Richard Ellis Talks

The Church is full of people with different thoughts and beliefs on a variety of things from politics to economics, from legalistic rules to Biblical interpretations. The fact of the matter is that Christ's blood covers us all and we must live unified, agreeing to disagree on some things, and love one another as He has loved us.

No matter how hopeless we think someone is, when God prompts us to speak to them about the Gospel we need to obey and watch His power work to make a spiritually dead person alive in Him. It is in those moments that God gets the most glory because He made possible what seemed to be impossible.

God has offered us forgiveness that covers over all of our sin, but often times we are reminded of our mistakes and we continue to live in bondage. In order to truly move on from the past, we must forgive ourselves and others who have hurt us so that we can live in freedom.

God allows different trials and suffering in our lives so that He can work on our character, build our hope in Him, and exercise our endurance. Waiting on God involves keeping our faith in Him, even when we don't feel like it, and it helps us avoid the consequences of when we try things our own way.

When we are lit about Jesus and what He's done in our lives, others see the change in us and want the same for themselves. Once we get lit by first becoming a Christian, we can stay lit by remaining in His Word and following Him.

When we become Christians, Jesus lives inside of us and all of His power is, therefore, in us. God may call us out to do simple acts of obedience, but when we live in disobedience we are not only effecting ourselves but others around us as well. We need to live in obedience to God so that He can use us as a lifeboat for others.

There are times when we do not want Jesus to come in and work on certain parts of us, but what we need to realize is that Jesus has purpose in His work in our lives, even in discipline. Rather than continuing in out own ways, which are not working for us, we need to let Him into our hearts so that He can work on us and show us His way for our lives.

The Bible is full of relatable stories of broken relationships and messed up people. When we stop focusing on how other people have hurt us and start focusing on how God wants to change us, we start to change and see the ripple effects around us.

Jesus taught that we are to look around for those who need to be spoken for in the midst of their struggles, then step in and advocate for them. He modeled this in the ultimate way when we needed a Savior and He stepped in to take on our sin upon Himself, and He continues to step in for us as He intercedes to the Father on our behalf.

God can use anyone and everyone, no matter how intelligent or ignorant we are and no matter what sins lie in the past. When we feel Him calling us to Himself, we need to let go of our own insecurities or pride and accept His unconditional grace, love and forgiveness. When we live in obedience to Him, it's amazing what He can do in and through us.

The best witness for the world to see is the family of God living at peace with one another. When a situation arises and we get hurt or hurt someone else, we need to not let time tick away but rather go to the other person and make things right with them.

Just as Jesus followed His Father's direction to the Olive Garden and then the cross, leading to His death and resurrection, we must be willing to give up our own lives, take up our cross of suffering and follow Him. The only way our lives will work well is if we give up control and let Him have it all.

There may be times when God tells us to do something, but He may also tell us that we need to wait on Him to do it. When God's power is present in our lives because we are waiting on Him, it is evident to everyone around us. When we try to do something in our own power we will always fail, so it is better to wait on God for His leadership, guidance and power.

Sometimes it's the most religious people who question the truth, rather than the unreligious atheists, because they are too caught up in their traditions that they fail to see the light. We need to evaluate ourselves and make sure that we are not too caught up in our own ways and playing the devil's advocate to what God may be trying to show us.

Giving thanks is something that does not happen as often as it should. As we look at our lives, we need to make a point to thank the people around us who deserve our gratitude, and we need to thank God for all the blessings He gives.

The world is full of things that we think may be good for us, but instead they come with consequence in the long run. God gives us instructions in His Word to follow that keep us on a path that truly is good for us. When we choose to submit our lives to Him, we find fulfillment in obeying Him and staying on the right path.

While becoming a Christian gets us a ticket into Heaven, it's about so much more than that. Jesus offers us freedom from sin in our lives that continually drags us down and brings consequence. When we apply Scripture to our lives we can live in that freedom.

The Bible clearly states that we are slaves, but the master is up to us. We can choose to be slaves to sin, allowing the devil to run our lives, or we can be slaves to God and live in obedience. Even when we disobey God, His grace is still extended to us and sometimes that comes through consequence.

There are people in this world that have no idea that there is a spiritual battle going on for their soul and they live wickedly, allowing the devil to win. We must put on the armor of God and fight for them, telling them passionately about God's love and His offer for salvation.

Just because we are Christians doesn't mean we are saved from facing any kind of storm in our lives. However, when we stand firm in Christ we become weathered to face those storms and not crumble under them.

We all face situations in our daily lives that can grind on us and often seem unbearable for much longer. While it is important that we pray with persistence in asking God to change the situation, we also need to be open to allowing Him to change us. Our peace comes from faith in Him regardless of our circumstances.

We all have capacity to screw our lives up by living in sin and doing whatever we want to do. We will keep cycling back to the same consequences until we finally yield and say “uncle” to Jesus, repenting of our sin and turning away from it to follow Him.

When we become Christians, God has designed a warning system by placing His Holy Spirit inside of us to tell us when we are about to make a mistake. We need to listen to His warnings, stop what we're doing, and obey Him so that we can avoid the dangerous consequences of sin.

There are plenty of stories in the Bible of God using sinners to accomplish amazing things for His glory. No matter what has happened in our lives, by our own doing or someone else's, God can always take us and use us if we would just give ourselves to Him.

God is in the cleaning business, graciously cleaning up our messy lives to make us suitable to His work. When we repent of our sins and allow Him to wash us clean, He uses us to reach out to others and lovingly help them get cleaned.

We too often waste time when issues arise in relationships by avoiding what we know we need to do. When it comes to our relationship with God, we must respond to Him immediately by repenting our sin and living in obedience.

No matter how good we act, our goodness will still be seen as filthy rags to God because we are poisoned by sin from the start. When we trade in our filthiness to accept the forgiveness and grace offered to us because of Christ's death, we become God's children and inherit His riches.

Because of Jesus' ultimate victory over sin and death on the cross, we are God's children and therefore we are already winners. Though we still face momentary battles that knock us down, we can take heart in the fact that the war has been won and we are on the winning side.

There are many Christians who may be doing all the right things for awhile but then slip back into old sin habits. We need to be watchful for these brothers and sisters to help pick them up when they fall, knowing that there may be a time coming when we will need that kind of help. God promises blessing to those who obey Him to the end.

Although our obedience to God is not what saves us, it is what determines the awards that God has promised in Heaven. The Apostle Paul encouraged all believers to live the godly life that we are called to in obedience, enduring through suffering and trials for Christ's sake because it will all be worth it in the end.

In a world where it is accepted to choose any lifestyle, especially those that go against Scripture, we must hold onto the truth and be bold enough to speak it. The Bible is clear that we are all born in sin, but we can choose to either give into that sin or to follow Christ who can transform our lives from the inside out.

Jesus tells us that we can be assured of God's provision in our life by looking at the birds of the air and seeing that they are cared for because God cares even more for us. Bird poop is evidence that a bird has been fed, so may we always be reminded to trust God, knowing that He is the Alpha and Omega and knows our situation even greater than we do and He will always provide what we need.

This world is full of sorrow and pain, and we don't always understand why God allows the things He does. Rather than giving up on Him, we have the opportunity to know Him deeper as He empathizes with our grief and comforts us through the pain. We can trust that He is in control and that if He is allowing something painful to happen then He has a purpose for it.

The Bible is filled with stories of people experiencing injustice, and yet how God can use their experiences for His good and glory. When we see things in the world that are unjust, we need to follow His lead and speak up when necessary, but ultimately leave vengeance in His hands.

The way that God designed His family is to work together in unity as a team. When we work together, we accomplish the seemingly impossible tasks that He has called us to. It is essential that if we decide to follow Jesus that we participate in His team.

The Gospel is simple, but the world tries to complicate too many things, obscuring where we came from and the purpose of our lives. If we believe in God and call out to Him, He promises to give us the faith to believe and be saved through the death and resurrection of His Son. God picked everyone who would pick Him, and when we turn to Him, He answers us.

We all have sins that we struggle with and find nearly impossible to quit. We have the strength through Christ to break any addiction, and He promises to fill us with joy when we obey. The longer we continue to disobey God, the greater the pain that comes with God's loving discipline.

It is okay to have questions and doubts, but we need to make sure that we are seeking God's truth for answers and believe them when He gives them to us. There is no other religion like Christianity where Jesus, God Himself, died for us to make a way so that we could spend eternity with Him.

Anyone can read words on a page, but the words in Scripture do not make a difference until the Holy Spirit reveals the truth in a life-changing way. Rather than just reading the words, we need to ask God to help those words jump off the page and infiltrate our lives so that we begin to understand the depths of His love and the change it makes in our lives is noticeable to others.

There is a difference between memorizing different facts about God and Scripture and actually meditating on the truth we find in Scripture so that it makes a difference in our lives. When we read the Bible we need to chew on the things that it says, thinking deeply and praying about how we can apply it.

Our loving Heavenly Father rejoices over His kids as we listen to Him and obey what He teaches us. No matter how long we've been living however we want to live, we can return to Him and He will sing with joy because of how much He loves us.

Kids are often overlooked when it comes to investing our time and efforts, however Jesus taught that they are the greatest investment. Children will grow to carry on the values that are instilled in them, and if we take the time now to invest in them then we are also investing in the future.

Too often we find ourselves in a spiritual rut where we stay immature and childish rather than taking on the responsibility of growing up. We need to get to a point where we can raise new Christians to become spiritually mature, but we cannot do that unless we are growing as well.

It is possible to be a Christian and backslide into sins from your past that you intentionally choose over following Jesus. There are also Christians who get deceived along the way and get off the path. Wherever you find yourself, if it is away from Him all you have to do is turn back and He welcomes you and heals you from all your sin.

We can be quick to judge other people who claim to be Christians and do not act accordingly. Rather than being judgmental of them, or even of ourselves, we need to understand that God's work in our lives takes time. Once we become Christians there is nothing we can do to reverse that and we need to take hope in His promise to complete the work He has begun in us.

Throughout Scripture God has designated a certain order to things. Before we can receive much from Him, we must give up all that we cling to. It is in this order that we find all that He has promised because we are doing things in the way that He designed them to be done.

We live in sin when we live our lives apart from God. That sin separates us from Him forever, unless we accept the forgiveness that is offered to us because of Christ's death and resurrection. We do not have to face God in the end based on our own works, but we can be assured salvation through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

There will always be times for goodbyes, and we need to make sure that when we leave somewhere that we leave on good terms because it may be the last time we see certain people until eternity in Heaven. For Christians, we can cling to the promise that we will see our fellow Christians again, even after they leave this earth, in heaven.

We must be careful who we spend our time around, knowing that negative whining and complaining will quickly rub off on us. God is serious about showing gratitude in all things, and in order to reflect Him well to the world we must take Him at His word and walk in obedience and thankfulness.

It is alright to become a Christian and remain needy and make messes for a time, just as a new baby starts off needy and messy. But at some point the messes need to be fewer and there must be some independence so that growth is happening. We need to get to a place spiritually where we can step out and make disciples of other people, helping them along in the process of growth.

Sometimes it seems easier to hold onto our illnesses, whether it be physical sickness or emotional baggage, rather than give it up and be made well. Jesus has offered us healing and all we have to do is accept it and obey what He tells us to do.