Biblical Moments with Frank King

God Has the Answer (Episode 32)

We don’t have to have all the answers to life’s challenges. But our faith must be in the one who does, and that is God and His Son Jesus Christ. In this episode, Frank King wants you to know that whatever your problem or challenge is in life, God has the answer.
At times, we may find ourselves lacking what we need in life. But it is amazing what the Lord can do with the little we have when we trust Him with it. For instance, in John’s record of the gospel, he writes about a time when Jesus took a little boy’s food, blessed it, and fed an army of people. The group included almost 5000 men (John 6:10). Everyone ate as much as he wanted, and the leftovers greatly exceeded what Jesus began with.
This miraculous event occurred in the wilderness. Three important points about that. One, they were in the wilderness because the people had followed Jesus from the city. Two, the people were hungry.  Three, because they were in the wilderness, no place existed for buying food even if they had the money.
Initially, Jesus asked Philip what they were going to do to feed the people. “This He was saying to test him, for He himself knew what He was intending to do” (John 6:6, NASB). Similarly, whatever problem you have, the Lord always know what to do about it.
Understand that your faith is no better than the object of your faith. Some people have faith in their money, but money has its limits. Some have faith in themselves or in other people, but people have limits also. That’s why it behooves us to place our faith in God. In Mark 9:23, Jesus says, all things are possible to him who believes.

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.

Three Reasons to Be Thankful (Episode 29)

With a view toward the holiday we call Thanksgiving Day, Frank King in this podcast episode shares three reasons for us to be thankful. Of course, thanksgiving for us is not merely a day of the year. Rather, it is a way of life. But the holiday serves as a good opportunity for us talk about the importance of thanksgiving and being thankful.
It’s highly possible that some who listen to this podcast episode may not be feeling as though they have much to be thankful for. Let’s face it; even Christians can experience times in life when things can look dark. God never promised us that every day in our life would be a great day.
But Frank says these are three reasons you should be thankful—even when your circumstances suggest otherwise. That’s because these three things are true about God even when you are unhappy about your current status in life. Remember, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV).
The focus of this podcast is not the giving of thanks but being thankful. Frank says these two are not necessarily the same. He says you can attend worship every week, offer thanksgiving to God, and still not be thankful. You can offer thanksgiving and not be thankful, but you can’t be thankful and not offer thanksgiving.
In Psalm 100, the psalmist challenges the people of God to come to the house of God with thanksgiving and praise. He writes, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name” (Psalm 100:4, NASB).

God’s Way of Doing Things (Episode 28)

To properly relate to God, we must have some understanding of His ways. The more we understand them, the better we can relate to Him. In this episode, Frank King focuses on God’s way of doing things.
Some Christians are naïve in their approach to God because they are ignorant of His ways. The way they think is not compatible with how God operates. But one thing that is clear in the Scriptures is that God does not tailor His ways to accommodate our ignorance or misconceptions.
Are you currently waiting on the Lord to fulfill a promise to you? You pray and look and wait, but you don’t see anything happening. Well, perhaps; just perhaps; God is fulfilling His promise to you. But He is doing it in such a way that you cannot even imagine.
Our ignorance of God’s way of doing things can breed frustration. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts,” He says (Isaiah 55:9, KJV). That’s why He has given us the Bible so we can learn His ways.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
When the angel appeared to Abraham to announce that God would bless Sarah with a child, Sarah laughed. This was understandable. At this time, she was 89 years old and had been born barren.
The angel heard it when Sarah laughed. He asked Abraham why did Sarah laugh. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” the angel asked (Genesis 18:14). It was a rhetorical question. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

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.

Overcoming Fear by Faith (Episode 26)

Faith in God is the essence of Christianity. According to the Bible, without faith, it’s impossible to please God. One of the biggest impediments to living by faith, is the presence of fear.
Fear in and of itself is not a sin. All of us will know fear at times. We were born with the capacity to fear. It is what motivates us to take necessary actions to safeguard ourselves against danger. That's the good side of fear. But whenever fear prevents us from living out our purpose for the Lord, fear is a bad thing. And we must learn how to move beyond that kind of fear.
One occasion for experiencing fear is when we face seemingly overwhelming opposition, and we perceive that opposition to be greater than we are. We may be born again and have Christ living inside us, but whenever we have to confront opposition that we perceive to be greater than we are, fear wants to raise its ugly head.
During Jesus’ ministry, He didn’t teach one sermon about how to escape being tested in life. He never promised us that life would be free of challenges. But He taught a lot about the importance of having faith in God. And faith is the biblical cure for overcoming fear.
Overcoming fear in our life is vital because we are called to be people of faith and not of fear. Accordingly, Paul the apostle writes, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:6, KJV).

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.

Sometimes, You Have to Encourage Yourself (Episode 24)

We all need to be encouraged at times. Believers attend church regularly to be encouraged through the good news of the gospel. In this podcast episode, Evangelist Frank King says it’s also important to be able to encourage yourself.
Sometimes, your need to be encouraged can’t wait until the next time the church doors open. Or the kind of encouragement you need to hear may not be the message for the day at church. Your best friend may not be available to talk to or come by. If you don’t know how to encourage yourself in the face of circumstances that threaten to overwhelm you, you will have a problem standing in times like that.
A time occurred in King David’s life when he had to encourage himself. While he and his army were out at war, the Amalekites came into their city and burned it and took their wives and children captive.
When David and his men returned home and saw the destruction, they were emotionally devastated. “David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4, KJV).
As if that was not enough, the men of David’s army talked about stoning him! Now David did not burn down their city. He did not take their wives and their children captive. He was one with them. He’s feeling the same loss they were. But the men were grieved.
David could have lost it at this point. He could have wallowed in self-pity. But “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (verse 6).
Anyone subjected to what David experienced would be emotionally distraught. No matter how spiritually mature you are and how much you love God, a button exists that life can push and bring you to a low point in your life.
But David was able to overcome by encouraging himself in the Lord. No other source of encouragement existed. His entire world had fallen apart.
It’s moments like this one that we find out what we are really made of. All of us know how to thrive when all is well. But what about when the bottom falls out of life? David challenges us in that regard. When he had lost his possessions and his wife and his children, and his own army wanted to stone him to death, he encouraged himself in the Lord.

Seeing Good in Your Bad (Episode 23)

In this podcast episode, Frank King challenges believers to learn to see some good even in bad times. But oftentimes, seeing good in our bad is not an easy thing to do. Too often, when bad times come in our life, all we can see and think about and talk about is what we are going through. God, however, can take those situations and use them for His glory.
One purpose of the gospel is to change our perspective on life and on the challenges we face in life. Since God is with us, even our bad times are seasoned with some good. According to the Bible, God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. That’s a good reason to believe that even when things are bad for us, God is causing them to trend toward something good on our behalf.
Seeing good in your bad is an act of faith. You must be able to look beyond what you see and believe the hand of God is working on your behalf. Sometimes, He is working out His best in you through the bad things He allows you to endure.
Every one of us is going to be tried in this life at one time or another. That is true even when you faithfully serve the Lord. Paul writes, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12, NASB). “All” means no exceptions.