Redemption Calvary Podcast

When we tolerate what Jesus hates we misrepresent Him and put ourselves at war with Him. The city of Pergamos was an incredibly difficult city to be a Christian in. Persecution was so high, that members of the church were being martyred for their faith. Yet Jesus does not see the difficulty of spirituality and severity of persecution as excuses for the church to live in sin. They were making room for the things that Jesus hated, and He came to correct them and call them to repentance. We must change our minds when we find that we are in conflict with Jesus, and not expect Him to change His mind.

The church of Smyrna was in a city given over to various forms of idolatry. One particularly entrenched form of idol worship in Smyrna was exalting the Roman Emperor to the status of a god and worshipping him. The Christians would not participate, and became enemies of the state because they saw Jesus alone as Lord and God…and not Caesar. Not only that but the Jews of Smyrna also attacked the Christians as a heretical sect of false doctrine. The church in Smyrna experienced incredible amounts of persecution including martyrdom. In all of this, Jesus speaks to this church about their suffering and brings an encouragement to them. This is not only true of the church in Smyrna, but it is true in our suffering as well. Jesus identifies with our suffering and He empowers our suffering.

When we elevate being right above longing Jesus, being right becomes being wrong. Jesus came full of grace and truth according to John 1:14, and we have the tendency to go toward one side, often to the detriment of the other. Warren Wiersbe said “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” We need Jesus to empower us to live right in the middle of this sliding scale so that we can emulate and honor Him with our lives. The church in Ephesus was incredible when it came to doctrine and theology, but they were severely lacking when it came to their motive. Jesus’s evaluation of the church is that they had left their first love, so He calls them back into that love filled, love motivated relationship with Him as the fuel and reason for their incredible service and theology.

A supernatural experience with King Jesus always results in serving Him. The second half of Revelation 1 centers around vision that John has of Jesus, but John is completely unprepared to see Jesus in His glorified state. Jesus has some incredible things to communicate through the imagery associated with this vision, and at the top of His priority list is His relationship with His Church. John has this life altering experience with Jesus and then Jesus commissions him into service. The same is true for you and me. When we meet with Jesus it is a life altering experience and we cannot help but serve Him.

Revelation is one of the most challenging, inspiring, and intriguing books of the Bible. It peaks our curiosity as the only New Testament book that is in the genre of prophecy. The 5 opening words tell us the entire theme, purpose, focus, direction, and reason for this book. It is the Revelation of Jesus. If we see all of the destructive details and timeline and pestilence and Antichrist, but we fail to see Jesus Christ then we have missed the entire point. Revelation is actually a book with a blessing attached to it, but Jesus alone gives access to the blessings of God and the Kingdom of God. If you want to know what a blessed life and blessed future is, you will need to know Jesus.

Fernando Ortiz is the Sr. Pastor of Mile High Calvary in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He delivers a timely sermon on 3 key tactics to being able to win the spiritual war that you and I are in. You have a cunning enemy, and a powerful Savior. Jesus has the strength you need for victory, but you cannot win on your own. 

https://milehighcalvary.com/ 

One of the most incredible things about God is that His faithfulness to you is not dependent upon your faithfulness to Him. God is faithful even when we are faithless. Jonah is in the middle of an angry fit while God condescends to him to lead him to a change of heart. God orchestrates an uncomfortable object lesson for Jonah, but the pain is not punishment for Jonah, it is discipline. As God provides for Jonah’s transformation, He provides a series of events to take place that should unveil Jonah’s heart to himself. While we are powerless to change ourselves, it is not too difficult for God. The amazing thing is that God’s love and presence are what changes us. Jesus was crucified for you while you were His enemy, and His love is so strong that it not only brings you to Him but it also makes you like Him. Will you receive the love of Jesus?

God has finally brought Jonah to the city of Nineveh, and he has faithfully preached the message that God gave him. But something unexpected happens, the people of the city immediately turn to God. Jonah is shocked by this and in his disbelief he becomes angry with God for extending mercy and grace to his enemies. Jonah was willing to receive God’s grace, but he was completely unwilling to have the Assyrians experience God’s grace. The issue in Jonah’s heart, and the issue we tend to struggle with as well, is the issue of lordship. The answer to the question, “Who is Lord?” dictates everything about how we view and live life. We can be just like Jonah, knowing all of the right answers and still getting everything wrong. Jesus’s cross brings us into a deeper relationship with God than just an informational one, He purchased an experimental knowledge of God for us. Do you know God in this deep intimate way?

God’s ear bends toward repentance and His grace rushes toward humility. As the message of God is delivered through the prophet of God to the people of Nineveh, they immediately and completely turn to God. This is an incredible and miraculous move of God to bring about the single greatest moment of a spiritual awakening in human history. How did this come about? Very simply, the people of Nineveh believed God and this changed everything. Through their belief they abandoned their evil way and turned to God. Then God relents from the destruction they were storing up for themselves. God is gracious. God is forgiving. He will receive you if you will believe Him and turn to Him.

God has chosen to use people as His primary method of communication. He gives His Word to a preacher, and then uses that preacher to deliver His Word to others. While there are certain people gifted by God as preachers and teachers, He is looking to use you to deliver His Word to people around you every day. Your attitude toward God is the single greatest factor in your usefulness to Him. Jonah 3:1-4 displays 4 attitudes that are essential for being used by God for His eternal purposes. God has given you His word, given you people to deliver it to, and He bears the responsibility for bringing conviction to their hearts and minds. Your part is to simply deliver the mail, deliver the message from God. When you submit yourself to this purpose you will find your soul's satisfaction and your eternal destiny.