body – ThrivingBranch

How You Prosper in Christ (part 1)

November 29, 2020September 30, 2020Leave a Comment

Prosperity is quite a word in Christianity. There are Christians on both sides of the isle who will either embrace prosperity wholeheartedly, or denounce it completely. This kind of dichotomy is interesting since prosperity is mentioned and explained in the scriptures. However there is a certain caution that is latent regarding prosperity that the scriptures don’t demonstrate.

Prosperity is not evil. God is truly the most prosperous entity in all of existence! And furthermore, He is the giver of all good gifts, according to James 1:17.; which also includes prosperity.

And Jesus specifically stated that our Father in heaven will never give us dangerous or evil gifts, in Matthew 7:9-11.

Knowing this, we can therefore conclude that prosperity, as a gift and blessing from our divinely perfect and good Father God, cannot be wrong, evil, or bad.

How then does prosperity come to us? By what avenue does it travel? Many people need prosperity today, and because they haven’t been receiving, they erroneously conclude that God isn’t prospering anymore, or that His prosperity is only ethereal.

So we are going to explore this today, and get a better idea of how we prosper in Christ today.

Do Not Worry (About Anything!)

November 18, 2018November 18, 2018Leave a Comment

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” advice that is constantly given out whenever one person wants to encourage another… but would it surprise you that the first person to offer such advice was actually Jesus? And He doesn’t just tell you to not worry and be happy, but He actually gives you the reason why you can safely and securely cease your worrying and have both joy and happiness, because of the truth of Christ and the fact that you have a Heavenly Father who actually loves and cares for you.

You see, the message of “don’t worry, be happy” really doesn’t carry its full weight, until you understand precisely why you can do those things. Without the foundation, it will often crumble to the daily stresses of life. So what I want to share with you today, is what Jesus said about letting go of your worry, and how to be truly happy.

Rightly Discerning the Body and Blood of Christ

September 4, 2016July 29, 2020Leave a Comment

Let me state right at the very start that this is a controversial issue. Yet though it is controversial, it is also extremely important. The reason for its importance is because aside from salvation, health is the second-most important gift which Jesus paid for us to have. Without health, everything else falls flat. You could have a great family and wealth of every kind, but if you are sick and laid-up all of the time, you will never be able to enjoy any of it. And God does want us to enjoy life, both now in this present time and of-course in the future with Him in Heaven as well.

That’s why He has not left us helpless; He has not left us without provision. In-fact He has paid an extremely high price for us, for our complete salvation: spirit, soul and body. Yet many people are not experiencing this, due to the fact that many pastors and leaders are not teaching the complete message of what Jesus has paid to give us. Many leaders in the church shy away from what they perceive to be a false doctrine of health and prosperity – however the Bible does not make any attempt to hide the reality of what Christ has paid to give us, and how we are to receive it. And this is what we will be studying today… the complete picture of salvation that Christ has paid for us, spirit, soul and body.

Rejoice That Your Body is the Lord’s

August 14, 2016August 17, 2016Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard it quoted before, that “Your body is not your own, you were bought with a price…” and this quote from scripture is usually delivered in a negative and condemning way in an attempt to bring guilt and fear on the people. In my earlier years, I used to become angry at the mention of this scripture – not because I hated the verse itself, but because I hated the guilt and condemning tone in which it was being presented; and many people also feel the same way about it even today.

It may surprise you then to learn that this verse was never intended to be guilt-inducing, fear-generating or condemning in any way… in-fact it is actually a great encouragement and reason to rejoice! What we will be studying today in scripture is how the promise that your body belongs to the LORD is actually a fantastic assurance, and how this verse no longer has to be something that brings guilt or condemnation, but great joy in Christ Jesus.