A Different Perspective Official Podcast Podcast Por Berni Dymet arte de portada

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

De: Berni Dymet
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God has a habit of wanting to speak right into the circumstances that we’re travelling through here and now; the very issues that we each face in our everyday lives. Everything from dealing with difficult people … to discovering how God speaks to us; from overcoming stress … to discovering your God-given gifts and walking in the calling that God has placed on your life And that’s what these daily 10 minute A Different Perspective messages are all about.Christianityworks Cristianismo Espiritualidad Ministerio y Evangelismo
Episodios
  • Reading the Signs // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 5

    Reading the Signs // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 5
    Jul 18 2025
    Often in life there are a lot of things going on around us. A thunderbolt over here, a ray of sunshine over there. And we’re so busy reacting – we don’t have time to step back, survey the landscape and ask ourselves – what is God up to here? What’s He trying to say to me? Back in February 2007 a German woman, Ewa Wisnierska was competing in the paragliding competition in NSW in Australia. The winds were from the south and so she and most of the other competitors therefore headed north. Now there was a thunderstorm brewing towards the north but if they could only get through that before it formed well, they’d be well on their way. She could see the band of clouds hadn’t fully formed yet, so there she was, hanging off a paraglider, trying to skirt around a small cloud when all of a sudden the clouds merged and she found herself smack bang in the middle of a powerful thunderstorm. Rain, hail, lightening, winds and she’s on a paraglider. She had misread the signs. Now the problem with clouds for a paraglider is that clouds mean lift. The storm rocketed her upwards at 20 metres a second. Up and up. Nothing she could do to slow it down, the updraft was just too powerful. 3,000 metres, 4,000 metres, 5,000, 6,000. Now at 7,000 metres we run out of oxygen. No one survives. 7,000 metres, 8,000 metres, 9.000 metres almost 10,000 metres – 10 kilometres above the earths surface. Frozen, unconscious, in the minus 55 degree Celsius, oxygen depleted stratosphere dangling from her paraglider. She glided there in a slow turn until suddenly the weight of the ice on her paraglider caused her to plummet several thousand metres. Then, miraculously the paraglider snapped open again with a jolt, waking her up. This was the most extraordinary experience, really a miracle. No one has ever survived something like that. Can you imagine how she felt when she came to? She’s been sucked up into that thunderstorm, she was covered in ice, barely able to move, aware that she was in a precarious life and death situation. Still in the storm that could snuff her out as, by the way, did another competitor that day, from China who had been only a few hundred metres away from her. Even in this barely conscious state, knowing the mistakes that had put her there in the first place, knowing that she only had one chance of survival now that the storm was weakening, and she was more on the edge than the middle, she did the one thing she knew how to do she put herself into a downward spiral. With everything she could muster she created that downward spiral and she survived to tell the most extraordinary tale. In fact a week later she was back in the air again with the very same paraglider. I watched her being interviewed. The one thing that she said was this, along these lines. She said, it was a race we were all trying to win. We saw the storm coming but everyone headed towards it. I followed them. The thing I’ve learned since then, she said, was that next time I will read the signs for myself and make my own decisions about going or pulling out. Now that, that is a piece of wisdom that really struck me between the eyes. We’re talking this week and next week too, about hearing God speak. If God is God how can we hear Him speak? So far this week, we’ve seen that He speaks through His Word the Bible. And we can rely on that because that’s our bedrock, our foundation. God never contradicts Himself whatever else we may hear or see or feel. What He says in His Word is the truth and anything that contradicts that isn’t the truth. It’s as simple as that. We’ve seen that He speaks to us as we spend time in prayer and in thought, quietly with Him. And we’ve seen that He speaks to us through anointed, inspired preaching and teaching. What we’re looking at today is signs. God speaks to us through signs as well. And one of the things that we’re taught in His Word is to read the signs. Luke Chapter 12 Verses 54 to 56 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Now, here let’s get right into the context. Jesus was talking about the fact that they’ve got the Son of God right there in front of them under their noses and they just don’t get it. But the word "signs" or "signs" appears 180 times throughout the Bible. Sometimes we’re talking miraculous signs, but other times they’re not miraculous and almost exclusively these signs are pointing to God and what He’s doing and who He is. That’s the whole point of the signs. They point to something. Jesus, the miracles did. John in his gospel refers to them as "signs". Jesus was and is the Word of God, God speaking to us about who He is ...
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    10 m
  • The Providence of Preaching // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 4

    The Providence of Preaching // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 4
    Jul 17 2025
    Let me be blunt. Out there in church–land there are two types of preaching. Good preaching and bad preaching. Preaching that brings life, and preaching that sadly, heads off in the other direction. Preaching that’s clearly coming from God and preaching that ain’t. And it’s the preaching that God anoints, that He uses to speak His will into our lives. One enduring memory of being dragged to church when I was a child was the droning of the preacher. I can honestly say he never said one thing, not a single thing back in my childhood that impacted my life for good. Perhaps there was one thing. I was so bored one particular Sunday sitting on these hard wooden pews as a young lad that I took the time to learn to wiggle my ears. That was it. An incredible waste of time when you think about it and really sad. Because there’s something really powerful about hearing the Word of God preached and receiving God’s wisdom that way. Over the course of this week we’ve been talking about how we can hear God speaking, you and I. I mean, if God is God and we’re meant to have a relationship with Him then shouldn’t we be able to communicate with Him? Of course we can pray. That’s communication in one direction. But what about communication back in the other direction? And in fact, as we’ve already seen God is still speaking today. We’ve chatted so far about hearing speak through His Word and during times when we get still before Him and pray. Well we’re going to chat today about hearing God speak in another way – through His providence of preaching. Now the idea of preaching – some guy getting up and speaking about God’s Word, teaching what’s in the Bible – to some people, it seems like a pretty old fashioned concept. Pretty dull. And the other problem with it is, let’s be honest, there’s quite a lot of bad preaching going around as well. I’ve sat and listened to a lot of people talk about the message they get from their pastor on a Sunday morning, and I have to tell you in many, many cases the news is not good. There’s a lot of dead preaching out there, people droning on with irrelevant boring messages. Not everywhere of course, not every pastor, not every church, but a lot. And if someone’s getting offended, I’m sorry; I’m just stating the obvious. A.W. Tozer in his classic book, “The Pursuit of God” put it this way. He said: It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God's children starving while actually seated at the Father's table. Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. It’s sad but it’s true. And it’s nothing new. This is how Luke records the reaction of people listening to Jesus preaching. Luke Chapter 4 Verse 31: He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.” And Matthew. Listen to what he records. Matthew Chapter 7 verse 28: Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. In other words, this stuff Jesus was teaching and talking about is not the sort of preaching that they’d been hearing down at their local synagogue or down at the Temple on the Sabbath from the scribes and the synagogue leaders and the priest and the rest of the religious establishment. In fact quite to the contrary. Again, listen to what Jesus had to say about the teaching of the scribes and the Pharisees. Matthew Chapter 23 beginning at Verse 2: The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. So I guess what I’m saying is, that there’s good preaching and there’s bad preaching. It’s in the Bible and you see it around today. Let’s just call a spade a spade here. Preaching that brings life and sadly, preaching that brings death. And people who sit under dead teaching, well their faith and their passion for Jesus is going to ebb away. And little by little they grow in their faith, little by little, their faith dies and they wither. Does that mean good preaching is all hype and motivation about success and earning a lot of money? No! That’s not what makes good preaching. Good preaching speaks the things of God into our lives. There’s an ...
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    10 m
  • The Time of Prayer // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 3

    The Time of Prayer // How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?, Part 3
    Jul 16 2025
    If only I could hear God for myself. If only I knew what He was thinking. Ever thought that to yourself? I think we all have. And yet let me ask you – how much of your day is set aside to quietly get away – to be alone with Him? How much of your day, do you spend quietly with God? It’s just fantastic to be with you again today. We’re chatting about how we can hear God speak to us. So many people want to hear God for themselves and if you’re going to have deep intimate relationship with Him, well, that makes a lot of sense. And yet how we do that? Is it just some dry cerebral thing or is there more? Well yesterday that one of the main ways that God speaks to us, in fact the main way is through His Word, the Bible. It is an awesome thing and as I said back then, the simple habit of reading God’s Word, even if it’s just a few verses every day, has utterly changed by life. And it’s my passion, not only that I should have close intimate relationship with Jesus, but to share God’s Word, God’s truth, with you in a way that leads you into a dynamic relationship with Him too. A relationship that transforms us, changes us. So the very first book I ever wrote was called, “How to Get Close to God” but it’s the second book that followed on from that really amazes me. That book was called “Unlocking the Power of Prayer”. And for me to write a book like that, second cab off the rank, was completely and utterly bazaar. Why? Because I’m just not a natural pray-er. That’s why. There’s an amazing contradiction that so many people are living out in their lives. people who believe in Jesus. Here’s how it goes. On the one hand these people really would love to hear God’s voice. They’d really like to know that He’s there with them and that He has some practical words of wisdom for them and some guidance on decisions they need to take. That’s on the one hand. And yet these same people so often are the very same people who are too busy to sit down for twenty minutes or half-an-hour or even three quarters of an hour most days and spend some time in prayer with Jesus. Too busy! Too busy! Too busy! Well, fair enough. I know all about that. See, I’m one of those type A action oriented people too. We’re more focussed on doing things and getting outcomes than on spending time in relationships. So anyone who says to me, “I’m just too busy to pray” truly, I really do understand, I really relate to that. But the problem that comes out of that is that we hare off into our day and we confront all these issues and tensions and decisions and all the stuff of life, and we are so immersed in it all. And then right in the middle of that we think, “Where’s God? Why isn’t He talking to me and guiding me and comforting me?” Well, I’ll tell you. God was waiting for you this morning. He was waiting for you to get still before Him and spend some time with Him, reading His Word the Bible, listening to what He has to say and then chatting with Him in prayer. Have a listen to this psalm. It’s one of my absolute favourites. Psalm 46 starting at verse 1: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we won’t fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though it’s waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with it’s tumult. There’s a river who’s streams make glad the city of God, the Holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city. It won’t be moved. God will help it when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter. He utters His voice. The earth melts. The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come; behold the works of the Lord. See what desolations He has brought on the earth. He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shields with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I am exalted amongst the nations. I’m exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. It’s a powerful truth. Verse 1. God is our refuge and our strength in the middle of this mess. We don’t have to be afraid of the mountains shaking and falling into the sea and roaring waters and calamity and upheaval and uproar. The sort of things we go through in the rough and tumble of life, we don’t have to be afraid. Why? Because there’s a stream flowing right through the heart of our city that makes us glad. The nations may well be in an uproar, but God is the God above all and when He speaks the melts before Him. Well that’s a great theory, but when we’re in the middle of this calamitous uproar, when tensions are running high at work, when we’re hard pressed on every side in life, when we’re running through life at a million miles an hour, how are we meant to experience this joy of the Lord? Come on! How are we meant to hear Him and know Him and not be afraid ...
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    10 m
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