It's time for defending the faith with Pastor Kenny Word of Gospel Lighthouse Church in Bozier City. Defending the faith uses foundational principles, fundamental teachings, and faithful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to influence the world and strengthen believers in their daily walk. And now, here's Pastor Kenny Word. Praise the Lord.
Welcome to defending the faith. I'm Pastor Kenny Word. I'm your host here at defending the faith. I want to thank you for joining us today on the broadcast.
I want to welcome you to a great week. This is Thanksgiving Week. We're so excited to be able to bring these broadcasts to you. Now, here at Defending the Faith, we focus on some pretty basic things, really, and bring out truths that sometimes people neglect.
The thing that we really focus on are fundamentals, the fundamental principles of our faith. And then we just try to stick to those foundational teachings that the church was built on. And then one of the other calls that we have on our ministry is that we faithfully preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And those three things are really what we build on.
And I believe that that's where the church needs to go is to get back to our basics. We need to get back to who we are supposed to be as children of the Lord. Here at Defending the Faith, I'm Pastor Kenny Word. I'm the pastor over at Gospel Lighthouse Church.
Now, our church over there in South Bozier City, we're a non-denominational congregation that meets over there. And if you don't have a church home, we'd love for you to come see us. Our address is 4350 Panther Drive. Over there in South Bozier City, you know, anybody's welcome to come and worship the Lord with us.
And I think that you'll see just how genuine the people are that worship God there. That was one of the things that really struck me whenever my family and I came to visit this church. It just blew me away just the genuineness of the people, just the sincerity of their love, their desire for God. It just really drew me.
And as God worked everything out, we became the pastors there. Could not be more excited about what God is doing in the lives of the people of our church. And I'll tell you, you know, over the course of, you know, we've been there for four years now. And if you listen to me preach or teach, you kind of understand how I feel about things.
And I really believe in those foundational things and removing things that are unnecessary to your faith and focusing on the things that are most important. And, you know, as we've gone through this kind of a transition and refocusing ourselves on the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We've had some, you know, turnover in the church. We've had some that leave, but we've had some that join.
And so, you know, and that's expected anytime there's a change in leadership. But, you know, as, and what I'm saying is, you know, as you focus on those things that are most important, sometimes people will change around you. You know, as you put the right things first, as you make God a priority in your life, you'll find that there are certain friends or certain acquaintances in your life that they don't have that same pursuit. They don't have that same desire to draw closer to God.
I'll never forget and I'm always thankful, however, be thankful to God for the experience I had. Whenever my best friend and I, we were saved and filled with the Spirit about the same time, we lived together and, you know, it really was awesome because we were able to encourage each other and push each other further. You know, I'm one of those people that, you know, if you're studying, I'm going to study it too. I don't, you know, I'm going to, you know, try to come along beside.
And it really helped us, but you know, what else happened is that there were other friends that you have, that as you're pursuing God, they draw back. They don't want to be around people that are always talking about Jesus and always worshiping Jesus and always, you know, trying to grow in their faith. Now to your face, they'll tell you that's great, but the reality is, the reality is, is that darkness does not like the light. That's the reality of the situation.
That's why it tells us, you know, in John 1, in John chapter 1, that, you know, the people that were of the light, the, it says in verse 4, in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light, shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not. You know, that, that's talking about how Jesus is the light of the world and the darkness doesn't comprehend it. The darkness doesn't want to be around it. The darkness doesn't understand it.
The darkness does not feel at home around the light. And there should always be something about our lives that makes a difference in those that are in darkness. They should be able to tell a difference. I'm not saying you castigate them and you, you know, remove every person that's, you know, not following Jesus out of your life.
That's not what we say at all. I think that you need to be around those people, but they need to see a difference in you and in them. There's, there, and the way that you do that is by following the Holy Spirit, by, by walking full of the Spirit, full of grace. And, you know, just living your life as a Christian around those other people.
I know, you know, there was a big push in the church to seclude yourself. There was a big push to do that. But I don't think that that's what we're supposed to do. I don't think that that's what we're supposed to do at all.
I believe that the church needs to get out into the world and, you know, and get into different places, get into your place of business, get into places where you shop at, get into those different areas. And God will bring opportunities to light. You know, you don't have to walk around constantly, you know, just every single person you see, you know, just, you know, badgering them. But as you will just listen to the Holy Spirit and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, you'll see that God will bring to pass opportunities in your life to speak of Jesus, to speak of God's grace and God's glory.
You know, one of the things I always think about is the Lord's Prayer. You know, whatever the disciples came to Jesus and, you know, asking how to pray, you know, one of the things that he prayed, or he was teaching them to pray, and you'll remember this part is, you know, Father forgive, you know, forgive us as we forgive those who trust past against us. And that is so crucial to our walk. And that's one of the things that will separate you from other people is when you can forgive people, when you can let things go, when you can look over other people's failures, when you can look over the times that people let you down and love them anyways and give them grace anyways.
And, you know, one of the things that I tell people is, you know, of course I forgive you, you know, God forgave me. I don't have any right to hold something against you. And they'll say, yeah, but Brother Kenny, you don't understand. I really, you know, I did this and this and you know, I did it.
And, you know, and it really begins to, to, to minister to people as you really sincerely extend forgiveness to them, you know, in ways that they know that they're wrong. That's when you're really walking, look, you can't walk in the flesh and forgive people for stuff. You can't do that. The only way that you can walk in a forgiving spirit is to walk in the spirit of God, to understand how much you've been forgiven of then and only then would you be able to extend that same forgiveness to other people.
That's the kind of people that God, I believe, is going to be using in this day and time. And it really comes back to, you know, if you'll, if you will take a really, really sincere look at your life, take a really sincere look at your life and a really sincere look at your sin and how, how wretched your sin is and how magnificent and holy God is and that God forgave you. And, and once you get a, once you get a really biblical concept of how big the forgiveness that God gave you was, then and only then will you be able to walk in a forgiving spirit. You know, it just produces in our lives a thankfulness.
You know, and as we're coming up on this time of Thanksgiving, it's such a great time to reflect and to consider all that God has done for us, to consider those things that God has done, even when we didn't deserve it, even when, you know, we were astray, even when we were, you know, prodigals, God's grace, God's grace brought us home. And that's what I want to, you know, just encourage you about this week. I know a lot of people this week were getting ramped up into Thanksgiving week, you know, and a lot of people are excited about that. I'm, you know, I'm more excited because we're getting closer to Christmas season and that's, honestly, it's my favorite time of the year.
It always was when I was a kid, not, you know, not for the presents and things like that, but it's, it's a time when it seems like everybody, they're, they at least acknowledge Jesus, but there is a kindness. There's a difference in this time of year. There's, you know, people are more forgiving, people are more compassionate, people are, you know, will extend grace a little bit more. And it's just such a beautiful time.
And I will tell you, you know, I know that there is a big push right now, and you may not know about it, but there is, there's a big push right now to denigrate Christmas and the season that it is, the day that it's on, and, you know, the roots of it. But I want to tell you, there is, you know, a biblical reason for why we do what we do. And, you know, if somebody chooses to not celebrate Thanksgiving or somebody chooses not to celebrate Christmas, hey, that's no problem, but it's no problem if they do. You know, we're supposed to work those things out ourselves and be convinced in our own minds.
So, but I'm telling you this because I want to just share something with you. And in the upcoming weeks, I'm going to be bringing some messages about Christmas. And we're going to look at, you know, some of the arguments that people have against Christmas. And then I'm going to bring you, you know, biblical reasons for why we celebrate Christmas.
And I'm excited about it. I've been working on it for a few months and, you know, just studying and getting all of my notes together. And, you know, if you know me, I'm, whenever I get to study or something, I always tell people this when you study is to follow rabbit trails. Most people will tell you not to follow rabbit trails.
But, you know, in my experience, not could be the only one like this, but in my experience, you know, whenever I'm studying and a rabbit trail pops up. And what I mean by a rabbit trail is let's just say you're studying God's grace. And you're, you know, you're reading all these passages about God's grace. And then you notice a verse that talks about Rahab, you know, or something like that.
And there's something that sparks on the inside of you. And you start thinking about, you know, the faith that Rahab had as she was letting down, you know, that scarlet cord and things like that. Well, that rabbit trail, you know, in my experience, that's always been the Lord leading me where he wants me to go. And so, you know, a lot of times people tell you, you know, stay on track, don't follow rabbit trails.
But I promise you, as in my studies, that has been the most fruitful experience I've had, is following those rabbit trails that the Holy Spirit gives. And just seeing where they take you, study that thing out, exhaust it. Sometimes you might hit a dead end, sometimes you might say, oh, well, that's not what I thought it was or something like that. And then get right back over there on topic.
But there's a lot of times that if you'll follow that rabbit trail, you'll experience a revelation that God was wanting you to have. And it's just, you know, a great way to study the Bible. You know, what I was talking about though earlier, that I was following a rabbit trail right there. But what I was talking about earlier is being thankful in this time of season.
And, you know, as we're coming up into Thanksgiving week, and we're all getting prepared for Thanksgiving. I know a lot of people are, you know, some people may have family coming in, some people may not. Some people may be, you know, having too much on their plate, and some people may not even have a plate. But it is a time of year where everybody, no matter whether you have a lot going on or nothing going on.
This is a time of year that we're all, you know, looking over the course of our lives and being thankful for what God has done. I believe that being thankful is the number one characteristic of a heart that God uses. I just, I believe that. I think that, you know, whenever we look at, you know, whatever God ministers to somebody, and God begins working in their life, I believe over and over and over and over, what you'll find is the people that God uses the most are the people who are genuinely grateful to God, genuinely thankful to God.
And, you know, look at the woman with the two minds. Let's just talk about her for a minute. You know, whenever the Lord Jesus was watching people give their offerings to the Lord, all these rich folks were coming in, and they were just, you know, they would drop their money in, and it was like, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang. And somebody else would come in, and they would drop their money in, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.
And then here comes this widow, and she had all of the money in her possession, two minds. And when she dropped it in, it just went, think. And probably everybody else just looked at her with disdain, like, oh, this poor old woman. Look at her.
Look at her. She didn't have anything. Look how much we gave. And, you know, the sound of it probably resonated through the whole place.
And to see the eyes of Jesus, just to think about his eyes looking at her, in compassion, and then turning to his disciples and saying, guys, you don't understand that sound, that clink, that clink, did it make a big difference in the, you know, keeping the temple going. But God, she gave to God all that she had. She gave to God all that she had. And he said, I'll tell you, she gave more than everybody else, because she gave all that she had.
This woman with the two mites showed by example what it was like to give out of the abundance of the heart. It's one of my favorite passages, you know, the liberal soul shall be made fat. And it's not talking about growing, you know, pounds. It's talking about that, you know, as you give, it'll be given back to you.
Press down, shake it together, running over. Shall me and give unto you. You know, when this widow with the two mites gave, let me tell you something. The only way that you could do that is if you were thankful for all that God had done for you, and you completely trusted God.
You see, thankfulness will produce trust. A thankful heart will produce trust in your life, and it will produce a place where you just rely on God, where you rely on God, and you trust him, and you know that God will always have you. You know, one of the passages in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, just one of the best passages probably in the Bible. Well, you know, 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 is what we call the Rapture chapter, or the Departure chapter.
That's the chapter that talks about, you know, the Rapture of the Church and how we leave this earth. Whether you're, you know, you've already gone, or whether you're going to be here when he comes back. But the Rapture chapter is amazing. That's 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4.
You know, and then 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, Paul's telling them, you know, how they should conduct themselves while they're still here. And he goes on, and you know, verse 16 is really famous, Rejoice evermore, verse 17, which the Church really needs to heed today. Pray without ceasing. But then look at verse 18.
And everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. You know, it's amazing. I remember whenever I was first saved, and you know, I was around a lot of younger people, and you know, younger people are always, you know, worried and planning for what the future is going to be.
You know, they would always, I remember this question, always popping up. You know, what's the will of God for my life? I want to find God's perfect will for my life. You know, that was the common sentiment.
I remember people talking about that all the time. And you know, and some people would get carried away with it. Some people would get wrapped up in all kinds of weird stuff. But everybody was trying to find God's will for their life.
You know, and what I have seen over the years, what I have found is God's will for your life is the attitude of your heart and how you are. Not really so much concerned about where you are in life, because this life is fleeting. None of us knows when our last day is. This life is fleeting.
But God's more concerned with where we are in our hearts, in our spirits. And you see this verse in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18, he tells you exactly what the will of God is. I know what the will of God is for your life. What is it?
In everything, gift thanks. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And that's exactly what he's telling you. I don't understand.
You know what? That doesn't make sense to me, Brother Kinney. I mean, I understand. I'm thankful.
Okay? Now what? No, no, no. It's not that you're just thankful today.
Now what? That's not what that verse says. It says in everything, give thanks. So let's look at that for just a moment.
We have, you know, about five or six minutes left on the broadcast today. Let's look at that just a moment. In everything, if things. Well, what if you were one of those people who said, you know, I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
I don't know what God has for my life. I'm just trying to see his wheel over my life. And then you get frustrated because, you know, you don't understand. Well, you know what?
If you would listen to the words of this verse, it says in everything, if things. So how about this? When you don't understand what God's will is for your life, give God thanks anyways. When you don't understand why you're having to go down the road, you're having to go down.
Give God thanks anyways. If everything that you've built in life is torn down, give God thanks anyways. If everything that you try to do fails, if every effort you've ever given falls short, if everything you've ever tried results in failure, give God thanks anyways. It is talking about the attitude of our hearts and learning how to depend on God and give him the glory and the things that he deserves no matter the conditions of our life.
There's times that we go through experiences in life. There's times that we go through things that we don't want to go through. When things don't work out the way that we want them to work out, give God thanks anyways. See, in everything, give thanks.
In everything produced to God a thankful heart, a thankful heart is a heart that realizes, realizes its condition. And realizes that God has taken pity and mercy on us. You know, it is a remarkable thing when you're around somebody who is thankful. It will leave a mark on you.
If you're around somebody who is really thankful for anything you've done for them, it will leave a mark on you. And when you are thankful before God, it leaves a mark on him. When it is unmistakable when you're around a thankful person. A thankful person is not going to be complaining.
You're going, I mean, it's going to be one or the other. You're going to be frustrated, stressed out, or you're going to be thankful. You're going to be complaining. You're going to be murmuring.
You're going to be gossiping. You're going to be, you know, nobody else has to go through what I have to go through. Nobody else, I understand. I mean, that preacher on the radio, he doesn't understand what I have to go through.
Hey, look, we all go through different battles. You know, I don't have to go through what you have to go through. That's for sure. But you don't have to go through what I have to go through.
You have no idea what I have to go through. And I have no idea what you have to go through. But we're both called to give God thanks in everything. Not walking with a complaining spirit.
not walking with the heart of ingratitude. And, you know, just always grumpy, always grumbling, always looking at the negative of everything. You know, there's some people that you could take up to Mount Everest and show them the sunset and they would complain that clouds were in the way. There's just some people that are like that.
Some people, it doesn't matter what you do. They're gonna find something to complain about it. It goes back to the attitude of the heart. You know, there's some people, like I said, you could take them up to Mount Everest, show them that sunset.
They'll complain because they're so high. They can see clouds. They'll say something like that. But on the other end of the spectrum, there's people like this widow with the two mites or somebody who maybe not even have a house right now, right now in this Thanksgiving season.
But they could be thankful that they're alive, even though they may not have a house, a car, a family, even though they may not have a bank account. Maybe somebody gave them a piece of bread and they could be completely and totally thankful. Giving God thinks even for the little that they have. You see, it's not about, you know, where we are in the race of life.
In, you know, the Americanized, just, you know, race of life, that's not what it's about. It's about where we are in Christ, where we are in God. And if you're thankful for the things that God has done for you guys, as we go through this week, I just wanna encourage you just to be thankful in everything. Give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
That's 1st Thessalonians chapter five, verse 18. Guys, our program, Defending the Faith is Here on the Promise, every weekday, Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. My name's Pastor Kenny Word. You can email me at kjcword at gmail.com.
You have questions or suggestions. You can always reach out to me. Once again, that's kjcword at gmail.com. And if you wanna know more information about our church, Gospel Lighthouse Church, we're down there in South Bozier City at 4350 Panther Drop.
You can visit our website at www.churchlighthouse.com. Now, we encourage you to go to the website, check us out. There's some videos, there's some links to a YouTube video page that we have. And just encourage you to get involved with what our church is doing.
Guys, thank you for joining us on the program today. Go out and let the light of Jesus shine through you today. God bless you. You have been listening to Defending the Faith with Pastor Kenny Word of Gospel Lighthouse Church in Bozier City.
Defending the Faith uses foundational principles, fundamental teachings, and faithful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who influenced the world and strengthened the leaders in their daily walk. Gospel Lighthouse Church is located at 4350 Panther Drive in Bozier City. Go to churchlighthouse.com for more information. And please, tune in again next time for Defending the Faith.