On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13) Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” (MSG)       The message of the kingdom is not a religious message. I am interested in mercy, not religion. I care about those who are on the outside in the darkness and without hope, not those…

Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straightened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. (Matthew 7: 13-14 AMPC) The way into my presence is always through a narrow gate, not because it’s limited to a special few, but because of the pressure of the ways of the world: a force that compresses it and makes it hard to enter. It’s so much easier to substitute the wide gate of politics or…

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)     I want my people to better understand what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and what it means to be baptized in fire. To be immersed in the Holy Spirit is to be filled with my presence in a way that goes far beyond feelings. His role in the life of a believer is to reveal all things that I have said, and it is crucial that my people be filled…

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36) My kingdom is not of this world. This means that any kingdom of God principle that looks like the world is a false principle. It means that using advertising to build my kingdom does not build it. It means that management techniques will not develop leadership in my kingdom. It means that wars are fought in a different way and that enemies and evil are overcome with good. It means that blessing is defined not by material wealth but…

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28)     There will always be two ways that a person can respond to troubled times: to pray, “Father save me from this hour” or to pray, “Father glorify your name.” It’s not that I don’t have the ability to save anyone from any hour of trouble, the issue is … which solution will demonstrate my glory before men? I want you to learn to develop a default position that always declares, “Father glorify your name” in every difficult situation….

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)     The world needs a people who do more than just believe in me or talk about me, but a people who feed upon me. To feed upon me is to recognize that there is nourishment from me that you must have every day, without exception. To feed upon me is to see me as the source of all direction and all encouragement and all value and all purpose. To feed upon me is to have established times where we sit down…

“I am among you as one who serves.”  (Luke 22:24-27)     Jesus came as one who serves. It’s important for you to think about what this implies: one who serves is one who puts the needs of others (even those you disagree with) above your own. One who serves is one who does not receive recognition or even thanks at times. One who serves is the one who is willing to do the menial work of cleaning off the table and providing for the master. Only the one who serves will have the kingdom authority to influence the world around him/her, and this is the main reason why the…

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)     I want my children to understand the difference between having money and serving money. To serve money is to make it your master, which means that every decision will be dictated either by what it will cost or what there is to gain. To serve money is to make it your idol, to give it your heart and to see riches as the answer to every problem. A disciple must always…

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple … In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:25-27,33)     This generation has failed to obey the great commandment to “go and make disciples of all nations.” It has substituted the idea of going and making converts for the command to go and make…

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread …  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:5,…