Awaken with Blake Lorenz: Recent Episodes
Charisma Podcast Network
Awaken announces the coming of Jesus Christ and deals with our journey together in preparing the way for His return. Host Blake Lorenz met Jesus 40 years ago and has been on one fantastic voyage with Jesus ever since. In each new episode, we will explore the wonders of Jesus’ teachings on His return, and how we can live a life of hope and love and joy as we apply the principles He has given us for this special season. Awaken is arising from our sleep, empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out every day to be the person God created us to be in the context of His mission to redeem and restore the world to His glory.
As Paul addresses the Romans to wake up from their sleep, he gives us seven foundational truths to keep us awake and on fire for Jesus. In this episode we will address what these practical applications are to keep us from mediocre Christianity and to wake up with a purpose and mission every day.
Paul in Romans 13:11-14 gives us seven reasons on why believers remain asleep when there is work to be done. We need to know these dangers and make sure we lay the proper foundation in our lives to build a life that is alive and doing the will of our Father and not our own.
Since the beginning of the church on Pentecost the challenge is to keep believers awake to the vision of Jesus. Our tendency is to fall asleep on the job. Jesus has given us His teachings on how we should live in this season of His return. We are to wake up the believers to this plan.
After our consecration to God we need to spend time alone with God. Daniel is a prime role model of how to live a life of consecration. The more you invest with God, the greater He will use your life for His glory.
Our journey back to Bethel with Jacob. Bethel is God’s symbol for us as His gateway to heaven. That gateway today is Jesus. Our return to Bethel is a time of renewed consecration where we put away any idols in our heart, a new cleansing, and when we put on a new garment or put on Christ.
God calls us to consecrate our lives to Him as witnessed in the life of Jacob. This needs to become our first priority after we have become a follower of Jesus. This call to consecration deepens in the years as we walk with Jesus. Is God calling you to Bethel for a new level of consecration?
Revelation truth leads to a life of consecration to God for His plans and purposes. This leads to Holy Spirit power and a life of love and service to Jesus full of joy and adventure and wonder.
This ties together what we have studied in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus knows He will be betrayed and arrested, then killed shortly. Therefore, He has told His disciples His death is not the end, but a prelude to His return as King.
Genesis 35 connected with Matthew 25 gives us insight into how we need to put into action the words of Jesus relating to the new covenant and the nations. Jacob's stone and Genesis 35 teach us to pray for our nation, coupled with Matthew 25 how to vote and minister in Jesus' name.
There are three major covenant promises in Genesis. One concerns personal salvation, the second relates to families, and the third concerns nations. We need to know these teachings to help prepare the way for Jesus, especially the third relating to the nations.
We will review and discuss the signs of Jesus' return. The beginning of sorrows are identified as they intensify announcing He is ready to come on His second trip from heaven to earth. We have a calling and anointing to prepare the way.
There is no doubt that Jesus is coming back. He tells us and the signs He promised are clear and evident we are in the season of His return. What a day that will be!
Jesus gives us insights into how we can know the truth in this age of deception. We need to know Jesus intimately, who He is and what He has done for us. We need to feast on His words and know the prophecies of His return.
Jesus warns us three times not to be deceived in the season of His return. Charismatic leaders, antichrists and false prophets will deceive us concerning His return. We see in our day how we are being deceived by politicians, the news media, social media, scientists, religious leaders.
Jesus speaks wonderful words to those who love and serve Him faithfully, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master." We were created for joy, so expect to find joy and share it with others.
In this fifth parable that Jesus gives in teaching us how to live in the season of His return, He gave us insight into how we should use the resources God has given us in this life. God gives us gifts and abilities to fulfill our responsibilities in serving our Creator.
This fourth parable of the ten virgins reminds us what it means to be ready for His return and the danger of not being ready. It is a wake up call to the church for those whom Jesus knows and does not know. How we can be certain Jesus knows us.
This third parable of Jesus teaches us how to serve Jesus in obedience to His word. How we are to disciple our families and give them the spiritual food for this season of His return as opposed to the evil and unfaithful servant who disregards the return of His Master.
This third parable of Jesus teaches us how to serve Jesus in obedience to His word. How we are to disciple our families and give them the spiritual food for this season of His return as opposed to the evil and unfaithful servant who disregards the return of His Master.
This second parable of Jesus teaches how we are to be watchful and ready for His return. We are not to be so consumed with this world and our selfish living that we are not prepared for His return. How can we live so that we are ready!
This teaches on why we believe Jesus is the Messiah and why we know He is coming again. We will use Scriptures, prophecies, and testimonies to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and is coming back for us. His love triumphs over all the sin, death and evils of this world.
Jesus makes it clear in this first of five parables concerning the season of His return that He expects us to know this season. That also means to know the Scriptures and prophecies that concern His Second Coming with the ability to share this with others.
We will discuss what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Why this is essential to have in order to live as Jesus taught us to live in this season of His return. God continues to pour His Spirit upon believers to use us to prepare the way for Jesus' Second Coming.
As Paul addresses the Romans to wake up from their sleep, he gives us seven foundational truths to keep us awake and on fire for Jesus. In this episode we will address what these practical applications are to keep us from mediocre Christianity and to wake up with a purpose and mission every day.
Paul in Romans 13:11-14 gives us seven reasons on why believers remain asleep when there is work to be done. We need to know these dangers and make sure we lay the proper foundation in our lives to build a life that is alive and doing the will of our Father and not our own.
Since the beginning of the church on Pentecost the challenge is to keep believers awake to the vision of Jesus. Our tendency is to fall asleep on the job. Jesus has given us His teachings on how we should live in this season of His return. We are to wake up the believers to this plan.
God comes to us to awaken us to His plans and invites us to join Him in the redemption of the world. As our Lord awakens us, we are to know the season in which we live, so we can best prepare the way for the return of Jesus. Our challenge is to journey together in this great adventure.
Jesus’s last words focus on life. Revelation 22 begins with the river of life and the tree of life. The last chapter ended with the Book of life. Jesus has brought us out of death to life to live as God has life. No more curse, but only the blessings of God flow in our relationship with God and the Lamb.
The words quoted from Jesus speak His final words to us. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Jesus wants every believer to live as though He is coming today.
Be ready and be about our Father’s business. Part of preparation is awakening those around you to this call of Christ to live a lifestyle that honors and pleases our Father in heaven.
You and I can look at Revelation and see that humanity had a need. We were trapped in a sinful world that persecuted and killed those who believed in God and tried to live out their desire to honor and please their Creator. So, they cried out to God to set us free and avenge their suffering.
God had a plan from the beginning to save us from ourselves. In His sovereign love for us, He devised a plan of action that required Him to become one of us in order to rescue us from our own sinful rebellion.
Thus, Jesus would become the Lover of our soul to rescue us from our own destruction. This would produce a love for Jesus in us that would carry us through to the perfection of God’s image restored in us for all eternity.
We are coming out of the covid pandemic. What a battle it has been for physical and spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us one of the greatest weapons to fight this battle of faith. The evils of Babylon are now world wide. Our war for salvation is Global.
The words of Jesus give us the weapons to win this war for they pierce the human heart with the light of God.
As Moses went up on the mountain to meet God, Jesus sat on the mountain and the people came to Him to meet God. Let us unlock the treasures of His words to walk in triumph over the forces of evil.
We are coming out of the covid pandemic. What a battle it has been for physical and spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us one of the greatest weapons to fight this battle of faith. The evils of Babylon are now world wide. Our war for salvation is Global.
The words of Jesus give us the weapons to win this war for they pierce the human heart with the light of God.
As Moses went up on the mountain to meet God, Jesus sat on the mountain and the people came to Him to meet God. Let us unlock the treasures of His words to walk in triumph over the forces of evil.
In this podcast I share my story of why I know Jesus’s return is imminent. What would you do if you knew He was coming soon. We are the last generation before this great prophecy will unfold. We see the signs of the preparation of His return all around us.
What are you doing to help prepare the way for our King to come? What is your body of believers doing? God’s favor can be on your life. You can live a life of great adventure for Jesus if you partner with Him and hear His voice and obey.
Here am I Lord, send me!
In this podcast I share my story of why I know Jesus’s return is imminent. What would you do if you knew He was coming soon. We are the last generation before this great prophecy will unfold. We see the signs of the preparation of His return all around us.
What are you doing to help prepare the way for our King to come? What is your body of believers doing? God’s favor can be on your life. You can live a life of great adventure for Jesus if you partner with Him and hear His voice and obey.
Here am I Lord, send me!
I was reminded that we, the remnant Body of Christ, are part of the greatest movement for good over evil in the history of humanity as we exalt Jesus Christ. The ways of the world are so corrupt and entangled in the system of Babylon, we cannot clean it up by our own efforts nor can we participate in their methods by using evil to defeat evil. Jesus’s way is the only way to life and blessing and freedom. Let us explore what this means.
I was reminded that we, the remnant Body of Christ, are part of the greatest movement for good over evil in the history of humanity as we exalt Jesus Christ. The ways of the world are so corrupt and entangled in the system of Babylon, we cannot clean it up by our own efforts nor can we participate in their methods by using evil to defeat evil. Jesus’s way is the only way to life and blessing and freedom. Let us explore what this means.
We live in disturbing and challenging days. The judgments of God against the evil of this world are unfolding before our eyes as revealed in Revelation. We can often struggle with the tragedies and tribulations that these judgments bring, but Revelation 15 says the saints in heaven are rejoicing in these acts of God. For Jesus is fulfilling His promise to avenge the martyrs’ cries in Revelation 6.
This is our role model for how we should respond. Jesus is preparing to make all things new. Satan and his demons will be judged and so will those who reject God and His Son. We need to stand strong and share the hope of Christ in these days that lead to the return of Jesus.
We live in disturbing and challenging days. The judgments of God against the evil of this world are unfolding before our eyes as revealed in Revelation. We can often struggle with the tragedies and tribulations that these judgments bring, but Revelation 15 says the saints in heaven are rejoicing in these acts of God. For Jesus is fulfilling His promise to avenge the martyrs’ cries in Revelation 6.
This is our role model for how we should respond. Jesus is preparing to make all things new. Satan and his demons will be judged and so will those who reject God and His Son. We need to stand strong and share the hope of Christ in these days that lead to the return of Jesus.
Since my recent mission to Cuba I have been inspired by what I experienced and saw as church after church was baptized in the Holy Spirit and Fire. That fiery baptism continues to spread throughout that beautiful island.
To gain a better understanding of this baptism promised to us by Jesus through the words of John the Baptist, I traced the history of this God ordained movement from Acts to today. We will discover what this means for the world and the return of Jesus Christ.
Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?
Since my recent mission to Cuba I have been inspired by what I experienced and saw as church after church was baptized in the Holy Spirit and Fire. That fiery baptism continues to spread throughout that beautiful island.
To gain a better understanding of this baptism promised to us by Jesus through the words of John the Baptist, I traced the history of this God ordained movement from Acts to today. We will discover what this means for the world and the return of Jesus Christ.
Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?
The halls of heaven are rejoicing in the Supreme Court's decision on abortion, while the secular humanists of Satan are shouting with clinched fists against the decision. Their anger, hatred and threats reveal the true nature of their belief to impose their world domination on the followers of Christ. The Bible prophecies that the abortion issue will be a sure sign that Jesus's return is imminent. History testifies to this prophetic fulfillment that will happen in the season of His return.
The halls of heaven are rejoicing in the Supreme Court's decision on abortion, while the secular humanists of Satan are shouting with clinched fists against the decision. Their anger, hatred and threats reveal the true nature of their belief to impose their world domination on the followers of Christ. The Bible prophecies that the abortion issue will be a sure sign that Jesus's return is imminent. History testifies to this prophetic fulfillment that will happen in the season of His return.
Heaven sees the Supreme Court's decision on abortions as one worth rejoicing. Yet, the world of secular humanism fights to see how many new ways they can kill babies. Revelation tells us that God's judgments are righteous acts against the evils of Satan and humanity. They are sent to move people to repent. However, as we are seeing today the world is not repenting but rebelling against God's truth and love. This will bring further judgments until Jesus comes to make all things new. Life will triumph.
Heaven sees the Supreme Court's decision on abortions as one worth rejoicing. Yet, the world of secular humanism fights to see how many new ways they can kill babies. Revelation tells us that God's judgments are righteous acts against the evils of Satan and humanity. They are sent to move people to repent. However, as we are seeing today the world is not repenting but rebelling against God's truth and love. This will bring further judgments until Jesus comes to make all things new. Life will triumph.
Abortion is perhaps the worst and most effective of Satan's weapons against the followers of Jesus Christ. This legal killing of babies can only be promoted in secular humanistic nations. It is driven by the antiChrist spirit which seeks to replace Jesus and God with a person who represents Satan. This end time war is in full throttle on many fronts. This war for global domination is aimed at those who love Jesus and believe in His Divinity. The antiChrist spirit undermines truth. Those who deny Jesus are liars, but Jesus has won this war for truth. He is coming soon to put an end to this war. Let us study what this war looks like today!
Abortion is perhaps the worst and most effective of Satan's weapons against the followers of Jesus Christ. This legal killing of babies can only be promoted in secular humanistic nations. It is driven by the antiChrist spirit which seeks to replace Jesus and God with a person who represents Satan. This end time war is in full throttle on many fronts. This war for global domination is aimed at those who love Jesus and believe in His Divinity. The antiChrist spirit undermines truth. Those who deny Jesus are liars, but Jesus has won this war for truth. He is coming soon to put an end to this war. Let us study what this war looks like today!
As I watched the news an ominous darkness came over me. I heard the voice of the Spirit speak to my spirit. In this message I share what I received from the Spirit of God concerning the prophecies unfolding today.
Wake up and know the season in which we live. The return of Jesus is imminent!
As I watched the news an ominous darkness came over me. I heard the voice of the Spirit speak to my spirit. In this message I share what I received from the Spirit of God concerning the prophecies unfolding today.
Wake up and know the season in which we live. The return of Jesus is imminent!
The return of Jesus is one of life’s most important puzzles to solve. God has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to us. Let us look at the world situation in order to understand where we are in the timeline of His return. You will be amazed at what we can know and apply to our lives in this season of preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
The return of Jesus is one of life’s most important puzzles to solve. God has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to us. Let us look at the world situation in order to understand where we are in the timeline of His return. You will be amazed at what we can know and apply to our lives in this season of preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
The woman in the wheelchair crippled with arthritis began to prophesy as I had laid hands on her to be baptized in the Spirit. She said this Holy Fire would spread throughout Cuba. Before I left I was told it had spread to 28 churches in the Las Tunas District. We are contending with God that this will cover the entire island of Cuba.
We are believing God will take the lid off of every believer and church and city in Cuba. For all of the people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. God is doing it. Listen to this story!
The woman in the wheelchair crippled with arthritis began to prophesy as I had laid hands on her to be baptized in the Spirit. She said this Holy Fire would spread throughout Cuba. Before I left I was told it had spread to 28 churches in the Las Tunas District. We are contending with God that this will cover the entire island of Cuba.
We are believing God will take the lid off of every believer and church and city in Cuba. For all of the people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. God is doing it. Listen to this story!
This is a personal experience I had in Las Tunas on Saturday morning. The weight of God’s glory fell upon me and kept crushing the inner division of my life out of me. It was a time of intimacy and cleansing of my inner being to restore God’s oneness within me.
I have seen this happen several times in my 40 years of ministry. In Zambia at the close of one of our crusades, the glory of God fell upon the entire church. All of us suddenly found ourselves lying on the floor of the church weeping and wailing before God for over 30 minutes. When we arose to our feet puddles of tears of glory were evident throughout the sanctuary.
This is a personal experience I had in Las Tunas on Saturday morning. The weight of God’s glory fell upon me and kept crushing the inner division of my life out of me. It was a time of intimacy and cleansing of my inner being to restore God’s oneness within me.
I have seen this happen several times in my 40 years of ministry. In Zambia at the close of one of our crusades, the glory of God fell upon the entire church. All of us suddenly found ourselves lying on the floor of the church weeping and wailing before God for over 30 minutes. When we arose to our feet puddles of tears of glory were evident throughout the sanctuary.
When you study Scripture you discover marvelous treasures that enrich your life and inspire you to act as Jesus commanded us to live. For example, what motivated the earliest believers to take the salvation message of Jesus to the nations of the known world?
Their love for Jesus inspired them. The knowledge that He was God’s anointed Savior to save us from our sins and God’s wrath in order to reconcile us to God and that Jesus commanded them to make disciples in every nation moved them to sacrifice all. They were to share His truth in all the world, then He would return to establish God’s kingdom on earth forever.
We need to understand and know how we fit into this global plan of God’s redemption, then give all we can to see this happen as we partner with God.
When you study Scripture you discover marvelous treasures that enrich your life and inspire you to act as Jesus commanded us to live. For example, what motivated the earliest believers to take the salvation message of Jesus to the nations of the known world?
Their love for Jesus inspired them. The knowledge that He was God’s anointed Savior to save us from our sins and God’s wrath in order to reconcile us to God and that Jesus commanded them to make disciples in every nation moved them to sacrifice all. They were to share His truth in all the world, then He would return to establish God’s kingdom on earth forever.
We need to understand and know how we fit into this global plan of God’s redemption, then give all we can to see this happen as we partner with God.
God’s hand of favor is upon the nations of Cuba and Zambia and Israel. I have seen this with my own eyes. God desires to awaken us to His hand of favor in our lives. The story of Joseph reminds us that God gives us dreams and visions for our future to build His kingdom.
Despite betrayal, rejection, injustice and even prison, Joseph remains faithful to believe in God and the dreams He has given him. In the end Joseph saves nations, his family, and line of the Messiah as God’s vision for his life unfolds in victory. God will do the same for you!
God’s hand of favor is upon the nations of Cuba and Zambia and Israel. I have seen this with my own eyes. God desires to awaken us to His hand of favor in our lives. The story of Joseph reminds us that God gives us dreams and visions for our future to build His kingdom.
Despite betrayal, rejection, injustice and even prison, Joseph remains faithful to believe in God and the dreams He has given him. In the end Joseph saves nations, his family, and line of the Messiah as God’s vision for his life unfolds in victory. God will do the same for you!
God’s desire for your life is to show you the unlimited potential you have and to bring this to life in His vision for you. All through the Bible God, then Jesus, go to individuals and the nation of Israel, challenging them to follow Him and He will show them amazing things they never imagined.
Even when their personal lives or the life of the nation were in ruins, Jesus said I will restore you and bless you and use you for My glory. God is in the holy business of resurrection to give us new life.
One of the most important discoveries in life is when you realize Jesus has a vision for your life. When we respond to His vision for us the doors of opportunity and provision to achieve that vision are opened wide.
You will live with a great sense of purpose and meaning in your life. You will leave a legacy for Jesus that will have changed the world. His love and joy will abound in your life.
One of the continuing themes in the Bible, especially in Revelation, is that God’s judgments poured out on the unrepentant people of the earth are righteous. This means God has the right to send these judgments against those who will not believe and enter into a covenant with their Creator.
The judgements are meant to bring us to repent of our sins and turn our hearts to God through Jesus Christ. In the end of this age as people refuse to repent, then the judgments will begin the process of wiping away all that is unholy and sinful in humanity and in this world.
I was reminded that we, the remnant Body of Christ, are part of the greatest movement for good over evil in the history of humanity as we exalt Jesus Christ. The ways of the world are so corrupt and entangled in the system of Babylon, we cannot clean it up by our own efforts nor can we participate in their methods by using evil to defeat evil. Jesus’s way is the only way to life and blessing and freedom. Let us explore what this means.
We are in the midst of a great battle between good and evil. Even though Jesus defeated this dark foe at the cross, sin and death still plague us. Evil brings death, but Jesus sows seeds of life. We are to sow these seeds of life wherever we go.
I saw these seeds sown in Cuba in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. We were created for life. Jesus has given us this gift of abundant life. It is spreading throughout the world and will continue to spread until Jesus returns and restores His dominion and our dominion in the age to come.
Since my recent mission to Cuba I have been inspired by what I experienced and saw as church after church was baptized in the Holy Spirit and Fire. That fiery baptism continues to spread throughout that beautiful island.
To gain a better understanding of this baptism promised to us by Jesus through the words of John the Baptist, I traced the history of this God ordained movement from Acts to today. We will discover what this means for the world and the return of Jesus Christ.
Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?
The shepherd boy who would become King David had a vision from God that few could match. He saw God in a light that others clothed in darkness. Instead of fear He saw with the eyes of faith that brought giants to their knees.
I have often prayed to have eyes like David and the other great heroes of the Bible. I want to have a vision that transcends the worldly vision of God. He has given me that vision.
Do you know God’s vision for your life? Can you write it down in a sentence? Let’s work together so you can know God’s vision for your life!
We live in disturbing and challenging days. The judgments of God against the evil of this world are unfolding before our eyes as revealed in Revelation. We can often struggle with the tragedies and tribulations that these judgments bring, but Revelation 15 says the saints in heaven are rejoicing in these acts of God. For Jesus is fulfilling His promise to avenge the martyrs’ cries in Revelation 6.
This is our role model for how we should respond. Jesus is preparing to make all things new. Satan and his demons will be judged and so will those who reject God and His Son. We need to stand strong and share the hope of Christ in these days that lead to the return of Jesus.
Jesus was and still is the greatest visionary the world has ever known. Our Lord gave us a vision for the world and He wants to give a vision for our personal lives. When you discover His dream for you, your life will become full of passion, power, and perseverance.
This is the story of the people and individuals of the Bible. Jesus wants this to be your story too. Let’s discover how God’s vision for your life can become a reality.
I recorded this podcast a few days after the FBI raid on Trump’s home. I was dissatisfied with myself as I responded in anger to what I saw transpire. Going to the Lord in prayer to gain a better way, I was taken to Ephesians 5 to discover God’s more excellent way.
This teaching can be applied to the circumstances we face in our daily lives. I found this most helpful, convicting and inspiring in order to live a life of victory over my emotions.
The promises of God tell us we can walk in victory in this world as we walk with Jesus and as we walk in the Holy Spirit. In this podcast, I will share Biblical principles that teach us how to live in victory, as more than a conqueror as we face the powers of darkness.
Fresh out of my experience in Cuba with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and with fire, I want to share the prophetic word of God that burns in my heart. For this move of God is not just some emotional experience, but is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and fire for preparing for the return of Jesus.
I want to share with you what this means from the Bible and what I saw in Cuba and I believe is happening all over the world led by the Holy Spirit and centered in Jesus Christ. It is the fulfillment of God’s plan and He wants you to be part of this historic moment.
Fresh out of my experience in Cuba with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and with fire, I want to share the prophetic word of God that burns in my heart. For this move of God is not just some emotional experience, but is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and fire for preparing for the return of Jesus.
I want to share with you what this means from the Bible and what I saw in Cuba and I believe is happening all over the world led by the Holy Spirit and centered in Jesus Christ. It is the fulfillment of God’s plan and He wants you to be part of this historic moment.
Recently President Trump’s house was raided by the FBI. This inspired me to write a spiritual and Biblical response to what is happening in our world. Why do so many things seem to be turned upside down in our nation? Instead of a defeatist attitude based an emotional response, let the Bible and the Spirit give you answers to the chaos of our world.
Jesus has already told us all of these events would happen. Let us explore what Jesus told us and how we can respond with hope and light and life in our world of hopelessness, darkness, and death. We have the victory in Jesus!
Recently President Trump’s house was raided by the FBI. This inspired me to write a spiritual and Biblical response to what is happening in our world. Why do so many things seem to be turned upside down in our nation? Instead of a defeatist attitude based an emotional response, let the Bible and the Spirit give you answers to the chaos of our world.
Jesus has already told us all of these events would happen. Let us explore what Jesus told us and how we can respond with hope and light and life in our world of hopelessness, darkness, and death. We have the victory in Jesus!
One of the best ways to wake up excited everyday and be full of life is to have a God given vision for living. People who have such a vision live with purpose, focus, and power. God’s inspiration motivates and gives victory over the sad and down emotions we can feel.
With God’s vision for your life failures become new opportunities to go forward to start new adventures with Jesus. God promises in His word to give us dreams and visions by the Holy Spirit. Once a vision is awakened in your soul you will soar and walk in victory everyday!
Sooner or later we all die. The question is, do you know you have victory over death? We will explore how you can know you have the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. How we can live a life of meaning in relationship with God that expresses this abundant life.
If a person does not have this victory over death, you can lead him or her into that faith that has conquered sin and death. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will fill you and you will know His rest!
In a world saturated with endless deception and lies steeped in secular humanism, we will be challenged to live a life that is worthy of the calling Jesus has given us. This is the spirit of antiChrist that seeks to dominate our culture and our nation.
The Dragon is after your soul and your loved ones. This spiritual war is only going to increase. Our very Christian lifestyles will be attacked. We will explore how we can fight the good fight of faith until the end.
In a world saturated with endless deception and lies steeped in secular humanism, we will be challenged to live a life that is worthy of the calling Jesus has given us. This is the spirit of antiChrist that seeks to dominate our culture and our nation.
The Dragon is after your soul and your loved ones. This spiritual war is only going to increase. Our very Christian lifestyles will be attacked. We will explore how we can fight the good fight of faith until the end.
The Lord laid on my heart to ask Him never to let my testimony for Jesus die. I am not afraid of death, but I asked God for my legacy of my life to be about Jesus. In response He gave me a powerful word I want to share with you.
I pray that my testimony will inspire you by what God placed on my heart of what it means to live for Jesus and be His witness. Out of this life I have experienced hundreds of miracles in my own life. My prayer, you will know Him in an even greater love than I have and you will see Him use your life to impact this world for Jesus.
The brightest star that shines in the night sky is Sirius, 20 times brighter than our sun. Who is the brightest star in your life? The brightest star is Jesus Christ. His light will fill your soul with truth and peace and rest.
Jesus will fill you with the Holy Spirit and His fire. We are to be His light against the darkness of this world. We are in a war with Satan and secular humanism. Jesus has overcome this evil. Learn how to let your light shine and awaken people to His love and salvation.
We are living in the final days of judgment meant to call people to repent of their sinful lifestyles. Jesus came to give us eternal life. We need to be able to understand and separate the judgments of God from His free gift of life to live a life of victory and hope.
In the tribulation of the nations and communities, as followers of Jesus we have God’s grace in Jesus Christ. We have His answers to the trials of life. Let us know the Word to be able to share with people how to walk above the storms of life.
Jesus came to set us free from the man made religions and ideologies of humanity. God hears the cries of His people when they are in bondage and enslaved in sin and false worldviews that produce sinful living.
When the Spirit and fire of God was poured out in Cuba in my last visit, the love of Jesus set them free. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to liberate us from our bondages and addictions. By His blood we are already forgiven and cleansed of our sins.
May His Holy Spirit fire spread to every nation and every person to liberate them from the bondages of this world.
Jesus came to set us free from the man made religions and ideologies of humanity. God hears the cries of His people when they are in bondage and enslaved in sin and false worldviews that produce sinful living.
When the Spirit and fire of God was poured out in Cuba in my last visit, the love of Jesus set them free. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to liberate us from our bondages and addictions. By His blood we are already forgiven and cleansed of our sins.
May His Holy Spirit fire spread to every nation and every person to liberate them from the bondages of this world.
Today, God is uniting the Jews and Gentiles into one new man for the coming of the Messiah. I interviewed my good friend, Jonathan Feldstein who lives with his family in the Judean Hills. We discuss what it is like to live in Israel, what God is doing with Jews and Christians as we prepare for the coming of the Messiah... What unites us and what are our biggest obstacles in us coming together...We engage in his calling of God and how we have come together in our faith as we fulfill God's calling on our lives. You will enjoy this lively dialogue between us as we discuss the world situation from two different perspectives, yet as one.
Today, God is uniting the Jews and Gentiles into one new man for the coming of the Messiah. I interviewed my good friend, Jonathan Feldstein who lives with his family in the Judean Hills. We discuss what it is like to live in Israel, what God is doing with Jews and Christians as we prepare for the coming of the Messiah... What unites us and what are our biggest obstacles in us coming together...We engage in his calling of God and how we have come together in our faith as we fulfill God's calling on our lives. You will enjoy this lively dialogue between us as we discuss the world situation from two different perspectives, yet as one.
God loves humble beginnings as opposed to the world’s way of fame and fortune and attention. God is using small gatherings throughout Cuba and around the world to prepare the nations of the earth for the return of Jesus.
Jesus started with 12, grew to 120 on Pentecost, then spread His salvation through house meetings and small synagogues. Now over 2 billion people claim to follow Jesus.
The Holy Fire in Cuba tells the story of small beginnings that will shake the nations before Jesus returns. Are you called to be an end time messenger of this Holy Fire?
God loves humble beginnings as opposed to the world’s way of fame and fortune and attention. God is using small gatherings throughout Cuba and around the world to prepare the nations of the earth for the return of Jesus.
Jesus started with 12, grew to 120 on Pentecost, then spread His salvation through house meetings and small synagogues. Now over 2 billion people claim to follow Jesus.
The Holy Fire in Cuba tells the story of small beginnings that will shake the nations before Jesus returns. Are you called to be an end time messenger of this Holy Fire?
I had waited three years to preach this message in Cuba. The curse of Babel is expressing itself in the most evil and ugly of ways in the nations today bringing division, strife, hate, hatred and civil unrest within the nations.
God has shown us how to break this curse of Babel in the nations. I believe this should be done in every church and in every nation before Jesus returns. It can make the difference between being a sheep nation or a goat nation. Hear what we did in Cuba as I have done in other nations including the USA.
This is a personal experience I had in Las Tunas on Saturday morning. The weight of God’s glory fell upon me and kept crushing the inner division of my life out of me. It was a time of intimacy and cleansing of my inner being to restore God’s oneness within me.
I have seen this happen several times in my 40 years of ministry. In Zambia at the close of one of our crusades, the glory of God fell upon the entire church. All of us suddenly found ourselves lying on the floor of the church weeping and wailing before God for over 30 minutes. When we arose to our feet puddles of tears of glory were evident throughout the sanctuary.
The woman in the wheelchair crippled with arthritis began to prophesy as I had laid hands on her to be baptized in the Spirit. She said this Holy Fire would spread throughout Cuba. Before I left I was told it had spread to 28 churches in the Las Tunas District. We are contending with God that this will cover the entire island of Cuba.
We are believing God will take the lid off of every believer and church and city in Cuba. For all of the people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. God is doing it. Listen to this story!
In Luke 4 we are told Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, led by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit and anointed by the Spirit. If He needed all of that, how much more do we need?
Jesus has sent an end time anointing to prepare the way for his return. I first heard and received this anointing through Jack Hayford back in 1992. I have helped spread this anointing for thirty years now. I have seen thousands come into this mighty anointing.
On Sunday night in Las Tunas Jesus poured out this anointing upon His people. This anointing is for you!
As we determine we are in the last generation before Jesus returns, global supernatural events are awakening nations to His return. None more powerful than what happened in Cuba on my last evangelism mission to Las Tunas District.
We brought suitcases of medicines, wheelchairs, eye glasses, cell phones, finances, soccer balls and most importantly the heart of Jesus and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire as per John the Baptist. Hear our story of God’s glory.
The world had become a much more challenging place since the pandemic hit us several years ago. Now the effects are making life much harder on us economically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jesus told us all of this would happen. In His wisdom and love He gave us the answers to be overcomers in these tribulations and trials.
One of the truths He has given us is how not to fear. Another one is how not to be troubled. A third one we will look at is how to endure to the end. Believe, the giants that we face can all be defeated, so we live a life of hope and love and peace.
If we believe Jesus is coming back then why does that truth not impact people to change the way they live? Because they only have an intellectual belief that does not affect their actions. This is not true belief. It is living a life based on emotions and human logic, instead of Jesus and His word.
We have a choice to make in how we live. Therefore, let us explore how to make wise decisions based on the teachings of Jesus and not the foolishness of this world.
The return of Jesus is one of life’s most important puzzles to solve. God has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to us. Let us look at the world situation in order to understand where we are in the timeline of His return. You will be amazed at what we can know and apply to our lives in this season of preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
The return of Jesus is one of life’s most important puzzles to solve. God has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to us. Let us look at the world situation in order to understand where we are in the timeline of His return. You will be amazed at what we can know and apply to our lives in this season of preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
Red flags began to wave in my mind as a 78 year old man announced he is going to lead the nations into a new world order. Sirens sounded which moved me to examine what this means in world history and in the return of Jesus.
We have heard this announcement throughout the history of the nations only to see everyone of them fail. Most ended in wars of destruction and defeat. Why? Because only Jesus has the authority and power to introduce God’s next age of life in Jesus’s name.
This is the first of a series of podcasts and articles on my recent mission to Cuba. What happened in Cuba is part of God's prophetic plan to prepare the way for Jesus and the real new order world order that Jesus will establish when He returns.
I have traveled to Cuba in ministry for 22 years. I have seen the fire of God, the miracles, and transformation of lives, but this is the first time I believe the fire will spread through Cuba and join with what God is doing worldwide today to prepare for Jesus's return.
This is truly happening and God is calling us to wake up and partner with Him in this historic moment.
Everyone of us have the ability to influence the lives of those we touch. We can impact lives in a powerful and positive way. Jesus is the greatest example of how to end life on a high note to transform this world for good.
In this podcast I will share the story of one man who had an amazing impact on me and so many others that knew him. I knew him as Dr. Tom.
Jesus taught us how to love and to live for God. His final words are of the utmost importance to know and apply to our lives. They are commonly known as the Great Commission. These words have the power to transform our lives. They changed my life and how I have lived it.
Let us examine these truths and hear stories of inspiration that changed lives all over the world. This will impact your life and the legacy you can leave.
The power of death has been all around us for the past two years. In this message I want to speak of the power of life in Jesus Christ. Our Lord came to give us abundant, eternal life. What does that mean?
In this message you may receive a fresh vision for living as did blind Bartimaeus receive from Jesus. It is a vision of life. It is the river of life. It is the tree of life. This free gift of life is for you!
As I watched the news an ominous darkness came over me. I heard the voice of the Spirit speak to my spirit. In this message I share what I received from the Spirit of God concerning the prophecies unfolding today.
Wake up and know the season in which we live. The return of Jesus is imminent!
I have discovered I need at times to reflect and walk through the suffering of Christ. It deepened my love for Him and my desire to serve Him. Jesus goes through step by step the humiliation and brutality of His way of sorrows.
As I walk with Jesus I am overwhelmed with grief and sorrow for Jesus. How can people reject and mock Jesus even today? Oh how He took the weight of our sins upon Himself
I have stood at His empty tomb and rejoiced in His victory and His love.
Many people wear the cross as jewelry. Do they really know what that symbolizes? We will examine the Roman concept of the cross and apply it to Jesus and His sacrifice.
How does the cross of Christ reveal His glory? What does the cross mean for us? All of this will inspire us to rejoice in the freedom Christ won for us. The power of the cross has released for us all the riches and treasures of heaven. Believe and enjoy the wonder of the cross.
In this episode we will take apart the how and why Jesus died for us. Why does He have to suffer so much for us? What is the meaning of the shedding of His blood?
Why does Pilate go to the Judgment Seat to condemn Jesus? What is so threatening about Jesus that moves these leaders to kill Him? The power of the cross symbolizes the tremendous love of God for us and His desire to save our souls.
We will examine how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of His betrayal, rejection, and death. How does the Last Supper play into the prophecy of Jeremiah and the Jewish people?
All of this should stir a deep sense of love and humility for Jesus in all that He did and suffered for us. Imagine Peter saying I do not know the Man! Think of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and then Pilate. How does this fit into prophecy?
Abortion is perhaps the worst and most effective of Satan's weapons against the followers of Jesus Christ. This legal killing of babies can only be promoted in secular humanistic nations. It is driven by the antiChrist spirit which seeks to replace Jesus and God with a person who represents Satan. This end time war is in full throttle on many fronts. This war for global domination is aimed at those who love Jesus and believe in His Divinity. The antiChrist spirit undermines truth. Those who deny Jesus are liars, but Jesus has won this war for truth. He is coming soon to put an end to this war. Let us study what this war looks like today!
Over two years of global pandemic, sickness, death, loss of jobs and income. Russia invades Ukraine and puts us at the brink of nuclear war. China threatens to invade Taiwan and has a plan for world domination. Iran has a plan for Islamic world domination. Inflation, gas prices, drug epidemics…
We do not need another news alert to help us. We need a Jesus report straight from the word of God. Jesus has told us what will happen just as He told His disciples what would happen in their generation. Are you ready to hear, to be inspired to act and to be filled with hope?
Before Covid 19 hit I was ministering in Cuba. The Spirit spoke to me clearly that we were to break the curse of Babel in Cuba. In this podcast we will explore what we were led to do in Cuba and then for the nations of the earth.
God opened up His word to me and showed me what must be done to end the curse of division and strife and chaos in the nations of the earth. When we practice this truth it opens up incredible blessings for us.
In this podcast I share how the beast of Revelation, secular humanism, is in the last battles with Jesus and His people. Secular humanism will be defeated and Christ will reign. God wants to use you to stand for Jesus and to be cleansed from the corruption of secular humanism that are the tares of the last days that have infiltrated even the Body of Christ. We are in a tremendous war to see who will dominate the world, Jesus or secular humanism. Thank God we know Jesus has the victory for us!
Heaven sees the Supreme Court's decision on abortions as one worth rejoicing. Yet, the world of secular humanism fights to see how many new ways they can kill babies. Revelation tells us that God's judgments are righteous acts against the evils of Satan and humanity. They are sent to move people to repent. However, as we are seeing today the world is not repenting but rebelling against God's truth and love. This will bring further judgments until Jesus comes to make all things new. Life will triumph.
In this life we have man’s way and God’s way. Man’s way is deceptive and gives a false hope of life. It really ends in death. God’s way leads to righteousness and life. Jesus tells us many times that we will be held accountable as to how we lived as individuals and as nations.
Jesus is coming to reign as our Judge according to His standards, not ours. We need to understand the concept of nations in the Bible and how the principles of God apply to nations. This can help us in how we pray and vote for our own nation.
Secular humanism is the beast of Revelation and the ideology that Satan is using to wage war on the saints in these last days. We need to be reminded Jesus has won the war, but the battle rages for the soul of humanity. I share an inspiring story that will motivate us to endure the persecutions we face in these last days. God wants to use you to awaken a church and a world that is asleep in the seduction of secular humanism. May the fire of God fill you with power.
The halls of heaven are rejoicing in the Supreme Court's decision on abortion, while the secular humanists of Satan are shouting with clinched fists against the decision. Their anger, hatred and threats reveal the true nature of their belief to impose their world domination on the followers of Christ. The Bible prophecies that the abortion issue will be a sure sign that Jesus's return is imminent. History testifies to this prophetic fulfillment that will happen in the season of His return.
This final teaching of Jesus I believe has often been misapplied or not understood in what it means to us. We will take an in depth look at Jesus as the coming Judge of nations and of individuals.
There are principles that are not being used by believers and nations. Many will fall under the judgment if they are not careful to understand what His parable means, especially when it comes to Israel. We need to hear what the Spirit is saying to us and to our nation.
Jesus challenges us to be about our Father’s business in being the best stewards of all He has given us. We are to use our resources to build His kingdom and not be fearful He will not supply His riches for our needs.
Do not hold back or be fearful. Trust in Jesus and His provision. Those who learn this valuable lesson will prosper and be richly rewarded in the next age to come. Will you be one of those faithful servants?
As Jesus continues to teach us how we should live in this season of preparation for His return He gives a powerful word meant to awaken those who are asleep or unprepared for His Second Coming. He is truly addressing those who are in church, who think they are ready but are not.
This lesson is so important for today in a church that is filled with false teaching and corruption. God will not compromise His truth when it comes to judgment and reward. Let us look at what this parable on the ten virgins has to say to us, so we know we ready!
The third parable of Jesus defines for us how we should live in the Master’s house. We are to be faithful to Him and wise in our lifestyle. Obedience is key to serving Jesus as He expects us to live. Secular humanism has corrupted the lifestyle of believers today.
This is another sign of His return. The Master’s house is full of obedient and disobedient servants. Those who live in faithful obedience will be greatly rewarded. Those who fail to live a lifestyle of holiness and love will suffer God’s judgment. This especially applies to our leaders!
Jesus’s parable about the days of Noah challenges us to be watchful and ready for His return. We are to be about the purposes of Kingdom and what He told us to be and do in this season. Too many are consumed with the purposes of this world, while ignoring the greater purposes of God.
Let us get our house in order and protect our households from the thief who comes to destroy us. What does it mean to be ready and alert for His coming? Are we walking in victory or defeat in the standard Jesus gives us, not the world’s standard.
The fig tree is ripe, know that Jesus’s return is near. We are the last generation before He comes again. Why do I believe that? Because the prophecies tell us so. Let us study the word of the signs Jesus gave us and look at Revelation 6.
The scroll with seven seals is the detailed account of what unfolds throughout human history as Jesus prepares the world for His Second Coming. Let us be wise and not fools in these momentous days in which we live. Let the word of God come alive!
The war between Russia and the Ukraine continues. How should we respond to this as foretold in the prophecies of Jesus? Jesus gives us the answers in His 5 parables in Matthew 24 and 25. These are great insights into our day and how we should live.
Jesus expects us to know these parables and teachings. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide and empower us to live as Jesus commands. We are to be about the purposes of God! Jesus expects us to now these teachings and to live them out.
The prophecies of Jesus’s return begin with Jerusalem and end on a global scale. Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in Matthew 24:15-31. He also ties in the great tribulation as part of this prophecy.
Today, we see great tribulation, especially since 2001 throughout the Middle East, but also in the Holocaust and throughout the world in the last 100 years. The common thread in His prophecies is deception. False prophets and false Christs will do wonders to deceive even the elect.
All the signs are before as given by Jesus. What will you do in response to His truth?
As we see the horrors of war in the Ukraine flash across our screens, I cannot help but think of Jesus’s prophecies and the last days, especially in Matthew 24 and 25. Our prayers go out to the people of the Ukraine, Russia and the world.
Let us take a look at the difficult passage of Matthew 24:15-31, especially “the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet Daniel.” I believe this has a twofold meaning and application that will help us understand the season in which we live. God and Jesus both expect believers to know the times in which we live!
Imagine being told that within 40 years Washington D.C. would be destroyed. Could you believe that? Yet, Jesus foretold that concerning Jerusalem and it happened. He also told us what would happen in our global community and it is unfolding before our eyes.
The door to understanding world events is open to us through the words of Jesus and the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Let us look at the teachings of Jesus so we can be prepared for what is coming to our door.
Global war is upon us in the spirit realm and in the physical realm. Jesus told us all these things would happen before He returned. Jesus was the first global prophet. In Matthew 24 and 25 we can see the world today and the signs of Jesus’s Second Coming.
Monsters will arise like Putin to spread the antichrist spirit before Jesus comes. We need to hear the prophecies of Jesus, know them and live them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Good wants to use our lives to defeat these monsters and spread the word of life.
In this podcast I share my story of why I know Jesus’s return is imminent. What would you do if you knew He was coming soon. We are the last generation before this great prophecy will unfold. We see the signs of the preparation of His return all around us.
What are you doing to help prepare the way for our King to come? What is your body of believers doing? God’s favor can be on your life. You can live a life of great adventure for Jesus if you partner with Him and hear His voice and obey.
Here am I Lord, send me!
The world and its systems of thinking and living will lead to hopelessness and death. Its darkness clouds our minds with foolish concepts that deceive us with a sense of truth.
Jesus came to leave us with hope and a way of life that surpasses all other lifestyles. His light will pierce the darkness and fill us with a hope that is absolute in its fulfillment in the kingdom of God. In the storms of life Jesus and His way will leave us standing strong in the Lord.
We are in a global war for the souls of humanity. Will you join us in this holy crusade?
The horrors of the Texas and Buffalo mass killings haunt us as a nation. The mass graves in the Ukraine should convict us of our sins. The murder of babies in the mothers’ wombs should bring us to our knees in repentance.
The prophecies of Jesus in Revelation 9 tell us the world will not repent but continue in its murders…I want to share a story about the victory we have over death and what our response can be to inspire life in a culture of death.
We know from prophecy that the murders will increase until Jesus comes again. We need to be messengers of life until that day happens.
Inner division within our mind and soul is our greatest enemy. It will bring upon us woes that can lead us away from Jesus. Our heart desire needs to be one with Jesus and one within ourselves and one with others.
Keep our eyes on Jesus and His call upon our lives. There is only one Christ and One Father. There is only one teacher, Jesus. Now that He has sent the Holy Spirit, He will teach us the ways of Jesus through His word.
We need to know Jesus and His vision to walk in the oneness Jesus prayed for us to have.
The Father has given Jesus a mission to expose and destroy the false religious system of His day. By faith He will cast it into the sea. He will replace the ways of man with Himself. Today, we are called to expose and bring down the corrupt systems of men with the truth of Jesus. We need to understand the seriousness of our battle. For God’s judgment will come upon those who follow the ways of the world.
The global culture and system of Babylon is designed by Satan to indoctrinate generations into a worldview that ends in death. Only Jesus can penetrate this darkness.
Jesus teaches us how to win the battle against those who would undermine us and seek to ruin us. When Jesus is in Jerusalem He is confronted with those who hate Him. We can learn some valuables lessons from Jesus in how he dealt with these people.
Jesus knew the battle was spiritual. He knew the truth and had the authority to speak it without compromise. He exposed their foolishness and lack of understanding.
God has equipped us with the same tools. Let’s learn how to use them to our advantage.
Jesus exposes the evil of the religious leaders of His day. They are unworthy of His kingdom and of His Father’s house. They are wicked and hypocrites. They are mistaken in their understanding of God, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. They do not know the law of love and do not apply the commandments as God desires. Therefore, they do not know who Jesus is as the Son of David.
We face these same issues today within the Body of Christ, but as Jesus’s story tells us through the end of the Gospel of Matthew our hope and eyes must be on Jesus. God has a plan and we must not let the sinfulness of leaders distract us from the glory of His Resurrection and life!
Jesus used parables to teach us His truth. We must beware of wolves in sheeps’ clothing. The danger of being religious as opposed to knowing Jesus and His truth. Beware of leaders who seek to kill the true Jesus with their words and actions.
The writers of the New Testament wrote to warn us of these wolves as tools of Satan. Beware for they seek their own gain and will bite and tear and devour any who will follow them.
I am always looking for the insight and wisdom I need to make good, solid decisions. God expects us to have this knowledge to live a victorious life, because He gives us what we need in wisdom and direction to have a godly vision and plan for living.
Faith is one of the keys to knowing this wisdom and then acting upon it. What is this faith that overcomes our doubts? Jesus teaches us the answer and our experiences of faith will build the spiritual muscles we need to move mountains!
What happens when your dream comes true but then turns into a nightmare? Jesus experienced that in His life. He entered Jerusalem in triumph, but that fame soon turned to tragedy.
Jesus teaches us how to live a faithful life for God and how not to be seduced by cries of the world. This lifestyle comes from knowing Jesus and knowing who we are in Christ.
Just as Jesus was secure in knowing His Father, we can have that same security and trust that will see us through the nightmares of life.
God created us for greatness in this life and in the next one. But what is genuine greatness as compared to what the world defines as greatness? Jesus tells us greatness comes from having the heart of a servant in His kingdom.
Let us define what this greatness is through the teachings of Jesus. Knowing these truths and then living them out will transform your life and give you a new vision for living. In knowing Jesus we can have a vision for greatness!
All of us hunger for success in life. We want to provide for our families and give them the best we can. But what is true success in this life and what is it we should pray to give to our families?
The key to success as Jesus taught in this life is living in oneness of Jesus and His Father. Success is having a love relationship with Jesus and living out His truth and way of life as He taught it.
Let us see if we can define this way of life from the teachings of Jesus.
Jesus continues His teachings on our most important issues in life. After He shares on marriage, He demonstrates how we are to bless our children, which is the fruit of marriage and has the highest of values in our family.
I will talk about blessings our children and also the battle for the soul of our nation in the war on our children concerning abortion. These are all tied to the meaning of eternal life and the new birth Jesus died to give us.
The greatest treasure and joy in this world is eternal life. It is all centered in Jesus’s love for you!
Jesus on His way to Jerusalem continues to give us insight in how to live with hope and victory in life. He teaches us about marriage and divorce, celibacy, how to have the faith of a child, and how to have eternal life.
I will go into greater depth on how to have a successful marriage full of life and how to prevent divorce. Marriage is at the heart of understanding our covenant with God in Jesus Christ and what it means to live a holy life.
While there are many questions and mysteries yet to be answered about the meaning of the Book of Revelation, we can agree on four prophetic promises that summarize the hope and comfort Revelation is meant to give us.
We can understand our world today if we know what these promises from Jesus are. They will inspire us in our life for today and our hope for the future. They will spur us to action as we prepare the way for Jesus to return.
We live our lives according to chronological time. Our age is counted in birthday time. Our most precious memories in anniversary time. Everyday our schedules are set by time. We treasure our time together. We lament our hard times. When I was a kid I anxiously awaited the arrival of my cousins at Christmas time. I wished time would go faster. On my honeymoon I hoped time to stand still.
God’s gift to us is time. The sun and moon were placed in orbit for us to measure solar and lunar years. He gave us the seasons of the year to measure on how we are to plan our lives. Time is our friend, but sometimes we feel enslaved to time by payments we owe or in the toil of our work schedules.
However, there is a time that transcends our physical measure of time. God’s time determines our history and destiny. The Greeks called kairos God’s time and kronos humanity’s time. Our Creator uses kairos to set in motion the salvation of our souls. Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
When God’s time enters our time prophetic words are fulfilled. God does for us what we could not do in our own time. He saves us from sin and death to a new life in Jesus Christ. Paul continued to write in this passage that the bondage we were under to Satan was broken in God’s time. We were set free to love God, to love ourselves, and to love others.
The mystery of life often plagues us and confuses us with its darkness. Jesus gives us clarity into the meaning and purpose of life, which inspires us in how we should live. The first purpose is eternal life in His kingdom. The next is how we should live together in His kingdom.
We should do all to heal and mend relationships. How we should act with a brother who sins against us. How this is so important to live healthy lives, because we do sin against one another. How we can forgive those who have hurt us terribly.
I will share an amazing story of how one family forgave the murderer of their son.
Who will be with Jesus in heaven for eternity? The words of Jesus and His prophecies teach us about the Jews and Gentiles and our destiny. Revelation and Romans explore the mystery of what will happen to the chosen people of God, Israel and the Jewish people.
You may be surprised what John and Paul write about the Jews as inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ and His blood are at the center of their focus. Where will the Jews spend eternity? The answer may surprise you as it did me.
The promise of utopia where humanity somehow establishes a city, nation or world where all the trauma and oppression, and inequality of life is wiped away has been the bane of our global community. Somehow these fairy tales and attempts to create a new world order end in failure and death.
The communists killed and murdered tens of millions of people in the 20th century to bring about their perfect society. It ended in shambles and revolution. Today secular humanism, of which communism was one of its expressions, seeks to rid us of all the evils we have created, only to deliver war, oppression, and the silencing of any voice that tries to debate its inability to save us.
I find the only hope for our future is in Jesus Christ. God alone can deliver us from our woes and wars upon one another. Let us look to what Jesus will do as He will return to us to make all things new.
When I read Revelation 21, I am so awed by its glory, wonder and promise, I realize my words will fail to capture what Jesus is saying to us. We live in a world of sin, death, and suffering. Jesus is declaring to us a new world order far beyond what humanity can promise or deliver.
Jesus is constantly teaching us in His lifestyle, in His words, and by His parables. As He heads to Jerusalem to die for us, Matthew gives us a series of teachings concerning the kingdom of heaven and how His followers should live in His kingdom while on earth.
He will deal with our pride, the danger of leading others into sin, God’s heart that none should perish, the evils of this world, and the goodness of His kingdom. Let us learn more about how we can honor and please our Father as His children and be aware of the dangers that come against our households.
The Bible is full of details that we often skim over which can cause us to miss a major revelation and limit our walk with Jesus. If we take time to hear the Spirit speak to us we can use that revelation knowledge to become more like Jesus and grow in our maturity.
Let’s take a look at Matthew 17 verse 1 and see how a little detail can inspire us and teach us how to better interpret the Bible and not misinterpret the word of God. Are we in the sixth day and preparing for the seventh day of Jesus’s return in His glory to judge the living and the dead.
We find ourselves confronted with the viciousness and terror of war on a daily basis as filmed in the Ukraine. As horrifying as this war is, there is a greater war that Revelation prophecies for us. Let us explore this war that is and will be fought in the spirit and in the physical realm.
Who are these enemies of Jesus and what is happening and what will unfold in the future? How does this affect us and what should we be doing in this battle for the souls of humanity?
Jesus takes His closest disciples to see the supernatural transfiguration of Jesus into the realm of glory. This is an overwhelming expression that Jesus is no mere mortal. Let us ask the Holy Spirit the meaning of this event and why we can experience such glory in Jesus Christ.
For me, to experience the glory of God increases my faith to move the mountains of this world and to defeat its giants that we face.
We all need encouragement in our faith, so how can we put ourselves in the position to experience the supernatural of God’s glory? Jesus in John 17 prayed that we would receive His glory. Why do so many believers hardly ever experience this glory?
What happens after we die? Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 16. It depends on who you follow.If one follows self or the world, you lose your eternal destiny with God.
If you follow Jesus you gain everything for forever. Peter’s confession of Jesus is not enough. One must deny self, take up one’s cross and follow Jesus. This is the true definition of faith.
What good does it do to gain the whole world only to lose one’s life? Am I living for myself and to impress the world? Then I have missed the meaning of life in Jesus Christ. I need to have the right confession of Jesus and then follow Him, then I will gain the meaning of life and its treasures for all eternity.
I choose Jesus. Who do you choose?
Shocking New York Times article declared we need to kill the God of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as posted over the weekend. Was secular humanism winning the war for the soul of not only America, but the world? Then on Tuesday I received what I believed was the Holy Spirit revelation concerning the war being fought by Satan against God’s people.
I was studying Revelation 13 in my discipleship group. The more we went through this chapter on the 2 beasts, the more I saw a sobering answer to my question that plagued my mind from the Monday op-ed piece. Were the two beasts that John saw rise from the sea and from the earth actually symbolic of secular humanism?
Let me make a proposal, does not secular humanism fit the description of both beasts, especially in the context of chapters 10-14? Read the chapter and replace the word beast with secular humanism. Let me explain what unfolded in my eyes.
Inspiration is the spark that ignites a beautiful thought of God and self that leads to action. We discover the joy of doing what is right to please God even though it will cost you!
Why does Jesus rebuke Peter in Matthew 16 after He has just praised Him? Peter knows who Jesus is, but He has missed why He came to earth. Jesus rebukes Peter as foolish for having the mind of man instead of having the mind of God.
Jesus will not allow even His closest friends to undermine His mission. We need to be inspired to not only know who Jesus is, but to know His mission and how we fit into that vision today.
Let me share with you my story of how I learned this lesson of suffering for Jesus.
The Gospel of Matthew was written to prove to Jews and all who would read it that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of Abraham and the Son of David. Chapter 16 brings his readers to Peter’s confession of faith in who Jesus is.
What evidence has been given to demonstrate Jesus is the Son of God? Why are the disciples the first to come to confess who He is?
What is pure confession and what does it mean for us? The world denies who Jesus is. What does this conflict mean and how can we walk in victory against the opposition of the world?
We move the heart of God by the flow of faith that comes from our heart as the Gentile woman proclaimed to Jesus. Jesus honors her by healing her daughter. The next story we are given is when Jesus is moved by compassion to heal the multitudes that come to Him. He then feeds them physical food after three days of sitting at His feet.
When a heart has the good soil of faith Jesus is moved to act. Good soil is represented by our faith in Him and a hunger for the things of God. Faith can move mountains. Hunger for God will be satisfied with His righteousness.
Let me share with you how I have seen throughout the world what happens when people of faith move the heart of God.
Jesus, the Master Psychiatrist, nails us with His insight. We all have a heart problem. He told us about this inward division in the Sermon on the Mount. We were created to serve one Master, God. Instead, we try to serve the idol of self and God. This conflict does not end well if we do not come to love and serve only God as our Master.
Paul says that we can be wholly sanctified. What does that mean and how does it relate to my heart issue and the call of God to love Him with all of my heart?
God can give us a heart transplant. He has a solution to our inner war. Let’s discuss what that is.
This is a follow up to the prophetic word I received on March 17, 2022. I did a podcast on what is unfolding in today’s world with the prophetic word I believed I received from the Holy Spirit.
Secular Humanism is the Pandora’s Box of our day. It is humanity’s attempt to solve our own problems and manifests itself in many forms. Despite our best efforts we only make our global problems worse.
In this podcast I will present God’s answer through His prophetic word in Jesus Christ. We can have hope in the midst of the hopelessness and deception of this world.
Jesus is at a low point in His life. Like us He experiences rejection and attacks against Him personally. How does Jesus handle this? How does He overcome discouragement and rejection?
Plus, Jesus needs to help His disciples overcome these same attacks. Jesus sets out to renew their faith. How we need this at times in our walk of faith. Jesus will show us in this chapter and how we can apply His truths to our lives to walk in victory.
God promises that our lives will be full of fruit and abundance in His kingdom if we learn to apply these truths to our lives.
In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us insights into the understanding of God’s kingdom. He teaches in parables the truth of God. Only with Holy Spirit revelation can we come to know the secrets of the kingdom of God.
His truth guards our minds from the deception of this world. God has the answers we need, not the world. Man’s way leads to death. God’s way leads to life and blessings. In this podcast we will discover what some of these hidden secrets are.
Most of us do not like confrontation. In Matthew 12 Jesus deals with the opposition that comes from the religious leaders. As He lives out His faith, He does it in ways that do not conform to their man made religion and interpretations of the Law.
We will face a similar confrontation in our walk with Jesus. As Jesus was confronted, His revelation truth poured forth. Believe that God will give us Holy Spirit revelation and knowledge to overcome these attacks in our lives.
Let us be faithful to follow Jesus and not the humanistic arguments and philosophies of men. Let us stand with Jesus against the sin of this world.
Matthew 11 is one of my all time favorite passages of Scripture. Jesus tells John the Baptist why He is the Messiah. He does not give a theology thesis, but reminds him of His miracles. This truth needs to be reawakened in our churches today!
When I go to Zambia, the people come to Christ through His truth, but it is usually in the demonstration of power in signs and wonders and miracles. It is after these works of grace that Jesus then calls them to Come to Him!
The world today is weary of covid, war, sickness, death, civil strife, man made religion. Entertainment and all other forms of escape tempt us to try to temporarily soothe our souls. In the end it is only the Prince of Peace that can give us rest.
This sending out of the twelve apostles is a historic event in the building of Christ’s kingdom. Jesus gives them specific instructions which we will learn and then need to apply in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just as this first commission changed the world, as we go out for Jesus we will impact the world. This is the spiritual warfare of the Global War we fight daily for Jesus. As we step out in faith to obey His command to go, God will increase the scope of our call to go with love, urgency and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
The story of Jesus and the paralytic and his four friends teaches us about Jesus’s power to forgive our sins. How we need God’s forgiveness for our salvation, but also daily forgiveness that keeps our love relationship with Jesus fresh and open and growing in intimacy.
To prove His authority and power to forgive our sins, Jesus heals the paralytic. He rises up to walk as we rise up to a new life in Jesus. This story should give us great joy and enhance our freedom to love as Jesus loves.
In Matthew 8, we read that Jesus has begun His ministry with great success. He has preached and taught of the kingdom of heaven. Many have been healed and delivered by His power. Thousands have been drawn to this miracle worker. I chapters 5-7 He has given then His way of life.
Let us look at His miracles to understand His authority and power and how we can apply this to our lives for His glory. He has power over sickness, demons, and nature. He has given this authority and power to us. Let us learn to show His glory to the world that He is the living God and Savior who has come to redeem us and lead us into His kingdom.
I have seen these miracles around the world and even in Central Florida where I live. You can too!
When I study the Sermon on the Mount, I am often convicted with the call to oneness. It is one of the major teachings of the Bible, yet, I rarely if ever hear a message on this oneness. What is it and how can we experience this beautiful oneness within ourselves?
Jesus points out that our problem is inner division because of our sin nature. We fail to obey God, because we sin. This sin corruption causes us to lose the oneness of God that He created us to know in His image. We fail to serve one Master because we are inwardly divided.
God is One…Jesus taught on this oneness. He prayed we would know this oneness. He called us to this oneness. He sent the Holy Spirit so we could experience this oneness. We can serve only one Master. How do we get to this oneness?
Jesus continues to show us who we truly are and what our need is. He wants us to examine our hearts and be convicted by the Holy Spirit so we will go on to a deeper life in Him. Is our heart truly seeking God and His righteousness or are we still divided in our inward heart?
Are we knocking, asking, seeking after Jesus to please God? Have we entered by the narrow gate and found the abundant life in Jesus? Are we building our lives on Jesus and His truth or the false philosophies of men? Do our lives withstand the storms of life or do we fall apart and chase after the things of the world to escape our misery?
Are we experiencing the deeper life of sanctification in the Holy Spirit because of our love for Jesus?
I received these prophetic words on the night of March 17 as I watched the news of the Russian-Ukraine War. I hesitated to write these words out and to share them, but I am compelled by the Spirit to awaken the world to the coming of Jesus Christ.
A deep, ominous sense of darkness came over me concerning the world situation. Something evil has been released across the earth, as though the four winds and the four horsemen have been released, as though permission to the demonic has been given to reap destruction on this spaceship earth.
Our leaders are blind. Deceived, they cannot see what must be done concerning the survival of humanity. The wisdom and courage that comes from God is withheld from them. Only God can bring about the salvation we need.
IN the Sermon on the Mount Jesus builds His case against, to convict us of our need for Him and His sacrifice.. He is the One who can fulfill the Law and the Prophets. We cannot. He exposes our sinfulness and need for God’s forgiveness. He alone can save us from our sins.
In Matthew 6 Jesus exposes our religious sinfulness. We give for the wrong reasons. We pray for the wrong reasons. We fast for the wrong reasons. We do these religious acts with the wrong motives to be seen and heard by others to boost our egos. We are more about status and recognition instead of pleasing God.
We lay up treasures on earth, but neglect storing up treasure in heaven. We have an eye problem that allows darkness into our heart. The root source is we were created to serve One Master, but we try to serve other masters like ourselves, the world, and whatever will feed our desires.
What is the answer?
Think of this, Jesus never murdered anyone in His heart. He never sinned with anger. He never held a grudge or gossip or lied or lusted after a woman. He never broke a promise. He never returned evil for evil. He was perfect as His Father in heaven is perfect.
Jesus pointed out to His listeners, no one but Him could ever satisfy the requirements of God’s laws. They needed something more than the sacrifice of animals to deal with their sins. They needed a Savior, the Lamb of God who would take away their sins. His words would lead them to Himself.
Jesus understands the corruption of sin in the human heart. We struggle with temptation and sin. He came to give us the victory we so desperately need. His saved us from the wrath of God and reconciled us to God in love.
Do we realize what a tremendous gift this is? What was the cost? Where would we be without His perfect sacrifice? THe value of His gift is immeasurable!
Jesus’s teachings have shaken the foundation of His Jewish followers. Has He come to replace the Law and the Prophets? No, Jesus moves to reassure them that He has not come to destroy but to fulfill. In Him all the teachings that God had given them will be complete in Him.
What does that mean for us today? Jesus came to transfer our vision for living from the Law to Himself, while He will preserve all that Moses and the Prophets have given the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus preserves the past in order to to the world the salvation of God for today and forever.
Jesus goes on to teach them the deeper meaning of what it is to follow Him. Freedom from the Law, but also a far more sacrificial life of denying self, taking up one’s cross, and to follow Him in His new commandments.
Jesus has taught us in the Beatitudes who we are and what we have in our covenant relationship with Him. Now He teaches us who we are to be to the world. We are to be salt and light to a hopeless and dark world.
The world is out to rob us of these precious gifts of salt and light. Salt adds flavor and hope. Light gives us God’s truth and what is right. We are to keep alive these inspirations of hope and life against the endless onslaughts of humanistic religions and secular humanism.
Wherever Jesus went He brought life, which inspired hope. He has given Himself to us to the same in us.
As Jesus unfolds for us the treasures of God’s kingdom, we learn what we should pray for that God would develop in us: a humble spirit, a willingness to enter into the suffering of others, and the Divine strength of God to lead us in fulfilling the purposes of God in contrast to the worldly desires that seek to lead us in the ways of humanity away from God.
Jesus will reveal to us one of the great principles or secrets of the universe, we will reap what we sow. If we sow love, we will reap love. If we sow anger, we will reap anger. If we sow mercy, we will reap mercy. If we sow lust, we will reap lust.
Jesus teaches us what we must hunger and thirst for! I will sahe a personal testimony that will inspire you to this life of greatness.
Jesus is teaching us how we are to live in this life to reflect the image of God in us. It is an impossible task. Yet, nothing is impossible with God. Jesus does not hoild back nor does He compromise His truth and expectations of us.
Remember when He called Simon to follow Him, Jesus changed His name to Peter. He was telling Peter if you follow Me, I will bring out the God potential in you. You will become far more than you ever dreamed you could be.
Let us take a look at how Jesus will do this in your life!
Before we explore further who it is to be blessed by God, let’s look at what the blessings are. We are all motivated by rewards. God created us that way. We need inspiration to help us achieve. Except in this case we do not earn these rewards by our good works. They are the fruit of living in a love relationship with God. They are the blessings of belonging in God’s family through the blood covenant of Jesus Christ.
These blessings that we will discuss are primarily relational and spiritual in nature. They are for now and in the future. They transcend and exceed what the world offers. They are at the heart of every person ever born in that we desire to have, but cannot experience apart from a relationship with God. They are gifts that can only be received in God’s kingdom.
God created Adam and Eve and blessed them. Jesus came to restore us to these blessings and to teach us how to live in these gifts from God. We were created to be blessed, to have God’s favor, to experience shalom. Everyone has an inward desire to be blessed.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see who are the blessed ones in the kingdom of heaven. We will discover that all these blessings are open to all people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. They are not based on wealth or intelligence or inheritance or luck or fate or health or skin color. All of us can have these blessings that reflect Jesus and the image of God.
The goal of human living according to Jesus is to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect as Jesus states in the Sermon on the Mount. This perfection is rooted in one’s devotion to a Person, Jesus Christ. We are to be imitators of Jesus in our lifestyle. Impossible with our own strength, but nothing is impossible with God. Remember this is an ideal.
Jesus lived in a state of blessedness. Jesus gives us nine blessings, but these are at the heart of being blessed by God. There are more blessings than these nine. Let us focus on these nine and what it means for us to live a life of blessing. You will be amazed at what we will learn, what this means and how it applies to us.
We are coming out of the covid pandemic. What a battle it has been for physical and spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us one of the greatest weapons to fight this battle of faith. The evils of Babylon are now world wide. Our war for salvation is Global.
The words of Jesus give us the weapons to win this war for they pierce the human heart with the light of God.
As Moses went up on the mountain to meet God, Jesus sat on the mountain and the people came to Him to meet God. Let us unlock the treasures of His words to walk in triumph over the forces of evil.
It breaks my heart when I have people come to me that say their church never lays hands on the sick for healing or do deliverance or teach the Bible as the word of God or never practice the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yet, this is what Jesus went about doing as He began His ministry in all of Galilee. We are to do greater works than Jesus did. Let us awaken to who we are in Christ and what He has given us to do His work. Let us be baptized with the Holy Spirit and have the faith to do what Jesus did.
Jesus said go into the world to make disciples. That means get out of the pews and start with our neighbors, friends, and enemies with our witness to who Jesus is.
It should have been front page news. The world should have been rejoicing and shouting praises to God. All of Israel should have been awakened to Jesus as He begins His ministry of salvation to the Jews and eventually to every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Yet, in the remote land of Zebulon and Naphtali His prophetic ministry shines its light into the darkness. Jesus has come to save His people from their sins. So, He starts His ministry by coming men to follow Him.
Good often works in small things to see how faithful we are before He gives us a bigger light to shine. Let us pour our lives into a select few as Jesus did to impact the world with His light!
Imagine not eating or drinking for forty days and nights in the wilderness. How weak would you be or even be alive? Jesus does this and then goes to battle with Satan.
Let’s examine the three temptations He faced and apply them to our lives so we can get victory. He is tempted with hunger, with foolishness, and with idolatry. How does Jesus show us how to get the final word with our temptations?
Why has much of the world rejected the Bible and its authority and power? What spiritual weapons do we need to fight the good fight of faith? Do not let the world rob you of the mighty weapons we have in Jesus.
When we connect the dots of Scripture we gain greater understanding of Jesus and who we were created to be. The concept of wilderness is weaved throughout the Bible to teach us God’s salvation plan.
Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. The Hebrews were sent into the wilderness after leaving Egypt. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden into the wilderness.
Let us discover what all of this means for us so we can the glory of living in the Promised Land of our salvation.
At the end of chapter 3 in Matthew, Jesus prepares to begin His ministry. It is a powerful account of His humility, His fulfillment to identify with us and to deal with our sin problem,and the declaration of His Father from heaven of who He is and His approval of what He has done in being baptized to fulfill all righteousness.
Jesus teaches us the true meaning of humility, which can be misunderstood in our world of pride. In this podcast we will discuss humility and contrast it with the world’s understanding of humility and sin.
Matthew continues to connect the dots of Jesus and His fulfillment of the prophecies of God. We will examine some of these words as they help define who Jesus is and what that means for us today.
In chapter 3 of Matthew we are introduced to John the Baptist. Who is this radical character as a voice crying in the wilderness? How do we become the voice of God today?
The first coming of Jesus caused one prophet to be God’s voice to Israel. Now God is raising up men and women around the world to be His voice to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. How do you fit into this picture?
Since the world and Satan and even our self interests are out to block the redemption of humanity in Jesus Christ, God is an active participant in fulfilling His plan of salvation. He calls us to join Him in this marvelous adventure.
This truth entails the prophecies and promises of God. All through Matthew he will point out the prophecies given of the Messiah and how they are fulfilled in Jesus. He will also point out the miracles God does to insure His plan is completed.
Despite the increasing conflict and persecution of those of us called to join God in His plan, God is all powerful. His will will be done. Let us cry out for the courage and strength and the wisdom to be God’s instruments and messengers of hope and life.
The human soul struggles with truth. This dilemma is brought out in the early chapters of Matthew that lead to Jesus’s teachings and solution.
The wise men hunger for truth and show us the call to obedience when we discover the truth. Herod represents the wicked heart of humanity that is given the truth, but rejects it to protect our won worldly, self interests.
The wise men gain joy in the truth of Jesus as they worship Him. Herod brings death and will experience death in his denial of the truth of Jesus. This is what the world struggles with today in our Global War for the human soul!
Who was this mother of Jesus? Who was His Father/father? What does it mean that Jesus was the Seed of Abraham?
Why is Jesus unique in all of human history?Who is the new Adam and what does that man? How do we apply these truths to our lives?
How did the myths of the ancient world prepare for Jesus as the Son of God? How does this conflict with Caesar as god?
What does it mean that Jesus was fully God and fully human? What impact and inspiration should be on your life?
Today, we begin our study of the Gospel of Matthew, the very first story of Jesus in the Bible. I want to approach this revelation with a sacred search of who Jesus is.
We are told Matthew wrote this revelation to the Jews to show why Jesus is the Messiah. It begins with the genealogy of JEsus and ends with His commission to go to the world with the love and joy and hope of His salvation message.
We will discover fresh insight into Jesus and His mission, which imparts to us our purpose for living today. The Global War is all around us. Jesus faced persecution and death as the Son of God. He did it in the love and power of God. So can we!
I actually wrote and recorded this during the Christmas season, but it applies to every season of our lives. This morning I realized that the season of Christmas was upon me and I had done what I had done before. I let myself be robbed of the love and joy of Christ’s birth and what it truly means.
That thief Satan had stolen my joy as I allowed myself to get caught up in the stress of the Christmas season. The irony is so real as He came as the Prince of Peace to give us peace, yet often it is not a season of peace.
So I did what I needed to do…God touched me and He will touch you too. Let’s explore what that means.
As we fathom the depth of the meaning of life and its purpose for living, we begin to grasp that God is the Creator of life and has a purpose for life. We can see the abundance of life in its fruitfulness and multiplication. The love and joy of life is abundant.
Yet, there is a war against life. Recently I saw this as I visited Los Angeles, a city of tremendous wealth and life,yet full of suffering of the homeless along the streets and under the bridges. I see them outside my daughter’s home sifting through the garbage bins. I see the homeless living in makeshift tents and cardboard boxes. My heart aches when I see this waste and tragedy of human misery
As we wrestle with the question concerning the meaning of life and why we were born, we discover our answers in the truth of eternal life now. We need to come to grips with our relationship with God and our intimacy with Jesus Christ.
We will explore the wonder of knowing Jesus and knowing God in the holiness of His love. This love only enhances our love for spouse, children, friends, and enemies.
Our Creator is constantly teaching us how to live a life with vision and purpose found in His love. Let us learn how to apply these truths into our daily love relationships.
The other day I celebrated my birthday as did a million other people. For me, it was a wonderful day full of well wishing and celebration. I began to dwell on the concept of life. What does it mean to be born? What does the sacredness of human life mean? How have I used my life to love and honor God? How have I used my life to love and bless others?
In this podcast, we will explore the answers to these questions and discover how to apply God’s truth in our daily actions to fulfill God’s purposes. At the heart of this discussion will be the meaning of eternal life and what that implies in my love for Jesus.
There are persons and demons who are out to rob you of your love, your peace of mind, and even take from you the eternal life Jesus offers us. John 10 gives us the truth of what Jesus promises to us and warns of those people and demons who come to take His gift of life, abundant, everlasting life from you.
We will explore what the gift of eternal life means in our daily lives concerning His love and also the warning against those who would come into our house and steal from us this precious gift.
These false teachers, false prophets, and false christs are all sound us as thiefs, hirelings, and wolves. Jesus calls us to focus on Him and His word and be led by the Holy Spirit to live and walk in victory.
Love relationships can be full of beauty and wonder and joy. They can also become nightmares of betrayal, rejection, and deep hurt. The answer to lasting love is found in Jesus. In this world for truth to prevail, we must die to our selfishness and willful desires.
We must transform the old relational habits and trade them in for the new way to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus showed us the way on the cross and sent us the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and the way we relate.
Love is not easy, but in Christ we can be fruitful and know the wonders of healthy love relationships.
In the emotional conflict and pain of a relational situation we often forget our number two calling from God, to love our neighbor as yourself. As I dwell on Jesus’s words to love our neighbor, who in His Good Samaritan parable means everyone, even those we are supposed to hate, I regret that I have forgotten to love in my moments of arguments.
In this podcast, I will discuss the lessons in love I have learned through the word, the Holy Spirit, and my experiences. How we can get victory in our relational habits and overcome the failings of our relational habits.
I often think what a fool I have been most of my life.. The only thing or the only One that saves me from my foolishness is Jesus. God is about relationships bathed in His holiness and righteousness that expresses His love. In that truth we are blessed more than we can imagine or deserve in Jesus.
I have failed in a number of relationships, which tells the story of humanity. No matter how hard we try to maintain or fix relationships, they can fail. Yet, the primary ones in my life have lasted due to God’s favor and the love of my family and friends.
I share some of the lessons I've learned in walking with Jesus for over 40 years, 40 years of marriage, and forty years of friendships.
As we continue to draw our conclusions from our Revelation study, I am reminded today of Jesus’s prophetic teachings in Matthew 24 and 25. Three times He warns us that bin the season of His return it will be a time of deception. There will be false christs, false teachers, and false prophets.
We can see how this plays out in the Global War in which we are engaged in today. Christ’s truths battle Satan’s lies. We will explore what that means in our global community. Leaders is politics, business, religion, science, education, social engineering, scocial media, journalists…all lie to shape their own narrative for power and to make a name for themselves.
How do we discern Jesus’s truth from the deceptions that bombard us everyday disguised as good and the salvation of humanity?
In Revelation we read of the glory and majesty of God in heaven. The Bible tells us creation reflects the glory of God. I want to share a Thanksgiving testimony of how my family experienced the glory of God in the mountains outside of Los Angeles.
The splendor of God surrounded us in a scene that joined the heavens and the earth with an awe of one of those divine moments rarely experienced in our humanity. I praised God for the wonder of His Thanksgiving gift that filled my heart with His love and our love for one another.
You and I can look at Revelation and see that humanity had a need. We were trapped in a sinful world that persecuted and killed those who believed in God and tried to live out their desire to honor and please their Creator. So, they cried out to God to set us free and avenge their suffering.
God had a plan from the beginning to save us from ourselves. In His sovereign love for us, He devised a plan of action that required Him to become one of us in order to rescue us from our own sinful rebellion.
Thus, Jesus would become the Lover of our soul to rescue us from our own destruction. This would produce a love for Jesus in us that would carry us through to the perfection of God’s image restored in us for all eternity.
Jesus’s vision in Revelation ends with life. It concludes with His promise of His return. The final words are the cry of the human heart for Jesus to come and save us.
The Apokalypsis is the beginning and the end of God’s answer to our dilemma as followers of Jesus. It is connected with Genesis, which begins with the creation of life. In the darkness of Adam’s sin, we receive God’s promise of salvation. This becomes the search and cry of evey soul born.
Revelation takes us to heaven and back to earth. We are given the glimpse of the human struggle for life throughout time. It depicts the battles we face against the backdrop of heaven where Jesus reigns in the onder and glory of His creation redeemed by His blood. Jesus is the only answer.
Jesus’s last words focus on life. Revelation 22 begins with the river of life and the tree of life. The last chapter ended with the Book of life. Jesus has brought us out of death to life to live as God has life. No more curse, but only the blessings of God flow in our relationship with God and the Lamb.
The words quoted from Jesus speak His final words to us. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Jesus wants every believer to live as though He is coming today.
Be ready and be about our Father’s business. Part of preparation is awakening those around you to this call of Christ to live a lifestyle that honors and pleases our Father in heaven.
What do you imagine the believers in the seven churches are thinking as they hear the reading of Revelation at this point? They have suffered terribly for their faith. LOved ones have been killed, others tortured, and firends have lost their homes and businesses.
Now they are encouraged in their promised reward as Jesus says He will come and make all things new. No more tears, sorrow, suffering or death! We have an eternal family, an eternal home in New Jerusalem, and the blessings of God are ours.
The greatest treasure will be our love relationship with Jesus and the Father. We will come to know the perfect shalom and peace of life. No more enemies and no more sin. No more broken relationships. We will know the oneness and love and glory of God in ways we never could imagine!
In summary of the chapters 17-19, the beast has devoured Babylon as ordained by God, Jesus has come from heaven with His spiritual armies to destroy the beast and the false prophet, casting them into the lake of fire. Now Jesus has satan bound for 1000 years so he cannot deceive the nations.
I confess I vacillate on my understanding of the 1000 yer reign of Christ, the reign of the saints, and the final binding, then loosening of Satan after the 1000 years. Let us decode this mystery that has given rise to numerous theories from Augustine to Wesley to modern prophets.
Satan is finally defeated and cast into the lake of fire. The great white throne judgment comes against all those not written in the book of life This is a great comfort to all of us who are in the book of life. We need to celebrate this victory and hold fast to it in our times of persecution.
As we start to put together the final pieces of Revelation, we need to understand what John is writing. It is like a family party. The kids are playing in one room, adultes are talking in other rooms, and others are preparing food in the kitchen. Meanwhile events are also happening in the neighborhood.
John cannot describe all of these at once, so he takes one event at a time, knowing that they are happening all at once, then soome overlap, and others intersect. We have to in the Spirit grasp all of this in one ultimate vision from Jesus.
In Chapter 19 we begin with great rejoicing in heaven in the triumph of Jesus over Babylon. God reigns Omnipotent! Jesus is ready for His bride and the wedding feast. He also gathers His army to sweep in from heaven to destroy the beast, the false prophet, the kings and their armies, and eventually Satan.
We now enter the last stages of the Global War in the fall of Babylon as we are given the meaning of the great harlot and her desolation in chapter 17. God’s judgment comes upon Babylon swiftly. We have a grotesque description of the “Mystery, Babylonthe Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth.”
Drunk with the blood of the saints and prophets she rides atop the beast in a gaudy worldly vainglory. Her destination is destruction and perdition. The harlot makes war on the Lamb and His people. It is a global persecution that ends in total defeat of Satan’s whore.
The beast will consume the unholiness of Babylon as these two evils war against each other!
Chapter 18 describes for us how the nations will be consumed in this tragedy. America, Europe, and the oil rich nations of the MIddle East as well as the high tech companies and people of great and little wealth will all fall in one day!
In Revelation 16 the seven golden bowls of plagues are poured out in rapid succession. As terrible and frightening as they are, the angels of verse 5 and verse 7 proclaim that God’s justice is righteous, for it comes against those who have shed the blood of the saints and prophets.
The judgments now poured out will pave the way for the return of Jesus in chapter 19. In chapters 17 and 18 we will be given specific details in the fall of Babylon, this evil and corrupt world system that has entangled itself into the affairs of the global community.
The saints in heaven will rejoice in this victory of Christ over Babylon. It will inspire in us the hope of glory in Jesus Christ. No matter what we face in this life we are assured of the triumph of Christ over our enemies.
What we have discovered in Revelation is a series of repetitive prophecies concerning world history focused on the Jews and Christians and the spiritual warfare/tribulation we face as God’s people. With these prophetic words we are given the guarantee that both Jew and Gentile are safe in their covenant with God, worshiping Jesus as one in heaven.
Chapter 15 becomes another prelude to God’s judgments with the golden bowls filled with God’s wrath. We hear the singing of the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Their songs proclaim the righteous judgments of God over the nations in defending His people.
We will once again be taken into the throne room of God, His holy temple to see His glory as He prepares to wage war to avenge His saints!
Satan is angry and out to destroy the servants of God. We see a war in heaven and a war on earth. The Jews are protected from this demonic warfare by God as are the followers of Jesus.
This is intended to comfort the believers in John’s day at the seven churches and to comfort us in the worldwide persecution of JEws and Gentiles in these last days. In the past hundred years more Christians and Jews have been murdered, tortured, and attacked thatn in the previous 3000 years.
It says we overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Let us look at what this means for us today in the power of the cross and in Jesus’s love for us and how we are to give witness to what Jersus is doing in our lives today!
Revelation 11 dazzles us with its figurative language concerning the two witnesses. I am not about trying to decode all of tis prophetic language. We have scholars who can do this far better than me. I am called to wake us up as to how we should live in this season now!
The two witnesses have great power like the prophets of old and the believers today. They use their authority over nature against Satan, his demons, and those who reject Jesus and persecute the saints.
This gives us more insight into the time of the end when all who will not repent and believe will be destroyed by Jesus. When the 7th trumpet sounds we see Jew and Gentiles worshiping in heaven together.
CHAPTERS 8-11 give us an interlude before the 7th trumpet sounds. An angel comes with the sound of seven thunders, but his words are sealed until the time of the end. Wouldn’t we love to know his prophetic words for today!
John is called to prophesy as to the two witnesses, the Jews and Gentile covenants as they are persecuted for their faith. This leads me to the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25, which tell us how we should live in this season. I detail these teachings in my earliest podcasts from October 2020.
We are reminded, but fulfill His vision for this age . We are to be about our Father’s business as Jesus was. We are not to get caught up in the plans and purposes of this world. Hold nothing back and do not build bigger barns for ourselves.
Jesus unloosens the 7th seal to expand on our understanding of human history. Partial judgments come upon the earth similar to the plagues of Egypt. God is answering the prayers of the martyrs with His judgments.
The trumpets are a wake up warning to repent and believe in Jesus as one’s Savior. Yet, we learn the sins and idolatry of the unrepentant continue and even grow worse as we grow as a global community.
The three woes are released. We can see are true these prophecies are in our post modern world with the killing of babies, legalized sexual perversion, and the demiose of sexual morality even in the churches and synagogues.
This is Steve's first podcast on his newest book, "God and Cancel Culture." I was blessed to interview him. This is a must listen as Steve shares his wisdom on what is happening in our world today. The threat against Christianity is real and is occurring right in our own cities and towns. Wake up followers of Jesus and be inspired to cancel cancel culture and stand for Jesus without compromise!
Chapter 6 of Revelation ends with a question, “Who can stand the wrath of the Lamb? The answer is given in chapter 7. It is the fullness of the tribes of Israel with the Gentile believers from every tribe, nation and tongue. These are the servants of God.
For me, this questions modern theology concerning the Jews. These descendants of Abraham will be a continuing theme in Revelation of them worshiping Jesus. Paul says at one point all of Israel will see their Deliverer come out of Zion.
This should be a humbling understanding for us Gentile believers as Paul reminds us we have no right to pride in our salvation over the Jews. We have been grafted into their family. In chapter 7 we see Jew and Gentiles worshiping Jesus and proclaiming His reign.
We are left in awe at the end of Revelation 5. Jesus is exalted and worshiped as the only one who can receive the scroll from God that contains the summary of our life from Adam to Jesus’s Second Coming.
The first four seals are of the four horsemen that bring thoughts of Zechariak’s prophetic vision. I take these as the increasing events of our history as we grow to become a global community. It is not a kind review of war and the loss of peace. Civil strife multiplies to our present day with economic crisis in a world full of suffering and death.
The fifth seal gives us the cry of the martyrs for God to avenge their persecution and death. The rest of Revelation will be God’s answer to their prayers. The sixth seal brings us to the return of Jesus and the terror of His coming to those who have rejected Him!
In Revelation 5, Jesus steps forth as not only the Savior of humanity, but also the only one worthy to receive and hold the scroll that reveals the destiny of humanity. He is the Lion and the Lamb who is in complete charge of all of history.
This inspires all of heaven to worship Him in a song of praise that cannot be matched anywhere until He brings us all home to worship Him as one in His love and glory.
In love, respond to anyone who denies the Divinity of Jesus to read Revelation 5. I will share a story of what happened when I debated one who denied Jesus was God. We had an Elijah moment with the fire from heaven! Let us worship and praise Jesus together!
One of the great Christian leaders of our generation, Steve Strang, opens up to us about his new book, God and Cancel Culture. It is the most relevant book for our day. Steve shares with us why he wrote this book and explains the dangers of Cancel Culture and how we can win this Global War against our faith and freedoms. Steve and I share a great love for Israel and that is how we met in our partnership with Israel. He has led the way in our generation for the support of Israel. God has used him to bless Israel and to teach us the Biblical importance of Israel and the Jewish people. In my mind, Steve has been one of the most powerful, God ordained world changers for Jesus in our generation. Enjoy this delightful interview, be blessed, and buy his new book, Cancel Culture.
I love Revelation 4 and 5 as we are given a glimpse into the throneroom of God. It brings me to my knees in worship and praise to join the creatures and saints of heaven to worship my God and my Savior. As John is in the Spirit, these worship scenes can move us into the Spirit to the parise and glory of God.
John is now going to show us what must take place. All of this revelation must go through Jesus. As we study in the Spirit I will share a time I was taken in the Spirit as John and as Ezekiel were both taken in the Spirit to a moment of revelation.
In these chapters, John reminds us God and Jesus are still on the throne as God reminded Isaiah in chapter 6 of his prophetic book. Jesus is depicted here as God, worthy to be worshiped as His Father in heaven!
Jesus now writes seven letters to seven local churches in John’s day. We will discover that their meaning will apply to our day as just Revelation does to us. Thus, His letters become a global encouragement and warning for us in our Global War.
When I read these letters I am reminded that Jesus loves us and desires the best for us. I am inspired to go back and study His five parables in Matthew 24 and 25 that teach us how we should live in this season of preparing for His return.
Go back to my October and November podcast teachings on Matthew 24 and 25. Revelation prophecy is our invitation to participate in the salvation plan of God. These teachings of Jesus tell us how!
The second part of John’s vision of Jesus focuses on His humanity. Jesus is the Resurrected, glorified and ultimate expression of who we will be like. Think of it, we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye to be like Him!
Jesus is seen in the midst of the seven churches/seven lampstands. This tells us He is in our midst today. He knows us and is concerned about us as He will write to these churches and write to us through them.
Jesus’s authority and power is so striking he falls at His feet as though dead. John sees Him in His priestly royalty, in His eternal magnificence of wisdom and all knowing nature, in His unchangeable character full of power, which He commands with unrivaled authority.
Listen to my interview in studio on the Strang Report. We talk about my new book, "Greater Love." Learn how God downloaded the message of this novel of a Damascus Road experience that uses some of my personal experiences.
This revelation in chapter 1 of John’s vision of Jesus will later connect with his vision of Jesus in chapter 19 as He rides upon His white horse. Here, John hears His voice and turns to see Jesus standing before Him! That in itself is enough to bring us to our knees in worship!
The importance and power of verses 8-20 cannot be overstated in terms of understanding this Book of blessing. Verse 8 is so pregnant with meaning we could spend a day just meditating on the meaning of Jesus as the Alpha and Omega who encompasses all of human history.
Jesus is soon to unfold for us what this means in chapter 6 when He loosens the seals of the scroll of human history. There is no one like Jesus in His Wonder and Eminence as He has authority and dominion over our history.
God in Revelation unveils for us who Jesus is as both God and Man. Why? Because Jesus is the author and finisher of human history. He is the central figure in Revelation. The more we know who He is the more inspired and the more we will love Him.
John begins to define Jesus’s Divinity and then will move to describe Him as the Son of Man.
In Jesus’s own words He is the Alpha and Omega...the Almighty. There is no doubt in Revelation that Jesus is far more than a man. He is God
When I read of Jesus in the Apokalypsis I am reminded of Isaiah 9. This reveals to me that even in the Old Testament we are told God becomes a man. So, let us explore this truth together and be inspired to love and serve Him.
It is with a great sense of humility and prayer that I start this study of Divine Revelation of human history. I believe I take a unique perspective of putting Revelation into the context of our Global War today.
This is a follow up to I John and the prophetic word we received from John for us to fight the good fight of faith.
Revelation is given to us from Jesus Christ as a blessing for us and to understand the day in which we live. Human war began with Cain and Abel, then spread to war between groups, then tribes, then city-state, to kingdoms and nations, and it is global.
Where we are in the return of Jesus Christ is the answer we will seek and how we are to engage in the Global War of our day. I believe this will challenge your ideas and concepts of what the Apokalypsis means for us. I realize in writing that I don't have all the answers to Revelation, but I have the knowledge of how to do battle!
I woke up one morning and with this thought, What should a follower of Jesus do in a day? As I began to meditate on this thought, I realized this could be a complex and yet simple answer.
In this episode I share with you a powerful illustration that has impacted my life for many years. It is about getting the big rocks into your day and not filling it up with minor actions that have no eternal meaning.
I identify what I see as the big rocks and how important it is to get them into your daily life on a consistent basis. Pray for discipline and direction to fulfill this, which will lead you to great success in this life!
Another testimony in the stories I am experiencing as we launch my new novel, Greater Love. We were in prayer for God to give us direction for how to use this exciting action packed thriller concerning Jesus’ return, when God spoke to one of our leaders that we should send it to prisoners in jails and prisons.
God then led me to call Bill Glass prison ministries to see if they would distribute the book to prisoners. Bill had written the foreword of my first book, Visits to the Gate of Heaven. When I talked to one of their leaders they were blessed because they desperately need books in the prisons.
I then called Dallas County Sheriff's Department of Religion. When I spoke to the Chaplain, I was overwhelmed with tears of joy as I realized how God had opened the door to bless prisoners and fulfill Jesus’ command to go to them to minister to those incarcerated..
I just have to say God will bring beauty out of these ashes. Here is the link to order. Keep trying until your order goes through!
Thank you and God bless you richly.
https://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781662831829&HC_ISBN=9781662831836
Send the order to
Bill Glass Behind the Walls
1101 S. Cedar Ridge Dr.
Duncanville, TX 75137
Another personal testimony to influence us in how we can be active in this Global War. It is a call to discover one’s calling in this season of preparing for Jesus’ return. I tie this glorious gift from God to the launch of my new book, Greater Love.
As we launched this new work of ministry to prayerfully inspire people to awaken to Jesus’ return, I received a tremendous sense of the Body of Christ at work. People are looking to get involved in something world and life impacting Jesus. They experience great joy and love as they do something constructive for God.
I encourage you to order and read my book, Greater Love. Charisma e-magazine has a full page ad. All proceeds go to our mission work around the world and in Central Florida. Here is the link to order: https://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781662831829&HC_ISBN=9781662831836
It will make a wonderful Christmas gift and it will help save souls and make disciples around the world as we will use every penny to bless others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Preview of my new book https://youtu.be/OOtQ9djjoFQ
In this episode I share a personal testimony of God speaking to me of my need to love myself. I spent much time meditating on this concept of love for oneself. In my experience in ministry, most people may have an intellectual concept of this ove, but we struggle with truly applying it to our lives.
As my friend explained to me why this is, “We know ourselves too well.” We need to overcome this twisted concept and learn to love ourselves. Thus, I share how we can go about loving ourselves, not in an ego centered way, but in Biblical terms. Why and how does the BIble teach us to love ourselves? What is the foundation of this love that will set us free!
At the heart of this is allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds in order to see ourselves as God sees us. This is a process of sanctification or becoming more like Christ that will give us the ability to love God, oneself, others and our enemies. FREEDOM!
Preview of my new book https://youtu.be/OOtQ9djjoFQ
Using Paul’s writing to the Colossians, this tree of life planted in the heart of pagan Roman rule confronts the heresy of his day, but also speaks to the heresy we face today in the denial of who Jesus is.
As in our study of I John, these writings by Paul empower us to win the Global War we are engaged in today. The identity of Jesus is at the heart of this warfare, both spiritual and physical.
Paul goes into great detail into who Jesus is. He proves He is far more than a Man, but is the On who created all things in heaven and on the earth. Thus Jesus is God who became Man to save our souls.
Preview of my new book https://youtu.be/OOtQ9djjoFQ
As we summarize our series on Global Warfare, the key question we need to ask is, who is Jesus to you? This is the foundation of John’s prophetic words to us to win this Global War. He cannot just be an intellectual concept, but He must be who He truly is and in whom we place our faith.
One exercise that helps me so so much, is to write out who Jesus is to me and to say it and share it with others. This simple exercise has the power to inspire you and lift you up out of any discouragement or despair.
For me I define Jesus by His Word, by Holy Spirit revelation knowledge, and how He impacts my life in our love relationship. Jesus is everything to me and we need to learn to express this in how we live and share Him with others.
Preview of my new book https://youtu.be/OOtQ9djjoFQ
John is telling us there are truths and lies. There is a true Savior and false saviors. There is eternal life and Jesus is the true way to life. Satan and the world are out to deceive us. It is up to us to come to know Jesus and have eternal life by placing our faith in the Son of God.
Beware, there are monsters in this world who are out to destroy us and they appear as angels of light. We will lift up what some of these monsters could be in business, government, in the church…
It is so hard for us to see these people are monsters, because they do so many good things and so do their organizations, but they deny who Jesus is! They are monsters!
There are three overarching themes in John’s prophetic writings that teach us how to win this global war for the souls of humanity. Truth, Faith, and Love are the pillars of John’s answer for our battles today.
In this podcast we will explore what these mean and how we can use them to defeat the antichrist spirit. I John 5 enables us to see what Truth, Faith, and Love mean for God’s spiritual warriors.
John does not mince words. He tells us the world is under the power of Satan. He has so infiltrated our “Christian culture” that even the church struggles against his deception!
In I John 4, our Apostle of love addresses the antichrist spirit that permeates our world today. The antichrist spirit is one that denies who Jesus is and opposes the Deity of Christ.
This evil spirit embodies the Babylon system that has intertwined into the very fabric of the nations and cultures of this world. Its source is Satan, but it uses human beings to express its opposition to Jesus and all He stands for.
It controls our educational system, our judicial system, our political system, our economic system, and our religious system in America. That should shake us to the core of our being.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is the truth. He is God. He sets the standard for what is true. I John 2 gives us powerful insight into how we can determine what is true and what is deception and false.
Obedience to His commandments enables God’s Spirit to put His truth in us. Disobedience can keep us from the truth of God in us. Love for the things of this world that are bnot of God keeps us from truth.
Love for the Father and confessing who Jesus is will fill us with truth. All that John writes in this chapter alone gives us enough wisdom and insight to make a clear distinction between Jesus and the antichrist spirit and discerning the truth from what is a lie.
After completing my previous podcast I went into my prayer time and God gave me such revelation knowledge on how to get victory over temptation and sin, I immediately got up and found the passage in Scripture that the Spirit revealed to me.
After studying this word and taking some notes, I share what happened to me in prayer and what the Spirit taught me in the Scripture. It was a fresh revelation built on knowledge I already had.
This truth can give you victory over the temptations and sins that torment you. It released great joy in me!
One of the main heresies in John’s writing is that they were saying they do not sin. Sin was of the flesh and they were delivered from their flesh as spiritual beings. This falsehood has taken a slightly different form today, but it is so prevalent in the church, the denial of sin.
There are sins that are legalized now, so we deny they are sin and even practice them in the sin. I will address this heresy and expose it for the death it is. In the next podcast I will give an answer for victory over temptation, so we do not have to give in to our addictions and obsessions that lead to sin.
In this podcast I tie together the teachings of John with the reports on the state of the world church. We are in a global war for the souls of humanity. In the West we can feel as though we are losing this war, but the reality is Christianity has become a tidal wave of faith over the Southern Hemisphere.
I use Ron Jenkins book and a report from CBN to share how the salvation of Jesus is multiplying across Africa, China, and Latin America in unprecedented numbers. These are Pentecostals who love Jesus, believe the Bible, and are sacrificing their lives to spread the love of hope of glory.
Soon the center of Christianity and its power will not be in the West, but in the Southern Hemisphere. They are now sending missionaries to the West to cal, us to repent and believe in the real Jesus and His word.
Did John know that his love letter to the churches in and around Ephesus in 90 AD would have such a powerful and prophetic influence on us today in our global community? In his confrontation with the false teachings in his day, he enables us to confront the same false teachings today.
They denied who Jesus is and said we do not sin because we are spiritual beings. The physical is evil. Therefore God could not become man in Jesus Christ. God could not be evil.
These issues go to the core of our faith. John’s words would not be accepted today. Cancel culture would attack and try to destroy him.
In this podcast I use John’s testimony of eternal life in Jesus as the basis of answering the question that every person ever born has asked, “What happens to me when I die?” John in his love letter has the answer. Jesus has the answer because He is the answer.
John has strong words for those who deny who Jesus is. They are liars. The truth is not in them. They live sinful lives. They are not born of the Spirit. They are antiChrists.
Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Word who is God. Jesus is the Word who became a Man to live amongst His people. John testifies he knows Jesus and who He is. Faith in Him leads to eternal life!
This begins a series of teachings from the Apostle John, especially from his letter of I John concerning the global warfare we face today. What is the real war that is raging throughout the world in these postmodern times of globalization?
We live in a world that is redefining what truth is. Opinion is replacing God’s truth. This is a challenge to who Jesus is and the question of eternal life.
The real war is actually over who Jesus is. For He is the One who came to offer us life, abundant and eternal life. John addresses these ancient issues that have now become global in nature. We can learn much from him to fight the good fight of faith.
In this podcast I share my story of how I believe God gave me this novel to write to awaken a world asleep to the return of Jesus. It is designed to be an inspiration of how God used one man to prepare the world for Jesus’s Second Coming.
It is an action packed thriller that will lead us to say to God, here I am , use me. God will answer that prayer of faith. Why? Because that is what God does throughout the Bible and in today’s modern world.
This book’s message needs to be heard. All proceeds will go to our mission work around the world. I pray you will be inspired and blessed to join us in this call of God.
In my world travels I have met remarkable people from the poorest of the poor to chiefs and world leaders. I share my most recent encounter with a man of great faith whose contagious love for Jesus and the call of God on his people impacted my life.
His joy taught me life lessons on how to serve God. I will share these in the podcast. I was greatly blessed by our time together. I am always looking for people to partner with in God’s work who are sold out to Jesus.
From him I heard the new song of salvation that is being sung in heaven and around the world in preparation for Jesus to return!
Using Isaiah’s encounter with God, Jesus as the Lord of Hosts, in the temple, I share what can happen to us as we seek God and allow ourselves the opportunities for God to transform our lives.
The BIble teaches us a pattern through Isaiah’s experience that we cannot make happen, but God will do it in His time to use our lives for His glory and His plan of salvation.
I call it the three Cees: Cleansed, Consecrated, Commissioned. In this podcast we will explore what these mean and how we can prepare our lives for God to cleanse us, consecrate us, and commission us. You can teach others and lead others into this glorious experience.
One vision God gave me 20 years ago was to do Holy Spirit Encounters in Zambia. The success of these spread to doing them throughout the world. I have discovered these gatherings of leaders and hungry people have transformed lives and through these leaders and people God has impacted the world for Jesus.
Why does this work? Because that is what is taught in the BIble. Beginning with Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses...to Paul and then to John in Revelation. God has encountered His people through supernatural meetings. Out of these divine experiences God raises up ordinary people to do extra ordinary miracles to point people to the Messiah.
I have seen this happen a thousand times in the last twenty years and I will share some of these stories. The next one could be yours!
Our call to greatness in Christ concludes with how to win the daily battles of temptation and selfishness. We need to be able to stand strong in the Lord and know how to use the full armor of God.
Jesus is the full armor of God. When we put to death our pride and self and put on Christ we wear the full armor of God and can do battle each day and stand strong when the sun goes down.
The full armor is about intimacy with Jesus and knowing how to put on Christ. For He is our Peace, the Prince of Peace. He is the Son of Righteousness. He is the Truth. He is our Savior…
When the hosts of wickedness come against us, we can use the spiritual weapons Jesus has given us. In Christ we know the greatness of God.
If there is one thing I have learned in ministry, people are hurting in their relationships. They long for healthy relationships full of love and joy and peace. Many have difficulty ever finding that greatness. Often there has been such woundedness that some never experience enduring love.
One of the sure signs of living a life of greatness is healthy family relationships. I find many successful businessmen can fail in this aspect of greatness. They pour their hearts into success in their business, but they do not pour themselves into their wife and children. They don't have the emotional energy left to give what is needed.
Let’s explore Paul’s teaching and implementation of what it takes to have healthy relationships, a sure sign of greatness in God’s kingdom.
Can there be a greater exhortation from Paul than to be imitators of God! There is no higher calling. It mimics Jesus’ call to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect with the emphasis on love.
He goes on to say the Spirit will produce a lifestyle of love, light and wisdom that is demonstrated with a joyful heart. “Giving thanks always for all things to God our Father, and submitting to one another.”
This is like living in the heavenlies with Jesus. It is the height of greatness empowered by the Holy Spirit. To initiate God is the definition of greatness. Let us explore what this means for us.
“Do not walk as the Gentiles do.” When I read this verse I am shocked by the Word in contrast to the world in terms of living a life of greatness that reflects the image of God in us. The corruption of our nature and the lifestyle evident in our culture tells me Paul would preach these words to our leaders and to everyone in America.
Yet, the state of the church often mirrors the state of the Gentiles in what we value and how we live. Paul wrote in his day that the Gentiles lived in “the futility of mind, darkened understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, blindness in their heart, given over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness and greediness.”
May we put to death the ways of the Gentiles and put on Christ.
The third aspect of greatness in living a life worthy of the Gospel is the proper use of the gifts we have in the Body of Christ. Paul focuses on the leadership gifts in this passage of Scripture, chapter 4 of Ephesians.
Paul lists 5 gifts and then describes their purpose for Jesus’ Body. This will continue until Christ returns, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Greatness in the Body of believers needs the proper use of Christ’s gifts. We should create opportunities for the apostles and prophets to function as well as evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
Paul in Ephesians chapters 4-6 outlines what a life of greatness is in Christ as opposed to the world. Paul exhorts us to live a life that equals the call of God in their lives. This call is to reflect the image of God restored in them by the blood of Jesus and in the numerous blessings recorded for us in chapters 1-3.
This call becomes a lifestyle. In the eyes of God this is greatness. It begins in the saving blood of Jesus and grows into the maturity of the actions Paul describes in chapters 4-6.
The greatness of Jesus was in His humility and love that produced His obedience even unto death. Greatness aspires to unity in our lives and within His Body.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. That is greatness
God has a plan for us and His creation. This vision is centered in Jesus Christ. All of His blessings flow through Jesus and the New Covenant. In the end God will bring all things together in the oneness of Christ.
God is using the followers of Jesus to reveal the mystery of His plan. Our call in life is to live for the purposes of God. It is our challenge to discover what that means for each of us.
This begins with a complete surrender of our lives to Jesus. Just as in marriage it is a 100 percent yielding. My wife would never accept 90 percent faithfulness and devotion to her.
In this complete surrender that will continue to go deeper and deeper in its meaning and lifestyle you will discover His peace and oneness at a whole new level of living.
In this podcast I share reflections on 41 years of ministry, out of lessons I have learned on my incredible adventures with Jesus.
We will explore the meaning of self-image, what is our identity and destiny in Christ: What is a life of greatness; How America needs men and women of greatness; Doing all to the glory of God; Learning to focus on our greatness and not on our sins.
The time of the barbarians is not over. I refer to the spiritual barbarians in our day dressed in suits and nice skirts. We will be triumphant over these barbarians just as the Christian culture defeated the tribal barbarians in the world.
When I read Ephesians chapters one and two, I am inspired to think of Jesus as the Seed of Life. He is called the Seed of Abraham in Galatians 3. Jesus told us He came to give us life that is eternal and abundant. Chapters one and two of Ephesians express to me how Jesus plants His Seed of Life into our spirit to bring us from death to Life.
The Seed of Life has been planted in you to grow and bring forth much fruit. This is your identity and destiny as a child of God. Satan is out to rob you of all God has given you, to kill this Seed of Life. Your protection and guarantee is to know who you are and what your destiny is as you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in this everlasting life.
I imagine that after the Apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road he became one of the strongest and most remarkable persons to ever live. His emotional stability, his aptitude to endure the torture and hardships of persecution and travel, his spiritual life was like the Alps, all of these surpassed any leader’s capacity to will a victory in battle.
Yet, he had a love and tenderness in his writings to his spiritual children that reflects the love of God for all of us. He knew what was best for his sheep and he desired it for them. We see this in his prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 1:15-23.
He longed for their spiritual eyes to be opened, so they could know their identity in Christ and the power to live as king’s kids.
Jesus answered Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. As we explore our new identity in Christ, His words become more and more meaningful to me. As I see the chaos, corruption, and confusion in our country and in the world, the rejection of God’s laws and truth become more evident that His kingdom is not of this world.
This is a sure sign of the last days before Jesus will return. Part of God’s redemptive plan is to demonstrate through history that there is no Savior but Jesus. There is no lasting kingdom except His kingdom. Daniel made that clear in his visions and prophecies. Let’s explore what that means for today.
The other day a friend of mine shared with me a survey that gave us a rather grim picture of the church in America. A majority of believers do not believe even in the most foundational truths of our faith. It was quite shocking to me.
He shared with me a list of leaders who had fallen into sin and were fired or resigned from their positions of leadership. This was a time of grief for us. He quoted one of his mentors who prays that their hair will grow back. This is in reference to Samson who fell into sin and lost hsi strength when his hair was cut.
In the end Samson’s hair did grow back and he rediscovered his destiny and call from God.
We are in a covenant relationship with God. In Christ we become a new person. We are loved by God. We are safe in His family. We are secure under His protection. All of our sins are forgiven and removed from our lives. We have no condemnation or guilt. We are holy and righteous. We are on a journey to oneness in Christ that will lead us to our eternal inheritance.
We need to learn how to move from these intellectual concepts to a lifestyle lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. This process is called sanctification. Our falsehoods and strongholds are torn down and replaced by who we truly are in Christ.
In knowing our identity and destiny in Christ we can walk in victory.
If we are to live in victory over the sin and chaos of this world, we need to know our identity, who we are in relationship with Jesus. We need to know our destiny in Christ, where we are going with Jesus.
Jesus said in the last days we would live in a season of deception in Who He is, but also in who we are. These are the greatest deceptions we face, especially in not knowing who Jesus is and who we are in Christ.
Paul writes us the answers to these questions in Ephesians 1. We will look at 14 of the truths presented to teach us who Jesus is and who we are and what is our eternal destiny.
The other day I was listening to a preacher on the radio and he shared one of his struggles in his faith. As a young person he had been taught most of what he was to do for God. Read the Bible, attend church, pray, tithe...but he felt he was never taught who he was in Christ.
Even though his pastors taught salvation by faith, it was more a works theology that he was indoctrinated into, Why? Because he did not know his identity in Christ.
I began to meditate on his witness and then I was given a 2020 survey by Barna on the church in America. To my dismay, my worst fears about our faith were confirmed. The church in America has become primarily a secular body. The tares have overtaken the wheat that Jesus predicted would happen in the last days before His return.
Danger, danger, danger comes the warning from the word of God against those who reject God and His truth in Jesus Christ. In the end they will be consumed with the evil they produce. Romans and Revelation both highlight that those who refuse to receive and accept God’s truth will be devoured by the evil that comes from their foolishness and unbelief.
This is the destiny of individuals, as in Romans 1, and with nations as in the curse of Babel in Genesis, the curse upon the nations who curse Abraham and his descendants, and the goat nations judged by Jesus in Matthew 25.
God says that if you do not surrender to Him and His ways, then He removes His hand of grace and allows the person or nation to proceed upon their own path of destruction. This is the judgment of God.
Jerusalem represents the city of David where the King’s seat of authority and rule will reign when Jesus returns. Rome represents Caesar, the king of humanity and our misguided rule under Satan’s authority. Jerusalem and Rome both reject Jesus in John’s Gospel.
Jerusalem becomes the birth place of Christ’s called out ones. The salvation message of Jesus first goes to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. At first the Jewish believers are the leaders of Christ’s Church, but then Christ will conquer Caesar. The Gentiles who rule Rome will take the message to the world.
This begins the age of the Gentiles as Luke notes in Acts 28. Now that age is coming to an end. All eyes begin to turn to Jerusalem…
Prophecy is one of the most important truths that confirm for us there is a God and Jesus is His Son. The only explanation for true prophetic words given by dozens of different authors over the span of thousands of years that weave together a united plan that unfolds exactly as predicted: there is Creator who is in charge of His creation and He is greater than any of us can imagine. It means God has a plan for His creation and for each of us. This plan is centered in God Himself, who became a Man to communicate to us who He is and what is the meaning of life. Thus, as the Bible teaches, we should desire to know God and His Son whom He sent. This results in eternal life!
Like streams full of Divine rain the prophecies of the Bible concerning the Jews, the Gentiles, and the return of Jesus flow into one mighty river of prophecy in the 20th century and up to today. These truths are hidden in the last words of Acts 28:11-31.
In this podcast we will see with spirit eyes what the Spirit is saying to the church today as we examine them in the light of the entire Book of Acts. The Gospel message begins in Jerusalem, then goes to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, finishing in Rome as Paul meets with Jews and Gentiles.
May God open our eyes to see, open our ears to hear, and open our hearts to use us to impact the world in this season of Jesus’ return as all eyes will turn to Jerusalem where His Gospel first went forth to the nations beginning with Israel.
The book of Acts ends with a powerful message of hope for the world for both Jew and Gentile. Pauls’ great faith in Jesus and his love for his fellow Jews shines forth as well as his desire to reach the Gentiles.
Paul tells the Jews he has come to Rome “for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” He proceeds to pour out his life to them, even though only a few will believe.
He then turns to the Gentiles in a prophetic gesture that tells us the age of the Gentiles has begun and we know it will last for the next 2000 years. Now, that age is coming to an end as the Gospel again reaches the Jews and prepares the way for Jesus’ return.
“Knowing God without knowing our wretchedness leads to pride. Knowing our wretchedness without knowing God leads to despair. Knowing Christ gives the balance.” Blaise Pascal.
In this podcast we will reflect on those words using Scripture to guide our way. This is a way to victory that we know in Jesus Christ over the despair of life.
This is the story of Paul throughout Acts, but especially in Acts 27 as Paul is shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Yet, he does not wallow in pity, but shines in the hope and light of Christ.
The words of Jesus are of the highest importance and value for they dictate to us the meaning of life and how we should live for God. Yet, we often read through them without being awakened to their power.
Read Acts 25 and 26 and meditate on the words of Jesus spoken to Paul on the Damascus Road. Ponder their power and ask God to use you to awaken to the truth of God in Jesus Christ. Let them startle you from the deception of this world, to know Christ and abide in Him and live for Him.
Let your prayers rise up to God to live as Paul lived, to live as Jesus lived in their love and devotion to their Father.
God gave Paul a distinct calling to go to the kings and rulers of his day as well as to the Jews and Gentiles. He goes about his mission with tremendous passion, sacrifice, and obedience. God uses him to plant trees of life wherever he goes with authority and power.
Yet, for two years he remained under house arrest in Caesarea. His patience to let God work through him is a testimony to us all to wait on the promises of God. Think of Abraham who waited 25 years for his heir to be born. Yet, he did not wait as Paul did, but tried to take matters into his own hands.
Waiting through this pandemic for over a year has been challenging for all of us. Trust in the Lord. Rest in Him. Hear His voice and walk in love and obedience. God will give you the desires of your heart that will release the power of the Resurrection in your life.
In Acts 23, Paul’s journey to Rome unfolds as he goes to Jerusalem then to Caesarea and on to the ancient city of Rome. In his travels the power of the Gospel message is witnessed time and again through Paul’s life.
Can any other power on earth match the story of the Gospel as the power of the Resurrection that raised Jesus from the dead? It will raise an Empire dead in sin to the seat of heaven with Jesus as Christ conquers Rome with His love.
Will you not give your life as Paul did to see the power of the Resurrection released wherever you go? That is the prayer of my heart and I have seen a thousand miracles take place around the world. Will you join Jesus’ end time army to prepare the way for His return?
Let us take time today to reflect on the Resurrection of Jesus. Hopefully, we will be overwhelmed by His love and the glory of God. That is what happened to me last Resurrection Sunday.
In this podcast I share my testimony of what happened when I was confronted with the truth and power of the Resurrection throughout our entire service. I found myself weeping, sobbing with joy, being cleansed by my tears as to the truth of Who Jesus is and what He did for me.
I share a story of what the power of the Resurrection meant to people who could not walk!
We are told by Jesus that the greatest expression of love is to lay down one’s life for a friend. AsI listened to a message on how Jesus prepared His life for the cross I reflected on the meaning of His sacrifice. I wrote down these words: the price you pay for a commodity reflects the value you place on your purchase.
Jesus purchased our lives on the cross. “We were bought with a price.” The value God placed on us was that of His Son. That is the highest payment in the universe. Let us ponder and meditate on what that means for you and me. You may come to conclusions that will change your life!
Acts 22 teaches us the power of our personal testimony of when we came to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul shares his experience with the Jews in the temple. They are angry and ready to kill him, but calm for a moment to hear his witness of Jesus.
Later, Paul will share his testimony with King Agrippa as he stands trial for his life. His passion for Jesus and his knowledge of the Scriptures come through with much power to convince even the worst skeptics.
Do not be shy about sharing the impact and change in your life when you gave your heart to Jesus. People will listen with interest. When they taste of Jesus some will fall in love with Him and follow Jesus with all of their heart.
Acts 21 gives us much food for thought concerning how both Jews and Gentiles perceived the message of salvation. The Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah felt very comfortable in still following the Law. The Gentiles were instructed not to follow the Law when they became believers, but were given guidelines.
This truly challenges what took place 300 years later up to today. Jews were forced to give up the Law and become “Gentile Christians” while the Gentiles in the last 50 years have disregarded the guidelines of the early church to pretty much relegate any obedience to God’s laws as no longer applicable.
Why? And what does this mean for today?
I share in this podcast a morning experience I had in prayer that inspired me to thankfulness and gratitude for the people in my ministry and partnerships throughout the world.
I am reminded of the power of the Resurrection and how it connects with the PET ministry. PET stands for personal energy transportation for those who cannot walk, especially in the remote parts of Africa.
I see the power of the Resurrection in many miracles around the world. PETS are a unique way in which God causes the power of the resurrection to enable the lame to walk! This is their story.
Paul’s remarkable leadership skills are constantly on display in his missionary journeys. In Acts 20 we glean many of his leadership skills that can help us become the leaders God called us to be.
The pattern Paul sets reminds me of my travels and partnership with Delbert and the Zambian people. Because Paul’s leadership is founded on Jesus Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit I see several parallels of what is happening in Zambia today
The tenderness of Paul’s leadership is seen when he kneels in prayer with his people. How I would have loved to be in this prayer meeting where they weep freely with Paul and fall on his neck and kiss him as he prepares to depart.
Has the government become our new god? In this podcast I discuss my world experiences with other nations and their governments. This is an extension of my previous podcast on Hope.
Why are we being called to serve the government in America, when our founding documents clearly state the government is to serve us?
I present the 10 Commandments of the Progressive Human Race. Jesus said in the last days we would be deceived. Has the dawn of His Second Coming arisen? Yet, because the government knows best, few people believe and the frog is in the frying pan.
This is a prophetic word on what is happening in America in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. We are not on the verge of civil war, but we are already engaged in a civil war of worldviews and values. The America we knew based on the Judeo-Christian Word of God is under assault. Look for it no more for it is gone with the wind.
We are a divided nation as the curse of Babel has overtaken our unity with division and chaos. The pandemic of covid 19 has opened Pandora’s box and the collapse of our culture founded on God’s word and Jesus Christ has become evident.
The world system of Babylon has taken hold of our institutions and many of our leaders and is seeking to rob us of our hope.
Do not fear. Jesus Christ has promised us His hope and that cannot be taken from us or defeated. We know the true King and His return is imminent. Let us endure to the end of the age. Jesus is coming in the clouds of His glory.
This is a continuation of the previous podcast on inspiration, which is summarized in what I wrote for that podcast. We all need inspiration in our life journey. I quote some powerful words of inspiration and apply it to how we can live an inspired life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Life is not a sprint, but a marathon. We need lives and words and encounters with God to keep us on the path of righteousness and joy and love. To walk hand in hand with Jesus will give us the strength to endure and soar over the trials of life. The strongest trees on the mountain are always where the strongest storms strike.
Today, we look at our need for inspiration in our lives to motivate us and to have role models that we can say I want to live a life like him or her. Jesus, Paul and so many others inspire us, but there are also many stories of amazing believers who pave the way to lift us out of the ordinariness of life.
They build our faith and help put a fire in us to live a mighty life for Jesus. One of these great heroes was Eric Liddel, who was an Olympic champion in the 1920s. He went on to be a missionary in China and then died in a concentration camp. His story was told in the movie, “Chariots of Fire.”
I challenge you to find your inspiration and feel God’s pleasure as you use the gifts and talents He has given you to live for Him.
My final family interview with my closet brother in age, Terry. We discussed how we played sports together daily as kids and how we enjoyed our activities especially in baseball.
We discuss the important lessons we learned from sports that helped us in our future lives in business and family.
Terry has had a wonderful life journey and he gives us some excellent insights into how to deal with life’s challenges. He has been married 48 years and has one child.
I continue with an interview with my older brother Laird and explore his life journey. He also was born with a cleft palate as was our oldest brother. We talk about his Vietnam experience as a Marine and how that impacted his life.
We spend time exploring how much the war affected him in a negative way. Laird also struggled with his faith. We talk about the importance of telling our kids we love them.
Laird went into social work after the war. Working a long time with the Salvation Army and how he worked through relating to his family in love.
On a retreat with my three brothers in Sedona, Arizona I interviewed my older brothers. This one is of my oldest brother, Roger. We discuss how being born with a cleft palate affected his life. We explore his difficult time in Vietnam. We talk about the covid 19 pandemic.
We then discuss his struggles with faith in Jesus Christ and the wonder of family. We end with a discussion of his recent serious surgery. I believe you will enjoy this interview and discussion about his life journey.
In this podcast I share two teaching moments I recently experienced. The first occurred while I was dog sitting our daughter’s dog, Coco. The second one was a near accident Beverly and I had on the expressway heading to Coco Beach.
These impressed upon me the teachings of Jesus concerning His return. I came away from these two different experiences with the urgency of the time in which we live and that Jesus stressed to those who would live in the season of His return.
They also impressed on me the importance of being alert for Jesus’ return and how important it is to be ready for His Second Coming.
I have been discussing my new found oneness and freedom in applying my love for Jesus in the battle I face in my mind. It suddenly struck me why the victory is so easily won in the name of Jesus. In the spirit realm and in the physical world there is absolute power in His Name.
As we study Scripture together in the Gospels and in Acts we see that demons flee when confronted by Jesus. They fear Him and must obey Him. We have been given the same power to defeat our spiritual foes in His Name.
I will share with you what this means by the butterfly effect and the new birth of the butterfly as it struggles to gain its freedom to leave its cocoon.
Acts 18 teaches us the importance of the supernatural that proclaims Jesus is the Messiah. Paul is guided by the Holy Spirit or “compelled by the Spirit to testify to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.”
Paul then receives a vision from God “not to be afraid but to speak and not keep silent…” God’s supernatural work continues to intervene in Paul’s life so he can fulfill God’s call on his life. The same should be true for all of us who follow Jesus.
I will share with you a few examples of what I mean by the work of the supernatural in my life. God loves to surprise us with His visitations.
Solomon wrote in his melancholy state of mind that there is nothing new under the sun. When Paul confronts the philosophers at Athens I am reminded of Solomon’s words. We often face the same dilemma as Paul did in our day with the state of academia. Philosophers who love to debate their worldview but are not open to the truth of Jesus Christ.
The opponents of Paul in Athens were either fools, ignorant or vain in their thinking, which made them all fools. Foolishness is the failure to see and understand life as God has determined and created it. Fools lack the wisdom of God and His truth. They want to display their skills in proving their way is right without ever coming to know the truth.
“These times of ignorance are over,” Paul declared. To know the truth and the one true God it begins with repentance that leads to faith.
The Apostle Paul continues to be our role model in what it means to be great in God’s kingdom. He reminds us of our need to be true to Jesus and His Gospel message. Our focus must be on Jesus and living out His teachings in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s success in preaching the Gospel brought persecution. Obedience to Christ will bring you persecution. You will stir up the worst in the self righteous and in those living in sin against Christ. We must remain true to Jesus and even rejoice in the pain of suffering for Him.
Paul never compromised or changed the truth about Jesus to conform to the world. Pray to have such love for Jesus and to apply that love into how we live and make decisions on a daily basis.
The path to greatness runs through Jesus and upon the work of the Holy Spirit in us. It also must be walked in obedience to the leading of the Spirit and the endurance of persecution. The Apostle Paul’s call to go to Macedonia to plant the seeds of life is a role model for us all.
If there is not some form of persecution in your life for your faithfulness to Jesus, then you should examine your life as to why. The world and even people in the church will attack you for standing for Jesus. It is part of the life of greatness God has given us in Christ.
Let us learn to walk in obedience to the Spirit as opposed to our desires and ambitions. Let us testify to our love for Jesus by our deeds and if necessary by our words.
My mind is gripped by the image of the four horsemen of Revelation 6 galloping across the earth releasing the judgments of God. Jesus opens the seven seals of human history. These judgments are connected to His teachings that relate to global events.
Jesus talked in global concepts. Yet, we as a world did not really start to think in terms of global wars, global pandemics, global economies, global deaths...until 1914 and World War I.
Let us take a look at these four horsemen of Revelation and see how they apply to us today and where we are headed in the plan of God’s salvation. We may be surprised what we see in the Spirit and what the Spirit is saying to the called out ones of Jesus.
To live this life of greatness in Christ we need to learn to serve only one Master. Therefore, we need to examine our hearts and ask who is my master? We need to confront the idol of self and ask God for the victory in denying self, being emptied of self and being filled with the fullness of God.
We need to be constantly on guard against serving other masters but Jesus. These false gods come in many different forms. These demons come to enslave us to serve them and not God.
Willful sin is a sure sign of the broken oneness in us. These ungodly actions if not mastered will become a door to sin that can lead us to addictive behaviors and habits that bring death into one’s life and the loss of God’s greatness.
Maintaining the victory in our mind comes from developing a Sermon on the Mount lifestyle, to become a doer of the Word. The purpose of oneness and greatness in Christ is to become more like our Savior. We do this out of love, to please and honor our Father in heaven.
Jesus has given us the best way to live. Our sinful thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and the seduction of the world try to keep us from living this life of love and holiness and oneness in Christ.
Thus, Jesus in His teachings leads us to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to live the impossible, so our only comfort and help is the Holy Spirit who was sent to transform us to be like Jesus.
To walk in victory each day will only be possible if we learn to use the spiritual authority and power God has given us. We need to know we are a tank in the battle for our oneness in our mind and to know how to operate this mighty spiritual weapon.
Never underestimate the power of Jesus’ love for us. In His love He has given us His authority to release the power to transform our soul. This is rooted in who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross.
When we learn to activate our love for Jesus we can move mountains and cast them into the sea. This transforms us to walk in the liberty of love that Jesus died to give us. When we confront the inner division of our mind, the compulsive thoughts and obsessions that seek to enslave us with the genuineness of our love for JEsus, they fade into harmless shadows that have no power over our thoughts and actions.
We need to believe we can overcome the impossible in the battle for our thought life. One of my concerns is that these struggles have been with us so long, we do not believe we can be set free.
I came across this qsuote from a famous missionary to China, Hudson Taylor. “I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God, first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”
With God nothing is impossible. This battle for oneness in our mind may seem impossible, but it is not. The love of Jesus can heal our soul, especially when it is coupled with our love for Him.
The fourth principle we will study is how to apply God’s truth in our journey of greatness.
Oneness within yourself is maintained through learning to live and walk in the Spirit, learning to activate and apply your love for Jesus. Number three is to avoid areas of your weaknesses: where you go, what you do, what you watch, what you look at, what you read, what you put into your mind…
Once you open the door of your mind to these temptations, the battle is lost. The Bible teaches us in Ephesians to walk as children of light...do not participate with evil, but expose it. Too many of us are participating with evil as regular habits of our lives.
In our prosperous culture it is almost impossible to avoid evil. It will take the power of the Holy Spirit, love for Jesus, and tremendous discipline to walk out this truth. God has given us every weapon we need to gain the victory and continue to live a life of oneness.
As we learned that oneness comes from the Holy Spirit lifestyle, it is our love for Jesus that motivates us to stay on this path of oneness. Jesus’ death on the cross for us is the ultimate expression of love. He dies to give us life. Life as God has life, which is oneness.
His love instills in us our sense of significance in a world that seeks to rob us of our worth. In this love, our hopelessness vanished in the glory and knowledge that God loves us.
Whenever temptation comes into your mind, confront it with your love for Jesus. This shield of love guards our mind from the arrows of the enemy day and night as expressed in Psalm 91.
There is a war that often rages within us between the Spirit and our flesh. The battle of the mind must be fought and won in the Spirit. The Spirit leads us, teaches us, empowers us, and tears down the strongholds in our mind that divides our inner self.
As we learn to walk in the Spirit it is our love for Jesus that inspires us to maintain this path to oneness in the Father and the Son. It is the power and authority of Christ given to us in the Spirit to walk in this oneness.
We need to learn to apply our love for Jesus in this battle of the mind. Love is the greatest motivator to victory in life.
When God gives us this beautiful gift of oneness by the blood of Jesus, He expects us to partner with Him in the restoration process of becoming more and more like Jesus. The heart of this is yielding ourselves to Him in order to truly serve one Master.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus reveals the root cause of our sinfulness in that we are inwardly divided, pulled in different directions to serve other masters.
We were created to serve one Master. The fracture of our soul, which includes our mind, God begins to restore through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Creation reflects the oneness of God. The ecosystems of life thrive as they are one, interconnected and dependent on each other.
Jesus prayed that we would be one in John 17:20-26.
Since we are created in the image of God, we need to understand that God is One. “Hear O Israel the Lord your God is one.” We worship One God who is three distinct Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Sin has fractured the oneness of God’s image in us. God through Jesus Christ seeks to restore us to the oneness that we lost through our sin. This process is called sanctification. Our new identity in Christ as one with God and one within ourselves needs to replace this old identity of inner division.
This revelation of oneness is part of defeating the hopelessness, loss of self worth, failure, and helplessness that sin has inflicted upon us. In the oneness of God’s love we learn of the oneness of living to fulfill God’s vision for our lives. This can bring about tremendous healing in our wounded soul.
The genius of God begins in Genesis 1. We are taught our eternal worth in that we are created in His image. Jesus’ death on the cross confirms the value of our soul to God in giving His Son to die for us.
This truth releases the life of Jesus’ love in us and has the power to heal our wounded soul. It restores us to the path of life and truth and love. We can overcome every obstacle in life. I am somebody. I have eternal worth and purpose in this life.
I am loved by God and in this love my love for Him is awakened to raise me out of the muck and mire to be a conqueror in Christ.
What does it mean to harness the love of Jesus Christ in one’s life? It means to become the possessor of a mighty armored tank to destroy and defeat the enemies that battle for our soul and mind. Our love for Jesus inspires us to live godly lives that will not surrender to the pressures of our own flesh, the world and evil spirits. It motivates us to impact the world for Jesus.
Thus, it means freedom from bodage. Liberation to love as Jesus loved. One’s love for Jesus causes us to change our behavior and empowers us to be His witness that Jesus is the anointed King of God, His beloved Son.
This love ignites the power of the Holy Spirit within us. This love first comes from God. His divine love far surpasses all other loves.
The love of Jesus Christ can win any battle and defeat every foe. When one chooses Jesus in love, you draw strength from the very throne of God. Satan and demons have no weapon to fight this awakening love. This is the power of the cross.
Jesus’ love is triumphant. The cross becomes the funnel of grace and truth that no power can match. This pure, divine love that captures one’s soul is the secret of God’s universe. It goes beyond intellectual knowledge of His love. It transforms into an atomic spiritual weapon that liberates the mind from deceptive strongholds that seek to seduce you.
This revelation often comes through many trials and tribulations that teach us how to love as Jesus loved.
In Acts 16 the Apostle Paul becomes the focus of the rest of the book. Thus, the greatness of Paul’s life becomes our role model in following Christ. His life is Jesus centered, but he is led by the Holy Spirit in all of his work.
The Holy Spirit speaks to Paul on where he should go and what he should do. We need to learn to hear the voice of the Spirit in how we live. This will lead to true greatness. God gives us tremendous freedom in how we live, but this liberty is dependent on being guided by the Holy Spirit.
The path to greatness in God’s kingdom follows the vision of Christ to make disciples of all nations. If you are not part of this discipleship plan you will miss God’s call on your life and miss out on His greatness. A humble, faithful, servant whose life is given to God for His service will be great in God’s eyes.
Four early leaders of Christ’s Body are highlighted in Acts 15. They are true men of greatness in the eyes of God. Acts is about Jesus, the Holy Spirit and what it means to be great in God’s kingdom. We should look to these faithful servants to learn what it means to be great in life.
The Bible describes God as great. We are created in His image. Therefore, we were created to be great. Paul and Barnabas, Peter and James teach us what it means to be great in Christ as opposed to the world’s definition of greatness. This begins with humility at the feet of Jesus.
The Bible tells us and from our own life experiences that our flesh wars against the Spirit in us. We will continue to fight a spiritual battle until we die or Jesus comes again.
In this podcast we will explore how to gain victory over our flesh and win this daily battle. The beginning of this triumph is to choose Jesus immediately. You have a tank with all the fire power you need against the hand guns of Satan and his demons. You can blow away your enemy if you choose wisely.
At the end of Acts 14, the Bible says Paul and Barnabas completed the work God gave them. They are going from city to town to village to plant the trees of life. They are doing the work God called them to do despite persecution and opposition.
God has given you and me work to do. We are to labor until it is finished. When we complete our work we are to go to the church and tell them of the wonders God did just as Paul and Barnabas did.
We should never cease doing the work of Christ until He returns. As you continue on your path, in humility give the glory to God as you tell others of what God is doing through you!
Several months ago on one of our Sunday morning services God opened the heavens to me in our worship time. I found myself raptured in His Presence on the streets of heaven worshiping at the feet of Jesus.
The next Sunday I was overwhelmed with God’s love. Tears of joy flowed as I enjoyed the wonder of His Presence. I began to reflect on the night I first met Jesus as He came into my room and I met the Risen Lord. He surrounded me with His love and took away all of my sin and all of my pain and misery.
Read John 4 and know that the Presence of Jesus changes everything. When I go on my travels the Presence of Jesus is with me and this is what woos people to repent and believe in Him, to be healed, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit…
In Acts 13 Paul uses the authority of Jesus’ name and the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat a disciple of Satan, to expose the false demon gods of the ancient world, and to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah and His Father the one true God.
Jesus has given this same authority and power to us to use to destroy the works of the Devil and to set people free to live for Jesus and to worship the living God of the Bible. Just as we heard yesterday in sending help to those in need, God wants us to be His messengers of life to those in bondage to Satan and sin.
In this podcast we will learn how to exercise the gifts Jesus has given us. You too can join us in this great adventure in following Jesus and demonstrating His authority.
God’s word is always looking to awaken us to apply its truth in real life. In Acts 11:27-30 Barnabas and Saul are sent to Judea to bring relief to those suffering from a famine. The day before I read this I received an urgent plea from Malawi for help for those who have no mobility.
Several years earlier we had sent the PETs to Malawi through New Life Center to give mobility to those who could not walk. PETs are Personal Energy Transportation carts that enable the immobile to hand peddle these carts. Thus, they are given life in Jesus’ name to live life through mobility and also receive the gift of life in Jesus’ name.
When I read the email I went to prayer and felt moved by God to help. Then I read Acts 11 the next day in my daily study. Then I received a gift of $10,000 to send the PETs to Malawi and to establish a factory so they could repair the old ones and equip new ones. God never ceases to surprise me. He will do the same for you!
I thank God for all of those who have gone and are continuing to go into the most remote and often dangerous places on the planet to share the Gospel. THousands have suffered and died in their efforts to carry the cross to the world. These martyrs should be honored and thanked for their sacrifices.
As we praise these marvelous saints we need to ask ourselves how we are helping them to go. What sacrifices are we making or are we building bigger barns as Jesus warned people to make the right investments in life and in His kingdom.
For the BOdy of believers this should be priority one to be about our Father’s business in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Pray that we do not build bigger barns, but give to those who are going in the name of Jesus.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked chapters of Scripture that record one of the most significant events in world history is Acts 10. The end of chapter 9 shifts from Paul’s conversion to Peter and his powerful ministry of healing. This leads to the miraculous story of Peter and Cornelius.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to the Gentiles. This is the beginning of the Holy Spirit being poured out to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire and has continued today across the globe in the nations of the earth.
I have witnessed this throughout my travels and now share these stories of when new and old believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit to do great works for God and His kingdom. You can be part of these wonderful moves of God!
I thank God for all of those who have gone and are continuing to go into the most remote and often dangerous places on the planet to share the Gospel. THousands have suffered and died in their efforts to carry the cross to the world. These martyrs should be honored and thanked for their sacrifices.
As we praise these marvelous saints we need to ask ourselves how we are helping them to go. What sacrifices are we making or are we building bigger barns as Jesus warned people to make the right investments in life and in His kingdom.
For the Body of believers this should be priority one to be about our Father’s business in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Pray that we do not build bigger barns, but give to those who are going in the name of Jesus.
A man filled with murder in his heart for Jesus and for those who follow Him comes to grips with his hatred when he encounters the risen Jesus Christ. No greater moment in world history can compare with how this salvation experience will change the course of humanity.
Saul, the prosecutor of Christians, becomes Paul the preacher and missionary that God will use to spread His message of life through the Roman Empire.
Paul’s journey of faith inspires us today to follow in his footsteps and to come to love Jesus and exalt Him before the world that He is Lord and Savior. May we have the same love and perseverance that Paul had for Jesus. May we have the same favor of God that carried Paul to greatness in the kingdom of God.
The church of Christ born on Pentecost is alive and multiplying. God created life to multiply and to be fruitful. People come alive in Christ, miracles happen, unclean spirits come out of those possessed, many are healed and great joy abounds in the city of Samaria. That is the abundant life Jesus promised.
Life is spreading throughout Jerusalem Judea, Samaria and soon to the ends of the earth. The Gospel of Jesus cannot be contained, but is a contagious fire that must be shared. People long for life. Nothing can stop the breath of God and the winds of His kingdom in Christ.
I have seen this gift of life and hope wherever I have gone around this world. It is a joy and wonder to see the spark of life light their souls. In Christ we overcome all of the darkness and death in this world to the glory of God.
Satan, the world, and even humanity has a history of trying to kill what God seeks to birth in His plan of salvation. Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus, which led to the slaughtering of the innocents.
When the Body of Christ was born on Pentecost, Satan rose up to oppose and kill this newborn babe of Christ. It began with the martyr of Stephen. Yet, his death only caused the believers to spread and multiply.
Today, as we near the return of Jesus the persecution of Jews and Christians has accelerated beyond belief. 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust alone! How many Christians were killed by the Nazis, the communists and the Muslim fanatics?
The World Health Organization reports that we kill 40-50 million babies globally each year through abortion. How long will God wait before He sends Jesus back to avenge the death of His martyrs?
Stephen in the Book of Acts demonstrates for us what greatness means in God’s kingdom. His character and how he was chosen to be a leader in the Body of Christ gives us a framework for what we should pray for in our lives to be great for Jesus.
We will explore these traits and gifts from God that made Stephen great. This is not just a greatness in this life but is eternal in God’s kingdom. These reflect the character of God in us.
This kind of greatness overcomes our fear of men and is not in bondage to the peer pressures in our culture, but solely seeks to love and obey Jesus even unto death. Greatness is our destiny in Christ
Love for Jesus and applying that love in our lifestyle, Holy Spirit transformation and power, obedience to Jesus’ teachings on living a life of greatness are the three key pillars of enduring to the end on this path of greatness.
In this podcast we will discuss obedience as one the key missing components in our culture today. Obedience is the fruit of our salvation in Christ. Our love for Jesus motivates us to obey Him. The Spirit empowers us to obey and transforms us into loving, obedient servants.
Mark 8:34 gives us wonderful insight into what this lifestyle of obedience means. Without obedience a believer cannot stay on this path of greatness.
God created us in His image. Part of that image is greatness. We all desire to be great in who we are and what we do. We do not want to be ordinary, but to excel in all we do. The problem is our sin nature has corrupted this meaning of greatness.
We want to have a sense of significance. This definition of greatness comes in being like Jesus and living the life of love and truth that He taught and lived.
We can choose the temporary greatness of this world and strive for temporary rewards or choose to take up our cross, deny self, and follow Jesus. We will discover that Jesus’ way gives us a greatness the world cannot understand or give. We discover greatness in life through sacrificial love and in blessing others.
The third key to greatness in the kingdom of God is learning the teachings of Jesus and living them out in the power of the Holy Spirit motivated by our love for Jesus. The best place to start is in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5,6,7.
In Biblical thought greatness describes the majesty of God. He is greater than all other gods. His power, splendor, and majesty are greater than all others. His greatness is unsearchable.
Jesus describes greatness as beyond the ordinary, larger than life. Humility is at the heart of this greatness as is servanthood.
In these next podcasts we will explore how to maintain staying on the path of greatness and not getting side tracked by the devil, our flesh, and the world. If the first tower of living a life of greatness in Christ is our love for Jesus, then the twin tower of being restored to the image of God is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, Who is God with us and dwells within us, is the One who transforms us, renews us, sanctifies us, and remakes us in the image of God. He forms Christ in us. In the Book of Acts the two main themes are oneness in Jesus and oneness in the Spirit that produces a oneness within us and with each other that builds the community of faith in Christ.
We will learn from Acts what are the obstacles to living in this oneness and how we can stay on the path of greatness.
What amazes me in the Book of Acts, there is no hint of anger as the believers are persecuted. Instead, they see every trial as an opportunity to share about Jesus. They rejoice that they are persecuted for Jesus.
My experience, most of us respond with anger or fear. I want injustice against me or others corrected. Instead, I should see this as an opportunity to exalt Jesus.
How we may need an attitude adjustment in the Spirit. It would save us from missing so many opportunities to lift up Jesus and save us from many sleepless nights.
They were so filled with the Holy Spirit, their eyes were always on Jesus. Perhaps we are so blessed materially in our lives that the temporary has become our master instead of the eternal values of God the Eternal Presence of Jesus.
The early leaders such as Peter and John inspired these new believers to greatness in Christ. They believed they could do the same miracles and witnessing as these great men of God were doing. They believed they could live supernatural lives in love with Jesus and live like Jesus lived.
Our lives should be an inspiration to others in how to follow Jesus and do greater works than He did. Jesus should be our role model. The apostles should be our examples of how to live. Yet, most of our role models can be worldly celebs, who have fame and fortune.
Pray daily to die to self and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To go and love as Jesus loved and to be about our Father’s business. God loves to take ordinary men and women and od great things through us.
What amazes me in the Book of Acts, there is no hint of anger as the believers are persecuted. Instead, they see every trial as an opportunity to share about Jesus. They rejoice that they are persecuted for Jesus.
My experience, most of us respond with anger or fear. I want injustice against me or others corrected. Instead, I should see this as an opportunity to exalt Jesus.
How we may need an attitude adjustment in the Spirit. It would save us from missing so many opportunities to lift up Jesus and save us from many sleepless nights.
They were so filled with the Holy Spirit, their eyes were always on Jesus. Perhaps we are so blessed materially in our lives that the temporary has become our master instead of the eternal values of God the Eternal Presence of Jesus.
The fires of persecution begin to rise up against the new believers in Jesus as the religious attacks against them are awakened as the truth of Jesus spreads throughout Jerusalem.
Jesus always threatens the power structures of religion, government, social, and economic life when in the hands of men and not the Spirit of God.
We are seeing such intense persecution today against the followers of Jesus. In the last 100 years more Christians and Jews have been murdered and persecuted t.hen in the combined previous two thousand years.
This should awaken us, Jesus is about to return. The cries of the martyrs in Revelation 6 ask for justice. Our brothers and sisters around the world cry out with them. How long will Jesus tarry?
Miracles of God bring the fire of conflict in the Book of Acts that come forth in chapters 3 and 4. The old wineskins of the religious leaders could not contain the new wine of the Spirit. Instead of receiving the new blessings of God they resist.
Jesus gave His disciples a new vision for living. As they are empowered by the Spirit they go out into the world to share this new wine. Doors of opportunity open to glorify Jesus as the Messiah.
Today, we are His end time messengers to prepare the way for Jesus’ return. Be ready for conflict as we are called to awaken a slumbering church to the season in which we live.
When we are immersed in the Holy Spirit and are about our Father’s business, expect a tremendous response. This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost when Peter preaches to the Jews and 3000 men come to Christ.
When God calls us and fills us with the Holy Spirit the supernatural will abound in our lives. Our response is to step out in faith in obedience. What happened with Peter on Pentecost is still happening all around the world. I have seen the power of God break forth and transform lives with salvation, healings, and wonders.
Let your light shine in the darkness and believe for a supernatural response.
I continue to share my testimony of God speaking to me through my week of prayer and fasting. God loves to surprise us with precious gifts to remind us how much He loves us.
Our flesh wants to rob us of God’s peace. God wants us to know His love and His peace. At some of our most unexpected moments He will send us a special gift. These blessings can change our entire attitude and lift our spirits by His love.
I am challenged to remember to give those I love special gifts when they least expect it. The joy of giving these gifts reflect the joy God knows in giving us His gifts.
The Book of Acts teaches us that we are called to be faithful over and above success, especially as the world defines success.
I share my testimony of how the Holy Spirit spoke to me that I have a choice to be faithful or successful. We can be successful and then we can be unsuccessful, but we are always to be faithful.
I also share Brother Jun’s testimony, a great leader in China, and what happened when he went to Sweden. Faithfulness to Christ and His vision will reap a great harvest, but we may not see it in our lifetime!
Peter preaches the first sermon on Jesus after His Resurrection. We can learn so much from what he says on this Day of Pentecost. Peter makes it clear from Scripture in the Old Testament that Jesus is the name to be called upon to be saved for He is the Lord.
Peter also leaves no doubt from Scripture that He is the Messiah risen from the dead. Thus, we are challenged to restore Jesus Christ as the central focus of the Church today. Our identity and destiny lay in Jesus Christ alone. May our faith in Jesus inspire us to a love that will change the world.
God created us to produce fruit, be fruitful and multiply. God will give us opportunities throughout this year to be His fruit bearers. Awaken to these opportunities to abide in Christ and be His instruments of life.
Pray and fast, think in terms of oneness, eternal vision, and believe God will open doors. Step out of the comfort of your boat and walk on water with Jesus. I have seen thousands of pastors touched by God to bear much fruit.
Multiply thousands by thousands and by thousands and you will see millions of lives become fruit bearers for Jesus. We are on this journey together. Where I go you go to the glory of God.
We need a fresh vision from Jesus in this new year to be:
Captivated by His love and our love for Jesus
Committed to Him and to one another in our community of faith
Contagious with the fire of the Holy Spirit is us
How do we keep our vision fresh for this year and pass it onto the next generation? Know God’s vision and focus your plans and purposes to accomplish His vision. Do not lose your first love for Jesus. Practice the one anothers of the Bible. Live each day full of the Holy Spirit’s Presence. Know your place in serving Jesus in the Body of Christ.
In the midst of all of the chaos and uncertainty in this new year of 2021, we come to celebrate and sing the new song of our salvation. We proclaim we are not victims, but victors in Christ.
Just as Jesus gave Martha hope and comfort in who He is in her time of grief, so Jesus does this today in us. Prepare your life for a new Pentecost of hope and revival. Let us respond as Martha did, yes, I believe. Let us sing today of Jesus’ love and the beautiful gift of eternal life He has given us. Celebrate all we are and have in Christ in this new year.
You will have power to live in victory!
GOD is One. Jesus prayed that we would be one as the Father and He are one. We are created in the image of God in this oneness. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount states that our problem in not living out His teachings is that we are trying to serve two masters. We are inwardly divided. There is only One God and we are to serve only Him.
When we give our lives to Jesus the Spirit of God comes to live within us and He restores our oneness with God and within ourselves. As we learn to maintain this oneness in our soul and mind we walk in victory over our fears, our anxieties, our compulsive and obsessive thoughts to not sin but to walk in obedience out of our love for Jesus.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The oneness He gives us is His peace through our life journey.
One of the main themes of the Book of Acts is that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to restore us to the oneness we lost when we sinned. As believers in Jesus we are to create a new community that lives in the oneness of the image of God.
We will be exploring this most vital and important truth as we journey through Acts. How Jesus came to restore us to oneness with God, within ourselves and with others in the fellowhip of our faith in Jesus Christ.
This podcast, we explore Jesus’ promise to return to us. This is His Second Advent. This concept of Christ’s Advent usually entails His first coming as we celebrate Chriostmas. Yet, the early church celebrated His Second Advent more than His birth.
We need to recapture this promise of His return as the apostles preached and taught it to the first believers. God honors His promises. He is faithful in all of His words. He promised Adam He would send a Savior. He promised Noah to save the families of the earth. He promised Abraham He would save individuals, families, and the nations of the earth through His Seed.
This promise of His return should not be secondary, but among the elite teachings of Jesus. We should be preparing the world for His return. This flows out of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Promise of the Father to the followers of His Son.
The Advent of Jesus is upon us. May we be about our Father’s business.
As Jesus prepares to ascend to heaven, let us ask what is He leaving us? A promise to return as Acts 1 reminds us. I will be with you in power and authority to take My message to the nations.
In this podcast, we will explore what I was never taught in seminary nor have I ever heard it preached in my 40 years of faith. I have read one book that touches on this subject by Harald Eckert, “Israel, the Nations,and the Valley of Decision.” He is also the head of the “Global Prayer Call.
The Book of Acts expresses God’s covenant response to His judgment in the story of the Tower of Babel. God caused confusion and division upon humanity. Not just in their languages, but also in their world views. This division continues to this day within nations and between nations.
What is emphasized in Acts from the start is that the believers are one. This oneness is in Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed for this in John 17.
God’s answer to the curse of Babel, Genesis 11, was in Genesis 12, the call of Abraham. It is through the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, that this curse is broken, but it also includes the blessing by the nations of Israel and the descendants of Abraham.
What does this all mean for us today, as humanity’s answer seems to be to away with borders and nations? What does it mean for the church?
The challenge for us as believers to live out these 5 final words or phrases of Jesus, is it Scriptural, then have you seen it happen in daily life. Scripture takes precedence over experience. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the word of God. I have seen it applied hundreds of times in my experience with Jesus and with people around the world.
This baptism of the Spirit expresses the tree of life in the Bible. It is the song of salvation that the apostles sang into the world as they exalted Jesus as the Messiah.
One of the best examples of the tree of life I have experienced with Delbert and Sandy Groves in their missionary life in Zambia. Their home of operation is called New Life Center Zambia. This where they have spread the tree of life in Jesus Christ throughout Zambia and the whole Central African nations.
Jesus’ final words, the last of the 5 phrases, is do not leave Jerusalem without this promise of the Father, which is to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered to witness that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the only hope of the world.
This is the spiritual dynamite, the power, the atomic spiritual explosion that will awaken the world to Jesus as the Resurrected Son of David, the Son of God, The Promised Christ.
Signs and wonders and miracles caused the lame to walk and thousands to believe in Jesus. Despite persecution and death these early believers could not remain silent about their Savior.
The darkness of this world cannot put out this Light of Redemption. This Light shines today through all who have been baptized in the Spirit. So, do not leave home without Him!
Jesus promises His followers that they will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This immersion in the Spirit is different from water baptism. In this podcast we will continue to explore what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means and how it is expressed.
One of the parallels I have found in Scripture is that this baptism leads us to sing the new song of salvation that the creatures and believers in heaven sing in Revelation 5. It is the song of life and of our redemption. See Revelation 5:9, 14:3, Psalm 144:4.
This baptism of the Holy Spirit continues to be an outpouring of the Spirit on believers to be witnesses to Jesus as the Messiah. It is for Jew and Gentile and has continued through the generations.
It is the power of God in us that has changed the world through those who love Jesus. It is the gift of God to every believer to be continually filled with God’s Presence and flows from the fountain of love and intimacy we have for Jesus.
Jesus commands the apostles to wait in Jerusalem to receive the promise of the Father. In this podcast we will define the promise of the Father, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
How many believers, if asked, what is the promise of the Father could answer correctly?
Before the apostles were allowed to go into the world to proclaim the salvation of Jesus Christ, they were told to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father. Are we teaching and telling our people to do the same?
If it was essential for Jesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need the baptism of the Spirit?
We discover in the last words of Jesus we are to be an assembly. We then learn He is our Commander. As Head of the Body He commands the apostles to assemble in His midst.
In John we are told by Jesus to love Him and obey His commands. Jesus now commands them to be an assembly of oneness. The meaning of this truth is taught throughout the New Testament in the one anothers of the Bible.
To command is to order and to give direction, to do what is best in the kingdom of God. It is God’s definition of greatness in this life as opposed to the world’s definition of greatness.
If we obey Jesus, which is our expression of love for Jesus, we will live a life of greatness. Too much of the church’s lifestyle has been infected by the world. Instead of serving Jesus, we are serving self.
Jesus is our King. We are to serve Him in love. Out of this intimacy will flow the power of the Holy Spirit. We will sing the new song of our salvation.
Thus Acts parallels Revelation and the new song sung in heaven. The Bible has been preparing us to sing this new song of life in Jesus Christ.
The last words of Jesus are recorded in Acts 1. He tells the apostles five main aspects of the new life in the kingdom of God. They are to assemble, follow His commands, receive the promise of the Father, be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and receive power to be His witnesses.
We will now explore in the next podcasts what these final words of Jesus mean and how they are applied in Acts and are to be applied in our lives today.
Today, we will study what it means to be an assembly centered and united as one in Jesus Christ. We are to gather in oneness that is a supernatural oneness of one anothers described throughout the rest of the New Testament.
These one anothers can be googled to find the full list of what we are to be to one another. If we could implement these one anothers in the life of the Body we would turn the world upside down for Jesus.
Acts is a testimony of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is the continuation of Jesus’ love for us as we will now experience His love in the Spirit.
The Resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of receiving the Holy Spirit, to be baptized and empowered in the Spirit. This new life is the kingdom of God, the rule of God in our heart. It is spiritual in nature as God is Spirit.
Acts mimics Jesus’ life and ministry after Luke 4. As Jesus was filled, led, empowered, and anointed in the Spirit, so we are to live our new life in God’s kingdom in the Spirit. As Paul writes we live and walk in the Spirit.
In Acts 1, Jesus promises the apostles they will be baptized in the Spirit. They too will be able to love as Jesus loved, to speak and teach as Jesus did, to perform miracles as Jesus did, and to pass this on to every generation until the return of Jesus.
The Book of Acts becomes the door to the tree of life. Jesus said I am the true Vine. He is the tree of life. If we abide in Him we will bear much fruit.
In Acts the apostles and the early believers are the fruit of Jesus’ labor. They begin to plant the seeds of life in Jerusalem, in Judes, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
In this podcast we begin the study of the Book of Acts and how it shows the process of restoring humanity back to the tree of Life. It is the story of greatness as God as great in the Bible
Jesus is the Seed of Abraham. This figurative language of tree, fruit, and seed are meant to take us to Revelation and the tree of life in the new heaven and new earth. Acts is full of life in Jesus Christ. It is the Life in the Spirit. May our eyes be opened by the Spirit to see what life truly is in Christ.
Jesus said in the last days it would be a time of deception. The darkness Satan spreads in our world seems almost limitless. We need the Spirit to give us spiritual eyes to see as God sees the sinfulness and the glory that abounds.
Only in the Spirit can we see through the darkness. In this podcast I will give examples of how to see through the darkness and to know the wonders of God’s Light in Jesus Christ.
As we live in this love relationship with Jesus, the Spirit produces a dynamic lifestyle that pleases our Father and empowers us to fulfill His purposes and plan for the redemption of the world. We discover our niche in this plan. This leads to a life of love and joy and power beyond whatever we could have produced on our own. The dynamite of the Spirit explodes within us and creates a lifestyle that the world cannot duplicate, but only marvel at its ability to impact the world for Jesus.
May we discover the spiritual atomic power of the Spirit that impacts lives with the glory of God. This becomes a fruitful life that leaves a legacy that goes far beyond our generation. That is the life and call of every person ever born. Kings and Presidents live to leave a legacy of their life.
In the dynamics of the Spirit you will leave a legacy that transcends the Pharaohs and their pyramids. You will live a life that truly glorifies God.
After Jesus is baptized His Father says this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. This word from His Father blessed Jesus immensely, more than we can imagine. It represents the fullness of their relationship.
Jesus lived to please His Father no matter the cost, even to give His own life in sacrifice. In all decisions of any importance He went to His Father in prayer.
How we need to rediscover that the Spirit filled life is one of learning to please our Father in heaven. We need to awaken to who we are and what our purpose for living in life is all about.
This means we need the way we think to be transformed by the Spirit. How we approach life needs to be renewed in holiness and righteousness, so as to think as Jesus thought. We “put on Christ” after we have put to death our old lifestyle.
All of this is in the knowledge we are our Father’s beloved as we abide in Christ. God loves us and longs to walk with us in this life as expressed by Paul to live and walk in the Spirit.
Jesus lived the Spirit filled as a role model for us. It was centered in His relationship with His Father. He desired to please His Father in all acts of love and obedience. He lived for His Father’s purpose. He followed His Father’s plan for His life.
We are called to this intimate way of life in the Spirit. Our desire is to please our Father with our lifestyle. We seek to fulfill His purpose in our life, which is the best we can live in this sinful world. We know His plan and walk in the Spirit to honor His plan.
This is the life of abiding in the Father and Son. It is full of love and oneness expressed in the power of the Spirit. Thus, relationship with God is the key to the Spirit filled life.
The golden treasure of God’s riches to us is the Spirit filled life. Paul says we are to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. To me this means we can follow Jesus and not be filled with the Spirit.
To be continuously filled with God’s presence is a consecrated life to Jesus. One yields completely to love and serve Jesus with 100% commitment. 99% faithfulness, as in marriage, does not cut it.
This surrender is maintained through obedience to Christ and a daily humble repentant lifestyle that confesses sin and hates sin in one’s life. Otherwise we will quench the Spirit and grieve the Spirit, which causes us to lose the power of the Spirit.
Jesus is the truth. The Holy Spirit teaches us, convicts, and leads us in God’s truth. He reveals to us revelation knowledge of who we are in Christ and what is our call in this life and destiny in the next.
One of His teachings is for us to know the season in which we live. This understanding is crucial for us in order to know how to prepare for the return of Jesus Christ.
Why? Because the Spirit has revealed that we are in the season of Jesus’ return. This stirs in us to be alert and ready, to be faithful servants and being about our Master’s business, to live in intimacy with Jesus, and to use all our resources to build up and multiply the kingdom of God.
Jesus and the Father do not want us to be ignorant of this season, so He has given us the Spirit and His word to know and understand the prophecies of Jesus and the Bible.
What is the Spirit saying to the church? What is the Spirit saying to you?
We begin a study on the Holy Spirit. Who is He? What does He do in us? Why was He sent by Jesus and the Father? In my workbook, End Time Messengers for Jesus, I have a complete section on the Holy Spirit. You can download it for free on our website: blakelorenzministries.com
The Holy Spirit is the One who brings us into God’s riches and treasures of heaven. Yet, so many are living as Christian paupers when we have been blessed with all the spiritual riches of heaven.
We need to know who the Holy Spirit is. How He transforms us and opens us up to the Spirit filled Life that is one of victory and power. The New Testament is filled with stories and teachings on the Holy Spirit. How we need to be awakened by the Spirit to who we truly are in Christ. This study will teach us and open us up to a whole new level of living.
Acts chapter 4 follows the miracle healing by Peter of the man crippled from birth. After Peter and John are arrested, they are released and return to the disciples and tell them what great things God has done.
This inspires the new believers to pray all night for the same boldness Peter and John had. In the night the Holy Spirit is poured out on them. They go out and share with unbelievers that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
We need to do this today. If we are not reproducing disciples, we are dying. Instead, we should die to self and go in the power of the Holy Spirit to plant seeds of life.
The Moravians held a prayer meeting for a hundred straight years, 24/7. The fruit of that was a world wide mission outreach. Impossible, but in Christ and the Holy Spirit they did it. Their call to go to unbelievers is an amazing story: “That the Lamb who was be slain may receive the reward of His suffering.”
They even sold themselves into slavery to reach unbelievers with Jesus!
Jesus gives us His vision for His church in Matthew 28. Based on His authority and power we are to go and make disciples in every nation, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey His commands. Go, evangelize, and disciple.
In obedience to Jesus’ command we need to share our story that has become centered in Jesus Christ. We go into the world with our story. We share it with others and use it to lead them to salvation and then we pour our lives into these believers. That is our story in our love and obedience to Jesus.
Share it in the power of the Holy Spirit with love and joy. Do not be ashamed of your testimony, but be bold and humble in how you tell it to others.
Think of this, the word puts our testimony in the same verse with the blood of Jesus. Revelation 12:1, “They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”
Every believer needs to learn to share their testimony of how they came to salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ. For some, like myself, it is very dramatic. Others, they were raised in the church and always knew Jesus as their Savior. Both stories need to be told, because they are miracles of God.
We need to learn to share our testimony in 1 minute or one hour, always led by the Holy Spirit. Usually, the shorter the better. Write it down. Take a sheet of paper and write three paragraphs. The first, who I was before I met Jesus. The second, what happened when I met Jesus. Thirdly, what happened to me after I gave my life to Jesus.
I have seen thousands come to Christ by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony! Learn to share your testimony and learn to teach others how to share their testimony.
Throughout my ministry I have been amazed at the number of believers who do not have the assurance of their salvation in Christ. Every believer should have the absolute knowledge that they are born again in Jesus and have eternal life.
They should not only have this revelation knowledge, but should be able to share it with others. Romans 5:1-11 and 8:14-17 teach us that God wants us to know we have been saved from our sins and have been adopted into His family. We have received the gift of eternal life.
Perfect love casts out all fear, John wrote in IJohn. This passage has to do with eternal life. As believers we should have no fear of death. This certainty of salvation removes our fear and liberates us to live all for Jesus.
It helps us overcome our fears and worries in life. We are not chained to this world, but can soar over the circumstances of life, because we know this life is only temporary. God in His love has given us the free gift of life in Jesus Christ. This knowledge helps define our identity and our destiny in Christ
In John Chapter 1 we learn the four primary qualities that Jesus looked for in choosing His disciples. They are: hunger for God, availability to be discipled, faithful to share with others what they learned from Jesus, and teachable spirit.
We should not only pray for these qualities in our own lives, but also pray for the men and women we pour our lives into to make disciples, that they should have these qualities.
These qualities will sync with what Jesus wants to do in every believer's life, to know the Lamb of God and be born again, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and with fire, and the life of discipleship in following Jesus and reproducing disciples.
Those that have these qualities become the haft of the sword that is held in the Master’s hand to be used as God created us to glorify God in service to Him!
This word from Jesus gives us the foundation of what it takes to live one’s life for Jesus. It is the other side of the coin of the Spirit filled life. It is a life of sacrifice. It is the key to the sanctified life which will take us deeper into a lifestyle that loves and obeys Jesus.
In this consecration of our lives we learn to learn the voice of the Master and then to obey no matter the cost. This lifestyle will take you on the greatest adventure you can ever imagine. It will fill your life with love, joy, and how to endure the persecutions that come with following Jesus.
This is the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle that can only be lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. It deals with our new life in the Spirit and expresses our love for Jesus and our willingness to sacrifice for Him.
We say no to the desires and habits of the old life and put on our new life in Christ.
Besides the Bible, a must read book for every person hungry to be a disciple of Jesus and to reproduce disciples is Dr. Robert Coleman’s “The Master Plan of Evangelism.” In this book, Dr. Coleman studies the life of Jesus and gives us eight principles of discipleship.
These eight principles he labels: selection, association, consecration, impartation, demonstration, delegation, supervision, and reproduction.
As disciples of Jesus we do not have time to waste in trying to pour our lives into those not interested in becoming true disciples of Jesus. This book teaches us how to make disciples through the life of Jesus, so we invest our time and energy into good soil that will produce much fruit.
Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of every nation. This has been a difficult task to fulfill, especially in the modern church. Most believers have never multiplied their faith by pouring their lives into others to make disciples. John 1:29-51 teaches us what God expects of us to do in every disciple.
They must be born again, baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, and learn to make disciples. The apostles began this in Acts 2 after Pentecost. Paul taught of how to fulfill the vision of Jesus in IITimothy 2:1-7.
This podcast will give you the vision and foundation of discipleship.
This teaches how to teach others to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. As messengers for Jesus, we should be able to lead believers into this power experience with the Holy Spirit. What often keeps us from living in the fullness of God is a lid on our lives. This lid can be unconfessed sin, ignorance, unbelief, fear…
Only God can take the lid off of our lives and pour in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I have seen thousands of pastors, leaders, and people, including entire conferences have the lid taken off of their lives to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. God can use you to do the same!
Eternal life is God’s free gift to us through His Son Jesus Christ. It is life as God has life.
John 17:3 gives us the definition of eternal life: to know the one true God and His Son whom He sent.
This life is for everyone who will repent and believe in Jesus.
This life of abundance begins at the moment of our surrender to Jesus. Just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden, in intimacy and love, this relationship is now restored to us. We will grow in this process of becoming more like Jesus and enjoying His love.
This life is the Father and Son abiding in us.
We will discuss what it means to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. What does it mean to repent unto eternal life? What are the three aspects of faith that are essential to saving faith? Who is this Jesus and what did He do for us?
Just as God gave John the Baptist his message, Jesus has given the message for end time messengers to share. Much of this message is in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus has given us the signs, parables of how we are to live, and what will happen when he returns.
John the Baptist is our role model of what it means to be God’s messengers. We have a call. We have a message. We have a story. Here is my story.
End time messengers have certain characteristics, passions, and knowledge. We are called to awaken believers and unbelievers to the return of Jesus Christ and how we are to live in this season of preparation.
We explore what an end time messenger is in this season in which we live. How we are to use our spiritual gifts as His messenger. We will highlight the value and importance of an end time messenger.
Now we climb the sacred mountain of the 70th week. In this challenge we will give a unique view of the 70th week of Daniel’s vision. Perhaps it is not a seven year period, but could be an integer of seven, meaning any number divided by seven, such as 7, 14, 21...56, 70...140...Then we will look at what takes place within this time frame.
The seventh and final determination given in the 70 weeks vision concerns desolation. There are three aspects of this desolation. The first is the desolation of judgement by God upon the Jews and Jerusalem for breaking the covenant. The second is the false desolation that Satan and the antiChrist bring upon the Jews and Jerusalem. The third if God’s judgement upon Satan and the antiChrist for their sinful rebellion against God and what they did to the Jews and Jerusalem.
The sixth determination of Daniel 9:24 concerns the Messiah. It is through Jesus that all that God has ordained will flow through. He is the anointed King of God and the Holy One of God Who comes to redeem us and make us holy.
The fifth determination of God in Daniel’s vision concerns the sealing of the prophecies that will come through Jesus. In the last days they will be revealed to us. Some of these signs is the global world will have come into being, Israel will be reborn, and Jerusalem will again become the capital of Israel after 2500 years!
The plan of God in Jesus Christ is not only to do away with our sin, but to make us righteous in His eyes. Jesus is the Son of Righteousness. He will bring in everlasting righteousness. We need to rejoice in this wonderful gift of God to us.
The third determination God gave Israel was to be reconciled to God for our iniquity. Iniquity describes the immoral and wicked character of sin. This iniquity comes from a lack of love in our hearts and our corrupt nature. Jesus has taken care of this on the cross and reconciled us to God.
We take a slight detour from the 70 weeks to what it means in this season of preparing for Jesus’ return to put on Christ. We are to be clothed with Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions. We are to make no provision for the flesh.
The first God ordained event was to finish the transgression. The second was to make an end to sins. We will see how all of these actions of God will flow through Jesus the Messiah. Only Jesus could fulfill all that has been determined.
God has determined His plan of salvation and blessing for His people, the Jews and Jerusalem, His holy city. The last week of the vision is tied to the restoration of the Jews to Israel. This gives us an understanding of how we are in the last week and how we should live in this season.
We need to understand how the 70 weeks divide up and what God has determined to happen with the Jewish people and Jerusalem for the next 2500 plus years. God has determined 7 specific future actions He will do through the Messiah in this vision.
Daniel receives a vision of 70 weeks from God concerning the Jewish people and Jerusalem that pertains to the rest of their history in relation to God’s redemption of humanity. It is of high importance we study what God has determined for the descendants of Abraham and how that influences us as believers in these last days
Before we start the 70 weeks of Daniel, one final teaching about getting the foundation of your life right. That foundation for believers is consecration. That pattern for consecration is found in Genesis 35 and is repeated throughout the BIble, especially in Romans. This is essential in order to live a life fully for God.
Daniel teaches us how to gain understanding from God concerning the season in which we live. He prays. He fast. He makes confession and repentance. He petitions God and cries out for an answer. He is desperate and his lifestyle reflects his love for God and for the Jews and Jerusalem.
Daniel teaches us that when we know our identity in God and know our destiny, God will use our lives. This truth enables us to not compromise with our culture. We fear God, not man. We will live a life of consecration.
Daniel teaches us that a life connected to God that goes deep in relationship with Him, full of faith and courage can impact nations. We must refuse to compromise with our culture, but purpose in our hearts not to be defiled.
After our consecration to God we need to spend time alone with God. Daniel is a prime role model of how to live a life of consecration. The more you invest with God, the greater He will use your life for His glory.
Our journey back to Bethel with Jacob. Bethel is God’s symbol for us as His gateway to heaven. That gateway today is Jesus. Our return to Bethel is a time of renewed consecration where we put away any idols in our heart, a new cleansing, and when we put on a new garment or put on Christ.
God calls us to consecrate our lives to Him as witnessed in the life of Jacob. This needs to become our first priority after we have become a follower of Jesus. This call to consecration deepens in the years as we walk with Jesus. Is God calling you to Bethel for a new level of consecration?
Revelation truth leads to a life of consecration to God for His plans and purposes. This leads to Holy Spirit power and a life of love and service to Jesus full of joy and adventure and wonder.
This ties together what we have studied in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus knows He will be betrayed and arrested, then killed shortly. Therefore, He has told His disciples Jis death is not the end, but a prelude to His return as King.
Genesis 35 connected with Matthew 25 gives us insight into how we need to put into action the words of Jesus relating to the new covenant and the nations. Jacob's stone and Genesis 35 teach us to pray for our nation, coupled with Matthew 25 how to vote and minister in Jesus' name.
There are three major covenant promises in Genesis. One concerns personal salvation, the second relates to families, and the third concerns nations. We need to know these teachings to help prepare the way for Jesus, especially the third relating to the nations.
We will review and discuss the signs of Jesus' return. The beginning of sorrows are identified as they intensify announcing He is ready to come on His second trip from heaven to earth. We have a calling and anointing to prepare the way.
There is no doubt that Jesus is coming back. He tells us and the signs He promised are clear and evident we are in the season of His return. What a day that will be!
Jesus gives us insights into how we can know the truth in this age of deception. We need to know Jesus intimately, who He is and what He has done for us. We need to feast on His words and know the prophecies of His return.
Jesus warns us three times not to be deceived in the season of His return. Charismatic leaders, antichrists and false prophets will deceive us concerning His return. We see in our day how we are being deceived by politicians, the news media, social media, scientists, religious leaders...
Jesus speaks wonderful words to those who love and serve Him faithfully, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master." We were created for joy, so expect to be joy and share it with others.
In this fifth parable that Jesus gives in teaching us how to live in the season of His return, He gave us insight into how we should use the resources God has given us in this life. God gives us gifts and abilities to fulfill our responsibilities in serving our Creator.
THis fourth parable of the ten virgins reminds us what it means to be ready for His return and the danger of not being ready. It is a wake up call to the church for those whom Jesus knows and does not know. How we can be certain Jesus knows us.
This third parable of Jesus teaches us how to serve Jesus in obedience to His word. How we are to disciple our families and give them the spiritual food for this season of His return as opposed to the evil and unfaithful servant who disregards the return of His Master.
This second parable of Jesus teaches how we are to be watchful and ready for His return. We are not to be so consumed with this world and our selfish living that we are not prepared for His return. How can we live so that we are ready!
This teaches on why we believe Jesus is the Messiah and why we know He is coming again. We will use Scriptures, prophecies, and testimonies to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and is coming back for us. His love triumphs over all the sin, death and evils of this world.
Jesus makes it clear in this first of five parables concerning the season of His return that He expects us to know this season. That also means to know the Scriptures and prophecies that concern His Second Coming with the ability to share this with others.
We will discuss what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Why this is essential to have in order to live as Jesus taught us to live in this season of His return. God continues to pour His Spirit upon believers to use us to prepare the way for Jesus' Second Coming.
As Paul addresses the Romans to wake up from their sleep, he gives us seven foundational truths to keep us awake and on fire for Jesus. In this episode we will address what these practical applications are to keep us from mediocre Christianity and to wake up with a purpose and mission every day.
Paul in Romans 13:11-14 gives us seven reasons on why believers remain asleep when there is work to be done. We need to know these dangers and make sure we lay the proper foundation in our lives to build a life that is alive and doing the will of our Father and not our own.
Since the beginning of the church on Pentecost the challenge is to keep believers awake to the vision of Jesus. Our tendency is to fall asleep on the job. Jesus has given us His teachings on how we should live in this season of His return. We are to wake up the believers to this plan.
God comes to us to awaken us to His plans and invites us to join Him in the redemption of the world. As our Lord awakens us, we are to know the season in which we live, so we can best prepare the way for the return of Jesus. Our challenge is to journey together in this great adventure.
Awaken is the call of God to our generation for the preparation of the return of Jesus. This will be the greatest event in human history. We will journey together in learning how to live in this season as taught by Jesus and how we can be part of preparing the way for His Second Coming. Now that is exciting!