Tag: faith (Page 2 of 9)

Podcast: Kingdom Growth

April 11, 2026 / Dan Beaty / 2 Comments

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In our last message we focused on the revolutionary aspects of Jesus and His message, the Gospel of the Kingdom. Have you ever wondered if many Christians have become distracted by a search for ease and comfort and predictability? Have many of us been fooled into believing that God is pleased with our efforts to create wonderful plans and programs and religious activities that give us a false sense of security?

Do we know that when we all truly find our ultimate peace, security and sense of belonging in the awesome Love of God, and in the embrace of His loving family, a radical, irreversible change in our every thought, feeling and action will take place?

THIS is Kingdom activity! It begins in the deep, hidden recesses of our hearts, to cleanse and transform us from within! It lifts us up into heavenly dimensions in Christ, where God, His Kingdom, and His throne become a reality unto us!

Away with myths and fables and endless arguments over theology — give us Christ!

Father, send us servants like Paul, who boldly admitted his weaknesses, while continually acknowledging the all-sufficiency of our Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 4:3-6: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Lord give us preachers who are not afraid to proclaim the revelation of Jesus Christ and His Gospel! God is shining into your hearts TODAY! You are beginning to see The face of Jesus Christ our Lord — TODAY!

Herein is the beginning of a radical revolution! It begins as we surrender our lives to the power of His Word and the security of His Love! It frees us from forms, traditions, religious thinking, and the condemnation that our best will never be good enough!

My brother, my sister in Christ, you are accepted in the Beloved! You belong to Jesus! Now you must arise and walk in the reality of His Love!

The perfect Love of God can cast out your fears! The fear of failure. The fear of rejection. Even the fear of death!

Receive His Love today! This is the Good News of the wonderful, righteous reign of God! He is putting His enemies — your doubts, fears, disillusionments, your pain, despair and bitterness — under His feet! He is liberating your captive soul! Praise the Name of the Lord!

This brings us to another important Kingdom principle — Kingdom growth and expansion. The pleasure of our God is to increase the intensity of His righteousness, peace and joy in this earth, and the level of freedom that His Creation experiences in Him. He does this in two basic directions.

The first is on the personal level. The second is on the corporate or universal level. In other words, He expands His work in the earth as we individually grow unto spiritual maturity, and also as others are brought into His Kingdom by the hearing of the Good News!

How beautiful is the running of those who run with the Good News of the Grace of our God! How wonderful is the message — our God reigns!

This is where many of us can easily get out of balance. We either focus only on internal growth or only external growth. Regardless of your area of ministry, whether in the local church, or out on the mission field, we must always be mindful of both.

When any believer becomes focused entirely on his or her own personal concerns, or even preoccupied with their own circle of Christian fellowship, death begins to set in. We then begin to lose our Kingdom vision, or at least an important element of it. This is crucial. Likewise we can forget about the details of our personal walk with God and time with the brothers and sisters while pursuing the grand vision of winning the world to Him.

The cure for these extremes is Christ-centeredness, and kingdom consciousness. Yes, God bought your salvation with the blood of Jesus Christ, but He was also IN CHRIST, reconciling THE WORLD unto Himself! How can we possibly grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, while ignoring His very Heart?

I challenge you all today to rediscover your vision of His unfailing Love! Remember when you readily believed that all things were possible in God? Do you remember when your prayers were bold and audacious, for you understood the great potential of confident trust in His desire to bless His Creation?

Have the difficulties of Kingdom living foreshadowed your view of His eternal purpose? Has the testing of your faith left you weak and weary, or the disciplines of your Heavenly Father discouraged you?

Remember the admonition to despise not the discipline of the Lord, nor to faint when you are corrected by Him, for whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. But if you are without discipline, you are bastards, and not sons. (Hebrews 12:8)

Today is a day to be healed and encouraged! The Father has been preparing you for His good work! Simply submit to His processing and the power of His wonderful Love!

You are the apple of His eye! He cares for you so much more than you could ever imagine! And for this reason He is shaking both you and me from our self-centeredness! He knows how this inhibits our full experience of His abundant Life!

How can we be delivered from our self absorption? Know this first: You will never deliver yourself from anything. Our world is being presently filled with self-help books, tapes and programs that may be of some use. But here we are talking about Kingdom Living — not band aids! We are being immersed into the grace, the love, the power, and the fire of the Holy Spirit if God!

Jesus Christ is your Savior, your baptizer in the Holy Spirit and your Lord! Receive all of Him! Receive His forgiveness and grace, and also receive the fullness of His Life into your being! He wants to manifest His Kingdom Life in you and in this earth today!

Kingdom growth is a dynamic reality. But sometimes we become preoccupied with the growth of OUR ministries, OUR churches, OUR plans and ambitions!

Jesus is building both His Church, and establishing His Kingdom. We do have a part to play in all of this, but we must be sure to just stay out of His way! The burden of this ministry is to see God’s people released from the bondages of self, sin, sickness, religion, materialism, and our independent attitudes. Only the Good News of the Kingdom of God can accomplish this!

The churches in many areas are filled with self-centered, comfortable pew warmers, who have little concern for the progress of God’s eternal purposes. Could it be that our message has been too watered down and too weak?

Even some of the churches that are in so called “revival” have little impact on the communities that surround them. Let me tell you that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is volatile! One who has been touched by its power will not easily continue in the modes of the past!

Jesus Christ is a man of consuming love and compassion for all! His seeking and saving of the lost knows no boundaries! If 99% of all men, women and children were to become saved, He would not be satisfied! He would leave the security of the fold to find the very last one!

This is the Heart of His Kingdom! Wherever His nature, His Character, His Holiness, His gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance, long suffering, love joy and peace are found — there is the manifestation of His reign in the earth!

And not only that — but His determination to see the fullness of His life revealed unto and in mankind is unrelenting! Jesus is the Eternal Living Word of God, and when He declared in the beginning: “Let us make man in our own image, and likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth,” all of the forces of the universe began moving towards this end!

How many of us have been drained of energy for this “Christian” Life? How many of us have become discouraged, as if in a losing battle? Well be of good cheer, you are ready to participate in the Battle of the Lord, becoming strong in Him, and in the power of HIS MIGHT! You can now begin to rest in Him, and take His Yoke upon you! Learn of Him! Then all of your striving can be according to His Working, which works in you mightily! (Colossians 1:29)

Simply give yourself to Him, allowing His Grace to impart unto you the very energy of God towards accomplishing His Eternal Purpose in you. In so doing you will naturally stir up the spiritual gifts that are already in you by virtue of His generosity.

Ministers, teachers, pastors and preachers: Listen to the Lord today. Forsake the yokes that men and religion have placed upon you. Begin today to flow only in the special abilities that have been placed in your life by His very ascension! Then you will begin to see lazy pew warmers become active participants, equipped for service in His Kingdom!

Don’t worry anymore about church attendance, and the maintenance of the building. Let others do that! Your concern and God’s concern is for the advance of His reign of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost! God wants to release you unto joyous liberty in Him as well!

Heavenly Father,

You know we have touched on some sensitive issues today. We ask today that you will by your Spirit speak to our hearts, not in the Words of a mere man, but in your divine heavenly counsels. Only your eternal truth can free our minds and our lives unto your wonderful goals. May they ever be our goals as well!

In the Lovely Name of Jesus,
Amen

(This message was originally broadcast on April 3, 1998 on WXIC in Waverly, Ohio. I hope you enjoyed it!

Podcast: What IF?

March 20, 2026 / Dan Beaty / 2 Comments

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If. Such a very small word. Just two letters. But the meaning contained in these two letters could lead to either life or death. They could become an open door to endless possibilities, or perhaps spell perpetual gloom and darkness. I wonder, could we take the time to explore the power of the word, “if,” by studying God’s use of it in the scriptures? What exactly are the possibilities that the Creator of the universe holds out to us, as we seriously and humbly handle His Living and inspired Word?

In a day when depressing news travels at the speed of light, and the vanities of the rich and famous are common knowledge, apathy has become a popular commodity. So much time is taken up talking about the world’s problems, but so little action is taken. The common attitude is that nothing can really be done, and many Christians are certain that nothing should be done, for this world is soon coming to an end. When that happens, we Christians will not be here anyway. Therefor all that remains is to lead as many as we can to a safe zone for retreat, and wait for our Lord’s return.

But what IF? What if we were to plunge deep into His Word and discover the latent power of this word, IF? Perhaps there are some hidden treasures therein by which we can recover from our apathetic comfort zones, and rise up to the occasion for the greater glory of God! This small word might have a great significance indeed, as we allow the wonderful Spirit of God to breathe life into it!

Israel of old was confronted by the Lord with this little word on many occasions. In the 7th Chapter of 2 Chronicles, the Lord was holding out to Solomon the King, some of the possible futures that the people might choose. He showed him how Israel might find herself in situations very similar to those which we are experiencing in our modern times. Wars, pestilence and famines could occur to those in disobedience, but there was a way out. This way out begins with an IF.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

By now I can hear various dissenting voices. “That was the Old Testament, they were under a different covenant, so long ago.” “God has a predetermined plan today, and there is nothing we can do to alter it.” Or how about, “We are good people, without sin, for Christ has abolished sin on the cross. For what should we repent?”

There is only one answer I can give. What IF? What if those who long to see the glory of God upon His people again would take a chance and PRAY? What if enough of us realized that we have all been living far beneath our privileges, and possessed the courage to ask God “Why?” and “What would you have us to do?” What if we were to take the initiative presented by James, to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and to draw nigh unto Him that He might draw nigh unto us?

What if we were to accept the challenge of Jesus to ask that we might receive, seek that we might find, to knock that the door would be opened unto us? Is there even the slightest possibility that we might prove the Lord, and He could open the windows of heaven unto us? Do you think?

What if, we might have long failed to realize that the Lord is eagerly waiting to rain down upon us with showers of life, healing and blessing? Perhaps the only delay was our ignorance or willingness to acknowledge our desperate need! Please, my brother, my sister, consider the possibilities! Consider what our wonderful Savior and Lord can do and desires to do on our behalf! After all, it was He who said, ” IF YOU CAN BELIEVE, all things are possible!

Our Lord is so gracious and kind towards us! He is quick to acknowledge our virtues and accomplishments. He is also patient to wait for our steady spiritual growth in Him, but His patience does not negate His wonderful and glorious purpose which His wisdom has designed for us. Neither does He take pleasure in our powerlessness to deal with many of the challenges of life. His vision for us is one of abundant and victorious living!

In the third chapter of Revelations, Jesus was addressing the church at Ephesus. He spoke more than a few words about the good works they had done. They had been diligent and faithful unto Him and in many ways. They had been very careful to dot their i’s and cross their t’s. For this He commended them.

But…. He did have one complaint to make to them. He told them that they had left their first love. His solution was for them to repent and do the works they had done at the first. This was not to condemn them, but to lift them up into a higher level of love, life and joy in Him!

The following words may not apply to you. If so, then maybe you could pray for the rest of us! For you are definitely not in need yourself. But if you do sense a hunger within and a need for more of God, then please read on.

How long has it been since you thought of Jesus in your first waking moments? How long has it been since your love for Him was more pleasurable to you than your favorite hobby or television program? How long ago did you feel the beating of His Heart compelling you to do something really sacrificial for someone else? Do you still remember when heaven was very real to you, for your consciousness was filled with His glorious presence!

Of course seasons come and go, and the spring and summer must give way to the winter and fall. This is part of God’s grand design. But we cannot rely only on the weather to determine our faithfulness, love and devotion towards our Lord, and to one another.

It seems that the time to return to the freshness of spring has come. With that comes a purity and the rapture of new found love! For many of us, repentance is not enough. Some changes must be made in our life-styles, to make room for the Lord, and His pre-eminence. Then the Lord whom we seek will suddenly come to fill His Temple, which we are, anew!

This is not to suggest He has ever left us. His promises to us ensure that will never happen. Nothing can separate us from His love! What actually happens often times, is that in our business of normal living, we forget about Him. And as the gentle dove, which will never intrude, He patiently awaits our realization that we have neglected our communication with Him. Very slowly, and steadily, coldness and indifference sets in, with little notice. This state soon becomes accepted for normal, until His Word comes to awaken us.

Many of us fail to realize our need, while we are very busy doing good deeds or maintaining religious forms. Like the Ephesians, we confuse duty with devotion. The Lord was quick to remind us that works of obedience must accompany faith and love, and that they are actually inseparable. But how can we really do the works of God in our own power?

It has become a popular belief that the demonstrations of power and deliverance that the early church manifested were not intended for today. If that is what some believe, it is their right. Certainly they have the evidence on their side. But what IF? What if we completely gave ourselves unto the Lord for His service? What might He do through yielded vessels? Is there a limit to God? Does He answer to any restraints, other than those self-imposed by His own will? Did not Jesus say that even greater works than these shall you do? If my words abide in you, and you abide in me……?

Think of the possibilities! Some of you might be meeting Jesus today for the very first time. Others may be needing a fresh infilling of His Spirit. It matters not where you are now, Jesus is ready and willing to bring you into His world! His kingdom is of another dimension, another attitude, another reality! In it you will instantly see how irrelevant your present cares and petty desires really are in comparison to His Glorious Presence!

He is not calling us to live lives of guilt and self-abasement, but He does need humble, broken and submissive hearts. These are the tools that He has always used to turn the world upside down! Please allow me to exhort you one more time. Let us give ourselves more completely and unreservedly unto Him! Let us behold His glory and be released from all bondages as His face shines upon us! Let us now begin to live out the words of this old chorus: “I keep falling in love with Him, over and over, and over and over again!”

Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church, Part 3

January 6, 2026 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

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The story of the work of Jesus Christ in His people has long fascinated and challenged me. I have to admit that as a kid I could not get enough of fantasy stories in movies and comic books that featured heroic acts by individuals with super powers. So naturally I was interested when I learned in the bible about real heroes who trusted in God and were able to accomplish amazing things!

At the same time I felt a disconnect between the Christian world of that time and that which I saw in the bible. Growing up it seemed as though it was more about what we cannot do rather than what we can do through Christ. When I found a church that read, and studied and preached from the book of Acts in the bible I was immediately drawn to it. None of us were super heroes like Samson, David, Daniel, or even Peter and Paul. But that did not stop us from desiring a greater experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.

In that desire the Lord did some wonderful things among us. His presence was very real in our meetings. Over the years we also had some great disappointments. From where I stand, it looks like eventually many lowered their expectations of what God might do supernaturally among us. A few even rationalized that the only supernatural work would be that which takes place within us.

Of course we know that the main focus of Jesus was always on the condition of our hearts. Our prayer is to be for the will of God our Father to be accomplished in earth as it is in heaven. That must first be fulfilled within us by the miracle of the New Birth. It does not end there, however. If heaven enters my heart, my entire life will eventually change. The miracles and the amazing spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts came about through people who were dramatically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was by that same power that they believed and obeyed Christ. What can we learn from them? I submit that like them, we can still hear from God, follow Him, and be empowered to obey Him! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!

My hope is that in our day we will revisit the book of Acts with open hearts and minds. By many accounts the Christian church is in decline at least in the West. Yet, there is still the possibility that believers in our day can “turn the world upside down” as did the early Christians. Maybe we can cast off unnecessary practices that have become heavy burdens, and take up the very principles that enabled the early Christians to overcome impossible odds. This is not a boring faith by any means, but an adventure that has continued for thousands of years!

If you are interested in considering more things that the First Century Church could teach us, I hope you will join me in this study by subscribing to my blog at https://livingtruth.com or my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom

Tag: faith (Page 2 of 9)

Podcast: Kingdom Growth

Podcast: What IF?

Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church, Part 3

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