Encountering the Kingdom: My Deep Dive with Dr. Robert Nolen

Dr Robert Nolen Testimony Interview

Welcome, my friends, to another edition of Coffee with Conrad. I'm thrilled to share a powerful interview with Dr. Robert Nolen. This isn't just an interview; it's a deep dive into what it means to live a life fully surrendered to God and to actively display His Kingdom on Earth.

I first found Dr. Robert Nolen on Periscope. The Lord truly lit him up in my sights, and I was captivated by his deep insights into displaying the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. His passion for seeing believers equipped and empowered resonated deeply.

Dr. Nolen serves the body of Christ in an Apostolic, Pastoral, and Teaching Ministry role. He retired from a successful dental practice to enter full-time ministry. Robert has been involved with men’s ministry for over 25 years, ministering globally and teaching the biblical principles of manhood, Christlikeness, and a man’s role in the Kingdom of God. His core message is to bring revelation to believers, to see them equipped to do the works of the ministry, and to put the Kingdom of God on display.

So, let's jump into my conversation with the incredible Dr. Robert Nolen.

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A Supernatural Encounter: Dr. Robert Nolen's Testimony

When I sat down with Dr. Nolen, I wanted to hear his story. His answer began with his upbringing in a "semi-Christian home" with a very religious extended family. He was surrounded by religious influence but didn't spend much time in church. He harbored a lifelong fascination with God.

He was honest about not identifying with the "church world," even now. He felt he never quite fit in and that what he saw often didn't match what he read in the Word. This left him living a "confused life" with God.

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The Holy Spirit's Relentless Pursuit

But here's where the story takes a powerful turn. Dr. Nolen could look back at his "before Christ" years and see how God was pursuing him. Then came the pivotal moment: Easter Sunday, 1986. He was 29 years old. He had no plans to go to church and had only been to one maybe 20 times in his life. He was sitting on his couch, watching Jimmy Swaggart, when a profound presence appeared on the other end.

He couldn't see it, but he knew there was a supernatural, spiritual being there. Then, he heard a voice say that today, he needed to decide who he would serve: Jesus, or himself. The voice made it clear, "I will never give you this opportunity again. This is the day you must decide what you’re going to do."

The impact was immediate. Dr. Nolen was more broken than ever before. He had an immediate understanding that he needed to find a church, walk an aisle, and "get saved." He went to a Baptist church in Arlington, Texas, and when the altar call came, he went up. That week, the associate pastor led him through the sinner’s prayer. And from that moment, he says, "The Lord radically, radically changed who I was as a man."

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Why Jimmy Swaggart? The Lure of Truth

I had to ask him about watching Jimmy Swaggart. He believes it could have been anyone, but when he listened to Swaggart, he was greatly impacted. He was living a life consumed by "sex, drugs, and rock and roll." Yet, deep inside, something allowed him to respond to truth. He saw it as the grace of the Lord continually pursuing him, a divine point of contact even when he wasn't associating with Christians or attending church.

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Cracking the Books and Meeting the King

Once he was set on fire for Jesus, he started cracking open the books. His background as a doctor taught him a studious lifestyle, and he transitioned that same methodology to studying the things of the Kingdom.

However, he offered a crucial caution: in the Western church, we often adopt a Greek model of learning that can lead us to learn all the principles of the Kingdom but never truly “meet the King.” It’s not just about accumulating head knowledge; it’s about a living, breathing relationship. As it says in John 16:13, the Spirit of Truth guides us into all truth.

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The Crux of the Message: Displaying the Kingdom

This led us to the core of his ministry: demonstrating the Kingdom on Earth. He shared a powerful scripture from Luke 9:1-2: "Jesus summoned together his 12 Apostles and imparted to them authority over every demon and the power to heal every disease. Then he commissioned them to go and preach the kingdom realm of God and to heal the sick and to demonstrate that the kingdom of God had arrived."

Dr. Nolen emphasizes that Jesus didn't teach them how to build a church or prepare a sermon. "He taught them how to put the Kingdom of God on display." He pointed out that crowds came to Jesus to hear Him preach and to see Him put the Kingdom on display. If that's what Jesus called ministry, then that's what we, as believers, should be doing too.

He profoundly stated that what truly gives people hope is not just scripture alone. It’s knowing and encountering the presence of Jesus in another person. When we have the ability to display the love of God by putting His Kingdom on display, that brings hope to a hurting world.

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The Kingdom in Action: A Prophetic Lifestyle

To illustrate this, Dr. Nolen shared a timely anecdote about the Baton Rouge flooding. He reflected on how the church in that area "probably did more good in the last couple of weeks... by going out and meeting the needs of the people... than they ever could in a year’s worth of Sunday sermons." Man, that will preach!

This brings us to a critical challenge for the church in America. We have got to get to the place where it’s not just about sitting in a Sunday service. We must migrate revival to be a lifestyle. That's what's going on now with the church in Baton Rouge. A pastor declared, "We're not having Sunday service... We're going out. We're feeding, and we're taking clothes, we're going to be gutting houses, we're going to be cleaning out all furniture and helping people in the Baton Rouge area."

That, my friends, is the church God wants us to be. The prophetic implication is clear: God will shake things up if that's what it takes for His people to rise up and truly embody the Kingdom. This isn't about judgment as much as it is about activation.

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A Prayer for the Kingdom to Come

As we neared the close of our conversation, Dr. Nolen's prayer was incredibly powerful and perfectly encapsulated his message:

"Father, I just thank you today for Conrad, and I thank you for what you're doing in his life and in his ministry. I thank you that you have given him a heart, Lord, to reach out and to touch, to be a true change agent, to be one who changes culture. Lord, I thank you for this medium, for this technology that you've afforded us, Lord, that we can reach out and touch those beyond our sphere of influence... So Father, I thank you for that. And Lord, I ask that you would draw those that need to hear something that we've said today, and that you would use the words that we've spoken today to bring change, to help people understand, to speak to them something, Lord, that you just know that they need to know."

"And Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit, that you would anoint us, Lord... that you will give us an understanding of your Kingdom... Lord, that you would give us an understanding of what that means, that you would give us an understanding of the ability, the authority, the anointing, the power, Lord, that you give us as your church, as your ecclesia, to go forth and truly change culture. Lord, give us a revelation of that, Holy Spirit. I ask just as you did at creation, you hovered over the chaos, you hovered over the waters, you hovered over the chaos that was there, and you birthed the life of the Kingdom in that chaos. I ask Holy Spirit, that you would hover over everyone who would listen... and that you would birth the life of the Kingdom in their lives. Birth the life of the Kingdom, Lord, and begin to minister to them and impart to them the reality of what I just read in the scripture a minute ago, your Kingdom realm, Lord. And I pray, Father, that you would draw them closer to you, their King, in Jesus' name. Thank you, Father. Amen."

Truly, what a powerful, spiritual prayer that was.

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Dig Deeper, Go Higher: A Call to Action

I'm so grateful to Dr. Robert Nolen for sharing his incredible testimony and his profound message of displaying the Kingdom. It’s exactly what we need to hear right now. I encourage you to meditate, pray, and act on what it truly means to display the Kingdom of Heaven in your own communities, workplaces, and homes. It's about living a lifestyle of Kingdom demonstration every single day.

I hope this interview has inspired you to get closer to Jesus. Before you go, I'm including links to Dr. Nolen’s Facebook page and YouTube channel in the show notes below. You'll find a treasure trove of his teachings there, so be sure to check them out.

And please be sure to share this episode with your friends and family on social media. Let's spread this message of Kingdom display far and wide.

Dr. Nolen On Youtube

Dr. Nolen on Facebook

Whose DJ Are You Dancing To? Breaking Free from the World's Record

Who is YOUR DJ? 

Today, we're going to dive deep into a question that has been echoing in my mind lately, a question that I believe holds the key to true freedom and purpose: Which record are we dancing to?

This isn't just a catchy phrase; it's a metaphor for the underlying rhythm and narrative that dictates our lives. Are we moving to the beat of the world, or are we swaying to the divine melody of God's truth? It's a critical question for every believer, and one that the Lord has been pressing on my heart. I've had a vision, a powerful, vivid image that I believe speaks volumes about our current condition and the path to genuine liberation. Stick with me, because this conversation could fundamentally shift your perspective.

The Childproof Garden: God's Design for Free Will, Not Forced Obedience

I recently heard a powerful sermon that really resonated with me, touching on the Garden of Eden. The preacher pointed out something profound: God did not "childproof" the garden. Think about that for a moment. God, in His infinite wisdom and power, placed Adam and Eve right next to the very tree that could bring death. He didn’t erect a fence. He didn’t install safety locks. He didn’t even remove the tree entirely. He allowed them to live in close proximity to the danger, giving them a clear instruction, a simple command: "Do not eat from it."

Not only that, but God also planted humanity on the very same planet where the devil resided. Remember, it was the serpent, Satan, who approached Eve in the garden. He had been cast down to Earth, and here we were, placed directly in his domain. Some might look at this and say, "Wow, the deck was really stacked against us!" And from a purely human perspective, it might seem that way. But that’s not what God was trying to teach us. He wasn't setting us up for failure; He was establishing the foundation of genuine relationship and character.

We had these two perilous things in our immediate vicinity: the tree that promised death "in the day you eat of it," and the devil, whose sole agenda is to "steal, kill, and destroy." Yet, God left man to his own free will. We had the undeniable choice to obey or disobey the divine prescription. This concept of free will is foundational to our understanding of God's character and our relationship with Him.

Consider a modern analogy: the popular argument to make guns illegal to lower murder rates. Whenever I hear this, I can't help but think, what about vehicles, which cause far more accidental deaths? What about fast food, which contributes to countless health issues? Or what about the very first recorded murder? Cain slew Abel. What did he use? Likely a stick, a rock, or simply his bare hands. Did they make sticks illegal? No! Looking back, we know it wasn't the club that killed Abel; it was the wicked imagination, the sinful heart, and the disobedience of a man who refused to lean into the Heavenly prescription of the voice of the Lord.

God gives us free will; He doesn't childproof our lives. We constantly face decisions to obey or disobey. And here’s the key: as long as we choose to obey the spirit and refuse to give into the flesh, we are building character. Character isn't something we're born with; it's forged day in and day out as we consciously resist the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. When we willingly ignore the "bad tree" and consciously choose this day whom we will serve, we choose to obey the Lord. This is where true spiritual strength is found, not in the absence of temptation, but in the power of conscious choice.

The Spinning Record: Who Is Your DJ?

This brings me back to that profound vision I had. I saw a spinning record, just like on an old record player. For those of us old enough to remember, you place a needle onto a record, and if it hits the groove just right, beautiful music plays. The environment becomes tranquil, peaceful, filled with harmony. This was the idea. But as I get older, a crucial question arose in my mind: "Wait a minute, who made this record that I'm dancing to? Is it God or is it the world?"

You know me, this question immediately kickstarted a deep process of self-examination. "Lord, what does this vision of me on the record mean?" As I began to examine the "record player" of my life, the very act of questioning, of examining myself to see if I was truly in the faith—which means obeying the word and spirit of God—or if I was letting Satan be my DJ, something interesting happened. I noticed I started "skipping" up and around on the record.

Have you ever seen a ping-pong ball dropped on a spinning record? It just bounces and bounces, eventually settling into a groove. But I was bouncing high! Yet, no matter how high I bounced, the record kept turning at the same speed. I was hopping up and down like crazy, almost like I'd fallen off the planet. But then gravity would kick in, pulling me back down to this relentless, spinning record. Eventually, due to sheer exhaustion from fighting it, we can fall back into the groove of the worldly DJ that never stops spinning. We just get tired of fighting it, don’t we?

It’s interesting that as I began to question this spinning record that had become my universe, I skipped higher and higher. I was up in the air! But gravity, that pull of the flesh, kept pulling me down. Here's a powerful spiritual truth: my spirit has no mass. It's not my spirit that gravity attracts. My spirit wants to soar up to Jesus! My spirit wants to be with God. I keep thinking of that verse: "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." The flesh just can't seem to do anything without God's help. It’s my flesh that gravity attracts, that gets pulled back into the mundane, the worldly, the predictable.

Think about Adam and Eve in the beginning. They didn't have that "drum beat" from the world yet. All they had was the cool of the day, walking with God, enjoying His presence, receiving the clear prescription of the Lord directly from Him. But Satan started this worldly record off when he uttered the first question in the Bible: "Hath God said?" With those three words, he put that record into motion. He began to question those divine prescriptions laid out by the Lord. Satan, the god of this world, started the worldly record player going, and it continues to spin, relentlessly, until this very day.

The Worldly Record: A Downward Spiral of Apostasy and Lost Purpose

Have you ever felt like when you start asking questions about the way things are, you’re "bucking the system"? Why, for example, do we only meet once a week for an hour in a building, sitting and listening to a monologue, when scripture provides a completely different record of what Christians are supposed to do? The very act of questioning, not "hath God said," but "Why are you nullifying the word of God through your traditions?" – when you start doing that, you get thrown up into the air! You're like, "Wait a minute, what's going on here?" And yet, the worldly record just keeps spinning at the same pace, in the same direction, not even seeming to skip a beat.

Another disturbing aspect of this record that the god of this world has set into motion is its never-ending, irrational increase of wickedness. It’s like a snowball gathering mass, accumulating more and more illogical, nonsensical stuff. Once that logic starts going sideways, it just gets worse and worse. Once we fall for the initial "hath God said?" that record spins on autopilot:

"Hath God said male and female?" Oh, He didn't mean that.

"Hath God said marriage is only between a man and a woman?" Ah, He didn't mean it that way. You're getting it wrong.

"Hath God said 'Thou shalt not kill'?" Oh, He didn't mean that when it comes to abortion. We have choice!

And if He’s wrong on all this other stuff, well, then the Bible is just a book of fairy tales, written by man, a copy of a copy of a copy. And the record keeps spinning and spinning and spinning until the seeded question bears the fruit of full-blown apostasy and contempt for the Lord.

Speaking of this worldly record and the snowball gathering mass of illogical, irrational, unbiblical precepts, we can clearly see that many Christians, unwilling to fight the gravity – that spiritual inertia – have just laid down and given up. "The spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak," they seem to say, almost as an excuse. They’re just going to lay on the record and spin with it. If they ever had the fight in them, they've lost it.

I’ve been reading Christian magazines for years, often the online versions, trying to keep abreast of what's going on in the prophetic, what’s happening in the Christian world. I'm looking for news of revivals, powerful outreach ministries, reports of Christian persecution, new supernatural manifestations, miracles, signs, and wonders. I'm searching for ministries that are genuinely making a difference in their communities, transforming lives for Jesus.

But I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: a lot of these Christian magazines seem to be giving up. They're losing hope. Now, they're dancing to the worldly record player. They’re not looking at scripture so much, and they’ve taken their eyes off of Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Instead, they are fully engulfed in politics. The record Satan has gotten started is this insidious lie: "We don't need Jesus to solve the world's problems; we need politicians to do that."

As I’m writing this, I recall Hurricane Katrina, which hit over a decade ago. I often reflect on how effective politicians were at restoring the Gulf Coast. Did pushing a button every two or four years really make things better? Did it solve the deep-seated issues? Jesus laid out a clear Great Commission: "Make disciples." Every Christian knows it. Amen! But somehow, this worldly record has Christians thinking that we’re supposed to go into a building once a week, listen to a monologue, and that this replaces the undeniable mandate to make disciples. Even the church is dancing to the worldly record player!

The Great Commission, as originally practiced, made a profound impact on communities. It transformed entire cities for Jesus, bringing salvations, healings, and the making of disciples, meeting daily from house to house. But somehow, that record Satan started spinning with "Hath God said?" has lulled us to sleep. It got intermingled with God's clear instruction in Revelation 18:4: "Come out of her, my people, lest ye be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." But now, you can’t tell the difference between the world and the church. Even the church believes we can push a button every few years and a secular politician will solve our profound spiritual problems.

Look at our national debt; politicians have driven it to astronomical levels. Do they really have our best interests at heart? "Hath God said?" Look at the laws they’re making now, laws that directly contradict foundational biblical principles. The answer to our societal decay is not in Washington D.C.; it's in the hearts of God's people turning back to the true DJ.

Breaking Free: Landing on God's Record Player

So, how do we break free from this hypnotic, destructive worldly rhythm? As we diligently read our Bibles and seek the spirit of God, something miraculous begins to happen. It bumps that needle up in the air of this worldly record player! The more we immerse ourselves in God’s truth, the higher we seem to fly above this worldly record, which gives us a crucial spiritual perspective. We’re looking down at the record we’ve been dancing to, and we can clearly see that it’s a record the whole world marches to, blindly, instinctively.

I often think of the sheep analogy. The sheep mill around, looking at each other’s rear ends, hoping that somewhere up there at the front, there’s a Shepherd leading them somewhere. And if one of the sheep actually raises its head and decides to look for where the Shepherd is, the other sheep instinctively attack it! They’re happy looking at the ground, eating the grass, as long as there’s grass. That’s all the sheep care about – immediate gratification and comfort, not the direction or the true Shepherd.

This reality recently hit me hard. I was considering adding a new Bible plan to my routine. Normally, as you guys know, I used to have the Bible playing 24 hours a day in my bedroom, and now I have it playing 24 hours a day in my office. But I don’t always have the volume on, especially when I’m recording my podcast or doing other work. And I started realizing, "Hey, wait a minute, I’m not getting as much word in me!"

Then, in my spirit, I clearly heard the words of Jesus from John 8:31-32: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Think about this "record" analogy again. If you continue and play the record of God in your ears—because "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"—then you will truly be the disciples of Jesus Christ. And because we are continuing in the word of God, we will know the truth, and the truth, and only the truth, will make us free! This is the essence of supernatural living: aligning ourselves with God's truth, not the world's deceptive narratives.

So, I realized I needed to make sure I don’t slip back onto that worldly chronograph and dance to the satanic, worldly DJ. Instead, I need to keep being transformed. It’s a metamorphosis, like a worm transforming into a butterfly. I need to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. This means to continue, consistently, diligently, in the word of God. It’s simple, really: what we put in is what we get out. If we feed our minds on the world’s record, we’ll dance to its tune. If we immerse ourselves in God’s word, we’ll dance to His perfect rhythm.

When we begin to question the worldly narrative and find ourselves thrust up into the air, we gain this crucial spiritual perspective. We see clearly that we've been dancing to the worldly record player that started with "Hath God said?" At that point, we need to willfully decide to land on God's record player and be renewed. The garden doesn't have to be childproof for us. The world doesn't have to be childproof for us. God intends for us to know what God said. He intended for us to continue in His word and be His disciples. And then, and only then, will we truly know the truth. Amen!

This journey of transformation, of discerning the true DJ from the impostor, is vital for our spiritual health and for the future of the church. It's about cultivating a prophetic ear to hear God's voice above the noise of the world, and embracing the supernatural power that comes from a life fully surrendered to Jesus and His truth.

Your Invitation: Dig Deeper, Go Higher!

So, I’m going to challenge you today: where are your thoughts coming from? That automatic thinking, that "record" that just plays all the time in your mind – where is it originating? Is it from the world, with its fleeting trends, its anxieties, its political divisions, and its endless questions of God's authority? Or is it from the Word of God, with its timeless truth, its peace that surpasses understanding, its unwavering hope, and its clear path to freedom and purpose?

God bless you. If this message has touched you, please consider sharing it with your friends and family on social media. Your shares help spread these vital messages. Also, remember to rate and comment wherever you hear this podcast or read this blog post. Every rating and comment helps other new people find the Coffee with Conrad podcast and the ConradRocks.Net community. It helps us go up in the rankings, exposing more and more individuals to the "Rocks of Revelation" that God is pouring out.

Let's commit together to diligently seeking God's word, allowing it to transform our minds and lives. Let's choose to land firmly on God's record player, allowing His truth to be our constant rhythm. Until we meet again, remember my mantra:

Dig Deeper and Go Higher at ConradRocks.Net!