Biblical Moments with Frank King

Repentance is a change of mind that results in the turning of one’s heart to God. Hence, whenever genuine repentance occurs, at least two things happen. The person has a change of mind, and the person’s heart is turned toward God. In this episode, Frank King addresses the importance and the power of the message of repentance.
The message of repentance can be offensive. In effect, it sheds light on a person’s current or past misconduct. And no matter how lovingly you convey it, people take the message personally.
Some people today are down on the message of repentance. They argue that under the grace dispensation, repentance is not required even for salvation. But when John the Baptist came, he preached the message of repentance. When Jesus came, He confirmed the need to repent. In Luke 13:3, He said to the people, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. In Acts 3:19, Peter told the people to repent so their sins may be blotted out.
Jonah the Prophet's Message
God sent Jonah the prophet to preach to the people of Nineveh. His message was simple. He said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:5, KJV).
Jonah’s message was one of the most efficient sermons in all the Bible. According to the Scriptures, it was a one liner.  It yielded a penitent response unlike any other place in the Bible. “The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”
God responded favorably to the people’s response to Jonah’s message. He changed His mind and chose to not destroy Nineveh as He had intended. Hence, God used Jonah’s simple but in-your-face message to bring the city to repentance and to avert God’s judgment.
Every genuine Christian has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9, KJV). Continued misconduct in the eyes of God grieves the Holy Spirit. But God does not want you going around carrying the load of guilt and/or shame.
Instead, He wants you to turn your heart toward Him, so you can be freed from that guilt or shame. That’s what the message of repentance is all about.
 

Generally speaking, everybody today is traveling on one of two roads. They are either on the right road or the wrong road. In this episode, Evangelist Frank King addresses these two roads in life.
During His public ministry, Jesus warned His followers about the road that leads to destruction. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat” He said (Matthew 7:13, KJV).
In effect, Jesus is telling us to not follow the crowd because the majority is wrong. This goes against the grain of human logic. It feels right to us to blend in with the crowd and not to “stick out like a sore thumb.” But the truth is that most people in the world today are headed in the wrong direction.
Jesus says the way that leads to life is narrow and few find it (verse 14). Think about that word find. The primary way we find something is by looking for it. Of course, sometimes you find something by stumbling upon it. But the main way you find something is by looking for it.
Jesus is the way that leads life. He says no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). Hence, the way that leads to life is a restricted road. It’s not all-inclusive. One does not get to have it his way. That’s why few will find the road and gate that leads to life.
That Was Then, This Is Now
Jesus gave this warning about the two roads in life 2000 years ago. Even then, He says the majority was on the wrong road. In other words, this was not some prophetic teaching about the last days. Jesus was speaking to the people of His day. But the problem has become worse today. That is, wider is the gate and broader is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be who enter there.
Ironically, what we see happening today is the Christian church trying to be more like the world. You don’t see the world trying to be like the church. But in some ways, the church is trying to be more like the world. However, Jesus says the world is on the wrong road. How crazy is that?
Of course, we are called to reach the world for Christ. Our message must be relevant to the world we are called to reach. On the other hand, we can’t change the world through trying to be like the world. Nor can we add to the gospel by taking from its message to appease the world. “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it.”
 

A Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Jesus told the man he needed to be born again.  Then Jesus explained the plan of God for the lost more completely. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up,” Jesus said (John 3:14, KJV).
The event Jesus alluded to is recorded in the book of Numbers. The people of God were in the wilderness. During their journey, God led them around the city of Edom, which was longer than going directly through it.
The people became discouraged and railed against Moses. They accused him of having brought them in the wilderness to die. God judged their complaining and sent fiery serpents against them. These serpents had the sting of death, and many of the people died (Numbers 21:6).
After the people humbled themselves, God told Moses to place a brazen serpent on a pole. Whoever looked upon the brazen serpent on the pole, after having been bitten, would live (verse 8). It was not enough for Moses to place the brazen serpent on the pole. The victim had to physically look upon the serpent on the pole to live.
Our Only Cure for the Sting of Death
The brazen serpent on the pole was a foreshadow of lifting up Jesus. This phrase is a reference to Jesus being lifted from the earth to be placed upon a cross.
We all received the sting of death because of Adam’s disobedience in the garden. The only cure available for this sting of death is Jesus. Just as the people in the wilderness had to look upon the serpent for healing, sinners must look to and believe in Jesus to be healed.
Jesus explained to Nicodemus that God is the Author of this plan of salvation through Christ. Because of His obedience to the cross, God has highly exalted Him. Whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
It stands to reason that if we want to see more people saved, the church must become more diligent in lifting up Jesus. But we have allowed our voice for Christ to become muted in the public discourse. Everything else is being lifted up in the world. We need to do the same with regard to the name and person of Jesus Christ.
Churchgoers know how to exalt the name of Jesus when they come together at the house of God. But not so much after the leave the house of God. Not so much in the office or among relatives who don’t know the Lord.
We should exalt the name and person of Christ when we gather. But even more so, we must lift Him up before a dying world. He is the only One who can save us from the sting of death that came through sin.

In this episode, Frank King addresses something we seldom talk about in the church today. The Bible has much to say about it. That is the subject of moral failure. This involves an act that a person carries out when he knows he should not carry it out. For Christians, our source for knowing what we should or should not do is the Word of God.
Though Christians are born again, they can still experience moral failure. That’s because they are yet clothed in corruptible flesh.
It is important to state that no degree of moral excellence will get us into heaven. On the other hand, we are called to live our life to bring glory to the Lord. A lifestyle marked by immoral behavior cannot accomplish that end.
Frank explains that when fellow believers fail morally, we should be firm toward them when we need to be firm. For instance, when a person keeps repeating the same kind of offenses and claims to be a believer.  At other times, we should be compassionate toward those overcome by moral failure. Equally, we need wisdom to know when to do which.
Who Is Qualified to Help
A problem in today's church is that some congregants are like the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to the temple to Jesus. They acted as if they wanted to do the right thing toward the woman. But they were just using her and her moral failure to try to entrap Jesus (John 8:6).
They didn’t care about how humiliated and demoralized the woman must have felt. It was all about exploiting her failure to do evil in the house of God.
Some people in the church today are like those religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They love exposing the failure of others to make themselves appear morally superior.
So, the all-important question is who in church is best suited for ministering to those who have failed morally. Some in the church are not qualified for this ministry.
About that, Paul writes, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, NASB). So, according to this verse, those who are spiritual in the church should be the ones to reach out to the person who needs to be ministered to after his or her misdeed.

Trusting God is defined as the firm belief that He is faithful, reliable, and true to His promises. But oftentimes, when we say we are trusting God, it’s hard to determine if we really are when we have alternatives at the same time. The more resources we have, the more difficult it can be to determine how much we are really trusting God when we say that we are.
In this episode, Frank King says it is when we have no “Plan B” that we must truly trust God. That is when He is glorified. And to glorify Him is what we have been called to do.
Possibly, for all of us, times will come when our resources, no matter how vast they are, can't help us. That’s when God is calling us to trust Him completely. The question is, will our faith rise to the occasion.
Furthermore, we are commanded to live our life fully trusting God. The psalmist writes, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. And He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB).
Gideon's Experience
In the days of the Judges, God called a man by the name of Gideon to lead His people against the Midianites. The children of Israel had done evil in the sight of God (Judges 6:1). He in turn delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. That’s why they were where they were.
It was at the end of those seven years of bondage that God called on Gideon to lead His people. The Midianites were a fierce army. Gideon was intimidated by the task. He asked God to show him some signs that He would be with him, which God did.
Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 men. But God said to him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands. For Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me’” (Judges 7:2, NASB). Through a series of events, God reduced Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to 300 men.
God told Gideon he was now ready to go and fight. With only 300 men, Gideon had no choice but to trust the Lord.
If you desire to do anything relevant for the Lord, you must trust Him for a successful outcome. You can’t effectively do in your own strength what He is calling you to do. But if you trust Him, He will show Himself faithful on your behalf. That was Gideon’s experience.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NASB). These words penned by Paul the apostle underscore the importance of believing in the bodily resurrection of Christ. Our eternal salvation depends upon it. That is the focus of this Easter episode by Frank King.
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul addressed the church members who said there is no resurrection of the dead. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen,” Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:13, KJV). 
Paul also saw the argument that there is no resurrection from the dead as an attack on the credibility of the apostles.  He said, “We are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not” (verse 15).
All the apostles saw the Lord Jesus Christ with their own eyes. The original twelve were with Him throughout His public ministry. After He returned to heaven, they became witnesses of His life, His death, and His bodily resurrection.
A false witness is a person who claims to have seen something that he has not seen. That’s, in effect, what the apostles would be, Paul argued, if there is no resurrection of the dead.
Believing Having Not Seen
Just as it was in the church at Corinth, some who listen to this episode may not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They wrestle with the idea of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Perhaps many who attend church weekly have the same struggle. This is not a minor issue. Rather, it is a matter of eternal consequences. That’s why Paul so passionately addressed the subject in his letter to the church.
According to the Scriptures, early on that first day of the week, God raised Jesus bodily from the grave. He took victory from the grave and the sting out of death. Because He lives, those who believe in Him will live forevermore. And that’s what we celebrate this awesome time of the year we call Easter.
Everything we hope for and live for rests upon the fact that God raised Christ bodily from the grave. That’s why this is such a big deal for us. And why Paul was inspired to challenge the unbelievers in the church on this matter.
But accepting the bodily resurrection of Christ is a matter of faith. None of us have witnessed it. No one can show us infallible proof of the same. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” Jesus said (John 20:29, KJV).

No matter how long you live as a Christian, plenty room will always exist in your life to become more like Christ. The good news is that God is still working in your life toward that end. This episode addresses God’s progressive work in our life.
The basis of this episode is found in the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians. There he writes, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, KJV).
Note that Paul refers to God’s work in us as a “good work.” Furthermore, until the day of Christ, should we live until then, God will be working to perfect His good work in us.
Accordingly, we must be careful and not judge a person based upon some current snapshot we see of the person. Every genuine believer in Christ is a good work in progress. How we see someone today is no indication of who he will be tomorrow. That this is true attests to God’s progressive work in us. He wants to make and mold each of us into the image of His Son.
It is important to note that this episode is not about salvation. Salvation is an instant and complete work of God in our life. If someone were to genuinely accept Christ as his or her Savior today and die tonight, that person will go to be with the Lord. This episode, however, addresses our spiritual growth, which is not instant but ongoing.
Cooperating with the Process
We can impede God’s progressive work in our life. We should instead cooperate with what God is doing in us. He does not force change upon our life. This is the reason some Christians grow more quickly than others do.
Imagine that you are on the interstate, and you find out that some road work is going on. The exit you need to take is closed temporarily. So, you must go down a couple more exits and then take some back roads to get to where you are going. Going that way still gets you to your destination; it’s just a longer route because of the roadblock.
That’s the situation with God’s efforts to further His work in some Christians’ lives. They build personal detours and roadblocks to what God wants to accomplish in their life. So, He has to work through those issues with them. He can still get them where He wants to take them. But it takes longer when we don’t cooperate with His ongoing good work in us.

We all have physical, emotional, and mental limitations. That means a limit exists as to how much we can be subjected to physically, emotionally, or mentally. No one is an exception to that reality.
Consider our men and women in the military. Upon entry, they are mentally and physically strong. But even for them, a limit exists as to what they can be subjected to before they become overwhelmed physically, emotionally, or mentally. Hence, it’s not unusual for some of them to return from the horrors of war experiencing mental and emotional trauma.
The reason this is true is because God has not made any of us to carry the weight of our world upon our own shoulders. Those who try to do so will learn that to be true. Our ability to endure and overcome overwhelming situations in life is a function of our relationship with the Lord. This episode addresses four Christian principles every Christian should incorporate into his or her life.
Salvation Is Not Enough
We have not arrived just because we have accepted Christ as our Savior and become born again. After this conversion, we have only just begun. Of course, that experience is enough to get us into heaven. But meanwhile, we must live down here. And our adversary the devil wants to destroy us.
About that Peter writes, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, KJV). Paraphrase: If you are a Christian, the devil is your enemy, and he wants to destroy you. That’s why the Christian principles discussed in this episode are important. They will help you to be victorious, amid the enemy’s assaults against you.
Incorporating these principles into your life is not a requirement for salvation. Rather, they are a matter of your quality of life as a Christian. They will enable you to live a more effective and fulfilled Christian life. The better you are at incorporating these Christian principles into your life, the stronger and more rooted in the faith your life will be.