Weekly Bible Study – June 29, 2015

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.

PLEASE READ FIRST

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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:

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.



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

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.

God reveals Himself to mankind in Temples today through the bodies of believers who in this dispensation of the Church-age are called the Temple of God. We are called the Temples of God and we are to be a manifestation of the Shekinah glory or God revealed through mankind. Before we see some analogies this evening, let us begin by noting what the phrase the Shekinah glory means.

Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew noun Shakan meaning to dwell. It refers to the fact that Jesus Christ indwelt certain sacred buildings in Israel. Shekinah was coined by the rabbis who developed the technical word to speak of God as dwelling among His people. It was used to express the invisible presence of God with Israel.

On the other hand, Glory is the Hebrew word Kabodh, used for the visible manifestations of Jesus Christ as a Theophany. Shekinah itself represents the invisibility of Christ, whereas Kabodh represents the visibility of Christ.

Actually, to the Jews, the Shekinah Glory referred to the God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, actually indwelling three sacred buildings during the age of Israel. He indwelt the Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, and Zerubbabel’s Temple. So, make sure you understand that Glory represents the visible manifestation in what is known as a Theophany form.


A Theophany is a manifestation of the person and work of Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state. It is a theological term for the appearances of Jesus Christ before the First Advent. For example, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared as the Angel of the Lord, the primary Theophany in the OT. He appeared to Moses in the burning bush, EXO 3:2 cf. Acts 7:30 35.


EXO 3:2, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

Now, who was this? Comparing scripture with scripture, who does ACT 7:30-35 say that it was?

In ACT 7:30, “And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.”

Then in ACT 7:31, And when Moses saw it, he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord. This is the Lord! This is how we know it was the Lord appearing as an angel: ACT 7:32, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ And Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. ACT 7:33-35, But the Lord said to him (Who - the Lord said to him), “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. the Lord said, I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt. This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ (is the same one who said) - is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.”

As the Angel of God, the Lord jesus Christ was in the pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night to lead Israel through the desert, EXO 13:21; EXO 14:19; EXO 23:20-23. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night was what we call the Glory of God being seen - it was the visible manifestation of the Shekinah. So what I want you to see is that when you are performing divine good and producing good works, people can see those good works at and that is the part of the “glory” of God that can be seen. Whereas the Shekinah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the invisible power within you that cannot be seen which is what motivated you to produce the good works.

So, the Shekinah is invisible, it is Christ in you. The good works you do are visible, they are the glory of God revealed. Two verses come to mind. First the Shekinah: GAL 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” Christ living in you is a reality not an emotional experience. This is the Shekinah, the invisible part that cannot be seen. Then there is the glory, the part that can be seen which is called your good works. In other words, in MAT 5:16, “Let your light [the Shekinah in you] shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works [your glory or you glorifying God] , and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The point is that I could show you many other passages that teach that you and me are now a Theophanies of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church-age! In other word’s to break down the Shekinah Glory as far as we are concerned looks like this:

1. Shekinah = indwelling invisibility of Christ in us.

2. Glory = the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of bearing fruit.

Shekinah refers to the indwelling of Christ whereas glory refers to the manifestation of that indwelling by means of fulfilling EPH 2:10 we have been created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of performing good works.

So, the point is that just like God will anoint the most high place or the Holy Temple when the Millennial reign begins, today God anoints all His spiritual Temples who are the body of Christ, every Church-age believer. So, this is what the phrase “He will anoint the most holy place” connotes. The analogy is simple but profound: The anointing refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as Christ living through us. The most holy place or the Temple refers to our Body.

So, let’s look at some of the statements that are made about the real and Jewish Temple which will be in Jerusalem during the Millennium and then put our bodies in the passage and make the spiritual applications more real.

MAT 12:1-5, At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions; how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent?”

1. MAT 12:6, “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.”

What is the ‘something greater than the Jewish Temple? Here it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ because He was the first human Temple of God ever to walk the face of this earth. In fact in JOH 1:14, the apostle John writes “And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth”. Notice the two words here, tabernacled and glory.

You and I are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ and we are the spiritual Temple or spiritual Tabernacle that is greater than the Jewish temple that is mentioned in this passage.

2. Our Lord rebuked those in the Jewish Temple who were buying and selling things in the temple which they turned into something like a Flea Market, MAT 21:12, And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. Here our Lord rebuked those in the Jewish Temple who were buying and selling things in the Jewish temple which they turned into sought of a Flea Market. However, ever more than that, don’t sell your body to the things of the world or the cosmic system. What does this refer to? It refers those who are the spiritual temple of God who try to make money on the other temples of God that are within the local assembly. And the principle is simply this: It’s alright to do business with other believers but not in the Church building which is to be set aside from the world and for the ultimate purpose of learning doctrine.

3. In MAT 21:12-14, the Temple of our Lord or His body, should never be sold; - As a Temple of God, You don’t sell out or compromise your biblical standards. MAT 21:12-14, And Jesus entered the temple [or when Jesus enters into the believer] and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

Notice that those who needed healing came to the Temple which you are today. So it means that God desires you to live as a believer who is always ready to help those who are hurt. Also notice that He fed the people and healed them from sicknesses and diseases and did so for no charge. As MIC 3:11 teaches that the religious leaders were condemned by God because it says Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests instruct for a price, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.” They had a false security because they were making money in the Jewish Temple and called it the blessing of God.

4. As the Temple of our Lord, we should never be hypocritical; MAT 23:16-18. The Pharisees were specialized hypocrites and that is why our Lord rebuked them for being hypocritical in their Temple dealings.

MAT 23:16-17, “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold?”

The Pharisees always made an issue out of money and here TLJC is revealing their hypocrisy of using religion as a cover for their love for money.

5. The Temple was where our Lord taught and therefore as the Temple of our Lord we should always be ready to teach those who desire to learn.

MAT 26:55, At that time Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.”

Notice how our Lord had no fear in the temple and spoke the word in the temple Himself though there were those who hated Him an wanted to kill Him. In other words, He taught, even in place where He was not welcomed. As Jesus Christ dwells within us, He desires to use you as the Temple that He speaks through today.

Again You are His Temple that He is indwelling today. You are a walking Temple of God.

As a walking Temple of God you should walk by faith, not by sight (2CO 5:7).

As a walking Temple of God, you should walk in newness of life (ROM 6:4).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (GAL 5:16).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called (EPH 4:1).

As a walking Temple of God you should be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise (EPH 5:15).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (COL 1:10).

As a walking Temple of God you should 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 (1JO 1:7).

6. In MAR 11:16, the Temple of our Lord would never condone a business, that is in the church, MAR 11:16 and He would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. We need to be on our God and not let our human temple allow individuals to make a business in the local assembly. As I mentioned many times before, Christians can be the best in the world and also the worse, especially when it comes to money.

7. In MAT 27:51, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom which is analogous to our Lord “opening up the veil that separated man from God” in the Jewish temple, so that nothing separate us from Him now because he dwells in the Temple of our body. Because Jesus Christ indwells us, He desires us to live for Him because of the veil being torn in two which opened up a face-to-face access and opportunity for us to face the Lord personally knowing nothing can ever separate us from the love God in Christ Jesus.

So, by being a Temple for our Lord to indwell, the ripping of the veil means we can have a face to face fellowship with Him. Remember, we are always to pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, being filled with the Spirit. As long as we are filled with the Spirit we can talk to the Father, we can talk to the Son and we can even talk to the Spirit whenever we desire, but that’s fellowship with them not prayer.

8. In LUK 19:47 As there was always opposition and obstacles in the Jewish Temple, there will always be those who try to oppose us and stop our spiritual momentum because we are now the Temple of God. In the literal, Temple there were always legalistic self-righteous individuals preparing to destroy our Lord.

LUK 19:47, And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him,

Under the principle of Satan being an arrogant genius and the fact that he has been around ever since the Church-age began, he knows that all believers in the Church-age is where the lord Jesus Christ now indwells. And just like he did in the Old Testament he now does in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Satan always attacked the Jewish Temple of God. Therefore, in the New Testament, Satan and his kingdom of darkness always does the same thing, he is always attacking the people of God who are now the spiritual temple where the Lord indwells now .

9. In JOH 2:18-19, the Temple was the place where our Lord taught the doctrine of the resurrection.

JOH 2:18-21, The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews therefore said, “It took forty six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

The resurrection of our Lord is extremely important for us, as living Temples of God, to learn and to teach others.

Why?

Because there are many individuals who say that all you have o is simply believe God, you know faith alone in Christ alone. And that is true! But you have to describe what faith alone in Christ means. It means you have to have faith alone in what the lord says and does. In other words, you have to believe in what the mind of Christ said when He spoke to the apostle Paul who was inspired by God the Holy Spirit in ROM 10:8-13.

ROM 10:8, But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

Here is where salvation is not based upon the fact that someone says “I believe in God.” Because the Bible says in JAM 2:19, You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. It is not believing in God that saves you, it is believing in what the apostle Paul said known as “Paul’s Gospel” in many circles. You have to believe in ROM 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;

10. The Temple of God was also respected as a place of prayer, so should we be temples gathering together with one another in prayer; ACT 3:1, Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. The analogy is just as the Temple was used for believers to gather together for prayer, today the Temples of God ought to be doing the same. And that could be just a family praying together. You see, one of the most misunderstood principles concerning the doctrine of prayer that I have discovered in the last 35 years is the misconception of numbers and time. It doesn’t matter at all to God how many are praying together and how long one prays. Don’t get in bondage to those books about certain individuals who spend hours and hours on their knees praying which do nothing more but make the average believer feel inferior and insecure concerning prayer.

PSA 138:2b, I give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth; For Thou hast magnified Your Word according to all Thy name.

JOH 12:47-48, “And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

11. The born-again believer, as a temple that the Lord indwells is superior to the earthly temple in ACT 17:24, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

This points to the superiority of the spiritual temples ( us), over the natural Temple which will elevated and cherished by all of God’s people because it will a reminder or a visual aid during the Millennial reign of what God had done in that Temple throughout the dispensation of the Law.

12. As a temple of God, the temple of God should never be used for compromise; 2CO 6:14-18.


13. Being a Temple of God that God can use as He indwells your body, you will be recognized in the Historical Section called the Pillars of History in the eternal state as the Church-age temple is acknowledged , promoted, and blessed is acknowledged as a winner.

14. Ultimately the real meaning and the whole purpose of the Temple is for glorification of God the Father, God the Son, REV 21:22, And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

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.

Internet Church Service – June 28, 2015

The Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
Through the power of God, we have the ability to love with a greater love than they loved with in the Old Testament.

Today’s Sermon Message:
The Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
Through the power of God, we have the ability to love with a greater love than they loved with in the Old Testament.

Video and 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 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

Grace with Grace Greater Than Our Sin– Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos.
You can usually skip the commercial if there is one.)

Hymn #2

What Wondrous Love Is This – Lyrics in Video
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You can usually 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 Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.

TO VIEW THE SERMON: Right click the link above, a small window will open then left click either “Open in New Window” or “Open in New Tab” and the church service notes page will open, it has three options in the upper right side of the page, right click the link titled “download mp3” and just like before, select either Open New Window or Open New Tab to open the MP3 player, this will leave the notes page open so you can move back to it, so go back to the notes page to follow along in the notes, the streaming audio should begin automatically in your default audio/video player (like, Windows Media Player).

If you need to leave the service, when you come back, to move the MP3 player forward, press and hold the left click down on the player progress bar where you see the little arrow under the time on progress bar and move your mouse forward

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

Half a Mile-Psalm 95-‘Come let us’ – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos.
You can usually 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.

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.

Weekly Bible Study – June 22, 2015

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
The mystery behind the anointing of
the Holy Place or your Human Body.

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:

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
The mystery behind the anointing of
the Holy Place or your Human Body.



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

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
The mystery behind the anointing of
the Holy Place or your Human Body.

DAN 9:24, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

The Hebrew word for anoint has a few definitions, the word is ‎mashach and usually it means to anoint; to set apart for God’s service, to sanctify him, to approve one for doing the work of the Lord.

Secondly, it also means to put one’s stamp of approval on the one you have anointed as an authorizing agent; to be held in special regard, it emphasizes the special relationship between God and the one who has been anointed. This actually refers to a time when God will indwell all the Jewish people who become born again and saved for the first time. Remember in the Old Testament there was a different indwelling ministry for the Jews than there will be in the Millennial reign.

Part of God’s blessing of anointing the Holy Place refers to the Temple in Jerusalem which, for the first time, will be filled with born-again Jewish people. They never had this type of blessing in the OT. Two passages bring this out: EZE 36:26-31; JER 31:31-34.

EZE 36:24-31, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, that you may not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations.”

JER 31:31-34, “Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

In the OT not too many believers had the Holy Spirit living in them and then for just short periods of time, but in the Millennium, all the Jewish believers will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They will not lose the Spirit as they did in the OT. That’s why David prayed in PSA 51:10-12, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation or Your deliverance, And sustain me with a willing spirit.”

The difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the O.T. and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the N.T. is found in two words, enablement the other is called the enduement. What is the difference? Enduement is defined as the divine power of God the Holy Spirit to certain Old Testament believers. However, as we saw, only a small percentage of O.T. believers had anything to do with the enduement of God the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, we, as Church-age believers, have the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit given to us.

In every dispensation all believers are saved the same way, faith alone in Christ alone, as GEN 15:6 teaches. In GEN 15:6, Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. This has to do with faith alone, in Christ alone. However, God the Holy Spirit did not fill the Old Testament believers as He does for the N.T. believers, where He gives us all the same privileges and opportunities to operate in the power of God. So, the difference between the enablement and the enduement is that one you could lose (Enduement], the other (enablement) you could never lose in spite of what you did.

The real issue in our passage of Dan 9 is that the anointing of the most holy place deals not so much with the literal meaning, but really the spiritual meaning. So, rather than focusing on the literal meaning of the most Holy place, which has to do with the fact the there will come a time when the Temple for the Jews will be rebuilt and restored: I have decided to focus in on the spiritual application of what this means for us, as believers in the Church-age.

a. The Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer at the moment of salvation to provide the divine power to offset the continued presence of the old sin nature.

b. The Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer also as a sign of the Royal family status, which is superior to being in the family of God, as believers in past dispensations were.

c. The primary objective of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to provide divine energy or power to execute the Christian way of life. One of the intentions of the ministry of God the Holy Spirit is to change or transform us into the image of Christ! 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.

So, What is the “most Holy place”?

It refers to the Millennium Temple when the Jews will reign with Christ and with His people for a thousand year Millennial reign. However, it also refers to the human body, which is now the Temple of the living God. There is a direct relationship between the anointing and the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Shekinah glory or God revealed and seen through mankind. What we are going to see is that believers are now a manifestation of the Shekinah glory or God revealed in mankind. And just like God will anoint the most Holy place or the Holy Temple when the Millennial reign begins, right now He is anointing a spiritual Temple which is what you and I really are and why we are called the Temple of God.

1CO 3:11, For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is Holy, and that is what you are.

You and I are called the Temple of God.

He also said this in 1CO 6:19-20, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

2CO 6:16, Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Speaking of growing in the Church, Paul said in EPH 2:21, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a Holy temple in the Lord. When our Lord comes back to anoint the most holy place or His temple, in DAN 9:24, He is not doing anything new because he has been anointing us as the temple of God ever since the Church-age began. In fact the analogy is simple but profound: The anointing refers to the indwelling of the HS. The most holy place or the Temple refers to our Body.

REV 21:1-3, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,

In REV 21:22 the Lord is called a temple. Speaking of the new Heaven REV 21:22-24, “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it.”

Over and over again we keep having hints concerning what the spiritual Temple is all about. And it’s vital that we understand this, our Lord wants us and our body as a vehicle to express His love for all. And we, or our body is the vehicle He desires to use. The apostle Paul put this principle in another way.

2CO 3:2-3, You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

Your life is a walking book - here Paul calls it a letter -- people are reading you without you even being aware of it at the time. This is why Paul said what he did to the Romans in ROM 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

ROM 12:1, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1CO 6:13b, Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body.

There was never was a time in history when some part of the world did not see the Lord. That’s the doctrine of Theophanies. A Theophany is a manifestation of the person and work of Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state. It is a theological term for the appearances of Jesus Christ before the First Advent. For example, He appeared as the Angel of the Lord, the primary Theophany in the OT.

He appeared to Moses in the burning bush, EXO 3:2cf. ACT 7:30-35.

EXO 3:2, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

Comparing scripture with scripture, who does ACT 7:30-35 say that it was?

ACT 7:30-35, And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. And when Moses saw it, he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ And Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’ This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ - is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

As the Angel of God, the Lord was in the pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night to lead Israel through the desert, EXO 13:21; EXO 14:19; EXO 23:20-23, 32:34, 33:2; NUM 20:16; ISA 63:9. The point is that I could show you many other passages that teach that you and me are now a Theophanies of the Lord in the Church-age! Your body is literally the temple of God or the dwelling place of where He now lives, whether it is times of darkness or light.

Let’s look at some of the statements made about the literal temple and apply it to ourselves being our Lord’s spiritual temple, which is our body.

MAT 12:6, “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.

And what is the greater than the literal Temple? Of course, the spiritual meaning over the natural.

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.

Internet Church Service – June 21, 2015

The Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.

Today’s Sermon Message:
The Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.

Video and 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 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

You Are My King (Amazing Love) – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos.
You can usually skip the commercial if there is one.)

Hymn #2

By Faith – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos.
You can usually 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 Sword of the Spirit. The word of God Manifested in the life of Jesus.
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.

TO VIEW THE SERMON: Right click the link above, a small window will open then left click either “Open in New Window” or “Open in New Tab” and the church service notes page will open, it has three options in the upper right side of the page, right click the link titled “download mp3” and just like before, select either Open New Window or Open New Tab to open the MP3 player, this will leave the notes page open so you can move back to it, so go back to the notes page to follow along in the notes, the streaming audio should begin automatically in your default audio/video player (like, Windows Media Player).

If you need to leave the service, when you come back, to move the MP3 player forward, press and hold the left click down on the player progress bar where you see the little arrow under the time on progress bar and move your mouse forward

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

Soon – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos.
You can usually 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.

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.

Weekly Bible Study – June 15, 2015

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
Job glorified God by waiting on Him
even though God was silent toward him.

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:

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
Job glorified God by waiting on Him
even though God was silent toward him.



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

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
Job glorified God by waiting on Him
even though God was silent toward him.

This past week we have been noting how Job glorified God by waiting on Him even though God was silent toward Job. We also noted that there are times that God will keep things secret from us so that we will search for Him with all of our Heart and soul. There are even times that the Lord will bring affliction upon us to cause us to seek for Him.

As the prophet Hosea wrote in HOS 5:15, the Lord said, “I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

Therefore, the divine purpose is stated when He says that our attitude will be what HOS 6:1 says, we will say, “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

And so the principle is that many times waiting upon the Lord and experiencing the silence of God is a blessing in disguise. If your experience has been anything like mine, we both know that the silence of God and learning how to wait upon the Lord, is designed for our own benefit and blessing. In fact, it is designed for us to learn how to depend upon our Lord.

MAT 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”

1PE 5:7, “Cast all your worries or anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.”

PSA 55:22, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

That’s what happens when you wait, you experience a shift in the load, from your shoulders, to the shoulders that were designed to bear these things - or Lord’s. Look how Isaiah put it in ISA 53:4-5, Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Some of those who have waited on the Lord in their spiritual life. The first one who stands out in my mind is Noah, who was told of God to build an ark and to keep the faith knowing that rain was coming, though there had never been such a thing as a rainstorm from the sky before, GEN 2:5. There was mist and water from the shy but like a rainstorm as we have them today. There also had never been such a large vessel like the Ark. Now, he waited 120 yrs, and then it came.

Next we noted Job who after experiencing the soars from his head all the way down to his feet, the boils, the loss of family, the loss of his friends, his wealth and his prosperity, he had to learn how to wait upon God when God was being silent.

And then there is Abraham, and if you check out the record he left his hometown of Ur at the age of 75. He died according to the scriptures at the age of 175 and still didn’t find the city that he left to find, whose builder and maker was God. 100 years of waiting for God, who was pleased simply to teach him through the discipline of time, to trust Him or for the servant to trust the master.

HEB 11:8-10, By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

He waited all those years constantly pulling up his tent and moving on, and he never found a place to pour a cement foundation. And yet look at HEB 11:13, All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. He never found that place, think of it. Just waited day by day for the sovereign God of Heaven to say here it is but it never happened in Abraham’s life...but it will! He just lived a life of waiting.

Then there is Joseph, whose life was marked by waiting for a decade and a half in prison, unfairly, and unjustly. Think of that, it’s bad enough to have to serve time, but to have to serve it unfairly and being forgotten is a difficult time. Potiphar’s wife lied upon him and said that he made sexual advances toward her, he was mistreated, released from slavery only to be put back into prison again, and then he had to wait for 13 years before he was relieved and finally promoted to the prime-minister of Egypt. And then there is Moses, who at the age of 40, was at the prime of manhood, he was the brightest star of Egypt, he was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He was certainly going to be an heir apparent and at that time he made a crucial blunder. He tried to do God’s will his way, he committed murder, and Moses ended up in the desert and there is stayed for 40 years.

Think of that! In the prime of manhood, greatly qualified, but he was completely useless, even though he was highly educated and had prestige, a great reputation and he was the military leader. And yet he ended up in the desert and was forgotten and he worked for his father-in-law. He raised sheep in that desert for 40 years, waiting on the timing of God.

HEB 11:24-27, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

He waited so long that when God got his attention through the burning bush, he was convinced that God has made His first mistake. He said, “I can’t go to deliver your people, I’m not qualified.” And finally God compromised and said take Aaron, and he pulled off the Exodus with Aaron. And Moses was the one who at that crucial moment, when they were surrounded by the enemy, by the desert, by the mountains, by the sea, , and the Egyptian army was coming closer, and closer, Moses said this.

EXO 14:13-14, But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

Apparently he learned something about the silence of the spiritual life. There was nothing new, he had been doing it for 40 years. And therefore what more could I say as the writer of Hebrews magnificently says beginning in HEB 11:32-12:3, And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

Then there is that silent period, called the enter Old Testament period of silence for 400 years where we don’t know a lot. We know nothing scripturally, nothing was written, for 400 years between those two great covenants, the OT and the NT. And then came the ministry of Jesus Christ whose life could be epitomized or personified by wisdom and waiting. He just took one step at a time, and when the Father said take the next step He took the next step, and the Father said take that next step and He took it, and He learned obedience through the things that he suffered, HEB 5:8, Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Then He nurtured 12 men, 11 of whom succeeded, and He told them when He left the earth you wait in the upper room and they waited, for ten days. And then the Spirit came, and anointed their lips, and they went into the streets and they began to teach the doctrines which multiplied, and they began to be a church that would be noted for waiting.

Waiting for Peter to be sprung from prison. Waiting for Paul to be nurtured and then sent to the mission field.

In fact, Paul also put the principle of waiting magnificently when he said such things like PHI 3:20, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

Waiting is the rule, rather than the exception. Isn’t that a beautiful reminder? The exception is an open door, when you have an open door go! Go like mad! They don’t happen very often. But in a period of waiting, when the door is closed, it doesn’t mean you are out of the will of God, it means you are right in the will of God, as a matter of fact you’re in the rule. The open door is the exception, there are bursts of green lights that happen just a few seconds in life, the rest is filled with red lights that flash, wait, wait, wait.

Waiting on God is resting, instead of worrying. You know you can fake waiting! Have you ever tried to fake it?

Well we all have. We can fret down inside and put that plastic front on that says were really at peace when we are not and we try to fool others but really only end up fooling ourselves. We are fallen apart deep down inside, panic stricken.

There is a passage in the word of God where a great man of God failed to rest in God. He ended up running away from the plan of God for his life. Added to that he began to feel sorry for himself, entering into self pity and thought that he was the only one doing the work of God right. His name was Elijah and he had a difficult time handling what appeared to him as the silence of God. Remember the story that we are told in the book of 1Ki 19, concerning all the threats being made by the wicked queen Jezebel against the man of God Elijah and against the people of God, the Jews.

1KI 19:1-2, Now Ahab [the Wicked-Wimpy Husband] told Jezebel all that Elijah had done [he had killed 50 ungodly prophets], and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”

So, after Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” - In other words “Get out of town in 24 hours.” What happened to Elijah when he received the letter?

1KI 19:3-5, And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and [then] came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.”

Elijah he was exhausted. Consequently, when he received the message, his perception was dulled. Had he thought outside of the situation, he would have realized that if Jezebel had truly intended to kill him: she would have sent an assassin with a dagger instead of a servant with a message. Jezebel’s objective was simply to frighten Elijah into running out on the revival, which was threatening her pagan religion. Elijah’s life had become so important to him that he drove himself beyond normal endurance until he considered himself to be safe from his enemies. An entire day had passed before he stopped to reflect on his situation as verse 4 says.

The point is that instead of realizing that no one was pursuing him and that as long as he was alive, the Lord still had a purpose for him, this great spiritual giant became a carnal weakling moping under the juniper tree, totally discouraged. The point is that the inevitable outcome of focusing our eyes on things or people is that we eventually get our eyes on self. Elijah had completely ignored the principle of grace. No one ever implied that he was better than his fathers. Elijah had been used of the Lord because of grace, not because he was anyone special. You can always count on it, when you are out of fellowship, you will feel sorry for yourself and have the wrong perspective of life.

At the time of 1Ki 19, Elijah was now sinning against the Lord by running away. He had his eyes on himself and had fallen into the trap of self-pity; he believed he had failed in every possible way. Elijah felt sorry about his relationship with God.

He felt guilty, and he didn’t understand about the silence of God! It is a soul kink to feel sorry for self, and it is one of the worst expressions of carnality. Sooner or later it happens to all members of the human race “sitting under the juniper tree” the tree of self-pity!

We can all understand and even sympathize in some way with Elijah because we have all been in a place where everything looked hopeless, everything had gone wrong, and we felt that no one loved us! However, in His time, God broke the silence. Elijah was out of fellowship. He had neither earned nor deserved the right to have food or any other blessing; but because of God’s perfect character, God, in His grace always provides.

1KI 19:4-7, But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

Even though we are totally unworthy. He is always there. It was the Lord Jesus who said, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (ISA 41:10).

1KI 19:8, So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Apparently it contained all the vitamins and minerals that were necessary, because after this one meal, Elijah traveled forty days, all the way down to Mount Horeb in the Sinai Peninsula. God’s provision is always the best — in fact, it is perfect!

1KI 19:9, Then he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The key to understanding this passage is the Hebrew verb for lodged which is lun which means to move into some spot with the idea of spending the night and then staying a long time. Elijah had moved into the cave just to rest for one night; but even though it was dark, cold and clammy, he stayed for a long time. He was still feeling sorry for himself, so he remained in the cave and sulked. What a contrast! The great spiritual giant who had just killed 450 prophets of Baal, had allowed himself to be reduced to a heap of gloom and depression.

However, the Lord had broken the silence, to teach Elijah a lesson of spirituality. “Elijah, what are you doing here?” was a proper question. What was Elijah doing there? He was the spiritual leader of the revival of Northern Israel. God never meant for Elijah to be a cross-country runner; yet that was what he had been doing — running and sulking.

The key point in his answer is the personal pronoun, “I.”

1KI 19:10, And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, torn down Thine altars and killed Thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Because the Lord is omniscient, He knew billions of years ago that Elijah was “jealous,” or literally, “zealous for the Lord.” He also knew that the children of Israel had been out of line. Notice the emphasis: it is “I, I, I and my.” Poor, carnal Elijah, with his eyes on himself! Yet because the Lord is very gracious, He was not willing to put one of his well-trained servants on the shelf. And so in 1KI 19:11, the Lord teaches Elijah the principle of the silence of God or how to listen to the still small voice within the heart of man.
1KI 19:11-12, So He said, “Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.

Elijah did not learn his lesson, and he had to be set aside for several years until he woke up to the importance of the power of the Spirit-the control of the “still small voice.” Elijah had run away; he had sat under the juniper tree; he had been sulking in a cave. Elijah was in a carnal state; he was out of fellowship. He didn’t understand the silence of God until he experienced the silence of God. Therefore, in spite of his tremendous human abilities, he was powerless at the moment. To serve God, a believer must be in a position to utilize the power of 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.