Abundant Life

Apologetics Live episode 241 Drew addresses Mark Driscoll’s behavior at a men’s conference about a sword-swallowing, pole-dancing speaker This podcast is a ministry of Striving for Eternity and all our resources Listen to other podcasts on the Christian Podcast Community Support Striving for Eternity Give us your feedback, email us info@StrivingForEternity.com Write us a review and...

Abundant Life Episode 58 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the topic of selfishness and how it is very destructive. Websters 1828 Selfish – Regarding one’s own interest chiefly or soley; influenced in actions by a view to private advantage. Key Verse Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but...

Abundant Life Episode 57 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the profound love of God for us and why Jesus had to die. Key Verse Romans 5:7-8 – For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own...

Abundant Life Episode 56 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about starting off 2024 on the right foot by shedding the weight of sin in order to run the race of life. Key Word Weight – The quantity of a body, ascertained by the balance; in a philosophical sense, that quality of bodies by...

Abundant Life Episode 55 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about one of the awesome names of Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us. Key Verse God's presence among His people in the old testament The Shekinah Glory – In the old testament this was a term coined by the Jewish rabbis which is a Hebrew...

Abundant Life Episode 54 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about all the tings they are thankful for in 2023 Keyword Thanksgiving – The act of rendering thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.The act of rendering thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies. – Websters 1828 Key Verse – Psalm 100:4-5 ...

Abundant Life Episode 53 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the death of a good friend who struggled with addiction and is now with the Lord Do you struggle with temptation or a besetting sin? If you are a child of God, you have a way of escape. You have the power by...

Abundant Life Episode 52 In this episode Saso and Ben bring Heather Gapen back on the show to discuss sanctification. From the time we are born again, we begin to grow as a Christian with the ultimate goal of being like Jesus. This process lasts a lifetime and we as Christians should take an active...

Abundant Life Episode 51 In this episode Saso and Ben have the privilege of interviewing Heather Gapen and talk about forgiveness. Heather has a tremendous testimony. God miraculously saved Heather out of a life of addictions and brokenness. In the process of Heather growing as a Christian, she was faced with one of the most...

Abundant Life Episode 50 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about Satan’s plan to destroy humanity. This episode was inspired by the recent Nefarious movie release (Please use discretion before watching movie, may no be suitable for young children) Websters 1828 – Vigilant – Watchful; circumspect; attentive to discover and avoid danger, or to...

Abundant Life Episode 49 In this episode Saso and Ben interview Jeff Grachus as they discuss being fishers of men by the sharing of the gospel. Key Verse Matthew 4:19 – And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea:...

Abundant Life Episode 48 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss Jesus path from resurrection to second coming. RESURREC'TION A rising again; chiefly, the revival of the dead of the human race, or their return from the grave, particularly at the general judgment. By the resurrection of Christ we have assurance of the future resurrection...

Abundant Life Episode 47 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss Saso’s recent visit to Israel, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. He is risen, He is risen indeed! Deuteronomy 8:7 Luke 24:13-35  

Abundant Life Episode 46 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the Sovereignty of God. Websters 1828 Sovereign – Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe. Key Verse Psalm 147:5 – Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. God is Sovereign Proverbs 16:9 Proverbs 19:21 Proverbs 21:30 Ecclesiastes 7:13 Lamentations 3:37...

Abundant Life Episode 45 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss how God blessed and worked in their lives in 2022. Prayer & Fasting Daniel 9:3 Marriage Conference James 1:2-4 Wedding Ephesians 5:32-33 Concert Psalm 147:5 Job Promotion Jeremiah 17:7-8 Salvation! Romans 10:8-10, Psalm 34:8 New Years Resolution Romans 12:2 Read the Word! Numbers 6:24-26...

Abundant Life Episode 44 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss how Christians can be content with God, because God is enough. Enough – That satisfies desire, or gives content; that may answer the purpose; that is adequate to the wants. – Websters 1828 Key Verse Philippians 4:19 This is such a powerful truth, God...

Abundant Life Episode 43 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the how Christians must place their hope in God in times of discouragement and life’s trials. OPENED – Unclosed; unbarred; unsealed; uncovered; revealed; disclosed; made plain; freed from obstruction. – Websters 1828 Key Verses 2 Kings 6:15-17 Elisha's servant was troubled with the armies that...

Abundant Life Episode 42 In this episode Saso and Ben interview Mike Baldwin, ex-police, as they discuss dealing with trials in the workplace. Key verses Colossians 3:23-24 – And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye...

Abundant Life Episode 41 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of being renewed and how to get on fire for Jesus! Key verses Titus 2: 11-14 RENEW’ED, participle passive Made new again; repaired; re-established; repeated; revived; renovated; regenerated. – Websters 1828 Grace –  Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God,...

Abundant Life Episode 40 In this episode Saso and Ben interview Lt. Col. Dave Grossman on the topic of the engaging in spiritual warfare. Are you prepared for Spiritual Warfare? Key verse Ephesians 6:10-11 Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Bio Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is a US Army Ranger, a paratrooper, and a former West Point...

Abundant Life Episode 39 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of the importance of the church. The Christian life was not meant to lived out in isolation. Some people say that they can worship God on a mountain away from people. It's true, you can worship God anywhere, Jonah prayed to God...

Abundant Life Episode 38 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of being unadopted. Websters 1828 UNADOPTED – Not adopted; not received as one’s own. WRATH – The just punishment of an offense or crime. Romans 8:1. Gods wrath in Scripture, is his holy and just indignation against sin. Romans 1:18. Key Verse John 3:36 On the...

Abundant Life Episode 37 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of the Spirit of Adoption. Websters 1828 Adoption: The act of adopting, or the state of being adopted; the taking and treating of a stranger as one’s own child. The receiving as one’s own, what is new or not natural. God’s taking...

Abundant Life Episode 36 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of truth. Websters 1828 Truth - Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value. We rely on the truth of the scriptural prophecies. Key verse He is the origin of truth John 1:17 If you follow the news on TV or maybe on Social Media, you are likely constantly wondering whether or not you are consuming truth or lies. In fact it was just a couple years ago that we had a new term coined, fake news which was in effort to call out mainstream news media who are interested in reporting anything but the truth. Then you had so called fact checkers that were checking to see if what people were posting was true or not, but in the end it was admitted that it wasn't necessarily truth they were seeking but opinion being construed as truth. Needless to say we are in a society where people are extremely confused and starving for truth. We live in a post modern world where some will say that there is no absolute truth, and ironically they've just made an absolute truth statement. Then you have the philosophy of relativism which defines truth as being relative and that everyone can have their own truth. For example you have some that will say that it is all right to believe what you want, as long as you do not try to impose your beliefs on others. But this view itself is a belief about what is right and wrong, and those who hold this view most certainly try to impose it on others. In a recent study by Barna, they asked different people groups to respond to various statements by whether or not they agree with the statement. Here are 2 different statements that were asked to “practicing christians”. Whatever is right for your life or works best for you is the only truth you can know. (40% agree) Every culture must determine what is acceptable morality for its people. (47% agree There were other people groups that were surveyed like boomers, gen-exers etc, but the fact that practicing Christians would think that truth is relative or that you can get your morality defined by culture is very concerning. Thankfully we have the truth of the Bible which came from source of truth, God who is truth. God doesn't just speak truth, His character is the mere definition of truth. Without truth we wouldn't be able to know God, morality would basically be non-existent and we'd be in a much bigger mess than we are currently. Because we have this truth, we can know God, we can know what sin is, we can know what righteousness is and how to live or lives accordingly. Redemptive purposes John 14:6 John 8:32 John 18:37-38 1 John 5:20 The truth about salvation is so critical because it literally determines life or death as your eternal destination. Sanctification purposes John 17:17 2 Timothy 2:15 Ephesians 6:14 Psalm 25:5 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Psalm 86:11 Philippians 4:8  Psalms 43:3 John 14:17 1 John 1:6 The Christian walk is not easy by any means, but without truth, we'd be absolutely lost. Interestingly when reading about the armor of God, the belt of truth is the first item of armor applied and it would seem that truth is the foundation for the Christian life. Without the belt of truth the rest of the armor would be irrelevant because we would then be what Paul described in Ephesians. Ephesians 4:14 The spiritual battle is not fought in the physical, but in the spiritual, in our minds. If you think about the filth we fill our minds with, the lies and deceptions of this world, its so wonder that we struggle with unbelief. Unbelief was what Adam and Eve experienced in the garden when they chose to believe the lie of Satan over the truth of God and therefore sent the human race into sin. The apostle Paul talks about judgement for those who chose to suppress the truth and believe the lie. Romans 1:18 Romans 1:26 What about you Christian?

Abundant Life Episode 35 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss saving faith and why this is foundational to all Christians. Freedom That Lasts definition Saving faith is believing that Jesus Christ is my only Savior. Many believe that there are many ways to get to heaven but there is no saving faith in that.  Webster's 1828 FAITH - is a firm, cordial belief in the veracity of God, in all the declarations of his word; or a full and affectionate confidence in the certainty of those things which God has declared, and because he has declared them. There is a lot to unpack with that definition of faith but it is saving faith that allows us to say that there is one God and that we take Him at His Word. Jesus Christ is the only Savior! Key verse Acts 4:12 What is saving faith? Saving faith is what cleanses a sinner of sin and sets his/her eternal destination. We call this justification and sanctification. When you place your faith in Christ, you are justified and set apart, sealed as a child of God. To have faith in Jesus simply means you trust Him and Him alone that He is God in the flesh and that died and resurrected to atone for our sin. Obviously this trust must be authentic.  Often times the Bible uses the word believe, in fact John uses "believe" in the Gospel of John and it turns out its there 100 times within 86 different verses. The new testament found 248 times within 220 verses (all KJV). The greek word pist-yoo'-o means to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in John 1:1 It is extremely important to identify that Jesus is God. Jesus is the second person of the trinity, co-equal with God the father. Some religions will tell you that they believe in Jesus, but the "Jesus" they identify with is either not God, or is not eternal. John 1:14 Another huge point is that Jesus became man, God in the flesh. Jesus is the keeper of the law, he never sinned once and is the reason that we can have salvation. Romans 10:9-10 Salvation requires that you place your faith or your trust in Jesus, the correct Jesus, and that you are trusting in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sin. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 John testifies that those who have placed their faith in Jesus are sons and daughters of God. 1 John 5:1 This foundational saving faith is the key to becoming and living as a Christian, if you miss this, then you may have a false hope. Is Jesus the only way? There is no other way to get to heaven, only one way, and that is through Jesus.  People look to a lot of things in this world as their savior but there is only one way.  Matthew 7:13-14 Matthew 7:22-23 People look to a lot of things for their Savior, but they miss out on the one true Savior. The one who died for you and seeks to rescue you from your condemned condition. John 19:30 John 14:6 Acts 4:12 Once saved always saved! Jesus knew all of the sin we would commit but He still loved us with an everlasting love and there is nothing that will separate us from this great love.  Romans 8:35, 38-39 Every Christian at some point doubts their salvation. Typically when you are in sin, or perhaps just not reading your bible, or maybe it's just that Satan is whispering lies in your ear, it's inevitable that you will experience doubt. John 10:28-29 Ephesians 4:30 There are some Christians that believe you can lose your salvation. However, it really wouldn't make sense. When you get saved you are granted eternal life. It wouldn't be eternal if it can be broken or haunted. The scripture is clear, we are sealed and sanctified even until the day of redemption. Once saved, it's very likely that we will sin, but the beautiful thing is that God does not throw us away like some broken piece of trash. When we sin, we definitely cause a rift in our relationship with God, but the solution is simple, repent and confess. Sins brings about doubt of in our lives,

Abundant Life Episode 34 In this episode Saso and Ben host special guest George Binoka who talks about his journey from hating God to Missionary. Key Verses Ephesians 4:22-24 Resources Abundant Life Kenya Baptist Ministries Stay in the Fight Daily Devotional Grace and Peace Radio Show Me The Father Movie Northwest Valley Baptist Church

Abundant Life Episode 33 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of trials. How do you respond to trials? Trials -  A test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation broadly : a source of vexation or annoyance. - Websters 1828 Key Verses James 1:2-4 Sometimes call these sanctification tests, but God allows these into our life for a reason and purpose. Have you ever had your water heater break and counted in all joy? How about a besetting sin in your life? Man, what a joy to be tempted!  Trials are meant to test and stretch us or grow us as Christians. An athlete that wishes to become the best spends hours in the gym lifting weights, eating right, working out, in order to strengthen his/her body. It takes a lot of discipline, which is why many of us are a little soggy around the midsection! Essential Virtues, Mark of the Christ-Centered Life - The Christian, however, who faithfully seeks to develop these essential virtues (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love), will see every circumstance of life as a “fitness station” upon which the Trainer has arranged another repetition of the necessary surrender, dependence and obedience required to develop and manifest that virtue. - Jim Berg When we go through trials we are being given opportunity to grow in our walk with God. The reality is that if everything were perfect, we'd likely never take the opportunity to seek God. Why do we go through trials? 1 Peter 5:10 I think of Abraham who was tested and tried, and I cannot imagine how he was strengthen and changed by seeing God work through that trial. We often miss out on the perfect, stablish, and settle part as we fail the initial part of the test. I often cannot see beyond the trial and see only what is in front of me. I am short sighted in many of these cases. Romans 5:3-4 In retrospect you can apply this to life. Just like this verse as well as our key verse in James, this testing is done so that we can build our endurance which results in hope according to Romans and contentment according to James. In short, trials are allowed in our lives to grow our dependence and faith in God. 1 Peter 1:6-7 It's pretty clear that trials are not only to test the genuine of our faith but to change us into the image of Christ. What are God's promises with regard to trials? 1 Corinthians 10:13 Ecclesiastes tells us there is nothing new under the sun, and there is no temptation that our heavenly Father is not aware of. No new sin, no new circumstance, no nuance or no new red button person that has not been encountered. God promises not to give us a temptation that we will not be able to escape. Joseph was able to resist the pursuit of a married woman and Moses choose to suffer with the children of Israel rather than to indulge in the pleasures that Egypt had to offer.   John 16:33 In our last podcast we discussed the peace that only comes from our God. Dr. Berg discussed that we will always have all tribulation in this world as this verse states, but there is tribulation with God and tribulation with God. God has overcome the world, and we have hope and joy in this victory. Help is there for the asking.  Exodus 14:14 Allow God to fight for you!  Matthew 11:28-30 Typically when we are in a trial, it's not our first instinct to look to God's promises. The bible is pretty clear, we as people are really good forgetters. Just think of the Israelites in the desert, seeing amazing miracles, then when trials came, they forgot God, and would complain, even to the point of becoming idolaters. We as people are no different. In fact if we are honest, many of us have such a weak prayer life, and we only pray when bad things happen.  The reality is that we must learn and teach ourselves to always have our gaze to God, he is sovereign and he cares. Romans 8:28 This verse has a couple prerequisites,

Abundant Life Episode 32 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of hope. What do you place your hope in? Websters 1828 Hope “A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. hopediffers from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. hopetherefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense. A well founded scriptural hope is, in our religion, the source of ineffable happiness.” Key Verse Joel 3:16 We live in a world that gives us anything but hope. We have been guilty of putting our hope in our favorite sports team, our favorite stock, our back accounts, our residency in America and our religious freedoms. We have seen things bubbling in our world whether that be racial divide, countries at war, and even our country divided behind political lines. The news is not full of hope nor is it full of truth. One does not watch the news and walk away with an outlook of hope. As Christians, our hope is in the Lord, and He is still our strength no matter the headline or news breaking story John 16:33 We were told of the world not being a peaceful place and it has not been a peaceful place for a long time. We sometimes forget that they crucified our Lord, and the world is not a place we can take refuge in or find peace in. That is the bad news, but the good news is that our God has overcome this world, and there is ultimate peace found in Him. Chin up!  Complacency is a really dangerous place to be, because its like being in a false state of satisfaction. But that's exactly where we were just a few years after 911. We went through the horrific tragedy and then we just got emerged in life, business, daily routines and such. Then we had somewhat of an awakening in 2008 with the housing market crash and high inflation, but then we were back to our old ways. We were living pretty comfortable from 2010 till March of 2020 when the world was overtaken by Covid. As churches shut down, business sent employees home, students were sent home and we were sort of left in this state of the unknown. Grocery stores were low on stock, there was no toilet paper, having to social distance and wear uncomfortable masks, it was a sort of a stressful time of uncertainty. But something interesting happened that hadn't happened in quite some time. We begin to look up. God was allowing this pandemic trial to happen and we were confronted face to face with our faith. Where was our faith? Was it in the CDC, was it in Dr. Fauci, was in the hope for a coming vaccine or was it in the one who spoke the world into existence? Fast forward a little to our current day, and we are currently in another point in history where we are entering the unknown. Russia has just invaded the people of Ukraine and news analysts are trying to determine what's coming next. The people in Ukraine are under attack, and the rest of the world is watching and waiting for the next tyrant to attack. And again we are face to face with our faith. 1 Peter 1:6-7 God Cares for you Isaiah 41:10 There are going to be times in the present world where we will feel alone, where we will feel defeated, and we will feel without strength. Our strength is not found in anything but the Lord our God. He is the One who upholds us, and He is the One who says, “Fear not!” It does not take much watching of the news to feel fearful of what is going on, and to lose sight that our God is still on the throne  Isaiah 41:13 We are told again here not to fear as the Lord our God is the One who holds our hand, and He is the One who will help and sustain us. We often get fearful by what we see and hear but ...

Abundant Life Episode 31 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of time, how short life is and how we should be spending our time. 1828 Websters A particular portion or part of duration, whether past, present or future. The time was; the time has been; the time is; the time will be. Lost time is never found again.” Key Verse Psalm 90:12 Time is the really the only thing that we have equal access to until we do not. Time is a gift from God and cannot be bought, borrowed or ever found again as the dictionary would define it. We cannot pause time and get an extra hour of sleep or to use it again once it has been used. Time is a precious commodity, and we often take it for granted the time we have been given.   Why is time important? The time for salvation is now! 2 Corinthians 6:2 Salvation is not something to put off as the wrath of God abides on everyone who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ John 3:36 Only a fool waits until it is too late. We look at those that perished in the flood because they would not heed the warning that the waters were coming. Many today feel they are “good” but the time is now! Hebrews 9:27 It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, how much you spend on health, or if you have a special diet, we will all face the judgment of almighty God. There is nothing wrong with living healthy but there is no “Cocoon” we can enter that will bring back the days of yesteryear.  Life is short There are two absolutes when it comes to life, first life is short and secondly we don't know when our life will end. Death can be a sobering topic and a topic to be avoided, but the truth of the matter is that we will all die one day. Nobody gets a pass and nobody can avoid it. The question is, how will we spend our short time on earth? In Psalm 90 we read this Psalm of Moses. The children of Israel were about to cross the Jordan into the promise land. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness they were about to reach their destination. It's as if this Psalm was written as a prayer of thankfulness, humility and blessing. However we see several verses that makes it quite apparent that the children of Israel had an awareness of how short human life is. Psalm 90:10 It's very similar to what James said on the issue of living a presumptuous life. He basically said, your life is like a vapor. James 4:14 Time is such an interesting concept because people for centuries have been searching for a way to prolong their time on this Earth. There is nothing wrong with eating well and taking care of your body, but the fact of the matter is that our lives are in the hands of our Creator and He is the one that determines how many days we have on this earth. Life is so short and precious and it reiterates once again why we must number our days. 70 when you are 15 seems like a long time but it really seems short the older, we get. This episode is titled “A Dash of Time” but our life is the dash between the year we are born and the year we end. It is a dash from the time you are born to the time God decides to take you home or calls you to judgment. The main problem is taking life for granted The primary issue is that we get comfortable and complacent and therefore we take life for granted and foolishly we make the assumption that we will live to a ripe old age. We assume that we will be around for many years to come like the verse in Psalms which talks about 70 or 80 years, but the reality is that we just don't know. The problem with being comfortable and complacent is that we forget about God. Remember what the children of Israel did when Moses went up to Mount Sinai Exodus 32:1 They completely forgot God and they became impatient with Moses and they gave themselves over to idolatry. Remember David on the roof top, he was comfortable and complacent when He should have been on the battlefield with his army and in his complacency he fell into sin committing adultery and mur...

Abundant Life Episode 30 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of failure. FA'ILURE, noun fa'ilyur. A failing; deficience; cessation of supply, or total defect; as the failure of springs or streams; failure of rain; failure of crops. Omission; non-performance; as the failure of a promise; a man's failure in the execution of a trust. Key verse Luke 16:9 January 17 is the typical day where New Year's resolutions are broken. That is a total of 17 days after they have started. It does not take long for the ambition of yesterday to become the failure of today. We all come to a point in our lives where we do not add up to the standards of others and to the standards, we set for ourselves. Have you ever failed at something in your life? Well, you are in good company. If we are honest it's not fun to fail and if we are honest sometimes it hurts. It's like they say death and taxes are inevitable, but failure is also inevitable. The bible also tells us to expect trouble. Job 14:1 It's not a matter if failure will happen, it's a matter of when. How do you look at failure? Do you see failure as a negative thing? Does failure define who you are? Do you see failure as an opportunity to grow and learn? Success is a pile of failure that you are standing on. -Dave Ramsey  I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan For Christians, failure is a negative response to our trials and testing. Sometimes we call these sanctification tests. We get presented with a set of circumstances and then we must chose how to respond. At times we pass the test and other times we do not pass the test. As you mature as a Christian, we hope that there are more wins than losses. The Christian life is about your sanctification and how over time you are changed into the image of Christ. It's about the journey and what you learn, and how you mature as a Christian and it's often times of testing and trial that we have opportunity to grow as Christians. Interestingly, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. If you were to take a straight shot from Egypt to the promised land, they likely could have made it there in under 5 years. But God was trying to teach them to depend on Him, to trust Him to obey Him. Some learned and grew in that fashion and others did not. Examples of failure from scripture Numbers 20:10-12 Moses sister Miriam had died, the people talked of stoning him, the people were thirsty, and Moses the meek man, lost it and struck the rock. He was told to speak to it but out of frustration, he struck it twice. He failed in reaching the promised land, and he was told he would not see it with the people he had led for all those years. Moses, needless to say had a bad week. How about David? II Samuel 11:14-17 David saw Uriah's wife and had to have her for herself. He tried to cover his sin which is impossible to do, and in his attempt to do so, he had Uriah killed in battle. David was entrusted as the king to protect and look out for the people, but here he was pursuing his own lusts and doing the opposite of protecting his people. David failed in being a righteous king, failed in self-control and failed in pleasing God. Ever failed in these areas? Ever tried to hide your sin? How did that go? Matthew 26:69-75 Have you done something to deny Christ in your life? Have you ever been ashamed of Him? How about in your witness of Him? We all fail at some point in our Christian lives and many times it is several times throughout the day. God can only use people that have failed because that is all there is. A preacher once said, “Failure is not a person, but it is an event.” The mark is perfection but there is no such thing as perfection. Romans 3:23

Abundant Life Episode 29 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of self-control. RESTRA'INT, noun “The act or operation of holding back or hindering from motion, in any manner; hinderance of the will, or of any action, physical, moral or mental.”- Websters 1828 Freedom That Lasts definition of self-control: “Adding self-control means instantly obeying God's Word in the power of God's spirit.” II Peter 1:6 We say this verse every Friday night in Freedom That Lasts and it is important in dealing with any type of sin that we show temperance or to say another way, self-control.  Self-control is so difficult. But why? It's simple, we like to indulge ourselves and pleasure ourselves because we are selfish. The problem with this is that the things we want to do often times are things that we ought not to do because they are sinful in nature. It's like the diet thing, we all love to eat tacos, burgers and pizza, because they taste good but unfortunately those things are unhealthy when consumed without restrain and can lead to not only obesity but can cause serious health issues like heart disease, high blood pressure and so on. How do we discipline ourselves to be obedient to God? The first step to self-control is to be a born again believer. When you are born again the scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Ephesians 1:13 Since the Holy Spirit dwells within you, the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians is the result of the Holy Spirit's presence in a believers life. Therefore if you don't have the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for you to exercise self-control because you are a slave to sin. Obedience requires that a believer to deny himself which isn't always easy, but in reality to deny oneself is to be obedient to God. Luke 9:23-24 Practicing instant obedience Matthew 7:24-25 It takes self-control to not only hear the words of Jesus Christ but to do them and live them out in your own life. We all know how to lose weight and get in shape, but to live it out and do it is another issue altogether. Be in our spiritual lives what will we build our house on? Will we be foolish or wise in our obedience to the Word.  Romans 6:19 Prior to salvation, we always obeyed and yielded to our flesh showing no self- control. Now that we have been redeemed, we should yield our bodies to purity and holiness.  Psalms 119:33-34 David was asking God to give him understanding, so that he might exhibit self-control in obeying God's Word. Delayed obedience is disobedience, and we can often reason within ourselves and rationalize sin if we choose not to obey immediately. Examples of no self-control Adam and Eve We see Eve as she thought the fruit was nice looking and good for food. She also was tempted by the serpent to be like God knowing good and evil.  This one act of disobedience and lack of self-control has lead to the fall of mankind. Because of this we are born sinners and condemned because of of the sin nature we inherit going all the way back to Adam and Eve. Samson Married a philistine woman which was prohibited by his parents, he broke his nazarite vow  ate honey from a dead carcass, and divulged the secret to his strength to Delilah to his detriment. It's as if Samson acted on impulse, and did whatever pleased himself with no regard for God. David and Bathsheba David was king, already had 6 wives, which was prohibited according to Deuteronomy 17:17, and by lack of self-control, he allowed his lust to take over and committed adultery with Bathsheba which eventually lead to the murder Uriah. His lack of self-control had repercussions for generations to come. King Solomon According to 1 Kings 11, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Ecclesiastes 2:10 At the root of all these examples we see a disregard for self-control, and a regard for selfishness and pleasing ones self. In contrast we see direct disobedience to God which has u...

Abundant Life Episode 28 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss a name given to Jesus, Immanuel. Key Verse Matthew 1:23 - Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” This was the angel speaking to Mary, giving her insight to God's plan to save His people from their sin. I can't imagine what was going through Mary's mind. Was she thinking, why me? Who am I to have this happen? How can this be? I bet there were a million questions racing through her mind, yet she likely didn't even see the big picture. If we look back to the old testament, we see a prophecy that was given during the rain of Ahaz, king of Judah, an evil King. This prophecy was given as a sign to Ahaz, but it was actually a prophecy of the coming Messiah that we see fulfilled in Matthew chapter 1 which would be about 700 years later. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel - is a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” What about the name Jesus vs. Immanuel? The name Jesus, given to Joseph in Matthew 1:21 and Mary in Luke 1:31, means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” In the Hebrew and Aramaic, the name is Yeshua. This name is a combination of Ya, an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of Israel's God; and the verb yasha, meaning “rescue,” “deliver,” or “save.” Matthew 1:20-21 Luke 1:30-31 Evidence for God “with us” in the flesh We see evidence of this truth in the book of 1 Timothy that Jesus was God in the flesh. This is a very gospel rich verse as well. 1 Timothy 1:16 John also gives testimony of Jesus, God in the flesh, dwelling among us. John 1:14 Colossians 2:9 He dwelt among us and experienced life as a human being Philippians 2:6-11 Jesus lowered Himself to become man yet He did not lay aside His deity. He was 100% man and 100% God. It is truly amazing and also comforting that the God of the universe was tempted just like we are, experienced loss, and pain and sadness just like us and He did not sin as a result. We fail on a daily basis, and it's just more plain to see that we need Jesus and can't live a righteous life without him. Just like it talks about in John 15, we can do nothing unless we abide in the vine, which was our last podcast episode. Hebrews 4:15 Why did Jesus come to be with us? It's quite simple. We are sinners on our way to eternity apart from God. Out of great love for a people who unlovely, Jesus stepped in to save us from eternal damnation. In Matthew we see the angel speaking to Joseph stating the purpose for Jesus. Matthew 1:21 In the book of Luke Jesus testifies of Himself and His mission. Luke 19:10 This is what makes the name it claim it movement false. Jesus didn't come to make your dreams come true. He came to rescue you from yourself. He came to give you new life, eternal life which is worth more than new cars, big houses, jewelry, and money. Why did Jesus come in the flesh? Couldn't Jesus just speak forgiveness and forgive all humanity? Perhaps, but God is a God of order, and integrity and truth. He can't go against His nature. We read in Hebrews that the only way sins can be forgiven is by the shedding of blood or a blood sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 Not just any sacrifice, the sacrifice must be without spot or blemish just as the lamb sacrifices in the old testament. Hebrews 9:14 Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that fulfilled all the old testament sacrifices and covered any future sacrifice that would be necessary, literally the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:24-28 Why did God send Jesus, His only Son? Psalm 50:10 In other words, God owns everything. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are poor in comparison because God owns all. But what could God give that would actually cost Him something? His Son is the only thing of value or worth, everything on this Earth including the Earth could be spoken into existence by God, but sending His Son was ultimately a sacrifice and He did it because He loves us.

Abundant Life Episode 2 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss what it means to abide in the Vine. ABI'DE - to be, or exist, to continue; W. bod, to be; to dwell, rest, continue, stand firm, or be stationary for anytime indefinitely. 1. To rest, or dwell. Genesis 29:19. 2. To tarry or stay for a short time. Genesis 24:55. 3. To continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and immovable. Psalms 119:90. 4. To remain, to continue. Acts 27:31. Ecclesiastes 8:15. Websters 1828 Key verse John 15:1-6   Philippians 4:13 This is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible as it pertains to having the strength to do what God has commanded us to do. We are helpless without His divine help; we are fools to think we can anything without the help of the Father What is abiding in Christ? John 15:5 As Christians we tend to say things like abide in Christ, or walk in the Spirit, but do we really understand what that means. When someone asks you, are you abidding in Christ, how do you respond? Are we talking about the act of abiding or the position of abiding. When a person is saved the Bible describes the person as being “in Christ”. Romans 8:1 2 Corinthians 5:17 If you were asked, are you in Christ or not, what would you say? How do you become "in Christ"? In Christ Galatians 3:26-27 According to this verse you are in Christ through faith. So now let's move backward to find out what through faith means. What is Faith? Ephesians 2:8-9 According to Ephesians, you are saved by grace through faith and goes on to say that it is the gift of God and not of your own works. If we were saved by our good works, then we'd go around bragging about it according to this verse. And if we are honest, that would be true because we all have a this little thing called pride that loves to show it's face when we think we've achieved something. Also, since this is a gift, then there wouldn't be any works involved because I've never heard of working for a gift. Saso your love language is gifts. When was the last time you worked for a birthday gift? This is likely them most profound verse that separates true Christians from all world religions. But why? Romans 6:23 Now we know what the free gift or salvation is, it's eternal life in Christ Jesus, but we still need to understand what through faith is talking about because that is the link to get the gift of eternal life. Romans 9:1 Since the concept of belief is intangible, someone can simply say “I believe” and it won't mean a hill of beans. According to James 2:19 even the demons believe and shudder but we know very well that the demons are not saved. The concept of believe is not just to have understanding and knowledge which causes to believe, but the key ingredient is dependence. For example, if you ask a person, do you believe that you can get on a plane and fly to Florida. Most people will say that they believe. But the dependence comes when they actually get on the plain and fly to Florida. Thats the kind of belief being spoken of. But why are you placing your dependence on Jesus? Romans 9:1 that we read earlier, that you are believing in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus suffered and died and was raised on the third day all so that God could forgive your sins and give you this free gift of eternal life so long as you place your faith in Jesus. It's so simple yet many will miss this. Please don't miss this! I was saved, not because I'm good but because God is good and God looked down at helpless me and sent His son to die for me. What a glorious truth brother! Ben What does this have to do with abiding in Christ? Everything! From what we just went through it's your position in Christ or your position not in Christ. The difference from being saved and not being saved. What is the evidence for being saved?

In this special Thanksgiving Episode Saso and Ben give thanks to God for His many blessings. THANK'FULNESS,noun Expression of gratitude; acknowledgment of a favor.1. Gratitude; a lively sense of good received.The celebration of these holy mysteries being ended, retire with all thankfulness of heart for having been admitted to that heavenly feast. Websters 1828 Key Verse Ephesians 5:20 1 Thessalonians 5:18 We are thankful to God for: God's grace John 1:16God's provision Genesis 22:14 & Psalm 107God's love Romans 8:38Our wives Proverbs 18:22Jaden Surgery / Recovery 1 Peter 1Friends and fellowship Acts 2:42Pastors and Church James 3:1Missionaries Luke 10:2 Psalm 28:7 Psalm 100:1-5 Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless you. Remember to give thanks to our great God! Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this special Thanksgiving Episode Saso and Ben give thanks to God for His many blessings.THANK'FULNESS,noun Expression of gratitude; acknowledgment of a favor.1. Gratitude; a lively sense of good received.The celebration of these holy mysteries being ended, retire with all thankfulness of heart for having been admitted to that heavenly feast.Websters 1828Key VerseEphesians 5:201 Thessalonians 5:18We are thankful to God for:God's grace John 1:16God's provision Genesis 22:14 & Psalm 107God's love Romans 8:38Our wives Proverbs 18:22Jaden Surgery / Recovery 1 Peter 1Friends and fellowship Acts 2:42Pastors and Church James 3:1Missionaries Luke 10:2Psalm 28:7Psalm 100:1-5Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless you. Remember to give thanks to our great God!Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the boss and employee relationship according to Ephesians 6:5-9. Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the boss and employee relationship according to Ephesians 6:5-9.Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben talk about children and how God requires obedience and honor toward parents. Key Verse Ephesians 6:1-3 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”Websters 1828Obey - To comply with the commands, orders or instructions of a superior, or with the requirements of law, moral, political or municipal; to do that which is commanded or required, or to forbear doing that which is prohibited. Honor - The esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation. Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben talk about children and how God requires obedience and honor toward parents.Key VerseEphesians 6:1-3 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”Websters 1828Obey - To comply with the commands, orders or instructions of a superior, or with the requirements of law, moral, political or municipal; to do that which is commanded or required, or to forbear doing that which is prohibited.Honor - The esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation.Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben talk about men and their important role as a father.Ephesians 6:4 - And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben talk about men and their important role as a father.Ephesians 6:4 - And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben with special guest Rebekah Mendez talk about honor and respect and a woman's role as a wife.Role of a wife and example of Sara 1 Peter 3:5-6 Ephesians 5:21 Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives do you come under your husband?  Do you treat him as fool?  Do you respect him?  Ephesians 5:33 Do you reverence (respect, honor) your husband or do you put him down and belittle him?  Currently we live in a culture where agendas are being pushed and it's so wonder that we have corrupted God's plan for marriage. It's really just rebellion against God. 1 Samuel 15:23 Did you catch that? Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.  Do you rebel? What submission is not Submission is not to men in general Submission is not a depiction of lesser value Galatians 3:28 Submission is not an excuse to sin Submission is not an outward-only “check the box” activity Submission is not a defeatist attitude 1 Peter 3:1 Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben with special guest Rebekah Mendez talk about honor and respect and a woman's role as a wife.Role of a wife and example of Sara1 Peter 3:5-6Ephesians 5:21Ephesians 5:22-24Wives do you come under your husband? Do you treat him as fool? Do you respect him? Ephesians 5:33Do you reverence (respect, honor) your husband or do you put him down and belittle him? Currently we live in a culture where agendas are being pushed and it's so wonder that we have corrupted God's plan for marriage. It's really just rebellion against God.1 Samuel 15:23Did you catch that? Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Do you rebel?What submission is notSubmission is not to men in generalSubmission is not a depiction of lesser valueGalatians 3:28Submission is not an excuse to sinSubmission is not an outward-only “check the box” activitySubmission is not a defeatist attitude1 Peter 3:1Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of biblical love and more specifically agape love. Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this Episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of biblical love and more specifically agape love.Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the issue of forgiving one another because we've been forgiven so much. Forgiveness does not mean “bro, now you owe me a solid”. Forgiveness means the debt is canceled and now you no longer have a hook, the debtor does not owe anything. It's like paying the bill for your food at the restaurant. Once it's paid you don't owe anything else, there fore nothing else should be expected by the restaurant. The Lord's prayer speaking of forgiveness and an example of how we should pray for others who sin against us Matthew 6:12-15Colossians 3:13 How often should we forgive? Matthew 18:21-22 Examples of Forgiveness in Scripture  Joseph - Genesis 50:19Stephen - Acts 7:59-60Simon Peter - Luke 24:34Jesus Christ - Luke 23:34 The new covenant with the house of Israel and house of Judah Hebrews 8:11-12John 8:3-11 Forgiveness is a command Ephesians 4:30-32 Since forgiveness is a command, we must willfully make the decision to obey God and forgive others. Forgivness is conditional Matthew 6:14 Also, the prerequisite to biblically forgiving others is to be forgiven. If you've not placed your faith in Christ, if you've not been born again as spoken of in John 3, then you are incapable of forgiving others as commanded in scripture. What about forgive and forget? This is a common question among Christians. We can't selectively choose what we want to forget. In fact there are many things stored in our brains that we'd like to delete but it's just not possible. Unfortunately there are things we do forget but we don't willfully forget them because it's impossible for us to forget things on demand. The bible never tells us to forget, however, the Bible tells us to be prudent. Proverbs 22:3 Forgiveness and trust are two different things. Forgiveness means that you've released the person from any type of repayment or retribution. However, that means that the dynamics of the relationship may and will likely change until trust is regained which can take time and honestly, trust may never be regained. We are not instructed to forget but we are instructed to love and pray for enemies. Matthew 5:44Romans 12:18 Consequences of unforgiveness The bad thing about unforgiveness is that it leads to other sins like anger, jealousy, bitterness, and hate. Just think what the United States of America would be like if we just forgave each other. What would our world be like if forgiveness was a priority? The parable of the unmerciful servant Matthew 18:22-23 What prevented the servant from forgiving his fellow servant? Pride and greed! And what was the consequence? Matthew 18:35 Why is there a need for forgiveness? Romans 5:8 Who are we to not forgive? After all I've been forgiven so much. Romans 6:23 Romans 5:12 Romans 6:23Psalm 51:5 Forgiveness available for all of us 2 Corinthians 5:21 Prodigal Son Luke 15:18-24 Who do you need to forgive?  Has anyone plucked out your beard? Put a crown of thorns on your head?  God help us to forgive as we have been forgiven of all of our unrighteousness if we have placed our faith in Him. Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the issue of forgiving one another because we've been forgiven so much.Forgiveness does not mean “bro, now you owe me a solid”. Forgiveness means the debt is canceled and now you no longer have a hook, the debtor does not owe anything. It's like paying the bill for your food at the restaurant. Once it's paid you don't owe anything else, there fore nothing else should be expected by the restaurant.The Lord's prayer speaking of forgiveness and an example of how we should pray for others who sin against usMatthew 6:12-15Colossians 3:13How often should we forgive?Matthew 18:21-22Examples of Forgiveness in Scripture Joseph - Genesis 50:19Stephen - Acts 7:59-60Simon Peter - Luke 24:34Jesus Christ - Luke 23:34The new covenant with the house of Israel and house of JudahHebrews 8:11-12John 8:3-11Forgiveness is a commandEphesians 4:30-32Since forgiveness is a command, we must willfully make the decision to obey God and forgive others.Forgivness is conditionalMatthew 6:14Also, the prerequisite to biblically forgiving others is to be forgiven. If you've not placed your faith in Christ, if you've not been born again as spoken of in John 3, then you are incapable of forgiving others as commanded in scripture.What about forgive and forget?This is a common question among Christians. We can't selectively choose what we want to forget. In fact there are many things stored in our brains that we'd like to delete but it's just not possible. Unfortunately there are things we do forget but we don't willfully forget them because it's impossible for us to forget things on demand.The bible never tells us to forget, however, the Bible tells us to be prudent.Proverbs 22:3Forgiveness and trust are two different things. Forgiveness means that you've released the person from any type of repayment or retribution. However, that means that the dynamics of the relationship may and will likely change until trust is regained which can take time and honestly, trust may never be regained.We are not instructed to forget but we are instructed to love and pray for enemies.Matthew 5:44Romans 12:18Consequences of unforgivenessThe bad thing about unforgiveness is that it leads to other sins like anger, jealousy, bitterness, and hate. Just think what the United States of America would be like if we just forgave each other. What would our world be like if forgiveness was a priority?The parable of the unmerciful servantMatthew 18:22-23What prevented the servant from forgiving his fellow servant? Pride and greed! And what was the consequence?Matthew 18:35Why is there a need for forgiveness?Romans 5:8Who are we to not forgive? After all I've been forgiven so much.Romans 6:23 Romans 5:12 Romans 6:23Psalm 51:5Forgiveness available for all of us2 Corinthians 5:21Prodigal SonLuke 15:18-24Who do you need to forgive? Has anyone plucked out your beard? Put a crown of thorns on your head? God help us to forgive as we have been forgiven of all of our unrighteousness if we have placed our faith in Him.Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the to topic if friendship. Do you have solid, biblical friendships? If not, you are missing out! Paul & Barnabas - Acts 15:36-40 What are friends for? Comfort - 1 Thessalonians 5:11Forgiveness - 1 Peter 4:8-10Unity - Ecclesiastes 4:10-12Sharpening - Hebrews 10:24, Proverbs 27:17 How are we to be good friends?  1 John 4:7 How do we know we are to love our brothers and sisters in the faith? John 4:21 Jesus is our example John 15:13John 13:1 Jesus command to love one another John 15:12-14 Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)

Support the show (https://abundantlife.fm)