Ray Bentley

Life can be hard. There's no doubt about it. But pastor Ray Bentley says we need to take courage. That the Lord is always with us through our trials. Know this God never intended for you or I to live life on our own power. That's why he sent Jesus Christ. No matter what happens outwardly, our circumstantially, I can begin to taste of the pure waters of heaven. No matter what my circumstances may be.

How do we impact our culture for Jesus Christ? Pastor Ray Bentley says, sometimes you just have to make some noise. As Dr. Campbell Morgan has said, organized Christianity that fails to make a disturbance is death. So Paul and Silas made a disturbance at midnight. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them spread.

Pastor Ray Bentley says the Lord has a plan to bring unbelievers to him and believers closer to him. God will prepare your heart every time he wants to take you from one level of faith to the next level of faith. God will prepare your heart and say, hey, if this has been good, I want you to come a little deeper, a little further, a little closer to me.

Some people really want to know the Lord's plan for their lives. Others are afraid of what it might be. Pastor Ray Bentley offers this encouragement. We have this erroneous idea, for whatever reason, that God's will is contrary to your best interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm convinced that when I get to heaven and when we see the Lord, we're going to realize that we could have allowed God to do so much more in our lives while we were here.

Pastor Ray Bentley shows how the Church of Jesus Christ is open to everyone. Jew and Gentile, bond and free. By the way, do you know what the word church means? Called out ones. And by interpretation means the chosen ones. So you that believe in Christ are as chosen of God as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. But especially because we believe in Jesus, who is the Messiah.

What does it take to go to heaven just to trust Christ? Or does it take some effort on our part? Pastor Ray Bentley clarifies, when Jesus cried from the cross at the very end before he gave up his Spirit, he said, it is finished. He didn't say it's halfway done. He didn't say it's done until they add this or that. He said it is finished by the work of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Ray Bentley says the Christian life is full of joy, but it can also be full of trials and testing. Yes, God has the power and loves to bless and prosper and give success and heal and deliver and bring glory to God. But God can also sometimes be glorified through our suffering, through our perseverance, through our patients, through our bearing in our own bodies.

Pastor Ray Bentley offers some practical encouragement on sharing our faith and some insight into what unbelievers may be thinking. There are two reasons why people do not go to church. Number one, because they do not know a Christian. The second reason many people do not go to church is that they do not know a Christian. They've got a bad example, and they go, man, if that's what it's like, it's not for me, you know what I'm saying?

Pastor Ray Bentley shows us what powerful evangelism looks like and gives us a candid glimpse of the consequences. The moment you decide to follow the will of God. The moment you say, you know what? I'm not going to hide my light. I'm not going to be ashamed of my faith. I'm going to let my light shine. That very moment, Satan will harass you. He will oppose you. Opposition can be confirmation. You're doing the right thing.

Grace is a central component of our relationship with God. Pastor Ray Bentley says it keeps us from having to strive to please the Lord. It's not about our effort. Christianity is not about trying. It is about trusting every day of your life. You're standing before God has nothing to do with what you do. It has only to do with what Christ has done. It's not about what you do, but it's about receiving God's grace.