Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links 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), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.
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 known unconfessed 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 [your 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 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
STUDY TITLE:
If you love GOD, you will have to know GOD.
Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links 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), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.
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 known unconfessed 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 [your 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 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
STUDY TITLE:
If you love GOD, you will have to know GOD.
We are looking at the Doctrine of Fear. Especially, those fears that one cannot see because they are invisible to us.
2Co 4:7-18, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “ I believed, therefore I spoke, “we also believe, therefore also we speak; knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Many people live in fear because they subject themselves to idiotic periodicals or idiotic television programs that are always anticipating the worst.
As far as the Christian way of life is concerned there is really no excuse for being frightened about anything. In fact, as we noted last week, when Jacob starts to come back into the land and bumps into Esau’s army, he falls back on human viewpoint and tries to use his smarts or deceptions again. However, If he had learned to wait upon the LORD, a divine solution would have become manifested. Then he would not have had to use human viewpoint and carnal thinking as the solution to solve his problems. We experience fear when we try to solve our problems with human viewpoint instead of GOD’ s point of view.
For as Isa 40:31 says: Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. The issue is do we believe this principle or not! So, we need to ask the question: “Do we entertain fear in our life?” “Are we frightened by what the future may hold?”
Everywhere we turn today fear is prevalent! And it is a powerful and deceitful device by that creature genius Satan to confuse and distract the human race from reality. As far as the Christian way of life is concerned there is really no excuse for being frightened about anything!
1. Fear is described in the Bible as a mental attitude sin, 1Sa 17:21-26, Rom 14:23.
1Sa 17:21-26, And Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely, he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”
2. Fear is a sign of backsliding or going AWOL [absent without leave] in the Christian life, 1Sa 18:12; 21:12.
1Sa 18:12, Now Saul was afraid of David, for the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
1Sa 21:12, And David took these words to heart, and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.
3.Fear can also produce sickness and depression, in Gn 21:17, Hagar was worried sick and ailing physically because of fear.
Gn 21:17, And God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
4. Fear can produce suicide, in 1Ki 19:4, Elijah was so afraid of the threat of a woman that he wanted to die.
5. In Ne 2:2, Nehemiah’s countenance was sad and sick because of fear. So, fear can affect your countenance!
Everyone has certain fears in certain areas, but when fear controls you that is when it becomes sin. As far as the Christian way of life is concerned there is really no excuse for being frightened about anything.
Some causes of fear according to the Bible are as follows;
1. Rejection of Bible doctrine; Psa 53:5, The fool rejects doctrine and is in great fear where there is no fear.
2. Worrying about the details of life, Matt 10:29-31, “Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
3. A breakdown in the mentality of the soul over the pressures of life, Luk 21:26, “Men will be fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken,” So, we have “fear” because of a breakdown in the mentality of the soul!
4. Fear of witnessing for Christ, fearing what others might say or do, Jn 7:13, “No one was speaking openly of Him [TLJC= The Lord Jesus Christ] for fear of the Jews.” div>
5. A fear of death, Satan uses this fear to keep people in bondage all their lifetime, Heb 2:15, “And might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
6. Fear of rejection, Gal 2:12, For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he [Peter] used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. He forsook his brethren because of fear of what others might say!
7. The fears of old age or getting old, in Ecc 12:1-8, Remember also your Creator in the days of your youthful vigor [while you’re still young and you still have a lot of energy], or else when the evil days come [the days of adversity] and the years draw near you will say, “I have no delight in them [that is in the divine allotment of time and that’s reversionism,]”; before the sun [prosperity], the light [Bible doctrine], the moon [your right man or right woman], and the stars [various blessings from God] are darkened [or blotted out, disaster], and the rain clouds return after the rain [too much prosperity losing track of the source]; in the day that the watchmen of the house [the hands] tremble, and mighty men [the legs or the knees] break down, the grinding ones [the teeth] cease from labor because they are few, and those who look through windows [the eyes] grow dim; and the doors on the street are shut [that’s social life being shut or isolation from social life, older people are often neglected or rejected in social life] as the sound of the grinding mill is low [digestive system fades], and one will arise at the chirp of a small bird [insomnia], and all the daughters of song will sing softly [the hearing is going]. Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place [the different phobias in life] and of terrors on the road [phobias of travel]; the almond tree or enjoyment of life is despised [that’s no capacity for the enjoyment of life], the grasshopper drags himself along [loss of strength], and the caperberry is ineffective [sexual desire is frustrated]. Because man constantly goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street [he’s remembered for a short time].
{Remember Him} before the silver cord is broken [death in general, or death described in a poetical way] and the golden bowl is crushed [that’s a negative E.E.G.], the pitcher by the well is shattered [that’s a negative E.K.G., circulatory cardiovascular death and the rupture of a great vessel] and the wheel at the cistern is broken [referring to a mechanical cardiovascular death cause by heart stoppage or a cardiac arrest]; then the dust [the human body] will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. “Vanity of vanities,” says the man with the message, “all is vanity!” In addition to being a wise man, the man with the message also taught the people doctrine; and he pondered [concentrated], and searched it out [investigated] and arranged or composed many Proverbs.
The Teacher sought to find delightful words [words of pleasure] and to write words of truth [doctrine] correctly or accurately [doctrine of inspiration]. “The doctrines of the wise ones are as goads [they motivate and cleanse the believer, they move him toward his objective], as well-driven nails are fastened by the masters of collections and are given from one shepherd [TLJC says I am the great shepherd].”
But beyond this [that is beyond doctrine], my student be warned by teaching: the writing of many books is endless, excessive devotion {to books} [academic speculation and studying worldly viewpoint] is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is stand in awe of the Elohim or the God and guard His commands, because this is the complete man. For God will bring every act to judgment [all production to evaluation, judgment seat of Christ or the Great White Throne Judgment], everything which is hidden, whether it is [absolute] good [the execution of the plan of God] or evil.
And so, I leave you with this:
You have been given some fantastic things. You have been given “mystery doctrine.” And, in all of human history, from Adam to TLJC, not once did GOD let anyone know “Church-age mystery doctrine.” Not once did they realize that the fact that GOD would have a Royal Family. Or the fact that every believer would be a priest. Not once did they hear about the Royal Family and all the privileges of royalty. And that the Royal family would be “special” and have the greatest opportunities in their relationship to God than anyone has ever had in history and ever will have.
So, when Moses started writing and eventually the other writers of the Old Testament, they prophesied a lot of things. They prophesied about the rejection of the Jews. They prophesied about the First Advent. They prophesied about the Tribulation. They prophesied about the Millennium. But, they always skipped over the Church-age. They never knew anything about the Church-age!
And so, the Church-age was a mystery and mystery doctrine is a part of that mystery. What we have been noting all this week was never known in Old Testament times. The Old Testament has a great deal of benefit for us, but it is not where we find our doctrine regarding “the Church-age.” Never one word, that someday every believer would by an ambassador and that every believer would have the greatest opportunities and privileges ever.
And that is a part of the mystery that in Eph 1:9, “God had made known unto us the mystery”. You are a part of this mystery. You are the saints. Never before has this information been revealed.
Moses was curious about it!
Isaiah was curious about it!
Abraham was curious about it!
People in the Old Testament wondered what that was that God always said, pass over it, you cannot know anything about that! They were curious, but they couldn’t know! And, it’s amazing how little curiosity, concern, inquisitiveness, and interest there is among believers today about their own mystery doctrine.
Now when 1Jo 4:18 says, “Fear does not exist in virtue-love, but virtue-love drives out fear; for fear causes punishment. In fact, the person who is afraid has not been matured by virtue-love.” John is saying that if you have personal love for GOD the Father and you understand HIS integrity, you don’t need to claim specific promises for every situation. You rest on the entire essence and integrity and person of GOD. If you love GOD, you therefore know GOD. Therefore, once you have virtue-love, you’re not afraid of anything whereby you need promises, for now you know the One who makes the promises. You understand GOD’s integrity, and therefore, you are dependent on HIM. And if you are dependent upon GOD and HIS integrity, then being afraid is not only an insult to GOD, but it is blasphemous and sinful.
Fear actually causes two categories of punishment. First, you punish yourself through self-induced misery. Then when fear gets into arrogance, divine punishment follows. You can be punished by yourself, by your peers, and by GOD. Mature believers are not afraid. And virtue-love, mentioned three times in this passage, represents all the problem-solving devices.
So, the great problem-solving devices of spiritual adulthood eliminate fear by equating living with dying and adversity with prosperity. Fear of death destroys capacity for life; it is a sign that you are still in spiritual childhood.
Heb 2:14-15, Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
Death is the last thing in the world that should concern you, for you have no control over the manner of your death or time of your death. And when you realize your death is strictly in the Lord’s hands, the one time when the Lord’s wisdom will prevail over your volition, there is no excuse for being afraid of death. And when you understand there is nothing to fear in death, then you begin to realize there is nothing to fear in life.
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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