In this episode of The Flatline, host Rick Hughes dives into the profound advantage believers have through God’s unwavering faithfulness. Discover how understanding God’s grace can help you pass life’s spiritual exams, overcome adversity, and maintain spiritual maturity. Rick emphasizes the significance of momentum testing and the challenges posed by our own sin nature, while providing biblical insights to navigate these trials through the strength and wisdom that come from faith in God.
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 listen to me. Listen to the words I have to say. It’s very important. It won’t be long, just about 30 minutes of motivation, inspiration, education, and you know we don’t use any manipulation because we’re not trying to con you. We’re not asking you for money. We’re not trying to sell you a product. We just want to give you some information from the Word of God. Hopefully, you can verify and identify God’s plan for your life by listening and applying this information, and you’ll orient and adjust to that plan in your life. I’m honored to give you these radio shows. Going on 20 years now, we’ve been producing the Flatline radio show across America, and I’m so thrilled that you give me a few minutes of your time. Thank you for listening. I want to talk about the believer’s advantage, but before I do, let me remind you of our website, rickhughesministries.org. That’s rickhughesministries.org. There you can find our various books that are available free of charge, such as God’s Grace in Aging and Life’s Toughest Years and A Divine Pardon. practicing your Christianity, all these books we’ve written are available for you free of charge. All you have to do is order them from the website. You can also listen to many of the messages that we’ve given in various churches. And our announcer, Jack, also reads some of our books over the website. So we have all sorts of things available to you there on the website. And remember that we do podcast all of our radio shows on Apple, iPod, Spotify, Podbean, and other podcast platforms. So you can always listen. If you’re a podcaster, you can always go to Apple iPod or Spotify and type in The Flot Line, F-L-O-T, and you can listen to the show that way anywhere in the world, any day, any time. Don’t forget what the FLOT line stands for, Forward Line of Troops. And this is something my pastor taught years ago, and he let me use this term, FLOT line. It’s a military term. We’re talking about adding in your soul 10 unique problem-solving devices that that act as a main line of resistance that keep the outside sources of adversity from ever becoming the inside source of stress. So keep that in mind as you listen to The Flatline. If this is your first time, I hope you’ll get in touch with us and let us send you some material that will help you understand what we talk about. there’s a lot to learn so i want to start off by talking about the advantage that we have as christians the wonderful advantage that god has given us i’m going to read you a verse of scripture in first corinthians 10 13. it says no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind and listen to this now what i’m about to say god Is faithful. There’s your advantage. God is faithful. He will not let you be tested or tempted beyond what you can bear. When you are tempted or tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Now we find in this verse a tremendous provision by grace, God’s wonderful grace provision. God is faithful. What an amazing statement. Principle number one, there’s only one person who’s totally faithful to you and I, only one person faithful related to us, and that’s God. He will be faithful to us because why? Because of his perfect character. He cannot be unfaithful. God never would be unfaithful. So the fact, point two, that you’re alive, plus everything that you have is a matter of God’s faithfulness to you and me. He is faithful. He loves us every moment, every day. So I gotta ask you this question, in what area is he faithful? What areas is God really faithful in? And first we must understand that his faithfulness is a provision guaranteed, guaranteed, not a five-year guarantee, not a three-year guarantee like an automobile, but guaranteed for life to his children. And the reason he can do this is because of the work of the anointed son, our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. His faithfulness does not depend on our spiritual status. Doesn’t depend on that. God is not faithful if we’re faithful. God is faithful even when we’re unfaithful. So since you and I are in Christ Jesus, we are his children. We are under his care. We’re sustained by his provisions. He’s faithful. Listen to Lamentations 3, 21 through 25. This I recall to my mind, and therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies, that’s his faithfulness, we are not consumed because his compassion, his personal love, never fails us. They are new every morning. Here it is. Listen, here it is. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have confidence in him. The Lord is good to those who wait and trust patiently for him, to the souls of those who seek him, positive volition. That’s somebody that wants to understand, know, and apply God’s word to their life. So when the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 10, 13, our verse we started with, where it said God is faithful, he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. We need to understand that word tempted is actually the Greek word pirasmos, pirasmos. That’s a weird sounding word, but it means to put to the test or simply to be tested. And this can be seen through adversity that we endure or even the discipline that we have to receive sometimes. God’s faithful in both areas. This word parismos is a word for examination. Now, it’s normal for you and I to be examined by God as a form of momentum testing. What is that, momentum testing? You may ask yourself, what is momentum testing? Simply, it’s the circumstances that provide us the opportunity to apply what we’ve been learning from the scriptures. And each one of us, you and I, we all must go through these tests if we hope to maintain or ever get to attain spiritual maturity and glorify God to the maximum. That momentum testing can include the test of our sin nature’s domination, fueled by our own arrogance. Remember, you have a sin nature. You were born with a sin nature. The Bible says, for by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. You have a sin nature, different trends, different lust patterns. It’s always fueled by your own arrogance, your own self-justification, your own self-deception, your own self-absorption. So that sin nature can be part of the momentum testing. How do I learn to overcome the desires of my flesh? It can also include the lure of the world. Momentum testing can deal with that. The lure of the world, cosmic system propaganda. The Bible tells you in 1 John 2, 15, don’t love the world. Don’t love the things in the world. For anyone… If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world. That’s the cosmic system, Satan’s domain. So momentum testing, momentum testing. We all go through this as we accept Christ. We begin to grow spiritually. It includes disaster testing. And it could be a personal disaster like many of our friends have experienced in the recent months in the hills of the Carolinas and Georgia and Tennessee or Florida. And it could be people testing. Maybe you and I experienced that in political realms. So how do we handle those circumstances? Do we let those things get us out of fellowship? Do we get depressed? Do we get angry? Do we get mad? Do we get bitter? Do we get revenge motivated? That’s not the way we live. That’s not what the flight line’s for. The flight line is to intercept that adversity and stop it from becoming stress like that. But don’t think for one second that your Heavenly Father is ignoring your situation. He’s not. He is very much aware of what you’re going through Again, I think about our friends that are going through those disasters in Florida and in the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina and Georgia. He’s with them every step of the way. Each one of those people that’s a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he watched over them. He provides for them. Many of those churches are talking about that even today. Many Christians have gotten great stories about what God did to deliver them. So remember the verse says, he will provide a way out. 1 Corinthians 10, 13, he will provide a way out. Did you hear me when I read it to you? No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. And when you are tested or tempted, he will provide a way out. Isn’t that amazing? Well, if we commit personal sin, what is the way out? How do we get out so that we’re not overrun completely, so that we’re not shut down spiritually? The question is, will we follow his instructions given to us in the scriptures? For example, when we fail the momentum test of our sin nature and we let it take over, then our way out is to confess the sin as per 1 John 1.9, where the Bible clearly tells us if we will confess our sin, he’s faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all wrongdoing. It’s a simple verse, but it’s a wonderful verse because it tells you how to take a bath spiritually, how to be cleansed from sin. So when you go to God and you can admit your sin, you recover the filling of the Holy Spirit and you can restore your fellowship with God. But remember, you cannot and will never be able to function in the Christian life without the filling of the Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul tells you in Ephesians 5.18, be filled with the Spirit. So if we don’t recover from our sin and we continue to linger in it and we don’t have enough humility to admit to God what we’ve done, then definitely he will bring enforced humility through divine discipline. Here’s Hebrews 12.11. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful. Nevertheless, after it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. So it’s not fun for God to take you to the woodshed. And divine discipline comes in stages. Divine discipline number one, warning discipline. Divine discipline number two, intense discipline. And divine discipline number three, even dying discipline. God doesn’t play games. So when the Lord has to chasten you to get you to break out of that sin nature control, he may warn you or it may be tough, but it’s for a reason. So it can yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who’ve been trained by it. So when you and I, when we cite our sin, God faithfully, faithfully, faithfully, there’s the word again, he forgives us every time, every time. Regardless of how you and I feel, he forgives us. You may say, well, I don’t feel forgiven. I don’t care how you feel. That’s not the issue. God said, if we will confess our sin, he will be faithful and just to forgive our sin and purify us from all wrongdoing. So whether you feel forgiven or not is not even the issue. You are forgiven. Now, God is faithful to us again once we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, even though we can sometimes be very unfaithful as Christians. Does the Bible specify anything like this? Yep, sure does. 1 Thessalonians 5, 24, he who calls you is faithful. and will also do it. Now, here’s a great verse I want you to remember, 2 Timothy 2, 13. If we are faithless, he, that’s God, remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Once you become a member of the royal family of God, you’re not going to get kicked out. For God to kick you out, he had to kick his only unique born son out, and he’s not going to do that. Once you’re born again, brought into the family of God, you’re not going to be kicked out of the family. Even though you may be faithless, he remains faithful, 2 Timothy 2.13. Underline that one in your Bible. He cannot deny himself. So he’s faithful to protect us in our eternal security. He’s faithful to protect us from Satan’s intentions. Did you know that? In 2 Timothy 3.3, but the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. There’s a divine promise for you. He will establish you and guard you from the evil one. Satan’s intentions may be to defeat you, to distract you, to discourage you, but through the filling of the Holy Spirit and through the resonance of Scripture in your soul using the faithless drill, God will be faithful to deliver you. And here’s another thought. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God’s faithful provision against satanic intentions. In other words, whatever Satan would like to try to do to you, the Holy Spirit can override that. 1 John 4, 4. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. There’s your promise. The Holy Spirit that lives inside of you is much stronger, much greater, much smarter, much more powerful than Satan. Satan might be smarter than us because He’s just a not created angel, but we have the greatest spiritual resources provided by God’s faithfulness, God’s wonderful faithfulness. You know, the Bible, the scriptures are one of our most powerful weapons when we’re dealing with Satan. In Hebrews 4.12, the word of God is living and powerful, living and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and the spirit and the joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Don’t you ever forget that it was God’s word, just like what I just gave you, the word of God is alive and powerful. It’s God’s word that delivered the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4.4 when Satan tempted him. Remember, Satan tried to get him to turn a rock into bread and he said, it is written. And every time Satan would tempt him, he’d say, it is written, it is written, it is written. He stood behind the word of God. That is our most powerful weapon through the filling of the Holy Spirit and the dynamics of the Word of God. The faithfulness of God will provide anything we need. So the faithful provision of God can extend down, listen to this, even to your children. and even to your grandchildren. Did you know that? If you have grandchildren and you have children and you pray for them and you want them to be able to handle things when you’re gone and be able to survive when you’re no longer around, listen to this about God’s faithfulness. Deuteronomy 7, 9. Therefore know that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God, there it is again, who keeps the covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his mandates. And in Psalm 119 verse 90, your faithfulness endures for all generations. Wonderful, wonderful. That means I can depend on that for my children and my grandchildren. If I can introduce them to the Lord Jesus Christ and create within them a hunger for God’s word, he will protect them for thousands of generations. Here’s the principle. Remember this. If God was faithful to you in eternity past, and he was, then he can only be faithful to you in time and in the future eternity as well. He’s faithful, not unfaithful. God’s faithfulness is manifested in what we call logistical grace provisions. That’s your daily needs. None of us ever need to worry about the basic necessities to sustain our life. He will provide. Where does the Bible say that? 1 Thessalonians 5, 24. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. So those of us that have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ have nothing to worry about, no sweat. He will provide the logistical grace necessary for us to complete our journey. So our very existence and the function in this life depends on the faithfulness of God and his very divine nature is to be faithful to us. God is faithful. Faithful to protect us, faithful to guard us in the midst of the unseen angelic battle, which has fought daily all around us. So we can rest confidently in his promise to meet our logistical needs. He promised he’d meet them. Hebrews 13, 5, let your way of life be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never abandon you, nor will I ever desert you. There’s the testimony of God’s faithfulness to you right there. Isn’t that amazing? I will never abandon you. I will never desert you. He’s faithful, always has been faithful, always will be faithful. So God keeps his word. He’s never made a promise that he’s not kept in Psalm 119, 89 through 90. Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to every generation. So he’s not going to change his mind. He keeps his word to every generation. There never is made a promise by God he hasn’t kept. He’s not like us. He’s faithful. Therefore, unfaithfulness is totally incompatible with the very nature and the very essence of God. Malachi 3 verse 6 says, For I am the Lord, I do not change. God is faithful. Now, if you will allow me, I’d like to tell you how God has faithfully sustained this radio ministry for the last 19 years. When I began this ministry, I had no idea it would grow to be so large. Previously, in the first 30 years of my ministry, I traveled across the nation from Texas to the East Coast speaking to high school students. My records show that the faithfulness of God protected me and provided for all of my financial needs without me ever charging for any visit. I conducted several thousand assemblies in hundreds of schools. And I was able to do this because my pastor taught me the principle about God’s faithfulness years ago. And that principle is if he’s in it, he’ll pay for it. So I refused to ask for offerings. I refused to sell the books we printed to the students. And of course, that first 30 years, was I always faithful to him? Was me? Did Rick, was I always faithful? No, absolutely not. Not even close. But I learned how to confess my failures. I learned how to stay filled with the Holy Spirit. And I was able to travel about 25 weeks each year because of the faithfulness of God. who also gave me a loving and understanding wife, dear Lydia, who worked as a teacher and raised four wonderful children at the same time as I was traveling. And her faithfulness is a testimony to her own spiritual life and the sacrifices she made so that I can do the things that I did. Around 2004, I began broadcasting this show called The Flatline in Birmingham, Alabama. In the first few years, we ran about 30 stations across the South. Once again, God’s faithfulness provided all the needs. It was really amazing to watch it happen. But we ran all across the South in about 30 different radio stations. He provided the necessary funds to purchase the airtime. I said purchase the airtime. It’s not free. And to provide the printed material, we had to pay for that as well for all who requested the information. He provided every nickel we needed. He was faithful to do that. Eventually, God brought individuals into this ministry who had a greater vision than me, and under their direction, we expanded into 100 plus cities. We began purchasing airtime in different cities from Maine to California. We continued to print books, continued to pay salaries to the working staff. All of this was provided by God’s logistical grace provisions, meaning his faithfulness. But I mean, by that I’m telling you, we don’t ever ask for money and we never sold anything. We just depended on God’s faithful provisions and he is faithful. So what you’ve heard today is my 1,000th Sunday to be broadcasting this radio show. 1,000 Sundays. And those 1,000 Sundays, God has been faithful to provide every word I need, every voice I need, every thought I need. Everything has been designed for you in hopes that you would receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior in hopes that you would grow to be a spiritually mature individual. As I move forward, I want to encourage you to find that well-qualified pastor who can teach you the mechanics to the spiritual life. We’re going to make some changes in the future to this radio show in the coming months, so let me thank you in advance for your prayers, for your support, your encouragement, and let you know that it’s always great and always wonderful to hear from you. But I never intended to be your pastor. I’m not your pastor. I’m just a voice in the wilderness crying out. I’m looking for those of you that would like to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. I’m looking for those of you that are Christians that are not being fed and you’re hungry for the Word. That’s what I’m looking for. Much like when I go fishing, I used to fish a lot, I don’t do it anymore, but when I’d go fishing, I’d go from one hole to another to another to another, trying to find where the fish were, trying to locate the fish. And it’s sort of like that through the radio shows. In the various cities, we’re fishing. Fishing for you. Fishing for positive volition. Fishing for those that are lost, wanting to be saved. And it’s been my prayer that maybe through this particular radio show, you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you have, I’d love to know about that. If through this show you accepted Christ through something that we said and provided for you, please don’t hesitate to write to us and let me know. And through this show, if God has blessed you or through this show, God has encouraged you or through this show, your life has been changed. I’d love to know about that too. Those letters of encouragement mean a lot to me, I promise you. Because that’s why we do the show. But we’re not here to just give you a little bit of a devotional topic. Many people write and say, I listened to you on the way to church and that encourages me. I’m glad you’re going to church, but I’m not a devotion. I’m a scout. I’m a fisherman. I’m looking for positive volition. If you’re really, really hungry, If you really want to grow, I can tell you where to find it. I can tell you how to do it. I can tell you what those 10 problem-solving devices are. I can direct you to a well-qualified pastor. I can give you material that will help you until you find that individual. But you should be able to grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. These 1,000 shows have been possible because of God’s faithfulness, as I said, to raise up phenomenal staff and, of course, my wife, Lydia, who makes sure that all this goes right. So that’s the faithfulness of God, providing people that put all this together and make it happen. I’m so very thankful, so very grateful that I’ve had the honor to do this. And it’s my prayer that we’ll continue with 1,001 or just around the corner as we press on into the year 2024. So keep praying for us, keep listening, and I encourage you to keep growing in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Why? Because he is faithful. He will provide your every need. He will never abandon you. He will never forsake you. Remember that verse I read to you, even if you are faithless, he will remain faithful. And that’s a true statement. So think about that. And until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you so much for listening to The Flatline.
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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.
