Transforming Truth With Jeff Lyle

We live in some heavy and often depressing days. Threats of another World War, a struggling economy, impossible gas prices, racial strife and constant political hostility - this is the culture we awake in each day. If we are not careful, the nastiness on the outside can creep inside. We have to push back hard against fear, worry and the clouds of dread. In Matthew 6, we read the inspired words of Jesus who refused to permit us to give in to the season of gloom. His hunger for us to experience the presence, provision, and power of God was His offer in these verses. From his words, we learn how to fight back against the challenges outside of us so that they never finds its residence inside of us. It’s time to talk to your own soul about these teachings from Jesus and win the war with worry.

One’s elevation in the things of God will almost never rise above the level at which one regards the written Word of God. The Bible is alive. It is the primary source through which the Spirit matures us in our understanding of the Kingdom, and also in our personal relationship with Christ. Those who prioritize a commitment to the Scriptures will have great advantage against the corrupt culture, their own flesh, and the attacks from the demonic realm. God imparts His own heart to us through the Scriptures. Is it any wonder that Satan fights your commitment to remain a diligent student of the Bible? This Truth Shot episode motivates all of us to remain joyfully committed to ongoing pursuit of revelation from the Scriptures, viewing it as the key essential for consistently victorious Christian living. 

One of the sobering marks of the present state of the American Church is the flippancy with which we approach the Almighty. It seems that many professing Christians interpret God’s grace toward us as permission to operate in various levels of slackness and irreverence. Many offer God their leftovers in life. Consecration is viewed as legalism and sacrificial service is labeled striving. Does it matter how we worship God? Does He care what we offer Him as long as we offer…something? A careful look at Malachi chapter one reminds us that the God who never changes expects an intentional, thoughtful response from those who say they belong to Him. Yes, Jesus paid it all, but that reality must never produce in us a mindless, cavalier approach to worship and service to God.

When a local church strategizes to make a fuller impact on its God-assigned territory, there must arise a season wherein that church is organized for the maximum effectiveness in ministry. Primary leaders in the church must be freed up to focus on the most essential matters which only they can accomplish. Elders and five-fold leaders cannot afford to give themselves to the duties assigned to them by God as leaders. Yet, there is always the day to day needs of the members of the flock - who takes care of these people and their needs? The New Testament reveals a team approach to ministry. The role of Deacons is crucial to a healthy framework of teamwork. Acts 6:1-7 reveals the origin of what would become the ministry of Deacons, and these men and women carry some of the most important pieces of the life of a local church. God requires them to live as people of character and commitment who offer strength to the body and support to the primary leaders. This message breaks down the great need in our day for competent Christians to step into the powerful ministry of Deacons.

Solomon, the king of wisdom, offers some timeless and strong counsel about approaching God with reverence and authenticity. This passage from Ecclesiastes urges us to guard our steps when entering God’s house, emphasizing listening over hasty speech, thoughtless vows, and flippant commitments to God. Certain types of people live in a fantasy land with God, and they often forget that God is in heaven, and we are on earth, so our worship should be marked by sober thinking, humility and awe. In this message, we reflect on the importance of thoughtful devotion, the weight of our words, and the call to live with integrity before a holy God, trusting His wisdom over fleeting human pursuits and empty dreams.

The most famous teaching on prayer found in the Bible was actually part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Luke 11:1 lets us know that Jesus released this teaching on prayer in response to some disciples' request to be taught how to prayer. Often called The Lord's Prayer, this simple teaching from the King helps us to grasp the heart of how Jesus desires for us to communicate in prayer with God. There is deep treasure - even mystery! - in this prayer. Understanding the depths of what Jesus teaches is actually key to victorious Christian living and spiritual breakthrough. This prayer training from Jesus offers us a healthy heart-posture for our own prayers, which enables all the words we pray to God to become fruitful, honorable and powerful. Let's learn how to pray all over again by taking an in-depth look at Jesus recommended approach to dialogue with the Father.

God allows impossibility in the lives of His children in order to bring us into fuller spiritual maturity. While many Christians prefer the shallows, God does not assign us to that type of destiny. God prefers us regularly in over our heads. It is only in these places where faith is stretched from one place into a better one. From God’s leading of the ancient Hebrews we learn how moments of crisis become seasons of growth and breakthrough. If you are in over your head…you should be. That is the only place breakthrough can be experienced.

God is drawing the lines between the status quo churchgoers and the fiery, sold-out-for-Jesus zealots. The culture is boldly trying to mute the followers of Jesus. Christians have been passive and easily intimidated with the powerful, unapologetic message of the Kingdom looking more like a mollified seeking of permission to just exist. In Acts chapter 4, when the elites sought to muzzle the Church, the leaders defied the powers that be and prayed for a ground-shaking fulness of the Spirit that could not be silenced. God is calling today’s Christians to respond in the same boldly defiant way to the forces of an elitist culture that keeps trying to press the mute button on the people of God.

Research tells us that the average stay of a pastor at a local church in America is less than four years. Considering that it takes at least six months for the pastor to even begin to learn the existing DNA of a church, we can conclude that the actual leadership work of that pastor only lasts about three years before the pastor quits or is asked to resign. This is a sad commentary on church leadership in America. One of the reasons for statistics like this is that the Church has abandoned God’s blueprints for how local churches should be led and care for. One individual is never God’s design to lead a spiritual family. In this message we explore the design of a plurality of elders as God’s strategy to care for, teach, lead, and protect a Christian congregation. When the Church embraces God’s plan, spiritual and relational health can thrive.

Abraham is the only person called “the friend of God” in the entire bible. Many follow. Many serve. Many worship. But God said that Abraham was His friend. One component of Abraham’s friendship with God is seen in his committed lifestyle of building altars at important moments where God revealed Himself to Abraham in new ways. Abraham made time and took the effort to throw down markers where his relationship with his God went deeper. Abraham learned the value of worship and sacrifice as the means to go deeper with God. From his story, we can discover four altars that we also must all build in our own lives. Friendship with God is not limited to building altars - but it cannot be absent of building altars either. If these four altars are built by us, we are well on our way to enjoying God in similar ways that Abraham enjoyed Him.

Not every Christian gets derailed. Probably more than getting derailed, too many get detoured. Side issues in the Christian life become more centralized and many Christians end up majoring on minor points. The tendency to become distracted by the countless “little things” have detoured many believers off of what would have been amazing trajectories in the Kingdom. In Colossians 2:6-17, Paul delivers a powerful message to the church in Colossae, urging believers to remain steadfast in their faith and to guard against deceptive philosophies that undermine the sufficiency of Christ. Lesser loyalties must be discerned, and sometimes even discarded to continue with forward women tum in Christ. This message is a call to live deeply rooted in Jesus, built up in Him, and overflowing with gratitude for His all-sufficient grace.

Living by faith in this present world is healthy and good, but it is anything but easy. Most of the world around you resists your life of faith. A post-modern culture wants everything to be measurable, explainable, predictable, and controllable. Faith has to exist above all of those things…or the utter lack of those things. From a chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, we receive a no-nonsense exhortation about our own need to press forward no matter the level of difficulty we are experiencing. Giving up is not an option. Whining and wishing for something easier is a fruitless endeavor. When God ordains a circumstance that tests us, He also provides the means for victory within it. We may not always be able to outslug what or who is opposing us. But, in the Spirit, we are able to outlast it.

Have you ever wondered why people who all testify that they have met the Savior, Jesus Christ, and have been redeemed by Him seem to have such a wide array of differing responses to this gift of life through Christ? Why are some so drastically changed? Why do others seem to live indifferently to His gift to them? Some Christians seem to sell out this world in order to pursue Christ while others seem to sell out Christ in pursuit of the priorities of this world. Some serve, pray, give, and sacrifice for the glory of Jesus while others who also say that they know Christ as Lord live unashamedly for themselves. The bottom line question is, “Do these two very different groups have an equal eternal destiny and reward?” There is an account in the Book of numbers that presents a powerful illustration of these very issues. Moses forcefully calls some half-hearted Israelites into an intense accountability as they sought to shirk their responsibility to join the other tribes in conquering the promised Land. Christians today do well to take note of this, finish out what we committed to God, and receive the full reward of our inheritance.

Revelation 19:11-16 offers us a glimpse of the majestic vision of Christ’s triumphant return to earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This passage unveils Jesus in His divine glory, riding a white horse with eyes like blazing fire, leading heaven’s armies to bring justice and righteousness to the earth. The Church needs an awe-inspiring return to hope and expectancy of our Savior’s second coming, and this message unpacks the vivid imagery and profound promises of from the scriptures, calling us to live with bold faith and unwavering devotion in anticipation of His eternal reign.

What is it within the hearts of people that still insists on believing one of the most obvious lies ever presented to us? Why do so many still believe that money, fame, power, and pleasure will lead to a satisfied life? This is the most infamous mirage that has ever existed. Scripture abounds that tells us the emptiness of these things. Jesus and His Apostles repeatedly warn us about living for these substitutes for spiritual satisfaction. Yet every new year reveals scores of people who believed the lie, lived for their passions, and exited earth through a self-inflicted wound due to the emptiness in their souls. Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament spent many years living for his passions. He barely survived with his soul intact. From his words in the book of Ecclesiastes, modern believers are warned by a man who had “been there and done that” as he testifies about living for the mirage. Perhaps one more hearing of these truths will rescue some from this common trap.

There is a longstanding strand of Kingdom DNA that has come fully unraveled in the modern Church. God's people have always been called to maintain a distinction from the corrupt cultures in which they live. As citizens of an entirely different Kingdom, we are to reflect the priorities, beliefs, and pursuits of the Heavenly realm. To keep us in generational awareness of this call to live consecrated to God, there have always been voices which He has raised to communicate this essential calling. When those voices fade or fail, that generation will inevitably lose its way. In ancient Israel, God brought a strong indictment against those whom He had appointed to be the watching eyes and warning voices of a generation. When spiritual watchmen sleep and Kingdom watchdogs refuse to bark, evil creeps in. If the indulgent leaders in the American church continue to press the mute button, refusing to speak the hard messages, evil will continue to creep in and take many captive. It’s time for indulgent leaders to repent or step aside.

One of the least studied and talked about books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. This neglected book actually holds for us a tremendous amount of wisdom, very similar to the Book of Proverbs. In Chapter 9 of Ecclesiastes there is a short little story of a war against a helpless city. One seemingly insignificant man delivers everyone from the enemy…and the entire city quickly forgets about him. In this compelling story, there exists a wealth of counsel for all of us today. As you watch and listen, consider how intentional you are presently being about staying aware of the Wise Man who rescued you from the war against your soul. When we remember Him, we flourish. If we forget them, the next war may not contain the same outcome as the previous one.

The key to finishing your faith-marathon in victory is endurance. The secret ingredient to your endurance is to keep your eyes on the finish line. Every day could potentially be the day we run our final leg of this race for Christ. Living in a commitment to honor Him in every way reveals that we are truly His own. In Paul’s closing words to the church at Thessalonica, we find an apostolic exhortation that equips us to win the race set before us. Casual runners will fail. Distracted runners will stumble. Lazy runners will quit. For those who live as determined runners, however, these traits charged to us by Paul will empower us to cross the finish line in utter victory for the glory of Christ.