Join host Rick Hughes on The Flatline, where we embark on a journey to understand God’s plan for your life. This episode is packed with motivation, inspiration, and education, all aimed at helping you verify and identify spiritual wealth that transcends material riches. Discover how understanding divine guidance, the rapture, and the importance of spiritual rebirth can significantly impact your life as we move into 2023. Rick challenges listeners to consider their destiny in Christ, the potential end times, and the eternal life God offers through faith.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stick around. It’ll be a small time of motivation, some inspiration, some education, always done without any type of manipulation because we don’t manipulate people. We don’t try to solicit money. We’re not trying to sell you something. We are not trying to get you to join anything. We simply want to give you information, information that I believe will help you verify and identify God’s plan for your life. And if you do that, then you are free to orient and adjust to the plan. If you’re new to the Flotline, a lot of stations are just coming online now. We’re beginning to broadcast in new cities and new areas. You may ask yourself, how do these shows benefit me? And that’s a fair question. As my staff and I expand and add additional costs for production and broadcast, we take comfort in God’s grace provisions because we know that he provides the finances and we’re not out trying to hustle money. He provides the inspiration. We’re not trying to hustle listeners. We get it accurate, get it right, get it straight so that you can understand it. The objective of producing the Flatline is to make you wealthy. Not financially, not like some of these financial preachers you may hear today, but to make you wealthy spiritually. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4, 7, we have this treasure in our earthly vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. The word treasure, he said we have a treasure in our earthly vessels. The word treasure used in the Greek New Testament is the word thesaurus. You’ve heard it before. It’s a word treasure, thesaurus. Colossians 2, he wrote that their hearts may be encouraged having been knit together in love and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Two key words, understanding the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ Jesus. God wants to make you rich, to give you spiritually rich, to give you a wonderful, meaningful, full life. So as we move into this new year, you may be wondering what you can expect in the year 2023. And I don’t blame you because I wonder also. For example, will the United States of America survive another year with all the chaos and confusion that we have in politics? Will the United States of America wind up being dragged into a war with Russia through NATO support for the Ukraine? Will this be the year that the Lord Jesus Christ returns for his church, what we know as the rapture? Listen to 1 Thessalonians 4, 15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. That’s called the exit resurrection, the rapture of the church. If that were to happen today, you would simply be raptured out. You’d be taken away. People would be looking all over town for you, but they wouldn’t find you because you would be with the Lord. And there have been a lot of books written about something like this and what could happen when it does happen. What about airplane pilots flying planes that are Christians? And what about people driving cars that are Christians? Will they crash? Will they wreck? All this sort of stuff. And probably so. With no one to pilot it, no one to drive it, I imagine it would. So I’m sure there will be a lot of chaos and confusion. When that happens, where did all these people go? Or maybe, maybe it’s not as many people as you think. So could it be the year that Christ will return to his church? That wouldn’t be amazing, wouldn’t it? Could this possibly be the year that God would even call you home? Yes, home. In other words, is your life on earth almost over? Hebrews 9.27 tells us, and as it is appointed for men to die one time, and after that, the judgment. In Genesis 3.19, the Lord said, in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. That’s what God told Adam. One sad fact about death is that you may actually already be dead. You may be what we call a walking dead man, and I’m speaking of spiritual death. In John 3, 6, Jesus said, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. In other words, there are two births. The first is a physical birth. The second is a spiritual birth. And without that second birth, you will die in your sins. And you will be judged eternally guilty of separation from God in the lake of fire. I don’t know who’s listening to me today. I have no clue. I know we play this show in over 100 cities across America. And a lot of times, people that are not Christians don’t want to take time to listen to a show about the Bible. But just in case you are listening, just in case you are the one that has never accepted Christ as your Savior, Please listen, you must have that second birthday or you will die in your sins and be judged eternally guilty of separation from God in the lake of fire. I’m not telling you that you have to straighten up and fly right. It’s impossible for anybody to straighten up and fly right. You can’t earn God’s acceptance. Because the Bible says, for by grace are we saved through faith. It’s a gift from God and not of works. Lest anyone should brag about it. So I pray that this would be the year that you would accept Christ as your savior and begin your new life. The Bible says in second Corinthians five 17, if anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That doesn’t mean you’ll change physically, but means spiritually. You’re born again. You are spiritually born again. You become a spiritual baby, and God wants you to grow up and become a spiritual adult. That change is not something anyone would recognize and see. You could pray and accept Christ as your Savior, and no one would be able to tell you did it unless you told them you did it. But God is aware, and God the Holy Spirit will come to live inside of you. God’s Word will direct you and guide you if you learn it and use it. And the new person you will be is a new spiritual being. that will live forever without eternity, throughout eternity with God. But on the other hand, if you’re already a Christian, and maybe this could be you, maybe this just might be the year that you discover your destiny in Christ Jesus. Maybe this will be the year that you finally understand and realize why God called you and left you here. Ephesians 5, 15 through 16 says, see then that you walk circumspectly. Key in on that word, circumspectly. See that you walk circumspectly, not like a fool, but as a wise person. redeeming the time because the days are evil. What exactly does walk circumspectly mean? The Greek word for circumspectly is akribos and it means to walk accurately or to walk exactly. That word simply means there’s a right way to live your life and there’s a wrong way to live your life. If you are a Christian, and this is who Paul was writing to, the church in Ephesus, you must learn to live the correct way. And that’s called divine viewpoint. It’s orienting to God’s plan. And that type of thinking is introduced in the scripture. While human viewpoint is related to cosmic thinking of humanism, and is inspired by a.k.a. the devil himself. The Bible talks about this humanism, this human viewpoint, and here’s what it says about that. If you’re going to live the right way, you’re going to have to change how you think. In Romans 12, 2, do not be conformed to this world. That’s human viewpoint thinking. but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that’s divine viewpoint thinking, so that you may prove that which is good, that which is acceptable, and that which is perfect, the will of God. For I say through the grace given to me to everyone that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one of us a measure of faith. So there is something good about divine good, not human good, divine good production. That’s a wonderful thing. That means you’re doing the right thing in the right way and you will be rewarded with gold, silver, and precious stones, according to 1 Corinthians 3. But you can also do human good. And what is that? That’s good deeds done in the energy of the flesh. A Christian does good deeds a lot. If you’re a Christian and you’re out of fellowship with God and you have unconfessed sin in your life and you give money to the church or you sing in the choir, you go to whatever, That’s a good thing, but it’s the wrong thing. Good works, human good. The only thing that glorifies God is that which is produced through the filling of the Holy Spirit, and that’s divine good. God wants you to produce divine good, and it is acceptable to him. It’s appreciative to him, and it is perfect for him. So that’s what the Bible says. You must think soberly. You must learn to think. You cannot be conformed to this world. When you live by these divine mandates in scripture, you can actually extend your life. I’m telling you, you can make your life be here longer. You don’t believe me? Listen. Ephesians 6, one through three, children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first mandate, with promise that it may be well with you, and listen now, you may live a long time on this earth. In Deuteronomy 5, 33, you shall walk in all the ways which your Lord, your God has commanded you so that you may live and that it may be well with you and you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. Proverbs 3, 1 and 2, my son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments for a length of days and a long life and peace they will add to you. There it is in the Bible. The scripture tells you this. If you change the way you think and quit thinking in terms of human viewpoint and learn to think in terms of divine viewpoint, in other words, thinking the mind of Christ, having scripture, then you actually can prolong your life. And part of it is because you’ll have wisdom and insight that other people don’t have. The secret to a long, full life is found in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, Lean not to your own understanding, that’s human viewpoint thinking, and all your ways acknowledge him, that’s give God credit, and he will direct your path. There it is. This is a great verse of comfort for me, and I hope it’s a great verse of comfort for you, because you and I, we have our very own guide through life. He will direct your path. Do you hear that? Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. Let’s say you’ve got a decision to make. Heads you do it, tails you don’t do it. That’s stupid, that’s dumb. Why would you make a decision based on luck? You go to the word of God. You find out what the Bible says about it. It does comment on the decision you gotta make is there. The answer is there. And if you will go to the Word under the filling of the Holy Spirit, in prayer, searching it out, acknowledge God. He will direct your path. He will show you. It’s a great verse of comfort to have your very own guide through life when you think. You know, if you take a tour, I have friends that tour around the country. They hire tour guides to show them if they go to The Jerusalem, they hire a tour guide to take them around and show them places. If you go fishing, you may hire a fishing guide to show you where to catch fish on the lake. If you go hunting, you may hire a hunting guide to help you find the game. And there’s nothing wrong with having a guide because the guide can show you the best place to see or the best place to fish or hunt, but usually set a fee. This is free. God will do this free. He doesn’t charge you for this. If you will trust, that’s the key to it, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust is a word for faith. If you will use faith, live by the faithless drill, one of those problem-solving devices that we teach on the Flatline of Your Soul is problem-solving device number three. If you will live by faith, and not lean to your own understanding, that’s human viewpoint thinking, that’s you going out and asking John Boy, what do you think, John Boy, I should do about this? Or going out and asking Mary Sue, what do you think I should do about this? Don’t go looking for somebody else’s opinion. Go to the word of God in prayer and ask God, what am I supposed to do? And it says he will direct your path. How does he do it? He does it through scripture. He does it through circumstances. He does it through a peace and a contentment in your heart. You don’t have to second guess yourself when God shows you his will. because he gave you his very own personal guide to direct you through the distractions of the cosmic system. You want to see where that is in the Bible? Listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples concerning their personal guide through life once he left them. In John 16 verse seven, nevertheless I tell you the truth, It’s for your advantage that I go away because if I don’t go away, then the helper won’t come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. He’s going to send them a helper. The Greek word is paraklete, a tutor, a guide to guide them through life and to guide them in what they’re supposed to do. You and I have the same guide in our life. It’s the Holy Spirit. He indwells us and seals us, according to Ephesians 1.13, and thus we are commanded in the Bible to let the guide take control of our daily affairs. Galatians 5.16 says, I say then, walk in the Spirit, and then you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. And Ephesians 5.18 says, do not be drunk with wine in which there is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. This is problem-solving device number one, rebound, and problem-solving device number two, the filling of the Holy Spirit. As a believer, when you sin, you quench and grieve the Holy Spirit. The Bible says you do that when you sin. And when you confess your sin, as per 1 John 1, 9, the rebound verse we use, if we confess our sin, he’s faithful and just to forgive us and to purify us from all wrongdoing. When you use 1 John 1, 9, then you are filled with the Holy Spirit. As soon as you sin, you quench the Spirit. As soon as you rebound, you’re filled with the Spirit. This may happen several times a day, but this is the mandate from the Bible. You must walk in the Spirit. You cannot allow your flesh to take control, and it’s easy to do. It’s easy to malign someone. It’s easy to criticize someone, especially a politician you don’t like. It’s easy to have lunch with a friend and criticize them, malign and slander some politician you don’t like. And that’s called sin. So the Bible tells us don’t be drunk in your sin, don’t be drunk with wine where there’s a lot of dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. And that is a mandate by God to you for you to allow the Holy Spirit to control your life, not your flesh. When you allow the Holy Spirit to control your life, When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, you will become a different person. You might not even be someone that people recognize. Listen to what the Bible says in Galatians 5.22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Wow, does that sound like you? Do these verses describe your demeanor today? Are your friends, would they say that you are peaceful and long suffering and kind and gentle and you have self-control? See, that’s what comes under the filling of the Holy Spirit. And that’s how we replicate the lifestyle of Christ because everything here is identical to how our Lord Jesus Christ lived. So do those verses describe your demeanor? Are they talking about you? In this new year, The question I’m asking you is will you discipline yourself to use Rebound when you’re aware of your personal sins? I’m talking about every day. And will you now take time in the future to study God’s Word every day under a well-qualified pastor? Why is this necessary? Why must you be filled with the Spirit? Why must you study God’s Word daily? Because if you don’t, you will never experience the abundant life our Lord spoke about. In John 10, 10, the Lord said, the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. But I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. That’s the life the Lord Jesus Christ is offering you. By understanding problem-solving device number one, the rebound technique, how to confess your sin. By understanding the filling of the Holy Spirit, how to let the Holy Spirit control you and not your flesh. And by living by the faith thrust drill, trusting the Lord as we talked about. then you have this phenomenal abundant life the Bible talks about. The Greek word abundant is the word perisos. Perisos meaning exceeding your wildest expectations. Much more than you could have ever dreamed of. Beyond measure in your life. So the abundant life that the Lord Jesus Christ is talking about, it’s not some prosperity and success in business. It’s not wealth and finances. It’s about taking advantage of all of the operating assets that God has provided you. And there are many of them. Taking advantage of those assets. This verse is not about you chasing your dreams. Jeremiah the prophet spoke of false prophets who told people to believe in dreams. Listen to what God said through Jeremiah. Behold, I’m against those, in Jeremiah 23, 32. I’m against those who prophesy false dreams, says the Lord, who tell them and cause my people to err by their lies and their recklessness. Yet I did not send them, I did not command them, and they will not profit these people at all, says the Lord. God again, Jeremiah 23, 21. I did not send them, yet they ran. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had stood in my counsel, listen carefully now, if they had stood in my counsel and if they had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. I could name a lot of pastors that this would be wonderfully applied to if they had taught God’s word instead of teaching a dream. Instead of teaching something that’s not there, instead of getting into some sort of social gospel, instead of getting into trying to clean up the devil’s world, instead of getting into how you can be rich and have all these prosperity things, if they had taught my word, then it would have been a different thing. They would have turned them from their evil ways, Jeremiah 23, 21. Listen, it doesn’t take a genius to look at this nation, does it? It doesn’t take a genius to look at the course of American history in this century, and it’s clearly an indication that somebody has not been doing their job, and that somebody are the pastors of this land. You’ve heard me talk about the fog that has descended over America, failure of spiritual leadership, open rebellion in the streets to the rule of law. God’s word rejected, fog, F-O-G, failure of spiritual leadership, open rebellion in the land, failure of God’s word, God’s word rejected, F-O-G. When the church got into politics, that’s when things started changing. It’s obvious to me and it should be obvious to you that we need a lot more prayer and a lot less politics coming from the pulpit of America. That abundant life package that God has for me and God has for you includes fantastic what we call escrow blessings. Escrow. They’re held in escrow until you reach maturity. God has them for you. They’re there. In eternity past, God the Father deposited all these phenomenal blessings for you. He provided them for you in eternity past for every problem that you would ever face in your life. There is a greater blessing than ever before. Even for Old Testament believers, you have more going for you. And it’s held in escrow. They’re far superior to any sort of logistical grace blessings like food, shelter, and clothing. These escrow blessings that I’m talking about, these are blessings in time and blessings in eternity that are far beyond. And they’re related to the filling of the Holy Spirit. They’re related to the scripture that you have in your soul called practical divine wisdom. that gives you understanding, insight, and discernment. They’re related to all of that. When you see what other people don’t see, when you understand what other people don’t understand, you have a great blessing. The term escrow simply means they were prepared by God in eternity past and reserved for every believer who can reach spiritual maturity. And they include spiritual blessings, temporal blessings, blessings of association, All of these things I’m talking about could be a complete study on their own. The truth is this. I want you to experience God’s destiny for your life. I want you to understand that God has a history and a ministry for you. But you must start seriously studying the Bible. You must start seriously applying the Scriptures to your life. I believe that you’ve played around with this stuff long enough. You’ve compounded the problems that you face because you’re not consistent. You listen, oh, you say, oh, I enjoyed that sermon, preacher, and you listened a little bit, but you never applied it. You’re what we call a fence setter. You don’t have time to study on a daily basis because you’re too busy with your hobby, with your family, with your job. You can’t carve out a time in your life to make time for God’s word, can you? You’re a fence setter and you are not serious about your spiritual life. And I’ll tell you what, you are wasting your time and you’re wasting God’s time and you don’t have a whole lot of time to start with. So my suggestion for you today as we go into the year 2023 is for you to start learning those 10 problem-solving devices and for you to now understand what God’s protocol plan includes. You must understand rebound. You must understand the filling of the Holy Spirit. You must understand the faith thrust drill. You must understand grace orientation, biblical orientation. You must understand a personal sense of destiny. You must understand virtue love between God’s love for you and your love for others. And you must understand what it means to share the happiness of God and be occupied with Christ. There’s a lot to understand, a lot to learn, a lot for you to comprehend. But you’re not going to do it just piddling around with the Christian life. It’s time for you in 2023 to get with it. It’s time for you to get under the ministry of a well-qualified pastor and start studying daily in your home. If there’s not one in your city, you can do it in your home. You can sit down at your desk or your table and take the Bible out and listen to it talk to you by the means of electronic media we have available today. It’s time for you to get with it. Your time is running out. Your time is short. This may be the year you’re called home, and I hope you don’t go home embarrassed. I hope you don’t go home and say, God said, okay, have a seat over there. I’ll get to you in a few thousand years. You want to go home and hear, well done, my good and my faithful servant. I hope you’re listening. I hope you’re being challenged. I’ll see you next week, same time. This is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flotline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
