SESSION 7 - THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY
GROUP VIDEO
Today we look at how the messianic prophesies project our peace and prosperity. We look at:
- How neuro-psychological attachment styles influence our projection-image of God
- How being a joint-heir with Jesus clarifies our inheritance
- How the Year of Jubilee is no longer a year, but a person, Jesus Christ
SESSION 7 - GROUP VIDEO
Watch 10-20 minutes of a GROUP video teaching, that correlates with the full Workshop semester topics.
GROUP CONVERSATION GUIDE
WHAT IS PEACE?
The Hebrew word translated into the word “peace” is the word “shalom” – Holistically functional, healthy, prosperous, wealthy; complete functionality.
Redemption drills down into the root system of our identity. The restoration of our identity is the restoration of our heart and the limbic brain. From there our natural flow surges to core/emotional beliefs, consuming thoughts/emotions and compulsive behaviors (healthy or destructive).
This course in Redemption is rebuilding your identity, so the core/emotional beliefs are reprogrammed, giving way for positive energy to our subconscious thoughts and compelled behaviors.
Redemption changes everything:
- It changes how we view God
- It changes how we view ourselves
- It changes how we view others
- It changes how we interpret life
Jesus came to settle in our minds the disposition of God towards us; His attitude, His “will,” and His mood to you, as well as the things that threaten you.
FOUR ATTACHMENT STYLES
In neuro-psychology there are four ways our brains develop an approach to relational attachment. We are healthiest and happiest when we are securely attached to the people around us. We are increasingly stressed and malfunctioned as we view the relationships of our lives as being insecure. The attachment template we have developed took it’s evolutionary perimeters from our childhood experiences with our primary nurturer, usually our mothers. These are the four ways our brains bond to those around us:
- Securely Attached – The fear circuits for betrayal, rejection and abandonment are minimal, allowing a person to be at peace in the relationships they are in.
- Anxiously Attached – The fear circuits fire off phantom warnings that relationships are not safe, anticipating them to betray, reject or abandon, causing the person to hyper-react in hopes of being “enough” for others to stay committed.
- Avoidantly Attached – From experiences of instability in relationships and nurture the brain reroutes the meeting of personal needs from one of either interdependence (like securely attached people), or dependence (like anxiously attached people), to independence, causing a person to meet their own needs separate from the support of others.
- Confused Attachment – When a person experiences abuses (verbal, physical, sexual, etc.) their brains become chaotic and confused, never knowing what to expect where getting appropriate nurture is concerned, causing a person to be erratic in their connections with the people in their lives.
How do you attach to God the Father? Are you securely attached to God? Are you anxiously attached to God? Are you avoidantly attached to God? Or are you confused in your attachment to God?
These attachments styles in you
will cause a projection of who you think God is,
even if it isn’t accurate.
Our spiritual identity, how we attach with God impacts every area of our prayers, faith, spiritual authority, and mission.
Redemption shows that we really don’t have to beg God for blessings, because it is already established as a provision for us.
THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES AND PROVISION
ISAIAH 53:4-12 NIV 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us PEACE was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus willing submitted to and received the legal punishment for our peace (shalom)!
Verse twelve in The Amplified Bible says, “Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], and He shall divide the spoil with the mighty….”
CHRISTIANS ARE THE JOINT-HEIRS TO THE PORTION
ROMANS 8:16–17 KJV The Spirit itself [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Christ became the embodiment of all our portion. In Redemption he made us joint-heirs to the spoil. All the peace, strength, wisdom, wholeness, prosperity and functionality is a part of our inheritance. The inheritance is NOT something we must ask for, or beg for, or determine the veracity of by our experiences; this inheritance is ours whether we ever access it or not.
ISAIAH 61:1-9 NKJV "The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner [Shall be] your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame [you shall have] double [honor], And [instead of] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they [are] the posterity [whom] the LORD has blessed."
- Messiah (Hebrew)/Christ (Greek) means, “the anointed one and his anointing.”
- Anointing means, “to rub on or pour over.”
Usually a ceremony of anointing someone included olive oil being rubbed on someone, or poured over their head. Olive oil was a metaphoric symbol of God’s Holy Spirit, or God’s presence, being put on someone. Literally, it meant the rubbing on of God, His wisdom and miraculous abilities. The Isaiah 61 text is referencing the coming of a Messiah. Historically, everyone knew this text referenced such a huge figure coming to deliver God’s people.
Jesus is the fulfillment as “the Anointed One.” He is the Christ, or the Messiah. He has God’s presence all over himself to fulfill the prophetic texts.
PHILIPPIANS 2:6-8 AMPC Who [Jesus], although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, 7 BUT STRIPPED HIMSELF [OF ALL PRIVILEGES AND RIGHTFUL DIGNITY], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. 8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
PHILIPPIANS 2:7 NLT Instead, HE GAVE UP HIS DIVINE PRIVILEGES; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form...
ACTS 10:38 NKJV [Peter said], "how God ANOINTED Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD
LEVITICUS 25:10, 13 NKJV 'And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. ... 13 'In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.
Jesus proclaimed that TODAY is your acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:19–21). What is “the acceptable year of the Lord?” According to Levitical Law, there was a feast and celebration to be observed every fiftieth year called, “the Year of Jubilee” or “the acceptable year of the Lord.” This feast and celebration was for the full restoration of individuals to their previous possessions.
The Year of Jubilee was when the people of God would work for seven cycles of seven years, then in the forty-ninth year everything that was lost through bad business decisions and failings would be restored. The Year of Jubilee embodies this system of forgiveness and restoration.
JESUS: OUR JUBILEE
LUKE 4:16-21 NKJV So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 "The Spirit of the LORD [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to [the] poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to [the] captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 20 Then He closed the book, and gave [it] back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
The Year of Jubilee, or the Acceptable Year of the Lord, is no longer a year; it is a person, Jesus Christ! When we become joint-heirs with Jesus, or “a new creature in Christ,” we live in a perpetual Year of Jubilee.
THE MESSIAH WAS PROPHESIED TO BRING HIS PEOPLE PROSPERITY
ISAIAH 61:5-9 NKJV Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner [Shall be] your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame [you shall have] double [honor], And [instead of] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they [are] the posterity [whom] the LORD has blessed."
To conclude from these texts that the “blessing” that the Messiah brings would exclude material prosperity is being either incompetent or irresponsible to the text. Anything you could possibly need as a human, any necessary resource, is “in Christ” or a part of our covenant “portion.”
SIN AND THE CURSE; REDEMPTION AND BLESSING
Once again, in Scripture, where ever you see sin, open and unatoned/unredeemed sin, you see the associated “curses,” that include poverty, oppression and victimization. Wherever you see forgiveness of sin, atoned/redeemed sin, you see the associated “blessings,” that include material prosperity, protection and overall peace.
When our experience is different than what we know is our portion in Redemption, we don’t change Redemption to accommodate our experience. Redemption is separate from our experience. Redemption is Redemption and experience is experience. To assume if something is in Redemption it automates into our experience would mean that every human being is now “saved” because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). Yet all human beings only experience Redemption through the contingency of their own free moral choice to access it by faith. In the same way, a Christian can live with no depth of experience around their Redemptive portion, yet it be God’s passionate “will” that they do. Our struggle to receive God’s experiences is never to be equated with God’s will concerning those experiences.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Take a few moments to discuss your answers to these questions with the Group.
ICE BREAKER
What’s one fear you know has been holding you back? Give a scenario that you remember when this happened.
MY MEMOIR STORIES
IMPORTANT: If the Group would like to continue telling one Memoir Story per week until they are completed, that might allow for a more congruent transition. Please be sensitive to the Science of Freedom content and discussion. It is important that our people are exposed to the possibilities in their potential that this content will provide. Please take no more than 20-25 minutes for the Memoir to leave time for the rest of the content below.
MEMOIR: PREPARING TO TELL MY STORY (Scope Timeline) worksheet to help you think through your story. You can download the SCOPE TIMELINE WORKSHEET at the link. There is a longer version of the worksheet, that gives an extra step to dig deeper into your story, which can be downloaded at LONG VERSION WORKSHEET (RECOMMENDED). You can also watch the WRAP UP video from last week that explains how to use the worksheet. Each person's Memoir should be 10-15 minutes long.
QUESTIONS
REMEMBER, you don’t need to be the experts of this content. Our desire is that you begin a conversation with the Group. Be a great facilitator by helping everyone process the content, even if they don’t agree with it.
IMPORTANT – The questions are guides for conversation. It is NOT important that all, or even most, of these questions are completed.
- After watching Session 7’s video, what is your biggest takeaway, “ah ha” moment, or challenging thought? Why?
- Of the four neuro-psychological attachment styles, secure, anxious, avoidant or confused, which best describes you? (You can take a simple marginal assessment, that takes about 4 minutes, here http://www.web-research-design.net/cgi-bin/crq/crq.pl . Or you can take a much more credible one that takes 20 minutes at https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/2859 )
- How has your attachment style impacted the way you project God? When things don’t go well in life do you hyper-react to get God’s attention (anxious), turn and handle things on your own (avoidant), get stuck and unable to move while confusion fills your mind (confused), or turn to God knowing that He is working you through to the Redemptive experiences He so passionately wants for you (secure)?
- How do the prophetic texts about the Messiah impact your emotional security, aware of God’s cemented provision available in Christ?
SESSION 7 - WRAP UP
This is a 5-10 minute section for MOVING FORWARD, GOING DEEPER, use of worksheets and periodic church-wide announcements.
MOVE FORWARD
Receive the challenge to “move forward” by applying what was learned this week.
SUGGESTIONS:
1. IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, PREPARE TO TELL YOUR STORY, your MEMOIR, to the rest of us over the next few weeks. Use the MY MEMOIR: PREPARING TO TELL MY STORY (Scope Timeline) worksheet to help you think through your story. You can download the SCOPE TIMELINE WORKSHEET. There is a longer version of the worksheet, that gives an extra step to dig deeper into your story, which can be downloaded at LONG VERSION WORKSHEET (RECOMMENDED).
2. PRAY FOR GROUP MEMBER - Pray for at least one person in the Group. Try to identify someone who hasn't been prayed for, or given an encouraging Scripture. Don't worry about feeling inadequate as a prayer. No one feels like they are professional prayers, at least not when they look into eyes of the Almighty God. Praying the Scriptures over people is the best way to learn how to pray effectively. Simply find a Scripture, put the person's name in the text, and pray those words out loud. Then ask the Lord to help you think of things to say to Him about them that would help their lives.
3. ASK FOR A SCRIPTURE WORD - Ask God to give you a Scripture to give them to encourage, comfort and edify them. You can Google search "God's Promises" and find a plethora of appropriate texts. Look for one that seems to give you a spark of energy as you think about the person you have been praying for.
4. DELIVER THE WORD TO THEM - Then send them an email, text or phone call to encourage them. This is how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. As you practice these movements you will expand your own capacity with God, all while giving people much needed hope and strength.
GOING DEEPER
Encouragement to engage the FULL WORKSHOP SEMESTER experience. While this is not required, nor is the Group discussions connected to the full workshop, it is an option for everyone.
PRAYER / DISMISS GROUP
Prayer time with the Group.