Richard Ellis Talks

Sometimes we face challenges that seem impossible to overcome. But with God, all things are possible. When we remember how He's brought us through difficulties before, it reminds us that we can approach future trials with faith, knowing that the Lord will see us through.

As Christians, we often say we're willing to die for Jesus -- yet we're not willing to die to ourselves in order to live for Him. To follow Christ requires that we die to ourselves, surrender our sinful desires, and allow Him to work within us in order to work through us.

When it comes to any kind of ball sport, the ball itself can't do anything on its own to score points -- it needs to be placed in the hands of the player in order to have any value or purpose. In the same way, none of us can accomplish anything of eternal value without God. We have to place ourselves in His hands before we can be used to bring Him glory.

This life is full of trials. The only way that we'll be able to face the hardships of life and be victorious over them is by having faith in Jesus. When we realize the power that lives in us through Him, our faith can diminish all fear and we can have victory over all circumstances.

In most areas of life, if we fail to make deposits but continue to make withdrawals, we'll wind up with a negative balance in our "account". But when it comes to sin, we have to stop depositing the things of this world if we don't want to experience withdrawals from them later. God promises to help us overcome those temptations, but first we have to let go of our sin and choose to live in His light.

It's easy to have a "sacred cow" in our lives -- something that we hold as an idol, even if we don't realize it. But in dying as the sacrificial payment for our sin, Jesus gave us the freedom to let go of false idols and to reach out and take hold of God's love instead. When we continue to cling to sacred cows, we abuse the grace that's been given to us so freely.

You don't need to be a football fan to understand this truth: the mere fact that we're living and breathing makes us "eligible receivers" of God's mercy and love. The entirety of the Gospel is centered around God offering us the gift of salvation, free of charge. Instead of trying so hard to pay for it ourselves, we simply need to open our hands and receive.

We all make mistakes. But the goal of leading a spirit-filled life is to make more right turns than wrong ones. And the good news is this: no matter how many wrong turns we've taken before, Jesus is always inviting us to walk a different path where we can start making better choices as we follow His lead.

When we look back on our lives in playback mode, the most significant clips might not have been the happy times, but the moments we chose to be faithful to God even in the midst of trial and pain. The Bible tells story after story of people who stayed close to God and chose to obey Him no matter their circumstances -- and in return, God honored their faithfulness with His own.

We can only see a part of the work God's doing, but we have to trust that there are others who see the big picture. We'll never be able to lead well until we first learn to follow and obey. When we submit to the authorities God put over us within His Church, we're better able to work together as one Body -- the Body of Christ.