Internet Church Service – January 31, 2016

NEW EMBEDDED VIDEO/AUDIO SERMON in HD:
The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Pe file.

Sermon Message:

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Pe file.

In HD - 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 and after today’s video message (the video may also contain hymns).

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. The embedded church service video may also contain music generated by the church itself.

Hymn #1

What a Friend – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

Hymn #2

What Wonderous Love is This – Partial Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” 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 to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

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 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

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.

Sermon

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Pe file.

To view the notes for the embedded sermon below click the above link and open in separate window and split the screens or print the notes to follow along with the sermon and add your own expanded notes to the print-out.

ALTERNATE VIEWING OPTION:
For those who don’t see the embedded video above; some social websites don’t allow
embedded videos; the alternate I suggest is the best site to view this church service.

Left click on the following link:
Internet Church Service – January 31, 2016

TO VIEW THE SERMON: If you don’t see the embedded video above; 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 when the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1TI 5:21 [for 1 Timothy], or Eph 3:10 [for Ephesians], 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

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 this 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 Internet Church 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 receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – January 25, 2016

The Sword of the Spirit. Part 2

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 Sword of the Spirit. Part 2

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 Sword of the Spirit. Part 2

The sword the Romans used was called the machaira which was the type of sword that they used to defeat all of their enemies. The Barbarians were very tall and yet, they were still defeated even though the average Roman soldier was less than 6 feet tall. Yet the Romans actually beat them every time because they used their physical ability with the machaira sword rather than the sword of the Barbarians which was called the romphaia, a long broad sword. Mat 4 is a passage which reveals how the Lord Jesus Christ used the machaira or the sword of the Spirit when he began His earthly ministry. The Lord Jesus Christ had to rely entirely upon the Holy Spirit and the sword of the Spirit to sustain His humanity during His incarnation in order to execute the plan of God, how much more dependent are you and I on the same Spirit.

Our Lord used the equipment God made available to Him for His conflict with Satan. Think of our Lord’s use of the sword of the Spirit in the wilderness (MAT 4:1-10).

MAT 4:1, Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Notice the word tempted, it is the Greek word peirazo which means to make proof of or to test. If you do not believe a conflict exists why was an inferior creature allowed to put our Lord through a test?

MAT 4:2-3, And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter or the one allowed to test came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Now remember that he is testing Him at this time! And we have noted in the past that Satan was trying to persuade TLJC to exercise His deity contrary to the Father's plan. All Satan wanted TLJC to do was to use His deity independently of the father's plan to show that in His humanity our Lord could not depend on the father's provision. And although we would never be tempted with temptations like these we are tempted in a similar way.
The believer is constantly tempted to rely upon his OSN rather than the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. We are tempted to substitute human good for divine good.

We do not face the temptation the way Christ did, He could rely upon His omnipotence. However, we are tempted to rely on our own power which is human good and independently from the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. So, all Satan wanted TLJC to do was to use His deity independently of the Father's plan to show that in His humanity our Lord could not depend on the Father's provision.

After all, Satan did not depend upon the provisions of God the Father in eternity past, as great as they were, and now Satan is trying to prove why. Now a couple of principles concerning this temptation before we go on.

1. The lord Jesus Christ is hungry and to turn stones into bread would be very simple for the son of God. However, it was not a part of the Father's plan and that's why Satan is trying to get the Lord to do it.

2. To turn stones into bread would mean depending upon His own power rather than the power of God. And by the power of God I mean the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.


3. The Lord Jesus Christ is being tempted as to the sufficiency of the grace of the Father for daily needs. Can the Father provide the needs of Jesus Christ or must Jesus Christ operate on His own.

We face the same issue today. Can the Father provide your needs or do you have to do it yourself? Do it yourself is human viewpoint and it's also legalism. The Father's provision is grace.\

MAT 4:4 But He answered and said, "it is written, 'man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

And guess what the Greek is for "every word"? It is our friend "rhema" which is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Once again note that in our Lord's test He answered Satan with Bible doctrine. Perhaps the most surprising thing about our Lord's testing was that instead of performing miracles under His own power, our Lord used the greatest power ever known in the history of the human race. He used Bible doctrine in all three parts of His testing for blessing.

Prin-Bible doctrine is the greatest power the world has ever known; it is far, far greater than God performing a miracle. When God performs a miracle, it requires only His sovereignty. But when a believer uses Bible doctrine and makes correct application and advances in the plan of God through the use of that Bible doctrine, that is the greatest power and the highest function that any member of the human race can attain.

MAT 4:4 But He answered and said, "it is written, 'man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

The Lord Jesus Christ used the sword of the Spirit because the power of doctrine is greater than any miracle. Bible doctrine has more power than man can imagine. We deal with an invisible enemy, with satanic systems, with an evil genius far superior to our human minds. Yet we have been given the sword of the Spirit, a power superior to all the concentrated forces of evil in the universe.

So the Lord said, MAT 4:4 "It is written, 'man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

As true humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ dealt with spiritual warfare from His own metabolized doctrine. And rather than perform a miracle and speak to the stones, He picked up the sword of the Spirit and spoke to Satan the word of God. And when the Lord said, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' He was also revealing a very important principle which is over-looked by so many. Food is essential for life, but the ultimate purpose of food is to allow the believer to perpetuate his spiritual advance.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who had gone 40 days without eating food, found all the strength he needed in Bible doctrine and the PPOG. Also notice that our Lord didn't rebuke the devil. He didn't lash out and judge the devil. There was no anger, no indignation, no outburst of emotion, He had nothing to prove. He simply relied on the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

So the Lord said, "It is written, 'man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Prin-Victory comes only through the word. And of course if you do not know the word, you do not know Christ. Now the word "proceeds out" is the pres-act-part of ekporeuo, and in the present tense it means that the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God keeps on coming out from the mouth of God. And this is the basis for your personal relationship with God.
Remember 2TI 3:16 All scripture is God-breathed.

Scripture proceeds out of the mouth of God and that's what "man must live on", every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" So TLJC did not rely upon His deity, He relied upon the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. He resisted this temptation through the word. All spiritual victory is directly related to the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Also notice that TLJC found strength, not in performing a miracle, but in the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Our strength is also in the word. This is why our Lord said what He did in JOH 6:27, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, {even} God, has set His seal."

JOH 6:33-35, "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

JOH 6:47-59, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." The Jews therefore {began} to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us {His} flesh to eat?" Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever." These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.

Then in JOH 6:63, He makes this marvelous and yet shocking statement, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. So, the first test had to do the Lord Jesus Christ being tempted use His deity independently of the Father's plan to show that in His humanity our Lord could not depend on the Father's provision. Now, back in MAT 4, the next test had to do with the relationship with the word of God, MAT 4:5 7.

And the reason for this is because in the first temptation Satan was defeated by the word, and since the power is in the word and since the Lord Jesus Christ was relying on the word, Satan tries to pull his power out from under Him. Therefore, the second temptation deals with the relationship with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Satan now attacks the weapon that was used against him, which is the word itself. Satan attacks the word by quoting the word, distorting the word and taking scripture out of context. To distort the word by removing it from its context and interpretation has led astray many sincere and ignorant believers.

MAT 4:5 Then the devil took him into the holy city [Jerusalem]; and he had him stand on the pinnacle [or porch] of the temple,

The highest point of the temple was called Herod's porch. 450 feet below this porch was the rocky floor of the Kedron valley.

MAT 4:6 And he said to him, "if you are the Son of God throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge [command] concerning You'; and 'on {their} hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Note now that Satan starts quoting scripture, but as usual out of context. A fall from such a height would mean instant death. And how would the Lord Jesus Christ answer now that Satan has used the word of god to tempt Him? Satan even said in vs 6, it is written... Satan now attacks scripture by quoting scripture. He tries to pick up the sword of the Spirit but he does not have the power to...

Satan stated a true doctrine but it was derived from a false application of PSA 91:9-13. This was a deliverance Psalm written for the Jews as they marched through the rugged, mountainous regions of Sinai. And this is why the believer is told in 2TI 2:15, to study to show himself approved a workman that needeth not to be ashamed handling accurately the word of truth. Satan loves to distort the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Satan has quoted a scripture that is true but it is not applicable to this situation.

Therefore, in verse 7 our Lord picks up the sword of the Spirit and corrects the false doctrine of Satan.

MAT 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Satan had quoted scripture that did not apply and therefore had distorted scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ quoted the scripture that did apply and therefore he used the machaira, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And by the way MAT 4:7 is a quotation from DEU 6:16, and the Lord Jesus Christ was reminding Satan of who had created him and of who was sustaining him even as they spoke.
The person whom Satan had begun to test was the God of the universe and of all creatures in the universe, including those who reject Him.

And what the Lord is saying is look Satan, you say I'm the Son of God then I'll quote the pertinent scripture, DEU 6:16 you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" So the Lord Jesus Christ turns the first class conditions in verses 3 and 6 back on Satan. MAT 4:3 and 4:6 both say "if you are the Son of God" - first class condition, and you are. Therefore, the Lord again uses the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God to defeat Satan.

In verse 8, Satan was confounded by our Lord's answers and therefore he completely changed his tactics. Satan would no longer mention the deity of Christ or even attempt to quote any more scripture.

MAT 4:8, Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; And he said to him, "all these things will I give you, if you fall down and worship me."

In his desperation, Satan no longer uses his brilliant arguments and his subtle deceptions, he get's right to the point..."all these things will I give you, if you fall down and worship me." Notice that the sword of the Spirit cuts right though all the satanic lies and gimmicks. His game plan had been defeated. His poise had been shaken!

MAT 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"

This was the final word in the debate. The humanity of Christ using the sword of the spirit had defeated Satan completely. In an attempt to fulfill his desire to be like God, Satan wanted to be worshipped instead of God. He wanted to be obeyed. He so wanted to be like God that he tried to usurp God's throne and take over the central place of worship in the universe. Satan still desires to be worshipped today. All forms of idolatry, in one way or another, are Satan's attempts to be like God.

We will conclude our series on the Christian soldier and the weapons of our spiritual warfare with which in EPH 6:17 says And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of 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.

Internet Church Service – January 24, 2016

NEW EMBEDDED VIDEO/AUDIO SERMON in HD:
The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Ayin file.

Sermon Message:

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Ayin file.

In HD - 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 and after today’s video message (the video may also contain hymns).

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. The embedded church service video may also contain music generated by the church itself.

Hymn #1

We Choose the Fear of the Lord – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

Hymn #2

Before I Sacrifice – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” 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 to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

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 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

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.

Sermon

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Ayin file.

To view the notes for the embedded sermon below click the above link and open in separate window and split the screens or print the notes to follow along with the sermon and add your own expanded notes to the print-out.

ALTERNATE VIEWING OPTION:
For those who don’t see the embedded video above; some social websites don’t allow
embedded videos; the alternate I suggest is the best site to view this church service.

Left click on the following link:
Internet Church Service – January 24, 2016

TO VIEW THE SERMON: If you don’t see the embedded video above; 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 when the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1TI 5:21 [for 1 Timothy], or Eph 3:10 [for Ephesians], 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

What a Day that Will Be – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 this 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 Internet Church 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 receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – January 18, 2016

The Sword of the Spirit.

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 Sword of the Spirit.

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 Sword of the Spirit.

All believers must learn to endure against the attacks made on Bible doctrine, 2TI 4:3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;

There is a tremendous price to pay for receiving Bible doctrine, PRO 23:23, Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom and instruction and understanding. And this means that you may have to travel a little to get it. It’s very interesting that in the days of our Lord’s earthly Ministry they complained about traveling to hear doctrine also. However, our Lord dealt with that issue directly in MAT 12:42 when He said that “The queen of the south shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Experiential sanctification comes only through Bible doctrine, not human works or achievement, JOH 17:17, “sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth.”

The believer must also have praise toward the Word of God, PSA 56:4, In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

PSA 56:10 in God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,

Rejection of Bible doctrine produces poverty, acceptance produces reward.

PRO 13:13, the one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.


PRO 16:20, He who gives attention to the word shall find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lloyd.


Persecution will arise on the believer who makes Bible doctrine number 1 priority, MAT 13:21, yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Bible doctrine is the basis for the divine judgment at both the Judgement Seat of Christ [Bema seat] for all believers right after the rapture of the church or the Great White Throne Judgment for all unbelievers at the end of time.

JOH 12:48, “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.”

Love for the Lord Jesus Christ is based upon the believer guarding Bible doctrine in their life, JOH 14:23-24, Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. The one who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

Bible doctrine communicated is that which cleans up the believer's life, JOH 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”


EPH 5:26 That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

It is through the communication of Bible doctrine that disciples increase. ACT 6:7, And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem,

ACT 20:32 "and now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

ROM 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.

Bible doctrine is the weapon that the believer uses in life.

EPH 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

HEB 4:12 For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Only fools despise Bible doctrine, Proverbs.


PRO 1:7, “the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

PRO 1:22, “how long, o naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?”

PRO 2:10, for wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

PRO 10:14, wise men store up knowledge, but with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

PRO 15:14, the mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

Bible doctrine is that which is pleasant to the soul.

PRO 19:8, he who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good.

PRO 24:4, and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

PRO 24:5, a wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power.

ECC 7:12, for wisdom is protection just as money is protection. But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

Rejection of Bible doctrine produces destruction.

ISA 5:13 Therefore my people go into exile for their lack of knowledge;

HOS 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

God desires doctrine in the soul not human works.

HOS 6:6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

ROM 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

Even love is based on the intake of Bible doctrine.

PHI 1:9, And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

EPH 6:17, And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,

The sword was called the machaira which was the type of sword that the Romans used. They defeated two the most famous military armies in the ancient world, the Gauls and the barbarians who were staunch enemies of Rome. They were very tall and yet they were defeated by the Roman’s who were only 5 foot 6 inches on the average. Yet the Romans actually beat them every time because they used the machaira rather than the romphaia which was a long broad sword, anywhere from four feet to 6 feet but it only one cutting edge. The machaira was only 18 inches long, but both edges and the point were very sharp.

This was one of the most unusual weapons ever invented was the machaira sword. The Roman mushaira turned out to be the most ingenious invention of warfare of its day. The blade of this perfectly balanced weapon [machaira] was usually only eighteen inches long. It had two cutting edges instead of one, and it tapered off to a sharp point. The mushair a was very maneuverable and easy to operate in time of warfare. Its outstanding advantage was that the Roman soldier was never off-balance while he used his machaira.

Now, again under the principle of hermeneutics the Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written. And at this time in the ancient world, it was generally conceded that the machaira sword was the basic weapon for close combat. It’s interesting that if the satanic attack does not succeed from afar off or a distance with the flaming missiles, darts, spears or arrows, that the attack continues until it is at your back door. Therefore, the final piece of military equipment which the believer needs to learn to operate under pressure is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

So, if you put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of integrity, the combat shoes of the gospel, and you lift up the shield of faith, and put on the helmet of salvation. If you do all of those things, and the satanic attack has not succeeded in stopping your momentum, motivation and spiritual progress, then you must be prepared for even a closer combat than before.

Remember what our verse looks like in EPH 6:17 And take [or receive favorably, grasp, and welcome] the helmet of salvation, and [take, or receive favorably, grasp, and welcome] the sword of the Spirit,

Why are we commanded to take, receive favorably, grasp, and welcome the sword of the spirit? Well, the struggle, the fight, the labor, the battle and conflict is two-fold:


1. It is a struggle, a fight, and labor, and at times, even a conflict, to learn the word of God.

2. To stick it out and to stay with it, is a very rare quality to find in the people of God.

There are just too many successful strategies of the devil which distract the believer from positive volition. Especially distractions related to priorities.

a. Social distraction.

b. Mental distraction.

c. Marital distraction.

d. Christian service distraction.

e. Pleasure distraction.

f. Time distractions, the problem of a disorganized life.

So the struggle, the fight, the labor, the battle and conflict is two-fold:

1. It is a struggle, a fight, and labor, and at times, even a conflict, to learn the word of God.

2. It can be a struggle, a fight, a battle and a conflict to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God in a pressure situation.

EPH 4:14, warns us against falling away from doctrine during difficult times.

EPH 4:14, "That we no longer be children, de-stabilized in heavy seas [fragmented] Driven out of control by every wind of false teaching [fragmentation results in accepting false doctrine], by the trickery of people [false teachers], by cunning deception for the purpose of deceitful scheming."

By the way, this stresses the importance of the accurate and precise communication of the word of God. If your pastor is not accurate in what he teaches than you will not have the accurate information needed to use the sword of the Spirit. The pastor must be accurate and precise in his doctrinal communication. The PPOG is a strict system of procedure based upon the accurate teaching of the word of God. It is based upon the very simple statement that a right thing must be done in a right way. It must be precise and correct in its procedure.

There is nothing sloppy in the procedure of the Christian way of life. With the introduction of human power and energy of the flesh function, sloppiness occurs. With the introduction of putting down your doctrinal differences and loving everyone, apostasy occurs. You are commanded to love everyone but you are never commanded to fellowship with them at the expense of compromising doctrine. That’s why, doctrine says, separate under certain conditions.

So God has developed, in His grace, a system which is totally impossible for human power to live in. In fact, this system that God has designed and that the pastor must be accurate in communicating frustrates human power constantly. The pastor must be accurate with the way that he handles the sword of the Spirit. And the believer must be accurate as well.

LUK 6:40, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

This means that there is no place in the spiritual army of the lord Jesus Christ for sloppiness. Sloppy procedure is always related to emotion, to human works, and to human activity, and is always a manifestation of arrogance.

And the power of God is not delegated to a system of sloppy procedure.

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 – January 17, 2016

NEW EMBEDDED VIDEO/AUDIO SERMON in HD:
Christmas Special: Part 4 of 4, The paradoxes of Christmas.

Sermon Message:

Christmas Special: Part 4 of 4, The paradoxes of Christmas.

In HD - 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 and after today’s video message (the video may also contain hymns).

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. The embedded church service video may also contain music generated by the church itself.

Hymn #1

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

Hymn #2

Unredeemed – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” 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 to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

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 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

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.

Sermon

Christmas Special: Part 4 of 4. The paradoxes of Christmas.

To view the notes for the embedded sermon below click the above link and open in separate window and split the screens or print the notes to follow along with the sermon and add your own expanded notes to the print-out.

ALTERNATE VIEWING OPTION:
For those who don’t see the embedded video above; some social websites don’t allow
embedded videos; the alternate I suggest is the best site to view this church service.

Left click on the following link:
Internet Church Service – January 17, 2016

TO VIEW THE SERMON: If you don’t see the embedded video above; 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 when the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1TI 5:21 [for 1 Timothy], or Eph 3:10 [for Ephesians], 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

Wayfaring Stranger – Lyrics in Video
(Google puts the video commercials on most YouTube Christian videos. You can
usually skip the commercial if there is one. Also, most videos are now preset by
Google to automatically run the next related video that Google wants you to see;
you can just hit the pause on the video to stop it before it changes.)

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 this 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 Internet Church 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 receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – January 11, 2016

What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.

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

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STUDY TITLE:

What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.

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Terms & Abbreviations used:

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

To look up other “terms”, go to:

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

What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.

We begin with the principle that when the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, three days after the Cross, He was on the earth for 40 days and then He ascended to the right hand of God the Father.

1CO 15:1-8, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

Then in 1CO 15:21-28, For since by a man {came} death, by a man also {came} the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then {comes} the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.

When the Lord Jesus Christ arrived in the presence of God the Father, He arrived as the conquering general. At that time it was quiet on the earth because Satan and the fallen angels were all in the triumphal procession as captives. As captives, they were probably accompanied by the elect angels because angelic assemblies always included all angels. So, that there was a moment on the earth when things were pretty quiet because all the demons were paraded by the Lord Jesus Christ as He sat upon that throne.

Then they went back to their activities on planet earth because they will be executed as it were at point b the Second Advent which is operation footstool.
At which point they will be incarcerated for 1,000 years before their final judgment.

REV 20:1-3, And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

REV 20:7-8, And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

Our Jesus Christ has already had part one or the first part of the Triumphal Procession. It started but, it won’t be over until the Second Advent.

The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.

Point 1. Background and Preparation for the Triumphal
Procession. We begin with the fact that there are five different crowns in the Word of God that correlate with the different crowns of the Roman military.
These Crowns are given at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The Crown of righteousness this crown is awarded at the judgment seat of Christ to the Church-age believer who fulfills the predesigned plan of God by the advance to spiritual maturity. This believer has advanced from spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering to attain spiritual independence or autonomy and from there he goes through spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing all the way to attaining spiritual maturity.

This is given to mature believers with emphasis on their attainment of spiritual maturity in the PPOG. It emphasizes functional virtue directed toward man and circumstances and the fulfillment of the Royal Family Honor Code. The believer who wears the invisible uniform of honor (EPH 6) will receive the crown of righteousness. The function of impersonal love is the manifestation of the invisible uniform of honor. The crown of righteousness is given for your virtue, honor, integrity, passing momentum tests, and fulfillment of the Royal Family Honor Code.

2TI 4:7-8, I have fought an honorable fight [advance to spiritual maturity]. I have completed the course [execution of the PPOG]. I have guarded the doctrine [as #1 priority]. In the future there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me in that day, and not only to me, but to all [winners] who have loved his appearing.

He perpetuated spiritual self-esteem all the way to spiritual maturity. This crown is presented to those believers who advance through the three different stages of spiritual adulthood. Accompanying the crown of righteousness is a tremendous amount of extra privileges, blessings, and opportunities both in time and then in the eternal state.

The Crown of life - awarded to the Church-age believer who in spiritual maturity passes evidence testing. By passing evidence testing, the mature believer has glorified God to the maximum and so will receive the crown of life. Evidence testing is administered by Satan as an extension of the angelic conflict; JAM 1:12, Happy is that person who perseveres under testing, for once he has passed the [evidence] test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.

This tells us that happiness is not confined to prosperity or to having things going your way. The happiness provided by Bible doctrine exists under the greatest categories of adversity. The Crown of life is awarded to all members of the Royal Family of God who utilize the problem solving devices and advance to spiritual maturity and then use +H to pass evidence testing.

The Incorruptible Crown - given to those who mastered the O.S.N. through dedication and devotion to the PPOG. These are the believers who were discipline, faithful, dependable, and self-motivated. They didn’t look for excuses not to give, serve or be faithful to Bible class. They fulfilled their obligations even when they were not present.

The Crown of Rejoicing - given for being a soul winner - 1TH 2:19, For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

These individuals were accurate in their communication of the Gospel. They were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

As the apostle Paul said in ROM 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

They are willing to lead others to the grace and truth found in the Lord Jesus Christ. They led many to the righteousness found in the Word of God.

DAN 12:3, And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

They are said to be filled with life and wisdom.

PRO 11:30, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.

The Crown of Glory - is awarded to pastors who faithfully study and teach bible doctrine to their congregation, doctrine by which the pastor and positive members of the congregation will attain spiritual maturity.

There are four categories of Pastors in the Church age.

1) The cosmic pastor, who lives in cosmic one and two, is distracted by social action, crusader arrogance, and is totally disoriented to reality. He is very arrogant, self righteous, and ignorant of doctrine.

2) The baby pastor high profiles his own personality while low profiling the Word of God. He only evangelizes and gives moral lectures.

3) The adolescent Pastor teaches some truth but is distracted by various forms of high profile. He is selling his own personality (rather than teaching doctrine) by visiting the sick, calling on the congregation, conducting programs.
He can be a pseudo intellectual, a crusader, a bleeding heart, self righteous, a pleasing personality, or arrogant. He appeals to those with negative volition toward Bible doctrine. He doesn't have the time to study.

4) The mature pastor through personal study and teaching advances to spiritual maturity in The PPOG and is leading his congregation there. He has fulfilled the concept of the function of metabolization of doctrine. Motivational virtue toward God, i.e., personal love for God. Functional virtue toward man and circumstances, i.e., impersonal love for all.

He emphasizes doctrine and is a prepared person academically, knowing where he stands theologically. He focuses on the message, not his personality.

He is described in HEB 6:10, For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

The motivation for the pastor is occupation with the Lord.

1PE 5:1-4, Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd [our Lord at the Judgment seat of Christ] appears [rapture], you [faithful pastors] will receive the unfading crown of glory.

PHI 4:1 personalizes this concept: Therefore, my brethren, loved ones [congregation who is respected for their faithfulness], deeply desired ones, my happiness and my crown, keep on being stabilized [winners of the crown of righteousness].

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who have attained spiritual maturity are the crown of glory for the pastor. The pastor’s boasting or crown of glory is received because certain members of his congregation do two things by listening to the teaching of the word: They take the giant step to spiritual self-esteem, and they take the victory step to spiritual maturity where they can receive evidence testing to glorify God to the maximum.

The happiness of the pastor comes from the positive response of those who are faithful to the teaching of the word of God. The pastor’s happiness is different from that of anyone else. Believers with P.V.T.D. are the basis for the pastor receiving the Crown of Glory.

The danger to the Pastor is given a warning in 1CO 9:24-27, Do you not know that those who run a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self discipline in all things. They do not receive a perishable crown but an imperishable crown. Therefore, I do not run without a goal. I do not box like a person beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and keep it in training, lest having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."

The ultimate decoration: The order of the Morning Star.

The winner who receives the above crowns not only has vast estates in the eternal state, but he receives this decoration and others that go with it. This decoration is taken from and named after our Lord’s third Royal Patent, King of kings, Lord of lords, the bright morning star. Mentioned specifically in REV 22:16
and 2PE 1:19.

The order of the morning star is given to winners as the highest of all decorations in escrow blessings given by God. It is a part of the new order of chivalry in the eternal state for the royal family. This decoration is awarded for the maintenance of spiritual maturity in what may be called an ultra supergrace status. This decoration is mentioned as a part of escrow blessings for the eternal state in REV 2:26, 28 “furthermore, the winner, even he who keeps My assignments [execution of the PPOG] until the end [perpetuation of spiritual maturity through evidence testing], to him I will give authority over the nations. furthermore I will give to him the order of the morning star.”

The mature believer will be a king over a Gentile nation and rule during the Millennium. Receiving this decoration is the highest manifestation of
glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church-age. This same title was given to Him at the ascension and session and is related to both the strategic victory and tactical victory of the angelic conflict.

REV 22:16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to declare these things to you for the churches; I am the root [Jesus Christ as eternal God], and the descendent of David [Jesus Christ in hypostatic union], the Bright Morning Star [His title for the first and second advents].

NUM 24:17, His title is related to his strategic victory, I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near. Behold, a star [Christ as the morning star] shall come forth from Jacob [first advent] and a scepter shall rise from Israel [second advent].

MAT 2:2 is a reference to the morning star related to the first advent, MAT 2:2 Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.

Bible doctrine is related to Christ as the morning star in 2PE 19-21, and the morning star has come up [second advent].

2PE 1:16-19, For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the majestic glory, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

The order of the morning star is named after our Lord’s royal title and is given for historical impact in the Church-age. It authorizes the recipient to reign with Christ in the Millennium and hold the highest privileges for all eternity.
These believers can eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God, located in the New Jerusalem. There are at least seven privileges that accompany the order of the morning star.

1. The Uniform of Honor, being invisible and worn in the soul, is exchanged at the judgment seat of Christ for the translucent uniform of glory worn over the resurrection body. It was first modeled by Jesus Christ on the mount of
transfiguration, MAT 17:2, And His clothes became white as light.

The uniform of glory is given as a translucent light which covers the resurrection body, REV 3:4-5, they will walk with Me in whites...

2. The name of the winner appears on the honors list, and he is presented in the court of heaven during the tribulation on earth. Only those on the honors list are taken to heaven and presented to God the Father. The honors list is made up of those believers who make Bible doctrine their highest priority daily.

REV 3:5, Thus the winner shall be clothed in white garments and I will never blot out his title [the winner is knighted at the judgment seat of Christ] out of the book of life. In fact I will acknowledge his title in the presence of my father and before his angels [a formal presentation].

3. A new order of knighthood and eternal order of chivalry will be added to the believer's name in the Lamb's book of life forever, REV 2:17 cf COL 3:4-6.

The new knighthood is given to the winner, REV 2:17, “To the winner, I will give him blessing from the hidden manna [escrow blessing for time and eternity]; also I will give him a white pebble [a decorated resurrection body, God's final vote of justification they voted with colored pebbles in the ancient world] and on that white pebble has been inscribed a new title [your royal patent in the eternal heraldry] which no one knows [you are an anonymous hero during the Church-age].”

4. The winner will rule with Christ during the Millennium. There are at least seven different approaches with regard to ruling with Christ.

a) The A Fortiori approach, ROM 5:17, “For if by the transgression of one spiritual death ruled by that one, much more, they who receive in life this surplus from grace [escrow blessing] and the gift of righteousness, much more, they shall rule through that one Jesus Christ.”

b) The sarcastic approach, 1CO 4:8, You are already filled [with private sins]; you have already become rich [but not from escrow blessing]; you have become kings without us. How I wish you really had become kings, so that we might also rule with you.

c) The eternal security approach, 2TI 2:12, if we endure [perpetuation of life in the PPOG], we shall also rule...

d) The parable approach, LUK 19:12ff especially vv. LUK 19:17, 19, Take charge over ten cities = rulership.

e) The direct approach, REV 3:21, “The Winner, I will give to him the reward of sitting with Me on My throne, as I have won and sat down with my Father on His throne.”

5. The winner's name is recorded in the permanent historical record section because of his invisible historical impact during the Church-Age, REV 3:12a.
The impact of the winner is anonymous as far as the record of history is concerned, but not as far as God is concerned.

The mature believer's historical record will be recorded forever in the heavenly temple.

Each pillar will have the record of his life as a winner.

REV 3:12, “The winner, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Furthermore, he will never again vanish [go outside] from history. Also I will emblazon on him the title of My God, and the name of the city of My God.”

This will be his pass to enter the eternal city, the New Jerusalem, a satellite city suspended above the earth in the atmosphere or in space. The temple of My God is the eternal record center in the future. This temple of God will be the historical textbook of the true heros of history. The mature believer as a part of the pivot is the true impact on history.

In GAL 2:9 the mature believer is currently called a pillar of the church.

6. The winner receives his own coat of arms of glory, REV 3:12b.

7. The winner has special privileges related to the tree of life, the gazebo of the garden, called the paradise of God.

You are a member of a special club with special parties to which only you are invited; you're a member of the paradise club forever, REV 2:7,14.

REV 2:7, “To the winner, I will give to him the privilege of eating from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.”

REV 22:14, “Blessed are they [winners] who have washed their robes [rebound], that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city [New Jerusalem].”

The tree of life is the ultimate in eternal reward and blessing.

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.