Russell Brand, the controversial English comedian and actor, is opening up more about his spiritual journey of discovery and new realizations about his faith and relationship with God. The revelations come as he is also facing some very serious allegations of sexual misconduct that are being investigated by police.
In a short 90-second video posted to the social media platform X on Sunday, Brand shared why he wears a cross on a necklace.
“The reason I wear a cross is because Christianity and in particular, the figure of Christ are it seems to me inevitably becoming more important as I become more familiar with suffering, purpose, self and not self,” he said.
Brand, 48, told his followers he was reading the Bible “a lot more” and is also reading Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life.”
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“When I grew up, Christianity seemed like it was either really irrelevant and old-fashioned and sort of dusty and sort of incense and sort of ‘Anno Domini’,” he chanted. “Or they tried to modernize it,” the comedian continued as he pretended to hold up a guitar, switching his voice to another accent. “And it seems just like, ‘Right. Ok, we’re gonna talk about Jesus.’
“And like both of those routes seemed like ooh I don’t know if there’s anything for me,” Brand said. “And I suppose it takes a certain amount of adulthood and it might be different for all of us. But for me, it seems that it’s taken quite a lot to recognize that you need, I need, a personal relationship with God.
“It occurred to me that if instead of always talking to myself inwardly, I could replace one of those voices with an indwelling God,” he said. “It says in Galatians, it is our job to die so that as Christ died on the cross He might be reborn in us.
“I’m very interested to hear what you think because for me, my heart is open,” Brand said as he invited his followers to let him know what they thought in the comments.
Thousands of users responded to Brand’s request.
“Amen. Jesus is interested… He loves you,” one user said.
Another user shared, “Jesus has changed me too! He can do it for anybody if they call on Him in faith!”
“Praise, praise, praise the Lord! #JesusChrist the only one that can change and transform a life. Try Him, your life will never again be the same!!” a user wrote.
And another user, Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, saw Brand’s video and reached out to him, replying directly.
Hi Russell-
I love what you have to say in this video!
We have never met, but I wanted to introduce myself.My name is Greg Laurie and my life was radically changed by Jesus Christ.
I like you was put off by Christians at first, but then I heard the Gospel message.The word… https://t.co/siaV66dx20
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) January 21, 2024
“Hi Russell- I love what you have to say in this video! We have never met, but I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Greg Laurie and my life was radically changed by Jesus Christ. I like you was put off by Christians at first, but then I heard the Gospel message,” Laurie wrote.
“The word ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good news.’ We are all sinners and we have broken God’s commandments and fallen short of His standards. But the good news is that God loved us so much He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins and then rise from the dead. Jesus is alive and ready to come into your life, Russell!” he continued.
“He is just a prayer away. You might pray something like this,” Laurie suggested. “Lord Jesus, I want to have a personal relationship with you. I know I am a sinner and I believe You died on the cross from my sins. I turn from those sins and put my faith in You right now to be my Lord and savior, my God and friend. Thanks for hearing this prayer. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.
“Russell- To know more about a new relationship with God, go our our website, http://Knowgod.org. There was also a movie made about how my life was changed by Jesus called @JesusRevMovie. You can watch it on @netflix,” Laurie continued.
“Russell- We are all praying for you!” he concluded.
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