Embracing God’s Calling and Living a Transformed Life

NPPBC's Media Ministry

Overcoming Reluctance and Embracing God’s Calling

• Expresses a personal struggle with reluctance to fulfill what is perceived as God’s will.
• Emphasizes the importance of acting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to avoid empty, ineffective actions.
  • “if you don’t do it under the spirit of the Holy Ghost, you’re just going to get up here and you’re going to laugh a few words. You’re going to sit down and it ain’t going to bother nobody.”
• Critiques the prevalence of formality over genuine spiritual experience in contemporary churches.
  • “We’ve got too many churches today going through a formality.”

The Power of Testimony and Personal Transformation

• Highlights the transformative power of a personal testimony and being born again.
  • “if you ain’t got a testimony, brother and sister, you better get born again.”
• Shares an anecdote about a conversation with a son regarding parental guidance and the importance of instilling faith.
  • Son expressed anger towards parents due to their methods.
  • Drove home the importance of confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection for salvation.
  • “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, that thou shalt be saved.”
• Affirms God’s unwavering support through life’s challenges for those who are saved and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.
  • “God will bring you through. I don’t care what you’re going through. When you’ve been pardoned again, washed with the blood of Jesus Christ, honey He will bring you through the darkest moment.”

Preaching the Gospel Without Compromise

• Stresses the importance of preaching the gospel without sugarcoating or compromise.
  • “He didn’t tell me to come in here and sugarcoat it. He didn’t tell me to come in here and compromise. He said preach the gospel.”

Enduring Temptation and the Reality of Sin

• Cites James 1:12 to emphasize the blessedness of enduring temptation.
  • “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.”
• Warns against being drawn away by one’s own lusts and enticements.
  • “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away from his own lust.”
• Explains that the devil will do everything possible to attack those who walk with God, referencing the story of Job.
• Explains the progression from lust to sin and ultimately to death.
  • “When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And when sin is finished, it brings forth death.”

Salvation, Chastisement, and the Need for Genuine Faith

• Reiterates the necessity of confessing salvation and living in accordance with God’s will to experience a “payday.”
• Shares a personal experience of surviving a severe accident miraculously, attributing it to God’s protection.
  • Crawled through 12 inches of windshield on a tractor trailer and never got a scratch.
• Explains that chastisement is a sign of God’s love, referencing Hebrews.
  • “Those I love I chastise. Those without chastisement is bastards and nonsense.”
• Suggests that many people have a superficial faith, going through formalities without truly accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

God’s Unchanging Nature and the Importance of Prayer

• Affirms that God has not changed and remains the same.
  • “God has not changed. He’s still the same today, tomorrow, and forever.”
• Shares an anecdote about a sister’s unwavering faith and prayer that led to a personal salvation.
  • Sister prayed and knew God would save him.
• Shares a personal prayer for his children’s salvation, expressing willingness to sacrifice himself to prevent them from going to hell.
  • “If it means to take me out and to get me out of the way, I said, don’t let my children go to hell.”

The Way Out of Sin and the Role of Jesus

• Emphasizes that there is a way out of sin through Jesus Christ, who intercedes on our behalf.
  • “There is a Savior. His name is Jesus. He said, I’m sitting on the right hand of the Father. Make an intercession.”
• Encourages listeners to turn away from darkness and embrace the light of Jesus.
  • “I am the light of the world. And there’s no darkness.”
• Advises against filling our minds with worldly trash and instead focusing on living righteously.
  • “Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Honey, you’ve got to live right to die right.”

Giving Up Worldly Attachments and Avoiding Double-Mindedness

• Urges listeners to give up worldly attachments and clean out their hearts.
• Cites James 4:1-3 to explain the root of wars and fighting as unfulfilled lusts and selfish desires in prayer.
  • “From whence come wars and fighting among you, come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”
  • “You ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
• Suggests that many prioritize pleasure over church and spiritual growth.
  • “A lot of people’s pleasure is more than church. I’ll go fishing on Sunday. I’ll do this on Sunday.”
• Expresses a personal preference for spiritual fulfillment over worldly pleasures.
  • “I’d rather have what I feel right here tonight than to have anything in this world.”

Assurance of Salvation and Overcoming Doubt

• Shares a personal testimony of being saved on June 18th, 1989, and having his name written in the book of life.
• Recounts an experience of being tempted by the devil to doubt his salvation but ultimately finding assurance in God’s promise.
  • “The devil can do everything but he cannot convince me that I’m not saved.”

Humility, Grace, and Submission to God

• Emphasizes the importance of humility and warns against pride and self-righteousness.
  • “God resists the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
• Encourages listeners to submit themselves to God and offer their bodies as living sacrifices.
  • “Submit yourselves therefore to God.”
  • “Let your body be a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.”
• Acknowledges that everyone falls short of perfection but should strive to live as close to perfect as possible.
  • “Strive for perfection. And be as close to perfect as you can when the day comes.”

The Importance of Testimony and Church Attendance

• Explains that a lack of testimony stems from not knowing God and not living a life that reflects His teachings.
• Criticizes those who claim to love Jesus but neglect church attendance and live inconsistently.
  • “How can you be a testimony to people when you don’t here Sunday morning, take a pack of Poxhams to find them Sunday night.”
• Encourages listeners to examine their hearts and ensure their actions align with their words.

Resisting the Devil and Separating from the World

• Affirms that God will flee from those who resist the devil.
  • “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
• Urges listeners to submit themselves to God and not let the devil control them.
• Calls for separation from the world and embracing a peculiar identity as Christians.
  • “Come out from among the world and separate yourselves. You are a peculiar people.”

God’s Presence and the Need for Personal Decision

• Explains that God will meet people wherever they are, but He will not force them to follow Him.
  • “God will meet you wherever you are you don’t want him he’s not going to force you to step up.”
• Encourages listeners to open the door to God and allow Him to come in and sup with them.
  • “If you’ll open the door I’ll come in and sup with you.”
• Expresses a desire to see genuine spiritual experiences and heartfelt repentance in the church.

Cleansing, Humility, and Avoiding Judgment

• Cites James 4:8-10 to emphasize the need for cleansing, purifying hearts, and humbling oneself before the Lord.
  • “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
  • “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
• Warns against speaking evil of one another and judging fellow believers.
  • “Speak not evil one of another, brethren.”

The Core Message: Being Born Again

• Reiterates the paramount importance of being born again as the foundation of one’s faith.
  • “You’ve got to be born again. That’s the foremost and foremost important thing in your life is being born again.”
• Emphasizes that salvation is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and cannot be achieved on one’s own terms.
  • “The only way you’ll ever get saved unless He who sent me draws you, it is impossible.”
• Warns that rejecting God’s call can lead to Him ceasing to deal with you.

Living a Consistent Testimony and Trusting God

• Explains that one cannot effectively testify to others while living like them.
  • “You can’t live like them and testify to them.”
• Encourages listeners to trust God and not worry excessively, as He often resolves problems before we realize it.
• Shares an anecdote about an atheist who was challenged to consider the possibility of an afterlife and the consequences of his disbelief.

Sharing the Gospel and Overcoming Fear

• Reiterates the importance of sharing the gospel with others, including family members.
  • “You’ve got things in your family…that you have not spoke one word of them about Jesus Christ.”
• Encourages listeners to overcome their fear and let others know about the hope of heaven and the reality of hell.
  • “Let them know that there’s a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. There’s a Jesus that lives there.”