You Can Always Come Back to God (Episode 47)

Just as it is true of our biological family, God’s family is not a perfect family. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you can’t blow it at times. Sometimes, we allow life or people or things to get the best of us. The devil would love nothing more than to cause us to become overwhelmed with the guilt of our moral failures.
But no matter how far we stray from the Lord, or how deeply we fall, we can always come back to God. We can always repent and revive our walk with Him. That is the story of the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus taught. Furthermore, Jesus says, all of heaven rejoices when a sinner repents and returns to God. 
Though we can always come back to God, this does not mean we should take sin lightly. Even under the grace dispensation under which we stand, it is God's will that we walk uprightly before Him at all times.
Because God is holy, He hates sin, but He loves sinners. Needless to say, it displeases Him when those who name the name of Christ practice sin. Still, the good news is that we can always come back to God. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, KJV).
Music Credits:
Intro Music: By Leva via Pixabay
Ending Music: By Oleksandr Savochka via Pixabay

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice (Episode 43)

Some churchgoers who are big on religious activities and rituals choose to live in disobedience to God’s instructions for their life. More than anything else, however, God wants our obedience to Him. That is what we mean by the religious cliché, “obedience is better than sacrifice.”
In the Old Testament, a sacrifice was an offering to God, such as a burnt offering, a sin offering, etc. For us today, our sacrifice refers to the religious things we offer to God. They include the songs we sing to Him, religious rituals, giving money, etc. These things have their proper place in our relationship with God. But more than these things, He wants us to obey Him. Without the latter, the former means little or nothing to God. That's why obedience is better than sacrifice.
Every Christian should attend church regularly, reverence God through their religious activity, and faithfully give financially. But churchgoers tend to place way more value on these activities than God does. He is not impressed with our external show of piety. What He wants is our heart; our obedience to Him. Frank King reminds us that nothing exists that we can offer God to compensate for our failure to obey Him.
Music Credits:
Intro Music: By Leva via Pixabay
Ending Music: By Oleksandr Savochka via Pixabay

The Problem With a Carnal Mind (Episode 42)

Generally speaking, the carnal mind is the natural mind. The carnal mind is the mind of the flesh. We were all born with a carnal mind. The question is, what is wrong, in the eyes of God, with a carnal mind? That is the focus of this podcast episode.
In Paul's letter to the church at Rome, he gives us a simple definition of carnal mindedness. He writes, "For those who are according to the flesh sets their minds on the things of the flesh...." (Romans 8:5, NASB). Based upon this verse, if your mind is focused on the things that please the flesh, you are a carnally minded person. More importantly, there is something fundamentally wrong with that mindset that makes it impossible—not hard, but impossible—for us to please God in that state.
When we accept Christ as our Savior, we become a new creation. Through this life-changing experience, we are empowered to live a spiritually minded life. But that in no way means that carnal mindedness only applies to unbelievers. You can be a genuine Christian and still be carnally minded. Every Christian who is carnally minded should give due attention to this serious spiritual problem. That's if he wants to please God.
Music Credits:
Intro Music: By Leva via Pixabay
Ending Music: By Oleksandr Savochka via Pixabay

Who Is Your Neighbor? (Episode 41)

The term "neighbor" means different things to different people. Virtually all of us belong to a neighborhood of some kind. But in the eyes of God, who is your neighbor? Our normal way of thinking is that our neighbors are the ones who live on the same street we do. Some of us may extend our circle of neighbors to one or two streets over as well.
According to the Bible, you should love your neighbor as you love yourself. Jesus says this commandment is second only to the commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That places neighborly love extremely high on God's list. That means, if we want to please the Lord, loving our neighbors should be high on our list as well. So, what kind of neighbor do you consider yourself to be?
The Lord has a way of challenging our traditional views, our preconceived notions, and our narrow-minded or hypocritical views. That's why it's important to know, in the eyes of the Lord, who is your neighbor. That is the focus of this episode.
When our eyes become open to our errant thinking, we must bring our thinking in line with biblical truth. Perhaps some listeners will do that after listening to this episode.
Music Credits:
Intro Music: By Leva via Pixabay
Ending Music: By Oleksandr Savochka via Pixabay

How We Overcome the World (Episode 40)

In the first epistle of John, chapter 5, he refers to those who have overcome the world. When we overcome the world, our life is no longer governed by the ways and the principles of this world but by the principles of the Kingdom of God. These two lifestyles diametrically oppose each other.
The first step to overcoming this world is to place your faith in Christ. Everything in this world is aimed at us conforming to the world. That is the relentless agenda of our enemy the devil. He blinds the minds of unbelievers so they can't see the glorious light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). Those who press their way and find faith in Christ, in spite of devil's vicious agenda, are the ones who have overcome the world.
Some may argue that people today can’t live for God in this ungodly world. But if you believe that it’s not possible to live for God in the 21st century, you will live according to what you believe. As Christians, however, we should believe what the Bible declares. According to the Word of God, we CAN overcome this world and live victoriously for the Lord.
Music Credits:
Intro Music: By Leva via Pixabay
Ending Music: By Oleksandr Savochka via Pixabay

Religion Is Not Enough (Episode 34)

Christianity is based upon a personal relationship with God. That relationship is made possible only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sad but true, many churchgoers fail to ever move from the point of mere religion to relationship. In this episode, Frank King explains why religion is not enough.
The story of Judas the disciple should serve as a warning that mere religion is not enough.  Think about it. Judas had the greatest Preacher and Teacher in the world as his minister. He heard perhaps every message Jesus delivered. He saw the miracles Jesus performed. But in the end, Judas died apart from God.
It appears that Judas was just, as we say, playing church. Even near the end of Jesus’ public ministry, the Bible reveals some troubling things about Judas. For one, he went to the religious leaders and promised to betray the Lord for money (Matthew 26:15). From that point on, he sought the opportunity to betray the Lord.
At another place, the Bible referred to Jesus as a thief (John 12:6). This man was hand-picked by Jesus. He left the affairs of his life to follow Jesus. For three years he came to every service Jesus held. He heard every sermon Jesus preached—or at least he was present. He witnessed all the miracles Jesus did.
But for Judas, all of the above amounted to nothing but religious activity. And that will get you know where with God. Judas' demise is a tragic reminder that mere religion is not enough.
According to the Bible, the devil put it in Judas' heart to betray the Lord (John 13:2). But that wasn’t the only voice speaking to Judas. The Lord was speaking to him. He heard Jesus preach about hell and how terrible it was. He heard Jesus preach about the need to repent, and how to be saved. Judas saw Jesus rebuke and cast out devils, etc. Yes, Judas had many opportunities to be saved.
The same is true for those who are lost today. There are several voices out there. They include the voice of this world, the voice of the devil, the voice of our flesh, and the voice of the Lord. They are all trying to get our attention. One must choose to obey the voice of the Lord.

Not by Bread Alone (Episode 31)

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NASB). Jesus responded to the devil this way in the wilderness when the devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger. Jesus’ words underscore the importance of the Word of God in the life of a Christian. In this episode, Evangelist Frank King addresses the indispensability of the Word of God in our life.
You and I are not only a physical being but also, we are a spiritual being. Accordingly, no matter how good and wholesome the foods that we eat are, they can do nothing to help us become spiritually strong or healthy. That’s why we can’t live on bread alone. And that’s why we have the Word of God.
To become the spiritually strong and vibrant Christian God wants us to be, we must develop a healthy appetite for God’s Word. Any believer who does not build himself up with the Word of God will be anemic and spiritually malnourished. This is the reason for many of the weak Christians in the truth today.
The premise of what Jesus told the devil in the wilderness is that we must heed the Word of God. In other words, the value of the Bible does not come through merely reading and hearing it, but through practicing it’s teachings.
The fascinating thing about the Bible is that it is the record of words that came from the mouth of God. Or words that have been inspired by God for holy men to write.
 

Why We Need to Contend for the Faith (Episode 30)

Unless you live with your head buried in the sand, you know that there are vicious assaults going on against the Christian faith these days. And that’s because not everybody agrees with, or wants to submit to, God’s plan for their life and for this world. The opposition is passionate about getting their message out. In this episode, Frank King challenges the church to be just as or even more passionate to contend for the faith.
Based on the words of Jude’s epistle, this assault against the Christian faith is not unique to our day. It existed during the days of the apostles as well. Jude expresses the urgency of his appeal to the believers:
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3, KJV).
According to Jude, his initial intent was to write to them about salvation, which is extremely important. But that initial intent was overcome by the need to address this more urgent issue. There exists two key terms or phrases in the verse above: “earnestly contend” and “the faith which was once delivered to the saints.”
To earnestly contend for the faith means we must not be passive or noncommittal but diligent to do so. The faith that was delivered to the saints refers to the undiluted gospel that has been given to us by the Lord Jesus and His apostles.
What was the occasion for Jude’s urgent appeal? It was ungodly men who had crept in among the believers unawares. These men denied God and the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 4).
The State of the Church Today
We have the same kind of evil men among us today that existed in Jude’s day.  Some are preachers who have gained access to pulpits in our churches. They are preaching another gospel. They downplay or outright the deny the need to repent. They turn the message of grace into a message of go to heaven your way. Some don’t even believe in the virgin birth of Christ or the deity of Christ.

Abiding in the Truth (Episode 27)

In America, we are afforded freedom of religion.  Accordingly, we have countless religious choices. Regardless of what one’s religious beliefs are, he is almost certain to find an accommodating religion. In this episode, Evangelist Frank King addresses the importance of knowing and abiding in the truth found in God’s Word.
Paul wrote to the church at Galatia because after knowing the truth, the local body did not hold fast to the same. He was shocked by how quickly the church’s departure from the truth had occurred. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel,” he wrote (Galatians 1:6, KJV).
One thing that’s evident in Paul’s words to this local church is that knowing the truth does not mean you can’t end up in error. Hence, the need for a personal commitment to abiding in the truth.
What was Paul’s advice to this church? He writes, “But though we, or angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (verse 8).
In other words, shun everyone who comes to you preaching a gospel that’s different from what we the apostles have preached to you. Paul knew the Galatians knew the truth because he had given that to them. That’s important because first you must know the truth before you can detect error. 
Note how crystal-clear Paul is here: Even if an angel comes and tries to sell you on another gospel, let him be accursed. Under the OT law, when something was accursed, you were to avoid it like the plague. That’s what Paul was telling the people of God to do about divergent teachings. And that is excellent advice for us as well.

How God Speaks to Us (Episode 25)

God primarily speaks to us through His Word. He and His Word are one. That means whatever God says to us through His Word will always agree with what He would say to us if He were to speak to us in an audible voice. Hence, if someone claims to have heard from God but speaks counter to God’s word, he or she has not heard from God.
In this episode, Evangelist Frank King takes the subject of how God speaks to us to another level. He says that if the Word of God is the only way you hear from God, then you are not hearing everything God’s trying to say to you.
A good example of how God speaks to us in ways other than the Bible is recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. During Paul’s third missionary journey, a vision appeared to him at night. In the vision Paul saw a man of Macedonia saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9, NASB). This vision was preceded by the Holy Spirit forbidding Paul and Timothy from going to preach in Asia and Bithynia. Putting these two experiences together, they concluded that God had called them to preach in Macedonia.
We know that Paul wrote most of the NT. And we tend to think that he always heard a crystal-clear voice from God. But it was not always that way. In the case above, Paul and Timothy didn’t hear a voice from heaven. Their direction came from acts of the Holy Spirit and a vision.
God’s word is the pillar of truth. It is the standard by which all conduct and all so-called prophecies are to be evaluated. God never acts counter to His Word. It is the means by which we can know whether or not we are walking in the lanes of truth.
But within those lanes, God can speak to us through the Holy Spirit, through prophecies, through dreams and visions, and through divinely orchestrated events in our life. It’s important that we have ears to hear what He is saying to us through these means.
If we limit how God speaks to us to His Word, we will have to figure out some important things on our own. And we know that’s not a recipe for success.