Being a soldier for the Word of God. Part 6.
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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]; 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, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, 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 simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.
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 3:14-15, 16, 17, 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 McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
STUDY TITLE:
Being a soldier for the Word of God. Part 6.
Eph 5:18, be filled with the Spirit, was removed from the spiritual life, you would be the vehicle of human power or human viewpoint to try and fulfill the great responsibilities described for us in this great Epistle.
You’d be functioning completely in the flesh apart from this marvelous statement in chapter 5 verse 18, Be filled with the Spirit. That is the heart of the whole matter.
That is the energy or power needed to fulfill Eph 4:1, “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” That is the key to living the Christian life.
That’s at the heart of the whole matter. You could never walk in humility, Eph 4:2, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, You could never walk in unity, as Eph 4:3 says being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. You could never walk different than the world walks, Eph 4:17. You could never walk in the light, as Eph 5:8 says, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. Never walk in love.
You could never walk in wisdom unless you are energized by the Spirit of God. The life of God in the soul is the only thing that can produce that kind of living and therefore you see if that weren’t true then unregenerate people could live like that. So this is the heart of the matter in verse 18, it opens up to us horizons of tremendous understanding. We’d have to say that if you don’t know and obey Eph 5:18 you would be the biggest fool of all.
Eph 5:15, Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,
The biggest fool of all would be the one who tried to walk in humility without the power of God. Or to try and live the unique kind of spiritual life. All of us need to accept the fact that we have all failed and have developed garbage in the soul but that we have a treasure in our human body as 2Co 4:7 says, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves;
Notice that this power is of God, not of ourselves, however, also note that this power is found inside of our earthen vessels or human body. And this power comes from epignosis or metabolized doctrine, as stated in 2Co 13:4, For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
The point is that you have to make a decision.
2Co 10:3, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
Our warfare in the spiritual life is neither physical nor fleshly; it is spiritual and therefore in the mentality of our soul. And the Lord has provided information whereby we can use our thinking of divine viewpoint as a basis of advancing in the spiritual life and handling any of the outside pressures that would come our way.
2Co 10:4, For the weapons of our warfare [that is our spiritual warfare] are not of the flesh [human attributes], but divinely powerful or attributes of power, for the destruction of fortresses.
Now, when it says that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh it refers to the fact that our weapons are not based upon a system of human viewpoint like defense mechanisms.
In fact, the word fortresses is the Greek noun ochuromaton which is a hapax legomena and it means arguments and reasonings one uses to defend themselves, that’s why it’s translated fortresses and therefore a perfect description of what many are concerned with defense mechanisms. There are many defense mechanisms that people use.
Acting-out is a defense mechanism in which a person acts without regard for negative consequences. They’re going to do what they want and they don’t care what the consequences are. They feel totally justified in doing what they’re doing.
And if they happen to hurt innocent people along the way….”well, that’s too bad,” – “it’s not their fault,” so they think.
This is a manifestation of overt bitterness due to a problem in the soul from the existence of garbage.
Eph 4:18-19, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
By the way PSD 4 [PSD = Problem Solving Device ], Grace orientation and #5, Doctrinal orientation would handle this problem. The first two problem solving devices are involved in all of these because the PSD 3-10 cannot function without rebound and the filling of the Spirit.
Autistic fantasy is a defense mechanism in which a person substitutes excessive day dreaming for the pursuit of social relationships. In fact, soap operas really feed this need in people. Social interaction through day dreaming is much easier than direct and effective social interaction and the use of the problem solving devices. PSD #6, A personal sense of destiny would handle this problem.
Jude 1:8 describes them, Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh,
Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person fails to acknowledge some aspect of external reality that is obvious and apparent to others. Denial is a false perception of reality. This false perception of reality is necessary for some people because they must be good, they must be self-righteous, they can never be wrong, they must always be right. Therefore, they are very strong on self-justification and self-righteousness.
Prov 30:12, There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
PSD #1, the Rebound technique would handle this along with PSD #4, Grace orientation.
Dissociation or withdrawal is a mechanism which is employed when a person doesn’t want to deal with a situation. So, they run away and withdraw from those in the situation. This is strongly characterized in the last days as noted in 1Ti 4:1.
1Ti 4:1, But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
PSD #1 Rebound technique, PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD #5, Doctrinal orientation, PSD #8, Impersonal love for all mankind, would solve this problem. One of the many benefits of living the spiritual life that God has provided just for you is to rid your soul of the garbage it has stored up throughout the years. All of us have stored or accumulated garbage in our soul, especially in the subconscious.
The subconscious is that part of our soul where we are not wholly or fully conscious of all the things that are there. And that means that many people have garbage in their soul and don’t even know it. In fact, there are certain transformations which take place that we are not fully aware of.
Psa 107:20, He sent His word and healed them, And delivered {them} from their destructions.
You might see the manifestation after years of doctrine and living the spiritual life that God has provided but you don’t really know that changes are taken place in the soul when they are. And there is a change that takes place in a believer’s life that causes the believer to become strengthened mentally.
Rom 12:2, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed [pres-pass-imp] by the renewing of your mind,
The present tense speaks of your PVTD [positive volution towards doctrine]. The passive voice means that as you have your mind renewed or renovated, changes are taken place without you even knowing about it. And the imperative mood, this is a command. The same word is used in 2Co 3:18.
2Co 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [pres-pass-ind] into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Notice, we are not transforming ourselves nor are we to change ourselves, we are being transformed or changed. And again, this is a present-passive-indicative. How does garbage accumulate in the soul, in the subconscious and in the conscious mind? Garbage in the subconscious is described by psychologists under the term defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are designed to hide or to relieve the conflicts and stresses in the soul that cause anxiety, hysteria, fear, worry, or other categories of the emotional complex of sins, the worst being guilt.
Defense mechanisms are designed to bury any reaction you might have, any lack of esteem, any explanation for impulsive behavior or failure on your part. Defense mechanisms can resist all attacks of human viewpoint, human ability, human power; but God has provided in grace divine equipment and weapons to demolish these defense mechanisms in the soul. What are these
weapons that allow us to launch an attack against defense mechanisms in the soul?
The greatest weapon we have in both spiritual warfare and life is what we think! No matter how you slice it, the factor that motivates, empowers, and strengthens a believer is his thought pattern! If the believer is thinking human viewpoint, he is open to satanic infiltration. Furthermore, he is useless, miserable, and indistinguishable from the unbeliever. On the other hand, the believer with doctrine in the right lobe has divine viewpoint on the launching pad ready for application in order to assault any defense system in this intensified stage of the angelic conflict.
Any thoughts that you have which are not the thoughts of our Lord Jesus Christ must be taken prisoner or captive and pushed aside. The reason why you are to take the thoughts captive or as a prisoner is simply because you are not to share these thoughts with others or allow these thoughts the freedom to go elsewhere. Even if the thoughts are sick thoughts…that’s not a problem when you understand that the Bible says that without God’s thoughts, Isa 1:5-6, The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it,
We are to take every thought or making a prisoner of every thought [contrary to the will of God] to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And we are ready to punish [this is the result of having metabolized doctrine as an instant reaction force in your soul] all disobedience or deviation from truth, whenever your obedience is complete…or when you continue in your perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine.
You can only capture erroneous thinking and supersede it with correct thinking by metabolizing Bible doctrine.
Another defense mechanism that people use is idealization, a defense mechanism in which a person attributes exaggerated positive qualities to self or to others. When others are idealized, we call that role model arrogance. When self is idealized, we call that self-righteous arrogance or making a role model out of self. This mechanism of idealization usually makes hypocrites of people.
Rom 12:3, For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
These people enter into abstract thinking so that they do not deal with who they really are. PSD #3, The faith-rest drill, PSD #5, Doctrinal orientation, PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father, PSD #10, Occupation with Christ as the priority solution to life, would handle this problem.
Intellectualization is a defense mechanism in which a person engages in excessive abstract thinking to avoid reality or experiencing some very disturbing feelings about self. This mechanism only serves to complicate their problems.
1Co 3:18-21, Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” So then let no one boast in men.
PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD #9, +H [the Happiness of God] or sharing the happiness of God.
Isolation is a defense mechanism in which a person is unable to experience what is really happening around them or in their life. They feel isolated from their problems because they cannot deal with their problems…, So they must dump part of it into the garbage can of the subconscious to isolate it from the rest of their soul. Isaiah talked about this in Isa 44:20 when he said He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
They don’t even realize that they have problems.
PSD #3, The faith-rest drill and PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father, would handle this problem. Again, I hope you realize that the first two problem solving devices are involved in all of these because the PSD 3-10 cannot function without rebound and the filling of the Spirit.
Projection is a defense mechanism by which a person takes their own flaws, sins and failures and assigns or projects them to others.
Many times, they are not even consciously aware of doing so because their arrogance has blinded them! In assigning their flaws to someone else they rid themselves of their own failures and they elevate themselves. And this creates a problem in the soul which keeps out metabolized doctrine on the one hand and destroys metabolized doctrine on the other hand.
We saw Joseph’s brothers doing this.
Gen 50:15, When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”
PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD #8, Impersonal love for all mankind, would solve this problem.
Rationalization is a defense mechanism which devises reassuring or self-serving but erroneous explanations for one’s behavior. This is rationalizing an action which the believer knows is not biblical but they feel they have the right to be as they are or decide as they do. In this mechanism, the person becomes offended easily because they do not love the Word of God as Psa 119:165 says Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
PSD #1 Rebound technique, PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD # 5, Doctrinal orientation, would solve this problem.
Repression is a defense mechanism in which the believer is unable to remember or to be aware of disturbing lusts, wishes, or feelings, or thoughts, or experiences related to sin. It is the unconscious exclusion of painful impulses, desires or fears from the conscious mind. This happened to Abraham in Gen 15 where the Lord had to speak to him in a dream to deliver him from repressed fears. PSD #2, The filling of the Spirit, PSD #3, The faith-rest drill, PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD #5, Doctrinal orientation, would solve this problem.
Suppression is a defense mechanism in which the believer intentionally avoids thinking about disturbing thoughts, problems, experiences, or feelings. A lot of unbelievers do this when it comes to thinking about the fact that God exists.
Rom 1:18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father and PSD #10, Occupation with Christ as the priority solution to life would solve this problem.
Altruism is when a person engages in gratifying service to others because they want to be liked and so try to earn approval.
John 12:43, for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
PSD #6, A personal sense of destiny, PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father, PSD #9, +H or sharing the happiness of God, PSD #10, Occupation with Christ as the priority solution to life would solve this problem. This type of person ends up on a works program and cares too much about what others think.
Controlling is when a person attempts to excessively manage or regulate events, objects, or people in their environment. This is the domineering mother or the bully. An example of this is found in Luk 10:38-42 where Martha tries to control Mary.
PSD #3, The faith-rest drill, PSD #6, A personal sense of destiny, PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father, would solve this problem.
Devaluation is a defense mechanism where the person attributes exaggerated negative qualities to self and others. This type of person is always putting self and or others down…other wise known as a pessimist.
PSD #4, Grace orientation, PSD #8, Impersonal love for all mankind would solve this problem.
Displacement is a defense mechanism which attaches to a neutral object mental consents which were originally attached to someone or something else. This is when a person starts falling in love with their boat or their car or their animals because they were hurt by someone else!
PSD #5, Doctrinal orientation, PSD #6, A personal sense of destiny, would solve this problem.
Hypochondria is a defense mechanism where the person becomes preoccupied with physical symptoms disproportionate to any actual physical disturbance. The pain can even be very real to these people. A lot of people use this when they’re simply tired and do not want to function socially…so they fake sick!
PSD #5, Doctrinal orientation, PSD #6, A personal sense of destiny, PSD #7, Personal love for God the Father, PSD #10, Occupation with Christ as the priority solution to life would solve this problem.
Direct attack is a defense mechanism in which anger is used as a solution to the problems and frustrations of life.
This type solves problems by such things like temper tantrums. When they make wrong decisions and are caught in the act, instead of admitting they are wrong, they begin to attack others to try and switch the blame. They get on the offensive and attack because they don’t know how to handle their mistakes. This is a total state of irresponsibility by refusing to take responsibility for one’s problems and failures.
Direct attack has three objectives.
1) The satisfaction of approbation lust by focusing attention on self. This is when an individual who is not being recognized will attack someone who is.
2) The second objective of direct attack is the satisfaction of power lust by controlling the people in your vicinity.
This is the abuse of authority and taking advantage of those who are inferior, or in your opinion, stupid!
3) The third objective is the gratification of inferior feelings by getting even under revenge.
Many believer’s end up in direct attack because they have revenge motivation.
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
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