Radio Antioch

Who are You listening to?

This Teaching is Part 3 of our Podcast Episode 8. To watch as a short video, click the player above. To watch the full teaching of Episode 8, Click HERE.

  Matthew 26:41

    "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Let me give you a mental picture to illustrate this verse: In our movies and our cartoons we often see the scene where the main character is debating what to do. On one shoulder, a caricature of that character dressed as a devil appears, with a tempting suggestion. Our hero grins thinking “Yeah!” But suddenly, a little angel appears on the other shoulder, saying “Oh No! Don’t do that, That would be Wrong!” Which one does our hero listen to?

    How many times have you seen this little scene in our movies and cartoons? I can think of several. Sometimes the argument between the two characters on the shoulder is hilarious! And yet this is actually a pretty good illustration of what is going on. Your “conscience” tells you to do the right thing. If you are a Christian, your Spirit man, that has been redeemed by Christ, is speaking to you, wanting to do the right thing. But your flesh wants to do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons! And the conflict isn’t always some heavy temptation. Sometimes it is a simple as the desire to go to church and worship on one hand, and the temptation to sleep in on the other.

    Sometimes, the “Bad” voice is not so much a spiritual thing, but physical. One friend I know recently quit smoking. He had thrown away the cigarettes, but was tempted to buy more. The mind and Spirit are willing to quit, but that flesh is addicted to nicotine! The  mind argues that it is expensive and unhealthy, but the flesh screams “But I NEEEED a cigarette! This tug-of-war back and forth is what the scripture is talking about. But each time you make a decision, either to do the right thing, or not. My friend actually had his hand on the door of the convenience store, ready to go in and buy more cigarettes, when  he overcame and turned back. He has now been smoke free for several months.

    Sometimes the temptations are between sin and righteousness. Perhaps it is lust. That fantasy affair appears so attractive, especially if things are a little dry in your relationship. But your spirit reminds you of the covenant that you made with your spouse.

   Sometimes the “devil” on our shoulder may not represent the activity of Satan or his servants. Quite likely, our “flesh” man is enough to do the job. I remember a few years ago when during the charismatic renewal a lot of Christians were praying to bind Satan anytime something went wrong in the church. They would cast out devils from behind every door! Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe in the power of prayer to do this, and I certainly  don’t discourage this type of prayer. But this was frequently a religious fad instead of spiritual warfare guided by discernment and prayer.

   I remember hearing  Graham Cooke, a noted Christian teacher, comment that many churches are not really effective enough to get any real demonic opposition from Satan, but rather, the untamed  flesh of the members was enough to cause considerable trouble. Our flesh is responsible for jealousy, back-biting and gossip. And our flesh responds to lust and other temptations. Frequently the flesh in the church neutralizes most of the spiritual fruit. Why send the demonic to hassle a church that is barely effective? A smart general would focus his troops on the effective churches, not those so full of the flesh that they get almost no kingdom work accomplished.

   So what can we do differently to overcome temptation? One thing to try is to act as soon as you notice the tension. Don’t stew on it and wrestle with the temptation. The longer you feel the temptation, the harder it is to overcome. Decide to take the correct choice and course of action as soon as you notice the tension between the temptation and your spirit. As soon as that devil pops up, KNOCK THE DEVIL OFF YOUR SHOULDER! The faster you act, the easier It is to overcome.

    Have you ever started to get mad at someone in your family, and you feel God nudging you to go pray about it? If you obey right then, the you can go off in the other room, pray a bit, and get over it. But if you stew on what has offended you, then you blow up at your spouse, the kids run and hide, and the whole house is messed up for a week!  

   Learn to recognize that first tension, and do the right thing right then. The faster you submit to the Spirit, the easier it is to overcome the flesh.

Not only that, every time you do the right thing, it gets easier the next time. Each little victory strengthens you in the spirit and makes the next temptation easier to overcome. One of the marks of a mature Christian is the consistency of their life. The more frequently you immediately "knock the devil off your shoulder" when you first recognise the tension between the ways of God and the ways of the world, the more consistent your Christian "walk" becomes, and the faster you can grow in maturity.

Photo Credit

This Teaching is Part 2 of our Podcast Episode 8. To watch as a short video, click the player above. To watch the full teaching of Episode 8, Click HERE.

  So here is some practical advice on making your New Year’s resolution Fruitful. I suggest you get a piece of paper. At the top, write “I am Not Insane! Then, make three columns. On the left, write out what the Lord is telling you to work on this year. For example, perhaps the Lord is nudging you to lose some weight this year.  In the center column, write out what attitudes need to change in order for this to work. Using the weight loss example, you could make a point to remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and should be treated with respect.  Instead of thinking about my body as a repository for chips and hot sauce, I need to see my body as a temple of God! In doing so, I am less likely to put as many chips into the belly! Another attitude that fits here: I am a servant of Christ. Image the servant living in a wealthy Victorian household. They could be called by the master any time night or day. By keeping myself strong, I am prepared to do whatever the Lord needs me to do. At the end of the day, I can review  these two attitudes, “Treat my body as a temple” and “Be ready for service" and see how I did.

   On the right, write out what practical actions you are taking to change things. Maybe something like “No snacks after dinner” and “Take a walk a few times a week”. This seems really simple, but adjusting your attitudes and making simple changes in your actions can make a huge difference in your success.

     Do you believe that God has a plan for you that involves doing something different than you do right now? If so, what little steps are you taking now so that you will be able to “wear” that new identity when the time  comes? If you do nothing different, nothing changes. Perhaps God is calling you to be a missionary or to enter a new career path. By taking little steps to head there, you begin to form that new identity within you.

     Once the Lord called me to begin ministry work, I began to take little steps to walk into this change, and to see myself in this role, long before anyone recognized that I was doing these things. In fact, when things get really tough in the ministry, It helps to remind myself that it was God who called me, and despite the circumstances or man’s opinion, I am just supposed to be faithful and walk it out.  Being able to see myself as a missionary and man of God is part of that. So all the times that I have preached to ten or fifteen people has prepared me for the times when there have been hundreds.

    This mental identity change is important for another reason. Perhaps you have been given a prophetic word over your life. As soon as the going gets tough, the devil will confront you with the contradiction between where you are and what God has said about your life. The intent is by sowing doubt to make sure that you never “own” this word, taking hold of it by faith. Forming your new identity in your mind and attitudes and taking small steps in that direction help you to stand when this happens.

    This is part of walking by faith, and not by sight. We “own” these changes in our heart by faith before we see them with our natural eyes. To walk by faith, you have to see where you are going by faith. If it is not there now in the natural, the only way you can see it is by faith.    

   Matthew 26:41

    "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

  The reference here is from the garden of Gethsemane. The disciples had pledged to stand with Jesus no matter what, but in his hour of trial they could not even stay awake. Here is the time when Jesus could really have used someone praying with him. Jesus had called Peter to be a leader. Peter boasted that he would stand with the Lord no matter what. But we see where he was in reality. But later in life Peter became a bold Apostle of faith and was able to walk out his destiny in Christ.

   Are you at that awkward point between calling and destiny? Take some positive action and baby steps in Christ, and begin to grow into the person Jesus is leading you to be!

Photo Credit

Albert Einstein in 1947

This Teaching is Part 1 of our Podcast Episode 8. To watch as a short video, click the player above. To watch the full teaching of Episode 8, Click HERE.

  So now we come to a new year. How many of you made a New Year’s resolution this year? In praying this week, I really feel that the Lord is calling the Church into a deeper relationship with Him. It’s like the world is getting polarized. I think that a lot of the world is getting further away from Christ, but I also think that the Lord is calling for a pure and spotless bride. I also believe that the Lord is calling for a return to the “fear” of the Lord, meaning a deep respect for His awesome nature and holiness. I also feel the Lord calling me to be more consistent in staying in the Spirit, and I know that if I am feeling that, others in the body are also.

   Okay. So let’s talk about the New Year’s resolution that you made last year…How did that go for you? Did you achieve any results? New Year’s resolutions are notoriously short lived. Did you even make it to February, or are you groaning on the inside…Saying Let’s not go there!

   Sometimes it is important to use to “put a stake in the ground” and say “from this day forward, I will do things differently! Now, let’s be honest. Is the first day of the year scientifically different than the day before? Did the laws of physics change? No? What about chemistry? No, nothing different there? How about Biology? Did your dog act any different this morning? Your Cat? Maybe because of the weather, but not the new year.

     Ah, the weather! So maybe there are some practical reasons that we have a calendar marked off in yearly cycles. It  is hard to plant a garden when there is a foot of snow on the ground. Because of the seasons, we have practical reasons to divide time into years. However, this was not Man’s idea.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,

   When the Lord created  the heavens and the earth, He created the seasons as well. The very rotation of the Earth marks each day with a new dawn, while providing sunlight for the entire surface of the planet. The Earth’s path around the sun provides a season of growth and renewal that marks our years. And the path of the moon marks our months, not only in the most ancient Jewish calendar, where we are in the year 5769, but also in the Chinese calendar, where we are in Chinese year 4706.

   Each culture makes a special observance of the New Year. Western and Christian culture celebrates the new year on January First. The Chinese new year in 2009 is January 26th, marked by the second new moon after the winter solstice.

   The Jewish New Year begins on Rosh Hashanah, which is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew Month of  Tishrei.  Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of man who, according to the Jewish calendar, was created on that day in Year one.

   So where do we get the idea of a New Year’s resolution? In the Jewish New Year, on Rosh Hashanah the Ram’s horn, or Shofar, is blown to awaken the people from their slumber. This starts a 10 day period in Judaism where the people focus on repentance, ending on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a solemn day of Fasting and prayer.

   So it is a biblical concept to do some self-examination at the first day of the year, even if we westerners celebrate a different day.

   So back to those New Year’s resolutions: Why are they notoriously unreliable? I believe that the most likely answer is that we are insane! Now wait a minute! That sounds a little extreme, don’t you think? Well, that depends on your definition of Insanity.

   Albert Einstein defined insanity in this way: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

   Whoa! That explains a lot! Because it is a new year, we make a decision that some aspect of our life needs to change. But often, we do not change any of our attitudes or actions, and in our insanity, still hope that something will change.

  I know of people who resolve to lose a little weight, or to quit smoking each new year. Most don’t do anything different, but they still make the resolution every year. I know people who decide to get closer to the Lord, but at the end of the year, they are a little older and grayer, but no closer to God because they changed nothing in their walk with Him.   

  So changing our actions is obvious, even to Einstein. But where do I get attitudes? The Jewish concept of repentance at the New Year can be carried over to the new testament as well,  In the New Testament, the word translated “repentance” is the Greek word  metanoeo, met-an-ah-eh’-o; which literally means to think differently or reconsider. That is the real meaning of repentance.

  If you want to lose weight, the first step is to change your attitude about eating. Anyone ever watch the show “The Biggest Loser”? It is a reality TV show where people who are hundreds of pounds overweight compete to see who can lose the most weight. The before-and-after shots are amazing, as some people lose over a hundred pounds! The first thing that they do in this game is teach the people how to eat healthy. By changing what they think about food, the correct part of the problem. This combined with exercise leads to the startling results.

   Maybe the first step we need to take to reach our goals is to Change our Stinking Thinking!

Next: A return to Reason

Photo Credit

Hello Friends,

A quick reminder for those of you who live in Northern Illinois
and Southeastern Wisconsin, we will be having our Live Radio Antioch
Meeting this Saturday night at 7 PM.

We are meeting at the Christian Life Fellowship church, a great local church in Antioch that lets us “borrow” their sanctuary for these meetings. Their Address is:

41625 North Deep Lake Road Antioch, Illinois 60002

For Mapquest directions, click HERE.

We have published Video Podcast Episode 8, recorded at the last Radio Antioch meeting. To watch, Click Here.

If you have questions, or want to get involved, please send us an e-mail.

No title

Click on the player above to watch this Episode. Individual sections of this teaching will be published in the days to come.

Episode Eight of the Radio Antioch Video Podcast is a sermon by David Cranfill entitled New Year’s Insanity, recorded Live at the Radio Antioch Meeting on January 3rd, 2009. The Audio Only Podcast will be published soon.

We make a decision that some aspect of our life needs to change. But often, we do not change any of our attitudes or actions, and in our insanity, still hope that something will change.

00:30 Are You Insane?

09:00 A Return to Reason

18:35 Knock the Devil Off Your Shoulder!

32:12 The Real American Idol

Credits

For our Audio Podcast Listeners, here is Episode Seven:

But Here, in a simple cave below the stars of heaven, with the least of society as witnesses, the Lord reveals His favor toward men. No more will mankind be separated from their God. Jesus was to pay for the sin of man upon the cross, restoring man into relationship and favor with the Lord. This is available to all mankind…Only believe.

0:30 A Message of Peace in Trying Times

08:51 The Message of Christmas- Top to Bottom, east to West

16:17 A Sign to the Downtrodden

23:50 The Everyman Messiah

Credits

Putting ALL politics aside, it was stunning to watch the emotional reaction of the African American community on election night. In spite of all of their trials in the last two centuries, there was now no doubt that someone from their community could do anything.

   This teaching is part 4 of Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 7.
Click above to watch a short video of this teaching. The full
video of Podcast 7 is available Here.

  How many remember on election night this year when thousands of people went to the park to hear Barak Obama celebrate victory? Do you remember the picture of the prominent African-American leader with tears running down his cheeks? I learned something from one of my African American friends, who is a Christian. He was on the TV films on the news as being among that crowd. I asked him if he had been an Obama supporter. He replied that no, because of his stand on abortion, he was unable to support Obama. But he said he went to the park to share the moment with all of his people. Now there was no doubt that a man of any race can be the president.  Now, even if many of that community are poor, they know that their sons can be anything if the put their mind to it. It was a great, freeing moment for that community. They knew on that night that it is not about money, or race, or social class. I asked him if that moment was a step toward ending the era of racial inequality, and reducing the impact of the whole race issue on our society. He said yes, that he thought this would go a long way in that direction.

      Going back to scripture, there is another indication that Mary and Joseph were among the lower class….When Jesus was presented in the temple in Luke 2:22, his parents brought the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or pigeons. Now, if you research what they were doing in Leviticus 12, you will find that a new family was to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or pigeon as a sin offering. However, if they could not afford a lamb, it was acceptable to substitute a dove or pigeon for the lamb. Looking further in Leviticus 5, the poorest could bring an offering of flour if they were very poor and could not afford a dove. Joseph and Mary presented Jesus with two doves or pigeons. They were too poor to bring a lamb, but not at the poverty point of bringing flour.  So the King of Kings is born into a righteous, but lower income working class family. By Man’s standards the Great Teacher should have been born in a Rabbi’s house and taught in the best schools. Instead He was known as the carpenter’s son!

Luke 2:15-18  And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." [16] And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. [17] And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. [18] And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

So it was to the poor shepherds that Jesus was first revealed. And it was the poor shepherds that were the first to spread the good news about Jesus.

  How many of you have ever been stunned by a Christmas gift that you know was more than you could possibly deserve, and very costly to the giver? Have you been stunned by the favor that you receive from the giver of the gift, who loves you? That what Christmas is like. We did not deserve to have the King of Kings come to this earth, be born in a cave, be raised by a poor working class family, and give His life in suffering on the cross to restore us. We received the unmerited favor of God.

   The message here is that Jesus came to this world to restore favor from God to Man. Through His work on the cross the gulf of Sin that separates man from God can be covered by His blood. And this message of reconciliation, and the task to spread the good news,  is for all men, of all races, social classes, income and education levels.

It truly brings the message of Peace on Earth, Good will to Men.

Photo Credits

Shepherd Boys in Northern Ethiopia

This teaching is part 3 of Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 7.
Click above to watch a short video of this teaching. The full
video of Podcast 7 is available Here.

Continuing in our study of the lessons found in Luke chapter two, we now come to the fourth lesson: 

Luke 2:12  And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger."

   So look what is happening here- The angelic messenger, representing heaven, is speaking to the shepherds, saying “This is a sign that is being given FOR YOU, the poorest of the poor, the downtrodden, the people society has no use for. As a sign to you I am sending the King of Kings to be born in a cave and laid in a horse trough, just like you might have to do if you found yourself in this situation”. Poor travelers would have to do what Joseph and Mary did, make due with whatever shelter was available. Rest assured, a more wealthy traveler would get a bed! Just flash a little gold around in the marketplace and some poor farmer will put a kid or two out in the manger overnight and the rich man has a bed to sleep in!

    But no, God went out of his way to give a sign to the least of society, even announcing it with angels lest some future generation forget it or try and put them “back in their place”. No! there can be no doubt that the message of Christ if for all. Man is always looking for ways to impress others, God sent His Son to be born in a cave to send a message straight to the heart of the downtrodden, as if to say, “I understand you, I love you, and I will be here with you”.

Now we see who God was really trying to impress: The Shepherds! The social outcasts, bottom of the social ladder, the dirty, smelly, camp-out-in-the fields shepherds! You know, Jesus was to be often criticized for that. The self-righteous religious crowd gave  him trouble for hanging out with prostitutes, and tax collectors. The accused him of being a drunkard and a glutton because he would be around people who would eat and drink. They even thought things like "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is–that she is a sinner." (Luke 7:39) Sure, Jesus knew who she was. But He also understood that "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:17)

   This is a consistent theme in the gospels. And yet sometimes our churches have become exclusionary, where someone with a lot of piercings and tattoos might not be welcome in our churches. Thank God that is not true in the churches I hang out in, but there are plenty that would not welcome them. The same churches might not welcome you if you were had the “wrong” color of skin, or spoke the “wrong” language. But those who do this are ignoring the clear, universal message of the scriptures.

   Speaking of this, I am sometimes asked if I feel anything like this when I preach in Africa.  The short answer is no- I am aware of cultural differences, but don’t feel the racial tension you can feel in America.  In America, we will have to learn to get over the whole race thing, and there is a lot thinking that has to change and a lot of reconciliation that has to go on before that will happen.

     The Lord sent Jesus to be born among the poor and the social outcasts, as a sign to them. Notice that it was the poor shepherds who were the first to visit Jesus, before the wise men found him. These men were likely nobles or of the priest-class  in their country, and brought rich, kingly gifts.  The shepherds came that night and found Jesus laying in the cave, bedded down in the manger, or horse trough. In Matthew 2, the magi found Jesus in a house. Obviously they arrived a little later, when a nicer place to stay had been found. Look at what you see here: The Lord was making signs to the lower class that He is among them, and the rich Magi came to see Him. That is totally upside down from how our society would do things!

   The fifth lesson is huge, Look again at verse 14:

Luke 2:14  "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

   One of the messages of the Gospel is that God Loves you and wants to restore you into relationship with Himself. He says “My favor is with you”. Now, God does not like sin. He is not always happy about how we act. Anyone who has kids understands this. When your kid pitches a fit in the Walmart because you won’t buy them a chocolate bar, you are NOT happy about their behavior. Now, when my kids were little it was sometime tempting to think “If I just walk away, no one will know this is my kid”! I had to repent! But seriously, no matter how displeased I am when their behavior is bad, they are my kids, and I love them, and they have my favor. That what the Lord is saying here- He has favor toward Men. Tonight He is announcing that the Messiah is here, and all you have to do is believe and be saved.

     Now, the sin part can be cleaned up later.  God does not like sin. I am not preaching an easy gospel here. Sin is sin, and needs to be dealt with. But because of the blood of Jesus that has redeemed my life, when the Lord looks at me He does not see the drug addict I was but rather the redeemed man of God that I am in Christ. He sees what Christ has done in me, and furthermore sees what Christ IS GOING to do in me and through me! Look at the shepherds- Not only were they the first to hear the message, they were also the first to share the good news! When Herod heard, he wanted to kill Jesus because He was a threat. But the shepherds told others because it was good news for all.

    I think that one reason there is not a lot of power in the American church is that we are “fat, dumb and happy” thinking that we need nothing. When you go to places where there is persecution, people live by faith. In a lot of third world households, if God does not heal the sick, then nobody does. The Chinese Christians have said that they pity us, because since we have no persecution, we have no strength. So the rich people might not have been too impressed with this baby born in the cave, but to the poor the message of favor and restoration was a Godsend.

   In the Garden of Eden, Mankind had rebelled against God. The Lord loved His children, but the Sin and rebellion they had entered into put distance between man and his creator.  But here, in a simple cave below the stars of heaven, with the least of society as witnesses, the Lord reveals His Favor toward men. No more will mankind be separated from their God. Jesus was to pay for the sin of man upon the cross, restoring man into relationship and favor with the Lord. This is available to all of mankind…only believe.

Credits

Hello Friends,

I hope that the New Year finds you well.

Just a quick reminder for those of you who live in Northern Illinois
and Southeastern Wisconsin, we will be having our Live Radio Antioch
Meeting this Saturday night at 7 PM.

We are meeting at the  Christian Life Fellowship  church, a great local church in Antioch that lets us “borrow” their sanctuary for these meetings. Their Address is:

41625 North Deep Lake Road
Antioch, Illinois 60002

For Mapquest directions, click HERE.

To watch the teaching from the last Radio Antioch meeting, Click Here.

If you have questions, or want to get involved, please send us an e-mail.