RCCG Victory Temple Chantilly's Podcast

The day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief." 2Pe 3:10 NLT

Don't let "date-setters" make you cnical about Christ's soon return. When the founder of a major church denomination predicted in print the date of Christ's second coming, his successors faced the embarrassment of having to publicly acknowledge that they were wrong. Do you remember the alarmists of Y2K? Declaring to a scientific certainty that the year 2000 would bring the end of the world and the return of Christ, they caused people to leave their jobs, sell their homes, stock up on food, and head for the hills. And because of such embarrassments, many preachers today have silenced or toned down the truth of Christ's second coming. Yes, when some folks hear the message, they roll their eyes and say, "Not again!" But doubt about Christ's return is one of the signs that guarantees it will happen. The Bible says: "In the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth...

They will say, 'What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created...The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think.

No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief...the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment...so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight"

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"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Ro 12:2 NAS

Long before William James, the father of American psychology, was attributed with saying, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes," God said, "As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pr 23:7 NKJV). Often it's our thoughts, not our circumstances, that determine our happiness. We keep thinking we will be happy when certain things happen. For example, some mothers say, "When little Tommy starts elementary school, I will be happy." And they are, for a while. Next,

"When Tommy graduates from high school, I will be happy." And they are, at least for the summer. Next, Tommy's graduation from college brings the same promise; so does his marriage, and the birth of the first grandchild. But the problem is, mom hasn't learned how to be happy between "happenings." When your happiness is controlled by something outside yourself, you will always be hostage to people, places, and things. That's not how God wants you to live-a victim of circumstances beyond your control. The psalmist said, "I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps 34:1). David chose the right attitude, and you have to do the same! You also must maintain it. That's the hard part. It's like the old farmer who said, "The hardest thing about milking cows is--they don't stay milked!" And it's the same with attitudes; they don't stay changed. You have to work on them every day; it's called "renewing..your mind." And the way you do it is by getting into God's Word and getting His Word into you. Are you doing that regularly?

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"No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." 1Co 10:24 NIV

Self-pity can be deadly. It tells the wife and mother who works hard, "You're not appreciated." It says to the office worker, "Look how valuable you are, yet you're never recognized or rewarded." It says to the unemployed, "No chance!" To the divorced, "No place!" To the bereaved, "No hope!" And to the struggling, "No way!" Look at the prophet Elijah.

Twenty-four hours after his greatest victory, he is deeply depressed and wallowing in self-pity. "I have had enough...Take my life...I have zealously served.

But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed... your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too" (1Ki 19:4, 10 NLT). There it is-self-pity in the raw! Generally speaking, there are two reasons behind self-pity. The first is emotional manipulation. We use self-pity as a weapon to guilt-trip others and get our own way. That's immaturity and you have to deal with it, whether it's in ourself or somebody else. On the other hand, self-pity can also stem from sheer exhaustion. Recorded in the Old Testament, God showed Elijah four behaviors he needed to correct to get himself back on track: (1)

He needed more rest. (2) He needed to eat better.

(3) He had to turn this eyes to God and stop trying to do everything in his own strength. (4) He was isolated and needed a friend. So, God gave him Elisha. That did the job, and the next time we see Elijah, he is back on top. Take a moment today and think about how you can apply this to your life.

I Self-pity can be deadly.

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"In Your presence is fullness of jov." Ps 16:11 NKJV

If you were miserable before you met Jesus, it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the only place His presence can be enjoyed is in church. No, you can enjoy His presence everywhere. At home, at work, at school, in business, and even in times of suffering and adversity. Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk in a French monastery, wrote the best-selling book, The Practice of the Presence of God. He resented his daily routine in the kitchen.

Then God showed him that everything he did each day could be done for God and with God. That truth transformed his life. You can cultivate your mind to be more productive, and you can also cultivate your spirit to be more sensitive to God. You can reach the place where you sense His presence and His pleasure in all that you do. Believing God is present with you won't help you much if you think He is always upset with you. But when you see yourself as accepted in Christ, you realize that He is not only present with you at all times but pleased with you (See Eph 1:6). That will radically change your thinking about God. There are dozens of things pertaining to everyday life, and you can enjoy them all if you just make the decision to do it- getting dressed, going to work, organizing things, running errands, grocery shopping, etc. After all, these are the things life is made up of. Joy comes not merely from being entertained, but from a decision to be grateful for each moment you are given as a rare and valuable gift from God.

I You can enjoy His presence everywhere.

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"Christ's love...is too wonderful to be measured." Eph 3:19 CEV

Princess Alice was Queen Victoria's daughter. When her son contracted an incurable disease called black diphtheria, the doctors quarantined the boy and warned his mother to stay away from him lest she get infected. Yet she couldn't. One day she overheard her son whisper to his nurse, "Why doesn't my mother kiss me anymore?" His words melted her heart and she ran to him, smothering him with kisses. Within a few days, she died and was buried. What would compel a mother to risk her life for her child? Love! Now stand at the cross and ask what would lead Christ to do something even greater for us? Love! Writing to the believers at Ephesus, Paul says, "I want you to know...Christ's love...is too wonderful to be measured." You can trace the greatest action of Christ to his greatest attribute-love. Perhaps the people who should have loved you, didn't; and those who could have loved you, wouldn't. Maybe you were left at the hospital, or left standing at the altar, or left with an empty bed and a broken heart. Regardless of the cause, you were left with the question, "Does anybody love me?" And today Christ answers unequivocally, "I do!" The truth is, His love for you

"is too wonderful to be measured." Hymn writer

Charles Gabriel wrote: "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, And wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be: How marvelous! How wonderful! Is my Savior's love for me!" God couldn't love you more than He does right now, and that will never change.

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"Their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food." Ac 6:1 NIV

Since the government didn't care for widows and orphans back in New Testament times, the church took on that

responsibility. Unfortunately, bias raised its ugly head and Jewish widows and orphans were given preferential treatment over Gentile widows and orphans. How did the church leaders respond? They could easily have dismissed it, like we so often do. They could have said, "We're called to feed souls, not stomachs. We deal in matters of sin and salvation, not sandals and soup." Instead, here is what they did. First, they called a meeting to resolve the problem (See Acts 6:2). They let every member know that their church took poverty seriously, and they were each personally responsible before God to do something about it. The Scripture doesn't endorse forced communism, but it clearly teaches Spirit-led volunteerism. Second, they assigned the problem to their brightest and best.

They selected seven men -well respected, full of the Holv Spirit and wisdom-and gave them this responsibility (See Ac 6:3 NLT).

Instead of grooming our children for

"important" fields like medicine, law, politics, or government, let's teach them that caring for the needy is one of God's highest callings. Why do a billion people go to bed hungry each night? Or thirty thousand-plus children die every single day (one every three seconds) from malnutrition and preventable diseases when we can do something about it? No one can do everything, but God has called each of us to do something! "Pure and genuine religion... means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let world [systems] corrupt you [into believing that it's not your responsibility]" (Jas 1:27 NLT).

"Caring for widows and orphans in their distress

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He defended the cause of the poor and needy...so all went well.'" Jer 22:16 NIV

When he was a seminary student, Jim Wallis and some of his classmates took scissors to the Bible and cut out every verse about poverty, wealth, justice, or oppression. And would you believe it, by the time they had finished, there were some two thousand verses lying on the floor! The fact is, when you cut concern for the poor from your Bible, you cut the heart right out of it! Here is one such verse:

" He defended the cause of the poor and needy...so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the Lord" (v. 16 NIV). Jesus often quoted Scripture, but only on one occasion do we find Him selecting and reading from it. And what portion did He choose to read publicly? "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor...to proclaim freedom for the prisoners…recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free" (Lk 4:18 NIV). Here was His to-do list: help for body and soul, strength for the physical and spiritual, and therapy for temporal and eternal.

Now some people (albeit a minoritv) are poor because they're lazy and need to be taught that God's Word says, "those unwilling to work will not get to eat" (2Th 3:10 NLT). But others are poor because parasites have weakened their bodies, or they spend six hours every day collecting water, or rebel armies have destroyed their farms, or AIDS has claimed their parents. These are the people God has assigned us to care for!

Help for body and soul

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"Jacob set up a memorial...to mark the place where God had spoken with him." Ge 35:14 GWT

There are events in all our lives that, looking back, had to be the hand of God at work. One author puts it like this: "Maybe you bumped into somebody who introduced you to your spouse...or a coworker resigned and suddenly you were promoted...or a stranger said something that spoke to your heart.

These are all signs of God's favor, and when you're tempted to get down, you need to remember how God opened the door for you...how he made a way... how he spared your life...how he healed your child.

There is no such thing as coincidence...when something good happens, recognize that it's God, and recall it often." In the Old Testament, "Jacob set up a memorial...to mark the place where God had spoken with him." Have you established any memorial stones lately? A sure way to build your faith is to remember all the times God made a way when every door was locked and barred against you...days when you were lonely and God brought the right person into your life...nights when you felt so bad you didn't think you would make it until the next morning. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, God turned things around...gave you the oil of joy for mourning...lifted you out of the pit...gave you a new beginning...and today you're happy, healthy, and whole. And best of all: If He did it before, He will do it again! He is the same today as He was yesterday, and when you take time to remember His goodness and faithfulness, it strengthens you to keep fighting the good fight of faith.

Keep fighting for the faith.

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"You are precious...in my sight." Isa 43:4 NIV

Have you ever gone to a garage sale hoping to find a bargain? To the untrained eye, much of the stuff looks like rubbish. It may even have been gathering dust and mildew in somebody's attic. But the trained eye sees treasure in disguise; items that just need to be cleaned, polished, and restored in order to become valuable again. That's what God does with us. When Satan tells you you're worthless, God looks inside you and sees hidden treasure. When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, He enables you to overcome your past, resist temptation, conquer bad habits, rise above your self-imposed limitations, and realize that in God's eyes, you have great worth. You actually start believing what He said: "You are precious.. in my sight." A man went to visit a psychiatrist who told him, "I've diagnosed your problem. It's low self-esteem-and it's very common among losers!" We smile, but the truth is when you keep putting yourself down, you tend to gravitate toward people who do the same. But once you begin to realize the value God places on you, your entire outlook changes. With God, you can't lose. Even when you stumble, He will help you to get back up, become stronger and wiser, and move on to victory. When you see yourself only as somebody who makes mistakes and falls short, you're looking in the wrong mirror. Once you start to see yourself in the mirror of God's Word, you see someone who is being transformed day by day into the likeness of Jesus (See 2Co 3:18). And that's how God sees you today.

I Are you looking in the wrong mirror?

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"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Pr 16:3 NIV

As a follower of Jesus Christ, vour direction shouldn't come from people and be confirmed by God, it should come from God and be confirmed by people. The Bible says: "Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word. Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place. God made everything with a place and purpose" (vv. 1-4 MSG).

You may be able to do what someone else has done and do it even better. But has God called you to do that particular thing? Before you follow someone else's guidance, do these: (1) Check the source of their wisdom. "The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless...he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path" (Pr 2:6-9 NIV).

(2) Check their motives. John writes, "I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened" (Rev 20:12 NKJV). Will one of those be "the book of motives"? And if it is, will your actions and accomplishments stand up under divine scrutiny? (3) Check the outcome they're pursuing.

If you seek success in order to have power and prestige, or seek riches only to have comfort, you violate one of the core principles of God's Word:

You're blessed in order to be a blessing to others.

I Blessed to be a blessing to others

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