Higher Aim With Dr. Curt Dodd

Do you believe God answers prayer? Maybe that’s an easy question. Of course He answers them. However, the difficult part about answering that question is that, sometimes, the answer we get is not the answer we want. Sometimes, the answer is “No.” By the way, “No” is an answer. Just because God doesn't give you what you want in the time that you want, it doesn't mean that He doesn't answer prayer. He does! Sometimes, the answer is “Wait, not yet.” Either the situation is not right, you are not right, or the timing is out of line with His perfect will. Therefore, “Wait” is an answer. And then, of course, “Yes” is an answer! When everything lines up – you, the situation, God's will, and the request – and the answer is “Yes,” then go. We need to remember that God answers prayer. With this in mind, there are several principles in play to help us find the path toward powerful praying. We began looking at that concept last week. Today, we will continue this same study in James chapter five.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to look at the path to powerful prayer. Specifically, we’re going to hone in on one specific phrase from our key Scripture passage in James that says, “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Maybe you’re wondering what that statement means or how that applies to your own walk with Jesus. Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to look at in this mini-series.

As we read about Elijah in today’s key passage, we see a man of God who was used by God in an unbelievable manner. He did miracles, but now he is going through depression. He was a man of God who was used by God, yet he was suffering from depression. If God can use a depressed man, don’t you think He can also use you? Don't discount anyone just because they may struggle with emotional or mental problems. Those are the kinds of people God uses. In this message, we are going to learn from Elijah’s example and see exactly how we can defeat depression in our lives and fulfill the calling God has given us despite our struggles.

As believers, it is important for us to know what the Word of God says. And in addition to our knowledge, we must be very sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts and lives. When we do this, we will know how to respond to Him when He speaks. As a believer, if you are just living your Christian life based on what you know, that's a good place to start, but it is not a good place to stop! God wants you to be in the flow of His Spirit. God wants to speak to you. In this message, we are going to look at several different Scripture verses that will give you a good handle on sensing the Holy Spirit. You will realize that the words speak of Him as a person. He is not an “it!” He is not a “thing!” He is the third person of the Trinity!

There are some questions you get asked that are watershed moments in every relationship. You always want to be a truth teller, but sometimes that confrontation puts you in a vicarious position. Today, we will look at a question that Jesus asked His disciples. This question placed Simon Peter right in the crosshairs of confrontation. And as we examine this passage, we will learn several things.

In today’s key passage of Scripture in Galatians 6, Paul talks about carrying our own load, but at the same time, carrying the burdens of other people. God has not called us to just live for ourselves; we are to be engaged in the lives of other people. That is why living in community with other believers is so important. As we live in this way, there are several things we learn about carrying other people’s burdens, and that is exactly what we are going to look at in this message.

Today’s key Scripture passage is such a great passage! If we could just do what this passage tells us, we could defeat any anxious thoughts that we will ever have. God has a plan for your life, and He is in control! But regardless of where you are physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and financially, anxiety is always a temptation. You will be very anxious about those things which you cannot resolve. Our minds can wreak havoc on who we are. Sometimes, the silence inside of us doesn't calm us because we are full of anxious thoughts. Paul writes very clearly to the Philippians, just like he would write to us today, on how to deal with our anxieties. With this in mind, there are several things we need to understand if we want to handle anxiety in a God- honoring way.

What kind of decision-maker are you? Would you say you regularly make wise decisions? Do you make strategic decisions? Do you make delayed decisions? Or do you often find yourself making poor decisions? These are important questions to ask yourself because the decisions you make determine the direction you go in life. And if you’re making disastrous decisions, you’re going to be heading for disaster! But how do we know if you’re heading for disaster? Well, that’s what we’ll learn today as we dive into God’s Word.

In Luke chapter 15, we read three different parables Jesus told His disciples. There are many similar themes and common pieces within this trilogy of parables, and that is what we are going to dive into in today’s message. I firmly believe as we study these Scriptures, we will be given a guide as to how to find what we are looking for, using the words of Jesus as our North Star.

As a believer, you will go through different seasons. Some will be tougher than others. Therefore, you must make sure your head is screwed on straight. You need to correctly interpret the Word of God and know how to apply it to your life because there will always be issues that you will encounter. In light of this, I want us to look at today’s key passage in Acts and embrace and understand some key principles we can draw from this portion of Scripture and apply to our lives as we mature in our faith.

God is in the business of answering prayers in faith. Therefore, God wants each of us to know how to pray in faith. But sadly, many of us don’t know what it means or what it looks like to pray in faith. In this message, we are going to look at a passage of Scripture in the gospel of Mark that gives us some guidelines as believers on how to actually be involved in the lives of others through praying in faith. From this passage, we will learn several principles we can apply to our lives as we learn to pray in faith and watch God work as He answers our prayers according to His will and His timing.

Conflict is part of life. There’s no way around it. But it’s how we deal with conflict that is critical. We should not be afraid of conflict; instead, we should look forward to how God will use conflict in our lives. In this message, I want to look at the positive side of conflict. It is important that we learn how to handle conflict before we get into a conflict, and we do that by diving into Scripture and seeing what God has to say about handling conflict. This way, we can honor Him not just through the good times in life, but through the tougher, more uncomfortable times as well.

Have you ever felt stuck in your faith before? It just feels like the flow of God is not happening in your life. There is nothing happening spiritually, and you are just going through the motions with your wheels spinning. In today’s key passage of Scripture, Jesus was talking to a group of people who were stuck. They were average people who wanted to know God. This Scripture passage is important for us because Jesus wants the flow of His Spirit to happen in our lives. He wants us to move forward and not stay where we are. If you are feeling stuck today, I want to share with you a few things that will help you get unstuck in your walk with Christ.

I want you to ask yourself this question: “Where are you serving?” There are all kinds of places to serve. You can serve in the ministry of discipleship. You can serve in the ministry of worship. However, one of the greatest places you can serve is out in the community. God wants His children to be involved in serving. I pray that your Christian life is not about receiving, but more about giving. This happens when we choose to serve. In this message, I want us to look at the key characteristics of someone who serves so we can begin to emulate these characteristics in our own lives if we aren’t already.

As a believer, you will go through different seasons. Some will be tougher than others. Therefore, you must make sure your head is screwed on straight. You need to correctly interpret the Word of God and know how to apply it to your life because there will always be issues that you will encounter. In light of this, I want us to look at today’s key passage in Acts and embrace and understand some key principles we can draw from this portion of Scripture and apply to our lives as we mature in our faith.

When it comes to “Simple Church,” we have to ask a very important question: Why do we actually believe the Bible? In many churches, their pulpits are filled with men who just tell stories, give pop psychology lessons, or create applications out of some story that they don't believe really happened. But that’s not the way we are. We believe the Bible from Genesis all the way through the book of Revelation. We believe the Bible is important because it is the manual for our lives. What we believe about the Bible is critical to our maturation and discipleship as believers. Therefore, we need to read the Bible (and not wait for the movie to come out). The Bible is really essential for joy, comfort, hope, direction, and clarity. With this in mind, I want to give you four reasons why we believe the Bible in hopes of encouraging you to read the Bible more and believe what it says.

As followers of Christ, we are commanded to live our lives like Jesus and to follow the example He set while He was here on earth. One of the ways Jesus set an example for us was by being baptized. And because Jesus was baptized, I believe it’s important that once you become a believer, you are baptized as well! Baptism matters, and today we’re going to look at what Scripture has to say about why it matters.

By diving into today’s key Scripture passage, I want to describe how to share your faith. I want to equip you and give you a tool on how to engage other people in a conversation about Jesus. As I say this, you might be thinking, “I am not that kind of person. I am not someone who can engage with someone. That's not my personality. It’s just not me. I would rather point them to a pamphlet or encourage them to go to church. I just have a hard time sharing.” If that is you, I would urge you to shift your mindset on sharing your faith because we have a direct command from the Father to do so. You became a believer because someone else shared their faith with you. And that’s how other people will become believers in Jesus, by hearing someone share their faith. Therefore, we need to take this responsibility of sharing our faith seriously.

We need to learn how to deal with giving because God wants it to make sense to us. As you read the Bible, you’ll notice that Jesus focused on giving quite a bit: 16 out of the 38 parables that Jesus spoke dealt with money. One out of every ten verses in the Gospels is about money. There are 500 verses on prayer and less than 500 verses on faith, but there are over 2,000 verses on money! So if the Lord valued how we handle our money this much, it’s clearly a topic we need to pay attention to and make sense of. For many people, they don't give because it doesn't make sense. However, today’s passage reveals why giving makes sense.

There is a war going on inside of us all the time. We need to realize that this is part of the human condition. The Bible says very clearly that God is faithful. He will not allow you to go through any temptation that you can’t avoid, or that you don’t have the strength to endure. With that in mind, I want to share five basic principles concerning how to become triumphant over temptations. Some are geared more toward the flesh, while some are aimed at the desires in our hearts and lives. You and I need to embrace these principles because Jesus did, and He has given us that model.