God's Gift of Eternal Life Blog

The purpose of this blog is two fold: 1) to accurately describe how one may receive the free gift of eternal life--Jesus Himself said in John 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life." NKJV and 2) to explore the Word of God in such a way that it will be supplementally edifying to what you're learning from your local church as well as contribute to the spiritual growth of believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, 10-1-2012

What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery
(in short: The Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age). Part 49.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets. Part 9.
The provision of Logistical Grace Support and Blessing.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) 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!

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

STUDY TITLE:

What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery
(in short: The Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age). Part 49.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets. Part 9.
The provision of Logistical Grace Support and Blessing.

OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all 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

There are two Unique Royal Commissions for every Church-age Believer: Our Royal Priesthood, which we have noted, and our Royal Ambassadorship, which includes the Divine Provision of Logistical Grace Support and Blessing.

Let’s begin with the principle of logistical grace. Logistics is a military word which refers to the military science of supply, provision, and planning of troop movement. Logistics is the provision, movement, and maintenance of all resources and services necessary to sustain military forces. Logistics is also defined as the military science of planning, handling, and implementation of personnel under every possible military condition. From this military term comes a Bible doctrine based on this analogy. Logistics always plays a very important part in warfare, but logistics plays an even greater part in your life as a believer. Every believer is alive today because of logistical grace.

The word logistics comes from two Greek words: Logistes - an inspector of accounts, an auditor, a calculator, and Logismos - a thinker. So, logistical grace is defined as divine planning, divine support, divine provision, and divine blessing for the execution of the PPOG by the Royal Family for the fulfillment of God's will, purpose, and plan for your life. Logistical grace includes three factors of divine provision: 1) Life support which is provided for every Church-age believer, PSA 31:15 “My times are in Thy hand;” Or as Paul said in ROM 14:7-8 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.” We do not earn or deserve this logistical grace. 2) This blessing is provided for every Church-age believer, both winners and losers. This dramatizes the justice of God, in that the justice of God sends life support and blessing to the indwelling righteousness of God in all believers. At the moment of salvation, the righteousness of God is imputed to the believer by the justice of God. The righteousness of God demands blessing from the justice of God whether we fail or succeed as Christians. The indwelling righteousness of God is the recipient of all life support and all blessing from God. Winners utilize this logistical grace, while losers simply coast on it and never utilize it. 3) Under logistical grace, there is the divine provision for every Church-age believer to execute the PPOG. All doctrine is provided by God through a prepared pastor-teacher, and if you have persistent positive volition toward doctrine, you will find it, and your right pastor-teacher.

The Biblical definition of logistical grace is found in 2CO 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, [logistical grace support], you may have an abundance for every good deed or good of intrinsic value production.” The context for this verse is giving; if your attitude is right, God will provide so that you can give. God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything. Note that this sufficiency is not only in prosperous times, you have a sufficiency in all circumstances, including maximum historical disaster. This is why you do not have to live in fear or worry regarding the future. Remember ROM 14:23b and whatever is not from faith is sin. PHI 4:18-19 also applies here, “But I have received everything in full, and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

David gives the testimony of old age to logistical grace. PSA 37:25 “I have been young but now I am old; yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken [logistical grace given to imputed righteousness] nor His seed begging bread.” This means that logistical grace blessing to you can extend as far as the third generation.

The testimony of the shepherd is found in PSA 23:1-6 “The Lord is the One shepherding me; therefore, I cannot lack for anything. He causes me to lie down in green pastures of choice food [life support]; He leads me to waters of refreshment [life support]. He restores my soul [rebound]; He guides me in paths of righteousness [problem-solving devices] because of His reputation. Also, when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [dying grace], I cannot fear evil because You are with me. Your rod [divine discipline] and your staff [divine deliverance], they comfort me. You have prepared before me a table in the presence of my enemies [logistical grace]; you have anointed my head with oil [promotion]; My cup [escrow blessings for time] is overflowing. Only the good [prosperity of escrow blessings] and grace [logistical grace] shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” It is impossible for anyone who has imputed divine righteousness to lack anything because the justice of God sends life support and blessing to all believers, both winners and losers. Grace depends on God's reputation, not ours. Both discipline and deliverance are a comfort to believers who know doctrine. As long as you live, logistical grace will pursue you.

The testimony from our Lord is addressed to the apostle Paul in 2CO 12:9 “Then He assured me, ‘My grace [logistical grace] has been and still is sufficient for you. For the power is achieved with weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may reside in me.’”

Here, weakness refers to grace orientation as a problem-solving device. It refers to humility, lack of arrogance, and to suffering for blessing in providential preventative suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. In the grace policy we rely on God's strength to us; we boast in the sense of cognition of Bible doctrine, not in the sense of arrogance. The phrase “that the power of Christ may reside in me” is a reference to the indwelling of Christ and occupation with Christ as the ultimate problem-solving device. It is also a reference to our spiritual growth, following the pattern of the humanity of Christ in the previous dispensation of the Hypostatic Union.

The testimony of the prophet Jeremiah is found in LAM 3:20-25, written as the fifth cycle of discipline was being administered. “Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me [Jeremiah's grace orientation]. This I recall to mind; therefore I have hope [faith under pressure]. The Lord's gracious functions never cease [perpetuation of logistical grace even to enslaved believers]; His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul [logistical grace rations]; therefore, I have faith under pressure [in Him]. The Lord is good to those who trust in Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”’ Even as they marched to Babylon, enslaved under the fifth cycle of discipline, the Jews are reminded every morning that God is giving logistical grace to them. Since they are still alive, God has a purpose for their lives. The faithfulness of God never changes, for His grace continues to provide for them in disaster. The verb for trust in verse 25 is qal active participle of QAWAH, referring to a rabbit finding refuge in the cleft of a rock. This connotes the use of the problem-solving devices. The Lord becomes very important to many believers in times of disaster, whereas in times of prosperity, the Lord isn't nearly as important to many casual believers. But these casual attitudes toward the Lord disappear when disaster comes. For those who do seek the Lord and trust in Him through the use of the ten problem-solving devices, they will have a fantastic and magnificent life.

Logistical grace is the basis for the perpetuation of the believer's life in time no matter what disasters may come. God sustains the life of every believer on earth in spite of Satanic opposition, the policy of evil, opposition from others, and our tendencies for self-destruction. TLJC controls history. HEB 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. We have a propensity for self-destruction; yet God keeps us alive in spite of ourselves and in spite of others.

Logistical grace includes six categories of support.

1. Life-sustaining support is provided by God. No believer can depart from life apart from God's will. Therefore all the forces of hell cannot remove one believer apart from God's permission. God also provides all that it takes to support life. PSA 48:14 This God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto death.

2. Temporal needs such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, environment, time, a job, etc. are provided by God (MAT 6:33; PHI 4:19).

3. Security provision is taught in the doctrine of eternal security. Your security is from God. This includes the assignment of guardian angels and the provision of the laws of divine establishment for freedom to advance to maturity. If positive toward Bible doctrine, God provides the security for you to make that advance, as in the wall of fire. 1PE 1:5 “We are kept by the power of God.”

4. Spiritual riches are provided by God, such as our portfolio of invisible assets, the ten problem-solving devices, and the unique factors of the Church-age. It also includes the provision of doctrinal teaching from your right pastor, privacy and security necessary to maintain positive volition, the royal family honor code, and discernment to see distractions and set them aside. Spiritual provision of an evangelist, a pastor, the privacy of your priesthood, the Canon, and a local church are all provided for you. EPH 1:3 “Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.”

5. Blessings are given to every believer, both winners and losers. These are not to be confused with escrow blessings which are far greater.

6. God preserves us from death.

The Logistical Grace Rationale is found in MAT 6:25-34, the not to worry passage. MAT 6:25-34 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious [stop worrying] about or your life, {as to} what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, {as to} what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious or worrying can add a {single} cubit to his life's span? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the common grass of the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, {will He} not much more {do so for} you, O believers of little faith? Do not be anxious or worried then, saying or thinking, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness [basis for logistical grace is possessing the righteousness of God], and all these things [logistical grace support] shall be provided for you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself [under logistical grace]. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

We are commanded not to worry because God, in logistical grace, will provide for us, regardless of our spiritual status. Remember that logistical grace is for winners and losers. The principle from the first command is that there is no meter on God's grace. Fear, worry, anxiety, apprehension is a rejection of, or ignorance of God's logistical grace provision, yet God continues to support even those who worry. The extent to which you surrender to fear and worry, is the extent of the increase of the power of these things in your life, yet God still keeps you alive. The more things that acquire the power of fear and worry in your life, the greater your capacity for arrogance and becoming a loser, yet God still supports you. The application of verse 34 is that you can so live in the past that you do not live in the present and you worry about the future. Grace gives you the ability to live one day at a time, not handicapped by the past and not distracted by the future.

The A Fortiori of Logistical Grace, ROM 8:31-32 “Therefore to what conclusion are we forced? If God is for us, who is against us? The God who did not even spare His own Son, but on behalf of us all He delivered Him over to judgment, how shall He not also with Him in grace give to us the all things?”

Logistical grace is the basis for stability in time. 1PE 5:12 “I have written you briefly exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.”

Logistical grace is designed for momentum in the plan of God. HEB 12:28, “Therefore, because we have received to ourselves an unshakable kingdom, let us keep holding grace, through which we might render acceptable service to God with reverence toward Christ and respect toward doctrine.”
Logistical grace continues even in reversionism. 2CO 6:1 “Do not receive the grace of God in vain.” GAL 5:8, “You have drifted off course from grace.” HEB 12:15 “See that no one falls back from the grace of God.”

Understanding logistical grace sets the foundation for the second Unique Royal Commission for every Church-age Believer, our Royal ambassadorship.

An ambassador is a high ranking minister of state or of royalty sent to another state to represent his country. By analogy we are spiritual aristocracy as members of the Royal Family of God, and Christ is the king who has sent us into a foreign country, the cosmic world (PHI 3:20-21). JOH 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before {it hated} you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” An ambassador does not live in a foreign country for his own personal interest; we are more concerned about the interests of our Lord than our own interests. However, there are different services. Differences of function depend on differences of spiritual gifts, stages of spiritual growth, historical circumstances, and environment at any given moment. Common functions and services are all commanded by scripture, so there is no confusion between what your spiritual gift demands and those functions which are common to all believers, such as witnessing, prayer, and perception of doctrine. In addition to the mandates of scripture, there are many avenues of expressing your ambassadorship, such as utilizing the faith-rest drill and virtue-love as a problem-solving device with emphasis on spiritual self-esteem.

The profile of the ambassador.

- An ambassador does not appoint himself. We are appointed by God Himself at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ. God also gives us the power and ability to handle the job (JOH 15:16).

- The ambassador does not support himself. The Church-age believer, as an ambassador for Christ, is provided by logistical grace.

- The ambassador's instructions are always in written form, so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the policies, problem-solving devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the scripture.

- The ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent. Our citizenship and home is in heaven. We are also citizens of a client nation to God.

- The ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest. We live here on earth solely to serve in the interest of our Lord. Therefore, we subordinate all personal interest to the function of our ambassadorship, which includes the attainment and function of the spiritual skills, filling of the Spirit, cognition of Bible doctrine, and execution of the PPOG. Our production skills, which include our ambassadorship, are in place as of the moment of salvation, but are not effective until we develop spiritual skills.

- The ambassador does not treat any insult to himself as personal. This is the royal ambassador's function in both spiritual self-esteem and impersonal love for all mankind. We tolerate others and hold no grudges. 1PE 2:18-23 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;” When you are insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, you have tremendous problem-solving devices. If you lived on the world's terms, the world would love you as one of its own, but since you live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you. JOH 15:16-21, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before {it hated} you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”’ You have to have the spiritual strength to use these problem-solving devices to leave the matter in the Lord's hands.

- When an ambassador is recalled, his recall is tantamount to a declaration of war. This is analogous to the Rapture of the church. The tribulation is analogous to the period of war.

- As those with communication gifts, ambassadors are authorized to communicate the great affairs of the kingdom from which they are sent. Pastors and evangelists are authorized and empowered by TLJC to reveal the greatness of His glory. Remember the principle of LUK 12:48 to whom much is given much is required. This is why you will discover that the measure of discipline and punishment on a believer who has heard the truth of Bible doctrine and then has rejected it, is much worse than the believer who has never heard it. This is especially true for those pastors and evangelists, JAM 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. The discipline on leaders with communication gifts (pastors and evangelists) is much worse than the discipline on the followers. An illustration of this of course was Moses, the greatest man in the Old Testament. He was not allowed to go into the promise land, not because he sinned, but because he misrepresented the character and nature of God. In fact, the Lord is much harder on those who misrepresent His character and nature than He is on those who sin. The congregation of Israel sinned over and over again against the Lord and the Lord gave them 10 tests to respond and recover. Moses misrepresented the character and nature of God one time, and he was not permitted to go into the promise land. Again, the principle of LUK 12:48 to whom much is given much is required. If a Royal ambassador communicator, delegated to teach others, misrepresents who God is, two things will happen. First, he will be under a greater judgment (JAM 3:1; LUK 12:48). Secondly, those who listen to him will be totally affected by his false views, even though they think that they are strong enough not to, LUK 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” This is what the apostle Paul referred to in PHI 3:18-19, “For many keep walking, concerning whom I have warned you many times, and now continue to affirm, even weeping, the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose termination is destruction, whose god is their emotion, and whose time of glory will be a momentary time of shame, who keep thinking about earthly things.” They concentrate on earthly things, because all the metabolized doctrine that these believers had gained is now gone.

- Ambassadors usually are individuals of great distinction and superiority. As an ambassador for Christ, through the grace of God, we have been made individuals of great distinction and superiority because we are members of the Royal Family of God.

- The dignity of the ambassador appears in the greatness of their king who sent them. They usually have respect according to the rank and quality of their master.

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.

Also posted on ThinkBeDo: bookmark link in case this site is ever off line.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Internet Church Service, Sunday, Sept 30, 2012

This week’s sermon title:
The New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 3

Today’s Sermon Message:

“The New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 3”

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!!

# # # # # # # #

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

Come Just As You Are - Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

Crown Him With Many Crowns - Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

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!

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:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

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 New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 3

(To view the sermon right click the above link then click on open in “new window” or “new tab” and 3 windows will open – 1) audio or video player which should start automatically, 2) slide show, 3) note pad. When finished return to previous window or tab to finish the service with Hymn and Prayer.)

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

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 left side.

Hymn #3

Fill My Cup Lord – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

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.

Also posted on ThinkBeDo: bookmark link in case this site is ever off line.

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.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, 9-24-2012

What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery
(in short: The Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age). Part 48.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets. Part 8.
The uniqueness of the royal priesthood of the believer.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

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

Study to show yourself approved to God!

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

STUDY TITLE:

What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery
(in short: The Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age). Part 48.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets. Part 8.
The uniqueness of the royal priesthood of the believer.

OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all 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:

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

Under the category of what it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery, we have now noted: 1) The baptism of the Spirit. 2) The indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah glory. 3) The Angelic Conflict. 4) The mystery of adoption. 5) The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. 6) The Predesigned Plan of God. 7) The mystery of predestination. 8) The unique equality factor of the Church-age. 9) The Portfolio of Invisible Assets.
Our next category: Two Unique Royal Commissions for every Church-age Believer. These two royal Commissions are the royal priesthood and the royal ambassadorship.

As royal priests we represent ourselves before God: ours is a universal priesthood; believers in other dispensations have a specialized priesthood. The universal priesthood of the believer is found in passages such as: 1PE 2:5-9 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed. This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone, and, A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” As a believer, you are to serve as a holy priest offering up spiritual sacrifices [Christ approved lives] up to God.

Your priesthood is the basis for your privacy to live your own life as unto the Lord. It is the basis for effective prayer related to your understanding of Bible doctrine. Your priesthood does not begin to function properly until you attain spiritual self-esteem, and it reaches its peak in spiritual maturity. Every believer, male or female, Jew are Gentile, is a priest in the Plan of God for the Church-age. GAL 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all equal in Christ Jesus.” Your royal priesthood shows that God's plan for you in the Church-age as Royal Family is totally unique. Never before the Church-age, and never after the Rapture, is there ever another universal priesthood; it is only for us in the Church-age, the dispensation of personal responsibility.

A priest is a human being who represents people before God. In the Church-age, since every believer is a priest, every believer represents himself before God, and this establishes a system of privacy. ROM 14:1-3 “Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.” We are to welcome fellow believers who may not see everything the way we do; they have their own history to deal with. One believer might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume all Christians should be vegetarians and eat accordingly, but remember that it was God who invited them both to be guests at Christ's table. ROM 14:4 “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. We have no business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome, if there are corrections to be made, God can handle that without our help.” ROM 14:5-8 “One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.” It is God that we answer to, all the way from life to death and everything in between, not each other. ROM 14:10-12 “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.’”

ROM 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. Under the royal priesthood, you are responsible for every thought you think, every motive you have, every good decision you make, and every resulting action you take. God is holding you responsible for your own decisions, because He made you a priest so that you could represent yourself before Him. A very vital part of representing yourself before God is to receive what you have been elected to receive. God takes pleasure when He is able to give to you that which He has elected you to receive, fantastic blessing. Acts 20:35 tells us that God derives more pleasure from giving to us then He does from receiving from us.

Although the Apostle Peter's teaching was misunderstood by the Catholic Church, he was really teaching about the royal priesthood of each Church-age believer; he was not teaching about a group of men who would call themselves priests or father. MAT 23:9 says “And do not call {anyone} on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” Peter was the first to teach the doctrine of the royal priesthood of the believer around 65 AD (1PE 2:5; 1PE 2:9). John taught the doctrine as well, REV 1:4-6 “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” REV 5:10 says, “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” As a royal priest, every believer has a direct line to God: he represents himself before God, he evaluates himself, and he can offer prayer for himself. Hence, the privacy of your priesthood is related to the importance of the perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine. You have privacy so that you can learn Bible doctrine yourself; this is why the local church should be an environment where believers can gather together and yet still have their privacy respected. You were formed for God's family; and your personal sense of destiny, under the principle of election, is to identify with His family. JOH 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” The entire Bible is based upon the principle of God building a family who will love Him, honor Him, and reign with Him forever. EPH 1:5 “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure,”

God is love, and He treasures relationships. His very nature is relational. This is why He identifies Himself in family terms: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Trinity is God's relationship to Himself, and the perfect pattern for relational harmony. God has always existed in a loving relationship to Himself, so He has never been lonely. He didn't need a family, He desired one, so He devised a plan to create us, bring us into His family, and share with us all He has. This gives God pleasure, and makes your spiritual family more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, age, and inevitably death. On the other hand, our spiritual family will continue throughout eternity. The moment you were spiritually born into God's family, you were given some astounding birthday gifts: The family name, family privileges, family intimate access, and the family inheritance. The Bible teaches that you are a child of God, and everything He has belongs to you. GAL 4:7 “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” Here on earth we are given the riches of His grace, kindness, patience, glory, wisdom, power, and mercy, but in eternity we will inherit even more. EPH 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” That inheritance includes: Being with God forever, being completely changed to be like Christ, being freed from spiritual death, sharing in Christ's glory. What an inheritance!

GAL 4:1-2 “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. In the ancient world, as long as the heir was a minor he had no advantage over the slave, though legally he owns the entire inheritance. He was subject to tutors and administrators until whatever date the father had set for emancipation or freedom. GAL 4:3-7 “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.” That privilege of intimate conversation with God (calling Him Father) makes it plain that you are not a slave, but a child of God, and if you are a child, then you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance. Part of that inheritance is found in HEB 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality; He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all, except the sin. So, take the mercy, accept the help; as children of God we get to share in the family fortune. You have the opportunity, through understanding that you are a royal priest, to enter into a deep union with God. Some say that this deep union with God cannot happen in this life; however, your spirit can be deeply touched and be united with God's spirit while you live in your human body, called the body of humiliation (JOH 3:20-21). This is experienced but not actually seen in the physical realm. When you fully enter into the presence of God through understanding your royal priesthood, you shall fully see all that you now have by faith. Your spiritual life is a journey toward Christ, and this begins by understanding you are a royal priest.

Under the privacy of your priesthood, you must be able to define your life in terms of the PPOG, which means you must learn the technical language and vocabulary. Once you do, you can analyze and evaluate your own life, and your own problems, and apply doctrine and make corrections all under the privacy of your own priesthood. God wants you to become spiritually self-sustained; therefore, the privacy of the priesthood demands that we learn doctrine so that we can define our situation at any given time. Any self-improvement program or agenda based on the advice and counsel of others is really a setback. The Royal priesthood is designed by God to function under the concept of thought. No believer can think, apply doctrine, or solve problems through the mind or the personality of another Christian; this is why each one of us is a priest. Initially, there is a place for giving advice to new believers, a time for asking questions, but as you grow you should begin to handle your own life and solve your own problems. You should know when you're wrong and when you're right, and you should be able to utilize all the doctrine you have learned so you can advance to maturity, because only in spiritual maturity will you truly glorify God.

Under the privacy of your priesthood, you have the right to assemble with other believers in a group, where your privacy is respected, to learn doctrine from your right pastor-teacher. The privacy of your priesthood permits the function of both your positive volition toward doctrine plus the right to metabolize and apply that doctrine to your own experience. The danger is the tendency to get arrogant, and want to apply it to everyone else's experience. The only human dependence of the royal priesthood is the divine provision of your very own pastor-teacher, and consistent positive volition under his teaching ministry. This is why your pastor should not bully you or intrude upon your privacy (unless, of course, you intrude on someone else's privacy); he should communicate and teach doctrine faithfully. Faithful Bible teaching demands your faith perception, metabolization, and application of that teaching to your own life as a royal priest. You cannot advance to maturity on your own; you must be trained by a man who has the gift of pastor-teacher.

Major functions of the royal priesthood include: 1) Rebound as the basic technique for the recovery of fellowship. 2) A consistent prayer life. 3) Perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine to your own experience. 4) Worship, which includes giving as a part of your priesthood. 5) The sacrifices of life, such as praise, which is your doctrinal momentum resulting in spiritual adulthood and the manner of operating of virtue-love. HEB 13:15-16 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased. God takes pleasure in those acts of worship which are directed toward Him. 6) Divine viewpoint mental attitude from metabolized doctrine. It is what you think from metabolized doctrine that counts. 7) Self-motivation from metabolized doctrine. If you depend on others for motivation, then you are borrowing their inspiration, and when you are under adversity, you will have no motivation to keep driving.

So your priesthood demands that you live your own life as unto the Lord and take the responsibility for your own decisions. This is your equal privilege under election. 1CO 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God. When He comes, He will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of, the inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God. These inner motives and purposes and prayers are all manifestations and results of your royal priesthood. This is why you can receive and enjoy Christ without seeing Him face to face. 1PE 1:8 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,” When you stand before Him you will have the clear vision of God in addition to the happiness of being His. 1JO 3:1-2 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.” What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it, we're called children of God! That's who we really are, but that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He's up to. Our temporary blindness in time does not and should not stop our true enjoyment of God nor the communication of His Word to our spirit. This experience comes from the richness of a deep and lasting union with God, and will be testified to by all who have experienced it. This is where your royal priesthood will lead you. Paul said 2CO 4:7-8, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;” If you only look at your problems, what you're going through, you might miss out on the brightness of the treasure. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives, and that’s to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized, and at times, we're not sure what to do. 2CO 4:9-10 “persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” We've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. 2CO 4:11-12, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.” JOB 36:15 “He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ear in time of oppression.” All these things drive us to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need, and all of these things are designed to strengthen our royal priesthood.

There is no doubt that when you first receive Him you are united to Him, but there is much work that He must do in you to make you perfectly fitted for Himself. This fitting process takes a long time and must occur before God can fully communicate Himself to you; in fact, your goal is to allow God to possess you without holding anything back from Him. True union with God is permanent and lasting because it is inward and spiritual. Complete union with God is your final destination. Your spirit can be poured into Him as He becomes the center of your life. In Him your spiritual life can be transformed. God, in creating you, made you a partaker of Himself. 2PE 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature. He made you to be reunited with Him, and He gives you an inner desire toward that reunion. Your spiritual life is perfectly made to be united and transformed into God. Your spirit can be united to God in this way because that is what it is made for. 2CO 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. ”

All of us need to understand that there is nothing between us and God, and so we are being transformed into the same image, much like the Messiah. Our lives gradually become brighter and more beautiful we become more and more like Him.

True fellowship with God takes place only when you begin to understand the privilege of your Royal priesthood and surrender your self-nature to God. JOH 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, which means to be dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat, but if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. JOH 12:25 “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.” In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life, but if you let it go, you'll have it forever, real and eternal. There is a deep fellowship in your royal priesthood where you stop preserving the self-life, and lovingly and absolutely begin to fellowship with God. Our union with Christ and the privilege of your royal priesthood is the greatest achievement of God's love and omnipotence. But because man is created free, he has the power of shutting off his relationship with God and sheltering himself in the cosmic system. What a sad commentary on the rejection of the privilege of your royal priesthood. For when a believer knows and then turns his back on such privileges, he heaps hindrance upon hindrance upon himself unless he reaches out to the mercy of God. Remember that as a believer priest, you have the right to reach out to the mercy of God. When a believer does this, God removes some of the obstacles He had put in the way, and then we are encouraged to turn towards Him back in fellowship as royal priests. The more open the soul is to God, the more abundant is the release of His grace mercy. Instead of believers enjoying the privilege of their royal priesthood, they are wrapped up in the cosmic system, looking to it for answers. One of the incredible gifts we have is insight into our sorrows, difficulties, and trials, and how all of them can strengthen and develop our royal priesthood. Under disastrous conditions, God can manufacture good out of the suffering. Sooner or later, you are going to run into some disastrous situation, and the only way you will be ready for it is to strengthen your royal priesthood with God.

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.

Also posted on ThinkBeDo: bookmark link in case this site is ever off line.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Internet Church Service, Sunday, Sept 23, 2012

This week’s sermon title:
The New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 2

Today’s Sermon Message:

“The New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 2”

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!!

# # # # # # # #

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

By Faith - Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

By grace Alone - Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Lectionary

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

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 New Testament analogy of the Old Testament Fish Gate.
As revealed in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Part 2

(To view the sermon right click the above link then click on open in “new window” or “new tab” and 3 windows will open – 1) audio or video player which should start automatically, 2) slide show, 3) note pad. When finished return to previous window or tab to finish the service with Hymn and Prayer.)

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Hymn #3

Change My Heart Oh God – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

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

Also posted on ThinkBeDo: bookmark link in case this site is ever off line.

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.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, 9-17-2012

This week’s study: What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery - Study 47. The Portfolio of Invisible Assets – Part 7

PLEASE READ FIRST

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

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

Study to show yourself approved to God!

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

STUDY TITLE:

What it means to be initiated into the
secret of the mystery - Study 47.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets – Part 7

OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all 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:

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

We have now completed the first seven general categories of testing which occur in all stages of spiritual growth as a part of your portfolio of invisible assets. We have begun to look at eighth test: The Prosperity test. The believer sharing in prosperity can become distracted from doctrine and lured away from the PPOG. There are many believers today who cannot handle any form of prosperity because promotion and recognition cause them to become arrogant and think more highly of themselves than what they ought to think. They forget the source of their prosperity. With freedom and prosperity comes the temptation to trust in the blessings rather than in the One giving the blessings. We become fat, comfortable, and self-sufficient. If we have plenty, we tend to think we have need of nothing. If we do not have enough, looking at the wealth around us, we tend to think that what we need is what others have: more material blessings.

However, if you are a believer in TLJC, you have something that wealth cannot buy or gain. You have something that is absolutely unique and unmatched in all of history; you have a portfolio of invisible assets. This does not mean that with your spiritual prosperity, you will lack natural prosperity; however, there are spiritual and natural laws you must follow to receive natural prosperity from God. God wants every believer to prosper, but He has certain principles to follow in order to receive His highest and best in our lives, including finances. We believe God's promises for eternal salvation; why not believe His word when it comes to finances?

Have you ever asked yourself the following questions: Does God really want me to be financially prosperous? Does God care about what type of house I live in or car I drive? Does the Bible teach us to get out of debt? How can I increase my giving to God if I can't even pay my debts with the money I'm earning now? Is it wrong for Christians to have substantial amounts of money in bank accounts and investments? All of these questions will be answered according to biblical principles and God's standards for prosperity.

There are two extreme positions which Christians take today concerning the area of finances. 1) People follow God simply because they want to prosper. We can't bend God's laws to fit our selfish desires. JAM 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your lusts. 2) The opposite extreme is the belief that financial prosperity for Christians is totally wrong. Many Christians believe that poverty is somehow godly, that financial prosperity destroys humility and will draw us away from God. There is no question that the Bible warns us against prospering in the world’s way. In contrast, we can prosper by following God's standards of prosperity, outlined in His word. If we follow these standards, we'll prosper financially, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of prosperity. God created all the wealth on this earth, HAG 2:8 “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,” declares the Lord of hosts. PSA 24:1 “The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” PSA 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.” Did God create it for unbelievers, for hard-hearted, sinful men and women who curse Him, could care less about Him, deny Him and disobey His word? Look how our Lord put it in MAT 7:7-12 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

God is no different from any other caring father; He wants the best for His children. He wants the world to see prosperous, joyful, loving, happy Christians. If He was willing to give us His only Son, why would He hold anything else back from us? Paul put it like this, ROM 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? PSA 84:11 No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Many great men of God have prospered as a result of following God's standards. For example, Abraham lived a very fruitful, prosperous life, GEN 13:2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. GEN 24:1 Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. Because of the price paid by Jesus Christ, all Christians are heirs to the same blessings Abraham received from God. GAL 3:6-9, Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. GAL 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. DEU 8:18 “But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,” 3JO 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may PROSPER and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. Since we are heirs to Abraham, the blessings God gave to Abraham are available to us, if we will follow His standards.

Many people are destroyed by their wealth because they don't obtain or maintain it by following God's standards. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being prosperous if we follow doctrinal principles. PSA 112:1-3 “Praise the Lord! How blessed or happy is the one who respects the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commands. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.” If someone believes that it is wrong to be prosperous, how can they explain why many of the greatest men of God were prosperous? However, there are certain principles one must follow. First, always keep God first, MAT 6:33. You must be honest with yourself regarding this point because you will be tested in this area as a part of prosperity testing. Do you follow these basic passages: PRO 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” PRO 8:17-18 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.” PRO 11:24-25 “There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, but {it results} only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.” In contrast, prosperity apart from God brings trouble. PRO 15:6 Much wealth is {in} the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked. PRO 22:4 The reward of humility {and} the fear [respect] of the Lord are riches, honor and life. LUK 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” 2CO 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. PRO 15:6 Much wealth is {in} the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

The world's system of prosperity has its price. It doesn't turn out the way men think it will. Financial prosperity achieved by the world's methods will only bring sorrow, but God's standards will enable us to prosper in every area of our lives without sorrow. PRO 10:22 It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. Sorrow comes from loving money and from putting it ahead of Him. 1TI 6:10 “For you see the love of money keeps on being a root of all sorts of evil, through which certain ones by intensively desiring it have gone astray from doctrine, and pierced themselves with many types of pain.” When we covet money and materialism, we will go astray from doctrine. However, the love of money isn't limited to the rich. Many people who don't have much money still love it. God's Word warns us against coveting, being greedy, and always wanting more. God hates covetousness. If we want to succeed, God's Word tells us that we should work hard and show the world around us the virtues of hard work.

God has 11 laws for prosperity:

1) Always keep God first, MAT 6:33.
2) Renew your mind so you will understand that God's way for prosperity is different than the world's way.
3) God's laws of prosperity are founded upon the basic fact that He owns everything and we own nothing.
4) God's Perspective on Work and Discipline.
5) The results that diligent study and meditation will produce in our hearts and in our mouths.
6) Having the faith to do what our Father tells us to do.
7) God's laws of sowing and reaping.
8) We can't out-give God.
9) Giving God's way.
10) God's laws of banking and investment (God's laws for storing treasures and withdrawing them).
11) Receiving God’s way.

Ultimately God desires for the believer to prosper, but the believer must pass these different momentum tests; 3JO 1:2 “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” God wants us to have prosperity, but He doesn't want prosperity to have us! God gave us His precious promises so we can be like Him if we follow them. 2PE 1:4 “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature,” Prosperity and abundance are part of God's divine nature. He owns the whole world and everything in it. He has given us more than three thousand promises in His Word, so that by these we can partake of His divine nature. God is prosperous and the very first chapter of the Bible says, GEN 1:26 “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” If God is prosperous, and if He created us to be just like He is, isn't it obvious that He wants us to prosper too?

The more we study God's Word, the more evidence we see of God's plans for our abundance and prosperity. God created great abundance when He created the earth. GEN 1:20-22 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens. And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” This first chapter tells us how God stocked the earth with fish, animals, and birds and how He provided plants and fruit trees. When God finished this, He then created a man, meant to enjoy this abundance and be master over the earth. GEN 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God provided Adam with great abundance; he had everything he could ever want. However, Adam gave his riches and his earthly dominion to Satan, who was able to steal it from him because of Adam's arrogance. Adam forfeited the abundance and prosperity that God intended for us, his children. Satan stole it and became the ruler of the world, which he still is. Of course that is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth, to destroy Satan's work. 1JO 3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Our Lord succeeded in His mission, MAT 28:18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Through the work of Christ, God’s plans for our prosperity are available if we will follow His laws.

God’s standards that we must follow to receive His highest and best are what election is all about. Election is God willing His highest and best for every believer. In 2Co 8-9, these chapters deal primarily with the subject of finances. When 2CO 8:9 tells us that the Lord became poor so that we could be rich, this applies to spiritual riches, but it also refers financial riches and prosperity.

Some Christians believe that our Lord was poor during His earthly ministry. They say that His life was a model for us, and since He was poor we were not meant to prosper. Was He really poor during His three year ministry that changed the earth forever? No! MAT 11:19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard," The Greek brings out that He ate fine food and drank good wine; He wasn't poor! Jesus Christ knew God's laws for prosperity. Let's examine the facts. Some people believe that Jesus was poor because He said in LUK 9:58 “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air {have} nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jesus didn't have a home where He slept every night because He was the first traveling evangelist. He was constantly on the move! Surely He could have stayed in the home of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea or in other nice homes where He was welcomed. In fact, Jesus could have produced the money to stay each night in an inn if He had really wanted to. Also, our Lord had twelve disciples and seventy other men traveling with Him. LUK 10:1-3 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.” How can anyone say that Jesus was poor if He was able to meet the needs of such a large group of people? How many poor people run an organization of this size? How many poor people have a treasurer to keep track of their finances? Jesus and His organization had a treasurer, Judas, JOH 13:29 "Judas had the money box." Jesus was a complete master of God's laws of prosperity. He used those laws repeatedly to meet His needs.

Jesus Christ had the purest faith that has ever been seen on this earth. As a result, He was able to turn little into plenty. He had absolutely no need for worldly, material assets because He knew that He could apply His faith to God's laws of prosperity in order to obtain whatever He needed. For example, in MAR 8:13-21 And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread; and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." And they {began} to discuss with one another {the fact} that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss {the fact} that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up? They said to Him, "Twelve." [There was more than enough for the five thousand!] "And when {I broke} the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to Him, "Seven." And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?" What poor man could provide for others like this? When the tax collectors of Capernaum came to Peter and asked for money, was Jesus able to pay them? He certainly was. MAT 17:27 "Go down to the shore and throw in a line, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them." Our Lord obviously was able to master God's laws of prosperity in order to pay His taxes and Peter's taxes as well.

Now you say, well these were all miracles! When Peter and the other disciples had fished all night and came up empty, Jesus was able to produce so many fish that the nets broke, LUK 5;1-11, JOH 21:1-11
. When Jesus needed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, He didn't have to rent or buy a donkey. He simply told two of His disciples to go into the village of Bethphage to look for a donkey and its colt tied alongside the road. He told them to take these animals, and if anyone asked what they were doing, to say that the Lord needed them. MAT 21:1-7 And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied {there} and a colt with her; untie {them,} and bring {them} to Me. And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'" And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat. When Jesus needed a room to serve the Passover meal, He didn't go to a hotel to rent one. Instead, He sent two of His disciples into Jerusalem and to contact a certain man who would lead them to another man. They should tell this man that they needed a large upper room, and he would take care of everything. That is exactly what happened, MAR 14:12-16. How can anyone claim that Jesus was poor when He was able to obtain transportation and hotel rooms so easily? Also, when Jesus hung on the cross, the soldiers who crucified Him gambled for possession of His expensive, seamless one-piece robe and His other garments. If He was poor during His earthly ministry, where did He get a robe that was so valuable that soldiers gambled for it? The facts reveal that Jesus was not poor.

So you might wonder what the connection is between the miracles performed by Jesus and His financial prosperity. Again, Jesus Christ had the purest faith ever seen, so He was able to turn little into plenty. He had no need for worldly assets because He knew He could apply His faith to God's standards of prosperity to obtain His needs. Perhaps you are thinking, "Yes, but He is the Son of God." What does this have to do with me? Look at JOH 14:12-14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater {works} than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do {it.}” However, the key again is, JOH 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus Christ followed God's laws of prosperity, and He didn't rely in the least on His own ability. He relied totally upon God's Word and upon God's Holy Spirit living within Him. Because Jesus followed all of God's laws, He enjoyed total prosperity, not just financially, but also in His spirit, soul, and body. In JOH 14:12-15, we can enjoy this same total prosperity in our lives here on earth.

Our Father wants His children to prosper instead of the evil sinners who now enjoy much of the world's prosperity. Look how Job put it, JOB 27:16-17, "The evil man may accumulate money like dust, with closets jammed full of clothing yes, he may order them made by his tailor, but the innocent shall wear that clothing and shall divide his silver among them." (TLB) Job knew God's laws for prosperity and he used them! Our Father wants us to prosper financially; however, this prosperity isn't "automatic" just because we're Christians. We have to follow His laws of prosperity which are carefully laid out in His book. If we follow these laws, God won't withhold any good thing from us. PSA 84:11 "No good thing will he withhold from them who walk along his paths" PSA 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits."

The Bible teaches that if you are going to be a winner in the spiritual life and receive God's highest and best, which is greater than anything you can imagine, then you are going to have to overcome distractions and opposition. Distractions can come in many areas; you will be opposed by your friends, family members, co-workers and even enemies. You have to learn to overcome opposition and distractions, sent by the kingdom of darkness to try to stop your spiritual momentum and draw you away from the plan of God. For example, Abraham that stayed with his father because of sentimentality, and then his father led him down the path to reversionism. In his case, a change of geographical location was needed because it was the basis for separating Abraham from his family and relatives. When family or relatives hold you back, then family and relatives have to go! Many times families hinder the spiritual growth of believers because the believer is forced to compromise certain standards and convictions that are developed through doctrinal growth. A lot of people cannot seem to handle the family-relative problem. Our Lord’s own family, including His mother, thought that He had lost His senses and was out of His mind! MAR 3:21 And when His own family heard of this [that He claimed to be the Son of God], they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses." They did not come to believe on Him and follow His teachings; they came because they thought He was going nuts; He was taking this God thing a little too seriously! In fact, His own family did not believe that He was the Son of God! JOH 7:5 For not even his brothers were believing in Him. They did not believe in Him until after His resurrection; even His mother was mistaken at this particular time! MAT 12:46 While He was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. They were outside; they didn't even want to come in and listen to Him. They didn't want Him to speak to them; they wanted to speak to Him! Yet Christ overcame all distractions, and that is why He prospered in every way during His earthly ministry. The believer can prosper in the same way if he will follow Christ’s obedience to God’s laws of prosperity.

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.

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