Radiant Central Coast

Following Jesus does not guarantee a life free from suffering. In fact, obedience often costs us before it rewards us.

In this message from Matthew 5:11–12, Neil Broere explores the relationship between obedience, suffering, and reward. Through stories from Scripture, the early church, and recent history, we see that trials are not always evidence that we have missed God. Sometimes, they are the very ground where faith grows and Christ is formed in us.

This message examines three realities of the cross-shaped life:
1. Obedience often costs us before it rewards us
2. The kingdom of God comes through a cross-shaped life
3. Faith grows under pressure

The pressure you are facing may feel like it is burying you, but seeds are buried before they grow. In the hands of Jesus, suffering is never wasted. He uses it to remove what does not belong, strengthen what remains, and form His life within us.

In this sermon, Rick Schaeffer unpacks the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1–11 as Jesus’ portrait of the truly blessed life—the life every human being is longing for, whether they know it or not.
You’ll hear about:
The storyline of blessing from Genesis to Jesus
How our culture constantly preaches “different gospels” that promise life apart from Christ
Why those false gospels always over-promise and under-deliver
How the Beatitudes become our story when we actually follow Jesus
A clear, simple framework for discipleship:
This episode will help you discern the voices you’re listening to, re-center your heart on Jesus as the only source of true life, and envision what it looks like for revival to touch a whole region—one transformed person at a time.

In this message from Matthew 5, Rick Schaeffer takes us to the “headwaters” of the kingdom, where the river of God’s Spirit first begins to flow in our lives. Far from abstract theology, the Beatitudes are what you find when you “cut open” the people of God—the culture that forms in a community that has truly said yes to Jesus.
Rick clarifies what a disciple is—someone who follows Jesus, is being changed by Jesus, and makes disciples—and then shows how our sense of weakness and inadequacy in that call is actually what Jesus calls “poor in spirit.” That is not where the blessed life ends; it is where it begins.
Listen in if you are hungry for more, tired of “church as usual,” and sensing a holy discontent that there must be more to following Jesus than you’ve known.

In this episode, Neil Broere shares from Matthew 4:12–25 and from his years as a missionary in Iraq to show how Jesus brings light into the darkest places and announces liberation to those living under oppression.

Neil contrasts life under the brutal rule of ISIS in Mosul with the spiritual darkness humanity lives under apart from Christ. As neighborhoods in Mosul were liberated, people had to choose whether to keep living like prisoners or step into their new freedom. In the same way, Matthew 4 shows us that Jesus has arrived as King, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and we are invited to live under a new authority.
Listen in to explore:
What changes when Jesus, the true King, steps into occupied territory
Why the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is good news
How to move from fear and darkness into confidence and freedom in Christ

This powerful exploration of Matthew 4 takes us into the wilderness where Jesus faces three fundamental temptations that mirror the struggles we all encounter. After receiving the Father's blessing at His baptism, Jesus is immediately led by the Spirit into testing—not to fail, but to reveal what's truly in His heart.

The three temptations represent the core lies we're all vulnerable to: building our identity on what we produce, how we perform, or what we possess. When the enemy tempts Jesus to turn stones to bread, it's really about deriving worth from endless productivity and hustle culture. The temple-jumping temptation speaks to our desperate need for approval and applause, living under the tyranny of others' opinions. The final offer of all kingdoms reveals our hunger for power, platform, and prominence.

What's revolutionary is how Jesus overcomes each lie—not through His own strength, but by anchoring His identity in what the Father has already spoken over Him. He quotes Scripture, declaring that we live on every word from God's mouth, that we don't test God's faithfulness, and that worship belongs to God alone.

The wilderness isn't meant to destroy us; it's designed to refine us, revealing whether we're building our lives on the shifting sands of performance or the solid rock of received identity. We don't live for God's approval—we live from it.
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