Walking in Truth

Say you have an item that’s near and dear to your heart. But that item turns up missing. It’s irreplaceable and so going out and buying another one just won’t do. So you look and look and look until you find it. This is Jesus’ heart for you. Today, Pastor Johnny goes into a few examples of things that were lost and were looked for relentlessly until they were found. Every one of us was lost at one point and the heart of God is to look for you and to find you and bring you into His family forever!

If you were rescuing someone who’d been kidnapped, you’d go into dangerous territory in order to find and retrieve the one who’d been taken. Your intent would to never be anything like the kidnapper. Your whole motive would be to go in, rescue the child, and get out. Pastor Johnny teaches today on how to effectively reach out to people. Are you looking to draw them closer to Jesus or are you trying to relate so closely to that person that there’s no difference in your lifestyle?

Imagine having a famous king come join you for dinner. You might feel unworthy or all of a sudden very self-conscious about how “picked-up” your house was. How remarkably refreshing it would be to realize that this king doesn’t care about appearances. He just cares about being with you and eating a meal with you. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny talks about how Jesus was this way with people who were considered outcasts. He just wanted to be with them and care for them.

How weird would it be if you were invited to a celebration and then there wasn’t a place for you to sit at the table? You would feel unwelcome and awkward and would be looking to exit out the back door before anyone noticed. Today, Pastor Johnny pleads with you to know there’s always room for you if you’ll accept Jesus’ invitation to a place in heaven! God’s given ample time and opportunity, but at some point, the party God is inviting you to will begin and He wants you there more than anything.

When you don’t feel like doing something, it’s easy to come up with excuses so you don’t have to do it. But when it’s something you really want to do, you jump at the opportunity…you even might fight for it! But being forced into something is a different kind of animal that can make you resentful of the whole thing. Today, Pastor Johnny explains how patient and loving God is. He won’t force you into choosing Him, but He desperately wants you to come to Him willingly and choose Him for life!

Say you get a basic subscription to something. It’s nothing fancy, but you’re ok with what it offers and are working at being content with its limitations. But then, the company offers you an upgrade, which opens up a variety of offers. You feel like you’ve hit the jackpot! Now think about if you’d started at the upgrade level. Would you appreciate it as much? Today, Pastor Johnny wants you to know that it’s better to start from humble means so God can promote you and others can see your journey.

Whenever you hear of some miraculous healing of someone who couldn’t walk or of someone recovering from a sever stroke, it causes you to be amazed in wonder. When it comes to a healing of your heart, it’s no different. You and others around you can be in awe of God’s healing and work in your heart. Today, Pastor Johnny gets into the fact that God can refresh and heal your mind and heart. God is able to unwind the twists and turns your heart has taken and can guide you in a straight path.

Do you recognize when there’s a negative influence in the room? Sometimes it’s pretty obvious, but other times, someone can sneak through the cracks and be a mole, pretending to be something he isn’t. In today’s passage, Pastor Johnny touches on the different types of people Jesus interacted with and how some of them were easily a poor example of focusing on the things that didn’t matter rather than living out what does matter. Is your influence to those around you one that reflects Jesus?

When you see a person who is physically suffering, your heart goes out to them because it’s so obvious that they’re hurting and may or may not be healed of that ailment. Suffering that’s happening within can sometimes be harder to see because it’s not always visible from the outside. Today, Pastor Johnny talks about being spiritually crippled and what to do if your heart is resisting any possibility of being restored. Believe it or not, your heart can be made brand new and you can look ahead with hope!

When you think of a tree being planted, you know that it needs water, sun, and some time to grow. As the tree grows, it might need some pruning here and there, for the tree to keep being healthy and to grow to its potential. At times, it may be low on water or might require added nutrients. After long enough time has passed and the tree is proving to be unhealthy and lacking fruit, the tree may need to be cut down, due to disease. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny relates your life to the tree.