Death to Life podcast
A podcast that tells the stories of people that used to be one way, and now are completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Jesus.
Death to Life podcast
#268 Addison Collingsworth: Authority To Heal
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We catch up with Addison Collingsworth on family, faith, and the shift from studying healing to living with authority in Christ. We keep coming back to one idea: relationship with God makes spiritual power simple, while formulas make it weird and fragile.
• Addison’s life update, four kids, flood, rebuild, and seeing God provide
• Why his newsletter shifted toward healing and authority in Christ
• Authority as identity, not hype, not performance, not fear of man
• Relational ministry versus manipulating God with methods and systems
• Why “asking God to heal” can miss what Jesus already purchased
• John 3:16 and Mark 16:17–18, “believe” as action and trust
• Handling nerves, motives, and timing when praying for healing
• Learning God’s voice through quiet, journaling, and testing with Scripture
• Recognizing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in prayer life
• Gift versus ability, belief plus practice, and faith under pressure
• Healing through phone calls, video calls, and even text messages
• The simplest goal, friendship and intimacy with God
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Gospel Changes Lives Cold Open
SPEAKER_02The world doesn't think that the gospel can change your life, but we know that it can. And that's why we want you to hear these stories: stories of transformation, stories of freedom, people getting free from sin and healed from sin because of Jesus. This is death to life.
SPEAKER_01People will ask God for healing and then and then say that God chose not to heal someone because they're not healed. Um, but that's a lot like saying, God, would you please die for this person's sins? And then them choosing not to be saved, and then saying, like, oh, God must not have wanted them saved. It's like, no, it's if I go outside right now, and it's not assuming it's not cloudy, and the sun shines on me, I don't say the sun chose to shine on me. I say there's sunlight on me. I'm I'm lit up by the sun. It wasn't a choice, the sun exists, therefore, if I stand outside, I get the sun's rays on me. God's healing and salvation are kind of the same way. It's like Jesus died, paid for our healing with the stripes on his back, paid for his our salvation by becoming sin and being, you know, he who knew no sin became sin for our sake, died on a cross, went in the grave, right? It is a reality, and so you step into that reality if you believe it and you take action on it, right? Pistail. So, in the same way with healing, it's like you can ask him for it. Sure.
SPEAKER_02Yo, welcome to the Death to Life podcast. My name is Richard Young, and today's guest is a recurring guest. We probably have him, I don't know, it's been once every two years or something. His name is Addison, and Addison, uh, we're just gonna jump on right now. Addison, in my email, I have a folder. I actually have two folders. One is lowercase Addison Collingsworth, and the other one is Capital Addison Collingsworth, and the Capital Addison Collingsworth is all of your newsletters, and the lowercase Addison Collingsworth is any other spiritual uh newsletter that I get from anywhere, and I I just put it in the lowercase one. I don't know what it means, but uh as I think about the time we've known each other, I was just thinking earlier today about how when I didn't know you, I think you seemed like the furthest guy off to be a spiritual person. And now like the spirit of God, like seriously, like you move differently, bro. And I'm so blessed, like, to to know you and call you a friend and brother in Christ. And so I just wanted to have you on to hear what God is doing in your life, what he's teaching you. And I'm I'm just saying all this, you're you're a huge blessing to me, man. What is what has been going on recently? Uh we recorded a year and a half ago, it seems like. What has been going on since that time, and what has God been showing you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So little life update. I've a father of four now.
Welcome And Addison Returns
SPEAKER_01I have uh yeah, my daughter, and then my youngest son, uh Ford, who no matter just turned three. My son's my youngest is one and a half.
SPEAKER_02So I got what's your youngest, what's your youngest's name?
SPEAKER_01Ford.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so I remember this is uh you have Orson, right?
SPEAKER_01Orson is my oldest, he's seven.
SPEAKER_02What's the the second one?
SPEAKER_01Ridley. He's four and a half. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Orson Wells, Ridley Scott. Okay, who's the what's the third one?
SPEAKER_01Georgie. Uh named after who?
SPEAKER_02Georgie's named after who.
SPEAKER_01You can get it. You can you can totally get it. George Lucas? A little bit. We like the name before we had the association, the whole thing. Like we had Georgie as a girl's name, like top of the list before even Orson was born. And then when we were looking at it, like, oh my gosh, it's perfect. We have to do it.
SPEAKER_02But is it is it George Lucas that she's named? Yeah, yeah. And then Ford named after John Ford. I have I'm reading a book about the searchers right now, it's right back there. I uh uh so when when was Ford born?
SPEAKER_01Uh he was born on the 2nd of January, 2025. So he was last year. He was actually, yeah, he was just born last time we recorded. Now that I'm thinking about it, because we recorded in February. I didn't realize he was just recently born. Yeah that I think of it.
SPEAKER_02You just had another kid. Why don't you jump on the podcast with me? So yeah, man, you you're a father of four. Um still living in the same place in Lincoln, still doing all that.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, and you know, there's a testimony to it I can get to later. But we're we're in the same city. We're in Lincoln in Nebraska. We're in a different place. We're in an apartment. It's a little bit smaller because we had a house flood. Um kind of crazy circumstances. But um, yeah, we're in an apartment. No, we're actually I'm in the process of selling it right now, uh, this week or next, um, getting it cleaned. But uh yeah, got it remodeled. God, God's good. He used the house flood to pay almost 90% of the remodel costs over and above what it cost us to replace it. Um, because you know, he's good like that. So all things to his glory, yeah. So it it worked out. Um, so we're moving out of there, building a place. So we're in the middle of that. Um, I like to say my side job, my side hobby now is being a uh assistant to general contractors and answering emails because between both houses being worked on at the same time, it's been crazy, but it's good. Um so that's going now. I think the one thing that hadn't happened last time we recorded, I was doing my newsletter, uh bigger than me, and it was about just general Christian discipleship. Um, and it was kind of an idea, an inkling I had started. Uh, but now God had called me in December of last year in 25 to shift it completely to focus on primarily Christian like healing and then uh our authority in Christ and what that looks like, like lived out. Um, so that shift happened in January, and I've been writing on there. I think I'm 60 something issues in, issue 66, I think is tomorrow's, which between you and me I haven't even written yet. So but you know, it's how God goes. Some days he just has me more busy on calls
Family Update Flood And Rebuild
SPEAKER_01and other stuff than others, and I just don't get to it. Um, but yeah, so I've been writing that um weekly for a long while now about healing and divine authority and all that. And then ironically, the better it does, the more people and calls and and and messages and whatever for prayer and and training and counseling and stuff I get, which makes that then makes it harder to write my weekly issue. I have more material than ever to write on and less time than ever to write it. But that's the point, right? Like, uh, so that's been good. Been doing that.
SPEAKER_02Um let me ask you a question about that. You um I know that ever since we've been rocking together, you like God put healing on your heart. And you've been teaching about that. And I was just uh doing a counseling session yesterday, and I sent somebody um stuff that you had sent me. Um I've learned a lot from you about healing, but the authority is that just it just comes off of the healing idea that you're just like, oh, this is something that goes with healing, but is probably maybe more important to understand. I don't know if the levels of importance, but understanding what we have in Christ, how did you go to that and start um writing heavily on that issue?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so it it kind of came out of uh healing just as a subject of helping people with physical sickness, disease, ailments, whatever, and uh especially encouraging other people to learn how to do it. Um I it was a passion of mine from the beginning, but I realized that the thing from from the start, the onset that God blessed me with was simple faith. And simple faith just says, hey, the Bible says it, I can do it, do it. And then there's none of this like fear of like, well, what does it say about me? I mean, admittedly, I think I talked about last last time I recorded about the fear of a section of my life where I didn't do healing because there was fear of man and there was worry and all these things. But to begin with, at least in this purest form to start out, uh, that wasn't an issue for me because I was just like, it says it, I can do it, right? Um, but I realized that the boldness and the confidence to do a lot of this comes down to understanding your identity and through your identity, the authority you carry. So like healing is like a tool in the bat, the the bat utility belt, right? And your authority is believing that it is yours and it is yours to use, right? And so you can understand what's in that belt all the live long day, but you're never gonna be brave enough to step out and try it if you don't understand you have the authority that's been given to you, all authority in heaven and earth, to use it and use it well. Um, and so the enemy oftentimes will let people learn tons about healing, tons. They can know all all the different tricks and ideas and all these things, right? More more formulaic and uh um you know method all methodological, methodological, if I can say that. Um, but they'll never try it when push comes to shove because there's fear and there's worry that like I'm not good enough for this, or I can't do this, or this is on my shoulders.
Newsletter Shift Toward Healing Authority
SPEAKER_01And authority addresses that. Um, if you're talking healing, you're talking deliverance, you're talking, you know, raising the dead, you're talking like giving a sermon on a street corner, you're talking leading a Sabbath school or Sunday school lesson, or whatever it is, right? It's authority. You are a son or daughter of the king of the universe, and he has put his spirit in you and told you, I've given you your my authority. Now go. So that's a starting point. Without that, like healing ministry or just ideas in general, uh become unfortunately an academic study that is not taking root in people's lives and growing and and helping. It's just all logic, it's all cold calculating. Um, and then unfortunately, that is what often leads people a lot away from it being relational and through God and the Holy Spirit and all these things into more cold formulaic kind of well, what the Bible I believe would call pharmacia. It is like sorcery, it's just using the principles of the world to get the results you want, not hey, king of the universe lives inside of me and he is life. And if I put my hands on you, he flows through me to you, and you see the results because he's good and he wants to be your friend. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's very, very simple like that. Um, but yeah, that's why the authority section of it is so important. It's always a sub theme because they come for the healing, but they stay for the authority and the confidence. Um, and that's why I always structure it that way.
SPEAKER_02What are what is one of the things that you've learned about the authority that has either surprised you or that you realized that you hadn't been moving in before you learned it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I think um it's interesting because you when you get into this subject, a lot of people will be cautious because there's been a lot of people that have abused it. I mean, we have biblical examples in the book of First Corinthians, we have tons of these different things, right? So I think the simplest lesson that God keeps bringing me back to and simmers it down is if it's relational, it's from me. If it's uh impersonal, it's from the enemy every time. And you can fake relationship. So, like if I go around and uh I tell people like, I don't know, I'll just pick a celebrity. I know Beyonce or whatever else. Like, and I'm like drop name trying to name drop her name to get into clubs or to like I'd ever go to a club, get into places or whatever. Like, yeah, I can use her name and maybe fake it, but if I don't truly know her, there's going to be the the bill will come to be paid, right? The seven sons of Kiva, we see that it'll come to be paid, right? Um, you can fake it, you can do all these healing deliverance stuff and use Jesus' name without knowing him. But in reality, the closer it is to a relationship you have with a with a real, because he's just the same, a real breathing human being that you're close friends with, the more it looks like that, the more it's from him. The more it looks systems and formulas and steps, and you got to do the right thing at the right time with the right conditions and whatever. Like, there's a reason that lines up with like Hollywood um depictions of like witchcraft and sorcery and new ageism and all this stuff. Like, pretty simply, if you and I weren't if it would be weird if you and I were doing it to each other, like talking that way, it'd be it's weird if you're doing it with God that way. Because he's your friend.
SPEAKER_02So that's it. Explain that in it, say that again.
SPEAKER_01So for example, um if if you're like, hey Addison, um I have this job, but you know, you need you need to do, here's the ability, here's here's the keys, go do it, right? And if I'm like I'm trying to get make it really concrete. If I'm manipulating you by telling you certain things to get certain responses and like trick you into getting the result I want, I'm not treating you like a close friend, I'm treating you like a user. I'm using you, right? I'm tricking you. If any time with healing and whatever, it's not God in you to help the other person because you two, you and God are in aligned in mission, just like Jesus and the Father, his will, aligned in mission, and you're working in tandem, right? Him through you, if it ever deviates from that, where you're having to go through these systems
Authority Comes From Identity In Christ
SPEAKER_01and like all these different things to get the result you want, you are treating God like the asset to be used and manipulated, not as a close personal friend. And so, really, if you want the sniff test to like, is this from God? Is this like biblical healing? Am I manipulating God? Is the very, very simple way to say it. And that's why I think also it's important, and I could talk about this all day, so I'll I won't, I'll I'll curve it a little bit. That's why it's important to understand that healing is first and foremost something Jesus paid for and the authority God gave you to do on his behalf for other people, not a request from God. Because if it's a request from God, it's positioning God as the one that doesn't want to do it, hasn't paid for it, hasn't made his mind up on it, and is willing to reject you. So that's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_02Is that what you mean? Like, I'm not asking God for this person to be healed. This person has be been healed by his stripes. I am ministering that healing to this person.
SPEAKER_01Yep. If you uh um I've I've got this kind of interesting thing I've done with people where I was like, yeah, a thousand bucks if you can find a single instance in the New Testament of Jesus or the apostles asking God if they should heal someone first. The closest you'll get is I believe one of the apostles was healing, was raising someone from the dead, and they kneel and pray beside the bed, and then they get up, and then they command them to raise from the dead, right? That's it. You don't know what was said in that prayer. You don't know if it's request. If it was request, it was inconsistent with every other time. Um, in fact, it's kind of laughable to think that Jesus was asking if the Father if he should heal everyone, considering like the feeding of the 4,000, the 5,000, the um Sermon on the Mount, like all these instances it says that he healed all the sick or power was going out from him, and everyone there was healed. Everyone at Simon Peter's mother-in-law's house was healed. So, no, it was more just a principle of who he was and what he was paying for that just he did it, right? And the apostles the same, right? So you don't ask. Like, it's not to say that you don't respect God's your submission to God, so you don't ask out of arrogance. No, it's more just like if I tell you, hey Rich, here's my keys, I'm gonna be out of town. Can you lock up my house? You don't have to ask me a thousand times between now and when I leave, hey, just to check, you want me to lock your house up, right? You you you want me to do that? You really want me to do that? I'm like, yes, Rich, I've told you like 20 times. You're you're holding my keys. I gave it to you for a reason. Please go do it. You could ask, I'll tell you the same answer, but I'm like, you have the key in your hand. You literally have the ability and the authority, as I've told you, to do it. So please do it. Right?
SPEAKER_02I always use the example of I I live in a town called Cross Plains, Tennessee. If I get pulled over by a Cross Plains police officer, he's not calling back to the station and asking the sheriff or the main guy,
Relational Healing Versus Formulas
SPEAKER_02hey, is it okay if I give Richard a ticket? No, he has the authority of the city of Cross Plains, Tennessee to give out tickets. He doesn't need to ask. And they and Cross Plains has actually said, go out and set up a speed trap and give people tickets. So, in the same way, like God isn't asking us to ask him to do something he's already asked us to do. That was confusing. He's asked us to do it, he's given us the authority in the person of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, and it's as it's like an expectation that we go out and lay hands on the sick and they will be healed, and it's already been purchased.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I I would I the one thing that's happened since we recorded last time, especially since I've been writing on this weekly and praying with people all the time and seeing deliverance and all of this and healings, um, is my simplification of it. Because the deeper it gets, the simpler it really is. And it's two verses. It is really it's one, but just to back up a point. Uh, John 3.16, which I think every person has that's a Christian has memorized. But for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life. That word believe in John 3.16 is pisteo, which I'm probably slaughtering because I don't speak Greek, but or study. I'm not a seminary guy, so I didn't study Greek, but it's pisteo. Um, then you go to Mark 16, 17 to 18. And I'm gonna truncate it, but it says, These signs will follow those that believe. One of the things it says is they will lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover. Actually, no, it says they will recover, which is important. So these signs will follow those that believe. That word, pisteo. The exact same word. So if you've ever read John 3.16 and been like, this is how I know I'm saved. This is Jesus loved me, he came to die for me. I am a new person, I am secure in him. Because of John 3.16, Mark 16 is literally talking to you. Because as the Bible says, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In the Psalms, it says He is his words are firmly fixed in the heavens, he holds his word above his name. There they do not change. So it's talking to you. And here's the cool thing: it says these signs will follow, follow, like as you go to confirm the message, those that believe. They will they will lay their hands on the sick, the sick. No qualifier, not sick believers, not sick, you know, Gentiles or Jews or man, woman, child, whatever, right? The sick, period. And they, I believe the sick and the people laying hands will recover. That's it. That's God's promise, not to the sick person, but to you as a Christian that believes. Pisteo. If you believe you are saved, he promises you that if you lay hands on the sick, they will recover. And then here's where all the stuff comes. Well, Addison, I I laid hands on the sick one time and I did this and I did that, and blah blah blah blah blah blah. It's like, okay, that's the choice. Do you believe what the word says or not? Does our life align with the word, or does the lie the word get conformed to our experience, and then we make it of no effect, as Jesus said to the Pharisees. You do not know the scriptures nor the power of God, so you make it of no effect. Does it become no effect? That's it. That's as simple as it is. Let us in red.
SPEAKER_02What's the no effect verse? Say that again.
SPEAKER_01Yes, so it's Jesus is uh I should know this, um, I should have this memorized, but Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, and he is talking to them about uh their hypocrisy, right? They are saying, he is pointing out that the law of Moses says that a man must honor his mother and father, right? But the Pharisees, under the law of Moses, say that they can take the money, this man can take the money that he would give to his father and mother and dedicate it to the Lord, calling it Corbin, as the term was in the Jewish society, and essentially, via the law, negate the Ten Commandments and dishonor his father and mother. And so he points out to the Pharisees, like, you use the word of God against the word of God, making it of no effect. It is ineffective, it doesn't work. And then you do not know the power of God nor the scriptures. So you err. That's actually a different verse. So you err, you turn aside, right? But I point that out being like, what do you mean it doesn't work? Well, you can twist the word to work against itself to the point where it's ineffective. Um not not this isn't twisting. I think this is done in innocence. It's it's done in a um a need and a want to preserve God's sovereignty, where people will ask God for healing and then and then say that God chose not to heal someone because they're not healed. Um, but that's a lot like saying, God, would you please die for this person's sins? And then them choosing not to be saved, and then saying, like, oh, God must not wanted them saved. So, no, it's if I go outside right now, and it's not c assuming it's not cloudy, and the sun shines on me, I don't say the sun chose to shine on me. I say there's sunlight on me. I'm I'm lit up by the sun. It wasn't a choice, the sun exists, therefore, if I stand outside, I'm I get the sun's rays on me. God's healing and salvation are kind of the same way. It's like Jesus died, paid for our healing with the stripes on his back, paid for his our salvation by becoming sin, and being, you know, he who knew no sin became sin for our sake, died on a cross, went in the grave, right? It is a reality. And so you step into that reality if you believe it and you take action on it, right? Pistail. So in the same way with healing, it's like you can ask him for it. Sure. Um, there's a complicated explanation I can give for that why I believe, and the long and short of it is I believe he has someone else pray for it. But uh you can ask for it and you can receive healing, yes. But the intended way, as Jesus and the disciples showed, is you actionize it, you take it, you run with it, you take the authority he gave you, and you pray. Um, and he works through that, right? Um, and you can get into Calvinism and determinism, and do we have free will and all that good stuff and make this a 14-hour podcast? But the point being, like he has said it in scripture it very plainly, as he did to the apostles, and so we just simply do what he says and go from there. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Have you found that you still get nervous whenever you're going to minister healing to somebody? How does that work?
SPEAKER_01I will. Um, usually those moments will be uh a little bit like um, I'll get self-conscious because I'll think about, I'll start reflecting on my day and like, okay, was I in prayer this morning, whatever. And then I quickly usually get snapped back because God will be like, hey, is this about you or me? If it's about me, why are you stressing? If it's about you, sure you can stress because you're looking at your own actions and your preparation and all this stuff. But like, I've had plenty of times where I've been mad or disgruntled, grumpy, or heck, I've straight up told God, I don't want to pray for this person. They're ticking me off. I don't want to see them heal right now. That's kind of I don't want that. And he's like, I don't care, do it. It's all begrudgingly do it and then see God heal. And I'll be like, you really are good. Like, you you really do care. You are so loving and incredibly forgiving. And I'm sorry for holding this hundred dollars against him when you've forgiven me a million. Like, I'm sorry about that. And he'll correct me through it. Um, so that'll happen where I'll get a little subconscious. Um, most of the time I'll end up getting nervous only only in those instances where I'm like, okay, Lord, like, is this the right timing? Like, I'll question myself like, is this the right timing? Not because God doesn't want me to do it, but because like, am I moving from the wrong motivation where like I want to see them healed because it's like it bothers me or like it's heavy on my heart, where God is just like, no, I want you to have this conversation first or do this thing. Um, it's kind of like uh uh, you know, that police officer um example you mentioned. It's kind of like if the if the chief of police called you that day and he's just like, hey, today I don't want you running that speed trap, right? You're not gonna go like, but but sir, I do the speed trap every day. It's all like, what do you mean? We're do we're changing the script. I'm doing something else. You just go, oh, okay, right. So the the default is yes, you do it. If you hear otherwise, you maybe wait, right? I've very rarely had that happen. There's been a few instances where it's God's like, wait 10 minutes, or like, not right now, because if you try to ask if you can pray for them, they're gonna punch you. Like they're not in the mood, don't do it right now, right? But uh, but yeah, it's it can be like that. I I try to make sure my motives are pure and um I'm doing it for the right reason. Not like it won't work, but mostly because I want to be in line with his will at all times and uh not you know run ahead of faith sometimes. So that's it.
SPEAKER_02Do you wake up and drive around? And how
Living It Daily Motives And Timing
SPEAKER_02much of the time is like healing on your mind? Because I kind of want to talk about spiritual gifts a little bit. How much of the time is healing on your mind as you're moving through your day?
SPEAKER_01So it used to be like that. Um, I'd I'd actually say right around the time we recorded the last um episode, it was kind of like that where I would I would be in a crowd and I'd be like, couldn't help. I still notice it. I notice every crutch, I notice every wheelchair, I notice every walker, I notice every limp. I just I I'm hardwired. I can't not see it, right? But I feel like I've learned how to live as you go, especially as a father of four. Like I'm usually have my hands very tied. Kids, I gotta make sure that they're not like breaking the display shelves in a store or like you know, punching someone's butt through the hole in the back of the chair or something, you know. I gotta make be on my toes. Um, and there's always no matter how much you do, there's always those cases anyway. Um, so I've I've been able to shift into a mode of like, yeah, if it's there and I have the opportunity to it, and I check in and it's like, hey, do I have time? I'll I'll take it. But it's not like a hyper-vigilant like um burden because it was a burden. It it can be a burden. It's it's feeling like if you don't do it, no one's gonna do it. But I think what God has shown me the most is how to check my schedule and check my motivation so that I am in a position of availability and I trust him, and then he will set it so that my priorities are right. And so a lot of times it's like, hey, he's not like I see something, it, but it's like, hey, I have 10 seconds and we're about to get on this, like leave or do it, and I've got the kids, and it'll be a quick check, like, hey, do I stop? And he's like, No, no, no, it's okay, I got it taken care of. Because the other thing we can fall into is this idea of like we're the only ones. Like, if if God doesn't have me do it, it's never gonna happen. This person's gonna be lost, and whatever. And oftentimes God's been like, nah, you kidding me? You're one in a thousand people I'm gonna have them talk to in their lifetime. Like, this particular time is not it, so you're good. Not good to check out, pray for them, but like you don't have to make a big scene out of it. Like, just you know, pray for them. Um, so yeah, that'll happen too. It's it's much less of a burden, it's more like as you go. Um, I I think I equate it just the same as if you're witnessing. Like, if you're out, you know, at the grocery store and you see someone and like you've got got a moment, or God is like, hey, talk to this person at the checkout aisle, you'll do it, right? But you're not like, oh my gosh, I see a person with ears, I have to hunt them down and I have to talk to them right this second, or no one's ever gonna talk to them and they're gonna end up lost forever. You know, like we don't think that way. So healing can have that that um feeling to it at the beginning, um, but then when you settle into it, you're like, cool, this is part of like the the tool and the utility belt, right? This is part of my life. This is just it is my life. So whenever it's available and there's an opportune time, I'll take it. But I don't force it anymore. Not like I used to.
SPEAKER_02Have you seen like the more that you're learning and you're growing in this? Do you get surprised by the healing still? Or are you surprised if if you don't see them healed in front of you?
SPEAKER_01Um, I I expect it. Um, although the more and more we I go, it's kind of come full circle. It was always um it was not expecting it because I wasn't as confident at the very beginning, then it was always expecting it the way I expected, because I started seeing it formulaically. And now it's come back down to I'm confident, but I don't need to see it that very second to know it'll happen. Um, so there's this concept is kind of like uh um drip feeding a plant. Um if I have a drip feeder on like a potted plant in my house or in my yard, right? Um, I don't have to doubt that it is being watered um if I can't physically see the hose and the water going into it at that second. I know it's still happening and I know there's growth happening, right? And so there's been plenty of times where um I'll pray for someone and then I'll kind of check in with the Holy Spirit. It's like, okay, are we done? And Holy Spirit will be like, yeah. I'll be like, cool. And I'll know I'm not seeing the physical symptoms change in that very second. And there's often times where you can't. Like if you're praying for someone with cancer, right? Yes, the fatigue can go away, but you don't have a microscope or or a you know a blood test kit to be able to see the cancer cells. Like, no, you just have to trust. So you have to be like, okay, cool. This is either already done or it's gonna be done by the time they check. So thanks, God. Yeah, and then it's about you and your integrity that you're checking with Holy Spirit, that it is actually done and it's settled, and you're you're standing on conf in confidence on that.
SPEAKER_02Um, so I'll have those situations or a feeling, like when you say you're checking with the Holy Spirit, it can be both. Yeah, what is it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So so um one of the biggest things with healing or I just the Christian faith, just having faith, having a really having a relationship with anyone, it's kind of nice if you could talk to them. It's kind of hard to have a deep relationship with someone you don't have conversations with, right? So it's a little tough. So for me, it's always about knowing how God is speaking to you all the different ways, because I believe he speaks to everyone in all the ways, they just have preferences of the ones they hear easier, right? Um, and being in tune with it. And so uh I yeah, I don't want to go too far off the main road here, but I will say this we are soul, body, and spirit. More body, soul, spirit as our makeup. We are three and one. Um, and I have a bunch of writing I've done on this, but long story short, second though, Second Thessalonians or 2nd Timothy 4. I always mess it up, but may you be sanctified completely in your body, soul, and spirit, right? It names all three sections, it names them specifically. The Bible all over the place shows all three of these um consistently. And people argue it's not consistent, but if you go Old Testament, New Testament, you can see the thread. Um, the reason this is important is because we, as the Bible says, we are now one spirit with the Holy Spirit, one spirit with God. Our spirit, our human spirit, is now one spirit with God, not dissimilar to a man and a wife become one flesh. It's a spiritual version of that, one with God, right? As such, God speaks to us through our spirit. But uh since it are it's our spirit, not our soul, our mind, or conscious presenting self, uh, it can sound like a muffled, far-off conversation sometimes. You know that thing where you have just a gut feeling and you're like, I think he's like an impression or yeah, just a feeling, a vibe, right? And so you can learn not only to lean into that more and hear God better, because it's a kind of a game of telephone, a little bit. It's it, you know, connection. Um, but also like it how it engages your feelings, your emotions, how it how it hits you, right? And some people that can end up being presenting words in your conscience and your mind. It can be things like you see written out physically or spoken words, it can be images, it can be feelings, it can be memories, it could be scripture, it could be song lyrics, it can be a lot of stuff, right? And so usually when I'm saying check in with the Holy Spirit, what I'm doing is like, okay, do I have a settled feeling in my spirit with him right now? Do I have a settled feeling that this is done? Like how we'd always well we'd also say it is if you you and another believer are in the Holy Spirit, right? There's agreement. There is a gut level, like, no, this is an agreement
Learning To Hear The Holy Spirit
SPEAKER_01of what is right, and God is confirming it to us. It's that with you and Holy Spirit in real time. And it sounds complicated, but it's not really. The only reason it seems complicated is because of that that distance, like spirit to soul, like that distance of hearing. It's something that we don't we get programmed to not listen for because life is just loud. There's a lot of distractions, there's a lot of things that we don't be still and know. There's a lot of ways that things get um muffled. And so the the practice is having quiet, still time and listening and learning what his voice sounds like. And I'll I'll give this to listeners. If you're struggling with hearing God's voice, because I honestly I talk to a lot of people about how to hear God's voice. Um, in any spiritual authority, discernment, gifts of the spirit, whatever it is, is just hard if you can't hear God's voice, right? Or there's a lot of noise, or the voices in your head, you don't know if they're God's or not, whatever. One of the um activities I encourage is go to a secret place, you know, where you worship, where you meet God, bring a notepad and a piece of a piece of paper and pen, and make it physical, not on a device, because then it's just distracting. Yeah. Um, and then just sit there for an hour in silence and pray and ask God to speak. And then write down, write down everything you hear, line by line, pages and pages, however long it takes. Right, write it all down. And be vulnerable and that you let any thought you have come into your mind, write it down. Like just the most random, or I can even go as far as saying like the most um vulgar, like what whatever, whatever level of acceptable that thought is awful, good, neutral, whatever, write it down. Then when you're done, you go through and you go, like, okay, this line. Can I find scripture that accompanies it? Does it line up with God's character? Cool, this is God. This line, well, this is pretty vulgar. So obviously, that ain't him, the enemy. You go through, you write it all the way down, right? And by the end, you have a map of how God sounds in your mind and how the enemy tries to lie to you in your mind. From one hour, you have it, and you go through and it's like, cool, Lord, like help me remember this is your voice, this is what you sound like. And then the other thing I like to say is once you're done doing that, and you do that a bunch of times and you get familiar with how he sounds, because obviously read scripture too, because scripture is how he sounds. So you're reading scripture, you're doing that activity. Next, you can do this, which is fun. You can sit down and do the same exercise, but once you're done, label it Father, Son, Holy Spirit. That's a different layer. Because once you start doing that, you start recognizing the personhood, because it's three persons, one being, the personhood of each member of the Trinity in your prayer life. So, like, for example, this is always funny in my life. Uh, Holy Spirit is lovingly blunt with me. He's usually the one that will be like, hey, listen, it's right there. Love you, bud, but you're being kind of dense right now. It's right there. Um, he'll he'll joke, he'll make memes, like ideas, and like he just quick and witty, right? Jesus is lovey dovey to the extreme. He is very, very like he is the uh bridegroom. He is just super loving and tender and whatever, but he can be intense. He can also be super passionate and tense, right? The father is like like I've skinned my knee and I need to get up and I need to be encouraged about who I am and my identity, and like so much of my identity and the words spoken are from the father, right? And so you go, you go into this relationship, and not only are you having a relationship with God, God, you're having a relationship and a more individual one with the Trinity. And you start doing this and you start realizing like, okay, like this is a more there's more tangibility to my relationship now. It's not just a because the problem with not the problem, the simplification that happens with our relationship with God is he is a concept. God is not a concept, he's a person, right? And if he stays as a concept, it's very easy to have distance. The enemy wants us to have God is a concept, so there's distance and it's not personal. But the more personal he is, and how much more personal can you be if um than recognizing all three members of the Trinity, then it's very personal. And so if there's discernment issues, if there's like I don't know if I can hear God's voice, start off with journaling, start off with labeling what you're hearing, and you'll very quickly understand who's God and who's the enemy, right? And there could be neutral stuff there, it can just be like your own subconscious and your heart, just different things, right? Um, and then you get used to the Trinity. The other tell that I really like to tell, um, you know, mention to people is in my life at least, I've noticed that God speaks in I statement. The enemy usually speaks in you statement. That's it, right? So God is like, I am, I am courageous, I am bold, I am loving, I am kind, I am powerful, I am, I am, I am a king, I am these things, right? And he speaks as I statements in you because he wants you to identify with him always, right? That's your identity. The enemy is you. You're worthless, you're trash, you're pathetic, you're never gonna amount to anything, you're a waste, you're blah, blah, blah, blah. It's you, you, you, you, you, right? Some people it can be flipped. I've met people that has it flipped, right? And that's why that exercise is important too. But I find as a general rule, the enemy uses you statements, God uses I statements for the most part. Um, and that can help too, especially if you're going through like, oh, here's I, I, I, here's you, you, you. Notice how all the you stuff is mostly negative and the I stuff is mostly positive. So anyway.
SPEAKER_02Wow. If if someone is interested and they're like, God has put healing on my heart. Do you believe that God puts healing on everybody's heart or everybody's asked to heal and some people like operate in it more than others?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think um, so there's a there's a difference between having a gift for something and the ability of something. So I would say like this like uh if I say someone has a gift of speaking, I don't mean they literally are the only person some one of the only people I know that can talk, right? They have a eloquency in their speech. Yeah, they're good in front of crowds, whatever. But I don't mean like, oh, Rich has a gift to of speaking, and I don't. I'm not saying I'm a mute. I still can do it. I'm maybe not as practiced or it might not come as natural, but I still can do it. Healings like that. So, you know, we're we're said to have every spiritual blessing in the heavens. We are also partakers of the divine nature of God now, right? In such we have him in us, because it's him doing it anyway, uh, through us for healing, for raising the dead, for casting out demons, for preaching the kingdom, for all this. And so our participation and and movement in that is down to practice and belief. Well, belief and then practice really. So, how many times you've been at bat, how how likely are you to step up again and take a swing? Um, and that's it. So it can come more naturally to certain people, it can have a burden on your heart like mine to t to do it, but to teach it to other people, right? Um, whereas other people have other burdens, right? But that doesn't mean you don't do it, doesn't mean you don't have that tool in your tool bow. And let me tell you what, it's easy to say, ah, uh that healing's not for me. But when you're out of resources and you don't have a hospital nearby, and someone maybe is dying from a kidney failure or like from you know some severe thing, it's at that point you realize, oh, maybe I should start believing this is for me because it is my only option. And you start realizing, like, yeah, God in you.
SPEAKER_02Who who was that uh healer preacher at the turn of the Oh, John G. Lake? Yeah, John G. Lake when he went to Africa and he saw all the healing there, and he said, Well, in your country, you have hospitals, and here, if we don't heal, we die.
SPEAKER_01Yep, 100%. And it's yeah, it's the key difference. It's it's what what are your options, what what is available to you that would I want to say supplement your faith or replace your faith, but at least prevent your faith from growing in situations where it's challenged, right? Like I was reflecting on what it means to be refined like silver and gold with God working in our lives, right? And uh silversmith holds silver in the fire at the point at the hottest point, right up to the moment where the
Gifts Versus Practice Under Pressure
SPEAKER_01the impurities are burned off and then pulls it out. Not a moment later, it would get singed and damaged. Not a moment sooner, the impurities wouldn't be taken care of, right? Well, there's lots of moments in our life where the pressure and the heat of the situation forms our faith. Faith is built through steadfastness, right? And so those situations, the enemy is supremely interested in limiting those situations as much as possible. He will let situations of selfishness, selfish suffering for the like sin or whatever happen, but voluntary suffer voluntary voluntary suffering is not what he wants to see. God wants to use those moments to build their faith. And I can't tell you other moments where my faith has been affirmed and built, and when I've seen my own kids have medical struggles. When when my daughter was in the hospital for a week with you know eight or nine seizures in the course of like a couple days at the beginning, and my youngest now, um Ford had the same thing, right? When they're both off meds now, they haven't had any anything happen in over a year. Um but like during those moments going to the hospital and like not knowing what's going on. I'll tell you that the temptation that was present was retreat, um uh medicate, check out. But the uh the opportunity God presented was build your faith, build your faith, like stand steady and and stand on what I've done, and don't let your circumstance change the truth of what you know I've done. Um, and that's huge, right? And so it's not mistaking that as God arranging those situations or God being the one that kills and steals and destroys instead of the enemy that sets it up, but it is acknowledging God works all things for its good. And in those moments where we would pull for the easy thing, God, and I've had this happen before too, God's like, You want to take that advil? Do you want to wait? He's like, You could your choice, but do you want to wait? I'll be like, Oh, I'll wait. He's like, Yeah, chug a bunch of water, pray, and then go on with your day, and like you'll be fine. And then I'll do it. And some days it's like, Lord, it's been two hours, my head still hurts. He's like, wait. And the other days he'll be like, Okay, you can take the Advil if you want, whatever. And medicine is a whole other when it comes to healing, is a whole nother topic that we can get into. Um, not advocating that all medical intervention or drugs or whatever.
SPEAKER_02It seems like medicine actually heals, though. It seems like medicine covers up.
SPEAKER_01Yep, you can address the symptoms. So even a doctor would Will say that like you um you are setting the body into a state in which it can heal itself more efficiently, you are not healing, right? Right. Uh same thing with medicine, you deal with the symptoms. Um actually, I would uh well, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So what would you say to somebody who's like I think God has put a burden on my heart for healing and I want to learn more about it? Where would you direct them?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I um every week I write a newsletter called Bigger Than Me. It can be found at biggerthanme.org, exactly how it sounds, honeword.org. Um, and it's about overcoming each week. We do one tradition of man, which is a religious or societal reason that's been generated that's not out not in scripture, not scriptural, for why healing shouldn't happen or won't happen or doesn't happen or whatever else, right? We tackle one each week, and I go over the principles of healing, how it works, how you can dive right into it and see results, and ultimately why it is a very important part of the Christian experience. Um, I think the year has been a massive oversight of what made the book of Acts happen. The falling of the Holy Spirit and the seizing of the opportunity and running with it in faith, I think is something that unfortunately has been explained away and has been forgotten in a time in our lives where, well, frankly, medical costs are never more expensive, haven't been more expensive than they are here in the US and a lot of places in the world. But also uh doubt and unbelief in God or anything bigger outside of ourselves is at an all-time low. And people are turning back to the church to see, like, okay, what is like there has to be bigger purpose than this. I think there is a totally overlooked opportunity to help people in the practical way Jesus and the apostles did, by meeting them where their needs are, literally physically meeting them and helping them, and then showing them the free gift of God's grace and love and salvation that also at the same time was paid for with healing and demonstrating that physical, physically. Um, and so I write on that. I write on very practically, and I do a bunch of other writing too through the website. So all the issues are free. If you subscribe, there's a little guide to like I do healing in there. Um, like just 10 10 steps, like simple thing. Um, but on the end of every issue, I sign it like until next time at Addison, and my name is a hyperlink to all my other work. So everything's there at biggerthanme.org. They can check it out there.
SPEAKER_02I love it, man. Talk to me about what you've like the the hard things that you've had to learn through this last year and a half and how God has taught you. Because I know you're writing all this stuff and it's beautiful. And I, you know, I just went to the website, it is beautiful, but
Where To Start BiggerThanMe Newsletter
SPEAKER_02I know that there's stuff going on that like you know, your kids being in the hospital. How has he grown you through this last year and a half?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So I think the biggest thing he's taught me over and over again um is a couple different lessons. One about how I understand what I believe in theology in general. Um, we often default to it's either A or B. It's either A resolution on this, like this is denominational bickering, right? A A answer or B answer. And if I believe A, A, B, C, D, and E, all these other explanations are heretical and they're not a part of me, and they have to get out of here, or vice versa, right? And God has told me, show shown me so many times it's A and B because we flimit our thinking and what God can explain to us by our narrow focus. And so God has been working very hard to expand my focus and not point paint him into a corner. The other thing he's shown me that has been really critical is you don't have to have the perfect answer to a question to still remain in faith. And what I mean by this is I can read Mark 16, 17 to 18 that says these signs will follow those that believe. They live, they will lay hand lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover, or they will recover. I can read that, pray for someone, not see healing, and I've seen plenty of healing, I've seen it hundreds of times, you know, to the positive, not see it, and then not have my faith unravel to say that like God must not be telling the truth there. Absolutely, right? Because it it's a choice. Each time it's a choice, it's choices. Is God's word truth? Is the word, John 1, the word was with God and the word was God, right? Jesus, is he truth? Because there's a difference, and this is super important. There's a difference between facts and the truth. A 3D scan of an object could be considered the truth of its shape. A picture of the object is a fact because it's one angle. But if you took a still picture of an object, like say I just find something, this pen. If I took a still picture of it, it only shows one dimension. Well, two height and width, right? But if I were to rotate it slowly and take a picture, I'd take I could take hundreds, thousands, and almost get the truth of it. But you don't have the truth of the pen unless you're holding it. You can turn it over, you can see it, you can see how it functions, how it moves, and even then you're not gonna understand everything about it, right? And so when it comes to situations like that, I cannot I have to submit the facts I have about a situation to the truth of who Christ is and what the word
Faith Holds When Results Vary
SPEAKER_01says. Have to. Because the second, truly, and this is this is kind of the brutal reality God's been having me speak on more and not not be um subtle about it. Truly, if I believe that my perspective, my idea about a situation is truth, I am saying I am my own God. If I am saying I have to be convinced in my own mind and my own rational soul that this is truth and that God is good and that he's just and like, prove to me, Lord, that you're good. Nah, that's saying I'm my own God.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01What God says is good is good, and what he says is evil is evil, and what he says in his word is true, and it's been borne out. I'm not saying this for lack of evidence. I've seen, again, hundreds of healings, I've seen crazy things, lots of testimonies, but I've also seen it not work out, and I have to choose, and and it works the other way too. I have to choose if God is still good, and I give up that choice. I'm like, I don't have that right, I'm a slave to righteousness. Like, that's yours, God. Like, I know you're good. And I also have to stop and be like, okay, am I the problem? And you ask that question in a very specific way. You don't say, I'm the problem because I don't have authority, I'm not God's child, He hasn't chose me, He hasn't told me to do this, the word doesn't say it, none of those things. That's how traditions of man are started. There's an excuse made that is then canonized and repeated in church circles and cultural circles until it's understood and stood on as truth when it's not. I have to go, am I if is did I miss something? Because that's a different question. If you told me to lock up your house and I missed that there was a back door as well, and I forgot to lock that and you got robbed, that's not a did I miss what Rich said. That was, oh, like you said, or um, I not that I misunderstood what you wanted. It was like, oh, you told me about the back door and I totally forgot it. That's on me. That's my bad. It doesn't say I'm a bad friend. It doesn't say that like I wanted malice against you. It doesn't say I wanted that to happen. None of that. It just means I forgot something that was critical. So sometimes I can be like, oh Lord, like, did I mess up? And he can be in total love, like the father can just be like, Yeah, I was telling you to keep going and you you didn't listen long enough and you stopped praying. There was a little bit more to go, and you you stopped a little early. I'll be like, You're right. You're right. I was impatient. I was clock watching because I had an appointment to go to and I was on a video call and this person needed healing, and I I rushed them. That's my bad. Thank you for humbling me. Thank you for reminding me. Like it's still you, but I gotta submit and I gotta remember that you're in control here. So that can happen for sure. Um, but I don't let that change the theology and the truth of what the word says or God's goodness or the fact that the disease and sickness is from the enemy and not God and all these other things, right? Um, so that's one thing that he's been solidifying in me. And being okay to say I don't know. Like if someone passes, like, oh, you know, this person passed away. Why did God want him to die? Did he bring him up to heaven? Did he and I'll just be like, I don't have an exact answer for you, but I do know this scripture. I don't know this, these are my testimonies, but this is the scripture, this is what it says. So I know this has to be true, and the fact is they didn't live, but I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna under under um you know, undercut what God says in his word based on the experience. I can't. I refuse to, right? So yeah.
SPEAKER_02Let me ask you this. Two questions as as we kind of wrap up here. Um, question number one is can healing happen through the phone or through video calls? And have you seen that and what does that look like or is it different?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. So um uh I love uh Dan Moeller. I I believe he had a quote where he said that no, actually, this is Curry Blake. Dan Muller has another one that's great. But he said, the distance from which you can heal someone is from which you can love them. And so if you have the love of Christ in your heart and you're for them and not against them, then yeah, I can 100% see it. I've seen it all the way around the world. I've people in other countries that are complete opposite ours. Um, most of my stuff, honestly, most of the ministry is via video calls and phone calls and sometimes even texts. Um, I've seen my first my first testimony on this was four years ago. I believe Eddie and I were at the office, and he was on, I think it was he was on tech support with like Capital One, like a credit card company for one of our debits, debit cards, and he's sitting there and chatting at the computer, literally just chatting on this chat bot with this assistant in India, right? And he just gets this look, he's like so he tap types, and I'm watching what he's saying, and it's something like, Hey, by the way, do you have pain in your knee? Because he got a word from the spirit, and she went like, Yes, actually, how did you know that? He's like, Well, I have this God is my friend, and he just mentioned it to me. Do you mind if I pray for you real quick? And then he did, and then she started freaking out on the chat because you got healed right there and then, right? Let's go. And Eddie's crying, I'm crying, I'm sure she's crying at some desk in the IT center, right? And I saw that and I was like, oh, God just got bigger today. Because, you know, in in the Bible, it says like you talk Peter and Paul, you're talking about people thinking their shadows are healing people, or Paul sending handkerchiefs that he's prayed over and it casting out demons and healing people. Like it's all the power of God, right? So distance physical is not the same spiritual, it's all close. So I've seen it since um friend BB. I remember she was feeling sick, and I couldn't. I called her and she was not feeling great. I just wrote about this a couple weeks ago, um month ago. Uh so I recorded a voice message text and just sent it to her, and then she got to it later and listened to it and was feeling better by the end of the day. I've seen video calls, tons of every cancer, bones, broken bones, failing organs, headaches, splinters, you name it. I've seen it all through video call, through phone calls. Um, I've done text before. There's been there's probably a half dozen times where it's like a text in Jesus' name be healed. Like I was like, Lord, I've got 30 seconds. He's like, Cool, you can send the text. All
Healing Through Phone Video And Text
SPEAKER_01right, cool. Here we go. I've seen that before too. Um, so yeah, anything, right? Uh your authority is Jesus said, and this is the really cool part, and I I we take we don't take it seriously enough. Anything will be possible for you. One two, he said, great and greater things than I you will do, which is Jesus talking. So that's kind of a big statement. That's kind of huge. Like some people are like, Well, Jesus didn't move a mountain. I was like, Yeah, but it says greater, greater, greater, great and greater things than I you will do, which is wild. So yeah, that Jesus, this is I'll say this. The uh testimonies of Jesus' miracles are supposed to be the floor, not the ceiling. If it is Christ that lives in you, it is no longer you who live, but Christ lives who lives in you, according to Galatians 2.20. The miracles of Jesus during his earthly ministry are the floor, not the ceiling. The ceiling is greater and bigger than you could ever imagine. So, yes, anything, name it. You are are we are limited by our imagination, and we expand that imagination by giving it over to Holy Spirit. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_02As when did uh you start with freedom? Was it 2020 or 2021?
SPEAKER_01Uh 2020, yeah. It's been about six years now. But I'll close with a dot.
SPEAKER_02You said as you grow in this, a lot of it becomes simpler, but obviously you have so much of a deeper understanding and background. What is becoming much more simple about the spiritual life as you're in year six? And I know you've been a Christian for your whole life, but kind of really running with it for about six years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So the simpler thing is just what God wants from us. Um, like, yes, when you look at the grand picture of it, there's lots, there's tons of stuff that the following the way, like following Christ, what it entails. There's a ton. There's voluntary suffering, there is there is uh endurance, there's running the good race, there is there's so much. But like, I heard this one uh preacher say this thing it's like Christ just wants you as a friend. Like ultimately, what is true is God wants you as his child and his friend, and that's the pursuit. Like, as I've been reading through the old testament, really studying it for myself um in depth for the first time in my life, right? Read the New Testament like 40 odd times, read through the old testament in bits and chunks, but never straight through and all this, like taking it seriously um through this last year. The thing that always strikes me is like God wants your heart like David pursued God's like that's that's it. So the simple thing is just like what does it look like to be a love child? Spend time, be with him, acknowledge him, talk to him, like laugh with him, cry with him, like just do that, right? Free of burden of um, yeah, free of burden of performance of being enough, of becoming enough because you already are his kid, you're already saved, he already gave you new life. Um and he is supremely interested in anything that would hinder that relationship. So yeah, be the bride. Like the other thing I would say too is you go beyond standard friendship and the depth of which Jesus wants to have intimacy with us. I think in North American culture, Western culture especially, where uh is men were um uncomfortable with this idea, but like we are to be, we are one spirit with the Holy Spirit. We are one spirit with God, like a man and woman are one flesh. The intimacy level God wants with us is unfathomably more intimate and deep and personal than a man and woman in marriage. It is true. Every bit of us, every every idea, every um corner, nook, cranny, I like part of you, body, soul, and spirit, he
Simplicity Friendship Intimacy And Wrap
SPEAKER_01wants. And so that is the simplicity of it is just surrender and continually going after it. And then everything else flows, everything else happens, everything else, ministry, all that will go. It's just that.
SPEAKER_02Well, this is what I'm getting from this conversation, and it's about being alone with him. I think being alone with him, intimacy with him, seek replace time, and then moving from the authority. And uh, when it comes to healing, just go for it. And and let I think the word compassion keeps coming out. The reason why we heal is compassion for others, not to prove God right, not to prove me right, but because we love others and we are we're compassionate for them. Yeah. So that's what I mean. Jesus was starting. So um, yeah, give us the stats. Where do we go to find it's better or bigger than me.org.
SPEAKER_01Yep, bigger than me.org. Um, that's I would just point everyone there to keep it simple. Um, read any of my articles. My signature line has a hyperlink with my name. It's just until next time, Addison. And that'll take you to my link tree with all my other stuff. But start at the newsletter, that's the core of it. Um, from there, you know, once you go to that link tree, you can see my uh my Discord server where we meet, we do weekly Q ⁇ A's on healing. Uh my friend Hui and I, we we host a uh uh general discipleship Bible study um as well on there on Fridays. Um I've got a ton of theological writing I've done, like 30 or so different pieces um scattered across Google Docs that I have linked in a hub on my Link Tree um that you can check out from there too. And that covers everything from a giant healing guide, which is one of the biggest things God had me write, to my theology built out in public, to you know questions like um, for example, you're gonna get into healing, you're gonna be like, hmm, okay, I'm healing, and you know, maybe God will have you cast out a demon or something like that, and you'll be like, seems like there's a bigger world here. It's like, yeah. So I've got one kind like uh a doc called style, yeah, yeah, unveiling the hidden realm, right? Which is just like, hey, here's the history of the earth spiritually, and all these different players in this game. It's more than just us, God, the devil, and angels. There's more at play here. There are more characters. You know, Paul talks about powers and principalities, the elemental spirit spirits of the world. Jesus casts out unclean spirits. Where do they come from? There's there's the Nephilim, yeah, there's the Watchers, there's a lot of other stuff, right? That I think broader Christianity doesn't understand. Um, so I write on that and a bunch of other interesting topics of just faith, uh, a plug, um, speaking in tongues. I know that's controversial amongst certain denominations, but I write on that and it makes it very practical and understanding for anyone to approach, whether you understand it or you have no idea about it, or it's like, you know. So lots of stuff. I cover everything. So check those out if you're interested as well. But just go to the newsletter first and poke around there.
SPEAKER_02Addison, you're a huge testimony and a blessing to me. Um, privileged to call you brother, man. Thank you so much for coming on and encouraging all of us. I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.