Messages From Pleasant City Church

Faith in God is the only protection for those who are vulnerable and under attack from the enemy. Without faith in God, the follower of Jesus does not stand a chance against the enemy. Faith must be placed, developed, and exercised in the Jesus follower to be able to withstand the weaponry (darts) of the enemy.

There are two main ideas as it relates to “the shoes of the gospel of peace.” First is the idea of taking the gospel to those who need the gospel of peace; second is the idea of living daily in what the gospel of peace has provided us as follower of Jesus.

Righteousness is about the prospect of being right and in fellowship with God. Many even in the church have a misunderstanding as to what is means to be righteous or right before God. Matter of fact, how a person views righteousness determines their eternal destination.

The foundational truth in the Bible is that there is one God, who has revealed truth and one can know Him. However, western culture has rejected God’s truth and has created lies that have produced great deception.

Someone has said, "The Christian Life is not a playground but a battleground."

The joy that can be found in giving.

In a spiritual context, peace is not the absence of problems, but the presence of Christ. True peace is not affected by circumstances. It is the opposite of conflict, ungratefulness, and worry. It is the purist path to joy.

In this text Paul is making a sharp contrast between those who live for this world and those who live for the world to come. It appears that both groups were professing Christians but had vastly different perspectives about how they lived their lives--one group ends in destruction while the other group receives the assurance of Heaven.

The pursuit of Christ is the one thing that will bring joy like nothing else.

Choosing balance and joy in Christ

Joy comes when teamwork takes place in a local church.

For growth to take place in a follower of Jesus, it is dependent on both divine sovereignty and human responsibility. This growth is a process of God working in and us working out. Not us working for our salvation—that is God working in us—but us working out our salvation—obediently surrendering and following. This is the path to true joy.

Even though Jesus is Lord of all, He is the greatest example of a servant we can follow. And serving others as Jesus is a path to joy.

We as a church family must be in “koinonia”—which is experiencing the fullest possible partnership and fellowship with God and each other. This requires unity in the vision God has given us and what we believe about Him.

Is it possible to have joy in suffering? The answer is “yes” if we realize whose we are and what our life is truly about. The life of a follower of Jesus is far from easy, however it is a path to real satisfying joy.

A follower of Jesus must learn to live above their circumstances; demonstrating to the world that “the hope” within them is greater than any circumstance they may face. Demonstrating this provides an impactful platform for ministry and mission.

Notice how Paul kept his joy and gives us a great example to follow.

We all have a fundamental emotional need for joy in our lives, yet many of us do not experience it. Life without joy has proven to be overwhelming, and even oppressive. That being understood, the presence of joy in our lives is not determined by our circumstances but in the person of Jesus Christ. Joy is the unshakable assurance that God is in control of all the details of our lives, the confidence that ultimately, we can trust God in everything that comes into our lives, and the determined purpose to praise Him in all things.

The Christian Life should be identified as a life of giving; however, this is not the case for many. For many it is because they are in financial bondage and do not understand the role finances play in their spiritual lives. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly outlined what it means to live Kingdom Principles--covering almost every area of life including finances.