Weekly Bible Study – February 29, 2016

The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, Introduction to a betrayer.

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]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

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, the Word of God manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, Introduction to a betrayer.

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, the Word of God manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, Introduction to a betrayer.

Our next passage we have begun to deal with when it comes to studying the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God as it is manifested in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a very popular one, in Joh 13.

We have already noted that we are living in the Church-age, the dispensation of no prophecy and therefore, a dispensation which continues on the basis of historical trends.


This means that even though history is the record of man’s thoughts, decisions, actions and motivations, it is Jesus Christ who ultimately controls all of history, both human and angelic.

But, just because He controls human history that does not mean He is responsible for everything that takes place in human History. For we understand that because mankind has a free will, he is also responsible for many of the things that take place in human history as well. This is why it is important for us to understand that God allows certain principles of His divine will to exist.

Let me give you a few of them that are vital for us to understand:

1. The directive will of God means that God has a plan for each of our lives which is communicated directly through His Word.

2. The determinative will of God where God has determined for the free will of His creatures to bring them to the place of blessing or cursing.

DEU 30:15-19, “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

3. The permissive will of God where negative volition to God’s word is permitted, but also there is divine justice which provides a horrible life and death.

4. The will of God is also preventative, providing Bible doctrine, establishment laws, and discipline to keep human volition inside the will of God.

5. The overriding will of God which supersedes the directive and permissive will of God, and involves the frustration of man’s will and Satan’s will.

The point is that God controls the circumstances but does not interfere with the operation of one’s own free will or volition. And so, we not only call this time in which we live, the dispensation of the Church-age, but we also call it the dispensation of historical trends. We live in a dispensation where there were only two prophesies to be fulfilled.

The first prophecy was to be fulfilled when the Church-age began. At this time, there was the prophecy of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ followed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And then, of course, the only other prophecy which we are waiting to be fulfilled is the prophecy at the end of the Church-age which is the prophecy of the Rapture.

1TH 4:16-17, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

However, meanwhile, this is a period of time that is also known as a time of historical trends where we can observe the signs of the times by what is taking place in human history. We can observe and discern the times in which we live. For example, DAN 12:4, “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”

This tells us that one of the signs of the last days and the historical trends is that we will see, in these last days, a two-fold manifestation of the will of God.

1. Many will go back and forth, which means the increase of travel.

2. Knowledge shall increase.

So we begin with JOH 13:1, Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

His hour is a reference to the Cross and really it is His hour of victory in the angelic conflict, JOH 12:23; JOH 17:1, MAR 14:41.

He mentioned this victory in JOH 12:23, And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour [His time of death on the cross] has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

He also mentioned this victory of His glorification in JOH 17:1, “These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee,”

He also knew that “the hour” that was about to come would come by means of a betrayal in;

MAR 14:41, And He came the third time, and said to them [that is Peter, James and John], “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Yet, the very same one who was about to betray Him, we are told that the Lord even had love for Him unto the end. He knew it because of the fact that in His humanity, not in His deity, but in His humanity, the Lord studied passages like PSA 41:9 “Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.”

Judas fit right into the divine master plan. Judas’ betrayal was predicted in detail in the Old Testament as noted here in PSA 41:9.

It was David’s grief over his own betrayal by his trusted adviser and friend Ahithophel and David’s perverted son named Absalom.

Absalom decided to put down his father, judge him, speak evil about him and then he tried to start a rebellion to overthrow his father, and take over the throne. Ahithophel turned against David and joined Absalom’s rebellion.

The picture of David and Absalom in Psalm 41 is fulfilled in a greater sense in Jesus and Judas. The phrase “lifted up his heel” portrays brutal violence, the lifting of a heel and driving the heel into the neck of the victim. That is the picture of Judas. Having wounded his enemy, who is lying on the ground, he takes the giant heel and crushes his neck.

Psalm 55 contains another clear prophecy of Judas and his betrayal.

Imagine the Lord Jesus Christ speaking these words:

PSA 55:12-14, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear {it}; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God in the throng or the midst of the crowd.”

The point is that the Lord knew about the betrayal of Judas because He had learned about it from the Old Testament passages.

In fact, not only did He know someone was going to betray Him from the twelve because He studied the scriptures concerning this betrayal. He even knew the amount which the betrayer would receive for the betrayal as well as what that amount would be used for.

Look at what the prophet Zechariah said and taught that our Lord, in His Humanity, would also study and learn from. If we were studying the book of Zechariah I would prove to you that Zec 10 and Zec 11 actually predict the betrayal of Judas to our Lord, the amount Judas would receive for the betrayal, the thirty pieces of silver and what the money would be used for called purchasing a burial lot called the “Potter’s Field.”

Zechariah contains a prophecy about the betrayal of Christ by Judas in even more detail.

It gives the exact price he was paid for his treachery, just as it is recorded in the New Testament.

ZEC 11:12, And I [Judas is prophetically in view here] said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give {me} my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty {shekels} of silver as my wages.

Taught in MAT 26:14-15, Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?” And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver.

In ZEC 11:13, Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, {that} magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty {shekels} of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

That describes what Judas did after the death of Jesus Christ. He took the thirty pieces right back to the house of the Lord and threw them down. Mat 27 says that the thirty pieces were picked up and used to buy a potter’s field, exactly fulfilling the prophecy of Zec 11.

Long before Judas was ever born, his hatred of Jesus Christ was planned by divine design--predestined in the plan of God from eternity past. In JOH 17:12, the Lord Jesus Christ was praying and notice what He said; JOH 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Back in JOH 13:1, Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father,

“out of the world” is the prepositional phrase “ek tou kosmou” which refers to the fact that His body went into the grave, LUK 23:53, His soul went to Paradise in Hades, ACT 2:27, His spirit went to the Father, ACT 23:46. This is known as the first and only trichotomus separation. Trichotomus refers to the body, soul and spirit. Dichotomous refers to just the body and soul. Notice that the emphasis is on His soul and spirit and that He went out of the world. His body went into a grave and the grave was on the earth. Paradise, at this time, was a part of the underworld and is not accessible from this world as the grave is.

Out of the trichotomus separation of Christ at His physical death, it is the soul and the spirit which are emphasized and definitely not the body. In fact, it’s important to note that the emphasis on the death of Christ is on His soul and His spirit, not His body. He didn’t die a physical death for us, but a spiritual one. So, the body was buried on the earth and the body is emphasized in resurrection not in the death of Christ because Christ died spiritually for us not physically.

JOH 13:1, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

“He loved” is an aor-act-part, agapesas, which of course refers to His impersonal unconditional love.


The amazing thing about this love is that this indicates His mental attitude toward His disciples even though in the next 16 hours they rejected listening and concentrating on our Lord’s teachings.

As soon as they left this upper room, they really blew it, all of them with the exception of John.

They all blew it but agapao expresses our Lord’s mental attitude toward those that He knows are going to fail completely, and that’s grace. He knew when He taught that they wouldn’t listen to what He said but He still said it.

He knew that they would not really understand all the implications and principles behind Him washing their feet when He taught them it, but He washed their feet anyway. He knew that they were going to go out and fall apart as they did, but that didn’t change anything, that’s grace.

JOH 13:1, Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved

Who is it that He loved? “His own” is a reference to His disciples, the word for His “own” is an accusative masculine plural, idios, and it describes His disciples.

“having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

While our Lord was going to the cross and while our Lord was on the cross His attitude never changed toward the disciples....that’s grace.

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 – February 28, 2016

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

Sermon Message:

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Resh 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

At The 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.)

Hymn #2

At The Foot of the 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.)

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 Resh 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 – February 28, 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

Awesome God – 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 – February 22, 2016

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ.
The Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

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 manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ.
The Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

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 manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ.
The Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

JOH 6:14-15, When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

There are a lot of people in our world who want the same kind of Christ as that. One who will solve all of their problems, who will do everything for them and better yet, make no demands upon them. If that’s the Christ you want, then you don’t want the one I have spent 33 years teaching about.

The Lord I know said in LUK 14:26-27, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate [miseo - love less] his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

If you’re not willing to leave father and mother and everything in this world, if you’re not willing to take up your cross, you’re not worthy to be His disciple.

I did not say that, He did.

MAT 10:32, “Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”

In effect, He is saying, stand up for me against the opinions of the world and I’ll stand up for you before My Father in heaven.

MAT 10:33, “But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

For Him to deny someone is two-fold: For believers, it is to deny them blessings at the bema seat or judgement seat of Christ (1CO 3:11-15; 2TI 2:11-13), for unbelievers, it is to deny them eternal salvation; MAT 7:22-23.

MAT 10:34-42, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in {the} name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. and whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.”

Well meaning family members can be your worst enemies. In reality, this is what this passage says. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to Me, you’ll find both yourself and me. To be a follower or disciple of Christ will cost you everything. But, in reality it’s a cheap price compared to what He has given to us.

2CO 8:9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

The apostle Paul said in 2CO 9:15, Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

The same one who told us in ROM 8:32 concerning God the Father that He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

The point is that it’s a cheap price to pay for all that He has done for us. For the believer who understands this, in reality, it’s not even considered a price to pay but a reponse of gratitude and thankfulness. All our Lord demands is repentance, meaning a change of our mental attitude, not about sin, but about our scale of values and our commitments.

He demands a recognition and acknowledgement of our sin, not asking Him to pay for them, because He has already paid for them once and for all, but telling Him that we acknowledge our sin and are in agreement with Him.

HEB 10:10, By His will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

HEB 10:14, For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

HEB 8:12, For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.

HEB 10:17, And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
He demands us to recognize and acknowledge our sin, not to pay for them, but to agree with how to deal with them. He wants us to acknowledge that there are times when our sins do separate us from Him, temporally, but never eternally, and then do what needs to be done to get us back in fellowship with Him.

1JO 1:6-10, If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin nature, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth or doctrine is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and righteous, with the result that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and purifies us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins]. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word does not reside in us.

1JO 2:1-6, My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

In HAB 1:13, we read, Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon sin or iniquity.

The same Lord who cannot look upon sin also said through one of His prophets, AMO 3:3, Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Therefore, the Lord wants us to homologeo (1JO 1:9 - confess or simply acknowledge), that we agree with the fact that sins separate us from our fellowship with Him.

And then we are to simply go on. Not so that we can be forgiven but so that we can recognize that we have already been forgiven of them and we know that we have. And to realize that our sins have not only been paid for, but to be in agreement of how it affects our relationship with Him.

Remember there are four basic principles involved in rebound:
a. Name it, 1JO 1:9.
b. Isolate it, HEB 12:15.
c. Forget it, PHI 3:13.
d. Keep moving, PHI 3:14.

Really, He wants us all to have and a hunger for forgiveness. He still wants this today. He didn’t get it in Israel at that time. And unfortunately, He doesn’t seem to be getting it today either. But if you’ll receive Jesus Christ on His terms by faith and repentance, you’ll know that our Lord The Soul Satisfier will meet every need of your life met because that’s the way He is.

We should be occupied with the Lamb of God Who took away the sins of the world and not be occupied with what other people think. There are ten notable passages in which the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world is mentioned:

GEN 4:3, So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.

The fruit of the ground was what man could produce or human good or human works.

GEN 4:4, And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;

Why?

Because Abel’s offering contained the blood of a lamb which spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ who in JOH 1:29 was called the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

GEN 4:5-6, but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fallen?

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 – February 21, 2016

NEW EMBEDDED VIDEO/AUDIO SERMON in HD:
The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Qof file. Part 2.

Sermon Message:

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Qof file. Part 2.

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

All My Tears – 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

Amazing Grace – 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 Qof file. Part 2.

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 – February 21, 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

As the Deer – 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 – February 15, 2016

The Mystery of the Gospels concerning 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 Mystery of the Gospels concerning 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 Mystery of the Gospels concerning the Sword of the Spirit.

We have been traveling back and forth through the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke as we have been studying the life of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is manifested by the sword of the Spirit. This is because each Gospel focuses in on a different aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry on the earth. This is called the doctrine of divine inspiration which by definition means that: God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture, that without waving their human intelligence, or their individuality, or their style of writing, Or their personal feelings or any other kind of human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. And it’s important to note that the very words bear the authority of divine authorship.

This is called verbal plenary inspiration of the Scripture. This means that God the Holy Spirit through the principle of Revelation led the writers of the first four Gospels to write what He desired to reveal to them in a book or a Gospel with their own style and their own vocabulary, God's words about the Lord Jesus Christ. The writers of the Gospel are not mimicking God the Holy Spirit’s precise words, but He is motivating them to record the life of Christ in their own viewpoint.

The Holy Spirit inspires and ensures the accuracy and the preciseness of the word of God. For example, most scholars believe that the Book of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew. And that Mark was written by John Mark of Jerusalem. Most scholars and early Church Historians believe that the Gospel of Luke was written by Dr. Luke and his patient, the apostle Paul.

The Gospel of John was written by John. As an example of this principle of how and why God the Holy Spirit operates like this notice what Dr. Luke said in LUK 1:1-3, Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write {it} out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus [means friend of God]; The great discovery is that the Bible is a message system: it’s not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail.

These principles of the importance of the Gospels and the Word of God, or the Word from God as brought out in the Gospels are found both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. For example, the prophet Ezekiel gave us a glimpse of the Gospels in his visions of the Cherubim angels and the wheels attached to them in EZE 10:14, And each one had four faces. The first face {was} the face of a cherub, the second face {was} the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

The first face attached to a cherub refers to Mark’s Gospel.
The second face {was} the face of a man, referring to Luke.
The third the face of a lion - Matthew.
The fourth the face of an eagle - Gospel of John.

This is from the Word of God that is alive and powerful, 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. PRO 30:5, this same word is described for us by Solomon when he said, Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. In LUK 11:28, we are told that there are blessings that come from the Word of God; LUK 11:28, But He said, On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it.

ACT 6:7 is from the Word of God that raises up disciples; And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. EPH 6:17 is from the Word of God that is called to be a blessing: And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

This word of God cleanses us: JOH 15:3, You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. This same word give us spirit and life, JOH 6:63, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. We are told in 1PE 1:23, that we were born again by this word, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. In REV 19:13, we are told that our Lord’s name is the Word of God, And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

The heavens were created by the Word of God says PSA 33:6, By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. The Word of God abides forever in 1PE 1:25, But the word of the Lord abides forever. The apostle Paul gives us the divine conclusion. ROM 10:11-15, Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!" So, not only do we have a glimpse of the Gospels in the O.T. dispensation of the Law, but also it is referred to in the N.T. book of Revelation during the dispensation of the Tribulation period.

This is found in REV 4:6-7, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. This time the lion is mentioned first, a reference to the Gospel of Matthew. The second creature is like a calf, a reference to the Gospel of Mark.

The third creature we are told looks like a man, a reference to the Gospel of Luke.
The fourth creature is like an eagle, and is a reference to John. In the doctrine of typology or a discussion concerning interpreting symbols, the number four is symbolic of global completeness denoting the entire world, the earth. The message of the gospels is intended for worldwide dissemination.

The gospels also give us a fourfold manifestation of Christ: He is seen in His sovereignty (Matthew), ministry (Mark), humanity (Luke), and deity (John). For hundreds of years, Christian tradition has connected the authors of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) with the four living creatures that surround God’s throne, as described in REV 4:7.

As we have noted before the Bible is a book where Evidence Demands a Verdict. The Bible gives us evidence and then puts the ball in our court, saying in effect; what is your verdict that you conclude after hearing the facts that have been presented? The evidence is that the first four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are symbolic of four major principles. The symbols are the Lion, the ox, the man or the servant-hood of men, and the eagle. The lion stands for Matthew, for he specifically saw Jesus as the Messiah and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The ox stands for Mark, because it is the animal of service and sacrifice, and Mark saw Jesus as the great servant of men and the universal sacrifice for all mankind.

The man stands for Luke or the servant-hood of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Luke. The eagle stands for John, because it alone of all living creatures can look straight into the sun and not be dazzled. Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle. REV 4:1-2, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

Then in REV 4:6-7, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written and that Bible doctrine must be taught based upon three principles, which we call the ICE principle. I = Isagogics or the historical setting of the passage. C = Categories or the systematic theology developed from combining Scripture with Scripture. E = Exegesis is the grammatical and syntactical analysis of the passage from the original languages.

I’m about to give you some astonishing information that will once again reveal the super-natural origin of the Bible as stated hundreds and hundreds of times throughout God’s word. The Bible is a supernatural book and if individuals would only take some time to examine the evidence, they would discover that the Bible is literally the Word of God. It’s interesting that in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, there are seven different churches mentioned and there are basically two different interpretations of the seven churches mentioned.

Some teach that the seven churches portray seven historical stages during the Church-age that the Church would go through. Others teach that it refers to the seven different types of individual believers that live in every generation. Both of these have some validity to them. The Church in Ephesus had to deal with those who called themselves apostles, and were not, and this was a big problem in the early Church. This is known as the Apostolic Period, from the period of Pentecost to around AD 100. This was the period of the Faith Defined. Then we have a second historical period of the Church in human history, the Church of Smyrna in REV 2:9, which went through tremendous tribulation and poverty. This period is known as the Roman Persecution Period - from AD 100-313. The period of the Faith Defended.

Then in REV 2:13, Pergamum is said to have dwelt where Satan’s throne is. Many historians point to the fact this refers to the time of Constantine who literally said he was taken the place of the Christ, in fact, this is one of the definitions of anti-Christ. Historians call this the Old Catholic Period, catholic is used in the sense of the universal church not the Catholic church as we know it today, - AD 313-590. Then in REV 2:18-20, the church of Thyatira, tolerated the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads the Lord’s bond servants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

Church historians point to this period of time as the time of the ascendancy of Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholic Period - AD 590-1517. The time of the Faith Defiled. In REV 3:1-2, we have the Church of Sardis. This is said to be a time when the church woke up, a period of time that we call the Reformation or the Protestant Period - AD 1517-1795. The Faith Discovered. In REV 3:8, the Church at Philadelphia is described as one that has divine good deeds and a little power, and they have kept with doctrine and have not denied the Lord’s name. This is said to be the time of the full restoration of New Testament truths and missionary enterprises as never before, something that really happened in the past couple of centuries in England and even our United States. This period of time is called the Missionary and New Testament Assemblies Period - AD 1795-1870.

The time of Faith Discerned. Finally in REV 3:14, we meet the lukewarm Church of Laodicea. This is the Modernist and Ecumenical Period - AD 1870 - Rapture. The time of the Faith Denied. So we have: The Faith Defined. The Faith Defended. The Faith Disputed. The Faith Defiled. The Faith Discovered.

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 – February 14, 2016

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

Sermon Message:

The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Psalm 119. The Qof 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

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. 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

A Mighty Fortress – 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 Qof 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 – February 7, 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

Abba Father – 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.