There are two powerful realities that we need to get deeply reacquainted with: 1) God disciplines His children when we go astray and 2) God restores His children when they humble themselves and return to Him. In one of the most encouraging and poetically beautiful sets of verses in the Book of Isaiah, God tells us about Himself and reveals a Kingdom Key to experiencing His grace, gentleness, and mercy. What makes it all the more interesting is that His statements are made when His people seemingly least deserved His kindness. He is an amazingly gentle Father to us. May we never stray from Him again, but if we do, may we remember that He will release blessing to the burdened if we turn back to Him.

As Jesus begins to release His sermon on the mount, He imparts to His hearers what are commonly referred to as the beatitudes. These are the core values of His heart and, therefore, the core values of His Kingdom. While our tendency is to look at these beatitudes as rules to follow, we must learn that is not the actual intention of Jesus. The beatitudes are not commands. Jesus is simply stating these things as the things He values and what He imparts to His followers. With each beatitude, there is an attached reward. These first four of the eight core values that Jesus teaches deal with the inner condition of our hearts. Clearly, as we hear Him impart what He values to us, we are quick to discern that Jesus is completely different than the world around us and its values. He invites us to join Him in this life of distinction and to live in the beauty of brokenness.

On one occasion, Jesus cast a demon out of a man and it led to a debate about whose power Jesus was operating under. The religious crowd accused Jesus of using Satan’s power to cast out demons. Others demanded further proof beyond His casting out demons. Jesus, instead of walking away from His detractors, used this opportunity to teach about the dynamics of demonic possession and what is required to set people free from them. Demons are real and they are fully active in the present day. How can we defeat them? Does it require traditions, disciplines or counseling? Well, you may be surprised that none of those things intimidate a demon. There is only one thing to which they respond: the power and authority of Christ in us. This message highlights why Jesus says this is true.

It is extremely rare to meet a person who has no desire for more financial wealth. The default heart posture for nearly all humans is that we would prefer to have more money tomorrow than we have today. The entire American Dream is rooted in the unexamined presumption that more wealth = more happiness. So, most people live with a goal to have more mon ey, accumulate more material goods, and enjoy more leisure. Jesus once taught about such a man. Sadly, the Savior ended up describing this kind of person as a fool. Why? Not because money is wicked. The reason Jesus calls this type a person a fool is because he chased after money, lived for money, and structured his life around money. When it came time for the man to die, his entire life was viewed as a tragic waste. This message empowers us not to follow that same pathway, and to plan for ourselves an exit strategy that makes us rich for eternity.

Right before Revelation Chapter 4, we read in chapters 2-3 the words of Jesus who is exposing everything which He sees to be wrong in His churches. It is a discouraging revelation of the historical and present deficiencies in God’s people. Frankly, we could be tempted to get discouraged and walk away from these deeply flawed churches. But Jesus never does. Instead, we are given the remedy to overcoming all that we see that is wrong with churches. What is that remedy? To go up and up and up…into the very throne room of Heaven. When we get there, everything that we see, hear, and experience recenters and anchors us in the glorious victory that Jesus is accomplishing through a presently imperfect Church. When we go up, we find our hope, strength, and motivation to go forward.

There are 400+ years of prophetic silence between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament. Malachi’s prophecy ends with the promise of a God-sent messenger who will make the way for the King of kings. Matthew’s Gospel opens with that very prophet, John the Baptist, declaring that the Kingdom was now coming to earth. Jesus began His public ministry by calling people to repent and receive the Kingdom. His parables begin with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” His first beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount promises the Kingdom. He taught His disciples, in the Lord’s Prayer, that their first request was to be for the Kingdom to come. Paul taught the Kingdom. Peter proclaimed the Kingdom. John, James and Jude all wrote of the Kingdom of God. So…maybe it is time we made the effort to comprehend just exactly what the Kingdom of God truly is. This message will stir your heart to learn more. After all, the Kingdom of God is the mission of God which never ends.

Could you imagine a church that was so impressive, so wealthy, so refined, and so admired that…not even Jesus could get into it? This is not a theoretical type of church. It is an actual historical church where Jesus was on the outside, knocking at the door, and waiting to be welcomed inside. The ancient church at Laodicea is not unique in this description of being lukewarm, unwelcoming, and nauseating to Jesus. While we see powerful moves of the Spirit resulting in many churches experiencing revival today, the other side of the coin is that many (most?) churches have closed doors to the deepest and truest desires of Jesus. This message helps us to evaluate our own individual hearts to see if our internal passion for Jesus has turned to room temperature. Fortunately, Jesus allows us this type of examination to awaken us and to bring us again on the pathway of deep satisfaction and great reward. It is the time for may. To open the door to the One who stands and knocks.

In our present generation, it seems that the desire to be “an influencer” is permeating every sector of our culture. Personalities, products, and perceptions fill our social media feeds. So much of what is being communicated is empty and even deceptive. Sadly, much of what we are being exposed to falls into the category of fake-news. Even more sadly, churches and ministries are sometimes a part of the problem. The ancient church of Sardis received a personal wake-up letter from King Jesus which exposed the reality that they were a dead church even though everyone thought that they were amazing. Jesus does not mince words in His rebuke of their empty life as a congregation. What can modern Christians and churches use from His words so that we do not fall into the same pit of having a name with others of being spiritually alive while Jesus shakes His head and declares that we are actually dead?

If God is truly good, why does He not prevent bad things from happening? This question has been a torment to many theologians and philosophers throughout the centuries. The answer for Christians is not really a mystery. Why God allows difficulty and pain to find us is answered clearly in the verses covered in this message. The issue is not whether the question can be answered, it is whether or not the answer will be received by us.

The ancient letter from Jesus to the church at Thyatira is intense. The echo of His words to that spiritually polluted church needs to be heeded by churches in America. The spirit of Jezebel, and those under her influence, must be driven forth from all places in our churches. Leaders frequently tolerate Jezebel because she seems to have much to offer in the beginning. Left unchecked, her influence and presence will destroy a local church. If she is not removed, Jesus pledges to shut that church down Himself. What do we do with his counsel? These are radical days which require radical response to the holy expectations of the King.