faith – Page 3 – ThrivingBranch

What Place Are You Praying In?

December 17, 2017January 14, 2018Leave a Comment

Many times, I have heard people say, “I have prayed and prayed, but nothing seemed to happen!”. They are expressing their honest frustration at the apparent lack of results – and that’s okay. If we are honest, we have been there before, we know how that feels, and it is okay to express those feelings. God is not upset when people share their heart, in-fact He would much rather have open honestly than religious pretense.

When I have talked with these people sharing these feelings, we eventually get down to one main thing though, and that is the place they are in. And most are shocked when I mention this… because they don’t expect it… they don’t see it coming. You see, people have all sorts of places that they actually are in every single day. We really should only have one, but we have many, and the scriptures have something to say about it, in regards to faith and prayer in Christ; and what it says, may surprise you.

Are You Trusting in the TEXT or in the PERSON?

November 26, 2017November 26, 2017Leave a Comment

It seems like a strange question at first: do you trust the text of scripture? If you are a believer the answer is of course, yes – and I’m sure this study is going to raise a few eyebrows. However I want to to share with you something that God has recently shared with me… and it is precisely the difference between trusting in the text of scripture versus trusting in the person that the text is speaking about. It seems almost like semantics or hair-splitting at first, however I believe that as you begin to see this difference and what it means, it will open-up new levels of belief on Jesus Christ, and security in Him.

It may surprise you to also learn that this idea did not originate with me… This distinction is not my invention, but it began with Jesus Himself. He was the one who first spoke of it, and with good reason… this is actually a fundamental issue of both faith and belief. And again it is my privilege to share this with you today.

Live in the Power of the Spirit (Part 1)

May 7, 2017October 13, 2016Leave a Comment

One of the most overlooked areas in the life of a believer is the area of power. It is often not even mentioned in sermons, nor is it brought up in connection with the Holy Spirit. In some Christian circles it is considered wrong to think of ourselves as having any power at all, and others that it it is possible to operate in power, but only once-in-a-while when God feels like it – and therefore it is not reliable or consistent. All of these different ideas and opinions on the power of the Spirit have given rise to generations of believers who are quite literally living in defeat and confusion, and feeling helpless against the advances of the enemy in their life.

In this study today, we will be examining the truth of what the scripture says regarding the power of the Holy Spirit, and specifically the power that Jesus came to give us. It is important to see that it is not wrong to look at these things; in-fact they were written down for us precisely so that we would know and understand them. And by seeing the truth directly from scripture, we can start living in the power which Jesus paid for us to have.

Let God’s Word Determine Your Future, Not Your Experiences

February 12, 2017November 22, 2017Leave a Comment

Many times when trying to determine the outcome of a situation, we look to our past experiences. I find that this is true in many places, but especially in Christian circles, and often in prayer as well. I have been in prayer groups, where we would pray for someone who had a debilitating condition, and we would pray, but then someone would say, “you know, there was a great Christian who had this condition, and they died”… and the moment that was said, it was as if it sucked all of the belief out of the room. People’s thoughts were moved from, “Yes God is a great Healer”, to, “Well if that great Christian died, I guess God doesn’t heal”.

We tend to allow our experiences to determine our future, even without being consciously aware that we are doing it. And we also are influenced by all of the negativity floating around from all of the other people who do the same. So today we will be looking at what God Himself says about your future, about His outlook and forecast for your life… unlike the weather, His forecast is always one-hundred percent reliable and trustworthy.

Rejoice in the Deliverance of God

February 5, 2017September 9, 2016Leave a Comment

Often times when experiencing a negative situation, we are told to rejoice. Rejoice! Rejoice! Just Rejoice and everything will be okay. Yet that’s very difficult to do if we do not see that we have any reason to rejoice. If we don’t see why we can rejoice it simply sounds like mindless pretend joy – a “fake it till you make it” mentality… just fluff. Even worse, if we express those sentiments to our believing brothers and sisters, they will look at us funny, as if we don’t have enough faith or we don’t trust God enough.

The Bible though, does not leave us lacking any real and substantial reasons why we can rejoice however. In-fact it goes into extensive details about precisely that – because God understands the feelings and emotions that we have, and He does not disregard them. He foreknew the scenario that I just described, about needing to see the reason why we can rejoice. And this is what we will be looking at today.

Believe, Receive and Be Healed

January 29, 2017January 29, 2017Leave a Comment

One of the more familiar records of a healing by Jesus, is the woman with the issue of blood. This story is remarkable for several reasons, yet contained within it are several pearls of wisdom that most people do not even realize are there. As you may have heard me say before, there are no insignificant details in the Bible; every detail recorded in scripture is there for a reason. And so today what we will be studying are the details of this account of the woman with the blood issue being healed by Jesus, and how they can be applied to us today.

Many people when they read the accounts of Jesus performing miracles (and especially healing) they read the story and then say “I wish that would happen for me”, but then it never progresses beyond that point. However the Bible is clear that every thing that happened and was recorded, was done so for our benefit, so that we could learn the mercy and the grace and the love of God for us (Romans 15:4). So let’s now examine the scriptures, and see what they show us about Jesus and His healing.

Trust in Christ and Be at Rest

January 22, 2017August 26, 2016Leave a Comment

There are many verses in the Bible that speak of rest… the importance of rest, finding rest and remaining in rest are all topics that can be easily found – or even stumbled across when reading scripture. Why is it then that so many believers are searching for rest? Why is it that so few believers have actually found rest, both for their body and for their soul? Have we all been deceived? Is the scripture on big lie? Or is something else going on here?

Today in this study, we will be taking a look at the rest mentioned in the Bible, to see the details of it, and exactly how it is received. This information is crucial to living the abundant life which Jesus came to bring, and He wants every one of His children to be enjoying His rest.

Receive the Righteousness of Christ and Be Blessed

January 15, 2017August 16, 2016Leave a Comment

One of the more common questions that people ask, is how to receive the blessings of God. They are looking for something to do, some action to perform that will bring about miraculous change – almost like a magic spell. They are looking for some new bit of wisdom that will suddenly enlighten them to see a way to acquire what they are searching for. They often think that if only they could find this elusive bit of wisdom, all their questions would be answered and all doors would be opened to them… and so they keep going from this to that, from here to there, hoping to stumble across it somewhere.

Well, today, I am going to show you the hidden treasure. We are going to see it straight from scripture. And as we see this truth today, every door of blessing will be open to us. We have often heard it said that the best place to hide is right in the open, and this truth, this valuable gem and pearl of wisdom has been right in-front of us all along.

There Are No Barriers to Receiving

October 16, 2016October 16, 2016Leave a Comment

Over the years I have read many books and listed to many speakers, teachers and preachers when it comes to receiving the blessings of God; everything from financial prosperity, to prosperity in your body (healing) and a common theme among them is that they all try to enumerate different “steps” that one must complete in order to receive from God. They list things such as unconfessed sin, lack of faith, roots of bitterness, as things which can prevent us from receiving from God.

These things may sound correct, they may seem holy and right, but are they actually want the Bible teaches? Must we indeed cleanse ourselves of all sin before we can receive from God? And if so, how can we do it? This is what we will be studying today. So if you are tired of all the steps and hoops that we are told that we must jump through in order to receive from God, this study today will set you free from that by the Word of God.

Believe That You Receive

September 18, 2016September 18, 20163 Comments

Many times when asking God for something, we expect to see immediate results. There’s nothing wrong with that really – especially when dealing with an all powerful God who lives outside of time. However, when immediate results are not apparent, we as humans start covering and start coming up with all manner of reasons and explanations for why our request was not granted. There is something wrong with this. Because right from the start the assumption is that our requests were not granted, and then based on that faulty assumption we begin conceiving all-manner of anti-Biblical doctrine to try and make sense of our present experience – and the faith of many people has been shipwrecked as a result of such practices.

What we will be studying today is what the Bible actually says about requesting things, faith and receiving. The true words spoken by Jesus may surprise you. Once we see the truth about what Jesus taught, it will broaden the horizon of our thinking and our expectations when it comes to believing and receiving.