spirit – Page 4 – ThrivingBranch

God’s Love and Unity With You

June 5, 2016April 22, 2016Leave a Comment

If I were to ask you what God thinks of you, what kind of answer would you give? Most believers would probably say that “Oh, He loves me!” and that is certainly a true statement, but it has become almost cliché in our current culture to say “God loves you” or that “Jesus loves me”. We say the words, but do we really understand what they mean? The world today has a distorted, corrupted idea of what love is, and that is purely from a human standpoint, much more so then is the love of God misunderstood.

In this study today, we will look deeply into how the scriptures show the love of God in all of its glory. So that you can truly know the way that God thinks of you with love, and have a real revelation of what that means. The love of God will no longer be an empty statement without meaning.

How to Receive What is Already Yours

May 29, 2016December 7, 2017Leave a Comment

All across the globe, believers are struggling, striving, working, sweating screaming and shouting, they are doing these things in desperation as they try to receive the blessings and miracles into their lives that they need so much. Every day they try, and every day ends with another disappointment as the sun sets and they still are no better off… all their struggling was in vain. Perhaps you can identify with this scenario. Perhaps you need a miracle in your life right now, whether it is healing, or financial, or even a miracle in your mind or your spirit. Whatever it is, you have been fighting for it, but you just can’t seem to lay hold on the thing that you are reaching for.

That’s why, in this study today we will be examining the truth of the completed work of Jesus Christ, as it applies to receiving the blessings that He has paid for you to have. As you meditate on these scriptural truths, you will be able to receive what is already yours in Christ.

Jesus Fulfilled the Law in You

May 8, 2016May 13, 2016Leave a Comment

I have had many talks with believers over the years, many of whom are at different places in their relationship with Christ. Even so, there is one issue that seems to be brought up again and again… and that is this inner-desire or perceived need to fulfill the Law. These people feel as though the Law somehow remains unmet or unsatisfied and that they are left to fulfill it themselves, and that to not do so, disappoints God or shows Him disrespect.

Another commonly held belief is that by attempting to keep or fulfill the Law, we are showing gratitude toward God for what He has done. However both of these ideas are simply avenues by which the Old Covenant is being reintroduced – placing new wine back into an old wineskin, which Jesus said cannot be done in Mark 2:22. This desire to fulfill the Law ourselves, is erroneous because it fails to recognize the finished work of Jesus Christ for you and in you. This is what we will be studying today.

Effortless Ministry Through Jesus

March 27, 2016November 17, 2017Leave a Comment

Some time ago, I read a book detailing the difficulties in ministry. It highlighted the many challenges people are faced with in sharing their faith, as well as the pitfalls that ordained ministers face in dealing with members of their congregation. These challenges of-course are nothing new… people have always had difficulty sharing their faith with others – whether it is fear of being ridiculed, or just general shyness, or even concern about not being educated well enough to present a good discussion.

These are the concerns that people share with me repeatedly. They genuinely want to be good witnesses for Christ, but they are hindered by their perceived shortcomings – and notice that I said perceived shortcomings. Because the truth, my dear friend, is that the Bible depicts a much better scenario. Like much everything else in the Gospel, man has complicated what God has made simple. We try to inject our own reasoning and self-effort into something which Jesus effortlessly supplies to us. Today in this study, we will be examining how to have an effortlessly ministry supplied by Jesus.

Look to Jesus and Receive Strength

February 14, 2016February 14, 2016Leave a Comment

God is generous. He goes above and beyond even our wildest expectations when given the opportunity. We often have trouble believing this about God though. A typical thought that I hear people say is that ‘if God is so generous, why doesn’t He give me more?’, however this question exposes a failure to see the true character and nature of God. We have been indoctrinated with an idea that God is sitting up in Heaven demanding to be served and that He must be properly pleased or entreated before He doles out rewards, and even then you had better not expect much!

However this is a totally inaccurate idea and view of God. God is not up in Heaven demanding to be served; He is instead closer than you even realize, and instead of demanding to be served, He is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to serve you! Can you believe that? The God of the universe, has actually willingly taken the position of service, for your benefit – and He actually becomes a gainer of glory by serving you! This is what we will be taking a look at today. How God serves, how you can receive it, and what the truth about God’s generosity really is.

Jesus is the End of Your Punishment

February 7, 2016February 21, 2018Leave a Comment

How would you evaluate the current state of your life? It may seem pretty good right now, or it may seem like a total mess, or anywhere in between. Often times what we tend to do is take stock of our life and then use what we perceive as good or bad circumstances as a barometer for the love of God towards us. When things are good, we feel as though God is happy with us and loves us and we are on cloud nine; but when things are not going our way, we feel as though God is angry with us or that we have some kind of test to pass or a lesson to learn.

The truth though is that today God is not angry or wroth with you anymore. He exhausted all of His righteous and holy wrath on the body of Jesus Christ in your place. He suffered and died as you so that today you can receive all fullness of blessing and life as Him.

The Greater Glory in the Ministry of the Spirit

January 31, 2016December 4, 2015Leave a Comment

One day someone asked me straight out “what is the ministry of the spirit?” – now this man was a believer, and as embarrassing as it may seem, I hadn’t actually considered that there were believers today which did not know what the Bible says about the ministry of the spirit, or even that there has been a change in ministry. So his question caught me a little bit off-guard. Since that time, I’ve come to realize that the majority of believers also have the same question, unaware that there has been a change in ministry due to Jesus Christ.

This is what we are going to be studying today, seeing the change that has occurred in our ministry. It’s important to see this truth for two reasons: first because as ambassadors for Christ, we should know what the message from our King is! And second, this will also help us to distinguish between truth and falsehood in ministry.

A God of Second-Chances

November 22, 2015September 25, 2015Leave a Comment

You have probably heard it said before, that God is a God of second-chances. But what exactly does this statement mean? What is the implication of such a truth? If God is a God of second-chances, then does that mean that there are no second-chances without Him? And how precisely do we avail ourselves of the second-chances that we are offered?

In this study today, we are going to be answering these questions from scripture. Taking a look at where this popular phrase comes from and how it applies to our daily life. By seeing this truth, you can have security in the completed work of Jesus Christ, and doubt, confusion and fear will no longer steal the peace you have in Christ.

Speak Life and Have Victory

August 9, 2015August 10, 20152 Comments

What you say matters. Your words may seem insignificant, but they carry more weight and power than you can possibly imagine. Yet many times I hear believers describe in graphic and sometimes gruesome detail the victories which they perceive that the enemy is having in their lives and even in their bodies, and it is precisely because they do not understand the power of their words; and as a result, they do not realize the ground which they are giving-up to the enemy.

That’s why in this study today, we will be examining the power of what we say, the words that we speak, and what the Bible says about it all. This is not new-age philosophy, but it is Bible fact and truth from the Word of God.

Trust in Jesus and See Miracles

August 2, 2015December 9, 20201 Comment

This is a foundational study today. Now please do not be put-off by the word “foundational”. Because there are many people who when they hear this word they think that it is going to be boring or that God does not have anything for them to learn here; but we are doing this today because as believers in Christ, we are supposed to be living the supernatural life, yet many of us are still in bondage; but Jesus Christ has paid to get us out of bondage and into freedom.

God is a miracle-working, almighty covenant-keeping God, and it is when we trust in Him and release to Him fully that we begin to see these things in our lives. So in this study, we are going to be exploring this truth and how to obtain victory and live the abundant life which Jesus has come to give us.