The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

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#1,107: How to Experience the Joy of the Lord Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Joy in the Biblical context is not an emotion. Joy is an attitude of the heart. It is not necessarily based on something positive happening. Joy is something that lasts; happiness is something that is temporary. When happiness fades away, joy remains. Joy is something God deposits into us through the Holy Spirit.

Main Points:

1. In these verses, Jesus actually gives us the key to living our lives with joy. We also see that God intends that His joy would remain in us and that our joy may be full. Imagine being full of joy! How would that change your life? Your outlook? Your attitude and your words? Being full of joy would change a lot of things in our lives.
2. But here is the key. It’s found in “abiding with Jesus.” What does that mean? It means living your life in a close relationship with Christ. It’s daily spending time with him. Pursuing a close and intimate relationship with God on a daily basis. The result of this relationship with God is a joy that only He can give.
3. If you find yourself living a joyless life, recognize that it can change today. Begin pursuing more of God. Press into God. Seek Him. Abide in Him. His joy will be yours.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

John 15:9-11 - ““As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Psalm 16:11 - "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

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#1,106: Why Did Jesus Die for our Sins? Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

If you fully understand the gospel and what Jesus has done for us, you comprehend that was not just executed 2,000 years ago by the Romans. You recognize that He willingly laid down his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died for us. He took our place. With his death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins, so we would not have to.

Main Points:

1. Since God is just, he does not sweep our sins under the rug of the universe. He feels holy wrath against them. They deserve to be punished, and he has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). To not punish us would be unjust.
2. Imagine someone has committed a crime against you, or your loved ones. You would be at the court demanding justice.
3. But here’s what is truly amazing…Jesus accepts God’s wrath on our behalf. Jesus doesn’t cancel God’s wrath, he absorbs it. He diverts is from us to himself.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Romans 5:6-8 - “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 2:24 - ““He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

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#1,105: You Can Have Confidence in God Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

When we come to God in prayer, our confidence is not found in ourselves, our ability to pray good prayers or even the amount of our faith. Our confidence rests solely in God. We are confident in His love, His character, and his power. We are confident in His promises and that He always fulfills his Word.

Main Points:

1. It’s possible to bring a lack of confidence into our prayer lives. We pray without certainty and assurance. We pray lackluster prayers, not really sure that God hears us or that He will answer.
2. I want you to see that our Heavenly Father wants us to come to him with confidence. God wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, to recognize that He is a good Father who cares about His children. He wants us to feel confident that we can bring any need, whether small or big to God.
3. When you think about those in your life that you have confidence in, the reason you have such assurance in them is because of your relationship with them. You know them. You know their life and their character. Over time they have proven they are reliable and trustworthy.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Hebrews 4:16 - “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

1 John 5:13-15 – “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. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Psalm 34:15 - “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

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#1,104: God is Always on Time Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Trust today that your steps are being established by the Lord. When it’s time to take the next step, God will it clear. As you wait, believe that even though the waiting may not make sense, God’s will is being performed in your life. His will, His plan, and His timing is perfect.

Main Points:

1. God is never early, never late, but he’s always on time. Our timing isn't God's timing. For us, God's timing often feels like a long, desperate delay.
2. I’m struck with how many verses there are in the Bible that talk about waiting on God. One Bible scholar has found that the word “wait” is in the Bible 154 times. That is a lot of waiting. I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly enjoy waiting. Yet, if God makes us wait, there is a reason. There is something to be learned in the waiting and I don’t want to miss the lesson.
3. The Holy Spirit is alive and active in the life of the believer. One of his purposes is to bring guidance and direction to our lives. He is faithful to lead us to God’s plan, but He can also be trusted to guide us to God’s timing.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 31:15 - "My times are in Your hands ..."

Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Proverbs 16:9 - “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

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#1,103: How Can We Show Love Today? Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

From scripture, we come to see that love is more than words, feelings, and emotions. Love is action. True love calls for us to do something, and also to refrain from some things.

Main Points:

1. Love, when truly demonstrated, is not just an emotion expressed to family and close friends. Love is seen the clearest when it is given to those we think don’t deserve it and those who don’t expect it.
2. When God’s love changes us we begin to notice others. We begin to see what God sees. We’ll notice the lonely, the hurting, the broken, and the discouraged. We see those who desperately need to be loved.
3. So, let’s ask, how can I show love today? To whom can I show love? What loving words can I share with someone? What loving acts can I do to show God’s love? Who can I serve? Who can I bless with the love of God? Your loving actions might just change their lives.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

John 13:34, Jesus says to his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
1 John 4:19-21 - “We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

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#1,102: God Has No Limits Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Think about this truth for a moment: The God we serve has no limits. There is no limit to his power, his ability, his creativity, or even his love. God is not limited in the ways he can meet your needs. He has infinite possibilities.

Main Points:

1. Sometimes I cry out to God to meet a need. I’m trying to bring my faith to believe God can meet it. But lately, I hear God’s voice challenging me to believe him for more. I sense God saying, “Yes, I can do that, but is that all you are going to ask me to do? Is that all you need?”
2. He’s not a “just-enough God.” He’s a “more-than-enough God.” He is El Shaddai, the Almighty God, the one who has no limits.
3. Be encouraged by the truth that God can do more than enough in your life, even more than we ask or imagine.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Genesis 17:1 - “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 - “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”

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#1,101: Let's Imitate Jesus Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

We should desire to be like Jesus in our values, beliefs, character, and behavior. The only way we can be imitators of God is that we would follow him. We must come to know Him. We must learn from Him, and it’s only then that we will know what to imitate.

Main Points:

1. In some ways, we cannot be like God. You and I will never be all-knowing or all-powerful. We will never be omnipresent. We cannot be unchangeable like God. But there are characteristics of God that we can emulate.
2. We can imitate His characteristics like love, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, patience, grace, and mercy. We can be like God by living in purity, righteousness, and holiness.
3. To imitate God means that we follow his example, and we should follow it closely. When we were born again we entered into his family. We belong to God and we bear his name.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Ephesians 5:1 - “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

Romans 12:2 NLT - "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Ephesians 4:13 - "...“become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”

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#1,100: Being Sober-Minded and Alert Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

Through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us we can be watchful, alert, and on guard against Satan’s attacks. We can recognize spiritual warfare when it comes. We don’t have to be caught unaware. We can resist, and with God’s strength, stand against our enemy’s attacks.

Main Points:

1. I have noticed that quite often the scripture calls for us as believers to be alert, vigilant, sober-minded, to watch, and to be on guard.
2. The Word of God calls for us to be spiritually alert because spiritual warfare is a reality each of us will face. The enemy of our soul is not content to allow us to serve God without opposition.
3. We must remain spiritually alert so that we can stand against Satan’s attacks against our faith. The attacks come in the form of temptations, lies, false teaching, discouragement, unforgiveness, bitterness, and more. These enemies of the heart threaten our faith. As we are watchful in prayer we keep our hearts and our souls where need to be with God. With God’s help, we will remain strong.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

1 Peter 5:8-9 - “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”

Ephesians 6:10 says we can “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”

John 8:44 - that the devil “…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
1 Corinthians 16:13 - “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith.”

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#1,099: God Sees Your Potential Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

I’m convinced you have potential you cannot see. God has placed within you the potential to make a difference, to be a blessing, and to do great things for His Kingdom. Quite often, we cannot see our potential. We downplay our gifts and talents. We think others are more capable and more qualified. We hesitate to step out in faith and let God use our gifts. In doing so, both ourselves and those we could serve miss out on the blessing.

Main Points:

1. God has good works for you to do that he prepared in advance. You have potential. You have God-given potential. It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. God’s Word says there are good works he has prepared you to do.
2. Perhaps you feel like an unlikely candidate to be used by God. Recognize that it’s not really about you, it’s about God and His Spirit. You and I are simply tools in the hands of God. Make yourself available to God. Let him use your life. He’ll take your gifts, talents, time, and resources and anoint them with His Holy Spirit. It’s then, and only then that your potential is revealed.
3. God wants to use your life in ways you don’t know about yet. You have not reached your full potential. As long as you are alive God wants to use your life for his glory and to be a blessing to others.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Judges 6:14-15 - “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

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#1,098: Is it Time for a Change? Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

As I prayed about today's podcast episode, I sensed God saying to me that there would be people listening today who are ready for their lives to change. They would be desperate to change.

Main Points:

1. Some of you here today need to hear a word from God. And what he wants to tell you is that he wants to change you. The Christian life is fundamentally a changed life. His change is not something that you can simply do by yourself. It’s going to take the power of God in your life and it’s going to require you to cooperate with God.
2. Change begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. In that moment we are changed, but we continue to change.
3. How does change happen? When we are in Christ! We struggle because we focus on the externals instead of the internals. We are looking at changing our behavior. God wants to change our hearts. Real and lasting change begins on the inside! Once we place our faith in Christ, he begins to work on the inside. We began a process of inner renewal. It can only occur through the surrender of our lives to God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

1 Peter 5:5 – “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

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