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:
God’s Timing is Perfect and He has created you for His glory.
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:
God’s Timing is Perfect and He has created you for His glory.
The First Miracle of our Lord has been our subject as we approach the importance of timing in the spiritual life and the fact that our Lord had to operate under divine timing. That is the divine power of God at work within Himself. This is why we read what He said concerning His timing in Jn 2:1, And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding. And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine.
Now, look what He said concerning the timing of God in Jn 2:4, “And Jesus said to her, Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour or my timing has not yet come.” Even our Lord had to function under the power of Divine Timing.
This subject on the timing of God is brought out by King Solomon in his famous chapter on the timing of God beginning in Ecc 3:1 where Solomon reminds us all; There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. We believe that God gives us a certain amount of time that we might all use it for His glory.
And we also believe that God has created you for His glory and until you believe that and then live for that purpose, you will never find true happiness and contentment in life! You were made for a particular reason and for a particular purpose and life really has no meaning or purpose until you find out the real reason that you have been created and the real reason you were given life.
This principle is true and powerful and simple. This is also the reason why our Lord started His ministry already at age twelve. For we read, in Lk 2:42-44, And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the family caravan, and went a day and a half journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
In those days, it was normal for families to travel together as a form of safety from thieves and robbers.
Lk 2:45-46, And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. And when He became twelve (12 years old), they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;
Notice it was after they found Him that they discovered where He had been and what He had been doing. Sometimes it requires a search of your dreams and the power and the right conclusion to see them through. And then I love what it says in Lk 2:47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
Think about it, He was not amazed at what the teachers were teaching, they were amazed by His understanding of the Torah and His answers to their questions.
Lk 2:48 And when they [mother and father and family] saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, She said, Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.
At this time, his earthly father Joseph was still alive, but He had been traveling with His wife, our Lord’s mother, and other family members. Notice our Lord’s response; Lk 2:49-50, And He said to them, Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house? “I had to be doing my Father’s work!” And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
They did not realize the seriousness and the importance of the precise plan of God that their Son had been learning on a consistent basis.
Lk 2:51, And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
As only a mother can, she was concerned about her son’s future and the fact that He would fulfill passages that the Old Testament taught like Psa 22 or Isa 53. While all of this was going on, Jesus kept on increasing in wisdom and in stature;
Now, one of the things that make time so important is the fact that it is so rare! It is irretrievable! You can never do it again! You can never get back the time that you lost or wasted, It’s gone forever! That’s why we must not forget the principles that we have been going through.
The apostle Paul warned us about this in Phil 3:13-14, Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Eph 5:14-21, For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper [wake from the other believers who are sleeping spiritually], And arise from the dead [plural is dead ones who are living in carnality], And Christ will shine on you. Therefore, be careful how you walk [don’t skip or jump or run], not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
Now, God’s timing is perfect, and if you are in fellowship with Him, you will have peace of mind with everything you do.
Phil 4:6-7, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now, if you are not in fellowship with God and you do not have doctrine resident in your soul, you will concede with Solomon when he said in Ecc 3:9, What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? There’s no profit if you do not enjoy the divine blessings from the Lord. There is your salvation, your spiritual life, your right mate, your niche in life, etc., along with the personal blessings of our Lord and the capacity to enjoy them.
This is why I keep emphasizing doctrinal principles like Ecc 6:1-2, There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires, but God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.
This is a blessing of capacity to enjoy the tremendous riches, wealth, and honor that God has empowered the believer to enjoy because of his capacity to handle divine blessings.
So, in Ecc 3:1-2. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – A time to give birth, and a time to die.
Now, regardless of the circumstances and events that surround your birth, God gave you life at that moment, so that was the right time for you to be born.
You did nothing at that moment and your timing was perfect then! You had nothing to say about your birth and that’s why your timing was perfect. You did not choose your parents; God did. And His timing was and is right on time. You did not choose your birthday; God did! Your volition wasn’t involved at all! God created soul life and imputed it to your soul at your birth. And that was the right time for you to be born!
So, if you have any complaints about your parents or your birth, or your house, or your environment your timing is off. Don’t say you were born too late or too early or you would have been better off if you lived during another generation. God is perfect, His ways are perfect and you and I were born under the perfect timing of God! And God starts everyone in the world at the right time.
So, if we complain about anything related to our birth or our environment, or our parents, or our home, we are blaspheming God. We are saying God’s timing is off, but God’s timing is never off! And that’s why anyone who resents his parents or his early environment, no matter how bad or how good it was, is totally out of sync with life.
Just like the first mention principle in Gen 2:7, Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [neshumah] of life; and man became a living being.
God chose both your father and your mother, in spite of your opinions and your questions, which I will seek to answer which is the first obvious question; Why did God chose them to be your parents? And before you answer that remember this passage in Eze 18:4, Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
Notice – all souls belong to God. And why not? God is the one who created them. For we read in Rm 9, concerning Rebekah when she had conceived {twins} (that is Jacob and Esau) by one man, our father Isaac;
Rm 9:12-21, it was said to her, The older [Esau] will serve the younger [Jacob]. Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So, then it {does} not {depend} on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. So, then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, why does He still find fault? For who resists His will? On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?
So, who are we or who do we think we are to complain or disagree with God’s choices for us.
Look at Eze 18:5-30, But if a man is righteous, and practices justice and righteousness, and does not eat at the mountain {shrines} [idol worship] or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife, or approach a woman during her menstrual period if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, {but} gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with clothing, if he does not lend {money} on interest or take increase, {if} he keeps his hand from iniquity, {and} executes true justice between man and man, {if} he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully he is righteous {and} will surely live, declares the Lord God.
Then he may have a violent son who sheds blood, and who does any of these things to a brother (though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain {shrines,} and defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but lifts up his eyes to the idols, {and} commits abomination, he lends {money} on interest and takes increase; will he live? He will not live!
He has committed all these abominations; he will surely be put to death; his blood will be on his own head. Now behold, he has a son who has observed all his father’s sins which he committed and observing does not do likewise. He does not eat at the mountain {shrines} or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife, or oppress anyone, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery, {but} he gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with clothing, he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take interest or increase, {but} executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father’s iniquity, he will surely live.
As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed {his} brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. Yet you say, Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity? When the son has practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not right. Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die. Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. But the house of Israel says, The way of the Lord is not right. Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.
Now, here is the first major question.
1. Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?
If the answer is Yes, of course I do, then, do you believe Deut 32:4? The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
And so, you may have had some of the other similar questions;
Why did God choose the parents that He did for me?
Why did He choose your gender?
Why did He choose us to be male or female?
Why did He place us in the generation that we are a part of?
Why did He choose us to be a member of our family, both naturally and spiritually?
Why did He bless us and grace us to enjoy the blessings that He chose for us to have and to enjoy?
All of these are answered if we desire to know them.
All your bad habits and bad timing can only be corrected by believing in Christ and then taken in His word on a consistent basis. So, these principles in Ecc 3:2 says that there’s a time to give birth, and a time to die. And just like we had no control over our birth, we also have no control over our death!
The point is that when we were born and when we die is a matter of the sovereignty of God’s judgment. We are all on His timetable. Only our perception of what’s happening can be wrong, and that will be brought out in some of the passages that our Lord went through. People are often bitter, upset, and disturbed because of the way someone they love dies, putting themselves out of God’s timing for the rest of their lives, as if somehow everything in life is unfair to them.
There is a lot of unfairness in the world, but the minute you react, you’re out of God’s timing. And remember that excuses are never solutions to problems. Look at all the people who complain about their birth, their parents, their home, their environment, and their circumstances – right now. They’re making a terrible mistake! People are always pushing to get into some situation. Or, in or out of a relationship, or trying to succeed, to do this and that. People have become very pushy! And becoming very pushy and trying desperately to make things happen is a sign of being on your own timing. And your wrong timing as a believer will destroy you and make you miserable in life.
Now, timing is simply defined as the selection of the best time for doing something in order to achieve the desired effect with maximum results. For the Church-age believer, timing is a matter of adjusting to and synchronizing with the Plan of God. Every time we make a decision that is contrary to some principle found in the Word of God, contrary to the mechanics of the PPOG [predesigned plan of God], then we are out of sync with God’s plan and our very own personal sense of destiny.
So, every detail of life is involved in timing, such as being in the right place at the right time. In God’s plan for your life, bad timing is a matter of being out of fellowship, falling apart when under pressure, being out of the will of God, having the wrong priorities, making the wrong decisions, and all of this because of ignorance or rejection of the plan of God. And, above all, bad timing is lost opportunity under the equal privilege and equal opportunity of God’s plan.
So, Solomon writes in Ecc 3:2, there’s A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
Solomon is saying that God has allotted or assigned to you a profession, or a business, or a job and also the time to put into that profession, business, or job as well as the time to enjoy those blessings. A time to begin and a time to end. A time to start and a time to quit! A time to engage in your job and a time to retire from it.
So, in effect, this verse says that whatever you do in life by way of making a living, there’s a right time and a wrong time just like there is a right way and a wrong way. And, if you’re in God’s timing, then you’re alright! So, you were born at the right time and you will die at the right time because those are God’s decisions.
But, once you’re alive, you must make decisions in life. And knowing when to plant and when to plow is a matter of understanding the soil, the weather and what crops you’re trying to produce. So, in effect, this is saying that timing in life is a matter of knowing what you want to do in life, what business you want to be involved in, what you want to do to make money to sustain yourself.
We are back to the same subject; divine timing is very important and vital and must be approached by the grace and the power of our Lord. And Solomon is right in his assessment of the fact that there is a time for everything but if you don’t look at life from the divine viewpoint and you just look at it like life under the sun, time is meaningless even when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing!
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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