What did Jesus say about the Old Testament?

What shall we do with the 39 books (Genesis-Malachi) of the Old Testament (OT)? Burn them all as rubbish? Take scissors and cut out the parts we don't like? Decide that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament (NT)? Honor it as the inspired, true, reliable and authoritative word of God? This question has vast implications for the way we live our lives and even where we will spend eternity.¹ Yet to answer such a question we need look no further than the GOD-man Jesus Christ.²

Why Jesus? Because He is God. And what He says is true. The most compelling evidence for the truthfulness of Jesus is that He predicted His own death and resurrection at least six times³, and then just as He foretold He was raised from the dead, to never die again. For evidence of His resurrection, take the evidence of the radical change in the disciples' lives. Because of His resurrection (and the power of the Holy Spirit), His disciples, who previously had their doors locked out of fear (John 20:19) were filled with such zeal and boldness that they publicly preached His resurrection in Jerusalem, the very same city where He was publicly crucified. Many disciples even died because of their continual preaching of the resurrection (Acts 12:1-3, etc.). Because of their bold witness for Jesus they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Jesus surely is alive, as evidenced by the historically accurate NT accounts, the changed lives of the disciples, etc. Because He predicted his own death and resurrection as it actually happened, surely we can trust everything else He said.

So, how did Jesus treat the OT? According to Matthew 4, after getting baptized by John the Baptist, He goes into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. While confronting the most wicked being in the universe, He needs to pull out His most powerful weapon. Just as a man would use his most powerful weapon to shoot a charging rhino about to take his life, Jesus pulls out the “big guns”. The OT! What does He quote? Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13, & 16, words which Moses wrote over 1400 years earlier.⁴ He demonstrates that the Scripture is the most powerful weapon against Satan, that it is trustworthy, true and is spiritually powerful. If Jesus trusted the OT in the face of Satan, we too can trust it when facing adversity.

“But wait!” You might ask. Isn't the OT historically inaccurate, though there may be some positive spiritual truth? Not possible! Jesus doesn't give us the option to think that. He talks about many characters from the OT as though they were completely historical and never once questioned their reality. Jonah and the great fish, Noah, Elijah, Daniel, the places Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. are declared by Jesus to be as real as you and me. He even tells about the very first man and woman to ever exist, named Adam and Eve.⁵ According to Jesus, the OT is also historically accurate as well as spiritually powerful.

Because of these reasons and much more, I agree with Jono Hall, teacher of OT survey at IHOPU: “It is... impossible to believe in Jesus as Son of God and not believe the events of the Old Testament. If we are to believe Jesus’ truthfulness, we must believe his statements about the Old Testament.” Jesus is the Son of God and if He said it, we should believe it. The OT is the inspired, true, reliable and authoritative word of God.

1 While I do affirm that salvation is through faith in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9, etc.), true biblical faith necessitates that we believe and agree with everything Jesus actually said. If He said the OT was the inspired, true word of God and we don't agree with Him, we've made Him a liar and therefore don't have the biblical faith that leads to salvation. Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), and our supposed faith in Jesus that includes a rejection of His view of the OT is not true saving faith.

2 The Bible clearly declares that Jesus is God. While there are many more verses, here are the most basic verses often used to support His divinity: Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:1-2, 20:28; Mark 2:5-12.

3 From the Gospel of Matthew alone: 12:38-40; 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19, 26:32

4 Jesus affirmed the long standing tradition that Moses wrote Genesis-Deuteronomy (see John 5:46 , etc.), and the dating comes from 1 Kings 6:1, that states the Exodus happened 480 years after Solomon started building the temple. Scholars date this event at 966 BC, placing the Exodus at about 1446 BC. Deuteronomy was written after the 40 wilderness experience, at about 1406 BC (Deuteronomy 1:3)

5 Jonah (and the great fish sometimes): Matthew 12:39-41, 16:4; Luke 11:29-32

Noah: Matthew 24:37-38, Luke 17:26-27

Elijah: Matthew 11:14, 17:11-12; Mark 9:12-13; Luke 4:25-26

Daniel: Matthew 24:15

Sodom and Gomorrah: Matthew 10:15, 11:23-24, Luke 10:12, 17:29

Adam and Eve: Matthew 19:4-6

Praise report: Salvation, Unity and Glory in America!

Thank you all so much for your prayers for the IHOPU teams that went out to 12 locations earlier this month!

We saw the Lord do great and amazing things:

1. over 100 people decided to follow the Lord as we ministered to them
2. many people received accurate prophetic words for strangers as they walked by the Spirit
3. in many places there were several ministries from different denominations coming together for a city wide prayer meeting, demonstrating Christ-like humility and unity
4. many people got supernaturally healed! (see below for two of my favorite stories)
5. The Lord was worshiped much in these twelve cities, because each team spent much time in worship and prayer. Many locations even joined with others to do at least 24 hours of nonstop prayer, some even had a whole week of nonstop worship and prayer!

So, here are two of my favorite stories of healing. One of them actually is a double testimony because it involves answered prayer from my friend Karson who stayed in Kansas City. Karson was praying for one of the teams from a list given to him and when he got to the name Atien (even when he didn't know Atien) he felt the Lord say that He would give him the gift of healing to see limbs grow out. To Karson's delight, Atien prayed for people and saw about 10 limbs grow out to the right size during his trip! The Lord answered Karson's Spirit inspired prayer and many people were touched!

The second story is just so cool! Someone was paralyzed, and after prayer they were able to move their hand for the first time in a long time, and they were able to walk with assistance (which they were not able to do before). They weren't back to what most consider normal, but the ex-paralytic has a definitely new normal! They were able to get out of their wheelchair!

The coolest thing about the trips we saw the Lord do all those thing right before we started a school wide fast from April 21st (today)-May 11th. Just as God poured out His Spirit in a powerful way here in 2009-10, we are believing God for another great awakening at IHOPU, so that we will be sent out with power everywhere we go. I also believe that it is the strategy of Heaven to show that He really does answer prayer. If the people who pray night and day receive a visitation from God, it should encourage the body of Christ to continue praying and fasting.

Thanks for your prayers, and please keep us in prayer as we start this fast today, asking for a great awakening in our school, city, nation and planet!

Prayer request: IHOPU ministry trips

From April 5th-13th we as IHOPU students are getting an incredible opportunity to minister all across America. We are sending out 12 different teams to 12 different locations (listed below). I'm so excited about what the Lord is doing in raising up 24/7 prayer all across America and causing great exploits to flow from the place of prayer. As far as I know, all the teams will be strengthening worship and prayer wherever they go. Many locations are even hosting a whole week of nonstop prayer!!! Of course, wherever prayer takes place, signs and wonders confirming the preaching of the Gospel, so we will be testify about Jesus everywhere we go.

As for my team and I, we're going to be staying in Kansas City and working at the local University of Missouri, Kansas City campus. We're joining with about 11 other ministries to put together a week of nonstop worship and intercession. As usual, I get the incredible honor of worshiping Jesus in the middle of the night, from 2-6am. This really has become a theme for me and I wouldn't be surprised if I spend much more of my life worshiping Jesus at night. Such a joy!

We're also going to be working with a local church, going door to door and asking people about their needs, sharing Bible teaching and praying with them. On the other days we're going to be working with an IHOP-KC ministry called Hope City.

Please be praying for us, that Jesus would be glorified through His church being full of love for Him and the people that He loves.

Also please pray for each of the ministry trips, sent out all across the country:

1. Birmingham, AL 
2. College Station, TX 
3. Kansas City, MO 
4. Peoria, IL 
5. Chicago, IL 
6. Dallas, TX 
7. Twin Cities, MN 
8. Cincinnati, OH 
9. Seattle, WA 
10. Boston, MA 
11. Pagosa Springs, CO 
12. Orlando, FL 

Thank you so much, I hope to send a report of what the Lord has done after the teams get back.

God bless!

Spring Break in Haiti

Hey everyone!

I'm here at IHOP getting wrecked by God's heart for 24/7 prayer all over the Earth! IHOP has been praying 24/7 for almost 15 years now! Wow! Our great Lord wants all the nations of the Earth to pray without ceasing, being in constant fellowship with Him, just like it was in the Garden of Eden at the beginning (Gen. 1-2) and will be again in the New Jerusalem for all eternity (Rev. 21-22). God is raising up 24/7 prayer all over the Earth!

One of those nations is Haiti. Devastated by an earthquake on Jan 12th, 2010, this nation has been brought to it's knees and humbled before God. Since then I've seen God moving in very powerful ways. I was very blessed by the Lord to be able to go to Haiti for about 6 months in 2011 with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and I met some incredible people there. Haitians are seriously some of the coolest people and are so in love with the Lord no matter what circumstances they may face! Since praying for them often since 2010, being there in 2011 and doing a Bible school with my good friend Robert in 2012, I'm more and more convinced that God is going to do great things in and through Haiti. God is on the move and I want to be a part of what He's doing!

To that end, from about March 16th-23rd, instead of using my spring break to be as sinful and foolish as possible, I'm going to Haiti to do ministry with my good friend Robert. We're going to spend our time in worship, intercession, evangelism and teaching. One of our biggest prayer points is asking God to raise up 24/7 prayer in the Haitian presidential palace, so that just as God's throne in Heaven is surrounded by worship and intercession (Rev. 4-5) the Haitian President's "throne" would be surrounded by worship and intercession. Can you imagine what God would do in a nation where His glory is given first priority?!? It makes me so excited to think that I could play any part in this at all!

This will also be an important trip in my life as I prayerfully consider how I'm going to serve Haiti in the future. I've often thought I would go there for my whole life and am still prayerfully considering spending much time there in the near future!

So, here's the part you get to play, if you dare!! My first and greatest need is prayer. If God doesn’t move and release His power I have no hope at all! I also need finances, because if I don’t have money I won’t be able to physically go to Haiti! So, will you prayerfully consider supporting me while I go to Haiti to partner with what God is doing there? I will need about $1000 to go to Haiti (for travel & food, extra ministry opportunities).

If you're interested in donating, toward me going to Haiti, until March 13th you can still donate through my missions account YWAM. Click on this sentence to go to another page that has additional instructions.

Thanks and God bless!

Highest Praise is finished!

Hey everyone,

as I mentioned in some previous posts, I've been working on completing my first 10 song demo album, including "I'll Just Relax" which was already released as a single.

It is completely free (free will donations are never denied) and I encourage you to share it with all your friends, cover it, etc., because I just want everyone to worship the Lord and hope that this music helps to serve that vision.

Free new single: "I'll Just Relax"

Hey everyone!

It's my joy to announce that the first single I recorded in a professional studio is released! I wrote it on the beach in Hawaii and it's about the greatness and goodness of God our Father. Because of who He is, I can stop worrying and just relax in His power and love. It's called "I'll Just Relax." I hope you enjoy it!

I just put it on Noisetrade so you can download it for free, as always. Also, feel free to share it with all your friends and encourage them to share it with others as well, all without charge. I do receive donations (click this to support me through YWAM, or you can go through Noisetrade), but don't want that to get in the way of people receiving quality God-honoring music. Social media like Facebook is a great way to share free music that exalts Jesus! Help me spread the fragrance of Christ all over the world!

Thanks!

P.S. I'm working on a 10 song demo, all original songs, with this being one of the songs. Be on the lookout, I'm hoping to release it on Christmas this year.

Here are the lyrics with chords:

Key: F
BPM: 75

Chorus 1:

Gm7 Cmaj7
I'll just relax
F

I know my daddy's got me
Gm7 Cmaj7
I'll just relax
F
There's no need to worry
Gm7 Cmaj7 F
I'll just relax, Yeah-yeah

Chorus 2 (x2):

Gm7 Cmaj7
You're the creator of all
Gm7 Cmaj7 F
You're the one that I call my daddy, You're my daddy

Interlude:

Gm7/// Am7/ Dm7////
(sing Oh) (Repeat)
Gm7 Am7 Dm7
I don't need to worry, I don't need figure it out all
Gm7 Am7
Cause I know you're my daddy
Dm7

I know you have a good good plan me (Repeat)

Chorus 1

Chorus 2 (x2)

Bridge (x2):

Gm7 Cmaj7 Gm7 Cmaj7
I'll just lay back and let you love me
Gm7 Cmaj7 F
You will carry me all the way home

Chorus 1

Credits:
Ryan Montgomery: producer, bass and accordion
Thomas Kenny (rkrpro@me.com): recording, mixing
Nathan Uttley (nathanuttleymusic@gmail.com): vocals, guitar and songwriter

My copyright is your right to copy. For more details see: http://nuttleyjesusfreak.blogspot.com/p/copyright-policy.html

I'm moving to Kansas City!!!

It has been an amazing year and I have so many things to be thankful for! Here are my top fives:

1. being a part of fueling 24/7 prayer in Washington, D.C.
2. Staffing at a base that sent out two outreach teams to Israel
3. Doing an evangelism school in PA that saw 320+ people saved in just one week of evangelism!
4. Staffing David's Tent with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a 1,000 hour love song to Jesus on the lawn in front of the White House
5. Getting to teach a weekly Bible study in one of the Discipleship Training Schools happening at this base

Thank you all so much for your support! I certainly couldn't've done this on my own, and I'm so thankful for each one of you that have prayed and given financially to me to be able to be on staff with YWAM for one more year. While being here in DC I've become more convinced than ever that God is raising up a global prayer movement that will only grow until the Lord returns. As God's people are praying and worshiping 24/7 we are already seeing incredible fruit in many nations and will continue to see unprecedented awakening in the nations. The 320 salvations in just one week of evangelism in America is a great example of that.

In the past few years I've been learning my place in this grand move of God, and I believe a significant part of my life is to be a corporate worship leader. I currently can lead with the guitar, piano, sing and play drums. I've also been very blessed to have written about 150 original songs since early 2011 (which are all in various stages of producing). That number just astounds me and causes me to praise the Lord, because any gifts I have for songwriting simply came from Him. Many people have affirmed me and even asked me to start recording the songs I've written.

Because of such encouragement, support and divine help, I just finished recording a song called “I'll Just Relax.” While I've recorded many other songs, this was my first recording in a professional studio. As I write this the audio engineer is mixing it and I hope to release it for free soon! (donations are always welcome haha) I'm also planning on recording 9 more songs using a simple music recording program called Garageband, and I hope to finish it by Christmas. When they're all finished I plan to release them all as a 10 song album called Highest Praise, which will also be free. My primary goal is simply to make Jesus famous by making really good music that helps the worshiper know God as He can be known so that they can love Him as he can be loved. I also believe that giving songs to people and receiving donations will be a very practical way of how I raise support in the future. Just as Paul was a tentmaker, I feel gifted to be a songwriter.

To that end, I've applied and been accepted to the International House Of Prayer University (IHOPU) in Kansas City, MO. I'll be doing their worship leader track and currently plan on completing a 4 year degree through that school. I'm currently doing online courses to get some credits done, and I'll start my on-campus student orientation Jan. 16^th 2014. As for my involvement with YWAM, I hope to do a couple short trips with YWAMers in 2014, but as of Dec. 17^th, 2013 I will not be on staff with YWAM in any official role. However, I am already full of ideas and desire to join YWAM again in the future, but I need to wait for the Lord's timing.

As for support, first I just want to say thank you for all of your support! While I won't be on staff with YWAM anymore, I do still need finances to cover my expenses at IHOPU, as I plan on spending about $500/month on housing and food. Especially since I've volunteered with YWAM and haven't had a salary for the last 3 ½ years, support is very appreciated. YWAM is allowing me to keep my missions account until March 13^th so that way still works great. Like I said I'll be giving away music for free/donation, so if you don't feel led to support me monthly please enjoy the music and pray about donating for that. Above all else, please pray for me to live wholly pleasing to the Lord in everything I do. Thanks and God bless!