Jesus asks a question at a key time. He asks, "who do the crowds say I am?" Jesus is fishing for perspective on the consensus of the people witnessing the things that He is saying and the things that He is doing. Then, Jesus asks His disciples on an individual plane, "Who do you say I am?" This is testament to who has access to the Kingdom of Heaven. You are a "door opener" to the Kingdom because, if you believe in Him, you have the keys to the Kingdom of God. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow brings the substantiated weight behind this question, because, after all, your place in eternity, and your role in bringing people into the Kingdom of God rests on how you answer the question, "Who is Jesus to you?'" as it will reflect whether you are answering it driven by the Spirit of God, or if you answering it based on a flawed human perspective that makes Jesus distant from your heart. This message drives home the seriousness behind how you respond to this question and why.
In this message, Pastor Troy Billow not only explains the account of Jesus's miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, but explains how Jesus taught His disciples a valuable set of lessons before He made them leaders. In this situation, Jesus healed sick people and was drawing a crowd. The disciples tried to put the kibosh on the attraction Jesus was making in the interest of getting some food and going to sleep. They told Jesus that if he continues on much longer then they will have to feed the crowd. So Jesus told the disciples to get them something to eat. With only five loaves and two fish, they exerted the impossibility of such a task. So, Jesus instructed the disciples to divide people up into groups of 50, thanked God for the food, and distributed it to the 5000 people. Jesus is having the disciples participate in what He is doing so that by Him doing what seems impossible, and having the disciples engage in what seems impossible, YOU can do what seems impossible through Him. You cannot rely on you. You have to rely on the power of God, the Holy Spirit, and for God Himself to actually step in. You have to spend time with Jesus (to rejuvenate and revive), and come to the realization that you NEED Him to take care of the matters that you cannot. Faith attracts God's attention and it is in these "curve ball" circumstances that God lays out an example for you to follow, so that He can step in and take care of what appears to be an impossible situation.
What happens when faith gets radical? In this message, Jesus gives His disciples the authority to drive out demons and cure diseases, but He adds this stipulation; take nothing with you and keep moving forward. The Gospel is not complicated. Jesus just wants us to trust Him, follow Him, and believe in Him. Jesus tells His disciples to take nothing for the journey because HE will provide for them, and if He provided for them in their day, He most certainly will provide for YOU today, as faith is what attracts and enables God to act and take care of you. Jesus wants you to keep moving forward, stay focused, and stay faithful until the situations and missions He sends you are complete. If people don't like it, keep moving. If people don't listen, stay faithful. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow explains how moving forward in faithfulness is the center of Kingdom Focus, and HOW Jesus taught us to accomplish this.
When a man named Jainus, the leader of a synagogue, experienced the death of his young daughter, He knew that Jesus could do something about it. He heard about what Jesus could do, and in that, pursued Jesus to attend to his situation. This is significant for a number of reasons. Jarius was the leader of a synagogue in Capernium. He was educated, admired, prestigious, had nice things, and wore nice clothes. He was not a man in wanting, until this situation came up. Jesus came into the house of the synagogue leader, and commanded the child to get up. Her spirit returned to her, and she got up. Believing in and having faith in Jesus is the ONLY things we can bring to the table that gets the Lord's attention. It is the only things of us that He is looking for. These accounts are recorded to PROVE the power of Jesus, and yet another example as to how believing in who Jesus is is what leads you into eternal life.
Whenever we read scripture, we need to ask ourselves, "what is this about?" and "what is this about for me?" The examples written in the Word of Jesus Christ are used to prove who Jesus Christ is. In this instance, Jesus and His disciples are trying to work their way through a crowd, and a woman who has been bleeding for some time sees Jesus. Compelled that she will be healed if she encounters Him, she works her way through the crowd and touches the edge of Jesus's cloak. It is in this moment, Jesus feels His power being pulled from Her. It is in this moment, Jesus reveals a powerful lesson about having faith in Him. In another instance, a young girl dies and her father begs Jesus to see her. He does, and He raises her from the dead. Do you know that when you need Him, Jesus can do something? These people were DESPERATE and desperately sought Jesus. Do you have the faith of a desperate person? Moments of desperation leads to real faith on one end and power radiating from Christ on the other. As Pastor Troy Billow explains in this message, the most important thing Jesus wants from you is your faith. The question is; are we like these people in these passages?
As a follow-up to the previous message "Kingdoms in Conflict", where Jesus drove a legion of demons out of a demon-possessed man, we see what happens next. When Jesus drove the demons out from the man, he was healed and put in his right mind. This dynamic is very prevalent today in a variety of ways; no matter how messed up you are , Jesus will straighten you out and place you in your right mind. Jesus helps His people stay in their right mind, because He is interested in HEALING you, not leaving you where you are, in your mess, though it is a battle, a Kingdom Battle where your mind is the battlefield. When you are delivered, stay with Jesus, and live a life worth your calling. In this message Pastor Troy explains how those who have been delivered from bondage/evil spirits/ end up being the MOST DEVOTED followers of Christ, because of what He has done for them. And when He does this, tell other people what He has done for you, as He did the demon-possessed man, to show that there is an encouraging message of hope that can be made out of a mess of despair.
So many of the problems people experience in their lives are not just regular problems; they are spiritual problems. When Christ came to the earth in the power of God, He exposed things that no one had previously seen or never properly discerned. When Jesus stepped off the boat after calming a raging storm, He was met by a demon possessed man. The man was naked and lived isolated within the tombs. When He saw Jesus, he fell to his knees and begged Him not to torment him. Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man's body. First the leading spirit was "smug", but it was also afraid of Jesus. The spirit requested to be sent into the pigs, which Jesus did in fact fulfill. The fact of the matter is that there is an enemy out there, and He has organized legions to try and maintain dominance over this world and do all he can to destroy people and discourage the Kingdom of God from growing on earth. However, we have an advocate, a helper called the Holy Spirit to transcend these powers, forces, and horrible thoughts, because the Holy Spirit leads everyone who relies on Him into ALL TRUTH. The presence of Jesus cast fear in the demonic. They are doomed because they are already judged, and they know it. We need to keep that in mind when they attack or oppress. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow expounds further on the realm of the demonic, and Christ's power over it.
It is common today for the unbelieving world to believe that the Bible is simply a "religious book". And in this day and age, there are many religious books, one of which is, most notably the Quran, the book of authority in the ever growing religion of Islam. And yet, there are number of deep, fundamental, and chasmic differences between the religious book of Islam and the nature and substance of the Bible. What are these differences and why are they so important? In this message, Guest Speaker Olin Giles from radicaltruth.net will explain the humbling nature of the Bible, the truth, depth, and dimension of the testimonies and references within the Bible, as well as a number of other factors that prove that the Bible is far more than what the world perceives it to be. It is rooted in history, geography, personal eyewitness testimonies, and much more. In this message, you will see how the Bible is superior to the Quran.
During a raging storm, out in the sea, Jesus's disciples were panicking over the size of the waves and the many dangers in action, posed before them. They try to wake Jesus who is in the boat sound asleep and wake Him up. They express their fears and anxieties over what is set before them, however, Jesus teaches His disciples a lesson in His sovereignty and control over creation as He calms the sea and stops the storm. Case in point; Jesus has control over ALL of the things we have NO control over. In this instance, Jesus's disciples knew that they had no control over the storm (i.e. the circumstances around them), and they panicked. This poses as intriguing question; how do you respond when you have no control over the things happening around you? When the "waves get large" and "water is coming in the boat", are you panicking, or do you have faith? Do you realize the depths of His sovereignty? Nothing will happen to you that He doesn't allow, just as He allowed the disciples to take the boat out, knowing that there was going to be a storm ahead. Pastor Troy Billow expounds on an array of revolutionary truths in this fundamental example of faith in the midst of a storm, and what that means for you in your walk, so you can be prepared for when the next "storm" in your life hits.
Who is Jesus's family? When Jesus's mother and brothers were unable to reach Him as He was speaking to a crowd, someone relayed the message to Jesus that His mother and brothers are standing outside waiting to see Him. At that moment, Jesus redefines the concept of family. Jesus replies, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice." What does that mean? Adding another dimension to the Parable of the Seed & the Sower (covered in the previous message "A Noble Heart"- 6 Sundays ago if you want to look that up) in Matthew chapter 13, those who do the will of the Father, put His word into practice and hear, retain, and persevere in it, THAT person is part of Jesus's family. Jesus here disconnects the earthly dynamics about His family and prioritizes the spiritual aspects. And yet it is important to note that people who put God's word into practice are not EARNING their salvation (as salvation cannot be earned by works), they are PROVING their salvation by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through them. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow explains the depth and dimension regarding this, and why it is important to realize what is going on here and the significance of what this means fundamentally.