I’m going to make a bold statement: you don’t even know God; you haven’t even begun to know God unless you have the fear of the Lord. Okay, you just finished chapter 29. Wow, do I love this section! As a matter of fact, this section and the next are [...]

Okay, you just got through with chapter 18, and we’re going to talk about this. I love the subject of longevity. I want to finish well; I don’t just want to start well; I want to finish well. As a matter of fact, you know I have a ministry goal. You [...]

Because Peter actually wrote in his letter that we are to obey governing authorities, when a governing authority tells you to do something contrary to the Word of God, we must do what the Word of God says. Okay, great job! You finished now Chapter [...]

Develop a discipline in your heart that you will obey God instantly and finish what He tells you to do. Congratulations, you’ve gotten through Chapter 27—I’m so proud of you! Thank you for faithfully journeying through this book. Now, let’s talk [...]

They said, «God, we love You as long as You’re giving us what we want when we want it, but we don’t love You very much right now because we’re not getting what we want.» Okay, you just finished Chapter 11, and I know this chapter is riveting when [...]

If you’ve got someone they call an athlete the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), I’ll tell you Jesus is the greatest of all time. All right? Just read chapter 6, and I want to dive deeper into this one. I’m going to kind of go off script and give you a [...]

Okay, we’re on chapter 23. I’m so proud of how you are journeying through this book, and this particular chapter is so important. I want to open it with this statement: if we delay our obedience to God’s word for personal excuses, we communicate [...]

Fears that they’ve fought for years immediately leave when they embrace the holy fear of God. Why? Because you are no longer yours, and you’re no longer responsible for you; He now is responsible. All right, you just read Chapter 37. Let’s go a [...]

The most important thing we must do is to protect our conscience. All right, we’re at the end of the fourth week. You’ve just read chapter 28, and I love this chapter because it emphasizes what is important for enduring to the end. Now let me say [...]

Let’s face it: Jesus is not visible to our eyes, and we don’t hear Him audibly with our ears. Because of that, we could create a Jesus who isn’t the real Jesus at the right hand of God. You just read Chapter 30, and what I want to do now is dive a [...]

Okay, we’re starting the final section of this book: the last seven chapters, the last week of your journey to the holy fear of God. Believe me, this is not an exhaustive message, but it’s going to set you on a good start, and I know the Holy Spirit [...]

It is one thing to think you can hide something from your parents; it’s another thing to think we can hide something from God. Okay, you just read chapter 10. Man, this is getting in-depth; it’s getting good, and it’s changing our lives. Just know [...]

The fear that swallows up all other fears, including the biggest one of all, the fear of man, is the holy fear of God. Okay, we’re starting our third week; you just read chapter 15. Wow, the fear of man! Now, I just want to share something I have [...]

Can you listen to that word again? God says wisdom will make you great. Okay, chapter 39 is a little longer than the other chapters because it is such an important subject. If you look at the Bible, it says that the fear of the Lord is the [...]

John, what’s the one message, the one book you would hand to somebody if you could only tell them one thing? It would definitely be this book. I am so delighted that you’re reading this book, and I feel like I get a chance to disciple you. I want to [...]

The fear doesn’t mean we’re scared of God; I’m going to say it again because I want to make sure you understand this. It means we’re terrified of being away from Him. It means we’re terrified of being outside of obedience. Okay, you just finished [...]

Aren’t we all friends of God because we’re born again in the New Testament? Well, that’s not necessarily true. All right, you just completed chapter 35; let’s dive a little deeper. All right, you’re saying, «John, yeah, Moses was the friend of God; [...]

So the question is not what is your value to other human beings; the real question is, what is your value to God? Okay, guys, you have just read chapter 8. We’re in a brand-new section, and we are beginning our journey now in our second week of this [...]

God hates it when we are deceptive, when we lie, when we give impressions to people that are not true. God doesn’t like this. Okay, guys, we have just finished reading chapter 12, and this one’s a doozy. We open up with Jesus talking to His [...]

It’s the big statement of the chapter: you will never find God’s presence in an atmosphere where He is not held with the utmost respect. Okay, you just completed chapter 4, and I want to go in-depth about God’s tangible presence. Now, let me make [...]

Well, let me tell you, a child molester can be kind and patient while he’s ruining someone’s life. Okay, you’ve gotten through Chapter 3, and I’ve given you kind of an outline of the definition of the fear of the Lord. I think, by reading this, you [...]

Remember, the fear of the Lord affects our inward desires, which gives us the ability to do His good pleasure: the grace of God. Okay, chapter 21. We’re at the end of the third week, and I love this chapter because it kind of brings the whole [...]

Let me tell you something: I want, with all my heart, to be a friend of God. But just like you and I choose our friends, you just finished chapter 33; now let’s dive a little deeper into it. Okay? Whoa, whoa, whoa! Abraham is called the friend of [...]

God never asks anything of us in the New Testament that He doesn’t give us the power to do. All right, we’re at the beginning of the fourth week, and you’ve just read chapter 22. This is such an important and exciting section because it shows you [...]

I asked the first question: when did you fall out of love with Jesus? We just read chapter 17, and it’s a real eye-opener. As a matter of fact, the first person who read the manuscript said to me, «It really clicked for me when I heard what the [...]

Listen to this again: don’t slip back into your old ways of living. What were the old ways of living? They were to satisfy your own desires. Okay, we just got through with Day 16. Now, in Day 15, I kind of touched on entitlement. I want to dive [...]

All right, so we’re on session four already; can you believe it? I’m driven by the attorney. Are you enjoying this? If you enjoyed that, you’ll really enjoy what’s coming because the best three are about to come. This is why we do this: we want to [...]

This final lesson is on the new wine. Okay, so let’s go to Isaiah and read here: «Do not remember the former things, that’s the way God used to move through you or through others, nor consider the things of old. Behold, look and see, I will do a new [...]

Okay, so the Wilderness is basically when God seems like He’s a million miles away and His promises even further. Right? We understand that. I mean, let’s make it even more real. Do you remember? Go back with me to when you first got saved. You gave [...]

All right now, I’m going to open up with three scriptures this morning, like I did in the previous service. How many of you are in here double dipping? I’m curious. Okay, so we have a whole new group in here this morning with the exception of a few. [...]

I’m out praying one night; Lisa and I lived in an apartment here in Dallas, and there’s a field next to a construction area where no buildings had been built yet. I used to go out there and pray a lot, and one night, late at night, while I’m [...]

Hey everybody, welcome to lesson seven of «Drawing Near: A Life of Intimacy with God.» The title of this lesson is «With Whom God Dwells.» Listen to the word «dwells.» Alright, so let’s go back to our foundational scripture: James chapter 4, verse [...]

If those words are ever going through your heart, what is better for me? They can actually keep you from experiencing the intimacy that you want from God and the blessings that you desire from God. Hey, everybody, welcome to lesson three of «Drawing [...]

Welcome to the Bait of Satan, Session Two. I have put a title on this one: «How Could This Happen to Me?» (exclamation mark and question mark). In Chapter Three of the book, we’re discussing the two different categories of Christians who are [...]

All right, hey! It’s great to see you guys, and welcome to session one of The Bait of Satan. I’m so excited about this. You know, it’s an over-20-year-old message, and we’ve literally seen millions of people ministered to, with hundreds of thousands [...]

We don’t complain. The number one group that I showed you are the Christians who were the complainers, and the number three group is the Christians who fear the Lord. We want to be that number three group; can you say Amen to that? Don’t try to [...]

What’s so important about this course is that we are developing you to be hearers of God so you can be proper ambassadors of the Kingdom you have chosen so wisely. Through this course on hearing God, I believe that it will shape your life. I think [...]

Hey everyone, welcome to lesson six. Wow, we’re cruising through this drawing near to a life of intimacy with God. The title of this lesson, and it’s probably one of my favorites, is called «True Worship.» Alright, let me read this: deception awaits [...]

Okay, I can’t believe this! We’re in session six; it’s the final session of «The Bait of Satan.» Have you enjoyed this? Okay, great! You know, can I tell you, I am so grateful to the Lord because I had a great man of God look at me and say, «John, [...]

Hey everyone, welcome to lesson five of «Drawing Near: A Life of Intimacy with God.» The title of this lesson is «What Hinders True Intimacy?» After what we’ve seen in the first couple of lessons, the question still remains: why are so many people [...]

Okay, welcome to Lesson Four. We’re going to go to our foundational scripture: «For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.» The word «fear» is better translated as «timidity.» So listen again: God did not give us [...]

Welcome to another lesson on hearing God! I’m so excited about this course. Now first of all, I want to address: «Why, John, are you on a different set?» Well, we had a studio for all the other lessons, but there are two lessons that our producers [...]

Guys, I want to say this: today, in our society, this mentality has even crept into the church. We assume that if something is good, we automatically identify it as being of God. In other words, we’ve almost made good and God synonymous. Because, [...]

All right, we’re in the final lesson. I’m so proud of all you guys for staying with this course. Let me just mention that I’m going to cover a lot of material; I will skim it briefly—about three chapters' worth of material. I highly advise that [...]

Hey everybody, welcome to Lesson Four of «Drawing Near: A Life of Intimacy with God,» based on the book «Drawing Near.» This lesson is titled «Behind the Veil.» I must say this one is going to be scripture-heavy, so I will need to stick closely to [...]

Hey everybody, welcome to Drawing Near. This is lesson two, and the title of this lesson is «Protect Your Hunger.» I was having a conversation with a believer one day, and he made this statement to me. He said, «You know, the more I have walked with [...]

I want to welcome you to our Round Table discussion. We decided to do this to delve deeper into each of these lessons, and I have some great and knowledgeable people around me. These are individuals who have walked through offenses to help you walk [...]

Hey everyone, welcome to Lesson 9 of «Drawing Near: A Life of Intimacy with God.» Now, I will say this: this was supposed to be an eight-lesson course; however, there was no way I could leave out touching on this final point. So, this will be a [...]

How many of you know Joseph in the Bible? Come on, everybody should know Joseph, right? I mean, he has to be one of my favorite characters in the Old Testament. Joseph is this young man to whom God gives dreams of great leadership. He clearly shows [...]

Welcome to another lesson on hearing God, and I’m so excited about this lesson because I’m going to talk to you about the practicals, and I’m going to share experiences I’ve had to enter the presence of God. This course is all about, number one, [...]