In John 14:21, 23, Jesus established that if we love Him we will obey His teachings. All of them! If we are selective in our obedience—obeying some of His teachings but rejecting others—our love is lacking. True devotion to Christ accepts everything of Him, from Him, and by Him. Greg shows by scripture that the "tongues of fire" at Pentecost were connected with the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit." In all four gospels, John the Baptist emphatically identifies Jesus as the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. Every experience of this crucial infilling, heavily emphasized in Acts (chs. 2, 8, 9, 10, 19), was Christ's personal work. How may we be sure? He, and no one else, is the Baptizer with the Spirit! If we reject this life-changing experience, we will answer directly to Him for doing so at the Judgment Seat. No excuse will excuse us: Christ and His Word have spoken on this subject. Plainly. Repeatedly. And all for our good! If we have not received this Spirit-baptism, we should at the least respectfully study it until we are ready to receive it. For our full empowerment, the church's growth, and Christ's glory.

Greg continues teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues of fire that appeared at the birth of the church on Pentecost Day. Did Jesus promise or prophesy any of the things that occurred during that dramatic and dynamic experience? Were the tongues of fire a divine sign of things to come or a passing anomaly? And more importantly, were the things that occurred in the Upper Room linked to the risen Christ? Or were they simply things that His followers experienced, yet had no direct connection to Him? Greg answers these questions, and more, in this episode, and reminds us of this vital maxim: we exclude Jesus' opinion on any revelation, doctrine, or practice at our own peril!

The birth of the church of Jesus Christ on Pentecost Day, as recorded in Acts 2, was accompanied by some admittedly strange phenomena – the sound of a rushing tornado, visible flames of fire over the heads of the 120 believers present, and speaking in strange, unknown languages. Why did these things happen? Were they of God? Of Men? Of Satan? Had those present previously received the Holy Spirit? If so, when and where did they receive Him, and how much? And what does this historical account tell us about our Christian walk today? In this first episode, Greg shares the first 3 of 8 biblical facts about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and the strange "tongues of fire." What you learn may just change your understanding of Pentecost – and your life!

In this episode, Greg points out that the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, which warns us to be ready for Jesus' appearing, is followed immediately by the Parable of the Talents, which warns us of what we will experience at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Is this rapture-judgment order coincidental or intentional? Greg believes the latter. He proposes that Jesus' sudden appearing to retrieve His bride church (the Rapture) - because it is a divine decision rendered (or judgment) as to who is ready and who is not - is in a sense the first part, or preliminary phase of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Jesus' promise to bring rewards with Him at His appearing (Rev. 22:12) confirms that the Judgment Seat will indeed occur just after the church is taken to heaven. Are you ready?

In this episode, Greg explores three other New Testament passages in which Christ, as in His Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, pointed out the possibility of spiritually unprepared Christians being left behind when He appears. He also addresses the question sometimes posed by Christians who dislike the concept of a partial rapture, "Does a Christian have to be perfect to be taken in the rapture?" The answer, of course, is no! But although we do not have to be sinlessly perfect for Christ to take us, we must be serious about our walk with God and, more precisely, about preparation for Jesus soon coming.

In this episode, Greg uses texts from the apostle John's Gospel and Apocalypse to identify and describe the "door" Jesus refers to in this crucial prophetic parable. Why is it important? Simply because this door is the designated portal through which "they that are ready" will pass to enter the great marriage in heaven. He also addresses the claims of some evangelical Bible teachers, based on 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, that all professing Christians left behind at the Rapture cannot subsequently successfully prove and purify their faith in the trials of the Tribulation period, but will instead be eternally lost.

In this episode, Greg defines the terms "wise" and "foolish" as they are used in the Parable of The Ten Bridesmaids. He also explains what the "extra oil" is, and is not, and how we obtain it. He furthermore explains why Jesus' warning that only "they that were ready" went to the great marriage supper, while the others were left behind, is a very accurate and binding statement: Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said! And if in this text He did not mean what He said (which is preposterous), what other vital New Testament facts and doctrines would also be subject to doubt? Salvation by grace through faith? The necessity of spiritual rebirth? Heaven and hell? We sow what we reap?

In this episode, Greg explores other New Testament texts besides the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) in which Jesus used the wise / foolish motif to describe not non-believers but Christians. He also offers two likely reasons why Jesus used 10 bridesmaids to describe His church rather than one bride. After listening to this episode, you will be convinced that this parable is addressed to born-again Christians, and it is high time we recognize this and begin earnestly preparing for the Bridegroom's Appearing.