Eric Ludy Sermon Podcast: Church at Ellerslie

If you are disturbed by the current "Truth-made-mushy" trends in Christianity but are having a difficult time putting your finger on what exactly is wrong, this message might prove a great help. In this message, Eric Ludy tackles one of the most elusive and subtle enemy agendas in our midst today—the manipulative use of art in the conveyance of Truth. With an entire section specifically devoted to quoting the key voices behind this crafty maneuver, this message will leave you both insulted on behalf of Christ and inspired for the Truth of Jesus Christ afresh.

The Christian is intended by God to be the strongest of all humans on Earth. The Christian is built to snarl in the face of difficulty, laugh in the face of crisis, and cherish trials as the great channel through which God brings His grace into this world. A Christian will stand when all others fall, will keep going when all others run out of self-fuel, and will remain loving even when suffering incredible persecution. A Christian, as God intended a Christian to be, is something to behold. An individual Christian can alter the course of history, so just imagine what a band of such heroes could do? What would happen if the Church of Jesus Christ once again started functioning as the Church of Jesus Christ?

Is it true that even Christianity can be utilized as a creative cover for our self-centeredness? Americanized, post-modern, pop-culture Christianity seems to be one gigantic excuse for allowing self to remain enthroned in the souls of men. However, if self is not dethroned by the incoming rule of Jesus Christ, then where exactly is Jesus Christ being placed? After all, what's a king without his throne? This message is a strong call to give Jesus Christ that which is rightfully His, and as a result, this message scores rather high on the ol’ convict-o-meter.

Christianity means all-out, one-hundred-percent givenness to Jesus Christ. There is no half-hearted adherence. It requires everything—nothing held back, everything poured out. For it is when everything is emptied out within the human soul that a place is made for the life, love, power, and presence of Christ to be born within.

Fear controls the modern American Christian. And for most in the post-modern Church, this is nonchalantly accepted without a fight. But, the Biblical declaration of the healthy Christian soul does not allow for even a scrap of self-preserving fear, fretting, anxiety, and foreboding. It's simply not intended to be a part of the Christian life. So, how do we deal with this great discrepancy? And how do we start living the lives of fearless faith that God intended us to be living?

There are tests of faith that prove the true substance of our spiritual man. First instance, when God appears to be silent, how do we respond? When God appears to have forgotten, do we actually believe He has? Or when the natural realm boasts that such a thing is impossible, will we believe the boast? Or how about when it would appear our God has lost, will we, for even one moment, tremble under the anxiety of such a farce? Ax heads sink in water. It's a natural fact. But God is in the business of making iron float. And the church of Jesus Christ today must once again believe that even though it may appear that the ax head has officially sunk, it is in such moments that our God smiles and says, "Now watch what I will do!"

Few of us were ever trained how to handle our thoughts. In fact, most of us have considered ourselves victims to the random, strange, perverted, and otherwise demonic thoughts that float through our minds. But that should halt today. The thought-life of a Christian is not the playground for the enemy, but the stage upon which the Truth of Jesus Christ can shine. Jesus has given the saints of God everything they need in order to take command over their thought-lives. The Christian is privileged to think on nothing but that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and of good report.

In a time when God's voice has been emptied of it's lion-like roar and neutered of its thunderous majesty, this message is deeply significant, making a case for both the kingly-authority of Scripture as well as for the return of old-fashioned preaching in our day and age. This message is also an interesting peek into the fascinating journey Eric Ludy has gone on in gaining the forceful voice he now wields. At the close of this message there is a unique video bonus that demonstrates the "boisterous evolution" of Eric's speaking voice over the past 17 years of ministry.

This is an inspiring illustration of how to both approach Scripture and unpack the beautiful mysteries of Scripture. At Ellerslie we are always declaring that everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus. Eric Ludy takes a singular story in the Old Testament regarding the person of Moses and the newly budding Israelite nation and demonstrates how this one seemingly innocuous story powerfully demonstrates how our life in Jesus Christ ought to work. Everything in the Bible really does shine forth the power and majesty of the Gospel of Christ.

At Ellerslie, this is THE message. A semester at Ellerslie is a constant refrain of this extraordinary Truth. Eric Ludy is constantly asking his students, "Where are you spiritually located?" And the answer to that question defines the level of spiritual health that our soul enjoys. The Gospel power hinges on the believer being "in" Christ—not "near" Christ, "on" Christ, or merely "within earshot" of Christ. When you truly grasp the substance of this message, the Christian life finds its wings and begins to fly.

Faith is the linchpin that holds the entire construct of Christianity together. Without it the Christian life is completely non-functional. But if faith is understood, grasped, and realized, everything begins to fit back into place. Suddenly the Christian life once again has power. Suddenly the Bible begins to live and breath for the believer. And suddenly all Hell goes on red alert. Get faith right and all Hell's best laid plans and conspiracies go south. If your faith is a bit wobbly at the moment, this message is a sure elixir.

There are certain topics that pastors know they should probably avoid for fear of raising the ire of their congregants. Talking straight about parenting methods would definitely fall into that category. However, in this message Eric Ludy throws caution to the wind. With the extreme influx of post- modern "feelings-based" ideology into the raising of our children, it's important to gain a Biblical grip on the issues at hand. Many Christian parents today have unwittingly bought into the notions of "feelings-based"parenting methods. This inevitably results in Christian homes run by little toddlers with grape jelly on their chins and foolishness running unchecked within their hearts. But God has an age-old, time-tested method for raising children, and it's high time we brought it back to the Church of Jesus Christ, both in parenting our kids and in the way we respond to being parented by our God.

To be "politically correct" is one of the not-so-hidden social secrets to success in our modern age. In America today, there are social behaviors that are frowned upon and social behaviors that are approved by the populace (i.e. racial sensitivity is approved while criticism of homosexuality is disapproved). But this demarcation of "correctness" by no means originated in modern America. It's as old as humanity itself. And we are not the only culture that has been poisoned by its power. In fact, Jesus struck a decisive blow against this "man-defined righteousness" at the Cross. 2000 years ago, Jesus declared this form of “righteousness" filthy in His sight and wholly unfit to save a single human soul from the judgement to come. He then proceeded to provide us with the only righteousness that was truly fit for the job of rescuing the world... His own.

In 1638, Scottish Christians were faced with a jarring challenge. They had to choose between their earthly king, Charles I, and their true "heavenly"King, Jesus Christ. To choose the "earthly" would mean comfort in this world, but death to the soul. To choose the "heavenly" would mean death in this world, but life to the soul. They chose Jesus. And these "Covenanters" modeled for each of us as believers the manner in which we are supposed to handle this same decision in our own souls. We must die in order to truly live.

This is a message that unlocks the art of praying in a very unique and stirring way. The answer for the Church is not in brainstorming solutions and in novel marketing campaigns—it's in prayer. And prayer is enabled and empowered when one beholds the "face of God." This message is about seeking the face of God as a primary work and not as a last resort.