In this episode of The Flatline, Rick Hughes discusses the reliance on divine provision, emphasizing the importance of spiritual growth over worldly desires. From the profound life changes in Paul to the everyday challenges faced by believers, Hughes paints a picture of a life oriented by faith. He discusses the nuances of prayer, genuine faith versus deception, and the powerful truth of God’s unwavering support in every aspect of life.
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 stay with me. It’ll be 30 minutes of motivation, some inspiration, some education, and always done without manipulation because we’re not trying to con you We’re not trying to solicit money. We’re not trying to sell you anything. We just want to give you some information, hopefully information that will help you verify and identify God’s plan for your life. And if you can do that, then you always have the freedom and the privacy to orient and adjust to that plan. That’s really up to you. But it’s your life. And as I always say, you got one shot at it. So I hope you listen and listen well. Before we get started today, let me talk about one thing in particular. We have a new book coming out called Understanding Your Soul. It’s at the press being printed now. Hopefully, if you order one, you’ll get it before Christmas. And it’s free. All of our material is free. But this is a redo of an older book that we had. And we’re also working on another book called The Family. Sometime after the first of the year, that will be available as well. But we appreciate your prayers. We appreciate your encouragement. We appreciate those of you that let me know you’re listening. As I told you, new radio contracts are coming up, so we wanted you to let us know if you’re listening. You can always go to our website, rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org, or you can call us at 800-831-0718. Just let us know you’re listening so we know who to sign new contracts with. We currently broadcast in over 120 stations. Each one has a cost and a contract we have to sign before the beginning of the year. So we like to know who’s listening and who’s not listening so we can save money if nobody’s turning in. That make sense? I think so. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Again, on our website, rickhughesministries.org, you can see the many books we make available there. You can also listen to older Flatline radio shows there. And we do podcast our radio show on various podcast channels like Apple and Spotify and Podbean, things like that. So if you understand how to podcast, you can listen 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere in the world to the Flatline Radio Show. All right. Now listen, I have no doubt that many of you that could be listening to my voice this very morning, just like myself, we have real and we have legitimate needs to In your case, it may be a financial need, or it could be a physical need. I don’t know what it is, but I would like to encourage you to listen as I try to teach you how to have all of your needs supplied. In Philippians chapter four, verse 19, Paul the apostle wrote this, but my God shall supply all your needs supplied. According to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus There’s a divine promise to the believer My God will supply shall supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus There may be a difference now between what you need and what you want. That’s the big difference so this verse that I just read to you emphasizes your greatest need and What do you think your greatest need is, the number one need in your life? In Philippians 3, seven through eight, the Bible says, but what things were gained to me, that’s Paul, those are the things I counted loss for Jesus Christ. And yea, doubtless, I count everything in my life but loss, except for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. So his number one need is to know Jesus Christ and how to please his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Everything else, just dung. Well, there’s a lot of stuff there that he did. It’s clear that our number one need is to please our Lord Jesus Christ. And in this particular case, as Paul wrote in Philippians 3, 7 through 8, he’s stating that all of his accomplishments that he did before becoming a believer were considered excrement. Now, you may wonder who exactly was Paul, or as his name was, Saul, Saul of Tarsus. He was a prominent Pharisee of the highest order, and he was very deeply devoted to the laws of Moses. We know that he was a Roman citizen with all privileges of Rome. We know he was a respected scholar. We know that he studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. And we also know that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, which is the Jewish High Court. We know that Saul of Tarsus, or Paul, was a zealous persecutor of the early Christian church. All of these things that I’m telling you gave him prestige and prominence in the Jewish community. However, now he considered all of that worthless. Here’s a principle I want you to remember and never forget. An encounter with Jesus Christ will change your outlook on your life. An encounter with Jesus Christ will change your outlook on your life. That’s exactly what happened to Paul. So your and my number one need is to glorify our Lord by all of our words and our deeds. Then we have our daily needs. One of them is our spiritual need, to glorify our Lord with all of what we say and what we do. Then we have our daily physical needs. Philippians 4, 6. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, Let your requests be made known unto God. Do you hear that? Let your supplications be known to God. Tell him what your needs are. So here’s your second principle I want to give you today. It’s completely fine to ask God the Father to meet your legitimate needs. However, let me remind you one thing. That in order for your prayers to be heard, they must be offered under the filling of the Holy Spirit. must be offered under the filling of the Holy Spirit. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, God’s not going to hear your prayer. I know that because the Bible says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. It might surprise you to discover that God already knows your needs, even before you ask Him to supply the request that you have. And you don’t have to ask repeatedly. I mean, I think about that often. Should I go to God every day and ask him for the same thing? I think he’s omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, so once or twice is enough. But listen to what he said in Matthew 6, 31 through 33, about already knowing what my needs are before I even ask. I’ll read the verse to you, Matthew 6, 31 through 33. Take no thought saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? or whether shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, but your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things. He already knows it. So seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then these things, all of these things, will be added to you. So this passage is telling you that you must have your priorities in order. And the very first priority you and I have is to follow the will of God. And if you’re not a Christian, then the first priority for you is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Savior before you start asking God to help you win the lottery. Priority number one is to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That’s priority number one. To grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why? So you can reflect Him to everyone that you encounter. This is verified by 2 Peter 3.18, but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. And that’s not a request, that’s a mandate. Peter is telling you, grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not to grow is a sin. If you’re a believer and you’re not growing, it means you’re not filled with the Spirit and you’re not taking in the Word of God under a good pastor and you’re not growing, which means you don’t have insight, understanding, wisdom, and discernment. If you want to have that, you’ve got to grow. And God wants you to grow. He doesn’t want you to remain a baby Christian all your life. So this is what this passage is about. Priority number one for you and I is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why? So we can reflect him to everyone we encounter. Listen to this verse found in Psalm 3410. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. How about that? The lions of Africa are constantly searching for food. Sometimes they score a kill and have a feast, and other times the prey evades their fangs. By contrast, if you seek to fulfill God’s plan for your life, you will never lack what you need. I’ll say that one more time. If you seek to fulfill God’s plan for your life, you will never lack what you need. Not necessarily what you want, but what you need. When you start asking God to meet your needs, remember this verse, 1 John 5, 14. This is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. The key is to have your prayer answered according to his will. Throughout the 50 plus years of my ministry, I’ve had many wonderful Christian friends tell me, Rick, if you need anything, just let me know. They mean well, but my thoughts were always, if I need anything, I’ll tell God, and He can then tell you, but I’m not going to tell you what my needs are. In 1968, that’s a long time ago, I went on staff with a national evangelistic organization, and they informed me that I needed to go to my Christian friends and ask them to give me money to raise my support and contribute to me on a monthly basis. This was not the last bit of bad counseling I received, but much of it, thanks to God, God directed me eventually to a great pastor, and it was there I learned the correct way to operate a grace-oriented ministry, and that is never ask for money, never sell books or any other material. Why? Because if God’s in it, he will pay for it. You don’t have to try to hustle up the money. So that’s the principle we operate under today, even today. So if you’re hearing this show right now in your city, it’s because someone, as a result of asking God to meet our needs, God motivated some believer somewhere to contribute so we can continue to purchase airtime in your radio market. So without faith, your prayers will be hindered. Did you know that? Without faith, your prayers will be hindered. In Matthew 21, 22, in all things, in all things, everything, Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, here’s the word faith right here, pistouo, believing you shall receive. Matthew 21, 22, and all things, whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing you shall receive. That key word is the Greek verb pistouo, P-I-S-T-E-U-O. That verb comes from the noun pistis, P-I-S-T-I-S. The verb literally means to be convinced of something. It is the word used to describe the anchor of our faith, believing. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 4.14, this verse literally says, if we believe, if we believe, there’s pistool, and in fact you do, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then we also believe that when he returns to establish his kingdom on earth, he will bring with him those who passed away earlier, if we believe. Pestuo is critical for you. This area of faith is exactly where Satan tries to deceive people, or he tries to trick people into believing the wrong thing. Did you know you can believe the wrong thing? You can believe the right thing, or you can believe the wrong thing. There is such a thing as inaccurate faith. I’m going to say that again so you get it. There is such a thing as inaccurate faith. What does that mean? It means you believed the wrong thing or you accepted as truth the wrong thing. You know, Satan deceived Eve in the garden by getting her to put her faith in what he said rather than what God said. Did you realize that? He got her to put her faith in what he said rather than what God said. Let’s look at it. Here’s Genesis 2, 17. Here’s what God said. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it. For in that day that thou eatest thereof, you will die, surely die. That’s a warning. It wasn’t physical death, it was spiritual death. We know that because they didn’t drop over dead when they ate the fruit they were cast out of the garden. But it was spiritual death, broken fellowship with God. So God said, of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you do, you will die. That’s what God said. And here’s what Satan said. The serpent said to the woman, you will not die, for God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will become like a God, knowing good and evil. Now Eve had a choice. She had to put her trust in what one of those two people said. Either she trusts what God said to be accurate and true, put her faith there, or put her faith what the serpent said. It’s hindsight, and we actually know who the liar was, don’t we? We know who told the truth. It was God. But unfortunately, like Eve, many, many believers have chosen to believe the wrong person. And as a result, they have inaccurate faith, faith in the wrong person. In modern Christianity, like today, social media has given a platform for many liars. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. Many liars are on these platforms trying to deceive you. They claim they’re telling you the truth. Many preachers will tell you that the reason you don’t have enough is because you don’t give enough, brother. You don’t have enough because you don’t give enough, brother. That’s a lie. That’s a big lie. Some will tell you the reason you’re not healed of an infirmity is that you don’t demonstrate enough faith. That’s a lie. You might be shocked to learn that much of your suffering could actually be divine discipline. And that if you would rebound your sin and recover, the suffering would be eliminated in your life. Because we know from Hebrews chapter 12, those that I love, I chase it and scourge with a whip sometimes. And sometimes the suffering you’re going through, you may think it’s unfair, but it’s nothing more than God trying to break your arrogance and get your attention before you destroy yourself. So much of the suffering you’re going through that you’re asking God to heal you from would be healed if you would confess your sin and recover. The question to be answered is this. How do we determine who’s actually lying? And how do we determine who’s telling the truth? The answer for us is found in the scriptures. In 1 John chapter 4 verse 1. Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits. to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. How do you test the spirits? How do you find out if the speaker is from God? I can suggest two questions. Here’s one question you asked. If someone’s speaking and teaching you the Bible and you could ask them one simple question, what must I do to be saved? If they tell you you gotta repent and be baptized, they’re lying to you. And Jesus never said that. He said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. He didn’t tell them they had to repent. How can you repent when you can go back and do it again and again and again? It’s not about feeling sorry for what you’ve done in the past because you’re going to have an old sin nature and do it in the future. Test the spirits. Ask a pastor this question, what must I do to be a good Christian? What must I do to be a good Christian? If they don’t tell you you must be filled with the Holy Spirit, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Because you cannot live the Christian life without the filling of the Holy Spirit. So if I say, what must I do to be a good Christian? And he tells me, well, brother, you got to tithe. You got to sing in the choir. You got to go visit people in the, you know, all this sort of stuff. That’s all fine. That’s all good stuff, but that’s not what it means to be a good Christian. To be a good Christian means you’re filled with the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5, 18, and you’re growing in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. False teachers put on an emotional production trying to, what, trick you into putting your faith in what they’re telling you. False teachers will put on an emotional production designed to seduce you, trick you. Listen, just because it seems good does not mean it’s actually good. Don’t you understand the reason that it’s easy to trick people with false doctrines is because it actually feels good to them? The Bible teaches us something rather amazing about Satan’s trickery. This may surprise you. In 2 Corinthians 11, 13 through 15, For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ, and no wonder for even Satan, even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. This is a pastor. This is an evangelist. This is a YouTube preacher that is a legalist. It’s telling you some kind of legalistic type of life to live if you’re a Christian. You know, Satan is good at this. What is grace? Grace says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved. That passage in Ephesians, for by grace are you saved through faith. It’s a gift of God and not of works. Any man should what? Manufacture his own righteousness or brag about it. What does the legalist say? For by grace are you saved through faith and, here comes the adding to it, and giving up something and doing something. And, and, and. No, it’s no and to it. For by grace are you saved through faith. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is what the Bible teaches. Not giving up on moon pies and quit drinking Coca-Cola and lay off the peanuts. That doesn’t save you. I warn you, listen, be careful. Satan has a disguise, and you will be surprised. He looks good, he sounds good, he looks like a righteous person, but he looks like an angel of light, but it’s actually the devil trying to trick you. Trying to trick you to do what? Put your faith in the wrong thing. I warn you, let’s talk about where you better put your faith. I warn you, don’t attempt to teach yourself what the Bible is saying. Stay out of that stuff. You say, well, I read the Bible every year. That’s great. I’m glad. I read the Bible through five times. Good. Wonderful. I’m sure God will use that and help you remember some of those promises. But the Bible is a textbook designed by God to be taught to you, and that’s the reason God gave certain male individuals the gift of pastor-teacher. And that’s to protect you from the canine clergy. In Ephesians 4.14, the Bible says, As a result, why do we get under a pastor? As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. This is exactly what Satan does. You need to be under the ministry of a well-qualified pastor. You need to be listening to somebody that knows what he’s talking about, who knows the original languages, and can break it down and teach it to you. Not somebody that puts on a good show. Not somebody that’s dynamic and emotional, that’s all fine, but that’s not how you grow. You grow by being fed the Word of God into your soul and metabolizing what you hear, putting it to use in your life. The psalmist himself taught a wonderful doctrine about the faithfulness of God. and how God will supply all of your logistical needs for material believers. Listen to Psalm 37, 25. I was young, and now I’m old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. That’s one thing I can guarantee you. God’s very, very, very patient. He will not abandon you, Even when you fail, even when I fail, he does not abandon us. In 2 Peter 3.9, the Bible says, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but he’s long suffering towards us, not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So there’s never going to be a time in your life when the Lord doesn’t love you and wants you to what? To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to change your mind about who he is. In Hebrews 13, 5, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he has said, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. So if you have never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, there’s still time to do it. God’s love will follow you your entire life since he does not wish for you to perish in the lake of fire. It’s never too late to change your mind about who Christ is. and what he’s done for you. If you are a believer, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, God has not forgotten who you are or what you need. And he has promised that he would never leave you, and he would never turn his back on you. So in closing, let’s try to remember the scripture. Lamentations 3, verse 22 and 23. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not, They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. You hear that? Great is his faithfulness. His mercy and his compassions will never fail you. They renew every morning. Did you get up this morning? Did you take a breath? That’s the grace of God. Did you look outside? You’re still alive? That’s the grace of God. He will meet all of your needs. He wants you to grow in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He wants you to reflect Jesus Christ in your life and what you say and what you do and how you live. So whatever your needs are, whatever your needs may be this morning, you can use a faith rest drill, problem solving device number three on the flat line of your soul, and it will calm you down. And you can maintain a relaxed mental attitude in spite of whatever adversity you’re facing. And occupation with Christ, problem solving device number 10, will give you the opportunity for the greatest happiness you’ll ever experience in your entire life. That’s what the Flatline is about, teaching you the mechanics to the Christian life. That’s what we’re doing this morning, going through mechanics, how you can depend on God to meet every need that you have and what God expects out of you. I hope you’re listening. I hope you’re paying attention. And I sure hope you’ll come back with us next week, same time, same place. If you’d like to continue broadcasting in your city, drop us a note and let us know you’re listening. We appreciate that. So until next week, same time, same place. This is your host, Rick Hughes. And remember, you can always go to our website, rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org. Or you can call us on the 800 line, 800-831-0718. If you do call on that line, speak very slowly, very distinctly, so we can understand your name and phone number and who you are. Okay? All right. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flock Line.
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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.
