Posted on

Why Things Never Go Right for Some

The Epistle of Galatians

by

Will Durant, on his seventieth birthday, says regarding the mixed blessing of a long life: “To live forever would be about the greatest curse imaginable!” 1 Unfortunately, Will Durant had it wrong. The greatest curse is dying without knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord. Many come to the end of their lives realizing they had not fulfilled their purpose in life. That’s a sad day. Your purpose is to know God, to walk with God and to build the kingdom of God. Because people don’t yield to these truths, they experience what will Durant described as the curse of life. There are reasons why things don’t go right in life as they should. Sometimes things it’s because people have chosen the wrong path. They have chosen to believe the wrong gospel. In this week’s blog, let’s take a look at how Paul pronounced a curse on a particular area of wrong choice.

[Tweet “Paul pronounces a curse or the absence of the blessing on those who preach a different gospel.”]

Posted on

#S3-048: The Great Need to Flow in the Authority of God [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series

by

The upsurge in astrological interest is unmistakable evidence of moral and social decay. Occultism rises ominously in times of world turmoil, religious apostasy, and moral decline. So says Chuck Swindoll. 1 While there may be a rise in demon activity on planet earth, there also is a rise of believers in Jesus who know their authority in Christ and are using it. Maybe you don’t know that Jesus made you an authorized one or maybe you do know but you have cooled off in this area. If so, getting back to the Word in this area is the source of our life and victory.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “You never have to fear demons once you understand your kingdom ‘position’ in Christ.”]

Posted on

Why Following Jesus is Difficult, Risky, and Adventurous

by

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.” Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said, “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.” 1 What do you want your life to be known for? Do you desire to be known as a man who followed God’s plan fully for their life? Do you desire to complete all the will of God? Then strap your seatbelt because you are in for a ride. It’s a great ride. A wild ride. A challenging ride. A ride that will test you to the max. Jesus will lead into places you never thought you’d be and ask you to do things that are way outside your comfort zone.

[Tweet “If you’re looking for a life with no challenges, you’re in the wrong business following Jesus.”]

Posted on

#S3-047: Why the Lordship of Jesus Is the Linchpin of Kingdom Authority [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series

by

The Lordship of Jesus is central to the Kingdom of God. In fact, uttering these very words was exactly how you received the new birth. You and I weren’t always Kingdom citizens. There came a point in your life when you said yes to Jesus. It came by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It came by the obedience of a human vessel who witnessed to you the message of the Kingdom. It came because the faith which only comes from God came up in you. Do you remember those days? The days before you met Jesus? The days when you wandered around in the world of men? What were those days like? We don’t need all particulars. There’s no need to list all your sins because they are under the Blood anyway. But, Paul wrote us a letter anyway and told us what those days were like.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “Satan has nothing in Jesus and the truth is, nothing in you either because you are in Jesus.”]

Posted on

A Startling Fact about Security and Following Jesus

Discipleship Principles

by

At the University of Oklahoma, for many years a project was underway to teach a fifteen-year-old female chimpanzee named Washoe to talk by combining sign language with simple recognition. Since 1966, this chimpanzee learned 140 signs. Finally, the project directors decided that Washoe was prepared to “conceptualize.” This meant that instead of merely imitating some human’s words, the chimp would express thoughts of her own. Now, understand, Washoe was a pampered animal in the university’s laboratory—well fed, physically comfortable, safe from harm. She had security. And yet, when she was able to put words together on her own into a phrase, these were the first three—and she has said them again, repeatedly—“Let me out.” 1 Even a chimp knows that security is not everything in life.

[Tweet “Following God, reading His Word and hearing His voice, will keep your life on a razor’s edge.”]

Posted on

#S3-046: How Important in the Kingdom of God Are the Kings Kids? [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series

by

In Second Kings 10 and verse, thirteen Jehu meets with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah. Because these people are unknown to Jehu, he asks these people Who are you? They answered with these words, ‘We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king.’ The children of the King is what we are talking about in this week’s Light on Life. We are going to talk some more about the Kingdom of God. We are going to focus our attention on the children of the King or the King’s kids. The Kingdom of God and Kinship: The King and His Kids.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “In the Kingdom of God, every citizen of the Kingdom is personally related to the King.”]

Posted on

Why You Should Absolutely Be A Student of Miracles [Encore]

by

Becoming a disciple of Jesus means becoming a committed follower. It is a life-long learning position (Matthew 11:29). There’s much to know about God and His ways. One potentially huge area is the subject of miracles. Jesus said, ‘The works that I do, you will do also and greater works than these shall you do because I go unto the Father’ (John 14:12). As an aspiring disciple, it is necessary that we become students of the miraculous in order that we might flow in the greater works of Jesus.

[Tweet “God uses miracles to train us how to see differently. A miracle is a school.”]

Posted on

#S3-045: What Does The Future Kingdom of God Look Like? [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series: Citizenship in the Kingdom - Taking Your Role Seriously

by

Henry Drummond, a scientist at the turn of the century, speaking to a group of college students said these words. “Gentlemen, I beseech you to seek the kingdom of God first, or not at all. I promise you a miserable time if you seek it second.” 1 These are wise words on our golden text. The most fun you will ever have in God is being directly in the center of His will and His will is to seek the Kingdom of God first. In this week’s podcast, we take a look what the Kingdom of God will end up looking like and, because of how it does, why you should take your role as a citizen of God’s Kingdom seriously.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “Kingdom citizenship should be so prominent in your thinking it shows in your decision making.”]

Posted on

Why We Must Not Confuse New Testament Worship with the Old

by

The Bible is a tale of two Covenants, the Old and the New. Understanding the difference between the two and knowing which applies to our everyday lives is crucial. The New Covenant, the New Testament is the contract Jesus ratified with His own blood. It replaces the Old. Lack of understanding has caused some to carry over Old Testament forms of worship bringing them into the church. In this week’s post, we continue talking about these common mistakes in the area of worship.

[Tweet “Old Testament worship was outward and body oriented. They couldn’t worship with their spirits.”]

Posted on

#S3-044: What Is The Kingdom Of God [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series

by

Today, we begin a brand new series on the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom? As we drill down into that question, we will see that it’s probably not what you thought it was. Matthew 6:33 is the kingdom verse almost every Christian knows, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” What does this verse mean and how do we apply it to our everyday lives? We trust that this verse will become more real to you than it ever has as this series progresses.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “Gospel means good news but gospel is shorthand for the gospel of the Kingdom of God.”]

Posted on

How To Avoid One Of The Biggest Worship Mistakes Ever

Praise and Worship Truths

by

After attending church with his father one Sunday morning, before getting into bed that evening a little boy kneeled at his bedside and prayed, “Dear God, we had a good time at church today, but I wish you had been there. 1 Wow, the wonderful wisdom of a child or as Jesus said, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise (Matthew 21:16). In today’s post, we are going to continue talking about some common worship mistakes we all have made. Here’s one of the biggest ones, that is, ‘Substituting work for worship.’

What’s So Important about the Days of Noah?

[Tweet “Worship is the highest and noblest act any person can do. When men worship, God is satisfied.”] 

Posted on

#S3-043: Yet More of How You Know You Really Believe God [Podcast]

Take the Test!

by

We have already covered six tests in the last two podcasts. We covered the baseball bat test. We covered the gender test. We covered the acting test. Then last week, we took the will of God test, the fear test, and the tense test. This week we are going to last test, the forgiveness test. Walking in forgiveness protects your faith. Holding grudges against people dissipate your faith. The Bible speaks a lot about this area and we are going to drill down into it in this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “Forgiveness is a ‘from the heart lifestyle attitude’ to be exercised without limits.”]