Moses was a man who knew God face to face. He had an intimacy with God that's more characteristic of a New Covenant believer, not an Old Covenant saint. What was it about Moses that granted him that kind of relationship with God? What is the belief system and outlook of a person who walks with God? We can learn from Moses' life that there are character qualities that attract intimacy. God is looking for people who are after His heart and not just His benefits.

This foundational, yet often overlooked message, communicates the basis of intimacy with God. What are the barriers to a personal relationship with God? Why is it that some Christians seem head-over-heels in love with Jesus, and others seem apathetic or jaded? There is only one way to approach God, and that is by faith in His grace and the gift of righteousness. In this sermon, discover the key to knowing God as one knows a friend.

Aside from Christ's death, hundreds of other men and women died excruciatingly painful deaths in total self-sacrifice, to give us the Bible that we have today. We now possess the most powerful truths in the universe, containing the potential to transform us into living and breathing reflections of the Father on earth. But...we choose whether or not we will use God's Word for the intention for which it was delivered to us. We will be held accountable for how we used the Bible -- whether we rightly used it to equip ourselves for our God-given purpose, or if we used it merely to elevate our emotions with our morning verse-of-the-day. We were redeemed for a purpose! Let us not dishonor the sacrifice of Christ by living a complacent life.

This was recorded on Sunday morning, Feb. 10th, at Valiant Church in New Hope, MN.

This is the audio recording of David's sermon, given at the launch service of Valiant Church, the first church-plant out of VMI. It's a simple and foundational, yet extremely powerful message. Jesus died so that we could know God and become like Him...that's the gospel 101. Salvation is restoring a relationship, not changing locations or circumstances. Heaven can be experienced right now because our intimacy with the Father has been restored; such intimacy is exactly what makes heaven what it is...it's why we can have heaven on earth.

The purpose of Jesus' death and resurrection was hidden for thousands of years, but it has now been revealed. Jesus died so that God could inhabit His people. Jesus died so that we could become something new, not so that we could merely hope that we will go to heaven when we die. The apostles and prophets bled and died so that we could have what is now available to us in Christ. Let us not get complacent and come short of the potential we now possess.

Have you believed that only God decides when healing will happen? That miracles only happen if it's His sovereign will? Whether you like it or not, this philosophy is not scripturally sound. Jesus already bore our pain and sickness. Healing has already been provided. It's up to us to believe that. It will be unto us according to OUR faith! Don't limit God by getting into unbelief.

Every lie of the world that Christians choose to believe stems from one root problem: giving more authority to the word of man than you do to the Word of God. Sometimes, due to the pressure of modern culture, we think that we need to add the counsel of the world to the teachings of the Bible. It's a big mistake to compromise the Word of God for something as trivial as cultural relevance. Don't allow the enemy to rob you of God's promises by submitting to the subtle intrusions of human philosophy.

You may believe something about yourself or God that isn't true. In this episode, learn about a number of so called "Christian" doctrines that have no basis in scripture, and are really philosophies of the world. Are we really free from sin? Are we really the righteousness of God? Or does God only see us as righteous? Don't be cheated out of the reward of a relationship with God, by submitting yourself to principles of the world.

According to Ephesians 5:14-18, we are all held responsible to wake up and "understand what God's will is" for our lives. It's not an option...it's an expectation. We are here on purpose for a purpose. Therefore, we cannot allow the cares of this life to distract us from what really matters -- why we were created. We have a short time on this planet; we need to use that time well. God can rescue any wasted time from loss, if we choose to move forward with hopeful purpose.

As a continuation of the previous episode, David continues his teaching on Christ's mandate to the Christian community to function as an embassy of heaven and propagate heaven's culture in the world around us.

But if we're to be an effective embassy, we must be unified -- in one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Love is the bond -- the glue -- that creates such unity. If we can't learn to love our fellow man we cannot say we love God, and unity will be impossible. Loving people unconditionally is the way we bring heaven's culture into this fallen world.