Restoration Church: Recent Episodes
Restoration Church
Join us for Week 9 of Healthy and Whole Summer 2026 as we dive into two of the hottest topics in culture today: heart health and GLP-1’s! Stacy Cartmell (FNP-C, IFMCP) helps us understand what’s really behind a majority of heart issues as well as identify its root cause. And of course, we couldn’t leave without discussing all things GLP-1’s! Stacey shares her balanced view on both the positive and negative effects of taking GLP-1’s, important questions we should be asking, and how to respond to today’s conversation surrounding GLP-1’s. You don’t want to miss this conversation!
Want to learn more about Stacy Cartmell? Visit https://www.stacycartmellwellness.com!
Dr. Rick Dietz and Pastor Chuck talk about one of their favorite subjects– all things posture! Did you know that one of the primary causes of poor posture is sitting? Listen as a PC and Dr. Rick discuss their own experiences as well as scientific data behind how to combat poor posture, as well as how to take care of some of the largest and most important muscles in your body. Want to start with basic stretches from our very own Dr. Rick? Click the link below and take the first steps toward taking care of your posture today!
Resources: https://restorationchurch.faith/flourish/healthy-whole-summer-podcast-resources/
This week on Healthy and Whole Summer 2026, Pastor Chuck and Stacy Cartmell (FNP-C, IFMCP) discuss one of the greatest contributors to living a truly healthy life: SLEEP! Join us as we unpack how rest and weight gain are linked, the root cause of our lack of sleep, and how to balance melatonin and cortisol levels. Wondering how long you should sleep each night or what natural supplements are helpful to take? Pastor Chuck and Stacey answer that and more on this week’s episode. Here’s to living healthy and whole together!
Want to learn more about Stacy Cartmell? Visit https://www.stacycartmellwellness.com!
In this week’s episode of Healthy and Whole Summer 2026, Pastor Chuck and Dr. Rick Dietz discuss one of the key roots to chronic pain and injury: inflammation. Have you ever wondered why you feel exhausted or bloated after you eat? PC and Dr. Rick cover all things ingredients, how to make the best choices when eating out, and discerning conflicting messaging surrounding ingredients. You don’t want to miss this conversation!
In this week’s episode of Healthy and Whole Summer 2026, Dr. Daniel Chen and Pastor Chuck are chatting about one of their favorite topics– running! Why is running so important? How do we run without getting injured? Where do I even begin with running? How do professional runners move so quickly? Listen as Dr. Daniel and PC discuss what research says and what they’ve learned along the way.
Learn more about Dr. Daniel Chen: mykingdomfitness.com
In this week’s episode of Healthy and Whole Summer 2026, Stacy Cartmell (FNP-C, IFMCP) lays the groundwork for understanding Functional Medicine and Health. Utilizing her years of experience in both the traditional and functional medical spaces, Stacy unpacks the truth behind what is often really going on in our bodies. Whether it be pain, trauma, or hormonal imbalances, Stacy helps us learn that there is not only a root cause, but a real solution!
Learn more about Stacy Cartmell: https://www.stacycartmellwellness.com
PC sits down with his friend and personal chiropractor Dr. Rick Dietz, a licensed and practicing Doctor of Chiropractic for over 30 years. Dr. Rick specializes in extremity adjusting and believes the Bible is the foundation for how to take care of not only our spirits, but our physical bodies as well. In today’s episode, Dr. Rick explains why stretching is vital and shares practical tips for improving mobility. Ready to get moving? Click the link below to watch Dr. Rick’s stretching videos.
Resources: https://restorationchurch.faith/flourish/healthy-whole-summer-podcast-resources/
Looking for practical tips on how to actually have a healthy summer? Stacy Cartmell (FNP-C, IFMCP), a certified Family Nurse Practitioner with expertise in functional medicine, gives us just that in this week’s episode! She and Pastor Chuck cover what to know about chlorine, if sun exposure is bad for us, the impact of vitamin D, and so much more! Parents, this episode is for you as we learn to have both a fun and healthy summer together!
Learn more about Stacy Cartmell: https://www.stacycartmellwellness.com
In our very first episode of Healthy and Whole Summer 2026, Pastor Chuck Ramsey talks with our very own Dr. Daniel Chen, DPT, an 11-year physical therapist, health coach, and founder of My Kingdom Fitness. Dr. Daniel and Pastor Chuck present a biblical lens for taking care of our bodies, highlighting how our spiritual health and physical health go hand in hand. Dr. Daniel also gives practical tools for how to start and continue a life-long journey to being healthy and whole!
Links:
mykingdomfitness.com
jefit.com
nike.com/ntc-app
The Womb of Christmas series. The template of Christmas is still what the Holy Spirit is trying to do today: Conceive something in your intimate place where He can multiply the person of Jesus in the world.During this three-week series we'll talk about the power of the spoken word (...may it be unto me according to Thy word), the power of being a servant (and the blessings that flow out of that) and then how conceiving something in our intimate place affects our family (Mary's connection to Elizabeth).
The glory of God, His presence, presence driven vs program driven, personality driven. When looking for a church, you should ask yourself, is the leadership humble and authentic? Is God present?
Everyone needs an ark. Everyone needs to be part of a spiritual family. I know many people struggle to find a spiritual family because there is a lack of healthy, biblical ones. But, everyone needs a spiritual family, a shepherd, a covering, and your covering needs a covering. If you ever move away from here and need to find another church, find your church before you buy your home, if possible.
We’re going to keep worship unashamedly, preaching unapologetically, praying unceasingly, and telling others about the one who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us...AND, we’re going to continue to keep our focus...saying, “to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
It is heartbreaking to see people walk away from the Christian faith. Friends, family, and high-profile spiritual leaders. Falling away or leaving the Christian faith is not something new. Paul tells of Demas “because he loved this world, Demas has departed from the faith.”
This trend of people leaving the faith seems to be accelerating in our times.
There are more than 72 million millennials in America - almost a quarter of the population. An increasingly sizable percentage of that generation has walked away from faith of any kind, choosing to identify as “religious nones.” In 2008, researchers noted that close to a third of millennials (31.9%) described themselves as religiously unaffiliated. Just ten years later, that number was at 42.7 percent.
Church membership in America has suffered greatly in the past decade. 1937 church membership 73%, early 1980’s more than 70%, 2000 it was at 65%, by 2010 it was 59%, in 2020 it was 50%. Now, less than half of Americans belong to a local church. Pandemic factor.
This is more than people leaving the church, a declining church membership, attendance, it is people falling away from Jesus Himself.
Cancel Culture - It is one of the great ironies of our age that while we are living during a time when almost any behavior is celebrated no matter how sinful, we are simultaneously living in a time where any small misstep, public or private, could be the catalyst of our own social and financial ruin.
It would be nice if this cancel culture was a temporary phase we’re going through. But society is becoming more intolerant and polarized by the day. We can’t last much longer like this. What we’re seeing today is what Jesus was describing in Matthew 24:21-22.
Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel... (KJV)
Prophecy 27% to 33% of the Bible is prophetic. Prophecy and the spiritual gift of prophecy is legit. Not all who prophesy are. Be careful. As we get back to this series, I want you to stay plugged into groups that will provide pastoral care and discipleship. We must stay connected.
These are perilous times, difficult times...for those who are unaware of what the bible says.
- Some are unaware of the prophecy
- Some were made aware but didn’t believe it
- Some were made aware, believed it but the waiting caused them to doubt
- Some were made aware of the prophecy, believed it, waited for it to come to pass and they were receptive to what God was doing in that moment
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!
Restore, revive, renew, rebirth, refresh, reconcile, redeem, redo, repent, remember, remind, reform, recreate, resurrect - God of the re(s). Old things pass away because you are a new creation, a new person. All things are new, a new life emerges.
Have you ever needed a fresh start, a do over, a mulligan? Has your marriage ever needed a reboot?
Standing in the storm. Week 1
Matthew 7:24 Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice...is like a wise man who built his house on the ROCK.
1) Life-giving power of the word and 2) Life-saving power of the word (Psalm 107:20)
Week 2
Matthew 14 The disciples in the storm doing what they were told to do. Jesus walks out on the water to them in the storm. Storms of correction and perfection, discipline and revelation.
1) He is aware of your storm and He will meet you in that storm 2) to listen to Him and 3) to keep your focus on Him
Week 3
Hebrews 12:1-3 Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us...we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
1) Fix our eyes on Jesus 2) listen to Jesus (the Word) and 3) learn from Jesus
Week 4
Hebrews 12 It’s a marathon so we must learn to endure. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, he endured the cross for the joy that was set before him.
It’s a marathon. Prepare yourself. There will be some twists and turns. Up some hills and down others. Keep your eye on Jesus (the Word). Mature believers must develop the ability to focus on Jesus. Not others. Not your people and not your pastor. You need people but they’ll let you down. You need a pastor but don’t let him/her be your Messiah.
Do the hard stuff. It’s worth it. Walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Do that stuff that your flesh doesn’t want to do. It’s worth it. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and expect the supernatural. Go ahead and get out of the boat, do what The Word tells you to do, go ahead, trust it.
1 out of 5 Christians deal with mental or emotional health issues yearly. When people think about mental health, they typically picture mood disorders like schizophrenia, OCD, or a bipolar episode. What many don’t realize is that common symptoms like stress, anxiety, and depression are also tied to mental health. Among Christians, it’s easy to dismiss these emotions as personal flaws in our moral character, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s been estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Americans experience some kind of mental health incident each year, and like any physical ailment, these shouldn’t go left untreated.
John 5:25
...a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
- Start the day with a commitment to put your relationship with God first, start with a good focus
- Get rid of relationships and things that force you to focus on the wrong stuff
- Embrace the idea that your ability to focus on JESUS will determine whether you survive the storm
What is a storm? There is a metaphorical storm as well. Divorce, miscarriage, bad news on the biopsy, pink slip, the company downsizes and you’re a little old and overpaid, pandemic, another report from the school board, realizing what they’re teaching your children at school. A storm is that situation or event that makes it almost impossible for you to be at peace, almost impossible to worship. It is that situation that demands you dwell on it, make it your new reference point, and you must fix it before you do anything else...
If you are in a storm right now, you are in it for one of two reasons, and it is one of two kinds of storms:
- You are somewhere you aren’t supposed to be doing something that you are not supposed to be doing, and you're in a storm, a storm of CORRECTION.
- You are somewhere you were called to go doing something you are called and gifted to do, and the enemy doesn’t like it and you, my friend, are in a spiritual battle, a storm that involves spiritual warfare. This is why Ephesians 6:12-13 says we wrestle not. Wrestling is a full contact, physical sport.
If you are like a smart carpenter who builds his house on solid rock, when the rain pours down, the river floods, a tornado hits—but nothing moves that house. It is fixed to the rock.
“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
Jesus said, “If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter, a wise man...” Or, if you hear these words of mine and put them into practice...obey these words...you are wise...nothing will move you.
Notice, he didn’t say, if the rain comes, if it begins to flood. Verse 27 says, when the rain comes... Stormy season - The rain of immorality, chaos, and confusion is falling and the flood of fear is rising, and the wind of compromise is blowing all around us...where have you built your life, your house?
We don’t want to hear the word only, listen to teaching from the word only, we want to do what it says. For the word says, if you do what it says, God will bless you for doing it. As the rain of deceit falls and the flood of fear rises and the winds of compromise are blowing all around us, if you have built your house on the rock, Jesus said that nothing will move that house.
First things First The importance of starting right.
Mark 9:29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
My experience with fasting. When I come to the end of my journey…what brings about effectiveness in ministry? Prayer and fasting.
- He roots me in my identity as a son
- He awakens longing
- He settles the traffic
- He awakens me to His voice at a greater level
It is a choice of me putting myself in a weak position in order that He might put Himself in a position of being strong in my life. It is a deliberate focus on emptying myself, becoming less in order that He might become more.
Fasting should be called slowing. It’s a paradox because while you’re fasting, everything slows down. God positions you in slowness and yet it is a catalyst to speed up the activity of the Kingdom in your life.
We live in such a noisy, chaotic culture. The spirit of this age screams at us and it is almost impossible to not get concerned with “things too difficult for me.”
Destruction of monuments, Cancel Culture, Dismantling the Nuclear Family Redistribution of Wealth.
This would supposedly rid the world of poverty. But somehow it has never worked out that way. History reveals that wherever this principle has been implemented, the poor have gotten poorer. Equality cannot be engineered. History proves that the poor do best in economically free societies and do the worst in societies where they are controlled in one way or another, whether it be by socialist, or fascist or authoritarian regimes.
One thing we learn from history is that we haven’t learned anything from history.
How then shall we live? What are we to do?
- Review what the Bible says.
- Refuse to Live by Lies
- Resolve to Follow Christ and Not Just Admire Him
- Rethink Small Groups
This is That - Acts 2:16 “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Either they didn’t know about it, didn’t believe it altogether, or they didn’t recognize it.
Joshua 14:7-8 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.
I am bringing you a report according to my convictions. We must not sit back, silenced by fear, hoping someone will do something and get us back to normal. This is no time to retreat, this is a time to live by convictions. This is a time for resolve.
What have we learned in the past 19 months?
- We are Vulnerable
- The Bible is Credible
- Life is Uncertain
- Jesus is Sufficient
How then shall we live? What are we to do?
- Pray, fast, and repent
- Stay in the word so you can walk in faith - fear is rampant, knowing what’s coming will help
- Get your house in order - make sure your kids are being discipled
- Follow wholeheartedly
- Look for opportunities to share your faith
To begin this series, we will take a look at the book of Daniel where we see an uncanny parallel to what is happening in our own world today. Not only that but we see in this book 6 chapters (50% of the book) where Daniel prophecies regarding the last days. The situation in which Daniel found himself is the situation in which we find ourselves currently. We can learn much from this book.
Lessons from the book of Daniel:
- Remember who you are (identity)
- Review what God’s word says about your current situation
- Renew your commitment to completely obeying God’s word
- Understand and value the power of prayer and repentance
Blessings must be stewarded. Blessings can have a negative effect. Success ruins the best of us. My pastoral season - while I am enjoying this season, I realize how blessed I was in the early months of assuming the lead pastor role here at RC. Through the years, I’ve seen so many North Atlantan's blessings take them away from where they and their family need to be. Summer baseball all-star teams, job promotions, pay increases...
Blessings that are not stewarded properly stink. Mismanaged blessings can become a curse.
Waze for the last Daze. The personal, practical, powerful Holy Spirit.
Most people live their life conditioned by their circumstances, their environment dictates who they become, what they do, and what they believe. In general, people fall into ruts and just stay there.
When your plan breaks down and you are forbidden to go your route only to find yourself in a worse situation that is confusing what do you do? You worship.
What to do when you don't know what to do.
- Spend time listening to God
- Believe God and trust God
- Do what God tells you to do
- Say what God tells you to say
The book of 1 Peter could be titled “A Survival Manual for Suffering Saints.” It presents God’s time-tested strategy for holding up, rather than folding up, in the midst of real difficulty.
Your faith and hope are in the one who raised Jesus from the dead and glorified him.
In other words, your hope is in the One Who, when He did the greatest thing ever done on planet earth, it originally looked like He didn’t know what He was doing, it looked like His plan (His will) had failed (Jesus is crucified). But it had actually worked gloriously, He raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him….and so your faith and hope are in God. You have a living hope that is alive no matter what. Are hope has been resurrected!
“It’s going to work out, it always does.” -- Rita Ramsey
The Twilight Zone...or, entering the twilight zone.
The twilight zone is the mental state between reality and fantasy. When you come home and your extremely messy teenager has cleaned the house from top to bottom, this is an example of a time when you might feel you are living in the twilight zone. Wait. What? Have you felt like this recently?
Let us pause here to tell you that this is the kind of intimate relationship that Father God wants with you today. In all of the chaos and confusion of this day, and it’s a lot, is God with you? Are you with God?
Because we can see and we have entered the Kingdom, God has been and is with us. We see the need for discernment. We see the strategy of the enemy. We recognize that there is a great deception taking place. Exposure. Spiritual World War. Imminent versus Preeminent. Homothumadon. Waze for the last Daze.
Remember the daze when you had to pull over and ask for directions? WAZE is most beneficial when you are going somewhere you’ve never been. As long as you have battery (or power) and you entered the correct address, you can just sit back and trust WAZE, even if she changes her mind or the directions on you.
In 536 BC, the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt, the relationship with God was reestablished,. The Israelites had a new lease on life but there was no resulting power, only a temple, a worship facility that was having no apparent impact on the people of God or their world. Their rebirth was seen in their return, but their recovery was unseen and abundantly manifest in the rubbled mess called “Jerusalem”, the city of peace.
This is the picture of many believers. They are saved, they have established a connection to God, but have no resulting power that brings real life. No walls. A city with no walls isn’t a city.
As a people, the Israelites illustrate the incompleteness that often besets and bewilders reborn believers. The Jerusalemites, frustrated by their inability to restore their capital city, depict believers who seem unable to regain control of life issues mangled in their pasts. Like those in ancient Judea, so often with us: recovery was so long in coming, the conviction grows that it is never going to happen.
But, then something happens...someone is dispatched by God to come and lead the effort to rebuild God’s way.
Do not be deceived, be discerning. Wow! No sensationalism but not ignoring history either. Something is happening in the world.
Covid, quarantine, pandemic, hypocrisy, double standard, silencing, cancelling, racial division (Nation against Nation) BLM, Antifa, Democrats and Republicans giving $3T away to people. Two distrusted presidential elections 2016 and 2020. A media driven by greed. News that is so dishonest it’s almost laughable.
Watch out so that you’re not deceived. See to it that you are not alarmed.
How do you learn to be discerning?
“...do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is...be filled with the Spirit. Discernment will enable you to not be alarmed.
The bridegroom is coming, he might be a LONG time in coming, but He is coming!
There is a lot of bad news everywhere. I have some good news. We are dealing with a False Negative. False negative is actually a positive which in a covid world is a negative. I’d rather have a false positive which is actually a negative which is really positive, in a covid world.
The culture always needs a heroic, godly voice that will speak the truth loudly, courageously, humbly and strongly. While others “I don’t want to be bothered, I want to keep my job, I have a family to feed”. Someone else can stand against the system.
This is where we are. Things are insane. Most people see it.
Eric Metaxas says that you have to catch this stuff early before it’s too late. Bonhoeffer did. He could see where it was heading. The church had the power to do something. They didn’t listen to him and by the time they woke up, it was too late and the Nazis had defanged the church, they had marginalized anybody who would protest.
We are in this exact place right now in this country.
Germany was a wonderful country, great culture rich in history with amazing Christian history. But, at this time they had sloppy theology, cheap grace with a poor understanding of what it meant to be a biblical Christian.
We need to stand and be the praying, powerful, faithful church NOW.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, or freedom.
Moses’ face was glowing and he wasn’t aware of it. It was glowing because “he had spoken with the Lord.” Paul is saying that the New Testament is even better, way better because:
- it doesn’t bring “death” it brings “LIFE”
- it is not temporary, it doesn’t fade, NO, it is permanent and,
- Moses reflected God’s glory but the Spirit in us will RADIATE His glory!
...for the letter kills, but the Spirit give LIFE.
Religion kills individuals, it’s hard for man to get to God, religion kills people - only knowing good and evil without being in an intimate relationship with God causes “religious people” to do deadly things. Christian parents who are religious kill.
Christians live out of one of these trees - either the tree of knowledge or the tree of life. The tree of life is a picture of walking and talking with God-living in His provision, protection, fellowship, friendship and lordship. It’s a picture of living life full of His Spirit, resting in Him and having a clear conscience, it’s relationship! Tree of Knowledge - shame (nakedness), victim (blaming others), etc.
Satan did not encourage Eve to rebel; he appealed to her love for God and desire to be more like Him. He offered her an appearance of godliness (goodliness), but one that was actually devoid of life.
Religious or Christlike? How do you know? When is the last time God told you something? Something that you didn’t really want to hear, that challenged your flesh, you didn’t want to do it but you knew you needed to, you submitted to the power that comes from Holy Spirit, and “you” did it?
Do you have a moment that you can recall where you would say, “God really said…”? You need regular moments like this.
Being a father is hard work. It’s rewarding at times but it is not for the weak or the faint of heart. Marriage versus parenting. There is this idea that we have to be perfect or our children will destroy the world. Secretly, we feel the pressure to be a superhero dad and inside we know that we are not.
I want to encourage you dads this morning. Children don’t need a superhero dad. We think they do but they don’t. We all carry the shame of not measuring up. Kids don’t need a perfect dad. They need a humble dad.
Can I trust the Bible?
There are 8 core beliefs that lead to two toxic ideas. It’s ok to question your faith. Christianity is up for the challenge.
Dictators have tried to destroy the bible, cultures have outlawed the bible, governments have cancelled the ones who believe it, teach it, and preach it, Christians have been persecuted and martyred for having copies of it. And, here it is still standing as the best selling book of all time. It’s the best selling book every year.
You know how we know the bible is true? Because the Word became flesh and lived on this earth.
God’s posture toward His creation is good. He is good, so all that He creates is good.
The Lord God said that it was not good for man to be alone...so, He fixed it and made it good. The first thing he noticed that wasn’t good was the fact that man had been left alone. He said, that is not good. So He put Adam to sleep, took a rib, and created Eve. (When Adam woke up, it was good!). God is good. Sometimes bad things happen in this life, but God is good.
This is the battle of our culture. Goodness, good things, the good life without God. Good on your terms not His. Did God really say? Did God actually mean? This is the heart of this new series. Uncensored.
Here comes some nasty pandemic. What do we do? We sing Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength to our God for ever and ever! Here comes the political chaos that makes us feel like the rest of the world and what do we do? Here comes an evil spirit of division that brings about racial division like we’ve never seen and what do we do? Did God really say? Yes, He did. And, by the way, He is GOOD!
Imagine Joshua receiving these words...Moses is dead. My mentor, the one who could advise me, the one who God used mightily, the one who started this whole thing of bringing us out of Egypt. God, these are big shoes You’ve given me to fill. Joshua, at this BIG moment - would have begun to have “specific doubt” (reasons why God chose the wrong person) comparison game. "I’ve lead victorious military campaigns as everyone knows but I haven’t done the miracles like Moses did." "I may be God’s man but I’m not Moses. I’m the brute, the fighter, the military leader...and that’s not going to cut it." "Moses did miracles and that’s what we’re gonna need to be able to take this land."
He had no idea of what was to come. This room is filled with people who are in the exact same place as Joshua was. We have no idea of the miracles that are just ahead of us, if we would just listen to the word of the Lord as He says, “I’m with you, be strong and courageous, no one will be able to stand against you, be strong and courageous, I am giving you the land, be strong and courageous...every place where you set your foot…be strong, do not be afraid, discouraged, I’m with you."
Five things the Lord says to Joshua:
- A place to be Possessed
- A people to be blessed
- Victories that are guaranteed
- There’s an intimidation to be renounced
- You’ve never been this way before
Jews had a proverb - God couldn’t be everywhere so He created mothers.
In our english bible we have Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel. This is not the case in the Hebrew bible. It is Judges then 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel’s setting is the book of Judges where Israel was at its lowest, coldest spiritually, they were immoral. The book ends saying, “There was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes…”
When Israel was at its lowest, God’s plan and this mother’s plan was to have a child who would come on the scene as a prophet...used as a priest under Eli and would take the Nazarite vow and impact the nation and become the king maker, selecting Saul and then David.
And, it all starts with a barren woman crying out, praying to God...
Spiritual formation...how do people grow? The church’s job is not to win the lost, it is to make disciples. Disciples reproduce.
A culture that is discipleship friendly understands that joy is not a superficial thing, it is not based on what is happening, in church joy is not a reaction to entertaining talks or sermon or “worship”, joy is relational, it is not a reaction to a performance, entertainment, it is relational.
When the church is making disciples, it is fulfilling its purpose. People are changed, the Body of Christ is healthy (built up), and the world is impacted by the church. Discipleship does not excite a leader whose eyes are fixed on growth. It’s a slower way to grow the church.
The Culture or Soil that Transforms includes four nutrients - ingredients, culture that makes growing things easy:
- Joy: the Face of Jesus that Transforms
- Hesed: Our Relational Glue
- Group Identity: What Kind of People are We?
- Healthy Correction: When the Group Stops Being Nice
Holy Spirit is the Great Psychiatrist - illuminates the word, reminds you of what Jesus told you, Paraclete/comforter/counselor, parents us (fathers/mothers), empowers us...
Left side and Right side of brain. When I walk into the room, your face tells me more than your mouth does. The left side of my brain understands what you say but the right side of my brain tells me EVERYTHING.
Half-brained Christianity may help you figure everything out but it will take full-brained (Spirit-filled) Christianity for you to be free...prisoners free, sight for the blind, oppressed free.
- You need to engage your hunger for Spirit and Truth not just Truth
- The anointing breaks the yoke
- You were created to long for truth and your heart burns when you are near it or hear it
- Holy Spirit will help you to KNOW the truth
You were created to know the Truth, truth is a person, Jesus, and you won’t be fully satisfied until you discover the Truth. When you hear truth speaking, bringing good news to the poor, freedom to prisoners, sight for the blind, and oppressed are set free, your heart will burn.
Holy Spirit reformation and Half-brained Christianity - the mystery of Spiritual formation.
31 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers. 32 For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives.” 33 Surprised by this, they said, “But we’re the descendants of Abraham and we’re already free. We’ve never been in bondage to anyone. How could you say that we will be released into more freedom?” 34 “I speak eternal truth,” Jesus said. “When you sin you are not free. You’ve become a slave in bondage to your sin. 35 And slaves have no permanent standing in a family, like a son does, for a son is a part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free from sin, then become a true son and be unquestionably free! 37 Even though you are descendants of Abraham, you desire to kill me because the message I bring has not found a home in your hearts.
I know there is much fear in our culture today as we continue to deal with a pandemic, political unrest, media that is “state run” and hellbent on dividing people, racial tension, and a seismic shift in our western world. We’ve gone from being a Christian nation, to post-Christian, to anti-Christian culture. We’re not in Kansas anymore. All of this has given us concern, worry, anxiety, oppression, and anger.
How do we deal with this kind of stress and pressure? Let’s look at what happened to Jesus. The parallels are uncanny.
- A mob mentality
- An unfair trial
- A questionable election
- A cancel culture
- An innocent person suffers
What if us being the salt of the earth is not just the impact we have when others see the light in us but it is the prayers that we pray when “it looks like God’s side is losing?" What if God’s best work is done when the seed is buried? All hope is lost? The only hope we have is a miracle?
The Protestant Reformation, October 31, 1517. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany. The Church was compromised, indulgences, priestly superiority, Scripture kept away from the common people. Martin Luther protested for change to come from within. Church was lifeless, it had become political with too much power.
At the time of the Reformation, everyone had accepted what was being taught, not taught. You pay for indulgences, saved by works, priest was right even if unscriptural, Latin mass...no options. Martin Luther protested and he took his life in his hands. Today, we stand at a similar crossroads. Because of unfamiliarity with Scripture, the masses accept whatever the spiritual leaders teach, the church has become lifeless, powerless. We have plenty of copies of Scripture but we’re ignorant.
We need another reformation. I believe we are in the beginning stages of a Holy Spirit Reformation. Today, I am protesting against a lifeless, compromised, apathetic church.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
First, “The old has passed away”, and secondly, “Behold, the new has come.” We are continuing to receive and walk in NEWNESS. This newness is a “new order” that has divine authority.
- You now hear from heaven.
- You now receive instruction from the Holy Spirit.
- You now have access to the throne of God.
- You now have supernatural power, gifts, and ability---through prayer.
Our relationship with Jesus was never meant to be one time experience that becomes distant and outdated. There are endless possibilities of resurgence: new things, new miracles, new victories, new levels of grace, and new revelation.
We have to have an encounter with the Jesus Christ. Open your mind and heart to God’s miracles and possibilities.
Humility, modesty, sincere, reliable, simple, godly, CHRISTIAN.
Maybe for some, but you might be asking, what am I to do? Can I get my situation turned around? How do I leave a legacy for my children? Move from generational curses or consequences to generational blessings?
How can I become a salt of the earth person? Let’s define it first. It would be the kind of person who followed the teachings of Jesus that he offered in the Sermon on the Mount. He is saying, “I’m about to teach you some things that if you apply them to your life, you will impact the earth, your community.”
How am I to become a solid, mature Christian, salt of the earth?
- Understand the power of YOU
- Understand the power of Holy Spirit
What is a “salt of the earth” person? Well, we know from Matthew 5 it would be the kind of person who would heed the teachings of Jesus, a Christ-follower or a Christian. But, we have this cultural term too. The woke culture has threatened this and other terms - synonyms for “whiteness” like salt of the earth, patriot, conservative, Christian, etc. - this is so sad.
What defines a true “salt of the earth” person? Not race.
- Humility - not impressed with themselves, not insecure, humility is honesty.
- Modesty - no need to impress others, draw attention to themselves, not pretentious; I pray that you will go ahead now and embrace modesty as a lifestyle.
- Sincerity - their yes is yes and their no is no, not fake, we’ve seen so much fakeness in our world that when we see real, we run to it, people are craving the real, authentic right now even if it’s not “great”, sincerity is endearing.
- Reliability - you can trust their handshake, they’ll sign a contract but you don’t really have to get them to because their word is their bond, you can take it to the bank.
- Simplicity - they don’t have to go on cruises in the Mediterranean to be content or happy, they don’t need the newest whatever to feel important, they don’t have to have the corner office, sit at the head of the table, they know who they are.
I want to start a campaign to raise up a salt of the earth church...
- Real life-giving relationship with Jesus
- Study the Bible
- Engage with the Body of Christ
If you abide in me and my word abides in you...If we would open to the Holy Spirit, abide in Jesus, and say “may it be unto me according to your word”, revival would come and we would experience the goodness of God like never before. This is simple, right? You don’t need a seminary degree to understand the simplicity of being filled with Holy Spirit capacity, abiding in Jesus, and letting His word abide in you.
But, why don’t more Christians experience this?
- Lack of discipleship
- A casual view of sin, compromise
- Spiritual warfare
This is about spiritual intimacy. Abiding in Jesus, a branch connected to the Vine, the source of life. What a privilege! What a place! A good God has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us…
The Goodness of God - If you were convinced of God’s goodness, it would dramatically change your life. This is foundational to all theology. His goodness won’t allow anything to destroy His work of grace in a person’s life. Mike Bickle said, “All of God’s judgments are aimed at whatever interferes with love.” His goodness doesn’t avoid judgment in a sense but it is judgment against what would destroy you. So, even His judgment is an expression of His goodness.
The goodness of God is the cornerstone of all theology. It is a primary thought for us in learning what Jesus actually came to reveal. We know that He came to die on the cross, purchase our salvation, and to be resurrected in order to remove the sting of death. In doing that, He came to reveal the heart of our Heavenly Father. Jesus is perfect theology. Over and over, Jesus said that He came to reveal the FATHER. Not a taskmaster, judge, lawyer, but a Father. A “how much more” Father at that!
But, there are many times when things are turbulent that we struggle to trust the goodness of God, His heart.
If you have been walking in obedience and “stuff happens”, then rejoice because that stuff is called pruning and the Father is making you more fruitful. It may not feel like it. It might get ugly. Hang on...spring is coming!
If you have been walking in disobedience, stop, repent, and start taking steps to becoming an obedient branch. And, it is so important that you settle the fact that God is good.
Luke 9:23 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
God’s plan for you is beyond anything you can imagine. Satan and his cohorts will try to make you feel like you don’t deserve, he will lie to you, discourage you, distract you, accuse you, condemn you. You’re going somewhere good. He’s got you on His radar. It’s not too late and you’re not too far gone. If you have a heart to receive this morning, get ready because His goodness is running after you.
But, it starts with a cross. The whole deal. He’s asking you to simply get with His plan for your life.
Have you come to this point in your life? The big moment when your circumstances have brought you to a broken place and you, finally, said, “ok, God, I’m yours”. Jesus, who knew the plan, still asked if there was a way around it because his flesh didn’t want to go the way of the cross but he prayed, Your will be done.
The cross is about dying, surrender, and His will being done. It’s also something spectacular to behold. Listen, He has already made a spectacle out of the demonic powers that work against you. Now, He wants to make a spectacle out of you - look at that!
- Forgive everyone who’s trying to ruin your life
- Help others who are experiencing the same struggle
- Be sure you take care of those close to you
- Aim your hard questions at God, not man
- Be human enough to acknowledge your need
- Be assured, there is a purpose and an end to what you are suffering
- Surrender your day to God, and let it go
Are you paying attention to what’s going on? The need for you to be closely connected with other believers is SO great. With what our children are facing and will face in the years to come, it is imperative that they experience Christian communitas. North Atlanta is a busy, transient culture where people aren’t rooted. The need for effective, intentional parenting and focused discipleship for our children cannot be overstated.
The Cross -- how did it become the most common piece of jewelry ever? Because the One who split time in two was crucified on one. This is the central event in all of history. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; to the old rugged cross I will ever be true, it’s shame and reproach I gladly bear.
To become a disciple, followers had to take up their cross daily and they still do. Some have eliminated the cross, leaving a crossless Christianity (oxymoron).
The cross is a paradox. Luke 9:24: For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German pastor, theologian, martyr, was asked in 1943 how it was possible for the Church to sit back and let Hitler seize absolute power. His firm answer: "It was the teaching of cheap grace."
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We live in a time and culture that not only teaches cheap grace but praises it. I can’t eliminate the cross. We can’t be a biblical church without the cross. We can’t open the side door of relevancy to get people into cheap grace and call it the Christian faith.
We need to return to the gospel, the loving, life giving message of the gospel that calls us to die in order to live. We need an encounter, a liminal season like the one that is upon us, to be drawn together in communitas where we share in the fellowship of His sufferings, in order to fully understand the power of the resurrection - ASTONISHED.
Liminality is a place of discomfort and agitation that requires us to endure and push into what is to come.
Liminality and Communitas, two sides of the same coin.
Liminality involves adventure, risk, journey, engagement, and courage. When liminality happens, it fundamentally restructures the nature of preexisting relationships. Friendships turn into a deeper, richer connection that is hard to put into words. Communitas. Being immersed in a communitas, participants experience an almost mystical togetherness that occurs only among a group of people engaging in a task bigger than itself.
Keep in mind that there is a direct link between liminality and communitas.
The Church that Jesus built was to experience this form of togetherness. Not just for the sake of love and fellowship but because we have a “liminal” mission that requires more than “fellowship”.
Instead of being damaging to social structures, regular experiences of communitas strengthen a society. While societies need the stability of normal life, they also need liminal experiences of communitas.
- Liminal situations are vital to the Church and society.
- Liminal situations force communitas.
- We must focus on the mission of making disciples; most believers have no idea as to what they could accomplish if they would give into the stretch or the liminal season.
- Focusing on survival and self-preservation is a sure way for us to die.
Crisis is no bad thing when you’re on God’s side. In fact, it is necessary for the human spirit to face a desperate crisis which requires prayers that force you to cry out to God, lean on Him with faith, and experience the resurrection power which gives real meaning and true joy to your Christian experience.
The Church should be the most alive place in culture…because of liminality, stuck between here and there, inconvenienced by a call to go somewhere we’ve never been, led by someone we can’t see except through eyes of faith.
Liminality requires courage, adventure, mission, and risk - this is genuine Biblical Christianity.
We must rediscover Biblical Christianity at this time and I believe we will and we are. We are pilgrims, aliens passing through.
The Kingdom of God is poorly understood. Kingdom understanding brings wisdom to how life works. Seeing principles in scripture can be life changing.
The understanding of the Kingdom starts in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Here we see the Sovereign of all the universe, whose realm, reign, and regency are described at the outset.
- His realm (or scope of rule) is transcendent: that is, not only does it include the entire physical universe, it exceeds it. He existed before all creation, He expands beyond it, and by virtue of having begotten it, He emcompasses all that it is.
- His reign (or the power by which He rules) is exercised by His will, His word, and His works. By His own will He creatively decides and designs; by His own word HE speaks creation into being: and by His own works, His Spirit displays His unlimited power.
- His regency (or authority to rule) is in His preexistence and holiness (or perfection).
Man’s power and authority for exercising this rule/dominion originates in God’s intent to make man in His own image and likeness.
First Things First Principle Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
What is the message here in Matthew 6? It’s about making life work. It’s about LIVING. Verse 19 Store up treasures in heaven...not on earth; verse 24 No one can serve two masters...you cannot love God and other things with the same love; verse 25 Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, drink, or wear. Look at the birds and the lilies of the field. Your heavenly father feeds and clothes them. You are more valuable to him than they are. Where is God in your life? What number is He? Start putting God first and watch your worry go away. God is into first things. He wants to be first. This is why devotions in the morning, first thing, is best. This is why we start the year off in prayer and fasting. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
If you were God and you came to earth to save the human family, wouldn't you want people to know you were here? The message of God, the ministry of God to planet earth, the human family...lay in a manger, helplessly; an infant who would be raised by a teenage, first-time mother.
Jesus came from a family to bring the human family into God's family. It's 2020, the year of the pandemic, chaos, racial tension, a disputed election, numbers rising...plus a million other things to take your mind off of what matters. God has come to make you His son or daughter, that you might enjoy the access of your inheritance.
What is God saying by opening up the New Testament with the genealogy of Jesus?
- God works in and through “broken” families - all families are broken to some degree
- Children matter to God - you aren’t raising children, your raising adults
- Christmas can change everything - Holy Spirit conceives Jesus in us and that can change everything, Jesus, the Son of God, came from a family to bring the human family into relationship with His Father and Jesus taught us to pray….”Our Father….”
Children matter here too. Not McDonalds. The most important thing happening on this campus each week.
Bethlehem, though you are small out of you something big is going to come. In Matthew Chapter 1, Matthew is writing to the Jews trying to prove Jesus is the Messiah, the King. This wouldn’t be some aristocratic, untouchable, blue blood Messiah. This would be God sending a Savior who would identify with the people, the common blue collar people.
The New Testament opens up with a sketchy list of people who all come from the same family, the Jewish lineage that promised the Messiah. It begins with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It includes David who we can identify with because he messed up, royally. Oddly, it lists three women. Tamar - a battered wife who, Rahab, the harlot, prostitute, and Bathsheba - the wife of Uriah, the woman who committed adultery with King David, of whom it would be said about Jesus who is the Root of Jesse, the father of David.
Why long lists of names in the Bible? People matter to God, He makes a promise/covenant to someone, and not matter how crooked the people may be, we see that God is faithful.
Big things or good things or, better yet, great things and people come from broken families. All great things start small. You have to be filled with Holy Spirit inspiration and sight to be able to see potential in all situations. God sees differently than we do. He works in sketchy ways, more sketchy than your ways and my ways. But, He is effective in His sketchiness.
Professionals are telling us that stress is at an all-time high. The American Psychological Association said, "We are facing a national mental health crisis." Meanwhile, almost everything in our culture, entertainment industry, and media is denying God, attacking God, and even blaspheming God. In the face of the world and its culture, it is more so than ever time to intentionally and purposely commit time to seek the Lord by clearing away the clutter and making time for God in your life.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8 ESV)
He rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking Him. (Hebrews 11:6 TPT)
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
At Restoration Church, we are Vertical, Biblical, Spirit-Filled (but not crazy), Next Generation and Missions Minded.
In a transient community like Atlanta where no one is from here, etc., where people tend to like anonymity, stay connected on social media but not in real, life-giving relationships - you need to be planted, get roots. People who get planted and rooted in good soil, flourish, and become fruitful (still bearing fruit in old age). I share this today as we consider our current situation. God wants to be your king, your president. We want a good man or woman in the White House, but God works through all things, all kinds of people, in situations that no one else can bring good out of it God can IF HIS PEOPLE HAVE CROWNED HIM AS THEIR KING.
Why are so many pulpits and Christians silent today? Honestly, because spiritual leaders have become fearful and not courageous, spiritual leaders have become politicians themselves in trying to gather the largest group of followers they can gain. This has created a weakened church in America, a church with no identity and no clear Godview.
Jesus knew His disciples needed power...for the kingdom to expand while the Jews were under Roman oppression, in the face of great persecution, with common, ordinary, unschooled, uneducated, sketchy men...yeah, Jesus knew that they were going to need some power. The world is in need of a legislative church! Jesus said, I will build my church. Please notice that He says the way you know it is My church is that hell is not prevailing against it. The way we can know if our church is His church is...hell is losing and we’re winning.