Radiant Church Weekend Sermon

To continue with where Pastor Lee left off, Portage Campus Pastor Stefan Davis provides thorough biblical teaching based on James 1:13 about desire, sin, and overcoming sin by the 'plumbline' or reference point of God's Word!

Focus Scripture // James 1:13 (ESV)
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

Sermon Highlights

The enemy sets his game-plan of temptation

Jesus is the Vaccine to the Flesh

Jesus Forms Our Identity and Desires

You Are an Overcomer

Our greatest enemy is within, not without.

With God's help, and looking to the 'plumbline' of His Word, we can overcome temptation!

To kick off the month of July, Lee Cummings begins a series called Revolutionary Faith focused on the difference between testing and tempting. You don’t want to miss this powerful sermon called The Book of James!

Focus Scripture // James 1:1-18 (ESV)

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

Sermon Highlights

Christianity is a revolution of the soul.

Our greatest enemy is within, not without.

There is a “tug of war” between two processes at work within the believer: Testing and Tempting.

One brings forth life. One brings forth death.

One pulls on your faith, the other on your flesh.

Joy is in the outcome, not the difficulty

Testing is the pathway to progress.

Testing is meant to perfect you. Temptation is meant to ensnare you.

A coach pushes an athlete to prepare them for winning.

A con-man finds weakness and exploits it for his purposes.

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us to follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

In the final sermon from this powerful and timely series, Pastor Lee speaks out of Joshua 1 and encourages us to be bold and step into everything that God has for us.

Focus Scripture // Johsua 1:1-9 (ESV)

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Sermon Highlights

Look at everything that’s happened through the eyes of faith.

God has been preparing and challenging us.

The promise is awaiting us.

Another way to say crossing over is to say overcome.

Jesus has a promise attached for us.

The spirit of God is challenging the church in this season.

What got you into the kingdom will not get you into the promised land.

We are saved by grace through faith.

You have to make the decision to step into God’s best for you.

There is a new and living way that the spirit of God has designed for us to live.

We’ve got to respond to the invitation to arise.

What river is God calling you to step into?

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us to follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

In this sermon called Preparing To Cross Over, Lee Cummings speaks out of Numbers and asks the question, “what kind of person do you want to be when you come out of this season?” We’re praying that the Lord moves and impacts you through this word.

Focus Scripture // Numbers 13:1-3, 17-20, 30-33 (ESV)

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Sermon Highlights

What kind of person do you want to be when you come out of this season?


When God looks at the history, He looks at the church first as the top of the spear. Everything else is secondary.

Ephesians 1:21-23 (MSG)
“At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. the church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

God's ultimate intention is to fill the earth with His presence — and He wants to fill it through you.

Everywhere we go, we should take His presence with us.

Allow God to fill your heart and give you a prophetic imagination.

A new era requires a new mentality, a new perspective, a new paradigm. We cannot see through the old lens that we inherited from Egypt any longer. We need to come out of this wilderness wandering, ready to cross over into our calling as the people of God.

What do we see as we look out at our future?
1. Do we see the problems more than the promise?
2. Are we listening to the voice of the majority or of his majesty?
3. Are we seeing the “real” enemy?

“What comes into our minds when we think about god is the most important thing about us. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerve. And the reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves.”
A.W Tozer - The Pursuit of God

As the church, it is our responsibility to confront the silence and indifference concerning racial issues. We need a greater understanding of what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like here on earth and what part we have to play in the narrative.

Join us for a conversation between Pastor James Harris of Trenches Church and Lee Cummings as they discuss the current events and what the Bible says about division, racism, and the role of the Church in healing and uniting all people.

Focus Scripture // 1 John 4:18-21 (ESV)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Sermon Highlights

As the church, we need to see each other as family. God has called us to a place to cross over and develop relationships. It may take courage. It may cause you to be inconvenient and uncomfortable. But, it will bring revival.
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The body of Christ is like pixels in a TV. Each pixel causes the picture of Christ to be brighter, clearer, and profound, so that He can be put on full display. This is why we have to step into injustice TOGETHER so that God can be seen to the world. We’re the light, and we need to lead it.
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We have the ticket to take our rightful place in the spirit. We cannot allow the world to disciple where we should be disciples. We are the ones who know how to bring biblical justice and righteousness to the world. We just have to speak up and do what Jesus has instructed us to do.
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God has instructed us to care for one another. We’re anointed and graced for it. You can’t sympathize with others unless you’re in proximity with others.

Gaining information is good to spark change, but alone it will not work. We need to move from information to revelation, where God hits your heart so dearly that it transforms you to do something and to be just like Christ.

Hate doesn’t always look like murder. Hate can be indifference. You can look at someone, and not care. Instead, you can see them as the image of God. You can honor them. You can love them.

We need to learn to lean into each other. We need to move from perimeter relationships to proximity relationships.

We have the opportunity to be a prophetic fore-runner.

Allow God to assess your heart. LOVE IS STRONGER THAN HATE.
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No one is superior or inferior. God chose no partiality.

Send The Fire from Lee Cummings on Pentecost weekend is a powerful, timely sermon focusing on our immediate need for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Focus Scripture // Acts 2:1-21 (NKJV)

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [e]the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’”

Sermon Highlights

We’re called to be people of prayer and action.

We need another Pentecost!

God has us exactly where He wants us.

Send the fire that cleanses, purified, and heals us.

We don’t need to convince God to give us more of Him.

Healing comes when the Holy Spirit arrives.

Send the fire that fuels and empowers us.

Are we more committed to getting our lives back in this hour than our willingness to lay them down?

Send the fire that rekindles our passion for Jesus.

Don’t allow yourself to fall into relational distancing from God.

God wants our first love to become our last love.

Don’t become God consumers instead of being God-consumed.

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

In this sermon called The Lord Our Banner, Lee Cummings teaches on walking with the Lord and looking up to Him for the victory.

Focus Scripture // Exodus 17:8-16 (ESV)

“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[a] of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Sermon Highlights

Our victory comes from the hill.

The hill represents the perspective, the power, and the person who sits enthroned in Heaven.

We are not fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory.

Our responsibility is to:

Tell the story (testimony to build others faith)

Give the glory (giving God the spoils of the victory: your worship)

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

Feeling discouraged, fearful, or abandoned? Watch our sermon titled Between a Rock And a Hard Place from Lee Cummings that focuses on God’s presence thats always with us.

Focus Scripture // Exodus 17:1-7 (ESV)

“All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Sermon Highlights

At every stage of the journey God is with you.

Set aside your slave-like mentalities.

The natural question we are wrestling with is, “where is God in the wilderness?”

He’s not only with us - He’s with us far more than we could have ever imagined.

He’s with us even when His presence is not obvious.

Don’t allow discomfort to create discontentment.

Don’t challenge the character of God.

Don’t fail to see what God is trying to show us about Himself.

God’s provision is following you.

Walk in faith, not fear.

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

Join us for a special Mother’s Day sermon from John Bevere titled GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?

Focus Scripture // 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 (ESV)

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters
as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Sermon Highlights

In the wilderness is where God reveals Himself.

You can’t shorten your season in the wilderness, but you can extend it.

God wants to bless you.

Complaining is a serious offense in the eyes of the Lord.

We’re in a process of being transformed.

The wilderness is not your graveyard.

God is once again calling His Church to remember. Remember who we were created to worship. Remember where we were when He came for us. When we again find ourselves pinned down by impossible circumstances and hear the echoes of accusation pursuing us, we must remember that it is He who is fighting for us, leading us and bringing us into a land flowing with milk and honey. In this hour, it’s time for us follow the fire by night and cloud of His presence by day.

In this sermon titled Bread From Heaven from our Lessons From the Wilderness series, Lee Cummings brings a powerful word that asks the question: are you going to listen to the voice of God, or the voices of this world?

Focus Scripture // Exodus 16:1-4,11-15 (ESV)

“They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”


Sermon Highlights

The wilderness became a training ground to develop Israel into a people that could actually possess the Promised Land.

The miracle of the manna was a lesson that they had to learn to successfully navigate the rest of the journey through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

The manna test: will you listen to the voice of God over all other voices?

You were created to be led by God daily, not occasionally.

You were created to live in dependency.

You were created to leave a testimony.

Will you listen to the voice of God over all other voices?