matthew – ThrivingBranch

Healing Truths From Jesus (part 1)

May 1, 2022April 20, 2022Leave a Comment

Healing is a fascinating topic in modern Christianity. Depending on who you ask, you might hear a range of perspectives from “healing is hogwash” to “oh it happens every day”

It’s easy to get emotional when discussing healing because we all know someone who has needed healing at one time or another, or we might even need healing ourselves right now.

Although the topic of healing evokes powerful feelings, it’s critical to not be driven by emotion, but allow the Master Healer to guide us in this realm… It is God Himself who identifies as our Healer, and later I will share with you some things I saw in the account of Jesus healing the paralyzed man in Luke chapter five.

Living in Your Promise Land in Christ

April 25, 2021March 6, 2021Leave a Comment

We recently concluded a series on obtaining spiritual victory, and we’ve learned quite a bit about how to stand our spiritual ground, and not allow a defeated foe to trample us under foot. It is a crucial lesson to learn how to stand and fight when it comes to spiritual battle and victory. It is equally important, however, to learn how to experience, enjoy and truly possess the victory once it is obtained.

Today we will be exploring the vital topic of possessing your inheritance in victory, through Jesus Christ, because this is what the spiritual battle is truly about. Let’s get started!

Your Healing is Unstoppable! (part 5)

March 22, 2020September 17, 2019Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the final part of our series about how because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, your healing is unstoppable! We’ve had quite a journey over the past month, and we’ve seen quite a lot of things! And today is going to be just as great, because for the climax of our series, we are going to crush one of the most prevalent false beliefs regarding healing: that you will not get healed because God is testing you.

This is one that I have heard over and over again, and it’s a big hindrance and a stumbling-block for a lot of people.

So today, we are going to set all of the theology of man aside, and look directly at Jesus, and what He has said regarding testing and trials, and through this we will be able to see clearly how and why your healing is indeed unstoppable!

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.

Taking Up Your Cross in the New Covenant

December 18, 2016November 13, 2017Leave a Comment

A phrase which makes a lot of people uneasy, is when Jesus said to “Take up your cross”. It makes people uneasy because the cross is an instrument of torturous suffering, terrible pain and an agonizing death. It is certainly not a pleasant image to have in our mind, and it generally doesn’t fill us with peace or confidence to have this image imprinted on us either. This situation is exasperated further when religious teachers use this phrase as a way to hammer legalistic, performance-driven ideas into our brain either; as is often the case in many churches today.

So today in this study, we will be examining this phrase from the perspective of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and what this statement means for us today. Jesus obviously said it for a reason, and it wasn’t to frighten or intimidate people – He knew what He was doing and He knew what He would do for us. As we see the truth of Christ in this area, it will free us from the irrational fear that this statement causes due to lack of understanding of what Jesus truly said.

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.

Jesus Finished the Old Covenant

July 24, 2016July 24, 2016Leave a Comment

Last week we studied how Jesus Christ has ushered us into a new covenant with better promises. However even though this is absolutely true and a wonderful reality for us in Christ, there are still many believers who have an inward unrest within themselves – a doubt and a seed of confusion regarding whether they should still keep the Law of Moses. They know the scriptures, they know what we studied last week about not mixing the two covenants, but they still have some questions.

In the past when I have taught on the covenants, I always had questions arise about the Law, and indeed the same questions still come up today. So we will be addressing these same questions today in this study. Questions such as: Jesus said He didn’t abolish the Law, so does it still apply to believers? And also: Even in the New Covenant God says that He will put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts, is this the Ten Commandments?

These questions have stumbled many believers over the years and kept alive this uncertainty and fear regarding the Old Covenant, and therefore they have not been able to fully embrace grace. So if this describes you, then the truth of Jesus in this study will set you free today.

Healing is Your Right in Christ

July 10, 2016July 10, 2016Leave a Comment

Over the years I have talked with a lot of people about healing. And it is surprising how often the conversations take the same paths over and over again. Many people suffer from the same misconceptions and wrong beliefs when it comes to the blessings of God and specifically healing. Sure they know that God is capable to heal, but they do not believe that he is willing to heal, and this can take many different forms, such as God is using a sickness to teach me a lesson, or that God is keeping me sick so that I can be a greater witness for Him – even though none of these ideas are supported in the scriptures. However, the fact that these wrong beliefs are not taught in this scriptures, has not really stopped them from spreading to many people in the body of Christ, and caused them to develop a wrong understanding of the nature and character of God as a result.

That’s why in this study today, we will be examining how healing is actually your right in Christ Jesus. He has paid for you to have it, and He wants you to be healed even more-so than you can possibly imagine. God is not withholding healing from you, nor is He your enemy. As you see these truths from scripture, they will expand and increase your ability to see the goodness and mercy of God, and will help you to replace the many misconceptions about God and healing with right believing founded on Biblical truth.

Boldly Embrace the Gospel of Grace

April 3, 2016December 5, 2015Leave a Comment

One day I was speaking with a gentleman and proceeded to invite him to our weekly Bible study. His response to my invitation was unexpected. He replied “You’re not one of those fluffy grace guys are you? I don’t want any of that!”. He proceeded to tell me that in his opinion, what we all need is more fire and brimstone preaching against sin, and how all of these fluffy grace preachers are diluting things further.

This kind of thinking is actually fairly common. However, is this what the Bible actually teaches? I know that it is a commonly held belief that too much grace is a dangerous thing… but is that commonly held belief supported by what the scripture says? This is what we will be studying today. As we see the truth of what the scripture says, it will quench any doubt that we have have regarding the message of Grace.

The Love of Jesus in Matthew 18

October 11, 2015July 31, 2015Leave a Comment

You may have heard it before “If your eye offends you, pluck it out! If your hand offends you, cut it off!” These words spoken by Jesus are absolutely true and necessary – however when these verses are quoted, they are unfortunately extolled in a very negative and condemning way which fails to demonstrate the love of Jesus and reveal His heart.

That’s why today we are going to examine these famous words of Jesus, and see the details in what He said which will allow us to see that He was not speaking out of harshness or hardness but that He said these words out of His Perfect Love and care for us.