The Message of the Twelve | The Way God Works - Episode 36
The idea that beauty comes through pain is found throughout the New Testament. It was true for the nation of Israel, it's presented as truth throughout the New Testament, and it's true for us. We are saved through the pain and suffering of Jesus Christ. After Salvation, we are to be refined by suffering. The fact that so few Christians embrace this is fact is the reason we see so few Christians that look like silver and gold. Elementary Christianity is the ability to endure suffering with a joyful, right spirit. We often forfeit the deepest joys in life because we refuse to give up a life of ease and comfort.
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The Apocalypse | Bitter Sweet - Episode 34
Serving God understands that He is in control. Every day of our lives is under His omnipotent supervision. Our God is in control. The earth is being ripped apart from above and below, and God is in control in the midst of it.
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The Message of the Twelve | Hope for the Future - Episode 33
Zachariah was trying to tell the people of Israel in chapter 12 that a better day was coming. Zechariah said that there would come a day when they realized just how good God had been to them, and realizing this, they would weep because they had neglected Him. The Creator God of the universe is in control of your present circumstances. The goodness of God should always lead his children to repentance. We may look back one day and realize the One Who was pierced for us was worthy of more of our devotion.
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The Apocalypse | Demonic Invasion - Episode 31
The fifth and sixth trumpet represent the greatest judgments the world has ever seen. Demons rise up from below the earth to torment men. They unleash horror and pain. They turn against those who have worshiped them. Sin and darkness always turn against those who serve them. In all of this, men do not repent of the priorities they have given their lives to. Humanity, in its fallenness, gives itself to that which wounds, kills, and destroys. As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
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The Message of the Twelve | Getting What We Deserve - Episode 30
If we're not careful, we'll persist is pushing for what we want, and we may get it. But in doing so, we may lose what we had. In time, people often get the king they deserve. It is only when we do things God's way that we can experience God's blessing.
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The Apocalypse | When the Trumpets Blow - Episode 29
The trumpets bring about staggering apocalyptic events as God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. The judgment described in chapter 8 is both sobering and unimaginable. The judgment reveals the hardness of men’s hearts as they refuse to repent, even in the face of awesome displays of power and wrath. Sin has a callousing effect on the human heart. We would be prudent to check the condition of our own hearts.
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The Message of the Twelve | Removing the Obstacles - Episode 28
Worldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance may get you somewhere, but they wont get you where God can get you. Yet, worldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance are a huge temptation for us. Trusting things other than God for life's successes and rewards is tempting, but we should not place faith in the world to meet our needs.
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Mercy and Martyrs - Episode 26
Mercy is not getting what we deserve. We become the recipients of mercy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In chapter 7, 144,000 redeemed people sing and rejoice because of this reality.
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The Message of the Twelve | A Savior Comes - Episode 25
God chooses to accomplish His will through His own power, not man’s. God saves and protects His people through his own power. We are limited in power and resources, God is not. The primary means by which God’s people are to achieve victory and success is God’s power. If we think we can win in life and gain success based on human effort and wisdom alone, we are sorely misguided.
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The Apocalypse | The Beginning of the End - Episode 23
As Jesus begins to break the seals in chapter 6, the events that follow are awful and terrifying. God effectively removes all restraining grace from the earth, and man is left to face the consequences of his own depravity. The result is catastrophic. We’re reading of a future reality; what should be our response? Future realities ought to press themselves into present conduct and behavior. This revelation is a demonstration of what our sin looks like unchecked. The irony of the tribulation is that those who sided with Satan think they are winning. Their sin brings them gain for a short time, but the reality of sin is that it will always cannibalize itself. Every time we willfully sin we bring tribulation on ourselves.
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The Message of the Twelve | Finish the Work - Episode 22
You reap what you sow. If you want your life to be better, plant seeds now. The only thing that stands between you and what God wants for you is probably you. People often give up on something that is better because it is hard. God wants to bless us, but we have to do our part. We have to sow.
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The Apocalypse | Only Christ - Episode 20
Humanity’s hope is utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ alone has the power to redeem our lives. Our everything is dependent on Christ. No meaning can be found outside of Him.
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The Message of the Twelve | Social Justice - Episode 19
God says, “Your relationship with me will be evidenced by the way you treat other people.” God is concerned about the vulnerable. God is concerned with social justice. He is concerned that those who have the power to help others do so. A gospel void of a desire to help others is not pleasing to God.
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The Apocalypse | The Throne Room of God - Episode 17
This passage is a picture of what heaven will be like. As human beings, we bow down and pay homage to countless other things. However, there is nothing that compares to the incomprehensible glory of God.
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The Message of the Twelve | The Sovereignty of God - Episode 16
God gave Zechariah a vision, and in chapter 6, God revealed to Zechariah that He is sovereign and in control of everything that is taking place in the world. The theology of God’s sovereignty continues to our present world and current condition. Our understanding of this great Bible truth should be reflected in our faith, our hope, and our praise.
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The Apocalypse | The Church at Laodicea - Episode 14
For us to believe that modern Christianity is what God intended, we would be sorely mistaken. The blessing and prosperity in Laodicea was doing something insidious in the hearts of the believers there. God cares what happens in His churches. God’s message to the church at Laodicea was nothing but sadness and rebuke. Their wealth and prosperity made them blind to how useless they were to God. Sometimes our greatest enemy is within ourselves. If Laodicea, in its first century wealth, was rendered useless, what hope is there for us? This is a strong warning. Wealth, success, and security make people weak.
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The Message of the Twelve | Don’t Bring Babylon with You - Episode 13
There is no place for abuse of others in a community of faith. We can’t build the community of faith God wants if we are careless in the way we treat other people. We can’t bring Babylon into the church and be okay. There is an evil that, if we’re not careful, can filter and find its way into the church.
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The Apocalypse | The Church at Philadelphia - Episode 11
One of our greatest human shortcomings is that we are shortsighted. We live for the moment. We live indulgently. We make compromises too easily. We forfeit a better future by living at a low level right now. Present sufferings are worth enduring for life’s future rewards. Some losses incurred in the moment are worth the gain to come in the future.
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The Apocalypse | The Church at Sardis - Episode 3
Are you authentic? We often think of authenticity being on the inside, but authentic Christians are externally verifiable. One is not a Christian just because he says so. Anyone can call anything gold, but a simple test will determine whether or not it really is. If one is a real Christian, he will have a spiritual pulse. This is not a question of merit. It is a question of authenticity.
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The Message of the Twelve | Bringing the Mountain Down - Episode 2
God’s Spirit, power, and Truth are what this world needs. God’s Spirit and Truth are the solution to all of life’s problems, not systems and methodologies. His Spirit is the answer. It’s the answer for your brokenness. It’s the answer for your weakness. It’s the answer for your bitterness. It’s the answer for our church. It’s the answer for your family. It’s the answer for our mountain of challenges. Let us never underestimate the power of the Spirit in our lives, and let us never fail to ask for this power.
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