Advertise on podcast: GATEWAY CHURCH: Shelbyville

Unto Him be all the glory. Thank you for joining us! Want to learn more about us? Check out our website here: gtwychurch.com We would love to get to know you! Connect with us here: https://gtwychurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/598658 Interesting in giving? Follow this link: https://www.gtwychurch.com/giving What do you do when you don’t know what to pray? There are moments when the situation is too complicated, the burden is too heavy, and our own words simply aren’t enough. But God didn’t leave us standing at the throne speechless. He gave us His Spirit. In this message, we explore what Scripture teaches about praying in the Spirit—why it matters, how it works, and what happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us beyond what our own understanding can express. We look at: • How Jesus opened the way to the throne through His blood • Why prayer was always meant to be Spirit-empowered • The different kinds of tongues described in Scripture • What Romans 8 teaches about the Spirit interceding for us • How praying in the Spirit builds and strengthens us • Why the Spirit helps us pray according to the will of God • What it means to receive the gift by faith • The hindrances that keep us from yielding to the Spirit • And how praying in the Spirit can become part of our everyday life When your language runs out, the Spirit doesn’t. The Son is interceding above you. The Spirit is interceding within you. And you have been invited to come boldly. Prayer isn’t limited to what you understand. There is a language for the throne.

What do you actually believe about God when you pray? Not what you know how to say. Not what you would answer in a Bible study. What do you believe about Him in the moment you bow your head? Hebrews 11:6 gives us a picture of prayer built on faith: we come to God because we believe He is who He says He is—and we keep coming because we believe He rewards those who diligently seek Him. In this message, we discover: • Prayer is an invitation to come boldly into God’s presence • Our access to God was purchased by the blood of Jesus • What we believe about God’s character shapes the way we pray • Faith gives us the confidence to keep coming when we can’t see the answer • God is approachable, merciful, faithful, a healer, and still able to set people free • Diligent prayer isn’t about earning an answer—it’s the natural response of faith • And sometimes the greatest thing that keeps us praying isn’t knowing what God will do, but knowing who He is The door is open. The blood has been applied. The High Priest is interceding. And the invitation is still the same: Come boldly. Faith brings you to God, faith reminds you who He is when you get there, and faith keeps you there until the answer comes.

What if worship had nothing to do with how we feel? It’s easy to praise God when the prayer is answered, the breakthrough comes, and everything is going our way. But what happens when the prison door doesn’t open? When the diagnosis doesn’t change? When the breakthrough takes longer than we expected? That’s where worship becomes a sacrifice. In this message, we look at what worship truly means—not simply singing a song on Sunday, but living with a heart surrendered to God. We explore: • Why passion fades when it isn’t maintained • Why worship must be rooted in who God is, not what He does • How Paul and Silas worshiped in the middle of a prison • The danger of allowing tradition or feelings to determine our worship • What it means to surrender control and offer our lives back to God • How our worship can shift the atmosphere around us • And how to reignite a fire for Jesus when our passion has grown cold Biblical worship doesn’t say, “God, I worship You because You gave me everything I wanted.” It says, “God, I worship You because You are still God.” Not because everything is good. Because He is good. The question isn’t simply, “Can I worship God when life is going well?” The question is: Is He still worthy when it isn’t? Jesus gave everything for us. He is worthy of everything from us. Let your life become a continual song of praise.

What if the Lord’s Prayer was never meant to be just something we say? What if Jesus was teaching us how to live? In this message, we unpack the Lord’s Prayer and discover that Jesus didn't simply give His disciples words to repeat—He gave them a pattern for living in continual relationship with God. From “Our Father” to “deliver us from evil,” every line teaches us something about who God is, who we are, and how we're meant to live. Using passages from Luke 11, Matthew 6, Romans 8, Hebrews 4, Ephesians 6, and more, we explore: • Why prayer begins with relationship, not technique • What it means to hallow God's name—and to carry His name well • How prayer reorders our desires around God's kingdom • Why surrendering to God's will is at the heart of prayer • What “daily bread” teaches us about dependence on God • Why confession and forgiveness keep our hearts clean • How prayer prepares us for temptation and spiritual battle • Why prayerlessness is more serious than simply missing a devotional • How Jesus Himself modeled a life of continual communion with the Father This message isn't just about learning how to say a prayer. It's about learning how to live. Prayer moves us: from self-sufficiency to dependence, from self-centeredness to God's kingdom, from anxiety to trust, from hiddenness to confession, from bitterness to forgiveness, and from vulnerability to the strength of God. Jesus didn't just teach prayer. Jesus lived prayer. And if the Son of God would not live disconnected from the Father, neither can we. So the prayer of the disciples becomes our prayer too: “Lord, teach us to pray.” The Lord's Prayer gives us the pattern. The life of Jesus gives us the priority.

Some of your deepest failures have a place attached to them. A room. A conversation. A smell. A person. A moment you wish you could go back and change. For Peter, it was a fire. In this message, we follow Peter through one of the darkest moments of his life. The disciple who promised he would never deny Jesus finds himself warming his hands beside a fire—only to deny his Savior three times. But Peter's story doesn't end there. After the resurrection, Jesus meets him beside another fire. Using John 18, Luke 22, Mark 16, and John 21, we explore: • Why loud devotion isn't always deep devotion • How proximity to Jesus doesn't always mean faithfulness to Jesus • The danger of finding comfort in the wrong places • Why Jesus isn't caught off guard by our failures • How God sees restoration even when we can only see regret • Why Jesus called Peter by name when Peter had counted himself out • The powerful connection between Peter's first fire and his second • How Jesus restored Peter after three denials with three questions • Why restoration doesn't just remove shame—it reclaims purpose This message isn't just about Peter's failure. It's about what Jesus does with ours. The first fire was a place of compromise. A place of denial. A place of failure. But the second fire was different. Jesus met Peter in the place his memories would have taken him back to—and gave him a new ending. Your failure didn't catch Jesus off guard. He knew Peter would fall. And He already knew Peter would return. God doesn't just see the failure. He sees the restoration. The repentance. And the purpose still ahead. “Jesus knew he would fail—but He also knew he would return.”

Everybody wants the fire. But fire falls on the altar. In this message, we explore what Scripture teaches about the fire of God—from the altar, to sacrifice, to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We discover that while we can't manufacture God's presence, we are responsible for stewarding what He has given us. Using passages from Luke 12, Leviticus, 1 Kings, Romans, and more, we explore: • Why Jesus endured suffering so His Church could be filled with the Holy Spirit • The biblical connection between the altar, sacrifice, and fire • What your deepest affection, attention, and sacrifice reveal about the altar of your heart • Why yesterday's encounter can't sustain today's faith • How prayer, Scripture, worship, obedience, and forgiveness help tend the flame • The difference between maintained fire and manifest fire • Why we need both private devotion and powerful encounters with God • Why Elijah repaired the altar before the fire fell • How to recognize the difference between holy fire and “strange fire” • Why discernment doesn't extinguish the fire—it protects it • What happens when a genuine encounter with God changes us This message isn't just about having an emotional experience. It's about becoming a living sacrifice. We don't want manufactured fire. We don't want empty religion. We don't want excitement without holiness. We want HOLY FIRE. Maybe the problem isn't that heaven has run out of fire. Maybe earth has run out of altars. Repair the altar. Present the sacrifice. Tend the flame. And ask God to send the fire. “Our God is a consuming fire.” — Hebrews 12:29

You can build an impressive life on the outside while everything inside is falling apart. Rehoboam inherited a kingdom, a throne, wealth, influence, and everything his father and grandfather had spent generations building. But in one conversation, his pride fractured a nation—and Scripture gives us the deeper reason why. He had prepared cities. He had strengthened defenses. But he had never prepared his heart to seek the Lord. In this message, we explore the story of Rehoboam and discover: • Why you need people in your life who are willing to tell you the truth • The difference between seeking counsel and seeking confirmation • How insecurity can turn disagreement into disrespect • Why one foolish decision can create consequences that last for generations • How our choices can become patterns the next generation inherits • Why spiritual drift happens when we stop intentionally steering our hearts • The danger of building your career, relationships, reputation, body, or ministry while neglecting your soul • Why preparation happens before the pressure arrives • How Jesus succeeds where Rehoboam failed This message isn't just about a bad king. It's about the temptation to build everything around us while neglecting what's happening within us. You can have a strong body and a weak soul. A growing business and a shrinking marriage. An impressive house and no peace inside it. Financial success and spiritual poverty. Never confuse the strength of what you're building with the health of the person building it. The good news is that your story doesn't have to repeat the past. Jesus doesn't just tell us to try harder. He gives us a new heart. “Your worst decision does not have to become your family's permanent direction.” “Build something within you strong enough to carry what God puts around you.”

Nobody plans to walk away from God. Most people don’t blow up their faith. They drift. In this message, we look at the story of Demas—a man who started strong, served alongside Paul, and was even called a “fellow laborer.” But over time, something changed. His heart slowly shifted until Paul could say that Demas had forsaken him because he had “loved this present world.” Using passages from 2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews, Mark, and Acts, we explore: • Why spiritual drift usually happens slowly, not suddenly • How your feet eventually follow your affections • Why you can be less passionate about God before you ever leave Him • How good things like career, money, comfort, success, and entertainment can become distractions when they take first place • Why cynicism can change the way we see God and His people • How spiritual apathy can make coldness feel normal • Why following Jesus means becoming a servant, not a consumer • How to recognize when your heart is beginning to drift • Why your drift doesn't have to become your destiny This message isn't just about Demas. It's about us. You don't wake up one day as Demas. It's a thousand little moments. A little less prayer. A little less hunger. A little more compromise. A little more of the world. Until eventually, you realize your heart has moved before your feet ever did. But here's the good news: you can come back. Mark walked away too—but he came back. His bad chapter didn't become his final chapter. So ask yourself: What do I love? What gets my time? What gets my energy? What gets my attention? What has following Jesus cost me lately? Because you become what you love. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7

Nobody wakes up one morning planning to destroy their relationships. It usually starts with a wound. Then the wound becomes bitterness. Bitterness becomes justification. Justification becomes manipulation. And eventually, the heart becomes rebellious. In this message, we look at the story of Absalom and discover how an offense that isn't surrendered to God can slowly consume our hearts and damage the people around us. Using the story of Absalom, David, and passages like Hebrews 12 and Matthew 18, we explore: • How an unhealed wound can become a root of bitterness • Why being hurt doesn't give us permission to become bitter • How self-justification can make us feel righteous while leading us away from God • How manipulation can disguise itself as compassion and concern • Why offended people tend to attract other offended people • How unchecked offense can eventually become rebellion • Why our strengths can become weaknesses when our hearts become toxic • How to heal our hurts, confront conflict biblically, and protect our relationships This message isn't just about Absalom. It's about what can happen in any of us when we allow an offense to take root. You can be right about what happened and still be wrong in how you respond. So heal your hurts. Stay humble. Go directly to people. And refuse to build relationships around criticism. Don't be the person who steals hearts. Be the person who heals hearts. “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” — Hebrews 12:15

The story doesn't end with darkness. It ends with victory. In this message, we conclude our journey Through the Bible by exploring the final book of Scripture: Revelation. Far from being a book meant to scare us or confuse us, Revelation is ultimately a revelation of Jesus—and a reminder that no matter how dark the world becomes, Jesus is still King, evil will not win, and God will make all things new. Using passages from Revelation 1–22, we explore: • Why Revelation is about Jesus—not trying to predict the future • How every generation faces kingdoms and systems that oppose God • Why earthly power, wealth, nations, and institutions will never last forever • How to recognize whether we're building God's kingdom or our own • Why evil is real, but its defeat is already certain • How the throne of God gives us hope when the world feels out of control • What it means to overcome through the blood of the Lamb • Why Christians can face suffering, uncertainty, and even death without losing hope • The promise of a new heaven and a new earth where God makes all things new This message isn't just about the end of the Bible. It's about the end of the story. God created a good world. Sin broke it. Humanity couldn't fix it. But God didn't abandon it. And when the story is finally finished... Jesus wins. Satan is defeated. Death is defeated. Sin is defeated. And Jesus reigns forever. We don't overcome because we're strong enough. We don't overcome through political power. We don't overcome through wealth or influence. We overcome because of the blood of the Lamb. And one day, everything that is broken will be made new. “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” — Revelation 21:5

The early church didn't change the world because they had better technology. They changed the world because they lived differently. In this message, we conclude our journey Through the Bible by exploring the birth of the Church and the letters of the New Testament. From Acts to Jude, we discover what made the first Christians so impactful—and why those same truths still matter today. Using passages from Acts, Matthew 28, John 16, Ephesians 2, Colossians 2, and 2 Corinthians 4, we explore: • The difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant • How 120 ordinary believers became a global movement • Why every Christian needs the power of the Holy Spirit • The importance of biblical community and spiritual leadership • Why sound doctrine matters in a culture driven by feelings • How living on mission transforms ordinary lives • Why the hope of heaven gave the early church unshakable courage • What it looks like to be the Church today This message isn't just about the first Christians. It's about the next ones. The same Holy Spirit still fills believers. The same mission still stands. The same Gospel still changes lives. If we want to experience what the early church experienced, we need to do what the early church did. “Go and make disciples of all the nations…” — Matthew 28:19

The Gospel isn't about what you do for God. It's about what God has done for you. In this message, we continue our journey Through the Bible by arriving at the greatest news in human history: Jesus Christ. After centuries of promises, sacrifices, prophets, and waiting, God stepped into our world to accomplish what humanity never could. Using passages from Matthew 1, John 1, Ephesians 2, Romans 8, Hebrews 4, and Galatians 2, we explore: • Why the entire Old Testament points to Jesus • What it means that "the Word became flesh" • How Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies • Why Jesus is the perfect and final sacrifice for sin • The difference between earning salvation and receiving grace • Why faith—not performance—makes us right with God • How the Gospel frees us from shame, fear, and condemnation • What it means to boldly approach God's throne of grace This message isn't just about the birth of Jesus. It's about the reason He came. The Gospel isn't good advice. It's good news. Jesus lived the life we could never live. He died the death we deserved. He took the blame for our lives so that we could receive the righteousness that belongs to Him. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." — Romans 8:1

Revival doesn't begin with a crowd. It begins with a desperate heart. In this message, we're challenged to rediscover the kind of hunger that God responds to. Through the story of Hannah and the call of the Great Commission, we're reminded that revival isn't sustained by emotion—it's sustained by people who refuse to lose their desperation for God's presence. Using passages from 1 Samuel, Matthew 28, Deuteronomy 8, and Mark 4, we explore: • Why desperation is the birthplace of revival • How comparison and competition distract us from God's purpose • The danger of becoming comfortable after God blesses us • Why God's blessings should increase our intimacy with Him—not replace it • What it means to carry the presence of God into everyday life • Why the Great Commission is a calling, not a suggestion • How spiritual hunger produces boldness, faith, and obedience This message isn't just about revival services. It's about becoming the kind of person who carries revival wherever God sends you. The enemy isn't always trying to destroy your faith. Sometimes he's simply trying to satisfy you enough that you stop pursuing God. Don't let comfort replace hunger. Don't let blessing replace dependence. Stay desperate for the presence of God. "People who are desperate are people who are dangerous."

Following God has never depended on living in the right place. It has always depended on having the right heart. In this message, we continue our journey Through the Bible by following God's people through exile. Jerusalem has fallen. The Temple has been destroyed. Israel has been carried into Babylon. Yet even in a foreign land, God continues to raise up faithful men and women to accomplish His purposes. Using passages from Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and 1 Peter, we explore: • Why God allowed Israel to go into exile • How Daniel and his friends remained faithful in Babylon • The purpose of the Old Testament prophets • God's promise to restore His people after 70 years • Ezra and Nehemiah's mission to rebuild Jerusalem • How God used Esther to save His people • Why God's presence isn't confined to a building • What it means to live faithfully in a culture that doesn't follow God This message isn't just about Israel's exile. It's about ours. As followers of Jesus, we live in a world that isn't our home. But like Daniel... Like Esther... Like Nehemiah... God has placed us exactly where we are for a purpose. You don't have to become like the culture to make a difference in the culture. You can love God, stand firm in your faith, and be used by Him—even in Babylon. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place... And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” — Esther 4:14

Success doesn't always bring us closer to God. Sometimes, it causes us to forget Him. In this message, we continue our journey Through the Bible by tracing Israel's story through Judges, Samuel, the Kings, and the divided kingdom. Again and again, we see the same pattern: God blesses His people, they become comfortable, and their hearts slowly drift away. Using passages from Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 2 Kings, we explore: • Why Israel repeatedly turned away from God after entering the Promised Land • The danger of doing "whatever seems right" in our own eyes • Why Israel demanded a king instead of trusting God • The rise and fall of Saul, David, and Solomon • How compromise slowly leads to spiritual decline • Why blessing is not always the same as God's approval • The danger of putting our hope in political power instead of God • How to recognize the subtle ways our hearts drift from the Lord This message isn't just about Israel's history. It's about our tendency to forget God when life is going well. Spiritual drift rarely happens overnight. It happens one compromise... one distraction... one act of partial obedience at a time. “The tragedy of our time is that the situation is desperate, but the saints are not.” — Vance Havner