Sunday, May 27, 2012

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, 5-28-2012

This week’s study: 
What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery - Part 31. 
The mystery of Adoption. Part 1.
 
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PLEASE READ FIRST
Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!


Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).


1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added] 

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life: 
 

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]


Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
 

John 3:14-18 says: "14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV 


Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:


Study to show yourself approved to God! 
 

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Grace Bible Church Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary: God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings


What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery - Part 31. 
The mystery of Adoption. Part 1.
 
(OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, Verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”) 

Terms & Abbreviations used: 
  PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good
= Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC
= The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD
= Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H
= The happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine
= Bible Truth

[To look up other “terms”, go to:
Alphabetical Listing
]

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY 

 [Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references 
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible] 

If you have a Firefox browser and would like to view this message with hover pop-ups of scripture references that are not already printed out in the message, click the following link:

 
In JOH 14:15-20, the night before our Lord's death, He said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; {that is} the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you [the Rapture of the Church],After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you {will} behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you."  
The phrase in that day means beginning on the day of Pentecost, there are 3 things that they are going to learn, and this is the structure of our relationship with God. 

The first is that the Lord is in the Father, when Jesus says He is in the Father, we go back to His oneness and equality with the essence of the Father. Then we have the phrase, and you in Me, for the first time in all history, Jesus Christ is in God, and you are in Christ. This is a reference to your position in Christ and therefore, the doctrine of positional truth, a mystery doctrine of the Church-age. Through the baptism of the Spirit you are in union with Christ, and nothing can ever change that. Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship, and the basis of that relationship is that Christ is God, and we are in Christ. Therefore, we began this passage with the importance of understanding one the most important mystery doctrines of the Church-age, the doctrine of the baptism of the Spirit and our positional truth. We also noted under this mystery doctrine, The Doctrine of the Royal Ambassadorship. We have just completed the Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict. 

The mystery doctrine of the Church unveils the characteristics unique to the Christian way of life. Mystery doctrine actually tells the believer what he must do now that he is a Christian. Where there is ignorance concerning mystery doctrine there is ignorance concerning how to live the Christian life. Mystery doctrine reveals the divine assets that God has given to each Church-age believer and His directions for using those assets. 

God has magnificently provided everything for us and has thoroughly instructed us so that we can as EPH 4:1 says Walk in a manner worthy of our calling. 

Another result of the mystery doctrine of Church-age which all believers should be initiated into is the principle of adoption. The biblical connotation of adoption, which is based on the Roman aristocratic function of adoption in the time when the N. T. was written, is not the same as our twentieth century practice. In Scripture adoption means to be recognized by God as an adult son positionally at salvation, and an adult son experientially at maturity. The Latin word adoptia, from which we get our English word adoption from is the exact equivalent of the Greek word huiothesia, meaning to adopt as an adult son.

The Romans, as a people, lasted for a thousands years, and one reason they lasted so long is because they had very strict ideas about being parents. They were thinking parents who had very strict discipline in the home so that Romans grew under very strict discipline. If their own kids did not respond to this authority, they would look for someone else in society who was old enough to respond to authority and they would adopt them Roman style so that the family name would continue with aristocracy. By the time the boy was 14, he was an adult in Roman society, and if he was a weak individual, another person would be adopted and would take over the family business and become the heir. So adoption meant to pass the family fortune and the family opportunities down to that person who was qualified to be a legitimate mature heir of the family inheritance. Adoption meant greater opportunity. Anyone who was adopted was the heir of the family fortune, the family business, the seat in the Senate.

So adoption was a way of recognizing superiority and selectivity in the Roman society.

In the spiritual realm, imputations at salvation are made as part of the ceremony of recognizing that we now have a plan and purpose in life, therefore, all believers become adopted as sons at salvation. Being in union with Christ, we are joint heirs with Christ, and are therefore adopted at the moment of salvation GAL 3:26, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

The Greek word huiothesia means to place a son in the home who would carry on a family business, the family estate, therefore, it meant recognition as an adult son. Adoption was designed to train a child in the recognition of authority, and was a system of selectivity for heirship, in which a capable person would succeed another capable person. Therefore, to place an adult son in the home was a Roman custom for aristocracy. It conferred adulthood on a natural child or on a child adopted as the heir. 

Paul writes in GAL 4:1-7, Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Roman aristocrats would adopt whomever they considered most worthy to carry on the family name and wealth. Therefore, the family fortune and opportunities were passed down through that adopted person, and, if you adopted your own son, it was the highest honor you could confer on him. Adoption was the ceremony of proclaiming the heir to the estate, and was brought about as a means of introducing a stronger society in early Rome. It was a way of recognizing superiority in Roman society, and this Roman law of adoption was never changed. The actual ceremony was called adrogatio, and the law could not be reversed, so that as long as you were alive, you were the heir.

Adoption then, meant selection to special privilege, and in the spiritual realm refers to our equal privilege and equal opportunity under predestination. It also meant rank and aristocracy not necessarily based on physical birth, the lowest person in Roman society, if he had ability, could be adopted, and therefore have the greatest of opportunities. Opportunity means willing to start at the bottom, to sacrifice, to work hard. Once you understand and respect authority, all you need is the opportunity, but opportunity means starting at the bottom.

Adoption is defined as the fulfillment of the Father's plan to appoint a legal adult son, believers at the point of salvation become legally adopted sons of God. Adoption is the ceremony of opportunity; it is also the ceremony of aristocracy. Paul also uses the word adoption in EPH 1:5 to show that God the Father selected each believer personally at the moment of salvation and adopted him. You are the legitimate heir of God the Father, EPH 1:5, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. Paul goes on to point out in Romans that we are joint heirs with the Son of God because we have been adopted. ROM 8:15-17, For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. 

Adoption emphasizes God's ability and your motivation rather then your ability and the resultant arrogance which normally follows. However you have failed, whatever your handicaps from birth, environment, or bad decisions from a position of weakness; all of that was set aside when you were adopted at salvation. However, your motivation is emphasized because if your volition is negative, you will never enjoy the benefits of your adoption. Everyone who believes in Christ in this dispensation is automatically adopted as the heir of God. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not only are you adopted into God's royal family, but you are a royal heir of God. So Paul uses the word to remind us we are spiritual aristocracy, the Royal Family of God, and to remind us that what we were before is no issue in the spiritual life. We are in the plan of God and we are different from other believers of other dispensations.
 

Adoption anticipates great blessing and responsibility from the integrity of God. This is why we are to advance to maturity, receive blessings, and glorify God in time and eternity. Adoption connotes responsibility, purpose, authority, and a planned life, it means being given the rights, power, and authority of someone who is truly great and has all the power.

During the Roman ceremony of adoption (adrogatio), the entire family was assembled, including everyone who might have been the heir (no females). The father had ready on a table a beautiful white linen robe with a purple border called the toga virilus, the robe of manhood, and a signet ring. The father would recognize the heir, using his new name, and declaring him to be his new heir. He would then give you the toga virilus and put the signet ring of heirship on the heir's finger. The signet ring meant that he could draw from his father's bank anytime he needed to and there was no problem because by now at age 14, this man was a totally responsible person, and these two gifts sealed your heirship; it was final. The first thing that the adult son would do was to go in the military to learn how to handle freedom.

Since the Scripture uses adoption to explain how great our Church-age assets are, the actual ceremony of adoption provides analogies to what the Church-age believer receives at salvation. First, the Holy Spirit entered you into union with Christ. Then God the Father gave you the signet ring which represents your portfolio of invisible assets, now you are in union with Christ, Royal Family of God, permanent and eternal aristocracy. So we can see why Christians in the first or second century learned that they were adopted by God the Father, this meant a great deal and was extremely significant to them. Also astonishing to this early Church-age believer was that both male and female believers were adopted by God, for in the Roman custom only men could be adopted as heirs.

Secondly, the believer is given his very own toga virilus, which is the robe of righteousness, ISA 61:10, …For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness...

LUK 15:11, And He said, "A certain man had two sons; Notice that they are both sons when it started and both will be his sons when this passage finishes. The man in this parable represents God the Father and the sons represent believers, therefore, this is not a gospel message, this is a doctrinal message for born-again believers. LUK 15:12, and the younger of them [this is the prodigal son, by the way prodigal means to waste your life away], so he said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' [he thought there was something that he was missing and that his life was just fading away and that there was so much to know] And he divided his wealth between them. Both received a share of the estate, and each one had enough so that he was independently wealthy, and that represents the doctrine of logistical grace applied to your life. The prodigal son did what most people have done throughout history, he accepted the blessings of the Father (as all men do who live on God's earth), while at the same time he turned his back upon his Father (as men do when they reject and abandon fellowship with God). Notice that the Father made no attempt to stop him, this brings out the principle that God does not violate our free will nor does He force us to remain in fellowship with Him. LUK 15:13, And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, [this is analogous to life in the cosmic system] and there he squandered his estate with loose living. So, it didn't take long for the young son to pack up and leave his Father, and notice that it was the son who moved away from the Father not the Father moving away from the son. We move away from our personal sense of destiny when we live a life of sin, we draw away from God, He does not draw away from us. That's why JAM 4:8 says, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners [rebound]; and purify your hearts [perceive doctrine], you double minded.

So in LUK 15:14, Now when he had spent everything [he's not investing, he's just spending], a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. This was a part of divine discipline which God brings on every one of His children who go astray from their personal sense of destiny. Having forsaken his Father and his personal sense of destiny, he can now find nothing but poverty, misery, and want. The human soul is empty if God does not fill it (ECC 3:11). The famine represents the fact that there's a famine in every heart which is not being nourished by the word of God or not have the desire for that which is eternal fulfilled as a part of your personal sense of destiny. There is always a famine in the heart when a person moves away from God. LUK 15:15, And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. He did get a job, feeding pigs on a farm. In this state, he attached himself, which is the Greek verb kollao meaning to glue or to closely unite himself to a citizen of that foreign country which represents the devil's children instead of God's. This reveals the misery of becoming a slave to the devil and his cosmic system. The further a believer goes from God, the nearer he comes to being a slave to the devil, and there is no master so cruel as the devil. There's no burden so heavy as that of bondage to the old sin nature. No slavery so nasty as slavery to the old sin nature and the carnal, shameful, passions of the flesh. Times of distress often lead to self-examination and are used by God to bring about changes or repentance in people's lives. However, this young man still held on to the belief that he could maintain his self-sufficiency. This parable describes the depths to which the prodigal son had sunk. His emptiness was shown by the job that he had to take, tending pigs. Pigs were considered to be unclean animals and expressly forbidden in the Mosaic law (LEV 11:7; DEU 14:8).

LUK 15:16, And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods or the slop that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving {anything} to him. He's starving while he's working because pay day only comes after the pigs are marketed. This is a picture of what happens when a believer goes back to the lifestyle that God has rescued him from. This shows the humiliation the young man was now enduring. Eventually, even that food was unavailable for the prodigal, so that the detestable pigs were now eating better than the prodigal. The freedom that he dreamed of and the reality that struck, were not anything like one another.

Think of the father, not one sun has set without that father praying deeply for the safety and the return of that boy. So we read in LUK 15:17, But when he came to his senses, he said [or thought to himself], How many of my Father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger starving to death! So this man finally became honest with himself and looked at his life from a biblical perspective. To recognize the sins in your own life, to stop rationalizing or justifying them, to stop blaming others for them, and to come to a point where you acknowledge them and recognize that it is wrong and contrary to the word of God. Remember, this is not a parable about what happens to a believer when he sins, this is a parable about what happens to a believer when he changes his lifestyle.

LUK 15:18-20, I will get up and go to my Father, and will say to him, [and here's the rebound] Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men. And he got up and came to his Father. But while he was still a long way off his Father saw him, and felt compassion {for him,} and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. Notice his Father is a wonderful person and this is a magnificent way of expressing God the Father. His Father saw him while he was a long way off. It almost appears as if his Father had been looking for him. This is picture of ISA 65:24, "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer;" Or as David said in Psa 56:8, "Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Thy bottle; Are they not in Thy book?" God knows every heartache and every difficulty we will ever face. Whether it's our fault or someone else's fault is not the issue with God. With God, our Father, the issue is coming back home. The Father was filled with compassion and his Father ran to him.

LUK 15:21-22, And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight [there's rebound]; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. "make me as one of your hired men. But the Father said to his slaves, Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. This is a picture of what happens in rebound, and forgiveness of guilt and restoration to fellowship with God. The best robe was symbol of honor and respect and it represents restoration to full experiential righteousness.

LUK 15:23, and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat [have a feast or a party] and be merry [celebrate]. Rather than punishing the son for his sins, the father has a party, and everybody in the community is invited to this party or celebration of the forgiveness of sins. 


The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Internet Church Service, Sunday, May 27, 2012


This week’s message:
The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine, Episode 6 of 6

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Today’s Message:
The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine,
Episode 6 of 6
Video & Audio
Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.
ALL ARE WELCOME!!

# # # # # # # #
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from - Romans 8:38-39

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and/or listen to today’s message.

TIP to enlarge the print:
hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)
The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.


Hymn #1
How Great Thou Art - Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)



Hymn #2
I Can Only Imagine – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father.
1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version)
If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:
John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV
Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me(Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary
The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK
Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK
Study to show yourself approved to God!
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Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen


Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

[This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.]

Today's Sermon


The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine,
Episode 6 of 6

(If embedded video doesn’t appear and/or you want to see the video with notes
& scripture references, right click the above link and open in new window or tab)
If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the right side.

HYMN #3



CLOSING PRAYER:

(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen
If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.
I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, 5-21-2012


This week’s study: What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery - Part 30. Special. The need for Rebound.
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PLEASE READ FIRST
Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.
 
Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God! 


Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).
 

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added] 



If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life: 

 

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added] 



Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

 

John 3:14-18 says: "14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV 



Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God! 
 
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Grace Bible Church Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary: God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

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Terms & Abbreviations used:  
PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God  
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God OSN = Old Sin Nature TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ  
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem  
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine  
+H = The happiness of God 
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine  
Doctrine = Bible Truth
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Wkly Bible Study for Dial-up/Broadband 5-7-2012
This week we took a look at a false teaching that continues to make the rounds teaching that believers do not need to confess their sins or rebound. This teaching says that since all sins were forgiven and taken care of at the cross, you can never lose your fellowship with God by sinning, since fellowship is a grace gift. Therefore, they profess that you do not have to confess your sins to regain fellowship; fellowship is never lost. This movement attacks 1JO 1:9, by claiming this verse does not apply to believers, and claiming that rebound does not appear in any other N. T. book written to the Church. Many of you may have to respond to this distraction, now or in the future, so this weeks teaching is to arm you with the reasons for the hope that is within you concerning the grace provision of rebound. 

The first thing this false teaching has to do is to somehow invalidate the key verse in Scripture that documents rebound, namely, 1JO 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This false teaching claims this verse was written to unbelievers. If Christians never sinned, then rebound would indeed not be necessary, but we have seen that the Bible clearly teaches that Christians do sin. Remember, sin is disobedience to the will of God, that is, any mental, verbal or overt activity contrary to the perfect character and standards of God. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross, as our perfect substitute, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for every human sin, past, present and future. God's solution for sin is established by His grace, that is, all that God is free to do for each of us on the basis of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We do not earn or deserve grace, He has done everything for us. When you believe in Jesus Christ, a non-meritorious act, God the Holy Spirit instantly enters you into a personal and eternal relationship with God the Father, you are saved by grace. So, even though you are still a flawed human being, you have been declared righteous at the moment of salvation when you are given the righteousness of God. No matter how many sins you commit in your Christian life, your eternal relationship can never be broken because the immutable promise from God guarantees your transgressions will not be remembered. So, if the sin problem was resolved at the cross, why is sin still an issue? 

If all sins are already paid for, why must we rebound?


It is true that the penalty for sin is removed once and for all at the cross, but repercussions (consequences) of personal sin in the life of the believer must be confronted. When a believer sins, the initial repercussions are: 1) Loss of fellowship with God. 2) Loss of the filling of the Holy Spirit, the power source for the Christian way of life.


Sin destroys our temporal fellowship with the Lord, but it cannot jeopardize our eternal relationship with Him. When we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, we enter into an eternal relationship with God, and a fellowship with God in time. Fellowship with God provides the means to live the Christian life and grow spiritually, and this fellowship can be lost by the believer using his own volition. Every time we sin, we move out of the fellowship, thereby losing temporal fellowship. We become carnal when we sin; we become spiritual when we rebound. By acknowledging our sins to God the Father, we return to fellowship with God. The filling of the Spirit is lost when we sin, because in carnality, we are no longer controlled by the Holy Spirit, but by the sin nature, and therefore outside the PPOG. It is important to remember the rebound is for believers only, as a believer you have no excuse for permitting sin to destroy your spiritual life, the answer to the problem of sin is always rebound and keep moving in the PPOG!


1JO 1:9, If we confess [homologeo] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us [cancel] our sins and to cleanse [purify] us from all unrighteousness. The word if is a third-class conditional clause in the Greek, meaning that fulfillment of this condition depends upon your volition: Maybe you will rebound, maybe you will not, each of us must decide to how to exercise that option. The Greek word homologeo, translated confess, means to name, cite, admit, and acknowledge. The words most basic meaning is to agree with someone or something. When a believer acknowledges or cites his sins, his faith is actually directed toward a courtroom case; the Cross. In 1JO 1:9, the Greek word homologeo means simply to acknowledge or name your sins to God, and it is in the present tense which means that this is an ongoing event in the life of the believer. Homologeo does not mean to feel sorry for your sins; there is absolutely no emotional connotation involved. We are never to insult God by adding an emotional plea for forgiveness, sins are to be named privately to God the Father, for He alone can forgive them.


Look again at 1JO 1:9, If we confess [homologeo] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us [cancel] our sins and to cleanse [purify] us from all unrighteousness. The phrase our sins is the plural form of the Greek noun hamartias. Please note that it is plural, not singular, therefore it refers to personal sins in all three categories: mental, verbal and overt. Divine forgiveness depends solely on God's perfect character, He is faithful and righteous. Faithfulness emphasizes God's consistency in forgiving every believer who admits his sins to Him, God cannot default on a promise, and His grace never fails. Righteous describes the source of forgiveness, God's holiness or integrity is composed of His righteousness and justice. His perfect righteousness is the only standard His justice can accept. Only the saving work of God the Son on the Cross can satisfy, or propitiate, the integrity of God the Father.


The next two verbs, to forgive and to cleanse, describe the results of rebound. The Greek verb aphiemi means to forgive or to cancel. The instant we acknowledge our known sins to God, He cancels the sins and the initial repercussion of loss of fellowship. If any repercussions related to divine discipline remain, they are transformed from suffering for discipline into suffering for blessing. Remember, this is forgiveness for the believer, the child of God, it is for restoration to fellowship, this is a family matter now. What about sins we commit which we have forgotten, or through ignorance are not aware of? He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, the Greek verb katharizo means to cleanse, to remove for the purpose of purifying, hence to purify. This applies to all sins, so when we acknowledge the known sins to God, He forgives and purifies us from all unrighteousness, including unknown and forgotten sins. Rebound (confessing or naming our known sins to God the Father), is the only means compatible with grace for receiving divine forgiveness to restore that fellowship with God, and recover the filling of the Holy Spirit. Rebound is our access to an intimacy with the Lord, it is a gateway to divine power in our life, and it is our license to serve the Lord. Confession is gracious because it is for our sake, without it, believers who sin might wonder whether or not they were saved to begin with, or will try to reform their old man (OSN), try to use their own power to outthink the old man, but self will never cast out self.


Confession is a gracious provision that takes account of the fact that we still sin, it gives us an instant solution that relies on God's faithfulness and power, and helps us line up our thinking with the mind of Christ. Look at 1 Jo 2:1-2, the conclusion of this section on sin and fellowship, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. Notice the word advocate as a description of our Lord. By the way, the verb for we have, is in the present tense, meaning right now we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, Who keeps on being our advocate. Notice also that the advocacy is with the Father, it's a family affair.


The Greek word for advocate is parakletos, meaning one who is called or sent for to assist. This word is found in legal contexts, where it referred to one who was called to assist or defend another who has been accused of something. The wonderful thing about our Lord's assistance in the Supreme Court of Heaven is that He defends us, not on the basis of our good qualities of character, but rather on the basis of His work on the Cross. During the period between the writing of the O.T. and the N.T., Philo wrote of how the Jews in Alexandria looked for a parakletos who could plead their cause to the Roman authorities. There can be no argument in 1Jo 2:1-2 about the fact that this applies to believers, or that this is dealing with the issue of post-salvation sinning. In the N.T., parakletos is found only in the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John. In 1JO 2:1, parakletos clearly refers to a spokesman or helper, there it is written that if we sin, we have Jesus Christ as our spokesman with the Father. It would not make sense that we would need a spokesman with the Father when we sin, if it not be for the fact that we appear before His court, as His children, to name and cite our sins, and the court case of the Cross, to allow our spokesman to intercede on our behalf (because of redemption and justification, the blood of Christ), and without exception, be forgiven. This usage is a striking contrast to how the rabbis used parakletos. They taught that a person's good deeds are their parakletoi with God, while their bad deeds act as accusers.


In the Church age, The Lord Jesus Christ's good deed on the Cross is our parakletos with God, while our confession acts as self accusation. We line up our volition to adjust to the justice and righteousness of God, which is part of laying aside the old man in us. It is part of glorifying God in the angelic conflict by agreeing with His condemnation of sin and evil. We are agreeing with God that we have sinned and we are benefited, and that helps the eyes of our soul open up to the truth about our OSN. We are benefited by being witnesses in the angelic conflict, testifying to the rightness of God's character, nature, will, and plan. LUK 15:10, "in the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."


Another concept we need to look at is fellowship. The key Greek word for fellowship in the N.T. is koinonia. 1CO 1:9, God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. It means a partnership, participation or social intercourse, sharing, partaking, companionship, and fellowship. It carries with it the notions of being of the same mind, of walking together, of abiding, sharing intimacy, having unity of purpose, having things in common, participating in something together. By definition then fellowship is a two-way street. Paul provided much of the information about the nature of koinonia in the early Church, especially in his presenting of koinonia as a relationship between believers and God. Paul regarded the entire Christian call to be a summons to fellowship with Jesus Christ. Sharing most notably takes place at the table of the Lord, and for Paul, eating and drinking are more than mere symbols, though symbols are involved; eating and drinking at the Lord's table denote an inner participation with Christ. In 1JO 1:3 the purpose in writing the letter: "that you also may have fellowship [koinonia] with us" John regarded koinonia as an impossible relationship apart from its being experienced both vertically with God and horizontally with humanity. So, if one has koinonia with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1:3), then one will have koinonia with other believers who have this same relationship to God (1:6, 7). If fellowship does not exist between believers, then any claim to have fellowship with God is deemed invalid.


We have seen in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 that this fellowship did not exist at that time in the Corinthian church, and Paul's point was the same as John's: examine the status of your temporal, personal, experiential, current fellowship with God, so that you might live the life of koinonia with your brothers and sisters in Christ. That is why Paul writes in 1CO 11:27-32, Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. In other words, rebound, acknowledge your faults to God the Father, and get back in fellowship with God. God never breaks off fellowship with us, He never defaults on His side of the arrangement. When fellowship is broken, it is because we have broken off fellowship with Him. He never leaves or forsakes us. He is always in fellowship with us, but we are not always in fellowship with Him, 2TI 2:13, If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Fellowship is a grace gift for Church age believers. It was something that was extremely rare and special in the O.T., enjoyed only by a few: Enoch walked with God (GEN 5:24), Abraham is called the friend of God (ISA 41:8), Moses talked with God (EXO 33:11), David was called one who did all God's will.


Now the argument is made that as a grace gift it must be something we can never lose. There are some grace gifts that we are called to (we are called to fellowship with Christ in 1CO 1:9), yet, it is a matter of our volition as to whether or not we actually receive these things. In the book of Galatians, Paul makes it crystal clear that we are called to freedom, GAL 5:13, For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. We have been called to freedom, yet Paul, in this very same letter, also makes it crystal clear that the Galatians by their own decisions can lose that freedom. In the same way, while we have been called to fellowship, by our own volition we can lose that fellowship.


Let's take another example that brings out the difference between positional truth and experiential truth. Let's examine that precious grace gift at salvation, perfect righteousness. The Bible tells us that we get the righteousness of God credited to us at the moment of salvation, 2CO 5:21, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Yet, the Bible also says that righteousness is something that the believer is to pursue, 2TI 2:22, Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart [rebound]. There is a righteousness that is imputed at the moment of salvation, and it governs our position or standing with God eternally. There is also a second kind of righteousness that we can achieve in living the spiritual life in time. It is an experiential righteousness that is based on positive volitional decisions after salvation. Although our Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of the whole world on the cross, the whole world will not be in heaven, all because of human volition.


The opponents of rebound claim that only John wrote about rebound and only in one place, and that he was addressing unbelievers at the time, and that nowhere else in the Bible, addressed to Church age believers, is confession of sin mentioned. Well, we have already seen that Paul taught rebound to the Corinthians in 1CO 11:27-32 in connection to the Lord's Supper. In 2CO 7:1 we read, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In 2CO 12:21 we read, I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced. The writer of Hebrews wrote HEB 12:1-2, Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,


Paul instructed the Ephesian church age believers in EPH 4:22-24, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. There are five cases that disprove the claim that only John talked about rebound, and there are more.


So, back to 1 John, there is absolutely no support that first John chapter 1 was written to unbelievers. If this chapter is for unbelievers, isn't it odd that there is no gospel call? The strongest proof that 1 John 1 is written to believers, comes from the letter itself. John in this letter takes pains to identify who he is writing to, over and over again. 1JO 2:12-14, I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1JO 2:18-19, Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. Here John addresses his audience who are believers, and discusses unbelievers who are addressed as they, not the audience, but a third party.


1JO 1:9 is in the middle of a seven verse sequence on the subject of sins. 1JO 1:6-2:2, If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Christ Is Our Advocate. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
1JO 2:1 identifies the audience, "my little children" the audience are believers.



Concerning rebound, our Lord instructs 5 of the 7 Churches (church age believers, after the cross) in Rev 2 and 3 to repent or rebound. One of those churches is Sardis and we read in REV 3:3, "Recall to mind therefore what you have received [application of doctrine] and heard [perception of doctrine]; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you." The Greek verb metanoeo (repent) means to change the mind and has to do with the rebound technique.


The Lord Jesus Christ also wrote to another church, the church at Ephesus, REV 2:5-6, Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. The Ephesian church was guilty of a sin that is often very hard to detect. But the Lord, who knows our hearts as well as our outward deeds, counsels Ephesus of the fact that they desperately needed to re-establish their closeness and walk with the Savior. Repent is the Greek word metanoeo. This word means to change the mind or purpose, to change one's decision. It means to recognize one's previous decision, opinion or condition as wrong, and to accept and move toward a new and right path in its place. Repentance includes confession of sin with a view to stopping the bad behavior so it can be replaced with what was right. Here's how Paul put it to believers at Ephesus, in connection with going from grieving the Spirit to being filled with the Spirit EPH 4:22-24, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.


The Holy Spirit gives us information in this section of the Book of Ephesians as to how to bridge the gap from grieving to filling by indicating what volitional decision we need to make to restore fellowship. It is a volitional decision that stops the believer from grieving the Holy Spirit and results in being filled with the Holy Spirit, EPH 5:11-19, Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, " Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.


The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Internet Church Service, Sunday, May 20, 2012

This week’s message: The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine, Episode 5 of 6
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Today’s Message: The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine, Episode 5 of 6 Video & Audio Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord in our Hearts and Minds. ALL ARE WELCOME!!
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Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and/or listen to today’s message. TIP to enlarge the print: hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%) The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.
Hymn #1
Softly and Tenderly, Lyrics in video (You can skip the commercial)
Hymn #2
Holy, Holy, Holy – Lyrics in video (You can skip the commercial)
Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word
Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father. 1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version) If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone: John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me(Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions. John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV
Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK
Study to show yourself approved to God!
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Opening Prayer (Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)
Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:
[This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.]
Today's Sermon
The Doctrine Of Positive Volition Towards Doctrine, Episode 5 of 6 (If embedded video doesn’t appear and/or you want to see the video with notes & scripture references, right click the above link and open in new window or tab)

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the right side.
HYMN #3

CLOSING PRAYER: (Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)
Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions. I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.