Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

738. Hebrews 4: The Word (Jesus) Is Alive and Powerful

January 19, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Our walk through Hebrews has us in Chapter 4, where we discover Jesus allowed us to enter into rest by faith, contrasted with those under the first covenant who did not enter because of unbelief. Verse 12 declares the word of God is living and powerful, able to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

A collection of books known as the Bible, which gradually came into existence over a lengthy period of time, is not able to do this. But Jesus can. He is the Word that was manifested among us. He is our only High Priest. He was the focus leading up to Verse 12, and He remains the subject in the spotlight throughout this writing.

Get the book

737. Hebrews 3-4: We Enter His Rest Through Belief

January 12, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the third program of our series in Hebrews, the writer illustrates how the gospel was proclaimed to the Israelites during the first covenant … as well as to those alive on earth after the cross. The difference is that those who were under the first covenant did not enter God’s rest because of a disobedience called unbelief. They did not mix the message with faith because the law wasn’t based upon faith … but works.

We have entered God’s rest within this new and better covenant which is based upon the work of Christ. “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” The Person of Jesus has become our Sabbath in whom we rest.

Get the book

736. Hebrews 2: Don’t Neglect Such a Great Salvation

January 5, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the second program of our series in Hebrews, we find the writer reminding these new Jewish believers about their past covenant when every transgression or act of disobedience was rewarded with a just punishment. But it’s always compared and contrasted with the solution found within the Person of Jesus Christ. He is where salvation is found and He is the solution to the previous problem with sin. The writer is laying a foundation as to why they do not want to disregard such a great deliverance. Jesus is superior to the former priesthood and covenant which was established with Israel through Moses.

Get the book

735. Hebrews 1: God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son

December 29, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Welcome to a series where we will provide an overview of the book of Hebrews. We will sift and skim some highlights to help provide context of these very important writings when it comes to realizing the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ … and the differences between an expired Old Covenant and a New and better covenant.

The writer starts off in Chapter One by pointing out to Jewish believers that God had formerly spoken to them—their ancestors—through the prophets (and the writings related those prophets). But now in these days, He has spoken through His Son, who has been appointed an heir of all things, through whom the world was made.

Get the book

734. Forgiveness: The Christmas Witness

December 22, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In order to really get a hold of the complete Christmas message, we’ll need to look beyond the birth of Jesus and the manger scene. The entrance of God into this world as a human being was a prelude to something much bigger than turning water into wine, multiplying fish sandwiches and even raising dead bodies which had been placed into the grave.

God sent Jesus to provide the world with something so massive, magnificent and monumental … that it exceedingly surpasses beyond all that we could ask or think.

Get the book

733. Repentance Is Not Based Upon Behavioral Changes

December 15, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Reducing the occurrence of sinful actions in our lives will be beneficial for us in this life on planet earth. However, empty religion has mistakenly defined repentance as “turning from sin” which causes people to flip the gospel inside out ... leaving people in a place of self-effort, fear and often results in condemnation. Repenting isn’t about behavior modification—anyone can do this whether they are saved or not.

Authentic repentance brings a change of mind, causing us to realize we can’t do anything to merit eternal life or God’s righteousness, forgiveness, sanctification, acceptance, etc. The “turning” that is often referenced is meant to be a departure from our works and efforts … to belief or faith in the work of Jesus. We don’t “do” anything to receive this.

Get the book

732. Repenting from What God Doesn’t Remember?

December 8, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Christians are bombarded with repentance missiles from all kinds of Bible teaching which varies by definition from one pulpit to the next. And yet the writer of Hebrews admonished believers to avoid the constant practice of feeling obligated to repeatedly lay down the same foundation of repentance from dead works. Feeling the need to “get right with God again” because of poor choices is not how repentance is defined.

This mindset has left people wallowing in a works-based doctrine and in a state of sin consciousness which Jesus came to deliver people from. Believers are gifted with God’s righteousness, and Jesus doesn’t call the righteous to repent, but rather those identified as sinners who are still born in Adam with a sin condition they are trying to fix through their own efforts — instead of trusting in the work of Christ by faith.

Get the book

731. Repent! (What It Does and Doesn’t Mean)

December 1, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The religious business has sold repentance as a behavioral change which results in sinning less. This places people into a sin consciousness which Jesus came to deliver people from.

It will lead towards a works-based religion, as well-meaning people vigorously strive to have their bad outweigh their good, thereby somehow making themselves more acceptable to God.

In the Greek language, this is not how repentance is defined, and it’s our discussion on this week’s program.

Get the book

730. Red Letters Were Not Always Meant for You

November 24, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

“Jesus said it, I believe it.” “It’s a red-letter verse!” “We should obey everything Jesus said.” “When Jesus spoke to His disciples, it means He was speaking to us.”

These are a few of the comments you’ve probably heard over the years regarding the words of Jesus. What the pulpit may have neglected to tell you is that Jesus was born under the law and spoke about things regarding the Old Covenant in order to redeem the Jewish people from that bondage — it has become a covenant that is obsolete. Religion has copied and pasted many red-letter verses onto the church wall that were never meant to be applied into the lives of believers. We don’t discard these words of Jesus, but we embrace them within the proper context of the New Covenant and awaken to grace and truth realized through the Person of Jesus.

Get the book

729. Red Letters + Golden Rule = Spiritual Blues

November 17, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Most of us have been taught that Jesus ushered in a New Covenant at His birth and began to teach new guidelines and rules for believers and future Christians to follow. Having this mindset will cause us to begin filtering all of the Scripture through this faulty assumption, causing our lenses to see a fake gospel which isn’t really the good news at all. Even the so-called golden rule was not a new guideline for Christians, but it was an old statute from the law—a ministry that could only supply the Jewish people with death and condemnation. Jesus was on a mission to free people from such a bondage.

Get the book

728. Religious Requirements – or Grace (Choose One)

November 10, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When we consider the Bible as one book (instead of many books), we begin to jumble things together within the two primary covenants that were never meant to be mixed. When we see God’s commandments with conditions attached throughout much of the Old Testament, and when we assume Jesus was always speaking instruction to us who would become future believers, it can easily result in us filtering new covenant writings from the apostles through a particular mindset that leads us away from grace and back to a foundation of works.

This week’s program will help to differentiate between requirements which demanded perfect results … compared to exhortations delivered by grace. The former would seek to establish identity by trying to work at becoming something we haven’t achieved. The latter starts at the finish line, as we realize we have been made new and are already declared the righteousness of God.

Get the book

727. “This Is Love: Not That We Loved God, but That He Loved Us”

November 3, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Following up on last week’s program about the New Covenant command to believe in Jesus and love one another … Under the law, it was considered one of the greatest commandments to put forth all of one’s strength and effort to love God and each other. The entire law revolved around this and yet nobody had ever done it before the cross.

In this New Covenant Jesus has established, what is so different about our love for God and for each other compared to the old way? John admitted nobody had ever really loved God … the gospel is not built upon a foundation of our love for God - once again it was about what God has done by giving us His Son and demonstrating His love for us - and the results are the difference between light and darkness.