The One Thing - United Faith Church Podcast

Ephesians 5:16

There’re days where it's just so easy to get unfocused on what truly matters in this life. The focus of the world is money. The focus of the world is to get for yourself and to do your own thing. But see the focus of the Kingdom of God is simply God and bringing Him honor and glory. It's taking every opportunity of this life that we have, for how many years that we may be on this earth, to live and breathe for the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see there is hope today: That in Christ, our days can be different. Although we may live in a time where the days just seem to be so evil, we through the power of the Lord Jesus the Gospel that sets us free, can live these days different. We can be those who do not miss the opportunity - the opportunity for salvation. How today is the day of salvation for us to be saved from ourself, to be saved from the darkness. Today is an opportune day an opportune time for God to demonstrate His power in our lives by us trusting in Him and holding to our faith. There is opportunity today to hold onto Jesus to cry out to Him - to plead for His empowering, and to live and to make the most of every opportunity that He gives.

What will it be for you today - will you make the most of every opportunity? If that be your heart, may we cry out to the Lord Jesus for His help, and His empowerment in this time, this day. Amen.

The post Time of Opportunity – EP92 (Eph. 5:16) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Ephesians 4:1

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Excited to share a scripture from the book of Ephesians today. It’s Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 and it says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Now many times when we hear the word “calling”, or we talk about “our calling”, we can get into all sorts of things or aspects of what that calling may actually mean. For some people, they feel as though their calling may be to be a doctor, their calling is to travel the world, or their calling is to own a business and we've probably had numerous conversations about our calling and what we felt in our lives or we’ve heard from others. Some people feel they are called to serve the Lord, they are called to give their life to God.

Our main calling in this life as those who are in Christ is to serve the Lord. What does that look like? By carefully devoting ourselves to prayer, does it mean that we're in a prayer closet all day long? No, but it means we have a heart of prayer where we may be at work just crying out to the Lord, even as we're at a register, or even as we sit in front of a computer or we’re laboring and digging holes, we can be praying, “Father, come. Father, I worship You. I just bless You.” Really just trusting in Him. Trusting that He's hearing, trusting that we can worship Him even as we're driving in our cars.

To serve the Lord is to walk humbly with Him. The Word of the Lord says that this is what God requires: that we “love mercy, that we act justly and walk humbly with the Lord our God”. To serve the Lord, we must continue to walk in the heart of humility. Does it mean that we walk with our heads hanging low? No. Does it mean that we beat ourselves up and put ourselves down? No but it means that we have a right perspective of things. That, ‘Father, without You, I would not be here. Father, without You, I'd be perishing in the wickedness of the world but God, by Your great mercy, I can live, walk, and breathe in the freedom to worship God, to serve You and to fulfill my calling, which is to be with You. My calling to serve You God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.’

So I ask today: do you know your calling? Do you know your calling? If not, may you look at this Word today. May you look to God and understand that He has called You to the greatest thing ever. The greatest call a man or woman can have, which is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praying today that the Lord Jesus would touch you. That by the power of the gospel, by the power of His Spirit, He would allow us to fulfill and to live our lives worthy of the calling that He has given us. Worthy of the calling we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ. May you be blessed today. May you be blessed in this time and season to be those serving the Lord. Those accomplishing all that He has called you to do within His Kingdom. I just thank God for His Word and I thank Him for such a calling, amen.

The post We Are Called – EP91 (Ephesians 4:1) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Judges 17:6

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Today we are reading from Judges chapter 17, verse 6 and it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”

Now for us that proclaim to follow Him, for us who proclaim to be Christians, we are called to serve the King - but do we serve Him? As we read this Scripture does it hit our hearts to say, ‘Are we living like Israel in that time?’ - as though there was no king? As though we can do what we feel is fit rather than regarding the Word of the Lord and His guidance in our life?

Today, God is calling us to stop and to recognize that He is the King above all kings, that He is Lord of all, and to ask ourselves: Do we serve the King? I don't wanna be like Israel, who lived at a time there with no king - and everyone did as they saw fit. See the ways of man naturally are ways of wickedness. God has made a way today to come into His Kingship to serve the good King the great King the Lord Jesus and to find life. Not to do as we feel fit. Not to go about as though He doesn't rule and reign, but to submit - to seek His face and to follow the Lord of all.

Who is your King today? How have you lived before Him? What will you do? What will I do to be sure that we are under His governing, and be sure that we are walking in His light and in His truth?

Praying that each one of us would recognize this great King - the Lord Jesus - in our lives and come closer to Him than ever before, walking and following His leading. Amen.

The post Who Is Your King? – EP90 (Judges 17:6) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Proverbs 12:3

Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. The Word of the Lord I would like to share today is Proverbs 12:3. It says “Wickedness never brings stability, but the Godly have deep roots”. If you think with me for a moment you might have heard somebody at some point in your life say “Sometimes you just have to come back to your roots.”

See, the Godly have deep roots. Wickedness never brings stability. When we walk in our own way, when we walk and we root ourselves we find ourselves looking for stability and money in this world and things. It doesn't bring stability. We don't know what the American dollar will even mean tomorrow. We don't know if our homes that make us feel stable at times will even be here tomorrow, but there's one thing that we can know. That the Godly have deep roots.

See, we are not rooted in the world, we are not rooted in the things of this life, but we are rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is this; that man is unstable, lost in wickedness and in sin without Him. But in Christ those who trust in Him, when we put our faith in Him, we develop deep roots where although things may happen, although circumstances may come across our lives it doesn't matter. We are not to be swayed because our roots are not in this life, they are not in this world, but they are in His truth. They are in the Lord.

I pray today that we would all uproot all those things that are not of God. That we would uproot all the old mindsets, all the fleshy ways, all the things that really pull us away from the Lord, and that we would become rooted--coming back into the Lord, going deeper with Him today. Some of us may have already been rooted in the Lord and we know that it's kept us and has given us strength. I also pray today that you would be nourished. That the rain and the waters of God would just really touch those roots, allowed them to become even stronger, even bolder, and even more stable in the power of God. Praise God that we can be rooted in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ today. Amen.

The post Back To Our Roots – EP89 (Prov. 12:3) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Ecclesiastes 10:4

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. The Word of the Lord for today is Ecclesiastes 10:4. And it's really the second half of the verse and I really love this it says, “...calmness can lay great offenses to rest.”

Even the worst of offenses, rather than finding ourselves in trouble rather than finding ourself in a bad situation and quickly looking for an excuse - letting our minds run and trying to figure out whose fault it is besides ourself - the Word of the Lord says, ‘Calm yourself stop! Because calmness can lay even great offenses to rest.’

I pray today that we would be those who would never leave our post today and to continue in the calmness and the peace of God. Even in our troubles, even in our circumstances that we might have brought upon ourselves, that today we would move and walk in God and not take a step further without Him. Praying that this Word would find each one of us and bless us, and that God would be glorified. Amen.

The post Overcoming Our Troubles – EP88 (Eccl. 10:4) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Psalm 46:10

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. The Word of the Lord for today is Psalm 46:10 that says, “... ‘Be still and know that I am God…’”

Now, it's not that there's anything wrong with our phones or apps or all those different things, but it's when it becomes so excessive - it becomes such a habit - that we never really stop to consider the voice of the Lord. We never really stop to just be still and know that God is God.

And as you are still, it brings us back into the focus of the Kingdom. It allows us to simply rest for a moment to simply rest from the things of the world - to rest from all the going and the going in our minds and in our hearts and allow ourselves to receive the Word of the Lord to get refocused. To remember that God is calling us to be still. And it's not that we're never gonna move we're never gonna physically be active but all the things that we do are to come from that intimacy that connection with God that comes as we still our minds still our hearts, to simply come into His presence. To hear from His Words to hear His voice and to be able to walk in the commands and the things that He's giving us for this day for this week - for our lives. Will you be still and know that He is God?

The post He says to “Be Still” – EP87 (Psalm 46:10) appeared first on United Faith Church.

2 Kings 2:19-22

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. I'm so excited to share a story that really touched my heart this week it's coming from the book of 2 Kings, chapter 2 verses 19 to 22. And we find Elisha, the prophet of God, who is approached by some men of the town of Jericho and they approach him about a situation about the water of the city. And it goes as this, “The people of the city said to Elisha, ‘Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.’ ‘Bring me a new bowl,’ he said, ‘and put salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.”’ And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.”

See apart from the Lord Jesus Christ it doesn't matter about what we do on the outside unless it's coming from Christ on the inside. See these waters - Proverbs says in chapter 20, the purposes of man's heart is described as deep waters. I can't help but to correlate the two and see that these waters are symbolic of our heart apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It says that it caused death. See, sin in the heart of man causes death - maybe not a physical death but a spiritual death. And it causes us to be unproductive. Have you ever felt, ‘Wow! God I would love to be productive in Your Kingdom. I would love to produce fruit but Father there is something that is holding me back. These waters seem unproductive my heart just seems to be held back by some dark power by some sinfulness.’ Whatever it may be today, may God be able to come as He did through Elisha and to pour out His salt.

I pray today that we would be those as these waters were salted as this fountain was salted that today we would be salted by God. Filled with the Spirit of God - touched by His presence. May you call upon the Lord Jesus Christ today. May the waters be washed and clean - and may we be those who are productive in the Kingdom, worshipping the Lord and bringing Him glory in everything that we do all of our decisions, and in all of our walk.

Be blessed today, and I'm just thankful for the Word of the Lord. May it touch our hearts, and may God have His way. Amen.

The post Salty Water – EP86 (2Kings 2:19-22) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Proverbs 22:4
Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast.

Think with me for a moment today. How many of us at some point, maybe currently or especially this past year, have had moments where we worried about our health because of COVID-19, that has spread so rapidly, or other diseases or just in general? Maybe some type of health concern that we've had for ourselves, wondering what kind of nutrients we can take in, or vitamins, or how we can protect ourselves with maybe certain face shields, whatever it may be? At some moment, we may be thinking about our health and wondering how we can keep up with it.

All the things that we think about, whether it's vitamins and all the different medicines, I'm sure that they're very helpful but one thing I want to talk about today is not only our physical health but the health of our heart. The health of our soul.

Well, one of my favorite verses I’d like to share today is [Proverbs 22:4] and it says, “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches, honor and life.”

So, what is it to fear the Lord? It's a very healthy thing to do. See, the fear of the Lord is not spoken about much today but it's so crucial and so important for those who believe in the Lord. Now, what is the fear of the Lord? It says, “Humility is the fear of the Lord” and when we think of humility, it's not looking at ourselves and kind of looking down on ourselves or kind of beating ourselves up but true humility simply is this: it's a realistic estimation of who we truly are without the Lord.

See, without the Lord I am not wise. Without the Lord Jesus, I am dead on the inside. Without Him, I am lost. I am a broken man but through His power, through His love and through His mighty Word, through His power through Christ alone, I am able to come into the fear of the Lord. I am able to get a good, realistic estimation of myself but also a good realistic estimation of the Lord Jesus Christ. That He is King. He is powerful and those who call upon His name find strength. That is the fear of the Lord, to be bowing before Him, to be humbling ourselves before Him.

May we not just be searching for vitamins for our physical health. May we not just be worried about the outside but I'm praying today that we would be looking on the inside. Do we fear the Lord? Are we humble before His presence? If not, today may we call upon the Lord Jesus. May we bow before Him that riches, honor, and life would arise and that His name would be exalted. Praying today that you would find good health and nourishment on the deep inside of your heart and soul, amen.

The post A Healthy Soul – EP85 (Prov. 22:4) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Leviticus 11:45

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. What is holiness? What does it mean to be holy? Leviticus 11:45 in the Scripture says, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” What a call God has for those who trust in Him! What a call that God has to be His!

When we are told and instructed to live as Jesus lived - how did He truly live? He lived in holiness - He lived set apart for the Father. What a special call for each one of us! What a wonderful call knowing that as we live set apart for Him, as we live in true holiness and understand what He has called us to, we can walk as those who belong to God! Praying that we would be set apart today. Praying that we would understand the call to holiness. and that each one of us would step into it this day by God's strength and power. Amen!

The post True Holiness – EP84 (Leviticus 11:45) appeared first on United Faith Church.

Matthew 6:33

Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. I have a very refreshing Scripture to share with you today. The reason I say it's refreshing is because every time I find myself reading this passage - every time I find myself reading these verses - it is refreshing to my mind. It's refreshing for my heart to be reminded of what the Kingdom of God is all about.

You know this day and age, every time we turn on the news there seems to be a lacking of something different. We remember that - more than a year ago - there was a great lack of toilet paper something as simple as that and people were going nuts, storing up endless rolls of toilet tissue as much as they could, right? The other day I was just listening and they said there might be even a shortage of ketchup. Now, as simple as that is some people, you know, are probably buying as much ketchup as they can right now. But the idea is this: is that our anxiousness, our worry, and all those things that consume us are really things that God is saying, “I've got this. Don't worry about the shortages. Don't worry about what you're lacking. Don't worry about anything! Listen, if there's something to be concerned about, it’s this!” - verse 33, “‘But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’”

I'm not saying that we're gonna have a million dollars, I'm not saying that we're gonna have a bigger house but what I am saying is that God knows our needs. And He is no fool He is God that owns it all regardless of the shortages that really do happen - we know that our lives and our soul or so important to God. And He’s saying, “If you just look to My Kingdom, if you just focus on what matters - if you open your heart and incline your ear to be hearing My voice, to follow my commandments and to do the work that I've called you to do - listen, I have everything else. You're going to be okay.”

And I believe truly that is the heart of the matter - that even if God were not to come through and to do all these things which we know that He does, would we still be just saying, ‘Father Your Kingdom is enough. Your Kingdom and Your will is food for me. Your Kingdom and Your will is everything I need to be clothed in.’?

Hallelujah, what an exciting life we are called to live. How refreshing it is to come back to the core - to the Kingdom of God. I pray this Word would expand in our hearts and minds today, and that truly we would be a people of the Kingdom.

The post The Kingdom Is All – EP83 (Matt. 6:33) appeared first on United Faith Church.