Episode 197: The Silence of God

One of the greatest challenges for believers occurs when we find ourselves in a season where we cannot hear God’s voice. We read His written Word, and we know He speaks there, but Jesus did not merely say we would have His book - Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice. We pray and it seems that God does not respond. We plead for answers, and they do not come. We feel we have endured and waited long enough, but Heaven’s silence causes our despair. We begin to believe that nobody else has ever gone through the silence of God and made it out whole. What is the Christian to do in seasons of God’s silence? Today’s podcast will help us see that this experience is common among Christians and that there a few simple instructions available to us when we are waiting for God to speak.

Episode 196: Ignorance & Impotence in the Church

The first Christians operated with two primary forces in the Church: truth and power. Apostolic doctrine (truth) and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (power) characterized all that the Church was and did in those early years. Somewhere along the line, the marriage of these two essentials experienced a divorce. The expression of the Church became one or the other, but no longer both. We need a remarriage to occur in the present day. This episode focuses on the urgent need for a recapturing of the truth of the Word of God. How do you know that what you believe is valid? Are you taking someone else’s word for it? That would be VERY risky. You may be surprised to learn from Scripture that the people who join with the Antichrist at the end of the age had one thing in common: they did not know nor love God’s truth. Listen carefully and consider the offer in today’s episode to join others in pursuing a trajectory to grow in learning and wielding God’s truth so that you live as one who is deception-proof.

Episode 195: What It Takes to Endure

When a Mavericks & Misfits listener reached out via email and confessed her desire to quit everything in her life, Jeff felt like he was supposed to honor her request to dedicate an episode to the topic of enduring rather than quitting. In this episode, Jeff shares a handful of commitments, disciplines, and values that every believer should embrace in order to continue in the things which God has asked of them. Encouragingly, there is also permission and guidance in how to say NO to other people’s expectations of you that are not consistent with God’s leadership in your life. This episode is filled with practical wisdom and guidance that helps us finish strong.

Episode 194: Knowing What Season You Are In

As we mature in the faith, we gain the ability to discern the type of season we are in as we follow Jesus. Not every season is the same, therefore there are differing challenges, opportunities, and expectations which God releases in each season. In this episode Jeff Lyle unpacks six common seasons in the life of a believer and addresses how we can go deeper with the Lord in each of them. If we fail to discern the season, we will find it difficult to know and cooperate with God’s purposes in that season. When we understand our present season, we are better equipped to receive all that the Father has awaiting us there.

Episode 193: Confronting the Religious Spirit

Jesus wasn’t always polite. He did not always speak with gentle tones. He was not committed to making conversations easy on people. Jesus said the hard things…and sometimes He said the hard things in a hard manner. This episode of Mavericks & Misfits takes us through six separate and intense statements that Jesus made against the religious leaders of His day. Rarely do we stop and recognize how offensive these statements would have been to the Pharisees. In fact, when He delivered all six of his indictments against them, they looked for rocks to use to stone Him to death on the spot. When confronting the religious spirit, Jesus did not hold back. If we are to be like Him, there will be times when we will need to be as direct as He was.

Episode 192: Ambition: Good or Bad?

If God were to ever promote you above and beyond your character, it would end up crushing you. In a generation wherein believers of all ages are clamoring for recognition and success in the Kingdom, we are in an hour which desperately needs a reset. Your life and ministry cannot be about your calling, your gift, your anointing, or your influence. Superstar Christianity is flawed and fragile, yet it seems to be presented as the measurable goal for so many Christians. From John the Baptist’s life we can learn what it means to submit our lives, callings, anointings, giftings, and plans to God for His glory. This episode contains questions and answers that we cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Episode 191: To Fight Or Not To Fight

Sometimes the Bible instructs us to stand down and refuse to lift a hand against an enemy. At other times, we see clearly in Scripture that God expects us to proactively defeat and drive out our enemies. When it comes to conflicts between Christians, how are we to know which is the right approach to warfare? This episode of Mavericks & misfits draws from Jeff Lyle’s personal and recent experiences of heavy conflict with other believers. Using Scripture, we find that we must cultivate intimacy with God ahead of the fight prior to gaining discernment from God about the fight. We all have battles with others, and this episode will help you slow down and receive God’s instructions for your present or next battle.

Episode 190: How to Forgive

One of the most difficult things to live out as a follower of Christ is His command to live with a heart free of bitterness and unforgiveness. We have all been done wrongly by someone. Words, actions, and attitudes sometimes come our way from others with no other intention but to hurt us. We feel their stings. Then, Jesus comes to us and calls us to forgive them for everything they have said and done. Furthermore, He commands us to do this same thing with everyone for everything as long as we are alive. How in the world are we supposed to live with hearts like this? Jesus’ call to us in this way is not impossible. It is hard, but not impossible. When we learn how to perpetually forgive, we begin to live in a realm of the faith that most believers never enter. Jesus will train us in how to forgive.

Episode 189: What About Fasting?

Jeff Lyle’s first encounter with fasting as a Christian came in the form of a weekly legalistic demand. For the first 18 months of his Christian life, he would fast for a legal 24 hours, sometimes setting his alarm at 12:01 AM to get up and eat after fasting the previous 24 hours. Because of this, Jeff abandoned the practice of fasting for the next three years, believing it to be Old Testament law that bore no fruit. When Holy Spirit brought New Testament revelation to him concerning the true meaning of fasting, everything changed. This podcast explores the biblical foundation of fasting +the practical components of why fasting should be a healthy part of each Christian’s experience in following Jesus. Victory, defeating the enemy, power to resist fleshly desires, and access to spiritual wisdom and revelation can all come to us through fasting. This episode unpacks some of this, and is especially helpful to those who are exploring the practice of fasting for the first time.

For many Christians, there exists an ignorance of what to do when they have failed God in something they thought, said, or did. They know that Jesus paid for their sins, but what do they do when they have intentionally sinned in some way that they cannot excuse? We answer, “They must repent.” True, but what does repentance look like for a believer? If one asks God for forgiveness but does not change his/her ways, then is that true repentance? What about those who despair deeply when they fail God? What about others who casually excuse sin? This is a deeper topic than any churchified formula can solve. In today’s episode of mavericks & Misfits,  we explore the issue of how a Christian must respond when he/she has sinned.