Recent Episodes
In this podcast, Dr. Daniel Gualtieri shares important strategies for running your race—the race that God has called you to—and crossing the finish line to win the prize.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win (1 Cor. 9:24 NASB).
You have to prepare and condition yourself much more before you run the actual race. This is what the Christian life is all about—preparing yourself with the Word and studying to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We also need to be led by the Holy Spirit so we can run our own race, and not someone else’s.
The race itself is short compared to the preparation time that is much longer. We need to show up for practice and make ourselves experts in the Word of God so that we will be ready to fulfill the assignment that God has given to each and every one of us. Our goal is not only to run the race, but to win and receive the prize. That means spending time in God’s Word, putting the Word in our heart and speaking it out of our mouth.
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Prov. 4:20-23).
Instead of listening to the voices and lies of the world, we need to put a demand on our senses to obey the Word of God. We need to find what the Word says about the affairs of this life and how to live our own Christian walk, including relationships, marriage, finances, healing and health. If we are going to win, we need to have a very close relationship with God through His Word.
It is important for us to find our own pace and breath in the race, making sure that we can perform and finish the race, and that we do not overspend our strength in the beginning. Remember, we can’t run someone else’s race.
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14 ESV).
The only way to get the prize is to cross the finish line. Make sure to prepare yourself and have enough resources and energy to cross the finish line. Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Hide the Word of God in your heart. Don’t speak the problem, but speak the solution. Challenge yourself every day to live a life of love, joy, peace, and all the fruit of the Spirit. Run in such a way to win the race!
In this podcast, Pastor Dan Olson expounds on several vital strategies for hitting the bullseye and staying on target in the ministry which is our lifelong goal.
Philippians 3:13-14: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
It takes commitment and determination to stay on target in the ministry. God wants us to run with purpose, stay on target and finish our race.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27: Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
We need to continue to stay in the Word of God, not out of legalism but for our own spiritual growth. It is vital for us to be continually filled. When we are full of the Word of God, we will continue to grow, mature and recognize deception.
2 Timothy 2:15: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Being part of a ministerial organization, like ICFM, is a source of fellowship and relationships with other ministers. We need to continue to be enriched and hear testimonials that encourage each other. Having friends in the ministry will help you not get off track if you are willing for them to speak into your life. No minister can do it all by themselves. Make sure you have good friends that you can count on, fellowship with and encourage each other. This is so important.
Don’t allow hurt or offenses to stop you from fulfilling your ministry and staying on target for the Lord. Being full of anxiety and worrying will only hinder you spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. Cast your cares on the Lord. We all face challenges in our life and ministry but God is the One who will cause us to overcome.
In his message, Pastor Tom Leuther shares valuable insights from Acts 10 about Cornelius being a History Maker and a World Shaker. He was the first gentile to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. His life impacted history and generations to come.
God has a plan for your life. Rejoice because you are making a difference right where you are at. What you are doing is changing history. Don’t give up! Don’t quit!
Don’t overlook the significant by looking for the spectacular. God is in the little things we do. When we are faithful over the little things, God will bless us with more.
Even when you are on pause, you are still growing because you are discipling the people who are with you. You are growing them and preparing them for the Kingdom of God.
Let’s not limit God by comparing ourselves to others. Wherever you are at is an important position in the Kingdom of God.
Don’t get discouraged if certain things have not yet come to pass. Stay committed and focused on what God has called you to do. Continue to trust God for the barrier-breaking moment, and doing and seeing greater things.
If you won’t limit God, everything God has put in your heart will come to pass. God wants to bless you! You too are a History Maker and a World Shaker for the Kingdom of God!
In his message, Rev. Mike Joyner shares how Paul compared the Christian life to a race. The ultimate goal is to finish strong and win!
There will always be difficulties and troubles that come your way because we have an adversary and live in a curse-filled world. You can’t control the circumstances or conditions around you but you can control your response to them. If you receive negative news or a bad report, look past it and lean on the Lord, and speak the Word about your situation. Refuse to be moved by these things.
Paul is a perfect example of this. He faced a lot of opposition and trouble. But in Acts 20:24, he declared: None of these things move me! Paul had the right attitude about this.
How do you respond when difficulties come in life (health, finances, family)? We are not going to be moved by the report of the enemy. But we are only moved by the report of the Lord, the Word of God! We need to look past the situation we are facing, and look into the Word of God.
In 2 Timothy 3:11 (AMPC), Paul said: “Persecutions, sufferings—such as occurred to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me.” Nowhere did God fail Paul. When Paul received the revelation of God’s grace being sufficient to see him through anything, that is when he began to live and walk in victory.
The same God that saw Paul through will see you through. You can live in victory because God will see you through. Trust in God and be so full of the Word that when life squeezes you, nothing but the Word comes out of you.
Have a resolve that you never give up. Have the strength, courage and boldness to look the enemy right in the eye and say: None of These Things Move Me!
In his message, Pastor Lafayette White shares vital strategies for your leadership to be on the cutting edge. Your preparation step to increase is organization. God wants us to be people who set things in order.
Titus 1:5: For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.
Organization creates order. When you establish order, it eliminates procrastination, extinguishes frustration and exposes toxic associations.
When you are setting things in order, it is important to understand church is a theocracy, and not a democracy. We are led by the Holy Spirit and seek the Lord in prayer. Two phrases that get leadership in trouble are: I think and I feel. We should be following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Take time to hear from the Lord. Presumption is a dangerous thing and can cause you to miss your window of opportunity. Presumption can cause you to misunderstand your objective.
You must build a winning team. Teams are the fundamental building unit of any ministry or organization. We need teams because each person has something to bring to the table.
If you want to move forward, fundamental changes must take place in order to go to the next level.
When we establish organization and order, we will experience supernatural addition.
Isaiah 48:17: Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.”
In his message, Pastor Michael Moonoo shares how vital it is for us to get full and stay full of the Word and the Holy Spirit in these days we are living in. As ministers, we can’t afford to be empty or half full. We need to stay armed spiritually; we need to stay proficient and we need to stay ready!
First, be full of the Word! Matthew 4:4: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
We live by the revelation of the Word of God. The meaning of the Greek word rhema is utterance, revealed knowledge and understanding gained only by fellowship. As ministers, when we are full of the Word, we make it easier for others to receive and understand the Word.
Second, be full of His Spirit! John 7:37-38: On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
To stay full of His Spirit, we need to keep proficient in praying in the Holy Ghost. The rivers of living water flow from our belly, our inner man. If your church, town or region is dry, pray in the Holy Ghost until you catch the flow. Spend time drilling for the rivers of living water. Then when your cup starts to overflow, it will flood your home, it will flood your church, and then it will flood your town and region.
Also, it is vital that we are connected with others in this season. There is a refreshing that may not come anywhere else but through your connection with other ministers. When you sow refreshing, you will be refreshed yourself.
Statistics tell us that 70% of leaders struggle with loneliness. This comes from dealing with people and the demands of ministry in this current culture. Loneliness causes us to shut down and makes us feel like there is no purpose left for us. It can steal our focus, and affect our life and marriage.
If you are feeling lonely, there is hope for you. You do have purpose, and you are not alone in this. In his message, Pastor Kia Perez shares practical steps for getting out of loneliness.
Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
We need each other, and we are not meant to do life and ministry alone. In ICFM you are part of a family who loves you and cares for you.
Matthew 11:28-30 NASB: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”
You are needed. We have a world to share the love of Jesus with. God is for you! Who can be against you! We are not here to compete with one another, but we are here to complement one another.
In her message, Dr. Datha Thomas shares that we are called to be leaders for such a time as this. Nobody can do your assignment like you. Never underestimate the power of what God has chosen to put in you. Even if we feel unqualified to be leaders, when we get into the Word of God, we realize what an honor it is for God to consider each and every one of us as leaders.
God has chosen us to help others to fulfill their destiny. When God created us, He placed gifts and talents inside of us which were chosen by Him because of our destiny. He knew what gifts and talents we need to have operating in our lives to fulfill the call of God on our lives.
What is going to give you confidence in God using you? Spending time with Him in prayer. You never rise any higher than your prayer life.
A real leader is not self-centered. A real leader wants to produce other leaders. With this heart attitude, God will bring many leaders across your path for you to help them and aid them, to teach them how to pull out what’s on the inside of them, so that they can fulfill their destiny. Pulling together we will fulfill what God wants.
As a tree is hid in a seed, so your future as a leader is not ahead of you. It is still inside of you. No matter what age you are, when the anointing is on you, God will open the door—you are needed. You are called and equipped by God to be a leader. Never give up! As long as you are breathing, you are still in the arena of leadership for the Kingdom of God.
In his message, Dr. Daniel Gualtieri emphasizes our need for the power of the Holy Spirit in demonstration, as well as the supernatural working through the Word of God in our lives and ministries.
There is a recipe for God’s power and blessing in Psalm 119:145-148. The keys include developing a devotion and personal relationship with God, as well as a partnership with Him so there will be an impartation of the Holy Spirit that flows when you are ministering. Make yourself an expert in the Word of God. Train yourself to put everything through the filter of His Word.
As we prepare ourselves for God to use us, we will be in the right position, at the right place at the right time, to sharpen our ministry and fulfill the assignment that God has for us.
Pastor Jim Frease shares powerful combination concepts of grace and truth for you and your ministry. While we live in a very unbalanced world and culture, God wants us to have Biblical balance.
There are two imbalances that can be found in today’s churches. First, condemnation churches major on what they are against versus what they are for. They speak the truth but not in love. Second, comfortable churches lack the commitment to the Word, and their teaching always revolves around self-improvement. They tickle your ears instead of telling you the truth.
What is Biblical balance? John 1:17b: “…but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus was 100% grace and 100% truth at the same time. If you are full of Jesus, you are full of grace and truth.
We need the compassion of grace. We need the conviction of truth. We need the blend of grace and truth.
Grace minus truth equals liberalism. Truth minus grace equals legalism. Grace plus truth equals liberty. In this hour, in this culture and society, as we emulate our Lord, we and our ministries need to be full of grace and truth. As a result, our ministries can affect hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of people, having the Biblical balance of grace and truth.
In this episode, Pastor Zane Bousum shares vital insights on how we can lead and love others, as church and ministry leaders. Hosea 11:3-4 (NASB): “Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love, and I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; and I bent down and fed them.”
There are powerful keys for leadership in these verses. First, lift your people up in love. This will position them to receive healing. Pull them along with ropes of love so they can be properly fed and receive the nourishment from the Word. In 1 Kings 12:1-15, King Rehoboam had the opportunity to lead with ropes of love but instead he chose chains of bondage. As a result, the people rejected his leadership and did not end up following him at all. The most powerful force in the world is the love of God for us. As leaders, if we want to see lives changed and transformed, let us show, express and lead them by the love of God and the ropes of love.
At the age of 15, Dr. Daniel King wrote down a goal of leading one million people to Jesus by the age of 30. After reaching it, his goal now is one million souls per year. Sharing about Jesus is an assignment given to every single believer. Between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, He had one thing on His mind: The Great Commission. The world is a very dark place. But let your light shine! Each one of us is called to be a shining light in the midst of great darkness. It takes one light to make a difference in the world. Feel the same compassion for people as Jesus did.
The story in Mark 4 gives us insight into the peace Jesus had in the middle of a storm, and the ability of not being disturbed by what goes on around Him. If Jesus had a pillow, and used it in the storms of His earthly ministry and life, we should have one too. The pillow represents rest and confidence that God will take care of us, and not being bothered by the storms around us. Many have the question: Why do great men and women make mistakes? The #1 reason why people make mistakes in life and ministry is the problem of exhaustion. There are different kinds of tiredness: physical, mental and spiritual. Every one of us face these three, and each one needs to be dealt with in a different way. It is important that we do tiredness checks on all three areas to make sure we are full of strength. One of the great traps of the enemy is to wear you out and to get you exhausted, so he can find access to your gift and your life. His goal is to cause trouble and disqualify you from ministry. Dr. Roberts Liardon shares practical wisdom and vital tools which will strengthen you in these three areas. God wants you to make it to the end of your days full of life and overflowing with joy and peace, finish everything you were called to do, and enjoy your time on the earth.
Pastors Dan and Joan Olson share over ten vital insights for longevity in ministry, that will impart wisdom and be a source of strength in your life and ministry. What a privilege it is to be called to the ministry in these last days! Be faithful where God has planted you. Don’t quit! Keep running your race, and finish your race. Psalm 92:12-14 (NKJV): “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.”
Pastor Brenda Wood shares that you have been called to be a light in the darkness and a voice in this generation to usher in the greatest awakening before Jesus comes. It is the call of God that keeps you going forward in spite of circumstances. God’s calling is never rescinded and never cancelled. Stress and burnout come when we don’t take care of ourselves. Pastor Brenda Wood goes over 5 key areas of self-care for ministers that will restore, refresh and renew you. Then you’ll continue to run the race with endurance and resolve to finish what God called you to do. Allow the Holy Spirit to refresh your soul so you can continue to put your hand to the plow, go forward and do the things God has called you to do.
Pastor Rory Synoground shares that God has placed and ordained you as a leader in the Body of Christ. Leaders are born. It is who you are. To be a better leader—the leader that God has ordained and created you to be—allow God to fashion, mold and frame your heart to who you are in Him, not to the world’s standards of leadership. Our ability comes from God, and it is immeasurable. Discover afresh and anew who you are as a leader in the Body of Christ.
Rev. Zachary Bigley shares that every storm has an expiration date. The storm is a clue that something good is coming. Every time Jesus and His disciples went through a storm together, they always reached the other side. They always reached their destination, and there was an assignment waiting for them. Rest in the promises of God, and trust Him to get you to the other side.
Dr. Edward Barger shares that no matter what we are facing today, we are furnished for every good work and equipped to overcome. Stay strong and steady in the vision and purpose God has given you. Our God is with us and for us! We are never going to allow pressure to cause us to bend. We are never going to compromise God’s Word. We shall be steadfast, and we shall prevail.
Bishop Tom Brown shares the dynamics of being led by the Spirit and how we need to recognize that it often goes contrary to our flesh. God’s direction is always the wisdom of God. When He speaks to you, faith comes, and when you follow His leading your ministries will be successful.
In this dynamic teaching, Pastor Kempie Womble unfolds both spiritual and practical insights on how to build and develop your ministry team.
Dr. Bob Raimondo shares about sound words and their importance as a foundation of our lives and ministries. 2 Timothy 1:13 (NASB1995): “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” Sound words are a sketch, a pattern and a concise representation; they are words that paint a picture in our hearts. We are to pattern our lives and ministries after the sketch and pattern of sound words of Scripture.
Dr. Orlando Barela shares vital insights on fulfilling the plan and purpose of God for your ministry, and reaching the destiny God has prepared for you.
Pastor Tom Leuther shares how the Power of Forgiveness can Reset Your Ministry for a new season.
