On Sunday 11/20/2022 I shared a message about the Irresistible Glory of Jesus Christ.
This message is foundational to the gospel of the kingdom. Getting a sight of the glory of God transforms regular lost humans into children of God, followers of Jesus Christ hopelessly in love with and obsessed with Jesus Christ. I was able to share about 3/4 of my notes before my time ran out.
Watch the message here, my sharing begins 52 minutes in.
There have been times that I’ve been anxious about such trivial things that I stopped taking the anxiety serious. It doesn’t torment me anymore. Anxiety is almost like an emotion, it comes and I ignore it, hand it to Jesus in prayer then get busy.
Arrogance and Anxiety I think are two sides of one same coin. They are self-centered emotions, they are emotional reactions to a self-centeredness that should not continue to exist within the mind of the Christian. To daily seek Jesus Christ, as he commanded us to do, we must lay that self-confidence down daily.
I know people who are anxious about their anxiety. And anxious about their physical anxiety symptoms. Its like a never-ending cycle. There is a physical component, a mental component and I believe most importnatly a spiritual component to having anxiety and to finding freedom from anxiety.
Physically magnesium and potassium deficiency can result in anxiety. Mentally a lack of human interaction and love can cause anxiety. But spiritually an overconfidence in self, a lack of understanding in Jesus Christ and or a lack of belief in Jesus Christ results in anxiety.
Anxiety (especially about getting money) is one of the default states of mankind without God. (Matt 6:31)
In thinking and praying about anxiety recently I remembered several things that Jesus said early in his ministry. So many things that I can’t help but notice that, in speaking to his followers and potential followers.
Jesus Christ seems to repeatedly go out of his way, to ask for and to remove the anxieties of his followers.
–Adam Collier
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Jesus Christ
Matthew 6:31-33
Come to me (not church not religion, not bible, he said “come to ME”) all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, (implies that as we learn from him we too become gentle and lowly in heart) and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. – Jesus Christ
Matthew 11:28-30
He charged them to “take nothing for their journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belts- but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics” – Jesus Christ in Mark 6:8
Jesus Christ personally is the cure to anxiety, life apart from him and life apart from daily seeking him is synonymous with anxiety. Jesus pinned himself to the solution for our anxiety. Jesus Christ himself was what Jesus exchanged for the anxieties of his followers. His person, his essence, take my yoke upon you because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
I don’t know what may be troubling you. Lack of money, lack of home, lack of health, anxiety about symptoms of anxiety? All of the above?
That is the situation of mankind away from Jesus Christ back when Jesus was speaking and even today. Jesus is still alive, Jesus is still a real and living person, Jesus still has a yoke and a burden for us in exchange for our yokes and burdens. And that yoke and burden is “learning of me”, that is all it is. It is simple and easy. My yoke is too much self confidence in fixing things, in understanidng things and in making good things happen.
He gets my anxiety and troubles, and I get Him. I get to learn of him.
I get more knowing of him, he gets my lack, he gets my neediness, he gets my insecurity. He gets my inability to control our future. In exchange I get to know our creator, I get to learn why he created all this. I get to learn his eternal purpose, I get to unlock the key to understanding God and the universe.
I think we make out the better in this deal.
Here is an article about depression.
Recently I was asked if there is still prophecy in the church. Is it still a thing in church? My answer was “of course it is”, however I quickly realized that there are varied definitions of prophecy and that has led to varied answers to this question m
The baptist/ reformed Christian might quote the verse in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 “we see in part, we know in part, we prophecy in part …but when the perfect comes the partial is done away with” (paraphrased). This verse is often applied to spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophetic utterances and any manifestation of the spirit in a supernatural way. According to this line of thinking only bible reading and teaching from clergy is permitted in church meetings. I believe this interpretation is deeply in error and mislead many Christians. It is easy to debunk becuase this verse also includes knowledge being done away with. And it doesn’t’ take a scholar to see Paul is talking about the return of Christ and the resurrection from the dead. When He dominates the entire planet and there is only truth, no deception and false teaching.
So then,
Recently in a church gathering I attended a man spoke up at the end of the singing and said in a loud voice, with a slightly different tone than he normally speaks with and essentially said “thus saith the Lord…I love you with an everlasting love…” That was the essential message of his prophecy. It was a well-timed reminder about the love of God for us personally and I think it encouraged many who heard it. But was this prophecying? After some time in the same gathering, the pastor stood up front and with a microphone skillfully taught from the book of Esther from the Old Testatment. Linking therein the types and connections between the characters and situations in Esther, with Jesus Christ. It was very good. Was this teaching message prophecying?
A prophecy is a sharing by a Christian, it unveils, explains and/or expounds upon Jesus Christ. It can be done after saying “thus switch the Lord” or it can be done as just a natural spiritually shining out of a Christian.
John in the book of Revelation shares that “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). Testimony of Jesus Christ, from him directly through Christians, via the Holy Spirit. And it a pointing to him by the Holy Spirit.
That is prophecy. It has not been done away with merely because we have the new testament. Historically I think highly emotional and exaggerative (is that a word?) Christians have irritated and bothered other Christians into prohibiting any and all sharing but their own in churches. They don’t know how or want to deal with certain personalities so they shut everything down (including many things the Spirit himself wants to share).
A similar and well-written article on this topic. Rethinking Prophetic Utterances by Frank Viola.
Also, check out this ministry website Eternal Testimonies.
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