EVK Podcast

God promises to reward us, and when He does He wants us to show the world how good He is.  There are things we need to do to be sure that we are on the right path for our life.  Stay focused on these principles and you will be in alignment for reward. 

When it comes to receiving your reward from God, you need to be in the right alignment to where God says His blessings flow.  Love what God loves, and hate what God hates.  And love it when God tells you what to do in His Word.  That is the way to be rewarded in your life. 

Just having God in our life is a reward in itself. How you seek God will determine your rewards in life. Being diligent in seeking God will lead to great reward.  Never lose your fire for the Lord, and you will not lack anything. 

For his Easter message, Pastor Barry talks about Jesus on the cross, and WHAT He did for us.  But not only what He did, but WHY He did it.  He became our Savior, He gave us a life-line back to Himself, because we were heading to hell.  Thank God Jesus is ALIVE! 

When you serve God you need to keep 2 things in mind.  Guard your motivation, why you do what you do.  But know your incentive, the reward you get for obeying and serving the Lord.  God is a rewarder, and your reward is waiting.  

On the path that God has called you to run your life, there are many places of reward.  And God wants to show us that He is a rewarder, and the fact we are rewarded is what  motivates us to to serve God fully, 

When Jesus called Simon Peter, he asked him leave everything and follow Him.  And instantly he left his fishing company and huge catch of fish, to follow Jesus anywhere. Peter was a guy who did everything at 100%.  That is the kind of person Jesus is looking for, and loves to use for His Kingdom.  Let's be that kind of person - be willing to do whatever He asks of you! !  

In ancient Jewish custom, leprosy was considered a curse from God for the sins you had committed, and they were unclean.  But there was a man with leprosy, who had an encounter with Jesus, and it changed his life.  Jesus went against the Jewish Law and touch this man who had not been touched for years.  Thanks to the Love of Jesus, he was restored and could come back to his normal life. Jesus is a...

Jesus was being set up by the Pharisees to perform a miracle (to work) on the Sabbath day.  Jesus meets a man in the temple with a deformed hand, and He heals this man.  But He did it to show everyone there He is God, and He can do whatever He wants.  

Jesus chose to use an adulterous woman, who was divorced 5 times, and because of her a whole town was changed as many believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Divorce has affected many, and it hurts everyone involved in it.  That is why God hates divorce.  But unlike what many churches teach, divorce doesn't disqualify you to be used by God, or for ministry.  Jesus was clear what God's plan was...

The woman Jesus met at the well in the heat of the day, shows us how no matter how we try to distract Jesus from touching our lives, if we keep listening to Him, He will change us in every way.  This outcast lady is now used by God to bring a city to Jesus, to believe in Him as the Savior of the World. 

Some encounters with Jesus changed lives, but some didn't.  This is the story of a rich man who had an encounter with Jesus, but walked away without receiving what he came for, because of his pride.  We need to learn from this, so we keep our hearts open to Jesus every day.  And He will reward us 100 times for anything we give up for HIm. 

The story of Zacchaeus is a cool story of one of the last men Jesus met, before going to the cross for the world. It is a story of a man who was... despised by the people, but chosen by Jesus.  A story of repentance, restoration, and salvation.  Jesus is more than we could ever dream of. 

We all need an encounter with Jesus -- He is the fulfiller, and the one we are all searching for in life.  A lady was brought to Jesus, and according to the Law she should have been killed.  But instead Jesus showed His grace and love -- Jesus took her punishment, and gave her a new start.  We are changed from an encounter with Jesus.  

To know you have the right filter, there are ways we need to relate to people. Pastor Barry talks about five things we need to live with to make an impact in the world around us.  And by living this way, we can use what Jesus did for us, to help change others. 

To have the mind of Christ, you need to have a Bible filter.  To know you have the right filter, Pastor Barry talks about five things Jesus said, that we can do our best to apply these things, as our filter in the way we look at our life with God.  

The root of problems in the world today is sin, and the condition of the human heart.  Jesus died on a cross to redeem you, and fix your heart.  The problem is sin, and what Jesus did on the cross is the answer.

Your Bible filter answers the question of human nature, and the role of sin in your life.  Sin is the reason there are so many problems in the world today.  Sin, transgression, and iniquities -- are areas of our life we are all responsible for.  But know that there is an answer for sin, and that is Jesus!

Jospeh is the hero of the Christmas story.  He humbled himself, and believed God with strong faith, as he raised Jesus who was "God with us".  Elisha also knew that God was with him, and he his prayer was to open the eyes of his servant so he could see the angels there. 

Our life filter needs to answer the question of our 'origin' -- Where did we come from, and why are we here? We need to look at our bible filter to answer that question correctly. You need to know that every life is holy, life has value, life has purpose, and life is eternal.

God is true, and His Word is truth.  There is absolute truth, and the bible clearly defines this truth for us. We can know God is true by His creation, by our conscience, and by rational thought.  Never accept someone else's filter, until you look at their life -- is it what you want?

Everyone has a filter -- the way we see the wold around us.  As Christinas we need to have a biblical filter.  We all have to answer 4 major questions of life: God, origin, human nature, and moral views.  How we filter things will determine what we see, what we believe, and our future results.  God's ways are best for us, so we go to the Bible to learn to see things the way God sees them.  

The last book of the Bible is Revelation, it is a book of encouragement, comfort, and warning – about the end times.  From Jesus's instruction to the churches, to the great tribulation, to the return of Jesus and the church, to the 1000 year reign of Jesus, to the final defeat of Satan, to having a new heaven and a new earth.  God is just showing us that He has a plan.  By reading this book,...

The 22 Letters to the churches are our foundation in the church, and teach us how we are to ive our lives for Jesus.  These letters answer questions, help us know whoe we are in Christ, and they give us instruction, encouragement, and comfort.  

Welcome to the New Testament!  The 4 gospels of Jesus tell us the good news about who Jesus was, and what Jesus did for us.  They are all 4 very different in the writing styles and emphasis, but together these 4 books give us an amazing picture of Jesus, and who He was.  We should be continually reading the gospels, and following the life of Jesus.