Episodes

We should thank God for pastors and teachers who ground us in the Word and lead us as the flock of God. We should rejoice when apostolic mantles become evident on those in the Kingdom who will take new territory for the Kingdom and invite us to run with them into new Kingdom missions. Evangelists keep our hearts fresh with the passion of Jesus for the lost, forgotten, discarded and rejected. We need these men and women to lead in the Church. But where are the prophets? Where is the fresh voice ...

Do we still believe that God calls people to significant purposes in our generation? If so, do we consider that one of those people whom He is calling is…you? So many people have believed the lies and accusations fed them from a godless culture and from the demonic realm which serve to short-circuit their identity in the Kingdom and their God-ordained purposes for being alive in this generation. From the life of one Old Testament man, Gideon, we can learn how God patiently works to bring us back...

God doesn’t have to ask permission. God doesn’t have to wait on an invitation. God never puts His sovereign plans on pause until we are comfortable. If you are living in the Kingdom, you are living under the promise of regular seasons of change. What are we to do when God ordains that something we presumed was permanent is now being swapped out for something else? People, places, assignments and relationships are all temporary in this life. Anything is subject to be changed by a wise, loving ...

If we only grasped the intense difference between a little-k & big-K view of God’s Kingdom, we would never settle for the lesser version of Christianity. What does it mean to upsize your understanding of God’s Kingdom? As long as we are saved, does it really matter if we are little-k’ers or big K’ers? Is my ministry, my family and my church rooted in the Kingdom or something less? What will Jesus say at the judgment seat to those who exchanged a kingdom for a Kingdom? In this Mavericks & Misfit...

The Church in America has a love/hate relationship with politics. We love when our candidate wins and the other one loses. We want our politicians to express and advance our spiritual, philosophical and cultural values. It is clear that the Church has drawn heavily from the well of culture to drink rather than the culture drinking from what the Church has to offer. We are a divided nation, and the Church looks sadly similar to the political divide we see in America. So…we disagree. Now what? In...

When the new year found us on the calendar, many of us made a resolution to… shrink. We wanted to drop a few pounds and lose a few inches. The holidays brought meals, sweets and treats and the bathroom scale told us that we celebrated well. Getting smaller is an annual hope for many of us each January. There is another kind of shrinkage that is taking place in the Church. We have been prone to shrink down our understanding of the Kingdom of God. There is something inside each Christian that tend...

In this final episode in the series on Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Jeff Lyle release practical counsel based on scriptural wisdom about how all of us can pursue the gift of prophecy. While nowhere in Scripture is there listed a 3-step method to receiving and honing spiritual gifts, we are given the launching pad in God's Word about how we should approach the command for us to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So many are simply waiting on God to "zap them" with the gifts of the Spirit. God ...

"Houston, we have a problem!" Those famous words from decades in the past are often used by us in modern days to indicate that there is a significant issue which needs to be addressed. Church, we have a problem! The issue of modern-day prophets missing the mark when it comes to the fulfillment of the words they release is an issue that authentic believers cannot afford to ignore. If we are going to lead in the power and gifting of the Holy Spirit, then we must remain concerned that we are all op...

The controversy over prophetic ministry is nothing new. In fact, the early Church, in order to keep the gift of prophecy from being recklessly used, employed a means of testing and confirming prophetic words. Prophecy was not a gift and ministry that happened independently from the community of believers working together. According to the Apostle Paul’s teachings, prophecy is the most vital spiritual gift, so the modern Church needs to get reacquainted with this reality and come together in a co...

2020 was, for many, the year where an ugly spotlight fell on prophetic ministry. So many voices in the Charismatic Church boldly declared that Donald Trump would win the election and have another four years in the Oval Office. Obviously, that did not come to pass. Because of this, and also many other less notable prophetic words that never come to pass, many are asking if there is validity to the gift of prophecy, the answer remains YES! Yet, we believe that there is a great need for reformation...

God did not send the gifts of the Spirit so that Christians could argue about them. These gifts are ministry tools to advance the Gospel and edify believers. If we are spending more time debating them than actually pursuing them, we are breaking the heart of God. Yet, as we pursue the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that there definitely right ways and wrong ways to use the gifts. We cannot rest until we are releasing spiritual gifts in the way God prescribes to us. In this 4th an...

How did the gift of tongues become so controversial? Why is it that things can get awkward (or even heated!) when this topic arises among sincere Christians who view tongues differently than one another. One segment of the Body of Christ may have an issue with overemphasizing the importance of tongues. The other side of the aisle may tend to cause confusion by undervaluing or even dismissing this gift. Here are the two extremes we all must avoid: showing off tongues and shutting down tongues I...

The most theological man found in all of the Bible was the Apostle Paul. He was an intellectual genius. His mind was unparalleled. He was biblically informed and deeply disciplined. And, according to his own testimony, Paul prayed in tongues more than anyone he knew. He also boldly wrote that he wanted all believers to speak in tongues. In this episode, Jeff begins to address the proper regard we should all have for the gift of tongues. From its prophetic use in the gathered church when tongue...

Finally! We get to dive into the ever-controversial gift of Tongues. In this first session about tongues, we explore the three times tongues are mentioned in the Book of Acts. Many who struggle with the gifts of the Holy Spirit still being valid do so because they have a biblical misunderstanding of the gift of tongues. Are tongues known languages? If so, which of the 20,000 historical languages/dialects are tongues given? What is meant by "the tongues of angels"? Have we in the Church possibly ...

The Apostle Paul was not the only writer who addressed the gifts of the Spirit. In his first letter, the Apostle Peter laid out some important, yet simple, spiritual guidance about the charismata (Holy Spirit gifts). Peter breaks down the gifts into two categories to help us better understand how the gifts are used. These two categories are 1) speaking gifts and 2) serving gifts. In this episode, Jeff unpacks Peter's instructions and calls the listener to once again consider how and why God the...

All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural giftings. They are not the same as natural talents or learned skills. While talent and skill can be used by God, they are never a substitute for the charismata (grace gifts from the Spirit). You have spiritual gifts if you are saved. Having gifts that are uniquely given to you by God the Spirit, you are called to be using them. In this episode, Jeff walks us through a few verses in Romans 12 wherein Paul is giving examples about how Christian...

Most of those listening to this podcast series on the gifts of the Spirit will be familiar with terms such as word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy, healings, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings and discerning of spirits. These are well known descriptions of the charismata – gifts of the Holy Spirit. So, what exactly do we need to know about these gifts? What might it look like when these gifts are used by us or those in our churches? In this episode, Jeff leads the listener thr...

When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of a person, He comes bearing gifts. The book of 1st Corinthians has much to say about these gifts and how important it is that Christians understand what is taught about them. How many different gifts are there? Who chooses which gifts we get to flow in? Can I obtain a gift I do not currently seem to have? Is everyone expected to manifest all of the gifts? In this episode, Jeff unpacks what the Bible says about the main purpose God has given us the gi...

God gives the Church the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up others in the faith. The gifts are ministry tools, not ministry tricks. We not only need to seek, receive and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we need to do so in a way that always seeks to benefit others and bring honor to God. Because of major misuse and abuse of the gifts among Charismatics, many Christians have turned their backs on the potential to walk in the supernatural gifting of the Holy Spirit. Yet, the...

Did you know that the Bible teaches that there will be a time when the gifts of the Holy Spirit completely cease? Tongues will vanish. Prophecy will pass off the scene. Revelatory knowledge will no longer be an active ministry gift. The Bible is clear that there is an appointed time that the gifts will cease. But has that day already come or are we offered and expected by God to be operating in the gifts of the Spirit today? The doctrine of cessationism teaches that the supernatural gifts of t...

One of the reasons many Christians do not prioritize the gifts of the Holy Spirit is because they have never seen them used as God designed. We who operate in the supernatural gifting of God the Spirit are well aware that sometimes we can get sloppy with the gifts. Sometimes, we allow confusion to come as we manifest the gifts. Sometimes we do not operate in love and concern for others when we are moving in the supernatural power of the Spirit. Because of these types of errors, many believers wh...

Every. Single. Christian. That’s who needs the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What is even better news is that all Christians are already gifted by the Holy Spirit. As we study the Scriptures, we see clearly that spiritual gifts were not just for a select few or for a certain slice of the body of Christ. No, the teaching of the Bible reveals that all who are born again through faith in Jesus are born of the Spirit, and also supernaturally gifted by Him. Nobody is exempt, and none of us can fulfill t...

The call of the Father for all of those who have believed upon His Son is to walk in the Spirit. The Christian life is not primarily intellectual or emotional. It is relational. We Christians are to do life with God. How do we accomplish this? We have God the Spirit alive within us. As we grow in knowing Him, experiencing Him, submitting to Him and enjoying Him, life as a Jesus-follower takes on an incredible dynamic that ruins us for dead religion and cultural Christianity. We become alive in ...

How is it that people who equally love and honor Jesus can reach such different conclusions about the person and work of God the Spirit? Isn’t it just like the devil to create division in the Church over that member of the Godhead who lives inside the Christian and is at work in the earth today! Having the same Bible, you would think that we would believe the same things about the Holy Spirit, His ministry, the gifts He imparts and how He leads and guides believers today. But large numbers of J...