rhema – ThrivingBranch

What it Means to Believe and Receive

December 30, 2018March 30, 2018Leave a Comment

Believe and Receive – those words are often heard when someone asks how to appropriate some kind of blessing or miracle in their life, or in the life of a loved one. Simply believe and receive, they say… but those words do little good if we do not know what those words actually mean.

In-fact in many Christian-circles (mostly charismatic) the words believe and receive have almost taken-on a mystical or magical quality to them. Someone says, “I need healing.” They are told, “Just believe and receive.”;

“I need financial provision”
“Just believe and receive”
“I need ____”
“oh, well, just believe and receive”

You see? It does little good, unless we define the terms. Believe what? And how exactly do we receive, anyway?

I have had countless people ask me what these terms actually mean, and I used to wonder about them myself as well – and when I used to ask what they meant, no-one could ever answer the question – they would just give me blank stares or tell me to ask someone else.

Thankfully, Jesus did no such thing. He in-fact did answer the question, and I would like to share that answer with you today in this study, so that the phrase “Believe and receive” would actually be meaningful to you, from now on.

Jesus’ Word to You: It is Finished!

October 30, 2016October 30, 20162 Comments

There are quite a number of people today who are looking for a word from God. A word which gives them hope, direction and encouragement regarding their situation. I spoke with someone once who was convinced that they needed a word from God before their situation would change, and they were right… they did need a word from God before their situation would change, however they were failing to recognize that the word had already been given – and many people are in the same situation and making the same mistake.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have God tell you that your situation will be okay? To have Him say that everything is taken care of? Most people are searching for this and desperately seeking exactly these things, and I’m here to tell you today that He has already said these things to you. This is what we will be studying today.

Effective Ministry When Led By the Holy Spirit

February 8, 2015February 8, 2015Leave a Comment

All across the world, ministers are studying hard, stressing and struggling to lead the flock and come up with fresh food to feed the sheep, usually multiple times per week. This term “fresh food” can be a bit confusing, in that it is not that parts of the Gospel are stale – no, God’s Word is always fresh, but that the Holy Spirit has a specific word for the people at that specific time, and there are many ministers today who find it difficult to know what that word is and how to deliver it to the people; or worse, they have utterly given-up.

So today, as part of our series on leadership, we are going to be studying how to have an effective ministry that is led by the Holy Spirit (which is the only way one can be truly effective). This applies not only to pastors, but also to every minister and indeed each one of us as well as we go about our day and encounter areas to minister and share Christ with others as well.