Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

When you receive a wedding invitation from a friend or a loved one, there is usually a dress code listed among the details for the celebration. If you show up underdressed to a black tie formal event, you may be turned away from participating in the occasion. Well, Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the wedding ceremony of the Lamb demands the strictest dress code. You must be clothed in the robes of salvation to attend, and that only comes from accepting Jesus into your life.

There are lots of people who make a living off of trying to tell you how to find relief and healing from this painful life. Talk show hosts, podcasters, health gurus, and even some pastors will claim to have the secret cure that no one else has. But Pastor Jeff reminds you today that only one person can actually follow through on what they promise, and that person is Jesus Christ. If you are weary and worn down by the trials of this world, come to the cross of Christ and lay your burdens on His shoulders.

If you want to be an example of the love of Jesus in this world, you need to learn how to control your tongue. Your attitude on the inside can change to match the words you have been speaking on the outside, if you’re not careful. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the first thing you must do to turn your heart around is to get your speech under control. Not only will your words cause harm to those around you, but they may also leave doors open in your soul for sin to seep back in.

Love is the fuel that propels the Gospel across the world. When you look at the miracles of Jesus, His first response to someone is to show someone love and compassion before addressing their needs. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that when you have love for your brothers and sisters in Christ, the bonds that are formed are stronger than anything that the world can break. The unity of the body of Christ is what gives it its strength, and that love becomes part of the testimony of the global Church.

When you’re learning to drive a car, operate heavy machinery, or even shoot a firearm, the first thing you learn about is safety. That’s because, if mishandled, those objects can cause destruction and pain to those around you. But unfortunately, one of the most dangerous tools you can wield doesn’t come with a safety manual: your speech. Pastor Jeff encourages you today to learn to exercise self-control with your words, to make sure that your words are building others up, and not tearing them down.

Eventually, every believer will have to acknowledge and surrender their rights to Jesus. When He purchased your salvation, He also purchased the rights to your life! Your duty for the rest of this time on Earth, and your time in the life to come, is to serve the will of God. So, Pastor Jeff reminds you today that when you acknowledge that need for surrender now, while you’re still living on Earth, you will be able to better manage your anger and not react as strongly to injustices against you.

Jesus doesn’t just want to be held on the same level as some kind of historical figure, who taught good life lessons and lived a peaceful life. No, Jesus demands the glory that is due to Him! Pastor Jeff implores you today to not be satisfied when people say that Jesus was just a good man, because He isn’t just a good man! Jesus is God, and Jesus is man. His dual nature is the whole point of the Gospel – God became man and made His dwelling among the human race. That’s what set Jesus apart.

It’s important to understand that not only did Jesus humble Himself to take on a human nature, but He also stepped into the concept of time. Scripture shows that God doesn’t function on a timeline like the human race does; He is the beginning and the end at the same time. But Pastor Jeff teaches you today that there was a specific event, the Incarnation, where God took on human flesh and came to Earth in the form of Jesus. A person who had a fully godly and a fully human nature, at the same time.

When you’re working on a jigsaw puzzle, a common tactic is to piece together all the edge pieces first and then work your way inwards until the puzzle is complete. But if you are missing pieces, it will be impossible to have a complete puzzle. Pastor Jeff says today that without God in your heart, your life is missing a huge puzzle piece. The world will try and give you sex, drugs, and sinful behavior to fill the hole in your life, but only the presence of God can bring lasting restoration.

In any team sport, there are substitute players who may spend the entire game waiting for their chance to make an impact on the field of play. And when their number is called, whether as part of the normal flow of the game or in the case of unexpected injury, they need to be ready to make an impact for their team. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that it also falls on you to be ready to make an impact for the Kingdom of God when your pastor or leader calls on you. How can your talents be of use to the Lord?

If you were to ask someone to describe you in one sentence, their description would probably be lacking. That’s because humans are complex beings, changing over time due to experience, wisdom, and even time. So, Pastor Jeff reminds you today that your assignment in ministry may change over time as well. While you may have a single gift that you are most used to, God may use you in ways that you don’t expect for a season! The Lord is a creative God, and He can use you in many ways.

Every single athlete who wins a championship does so because they had a solid team behind them. Even in individual sports, a fierce competitor has coaches and trainers to help them hone their skills. Pastor Jeff wants you to know today that you can’t go out and start a new work for God on your own. You’re not meant to! The Lord has placed people around you to guide you and assist you. Without guidance and accountability, you won’t be able to complete the mission that God has given you.

The apostles of the New Testament held some very important roles in forming the early Church. Much of what we know about the life and ministry of Jesus comes from the accounts of the apostles throughout the New Testament. Pastor Jeff teaches you today about how the apostles wrote words without error by the guiding of the Holy Spirit, and how those words give life to a Church today whose members believe despite not being direct witnesses to Jesus’ ministry on Earth.

When you get the keys to a car, you’re not being given the keys so that you can show off your influence and authority to others! You’re given those keys so that you can put the vehicle to use, to transport people or things where they need to go! Pastor Jeff teaches the importance of understanding that while Peter was given the “keys to the Kingdom” by Jesus, he wasn’t being given a role of authority. Peter was being empowered to serve others, to meet them on their level and share the Gospel with them.

When Jesus encourages you to have endurance, He isn’t trying to say that salvation is something you can just lose! Rather, the endurance that Jesus is talking about is the ability to withstand the world’s trials. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the world will try all kinds of deception and trickery to distract you from the path of righteousness. But as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus and on following the path He has set for your life, you’ll be able to withstand the storms the world is throwing at you. 

How do you react when you meet a fellow believer who has a different viewpoint from you? Most denominations within the Church have more in common than you might realize. Pastor Jeff reminds you that it isn’t worth the effort to get into petty fights with your fellow believers about minor issues of doctrine or theology. The body of Christ needs to present a unified front against a world lost in sin. The world needs to see the light that is present when the Church is united against evil.

What do you see when you look in a mirror? The image you see isn’t a real object, but it is a reflection of the environment around it. And just like a mirror, your life is a reflection of God’s work within you! So, Pastor Jeff wants to ask you some simple questions today: Are you a good reflection of the Lord? Are you representing Him well to the world around you? Pastor Jeff will show you Paul’s three commandments in the book of Ephesians that guide you to become that better reflection.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus says that He is knocking at the door of your heart, waiting for you to let Him in. And in today’s message, Pastor Jeff teaches you that God will work in your life only if you let Him in. All throughout history, you can find examples of God working in the lives of people, and turning them into vessels of His Glory, but He first requires the person to let Him in. Will you answer the Lord when He calls to you, or will you keep your heart shut and miss out on His plans for you?

There are some people who are born with the unique gift of a photographic memory. In the most extreme of cases, they can even memorize pages of information with just a short glance. But what Pastor Jeff wants you to realize today is that you can memorize every single verse of Scripture, every single description of God’s character, and still not really know Him. Intellectual pursuit can only get you so far, you need to have a personal relationship with Jesus in order to be truly saved.

What you believe about God is just as important as believing in Him to begin with! If you only think of Him as a vengeful and wrathful God, you probably won’t have a very good relationship with Him. But Pastor Jeff reminds you today to focus in on what Scripture says about God’s character. He is a father who loves His children, the shepherd who leaves 99 to go after the one, and a God who gave His own Son to redeem the debt of your sin. If that’s not a God worth entrusting with your life, who is?

Do you consider yourself to be someone who is easily offended? Well, being a Christian is going to be a difficult challenge if that is the case. Pastor Jeff shows you today how Jesus wants you not to be easily offended, and to instead react with grace and love towards those who persecute you. Don’t allow yourself to be steamrolled by someone making credible threats against you, but when you show that you aren’t afraid to be called names because of your faith, those insults will just slide off your back.

Are you ever worried about blaspheming the Holy Spirit? About committing the unforgivable sin? Well, Pastor Jeff encourages you that by listening to this program today, you are, in fact, innocent of blasphemy! The Pharisees were guilty of blasphemy because they knew that Jesus fulfilled all of the signs of the Messiah, and yet they chose to accuse him of working under the power of Satan. They were looking the Son of God right in the face and called him a demon. Blasphemy requires intention.

Many game shows will offer their contestants the chance to give up all of their winnings for the chance to win a mystery prize. The contestants don’t know for sure if the mystery prize is worth the risk, but many choose to go after the mystery prize anyway. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that following Jesus is way better than a game show! Your human mind is unable to comprehend the wonders of His Glory, but you can know for certain that they are far greater than anything you can gain on this Earth.

You can’t force a church to be healthy. Even in a small congregation, there are too many factors at play for someone to just decide that the church is healthy now. Instead, it takes a dedicated effort from every member to grow in their faith and to commit themselves to deeper fellowship with each other. But Pastor Jeff reminds you that when a church becomes spiritually healthy, the presence of God becomes unmistakable! Every bit of effort is worth it when it comes to building strong faith communities.

Peace is a valuable commodity in today’s world. There is conflict everywhere you look, and there is almost always an excuse for people to get into fights with each other. So when Pastor Jeff says today that Jesus is your peace, he means that the Lord surpasses every barrier that mankind tries to use to divide. Racial tensions, national identities, political ideologies, all of these earthly constructs crumble into dust in the presence of Jesus. All of mankind is united in its need for a Savior.

The best marksmen train their entire lives just to hit their target more consistently and from greater distances. But did you know that you have a target to hit in life, and if you miss even once, your soul is forfeit? Well, that’s what it’s like trying to live up to the perfect standards of righteousness found in the Bible. But Pastor Jeff brings you a message of hope today, because now you don’t have to live up to the perfect standard! Jesus’ gift of salvation is enough to account for every sin you will ever commit.

Do you understand what it means to have the power of Jesus living inside you? It means that when you are faced with ridicule in this world, or you are faced with storms, you have the tools you need to keep from getting blown over! Pastor Jeff encourages you with today’s message, reminding you that you can do all things through Jesus! The Lord is constantly working within you, shaping and forming you into a greater reflection of His love. That presence becomes magnetic inside you.

When you think about the symbol of the cross in today’s age, you almost certainly think of it in relation to Jesus. But two thousand years ago, the cross symbolized a torturous death reserved for criminals. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that when Jesus said to take up your cross, it means that you will have to give something up. Maybe it’s a relationship, maybe it’s a sinful habit that you indulge in, but there is always going to be something you must lose in order to follow the way of Christ.

If you looked at a world map from two hundred years ago, you’d see dozens of countries that exist today either didn’t exist back then, or had completely different names. It seems that every few years, a government falls, only to be replaced with another. Well, Pastor Jeff encourages you today to remember that Jesus is coming to establish an eternal Kingdom! While there may be conflict and struggle on the Earth right now, the time is coming when there will be no more war, only God’s eternal peace.

Did you know that your life is proof of the grace of God? Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the change that goes on in your life when you come to know Jesus isn’t just internal; it can be seen by other people around you as well! As you become more and more like Jesus, those people who knew you before will take notice. Just by living your life for God, you become a living testimony! That kind of testimony can be even more effective in spreading the Gospel than an altar call or a street preacher.

You may be asking yourself, “Why do I need to be saved?” Many people believe that their good deeds in this life will bring them rewards in the life to come. But Pastor Jeff is here to put those thoughts to bed in today’s message. Humanity has been cursed by its sinful nature, and there is no way to cleanse yourself from it. Only an outside intercessor is able to save you from the penalty of your sin, but God sent His Son to be that intercessor for the entire human race. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.