The Calhoun Church of Christ Podcast

No Other Gods! -9 "Why Prayer Matters" -2

God isn't controlling everything on earth - if he is then prayer never matters.

If God were controlling everything, then he'd make everyone believe and follow Christ. But he doesn't. So, he gives us freedom to make our own choices.

That's why the Bible says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:8 NIV)

As you come near to him, you'll find that his heart's desire is to know you and give you eternal life with him forever. Catch this podcast and learn more about how it's his delight to fellowship you in prayer.

No Other Gods! -8 "Why Prayer Matters"

The path to putting God first begins with prayer. So, why aren't more Christians actively crafting a powerful prayer life?

Because there's something missing in the way they understand prayer and how God chooses to work.

God isn't controlling everything on earth. If he is, your prayers don't matter. If he is, you can pray and pray, and he will still do what he's going to do no matter what we say.

But he gives us choices. God doesn't force us to pray, to read the Bible, to attend church, or even to accept Christ and be saved. We have the power of choice, so when we choose to pray, it matters.

Listen and hear more about why your prayers matter.

 

No Other Gods! -7 "What Comes First?"

The great divide between the serious disciple who wants to change the world and a casual churchgoer is right here. Their prayer life. Extensive praying powerfully puts God first in your life.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2 NIV)

This episode begins with the amazing prayer life of Daniel the prophet, and continues by showing how Jesus, and all his serious disciples in the New Testament, dedicated themselves to a life saturated with prayer.

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16 NIV)

 

No Other Gods! -6 "God Wants You In Heaven"

Why does God want us to Himself exclusively? There must be some reason. There is. He wants you in Heaven with Him for eternity. He wants you to have eternal life.

Many people don't believe that. They don't believe they can know they have eternal life, but the Bible says we can know.

 ^"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1st John 5:13 NIV)

God, through men like John, wrote the Bible to help us know we have eternal life - if we are Christ's disciples.

Listen to this episode and become convinced that God's love through Christ's work gives us eternal life.

No Other Gods! -5 "HOW To Put God First"

In this series we've heard about how important it is to put God first, above all other influences in your life. But sometimes we leave out how to put Him first.

The key to successfully putting God first in your life is the supernatural element in a relationship to God.

Listen and learn about this essential key to putting God first.

No Other Gods! -4 "The Blessing of Honor"

God commanded Israel to have "no other gods", which included the concept of honor. The Lord said in Samuel's day, "Those who honor me, I will honor". (1st Samuel 2:30)

Putting God first means honoring Him. In this message, we look at the life of Moses and follow his record on honoring God, a record that wasn't spotless.

But we also look at Jesus and see his amazing attention to putting his Father first... and his flawless attention to honor.

Dishonoring God can cost you everything, even if you're a believer.

 

No Other Gods! -3 "The Spirit And The Cross"

Even though God will not take second place and demands to be first in the believer's life, narcissists find it extremely hard to give way to anyone who wants to displace their ego. The ancient fictional god Narcissus became captivated by his own reflection and lived a hellish life because of it. And many believers today live in that same torture chamber because they refuse to put God first.

In this message, we look at some people who were able to put God first in difficult circumstances, something others considered impossible. How did they do it? Listen and learn about the connection between the Holy Spirit and putting God first.

 

No Other Gods! -2 "They Put God First"

When Jehovah God brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery, he called them to be his covenant nation and said, “You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3 NIV)

After 430 years in Egypt and centuries of worshipping Egypt's gods (see Joshua 24:14), Israel found it hard to forget their pagan ways.

But many in Israel did keep the command to worship Jehovah only and put him first.

In this episode, you'll hear about some of those amazing people who put God first. They understood that he would tolerate no competition from anything or anyone who tries to replace him in a believer's life. - and you'll also find out why Jesus said his disciples must "take up their cross" and follow him. 

No Other Gods! -"The Jealous God"

When their lives were filled with failure, God instructed Israel to, "give careful thought to your ways" - five times through the prophet Haggai.

Why? Because their harvests weren't producing and their economy had failed - "You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (Haggai 1:6 NIV)

So, the Lord's advice was, "build the temple". He'd rescued them from slavery in Babylon as prisoners of war. They'd been freed and sent back to Jerusalem so they could rebuild the temple, but they procrastinated and built their own houses instead. They hadn't put God first, so life had become hard, almost unbearable.

In the life of a believer, God will not take second place to anyone or anything. Listen and see how the Lord rescues us from a meaningless life when we put Him first.

More Than Conquerors - "Conquering Disappointment"

How do "more than conquerors" conquer life's inevitable disappointments?

Scripture is full of such conquests over disappointment. In this podcast we look at several of these overcomers.

David at Ziklag. The overcomers in Revelation. John the Baptist and his interaction with Jesus over disappointment. Jesus' disappointment with his own disciples and how he dealt with it.

Listen and learn about Scriptural strategies designed to overcome disappointment.