May 29, 2005

• Friday Bible study:

  
  

  Pastor Ted spoke about Confusion

  
  

  2 Cor. 3:6 “…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

  
  

  Pastor Ted asked why there was so much confusion about the Bible. He said it doesn’t matter how much information you have about the Bible, how many verses you memorize, etc, unless it is from the Spirit of Life that we receive our revelations from God.

  
  

  People can take the Word of God and manipulate it to portray their own views, but what really matters is the Rhea word, what God says.

  
  

  If God is not the author of confusion, why are we so confused?

  
  

  It is not how much Bible we know, but how much Bible we live.

  
  

  We went over the book of Job. God pointed out Job to satan as being a righteous man. Pastor Ted asked us if we were prepared by our lives, if God would point us out to satan as a righteous person who could be tested?

  
  

  In Job 10, Job was going through emotions. We say we know God, but when things go bad, we question God. If we know that what God has for us is good, we need to begin to look beyond our immediate circumstances, what the appearances say about our situation, and look to God when things are tough.

  
  

  Pastor Ted also pointed out that often when a person is sick they go to the pastor or someone for healing. Their idea of healing is the external circumstance, a healing of the symptom, but the healing that is full deals not only with the symptom but also the cause. Pastor Ted quoted, my people perish for lack of knowledge.
  

  
  

  If the healing does not also heal the root cause of the problem, then the symptom could come back. This is not beneficial to the person, and also dims the testimony of God for people will see the symptom return and then say that God didn’t do right.

  
  

  Satan comes to steal and destroy, to kill our peace, to oppress us through our mind. To steal the Word of God.

  
  

  If we are caught in the circumstances of our life, we may end up hurting ourselves with our tongue by saying the wrong confession, by not stating God’s Word, but rather what we see through our mind, will, emotions. Satan is ever glad when we speak out our circumstances, for it pulls us off of God’s course for us.

  
  

  God cannot lie, he knows us, he knew us before we were formed in the womb. The Bible says we are citizens in Heavenly Places. We are ambassadors of God’s kingdom. And Jesus gave us all power and authority over all of the enemy.

  
  

  Confusion robs us, it causes us to not act on what we have been given from God. If we don’t yield to what God says, we become part of satan’s kingdom.

  
  

  Regardless of what it looks like, if you know who you are in Christ, you can rest on that. The problem comes, then we speak. What will we speak, satan’s words, or a Rhema word from God. God’s words have power, and we can have all that Christ says we can have, there should be a peace that surpasses all understanding if we are resting in Christ.

  
  

  We overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the Word of our testimony (it says in Revelation), if we are not saying God’s word, we are resting in the enemy’s camp.

  
  

  Familiar Spirits- they know our weaknesses, are familiar with what will pull us down. In order to fight the familiar spirits, we need to simply say God’s word into the situation. We do not need elaborate exorcisms, or deliverance ceremonies, it is a simple thing. One tiny light will dispel the darkness. We are not to focus on the familiar spirits for that gives them power, rather to focus on God and His Word.

  
  

  We need to pray for the gift of discernment when we face a situation. God’s word says that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It doesn’t say that no weapon will be formed. It says that it will not prosper.

  
  

  In our walks in life we will meet with challenges,

  
  

  God is getting us back to his presence.

  
  

  1 Samuel 1:3 Shiloh, means a place of rest. Eli and his sons were the priests, and had responsibilities to the temple. God destroyed Eli’s sons because they were disobedient to God’s command. Eli died, and his line was lost. Samuel, who obeyed God became the High Priest.

  
  

  We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

  
  

  Pastor Ted pointed out how much depth there is in the Word of God, that even the names of people speak wisdom to us if we use our concordance and find out.

  
  

  For example. Shiloh means place of rest

  
  

  Eli’s two son’s names: Hophni means fist or fight
                                    Phinehas means oracle or mouth of a serpent

  
  

  During a battle these priests called for the ark of the covenant, but it was not a call God gave, and the end result was the ark was lost to the people for a time.

  
  

  We must get our words and actions both into line with God’s words.

  
  

  Other names:

  
  

  Zacharius – God has remembered
  Elizabeth-Oath of God, God is an oath
  Mary – bitterness rebellion

  
  

  The Mary meaning surprised us, but Pastor Ted pointed out that through woman, Genesis 3, God was going to bring redemption to the World.

  
  

  Adam and Eve rebelled, and they then had to live out the consequences of their rebellion. It was through a woman, Mary, that the bitterness and rebellion would be healed, because of Christ.

  
  

  We have to remember, whatever our situation

  
  

  Philippians 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

  
  

  This Bible study spoke particularly loudly to me because it has been a time of confusion and conflicting emotions for me. Depression has been a struggle, and I have been doing some pretty self-destructive things with my diet and running from things I shouldn’t be running from. This was truly a word in time for me.

  
  

  As always, any mistakes are mine and my note taking. not the pastor’s.

  
  

  Heather

  • 10:16 am
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