Join Rick Hughes in this enlightening episode as he unravels the concept of the Flatline, a spiritual forward line of troops equipped with problem-solving devices to combat stress and adversity. Explore the idea of living a stress-free Christian life and discover how understanding God’s will can transform your inner turmoil into peace 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.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good morning and welcome to the Flatline, F-L-O-T, Flatline. That’s an acronym for the Forward Line of Troops. No, we’re not talking about the military, but we’re talking about a spiritual forward line of troops in your soul. Ten unique problem-solving devices that will stop the outside sources of adversity before they ever become the inside source of stress. That’s why we always say adversity is inevitable. Stress is optional. There is a unique life you can live free of stress. It is called the Christian life. No worry, no fear, no bitterness, no anger, no vindictiveness, no implacability. That’s the Christian life. It’s a wonderful way to live. And when you learn God’s problem-solving devices that we state as the Flatline, 10 unique problem-solving devices, then you’re able to deploy these into the forward compartment of your thinking and use them as, quote, the mind of Christ. You know, God gave you two ends. You hear me say it all the time. One of them you sit with and one of them you think with. Success in life is going to depend on which one you lean to. Heads you’ll win, tails you’ll lose, obviously. So we’re talking about putting something in your head. It’s soul renovation before any sort of action renovation. And in the soul renovation, when you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and when you’re learning God’s Word and growing in grace, then you become an influencer for God. We’ve been talking the last two Sunday mornings about being an influencer, and giving you illustrations of social media influencers in the free world today. The amazing amount of money these people make for publicizing their favorite things on Instagram or YouTube or Facebook. But the influencer that I’m talking about is not going to make a dime out of this. This is simply… being an influencer for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we gave you the story of the woman at the well in John chapter four, who went back into the city of Samaria and influenced the whole town. And so many of them came out to hear Christ and believed in him because of her testimony to them. And I talked about John the Baptist, how he influenced so many people in the wilderness. We want to carry that influencer concept on today because I know many of you are listening to me from California even to New York. We broadcast on nearly 40 stations today, and hopefully we’ll be up over 50 by the end of the year. But if you are one of these that I know is a spiritually mature believer, that you’re growing in grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I’m counting on you to be an influencer. This is a challenge to you. If you’re a Christian and you feel like you can have an impact in this world, what can you do? What can you do to change the course of history, the way things are going in Client Nation USA? So let’s get some principles on what you personally can do to be an influencer. Number one, remember you are God’s personal representative for the Lord Jesus Christ during your time on earth. So whatever amount of time he gives you, that’s your job, to be a representative of Jesus Christ. By doing this, you re-present him to your friends. You re-present him by demonstrating the mind of Christ. As the Bible says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2, 5. And remember 1 Corinthians 2.16 says the Bible, the New Testament, is the mind of Christ. So as you learn it, use it, think it, and apply it into your life, you become an effective influencer for those around you. So God, point two, entrusted you with his plan for all of mankind. What is his plan? It’s redemption. redeem the man that you know out of the slave market of sin that’s what god provided through his son’s death burial and resurrection redemption and you have the opportunity to give this message to those that you know you can influence even those you don’t know the message of redemption so our mission point three is not political It’s not why we’re here. We’re not here to promote a candidate, although there are candidates we like and approve of because of their stand on the rule of law and their stand on divine institutions. But our mission is not political. It’s personal. We represent ourselves, point four, before God, and we represent God before men. Again, we represent ourselves before God, and we represent God before men. So listen to 2 Corinthians 5.18 if you would. Now all of these things are from God. This is through verse 20, 2 Corinthians 5.18 through verse 20. All of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That’s you and me. namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and not counting their sins against them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation, that’s the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, we are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ as though God was making us a direct appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. That’s our job. We are reconcilers. We are influencers that influence people’s lives with the ministry of reconciliation. Those instructions, point five, I just read to you are your written instructions in the Bible. God laid it all out for you right there. Be a reconciler that you are to do that. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. Point six, don’t take any insults as personal in regards to the gospel message because you will be insulted. You will be pushed away, but it’s not personal. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ they hate. It’s the plan of God they hate. So point seven, don’t waste your time pushing any political agenda. If you want to push something, push the gospel, the good news. In 1 Peter 3.15, Peter wrote these words. Sanctify Christ as the Lord in your hearts. That’s occupation with Christ, problem-solving device number 10. Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you. There it is. There’s the ministry of reconciliation. Make a defense to anyone who asks you. and to give an account for the hope, and the word hope there is confidence, that you have. Yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Gentleness is the Greek word in the Greek New Testament, protes, and it means humility and mild disposition. And the word reverence is an interesting word too. Gentleness is meekness and a mild disposition, not trying to straighten anybody out, but reverence is great respect to those that you speak with. They may mock you, they may reject your message, but you must be respectful and gentle with them. That’s the way the Bible says we have to do it if we’re going to be an influencer. Now, there’s a special person who’s an influencer. He’s a man with a communication gift. And he has been trusted with a special calling and more than likely chained to that calling. Paul wrote, I am an ambassador in chains, that’s metaphorically speaking, to make known the mystery of the gospel. Any man who has the gift to pastor, teacher, or evangelist like myself, we are chained to that gift. And lo, man, if we walk away from that, if we don’t want to use it, and I promise you, Satan will offer you all sorts of great things if you just won’t use your gift. I’ve seen it in my own life, in the lives of friends that I know, people that said, you know, I think I may have the gift of pastor, teacher, and they got some fame, they got some publicity, they got married, they got whatever, and that went out the window. So if you have that gift, you must understand God equipped you for a reason, and that is to change the world through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So all of us, including a pastor, we make a pulpit out of our circumstances in every area of our life every day. Whatever we’re doing, it must be a pulpit of our circumstances. The Lord, you know, I talk to people who say they shared the gospel with the guy that came to fix the air conditioner. or they shared the gospel with the guy that was cutting the lawn, or they gave him a book to read, maybe some book that deals with the gospel, or maybe one of our books or something like that. So there’s always people you can influence every day. The Lord uses ambassadors like this in business and in professions, in home, academic life, local churches. Wherever you may be found, you are supposed to be an influencer. Therefore, Colossians 4, 5 says this, conduct yourself with wisdom. That means insight and discernment. Conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders. And then listen carefully, making the most of each opportunity. This is a question I have to ask you. When you were with that person yesterday, was it an opportunity or was it an inconvenience to talk to them about the gospel? Never fail to at least ask one simple question. If the opportunity presents itself, ask this simple question. Do you mind me asking if you died today, would you go to heaven? You will be surprised what kind of door that would open. That person may say, well, I’m not sure. I don’t really know. And you could say, well, could I pray with you for a minute and ask God to help you understand it? And maybe they will ask questions. Maybe you can guide them into the right questions. But it’s an opportunity. So conduct yourself with insight and discernment towards those outside the plan of God, making the most of every opportunity that he gives you. Listen to Paul’s testimony to his critics, the people that criticize him for being an influencer. He said, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, Romans 1.16, for that gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it. to the Jew first and then also to the Greek. Here’s some principles. One, never be embarrassed to give the gospel anytime, anywhere. I remember praying in a restaurant one time with a friend who was in the ministry and a waitress came up and was literally shocked. And in the middle of the prayer, she said, are you two praying? And I just kind of opened one eye and looked at her and gave a wink and said, yep. And never be embarrassed to give the gospel. Anytime, anywhere. Point two, what happens if you have no influence on your peers? What happens if nothing happens? You know, a peer is someone at your own level from the Latin par, which means equal. So what happens if you have no influence? Well, the gospel message is the most powerful thing in the whole world. It’s the power of God. What’s amazing is many people will pay a lot of money to be motivated to lose weight or motivated to achieve a certain goal in their life. Go to some business class to learn how to be a closer or something like that. The love of God is the greatest motivator in the world, and it’s free. And when you encounter the gift of salvation through Christ, you will never, ever, ever be the same. The Bible says if any man is in Christ, he’s a new creation. Old things are passed away and all things become new. That means that a spiritual birth produces a spiritual life. You’ll have new goals, new aspirations, and if you have any type of hunger to grow, you will follow these goals and aspirations as you grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I can assure you if someone accepts Christ, the first thing the devil’s going to do is to try to lure them away from any consistent Bible study. He won’t mind if they get involved in a little group sing-along, and he won’t mind if they go have a Christian marshmallow roast, but if it’s any teaching, any in-depth instruction from the Word of God, he will do everything he can to block it. You know, one of the greatest influence in the Old Testament was Noah and his peers, and he had no influence at whatsoever. They didn’t listen to him at all. The Bible says in Genesis 6, 5 through 7, God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was constantly on evil. You know, pardon me, but that sounds a lot like the free world today, doesn’t it? I mean, years of scar tissue built up in the lives of young people have brought them to a no-limit type lifestyle. And exposure to media-related deviation has scarred the minds of many of America’s youth. So who will call them out of sin and into the light? Who’s gonna do that? You, you and me, we’re the only ones. You haven’t seen any angels flapping around doing it. We are the ones. Beginning with our own children and our grandchildren, And I’m proud to say many of you are indeed doing that. That’s a wonderful thing. But notice the similarities to Noah’s days and our days. Luke 17, 26, and as it happened in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day Noah entered that ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. and it will be just the same on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. It will happen the same way at the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember, before the second advent occurs, there is the exit resurrection, better known as the rapture of the church, where any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is brought to heaven immediately and goes before the judgment seat of Christ, given his rewards, and returns with the Lord to set up the millennial kingdom at his second advent. And so in verse 6 of Luke 17, of Genesis, excuse me, Genesis 6, 6, it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. It grieved him in his heart. What does that mean? Simply put, God’s delivered this nation, client nation America, through two world wars, countless other conflicts, as well as through depression and disease. But if he looked at our current state of affairs today, would it grieve him? Would it? Sin is rampant in this nation. The gospel is marginalized in this nation. Humanism is proclaimed as the answer to the woes of America and politicians claiming through progressive humanism they can fix it all. I mean, I can go on and on and on about abortion and go on and on and on about murder and crime and statistics. What would God say? Yea, hooray, what a wonderful client nation I have there. Or would he say, what is wrong with these crazy people? They have lost their mind. So here’s what happened, verse 7, with Noah. The Lord said, I’m going to destroy man who I created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things and the fowls of the air, for it repents me that I even made them. You know, God answered the rebellion against his will by simply allowing the rebels to run everything within the prescribed limits and letting the resulting chaos witness against them. That’s kind of what must happen here in this nation. Events must continue until it becomes evident before men, angels, and demons that no will apart from the will of God is capable of bringing order and peace and righteousness to this crazy country we live in. These verses that I just read to you, very important. Psalm 14, 2 through 3. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek him, and they had all gone astray. They are all together become filthy, and there are none that doeth good, no, not even one. noah was tasked with influencing a wicked generation and his message was completely ignored the only converts he had were his family however the justice of god was vindicated since in love and in mercy he gave noah at least 120 years to proclaim the message That’s why the Bible says God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, 2 Peter 3, 9. You and I are also tasked with the same mission. We have to influence a faithless generation in America. And you need to remember political solutions are human solutions, and human solutions are no solutions. it’s a spiritual problem we have we have a spiritual problem it’s not systemic racism it’s not just crime and rampant immorality it’s a spiritual problem every man woman in this country has a sin nature And the sin natures are running out of control with no borders. No one’s telling them this is wrong. No one’s saying you can’t do that. You’re going to bring destruction and death on yourself if you follow that lifestyle. To change a man’s behavior, there’s got to be a change of heart. That’s why Ezekiel 36, 26 says, moreover, I will give you a new heart. and I will put a new spirit within you and I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. That’s what happens when a person gets saved. The insensitive, cold, dead heart is removed and you start again. You have a spiritual birthday. It’s a heart transplant. But it requires some sort of positive volition at God consciousness when you learn that there is a God. I remember, let me ask you, do you remember the first time you ever heard about God? Ever? Ever? I mean, I was just 11 years old at a place called French Camp, Mississippi, when I heard a speaker from China Inland Mission talk about God. And I wanted to know God. I wasn’t mad at God. I wasn’t against God. I just never heard anything about God. But I didn’t get enough gospel to be saved until I was 22. But I was positive at the first hearing of God consciousness. And God kept me alive. God delivered me through all of my stupid things. Remember, stupid hurts. Don’t forget that. And eventually, when I was 22, I heard the clear gospel message. That’s the way God works. And it may be working like that in your life. So do you remember the first time you ever heard the gospel message? When you had a heart transplant? You know, you may spend all of your days promoting your platform, which we call The Christian Life. and you may have absolutely no results, just like Noah, but don’t be discouraged. I remember the man who led me to Christ, he had no idea, no idea when he knelt with me in that home and we prayed together and I asked the Lord to save me, he had no idea that God would put me in the ministry and use me for 50 plus years to proclaim the message of faith alone and Christ alone. and to teach how to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had no idea, and you have no idea. The one person you talk to may be the influencer that changes the course of history in this country. Let’s look at Philip the evangelist and his ministry. In Acts 8, 4 through 8, therefore they were scattered abroad and went everywhere preaching the word. These are the disciples. Remember the power is in the message, not in the man, not in the style, but in the message. So Philip, verse 5, Acts 8, 5, went down to the city of Samaria, the same place the Lord Jesus had been in John chapter 4, and he preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. These miracles that he did were the authentication sign of his gift, that he actually was from God. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voices, came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. And there was a great joy in that city because of the message of Philip.” Now when the apostles, which were at Jerusalem, heard the Samaritans had received the word of God, Acts 14, 16, they sent Peter and John down. These are men who had a little more information. And when they came down, they prayed for them, and they received the Holy Spirit. For as yet he had not fallen upon these people in Samaria, They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so they had not had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit yet. But Philip got a new assignment. He became an influencer in the middle of the desert. In Acts 8, 28, and the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, say, okay, get up now. Your time here in Samaria is over with. Go down to the south and to the way that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is the desert. And I can imagine Philip said, are you sure, Lord? Let me get some canteens with water. So he got up and he went. And there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all of her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship. Now, he was a Gentile, maybe a God-fearing man, maybe a full-fledged proselyte. I don’t really know. But the Spirit of the Lord said to Philip, that’s him, that’s him, get up, go run and join him in his chariot. So he ran up in verse 30 of Acts 8 and heard him reading the book of Isaiah. And he asked the eunuch, do you know what you’re reading? Do you understand what you’re reading? And the eunuch said, of whom does the prophet speak? Who’s he talking about here in Isaiah 53, 7 through 9? And Philip opened his mouth and beginning from the scripture, he preached Jesus to him. Remember the powers in the gospel, not the persuasive ability of Peter, of Philip. So whenever there’s positive volition at any type of God consciousness, God is always gonna provide a gospel hearing. And here he was positive. This man wanted to know. And the Lord said, okay, Philip, go stand in the highway in the Gaza desert and wait till this guy comes by. God consciousness is what this Ethiopian had. It’s defined as the status of any normal human being who becomes aware of the existence of God through the function of his own mentality. So God made his existence plain to every one of us. We can all see there’s a God. So when any member of the human race reaches God consciousness or awareness of the existence of God, This is classified biblically and theologically as the point of accountability. This is when he becomes accountable, when he learns there is a God and he wants to know God. So how can you influence anyone in your life, maybe even in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the mountains, in the middle of the city? Well, the gospel is alive and powerful and when it’s given, it can change men’s heart and it can change the course of history, but it has to be heard and it must be believed and then it produces a new man in Christ. But if there’s anything Satan does, it is to pervert and prevent the gospel from being given. So remember, you have at your fingertips the most powerful thing in the world. The power of God is in the gospel. I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God, Paul said. Those words about the reconciliation of Christ, what he’s done to redeem man, this can change a man’s life forever. Give him a new destiny. When you explain to him the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and how Christ paid the penalty for his sins, if that man you explained it to believes it and receives Christ as his Savior, he has eternal life. His life is changed forever because of the power of the cross, which are the words that you gave to him. Remember that forever. You have more power than even the dead gum atomic bomb at your fingertips. We can develop military weapons that can kill the enemy, but we can’t save people. Only God can do that, and you have the weapon that saves them. It’s called the gospel, the good news, the life, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the anointed Son of God. When we believe the gospel, then we become one with the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2.14, it was for this that he called you by our gospel to obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip’s job, give the gospel. Your job, give the gospel. That’s your job. That’s how you become an influencer. Have you ever requested an assignment from God? I wish you’d consider that. Isaiah 6, 8. Here am I. Send me. Request an assignment from God. Ask him to use you. And he will. Remember, you’re tasked with being an influencer. There’s more to come. I hope you’ll come back next week. Same time, same place. Until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Floodline.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
