Walking in Truth

As you go through your life you'll find many times where you need to make a choice. Will you honor God or your spouse? Will you honor God or will you place your children's desires over God's command? Pastor Johnny is going to remind us today that as followers of Christ we have one allegiance. We honor God above all. And we can't let our spouse or our friends or our kids stand in the way of what we know God has called us to do! Honor God with your life and you will teach your kids to do the same!

Will you count the cost? Will you pay the cost? Will you obey God? Pastor Johnny asks some serious and intense questions in today's message. He calls for some real soul-searching. We aren't facing a situation like this right now. We have it pretty easy when it comes to being a Christian. But you have to settle in your heart ahead of time whether or not you are willing to pay the price. Jesus was “all in” with you. Will you be “all in” with him through suffering, and experience the joy of his reward?

The struggles of this life can leave us feeling weary, discouraged, and old. But Pastor Johnny reminds us today that we have a secret weapon to defeat the way we feel! When the world has worn you out, you can slip away from it all. To find your space with Jesus and wait on the Lord, and worship him. Isaiah 40 tells us, “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” You can bring your struggles to the Lord and when you worship him, your strength will be renewed!

Pastor Johnny is sharing the words of Hannah as she answers the priest who had seen her crying out silently to God and assumed she was drunk. She responds that she's just a woman who is very much afflicted and giving her complaint to the Lord. What do you do with your complaints? Do you carry them around with you infecting the people around you? Or do you give your complaint to the Lord? Put your complaint into his hands and watch him change your situation—watch him change you!

God gave us seasons as a visual reminder of the seasons of life that we all go through. You might be in the spring season, where things are growing! You're starting to see buds appear. It's exciting. You might be in the summer season when the fruit becomes ripe. You might be in a fall season—a season of harvest. Or you might be in a barren winter season like Hannah is at the beginning of 1 Samuel. Pastor Johnny is here to remind you today that God uses all the seasons for his purposes!

Pastor Johnny is diving into the book of 1 Samuel today. In this book, we will see that God had a plan for how to govern the nation of Israel, but the Israelites looked at the world around them and wanted instead what the other nations had. When you think about it, though, we're not so different from the Israelites. How often do you look at the world around you and want what the world has instead of wanting God's design? If you've been longing for something different, remember that God's plan is always better!

As you're likely well aware, the world around you seems to be in a quick downward spiral into chaos and destruction... Much like in the days of Noah. During the time of Noah's life, the Earth was filled with so much sin that God wiped out all of humanity, except for one righteous man and his family, Noah... And in today's message, Pastor Johnny will remind you that the Bible says that when the world is as it was in the days of Noah... The coming of Christ isn't very far away... And He will restore justice and righteousness!

Many times when you might think of sin, you think of it as harming others... Things like violence and hatred that allow people to harm others... But in today's message, Pastor Johnny will warn you that sin isn't only an outward expression of depravity, it's also internal. Sin will eat you from the inside out and if it's being expressed outwardly, you can bet it's happening internally. The Bible says that the wages of sin are death... and in many instances of sin like drunkenness and addiction can lead to literal death.

In today's message, Pastor Johnny will remind you that the world around you is simply not a friendly or kind place. The sin nature of man is present in every person, it's that same sin nature that has caused humans to do unspeakable things to another... Sin manifests itself as violence, foul speech, and indifference to other people's suffering... But don't lose heart saint, the Spirit of the Lord is willing and able to free anyone from the chains of sin! No sin is too great for the Lord to forgive when you repent.

Have you ever noticed that after spending a lot of time with someone, you may have picked up some of their mannerisms or frequently used phrases? The people that you choose to surround yourself with have a profound effect on your life... Whether you realize it or not... And in today's message, Pastor Johnny will encourage you to choose those who love the Lord to be a part of your inner circle of loved ones. Few things are as beautiful as growing together in Christ with like-minded believers.