Street Faith

Our Kenyan friends, John and Kennedy, share about the growing impact of the gospel and God’s Kingdom in the own lives and their home region in Kenya. Challenging? Yes. Difficult? At times. But powerful and effective in seeing lives and communities change? Definitely. Listen in on this frank discussion of what it looks like when faith and the presence of God break out at the intersection of church and the marketplace!

Jesus told us to seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness first, and trust that everything else we need in life would come to us. Now some people quote this blithely, as though it should be the easiest thing in the world. But if we’re honest, we know that it’s not easy. There are times when relationships go sideways, circumstances become difficult, or the demands and priorities of the world around us run counter to the Kingdom life that Jesus taught. Facing these kinds of real world challenges faithfully is the topic for today’s podcast. “God is Bigger!” We hope you’re blessed and encouraged.

We talked on a recent episode about how everybody is an influencer. The question is what kind of influence is exerted at any given time or place. Do we hide our Christianity when we’re with certain groups of people, or in certain social situations? Do we have our lives divided up into neat compartments and behave differently…speak differently…in one place versus another? Are there people in our lives who have no idea that we’re Christian? Why??? What situations don’t need salt or light? What people don’t deserve the truth with which we’ve been entrusted? If our faith isn’t the central thing forming and shaping our speech and our actions…our influence… then what is? Is the content of your faith shaped by the world and people around you or does your faith and its content shape that world?

This episode explores an exciting emerging outreach to a forgotten nation right here in North America. Jason Huele has a vision and a passion to bring the transforming power of the gospel to the indigenous peoples on reservations and in cities across the US and Canada. People struggling and living hidden in plain sight! We hope you’ll be as touched as we are by Jason’s ministry and vision to see the native peoples of North America move from “forgotten nation” to “Native Strong!”

When Jesus confronted the man who was possessed by a “legion” of demons, they recognized his power and authority, but challenged him anyway. They cried out, “Have you come to torment us before the time?” What they failed to understand was that all of history had led to that moment, and the fullness or pregnancy of time that culminated in Jesus’ appearance on the scene. And His response bore that out. He expelled them! He didn’t argue. He acted. And His actions spoke clearly. “It’s time! I’m here!” If we are living and moving in true discernment, in the “on earth as it is in heaven” character of the inbreaking Kingdom and Presence of God, we will be able to see and step into such moments as well, recognizing the NOW moments of Kingdom power and proclaiming by our actions, “It’s Time!”

You are important to God’s Kingdom RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! Your purposes and best impacts aren’t necessarily out there somewhere in the future, in some other place, with some other people, doing some other thing. You may well have been prepared for such a time as THIS. Doing what you’re doing, where you are, with the people God has placed around you…for the sake of the gospel and His Kingdom!

You have a specific Kingdom purpose and you can maximize your impact and influence if you zero in on the areas for which God has been preparing you all your life. The rich tapestry of life experience, joys and passions, your spiritual and natural “wiring”. Your Destiny, your Nature, and your Authority and Anointing!

The tomb is empty. The veil is torn. Jesus is alive, risen, ascended, and reigning! Yet people in the world around us continue to insist on following versions of Jesus that have been created to serve their own viewpoints...their own agendas. Even Christians at times succumb to the temptation to make a Jesus in their own image rather than allowing themselves to be caught up in the power of His resurrection and be transformed according to His image…His character. So as we celebrate His Resurrection, we wanted to reach out to you with a new podcast and a question. Perhaps the most important question any of us could ask in this season. Who is this Saviour and Lord that we worship and follow? Not who was He, but who is He…NOW? Who is this Risen Jesus?

Today we're releasing a special episode of Marketplace Kingdom, dedicated to the 300+ brothers and sisters in Christ who have been killed in the nation of Nigeria in the last month, and the countless others who have been displaced by having their homes and churches burned and other pressures placed on them by persecution at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani militants. We want to reach out to you now with this information, and we want to reach out to them as they listen to this podcast. Listen...and pray...and join us in reaching out to our persecuted brothers and sisters not only in Nigeria, but in closed countries and hot spots around the world. We want them to know. We see you. We love you. And we're standing with you!

Have you ever been involved in a conversation and realized that the person you were with had no idea what you were talking about? Your viewpoints were so dissimilar that it was like you were speaking a different language? As Christians, we need to engage those around us in ways that they can understand. We can’t expect people outside our faith community to understand “Christianeze”. We may have godly wisdom and insight on what’s going on in the world, but if we want to have actual impact we need to communicate and live in a manner which applies and demonstrates that wisdom in ways that provide real answers and real hope and releases real transformation to those who are watching and hearing…right where we are.

The message of the gospel…the good news for here and now…continues to be the same as it was when Jesus declared it over 2000 years ago. The Kingdom of God is at hand. It’s right here. It’s breaking in on our reality and it’s radically other than anything anyone else in the world has to offer!

It seems like every other story in the news today is written in a way that’s consciously intended to create a sense of urgency. The writers appear to think that if it’s not urgent, it won’t capture your attention. You’ll ignore it. But like the story of the boy who cried “WOLF”, eventually people become immunized to a constant urgency. According to the bible, King David had a group of advisors known as the “sons of Issachar”, who were specifically gifted in “understanding the times and knowing what Israel should do.” They saw what was happening around their communities and nation, and understood what was urgent and what was not. We need this kind of wisdom today. Wisdom that sees clearly and recognizes when it’s time to engage in strategic action. Wisdom that is rooted in intimacy with God, and responds when His Spirit rises up in our spirit and declares “It’s Time!”

Christian thinker Abraham Kuyper wrote “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry MINE!” If this is our starting point as Christians, the implications are startling. There may be spiritual war in personal lives, the public square, and even world systems. But the world is not evil. The whole of created reality came into being in the beginning, and God said it was GOOD. As we move around in our own little corners of creation, we can be guided by the confidence that, though it may be embattled territory, it’s still God’s! And it’s just waiting for US to do something…in God’s power and authority! Paul writes in Romans, “The whole creation is even now groaning in anticipation of the revealing of God’s children.” Anticipated release and transformation, and restoration of Design and Destiny.

You really are important to God’s Kingdom…right where you are. You may not have an impressive title on a business card, a corner office at work, or a best-selling book. You may not be a community leader or an elder at church. But you have friends. And family. People you interact with at work and at the coffeeshop. You have relationships everywhere. And in those relationships, those moment by moment daily contacts, conversation by conversation…one on one and life on life…you have opportunity to be the Kingdom person you are. You have Influence!

Many Christians are just plain afraid to stand up and speak out about their faith and crucial issues in public. They’re intimidated. They don’t want to get into an argument. They don’t want to “offend” anyone. They don’t want to be ridiculed or mischaracterized by hostile people who hold differing viewpoints. But the bible that we claim to believe insists that speaking and living the truth matters because lives hang in the balance. If we receive and in the true love of God, we can speak and act boldly and not timidly because, as the apostle John writes, “Perfect love casts out fear.” As Christians filled and moving in the love and presence of God, we can and should be Speaking and Standing in Boldness and Truth!

Any of us who discuss faith issues with non-Christians has, with increasing frequency, been confronted with the claim, “Well, that may be your truth, but it’s not mine.” In the public square, in the media, in our day to day interaction with even family, friends and acquaintances, we are often confronted with the claim that there is more than one truth. That all viewpoints are roughly equal in a truly inclusive society, and that no one has the right to impose their truth or morality on anyone else. But if we actually believe Jesus, who stated plainly “I AM the truth”, then we’re confronted with a different reality. A biblical reality that says “Absolute truth exists. There is truth as opposed to deception. There is right as opposed to wrong. God and His word stand as the standard against which everything else must be measured.” For authentic Christians, this biblical reality, rooted in the character and presence of the one Living God, should provide the basis for all of our discussion of Truth and Morality in

As we approach the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, it’s important that we reflect on the personal impact of His sacrifice and victory over the power of sin and death. But it’s also important that we reflect on MORE than that. What did the apostle Paul mean when he wrote “ I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Are we, today, really supposed to be living and walking in the same power that raised Jesus from the dead? Are we supposed to be releasing that explosive power into the reality of the world around us? Resurrection Power?

People in the time of the prophet Amos were praying for the coming of “the year of the Lord’s favor”. Amos, on the other hand, stopped them in their tracks, asking, “Do you really understand what you’re asking for? Do you grasp what the implications are?” Many today are praying for revival and renewal, but perhaps the same questions could be asked. What will the next wave of revival and awakening really look like? What is the Lord seeking to do in THIS time? What will happen when a wave of the Spirit’s transforming power and presence breaks in on the scene? A KINGDOM Wave?

In this episode, Dave and DJ continue their discussion about engaging those around use in Truth and Love, and countering the current atmosphere of anger with the power and presence of God.

In this special episode, Dave Huizenga and DJ Swanger share the current reach and needs of Marketplace Kingdom and Empowerment Institute. Listen in and partner with us as we move into the next year, advancing the Kingdom right where we are!