Episodes

In this second episode on the topic of those who fall away and commit apostasy at the end of the age, we dive into several passage of Scriptures that help clear up some of the surrounding issues to this difficult topic. Clearly, there are people within the visible church who once seemed zealous for Jesus, who later fade away, fall into sin, or abandon the faith all together. What are we to think of these people? Scripture is clear that those who are saved are those who endure unto the end - so t...

Scripture is clear that there will be a massive rebellion and rejection of Christ at the end of the age. The teachings of Jesus, along with the writings of the Apostles Paul, Peter and John all declare that the coming of the antichrist will be connected to a global repudiation of the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. Additionally, God will send a massive delusion into the earth whereby untold numbers of people will embrace the deception of the antichrist. The question that needs to be answer...

Operating under the anointing is a non-negotiable for the servant of God. Mark it down: God NEVER gives an assignment that can be sustained apart from His abiding anointing. He does not want His children to think they can do anything apart from His touch. This is why God makes advancing the Kingdom impossible apart from His presence. Solomon once wrote a strange statement apart flies that spoil the oil. From that ancient, inspired word in Ecclesiastes 10:1, we can learn some very common elements...

If there is one thing we should never be known for, it is the reputation of being a generational critic. What is it about some Christians who seek to grow in the art of pointing out all that is wrong with the generation coming behind them? How did that become something so easily done by us as we get older? Let’s also point out that younger Christians can tend to be dismissive of older Christians, wrongly believing that those who are no longer young are also no longer relevant. Part of spiritual ...

All Christians understand on some level that we are get along with each other. Fewer understand the intense spiritual reality that God has established that makes our unity a priority. Jesus did not merely die for individuals so that they could go to Heaven. Jesus died to make people who are vastly different from one another to become one in Him. Sadly, this reality of oneness with each other has become an ever-diminishing concept in the modern Church. Especially in America, we have become divide...

Many Christians pursue deeper encounters with God. The God of the bible is highly interactive. In fact, God so desired interaction with humans that He became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ. God the Son experienced what it meant to be fully human. Ultimately, Jesus was born, lived, grew, died and arose so that God might interact with us forever as His children. But what do we make of those times when God is anything but interactive with us? What are we to think of those seasons wherein G...

In ancient times, an actor on stage was often known as a comes from the Greek word hypókrisis, meaning “play acting”. It referred to a person who wore a mask in front of others to pretend they were someone else. This is the essence of all hypocrisy. The hypocrite thinks himself or herself to be something other than what they truly are. In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus warns His followers that we all have the potential to live as hypocrites. He firmly tells us what we must do to avoid this disastrous pote...

In the dream, everyone was dirty, struggling, hungry and without direction. The scene was a dusty, third-world marketplace. A handful of Americans were ministering to Africans and Middle Easterners who were flooding the marketplace needing food and assistance. The need was great, but the resources were insufficient. Somehow, Jesus was meeting the needs through the small number of servants that He had there. Nothing was easy. Nobody was strong. But Jesus was helping countless people. In this epi...

What if you were actually loading the weapon that the devil is about to shoot you with? The issue of spiritual combat is not something any of us get to opt out from. You are being targeted by the demonic realm. The primary place where they wage ware is against your thinking. For anyone who experiences crippling doubt, shame, fear and guilt, there needs to be a wake-up alarm sounded because that person is actually cooperating with the enemy. In this episode of Mavericks & Misfits, Jeff unapologe...

The life of faith is sometimes pictured as God calling us out into the deep waters where we quickly find ourselves in over our heads. This is actually an accurate illustration of what following Jesus is supposed to look like. God does give you more than you can handle. God does put impossibilities in front of you. God does ordain circumstances that are not within your strength to handle, fix, or overcome. The reason that God does these types of things is because, if you could handle this stuff o...

Many people understand and believe in a literal devil. The Bible teaches that he exists. Jesus was fully aware of the reality of Satan, and He battled Satan in the wilderness. But where did the devil come from? How did he become what he is today? In this episode of Mavericks & Misfits, Jeff unpacks two rare Old Testament passages that serve to reveal to us how Lucifer, a once-glorious angel in Heaven, became Satan, the evil dragon whom God cast out of Heaven and destined for destruction. If you...

What if I told you that one of the most significant prophetic words I have ever heard came from a 5-point Calvinist Baptist preacher in the year 1855? You might very well choke on your skepticism. But it is the truth. One of the most famous historical Baptist pastors who ever lived released a word about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that I believe is coming to pass in this present generation. My heart’s desire is for the Baptists and Calvinists to receive that word from their hero. In this ...

It seems that there is no shortage of talk about spiritual warfare. It is always a hot topic among believers and most Christians are interested in it on some level. In fact, Christians love to debate one another on the issues of spiritual warfare, demons, the devil and what it means to wage war in the Spirit. Sadly, we are more skilled at talking about it and debating it than we are in actually winning the battles against Hell. This has to change. It needs to be addressed in your own life. In t...

God is not trapped in the Bible. While He never operates in contradiction to what He reveals about Himself in Scripture, God is not locked in a historical vault. While you might think that is obvious, many Christians will fight militantly for the idea that God is not doing anything today that He has not already done in the past. These believers fail to consider that there is a new move of God in their generation. What they do not believe in, they cannot perceive. In this episode of Mavericks & ...

When two loudmouthed losers showed up on the scene at an ancient scene where God was doing a new work, the accusations they released against God’s servants got preserved in the Word of God. From their intentionally harmful accusations, we can expose how our enemy comes against us today after we have said YES to the assignment from Heaven for our lives. In this episode of Mavericks & Misfits, Jeff strengthens and encourages you in the need to ignore the enemy as he consistently uses these five a...

Many of us have read more leadership books than we can count. These books can be very valuable to those who are called by God to lead in the Kingdom. Yet not all of these books seem to agree with each other about what the non-negotiables are for spiritual leaders. Jesus called twelve men to become His disciples and He planned to release them into leading the early Church after He ascended back to Heaven. Surprisingly, none of the twelve knew how to lead. Jesus had to train them, model leadership...

Jesus used some interesting, thought-provoking phrases when He preached to the crowds. On one particular day, Jesus told some proud religious leaders that they constantly lived life “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.” What in the world was He talking about when He called out these religious leaders to stop living judgmental lives of hypocrisy? What does it mean to strain a gnat and swallow a camel? Well, it’s extremely important that we learn what Jesus was talking about because He to...

Your mind has always had a bullseye on it. More than your body or your emotions, the enemy designs to seize control of your thinking because the mind is the control center for the life of the Christian. Anger, depression, anxiety, fear, selfishness and paranoia are just a few of the proven flaming arrows which Satan and the demonic realm have fired at the bullseye of your mind. Is it possible to be 100% completely immune to the attacks of the enemy on our minds? Can we rise above even the human ...

Most of us were told as children, “Don’t play with fire.” This is wise and helpful instruction from parents to children which is meant to protect them from harming themselves and others. There is also a very important spiritual parallel to the call for us not to play around with fire. Satan and his demons have declared war against all that God loves. The forces of hell are not messing around in their strategy against us. They show no mercy as they seek to steal, kill and destroy. Christians have...

What if Holy Spirit chose not to ever show up again at your home church? Is an idea like this even possible? Well, it depends on whether or not we simply presume upon His omnipresence versus hungering for His presiding presence. He doesn’t show up at churches simply to observe. If He is present, it is to oversee and lead the entire thing. This is a season where individuals, families, churches, ministries and entire cities need to recognize that God is not obligated to anoint, honor or bless any...

The most important thing that we can understand in any generation is the answer to the question, “What is God presently doing?” Throughout the history of the Church, God has always had a remnant of people who cared deeply to discern what was His current activity. Think about it: if we do not know where and how God is working in a generation, how can we cooperate with His plan? Those ancient sons of Issachar were not the last people of faith who discerned the times, knew what God was doing among ...

Don't be shocked, but the answer is YES. We can actually love our bibles too much. Jesus is actually the one who taught us this startling truth. The two extremes that seem to mark the American church is 1) those who have little regard for the written word because they see it as religious, doctrinal suppression and 2) those who idolize the Scriptures and are unaware that they know the Book but not its Author. In this Mavericks & Misfits episode, Jeff uses the words of Jesus, who confronted the m...

We are in trouble if we ever lose our awareness that all of the commands, instructions and practical counsel of Scripture is given to us in the context of being ready for the return of Jesus. When God tells us how to live, it is not an abstract set of rules given to a mindless group of robots. The Scriptures are God's love letter which, in part, prepare His children to be reunited with Him in such a way that we are absent of sorrow, regret or loss. The father wants us ready to meet His Son face ...

What if you were handpicked by God and invited to ascend up a mountain to meet with Him in personal, visible supernatural encounter? You would be overwhelmed with that kind of immeasurable honor, right? Well, we would like to believe that that type of privilege would so radically change our lives that we would never again be the same. But this actually happened to two men and, later on in their lives, they became causal with the stewarding the worship and presence of God. Sadly, Nadab and Abihu...