actually realize time is limited and I’m mortal.

Frankly, I would have lived a better life if I had come to this realization sooner. I’m closer to where I should have been most of my life.”

Remember, there is a blessing in knowing that nothing lasts forever, except the grace of God. And for living in the realization and expectation of the imminent return of Christ.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

561: Church Ain’t Working, Its Got No Power

560: If He’s the One Who Builds It, He Will Come

559: Apostasy and Deception are Key Signs of the End

558: The Most Important Prophetic Scriptures

557: Hermeneutics – The Rules for Biblical Interpretation

Some say that “familiarity breeds contempt,” and this is true even in the church. We come to church each Sunday to perform our duty to God. We sing, sometimes. We listen to the message, hopefully. And we worship, maybe— and then head back home to do the more important things in our day. I know this sounds harsh, but it is true, nonetheless.

But church was never meant to be like this. God created His church, the ekklēsía, to be “a called-out people, an assembly of those called by Christ into the fellowship of His salvation.” And nowhere does the word church refer to a building, denomination, or tax-exempt entity.

In this message, we will look at the church from a Biblical perspective and see if we can determine what church is and why it’s not working for us today.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

560: If He’s the One Who Builds It, He Will Come

559: Apostasy and Deception are Key Signs of the End

558: The Most Important Prophetic Scriptures

557: Hermeneutics – The Rules for Biblical Interpretation

556: How to Surrender Your Thought Life to Christ

In the movie “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’s character hears a voice that says, “If you build it, they will come.” While this quote has become iconic, part of Hollywood folklore, the truth is, if we let God build His church the way He intended, He will come. And when He comes, He will bring with Him the power to transform lives, just like we see in the Book of Acts.

Can you imagine what it would be like for today’s church to look like the early church? We would experience prayer meetings with power that would shake the very room we were in (Acts 4:31). We would have boldness in the face of governmental persecution, no matter how harsh it was (Acts 4:19-20). There would be miracles and great signs from God authenticating our faith and His message (Acts 3:6-7). And if we suffered for Him, we would rejoice that He considered us worthy to suffer shame like His Son (Acts 5:41). Just imagine what Christian life would look like if we lived as they did in the early church.

But sadly, that seems like just a dream. And many have lost hope of ever experiencing the power and wonder of God we see displayed in the pages of the Book of Acts. Did you ever wonder why?

Remember what Jesus said:

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock (Peter’s affirmation of faith in Christ) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

And note, Jesus emphasized the “I” part of this promise. He said He would build His church, and when He did, nothing, not even the gates of hell, could keep His light from shining in the enemy’s darkness. So this is a promise, an if/then promise.  If we do our part, then He will do His. And our part is to let Jesus build His church and get out of the way of what He is doing.

Do you think we could do that? I hope so, but I’m not so sure. Let me tell you why.

When we look at the Gospel accounts and the Book of Acts, we see people respond to Jesus in ways we don’t encourage today. For them, it was a life-altering, “all or nothing” choice. It was a decision to embrace either life or death, to follow light or darkness, or to travel the wide road of destruction or the narrow path that leads to salvation (Matt. 7:13-14). There was no third option.

But for us in the church today, we live for the third option. We want to follow Jesus, but just not as close or as committed as those we see in Scripture. Their life was full of blessings and hard times. And for those in the West, the dread of hard times overshadows the joy of His blessings. So we err on the side of caution.

But that is not how life played out in the early church. Let me close by sharing three things the early church did that we balk at today. For us, their lives seem extreme, and we feel more comfortable, and safer, watching from the stands than playing on the field.

They Forsook All and Followed Him

And yes, they really used that word, forsook, to describe what they gave up for Him. You can read about this in Matthew 4:18-22, 19:21, 27-29, Luke 5:27-28, 9:23, and 14:33, among other places in Scripture.

They Met in Their Own Homes

There were no church buildings on every street corner at that time. So the early church opened up their own homes, something we shy away from today, and allowed others, including strangers, to come in and sit on their sofas and worship the Lord. This was the original way God built His church, yet we think we have come up with a better program. I’m not so sure. Are you? You can read more about this in Acts 2:46, 5:42, Rom. 16:3-5, Col. 4:15, Phil. 1:2.

They Met Daily and Not Just on Sunday

This one hits hard, doesn’t it? The early church met daily in the temple ministering to others and evangelizing, and then again at night, where they shared meals together. Their lives were intertwined in ways that cannot be done meeting once a week in a neutral building. Read it for yourself, in Acts 2:46-47.

So continuing (how often) daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread (where) from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And what did God do?

And the Lord added to the church (how often) daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).

I wonder, could there be a connection? Is there something more we could be doing to encourage God’s blessing in our churches today? And if so, could the answer be found in the Book of Acts?

I think so. Do you?

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

559: Apostasy and Deception are Key Signs of the End

558: The Most Important Prophetic Scriptures

557: Hermeneutics – The Rules for Biblical Interpretation

556: How to Surrender Your Thought Life to Christ

555: Are You Going to Church or Being the Church?

We find the Olivet Discourse recorded in three places in the New Testament: Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. The entire teaching is Jesus’ response to some questions asked by His disciples after they were admiring the beauty of the Temple. But Jesus did not specify which answer corresponded to which question. He just answered them all at once, in one long narrative. Let’s look at a combined account of these questions.

(MT) Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple —(LK) how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations. (MK) One of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” (MK) And Jesus answered and (MT) said to them, “Do you not see all (MK) these great buildings? (MT) Assuredly, I say to you, (LK) the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

At this point, the disciples’ understanding of the future of Israel and their own lives was shattered. Everything in their religious life was temple based. And the thought of the temple being destroyed was beyond their comprehension.

So they came to Jesus privately for more information or a clearer explanation of what He just said.

(MT) Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives (MK) opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew (MT) came to Him privately, saying, (LK) “Teacher, (MT) tell us, when will these things be? (MK) What will be the sign when all these things (LK) are about to take place? (MT) And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

But even in this narrative, you can see Jesus laying the groundwork for the end times and revealing to us the Seven-Year Tribulation Period and the Second Coming of Christ.  But for us today, we are going to focus on two major characteristics of the end times, and these are deception and apostasy.  Jesus tells us to beware of deception and Paul speaks of the coming (and now here) great apostasy. And both are telltale signs of the end times.

First, look at what Jesus said about deception during His Olivet discourse.

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” – Matthew 24:3-4.

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” – Matthew 24:11-12.

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” – Matthew 24:23-25.

And then the Scriptures speak of a great apostasy, a falling away from the faith, that will happen at the beginning of the end, right before the revealing of the antichrist. I believe we are witnessing that apostasy today.

Let no one deceive you by any means; (why) for that Day (the coming of the Lord) will not come unless the falling away (apostasía) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? – 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

Now the Spirit expressly says that (when) in latter times (what) some will depart from the faith (apostasy), giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who (1) believe and (2) know the truth – 1 Timothy 4:1-3.

And one more…

But know this, that (when) in the last days (what) perilous times will come: (described as) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having (what) a form of godliness but denying its power (dúnamis). And from such people turn away! – 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

There is so much more we cover in this message. So join us as we look for His soon return.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

558: The Most Important Prophetic Scriptures

557: Hermeneutics – The Rules for Biblical Interpretation

556: How to Surrender Your Thought Life to Christ

555: Are You Going to Church or Being the Church?

554: Solomon’s Life: “Stupid Is as Stupid Does”

When we look at Scripture, God has a tendency to make things simple for us and categorize everything into only two groups. There is almost never a third option.  For example, you have light or darkness, evil or good, heaven or hell, the wide road or the narrow path, sin or righteousness, good fruit (tree) or bad fruit (tree), alive or dead, Spirit or flesh, blessings or curses, saved or lost, I think you get the point.  And Scripture treats prophecy the same way: the Future of Israel (God’s people) or the Future of the Gentile Nations (everyone else).

So when we look at prophetic Scriptures, we must understand which of the two groups the passages speak about.  For example, in Daniel 2, we see the vision of the great statue Nebuchadnezzar had that Daniel interpreted. This is a picture of the future of the Gentile nations.  And later, in Daniel 7, we see four beasts and a little horn. Again, this is about the Gentile nations.

But two chapters later, in Daniel 9:24-27, the focus shifts from the Gentile nations to the people of Israel.  And this prophecy is divided into several periods of time that are separated by thousands of years.  Daniel was not aware of the separation nor the time between the various periods.  This is known as a prophetic skip.

“Seventy weeks are determined for (who) your people (Israel) and for (what) your holy city (Jerusalem), to (1) finish the transgression, to (2) make an end of sins, to (3) make reconciliation for iniquity, to (4) bring in everlasting righteousness, to (5) seal up vision and prophecy, and to (6) anoint the Most Holy” – Daniel 9:24.

Plus, you have the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, as well as the book of Revelation.  And don’t forget Ezekiel 36-39, which gives us a glimpse of the future of the United States.

These are some of the most important prophetic Scriptures in the Bible.

To show the importance of Daniel in prophetic history, let me share 20 Predictive Prophecies that are found in that one book.  These alone should give you another reason to dive into the book of Daniel.

•  The successive rule of four great world empires: Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece, and Rome (chapters 2 and 7)

•  The reuniting of the Roman Empire in the last days under the rule of ten kings or leaders (2:41 44; 7:24)

•  The appearance of the Messiah to rule 483 years after the decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem (9:25). This prophecy was fulfilled to the day at the Triumphal Entry.

•  The violent death of the Messiah (9:26)

•  The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (9:26)

•  The rise of the Antichrist to power (7:8, 20; 8:23)

•  The beginning of the seventieth week: the Antichrist’s seven-year covenant with Israel (9:27)

•  The Antichrist’s breaking of the covenant at its midpoint (9:27)

•  The Antichrist’s claim that he is God (11:36)

•  The Antichrist’s persecution of God’s people (7:21)

•  The setting up of the abomination of desolation in the last days’ Temple by the Antichrist (9:27; 12:11)

•  The Northern / Southern invasion of Israel and the Antichrist (11:40-45; Ezekiel 38-39)

•  The Antichrist’s military conquest and consolidation of his empire (11:38-44)

•  The final doom of the Antichrist (7:11, 26; 9:27)

•  The second coming of Christ (2:44-45; 7:13)

•  The resurrection of the dead (12:2)

•  The rewarding of the righteous (12:3, 13)

•  The judgment of the wicked (7:9; 12:2)

•  The establishment of Christ’s Kingdom (2:44-45; 7:14, 22, 27)

•  A great increase in the knowledge of Bible prophecy in the last days (12:4)

And there is so much more to discover about the future.  So stay tuned.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE

557: Hermeneutics – The Rules for Biblical Interpretation

556: How to Surrender Your Thought Life to Christ

555: Are You Going to Church or Being the Church?

554: Solomon’s Life: “Stupid Is as Stupid Does”

553: Don’t be Like King Solomon, Choose Wisely