In Romans chapter 13, the Apostle Paul instructs believers to respect the governing authorities and what that means in the sight of God. In a chaotic and hyper charged political environment, where there is so much discontent as well as those in authority that abuse that authority, what does that mean for us today? In this message, Pastor Troy Billow lays out what the Bible says in regards to respecting governing authorities, observe how Jesus handled political traps set by governing authorities, and offers both insight and challenges us as to what it entails to apply this today.
In this moving message, Pastor John Billow addresses the account of the sinful woman who went to wash Jesus's feet with her tears and with her hair, and brings it up close, and personal.
Just before He was about to turn in for the night, Jesus was visited by a visitor, a "night caller". The "night caller" was Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a member of the most powerful religious institution in Israel. Nicodemus had a deep curiosity about what Jesus was teaching, and so He visited Jesus to ask Him questions first hand in regards to what he should do to get to Heaven. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. In this message, Pastor John Billow explains what Jesus meant by being born again, and what that means for us today.
In this message, Pastor Troy Billow takes us into the heart of Peter, whose enthusiasm towards Christ was great when he was a disciple of Christ, but waned when the chips were down Christ was crucified by the Romans. Peter fled and did not even show up when Christ was crucified. Feeling fearful, disappointed, and depressed, all hope seemed lost for Peter. But after Christ rose from the dead, He reached out to Peter, helped him see how he was behaving, and led him to see that he needed to change. How many of us are very much like Peter? We all have a calling, we all have a unique attribute, specific talent, or purpose, but how many of us use it for the Kingdom, and how many of us do not because of fear, doubt, or self-pity? Thankfully for us, like Peter, Jesus gives us a second chance, and we see what heights Peter rose to because of His love for Christ, and his being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
When it came down to Jesus praying for His disciples, there were two vitally important elements that He stressed, and that is unity and oneness with Christ. If we are in oneness with Christ, who is one with the Father, than we should be in unity with each other. Pastor Troy Billow makes the case that if we hold this concept as paramount in our faith, in our walk, and how we handle troubles and our temperament in light of these things, it is as valuable to the witness of the gospel message and for Christ as guarding the bank, where, in the old west, the life savings of an entire town was kept.
The face of our nation seems angry all the time these days, however this state offers the church an opportunity to reflect the face of the Prince of Peace. In this message, Pastor Troy explains that in the midst of hard times and coming persecution to His disciples, Jesus leaves four main things to remember in order to A. not get carried away by the evil and chaos happening around us, and B. Keep calm and focused on Him and eternity to bring us peace that we can in turn radiate into the world around us.
When Jesus walked on the water, not only did He teach Peter a lesson in faith, but He also taught us something about fear. In this message, Pastor John Billow explains some of the components that lead to many our fears, and how exercising one's faith (like exercising one's muscle) and not doubting what Jesus said regarding fear can offset and cast out the power that it can have if we do it repetitively.
A special guest from Rock of Israel Ministries (a Messianic Jewish ministry that evangelizes acknowledging that Jesus is the Messiah referred to in the Old Testament), shares the incredible similarities between the thoughts and ideas that make up the Tabernacle in Exodus chapters 25-31, to what Jesus Christ embodied in the Gospel message, which, when you think about it, are the same, but applied in their respective times in a different fashion.
Times of famine and difficulty are times when people are likelier to open their hearts and minds in ways that they may not when times are good. In that, we see how God uses things like famine to bring people to their senses, make Himself known, provide a need, and trigger a response.
In this sermon, Pastor Troy Billow illustrates how the world is in panic mode and frantically in search for a vaccine. And yet, people do not hold to the power of the one who has control over all of these things; our true "vaccine" with eternity factored in. Drawing from Exodus chapters 11 and 12, Pastor Troy shows how God used plagues to shake the worlds of those who were so set in their ways, and refused to turn to the one who ultimately had the power over it. And in the midst of this, Christ showed a shadow of His protection and power over these things in the midst of these plagues.