Tuesday Bible study was on Romans 8

verse 1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I missed a little of the beginning because of Boy Scouts, but came in on this verse when Pastor Don said, How can you put yourself down if you have a concept of Jesus. Of Christ in us, the Hope and Glory. If we have Him in us, we will not be doing sinful behavior. We will see ourselves as our list (previous) of who we are in Christ.

We must practice substitutionary remembrance

We must substitute a negative view of ourselves with how Jesus says we are. Christ died for us, and rose from the dead. We are somebody because Christ cared enough about us to die for us.

The devil needs us to repeat the lies we have learned about ourselves. The devil wants to convince you that we cannot be Christ’s because of our sins, or failings, our errors, our mistakes. He keeps trying to keep us down.

In Christ we look better than we ever look in our egos.

Pastor Don said, “In my heart, there is this place where I know that God is pleased with me.” We all need to come to that realization.

In Christ we do look good to God, for when God sees us, He sees Christ in us. He wants us to progress with our lives, but there are times when the progress is not too fast. Sometimes character traits have to be developed or formed in us, so that we can do what God wants us to do. Sometimes our talent can take us to places our character can’t sustain. If we get to the success too quickly, we may lose the focus of who brought us there, and then fail.

Until you get the mind of Christ, at least have a concept of the presence of Christ. It is humerous that often we think that if we do something in secret, Christ doesn’t see what we are doing. He is with us always, and when we have that sense of his ever presence, then that helps to keep us from making sinful mistakes.

You can choose to ignore Christ’s voice. But you must know an abiding presence of the Lord, that He has marked you from before time. He knew you before you were born, he will be with you throughout your life, and into eternity. We must listen to God’s voice and respond to His will.

Being in Christ is based on being a believer. You can be a believer and be stupid, or smart. It is your choice.

Pastor Don told about when he was 7 and made his altar call. His father made this statement that resonated with Pastor Don, His dad said, “I would rather live my life believing there is God and Jesus and then die and find out that it is not true, than to live my life believing there there is no God or Jesus, and then die and find out that there was God and Jesus. Because the quality of life lived in Christ is so much more superior than a life lived without Christ.”

Romans 8: 2-3 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh.

Many wars among denominations are fought over verse two. Pastor Don said that any sin requires yur blood. If you give your blood you die. The blood in our veins reproduces itself, and it is the only thing that we can give that is replentished in ourselves. The blood is the life. Jesus was the only one ever on earth whose blood had no sin in it. That is why Calvary worked.

If we lives on the lies we get by listening to satan, we are guilty of sin.

In Romans 8:3, it is God’s condemnation of  your flesh, which is sinful, and why all of us will ultimately die physically. No one on earth can live up to the standard of the laws God gave, we must depend on Christ to redeem our sins. We cannot do it on our own, through our flesh, through works, or any action of our own.

Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. If we try to live the law according to our flesh we will fail all the time, but if we are led by the Spirit of God, then we can succeed. For it is only through the Spirit that we can do as God wants us to do.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Where is your focus, is it on earthly things, are are you thinking about the things of God?

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Pretty clear, do we think more of our fleshly pleasures which will lead to death, or do we seek the peace that passes all understanding, to seek the glory of God and to be like Christ, with the mind of Christ. The problem with being carnally minded is that we don’t notice the problem immediatelly. If we had a carnal thought and we immediately died, that would get our attention, but it is a gradual slipping more and more into sin, becoming acclimated to it, and after awhile, what seemed to feel so good becomes our worst nightmare. The way to know if you are carnally minded is if you can save something for later. Carnal things, things of satan, seem to require instant gratification. Pastor Don had us laughing with this line, “Instant gratification is of the devil, God saves.”

Romans 8:7-10 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if inded the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Natural impulses and the flesh are now and immediate. The Spirit of God, the nature of God, knows better, and considers our eternal lives to be of greater value. With each level in our spiritual development, there are new challenges. If you know the power of God and the limitation of the devil, once you have conquered the devil on one level, God will permit a new challenge for us, and we can conquer the devil who uses the same old tricks to trip us up. Once we realize that, we can move from victory to victory.

Know that any problem we have is just a momentary affliction. Trust God.

Romans 8:11 we read as a group. But if the Sprit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Is there anything to difficult for God, who can raise the dead to live? Trust in God.

I have a treat for you, Pastor Don is doing a prophesy conference. I have taken some notes, and will share those, but he has, on the link to the left, put up tapes of prophesy conferences that you can purchase through In His Name Ministry. Each one we have gone to have been spectacular. I love the anointed teachings of Pastor Don.

Romans is special to me because it is the first book of the Bible that I studied under Pastor Don, when I met him.

Heather

In my turn about is fair play, if I was asked to interview someone, I feel that I should also open myself up to be interviewed by them.

Chet, http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=angelsea, asked me the following questions.

1.) I like your profile pic,where did you get it? I went to Google search pictures, and found this one. It is of Emily Dickens.

2.) Why did you CHOOSE it(does it represent a conviction you have that women should wear long dresses ONLY,for example)? I picked it because I liked it, she was writing in a book which represented a journal to me. I do tend to wear skirts and dresses, but that is because I think I look better in them. When I lose some weight, I will probably wear pants too, but right now, I just like skirts and dresses. I think that people should wear what they feel is comfortable, but within reason. I do not believe that “everything should all hang out.”

3.) As you seem to like things that help people get to know one another,have you ever played THE UNGAME(a game designed specifically for that purpose?) Never even heard of the ungame, is it a game board? Is it a question and answer game? Not sure about it. I do love playing spider solitaire, but that is the extent of my gaming.

4.) You’ve written before on your site about sexual abuse you’ve endured…..how has it affected you in terms of things you struggle with,even NOW,as an adult believer? I myself endured a lot of emotional and mental abuse from a cruel alcoholic stepfather,for example……as I’ve grown up,I find myself very distrusting of MEN in general and PASTORS in particular(and,sadly,some of the pastors have DESERVED to be distrusted.) You obviously trust PASTORS quite a bit……so what areas DO you struggle with,as a result of *your* background? Note: even though The Deal is you have to answer ALL questions,if you’d rather SKIP this one,that’s fine by me! I am sorry to hear about your abuse and how it affected you. I had and occasionally have problems sexually. My husband is the sweetest, kindest man in the world, but there are days when the memories are close to the surface and I tend to avoid intimate contact with him. But he also respects that there are a few things that I cannot stand in our intimate relationship, and he honors them. I don’t distrust men, but I am careful. I had bad experiences with pastors too, and shied away from them for years. I had one pastor, when I was in the custody of my sister, tell her all that I told him about my past, and she almost killed me. Her husband had to pull her off of me. So I stopped talking to pastors, which was ok, because I also didn’t talk to God at that time.

I think the most profound affect on my life from the abuse on the negative side is that I spent 40 years hating God and anything God stood for. I was led by God, I am certain, to Pastor Don, who is the one and only pastor who has been consistently trustworthy, godly, and a great pastor. With his gentleness and godly love, I was able to finally come to a relationship with God. But as Pastor Don would also say, God had his hand all over it. I also tend to try and be controlling, and that spills over into my relationship with God. I am not all that trusting even of God.

On the positive side, what happened to me, I hope makes me more sensitive to others who are hurting. When I say, I understand, I think they know that I do. And I pray that God uses my past and experiences to help others and to somehow be able to use them for His kingdom.

If you want to read about my testimony, it is written in bits and pieces on the following dates in 2005: March 15, 19, 29, 31, Apr. 2, 7, 16.

5.) What are your HOBBIES? I love Xanga, handicrafts, quilting, counted cross stitch, and making arts and crafts for the Sunday School. Right now, much of my time is taken up with Bible study, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and kid and family things. Perhaps one day I can pursue my hobbies with more time.

Heather

Continuation of Friday’s Bible study (Part 1 is on Sat. )

God is returning everything to its rightful position. And this is written also in the stars in the heavens.

Isaiah 8:11-18 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people saying: “Do not say,’A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of host, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken.” Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me? We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.

In the above passage, Isaiah was talking to the people, not the priests and Pharisees. This is a prophetic passage about Jesus’ coming, and he did just as this said, was a stumbling block and an offense to the priests. And Jesus performed signs and wonders. v. 13 We must worship God before any institution or church. v. 14 The Messiah will come. He is the rock. Jesus is the cornerstone and everyone who stumbles on him will fall.

Chapter 9 of Isaiah is the prophesy of Jesus’ birth. Remember he was Born in Bethlehem, which is translated the House of Bread. Jesus was the Bread of life, and we are not to be offended at his teachings.

Verse 15 of Chapter 8 If you refuse to accept the truth that Jesus teaches, you become the enemy, a stumbling block, and broken. You are NOT STRONGER THAN THE WORD OF GOD WHICH DOES NOT YIELD. That is why those who try to ignore the Words of God written in the Bible, will ultimately fail.

Isaiah Ch. 8:16 Bind up my testimony, seal the law among my disciples. Let those who will hear it make it permanent with them, and those who refuse to hear will be blinded.

Chapter 8:18 We are for signs and wonders in Israel. If the signs and wonders are rejected by the people, then they will not be hearing the whole truth. God gave signs and wonders so that his children could work among the people, get their attention, and make them receptive to God’s words.

People can argue and debate theology, religion, but they cannot debate your testimony. We are a sign and a wonder due to the good work that God has done thru us.

This prophesy in Chapter 8 of Isaiah is fulfilled in this day. The House of Israel is still divided into two camps. Those who trust God and believe in Him, and those who are not truly devoted to God and do not believe in Him.

Because you are in the House of God, does not mean that the House is in you.

Pastor Don said that the following verses make him want to cry for they are the mandate to gather the gentiles.

Isaiah 9:1-2 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed the Land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the gentiles, The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Isaiah 9:21Manasseh shall devour Ephriam, andEphriam Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

The Israelites spent 5,500 (or so) years rejecting God, but God still stretches his hand out to them. We gentiles have rejected him for 2,000 years, and He still stretches His hand out to us. He sent the Messiah, and he forgives us.

Then we, as Friday Bible studies go, moved back to the topic of faith, and Pastor Don said that once he heard this quote from Kenneth Hagin, “If faith was dynamite, they couldn’t blow their nose.

Now there is a mandate for us.

Mark 16:14-20 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”So then after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Jesus said that these signs will follow THOSE WHO BELIEVE.  If you do not believe what Jesus said about the signs, you will not see them manifest. If you believe that they died with the apostles, for you they will have died with the apostles.

Jesus’ prayer for us

John 17: 20-26 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I  in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. Iin them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may now that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold, My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

This prayer is not just for his disciples, for in V. 20 it says he is also praying for those who will believe in Jesus based on the teachings of the apostles about Jesus. That means US too, for we are believing, even though we haven’t seen Him in the flesh. Jesus was VERY SPECIFIC with His words. If He was praying for just the disciples, he would have said so.

Jesus wants the whole world to believe. And He has allowed us to help to spread His word throughout the world. And all the signs and wonders still exist to bring glory to God.

Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Sprit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God who was with Him.”

Jesus was the Lord over sickness and death and the devil. When Jesus gave to his apostles was the baptism of the spirit with power, and they went around doing good, with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Anyone needing healing is oppressed by the devil who is the author of sickness and disease.

The devil is an equal opportunity employer. He will oppress anyone who he can oppress.

John 17:22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”

We are the THEY in the above scripture, and we have received the glory of the Holy Spirit from God, and the ability to do what He did to the glory of God.

John pointed out that he could not write all the miracles that Jesus did, they wouldn’t fit in the gospel. If you just count up the miracles, you would realize that what was written would have necessitated Jesus working daily to do them, as there were so many.

Jesus had a supernatural personal relationship of total sharing with God, 24/7 openness with God, and he was totally obedient to God.

Luke 10:9 ..”And heal the sick there, and say to them, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.”

For those who say that only the apostles carried the healing, there is the 70 that Jesus sent out in Luke 10 to do healings, in Luke 9 he sent out the disciples. Mark 16:15-18 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hand on the sick, and they will recover.

Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

We can’t have a Luke 19 gospel, and a Mark 16:20 gospel if the churches do not believe that God can allow signs and wonders in this day and age.

If you are not operating with the full gifts of Christ it is like giving someone the keys to the car and telling them they have the car, but they can’t drive it.

Acts 24: 12-14; 20-21 “And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in they synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets, v. 20-21: Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, unless it is for this one statement which I cried out standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.”

Paul, a prophet, continued to write, and maintain the testimony of the raising of the dead.

We have to minister on the basis of believing in the resurrection of the dead, it is what sets us apart from all other religions.

Other religions believe in gifts, but where the rubber meets the road is Christ raised from the dead. For, from the accounts in the Bible, it is true that the dead were raised.

Is our gospel still a gospel of the dead raised?

Jesus was here to conquer sin and death.

We have documented cases of the dead being raised in the name of Jesus, and of other gifts and signs being used long after Jesus and the apostles died. In more recent times, Smith Wigglesworth raised at least 16 from the dead, and today there is documentation of a dead man raised at a revival of Rheinart Bonke (Sorry for spelling).

It is time that our churches raise from the dead and operate in all the gifts that Jesus gave us.

Hope you enjoyed this Bible study.

Heather

Pastor Don will be having a book come out soon on a topic called Christianease – which is using words that we, as Christians understand, but the general public may have a different perspective. In the same joke spot that I shared yesterday, a few weeks ago they had this. I plan to copy it out for Pastor Don, but thought you might enjoy it as well.

Friday’s Bible study was a continuation of Tuesday’s Bible study. Pastor Don wanted to keep sharing on this topic, but there is an interesting side journey as well.

You can find Tues’ Bible study a few days ago and it would be helpful to give you some of the foundation that we were working off of.

Pastor Don reminded us about 1 Cor. 13 and how it is often mis-quoted to imply that signs and wonders are not in existence. He said that there is a new generation of Christians who don’t read the Bible, and who don’t believe in signs and wonders.

God ordained supernatural signs and wonders. Christ functioned using signs, wonders, and gifts.  It was a tool that He used to get the attention of the people. It helped to spread the Word. When Jesus gave his great commission, he told the disciples to spread the word throughout the world. It would have been physically impossible for the disciples to have walked and taken ships and covered the entire face of the globe, so we are still under that commission to spread the Word to the whole world, and one of the tools Jesus gave us, as he gave the disciples are signs, wonders, and gifts.

There are many Christians who believe in Christ, but have not experienced a wonder. In order to experience the wonders, you need faith. So many of us are stuck on believing only what we can see with our physical senses. Faith goes beyond the physical.

It is important to believe (and those who believe are not inferior), they are just not acting on all that Jesus has given us. Many Christians only believe what they can see, believe what others testify about, believe in the Written Word of God, and those are good, but there is more.

Pastor Don went onto a side-track to talk about the authenticity of the Bible. He pointed out about finding the dead sea scrolls, and how it was shown that there were only 17 differences in punctuation between what had been buried before Christ, and what we still use as the Old Testament today. He also pointed out that there are 24,000 copies of the New Testament in ancient Greek, and they all convey the same information, nothing added, nothing taken away. He talked about how these copies were spread from church to church, copied and sent on to another church. There would have been glaring discrepancies if someone tried to modify the words.

King James in 1611 gathered many copies of the scripture, to make sure that they all said the same thing, and he had 300 people to put together the King James version of the Bible, and 100 of them were poets who tried to keep the beauty of the psalms intact.

Some cults try to point out that there are various versions of the Bible and they all differ, but when you get back to the original Greek and Hebrew that the scriptures were written in, there is no difference. Not to mention that there have been no archeological evidence that disproves any fact in the Bible. Pastor Don pointed out that if there was ever something that differed, we would be sure to know about it for the newscasters would be all over the information.

He also pointed out that there were other historical documents, but none with as many copies as the bible.

There are 17 copies of the Iliad and Oddesy
There are 49 copies of Dante’s Infernal.

And the copies of the Iliad and Oddesy, and the Infernal all disagree.

(Heather’s note) If you ever want to read a detailed description of the above side-issue, I recommend The Case For Faith and The Case For Christ Both books are written by Lee Stobel, and they helped me sort this out.

Pastor Don also pointed out that in the book More Than a Carpenter Josh McDowell points out that if all the copies of the Bible were destroyed, you could put the Bible together from secular sources for it is the most quoted book in the world.

Then someone in Bible study asked Pastor Don what it meant that the Bible was written in the stars, and we went on another side journey.( Heather’s comment:  I love Friday Bible studies, if you are ever in this area I strongly recommend you attending. We have a pot-luck lunch, and it is very informal. Pastor Don allows people to ask questions, share opinions, and it is very open and non-intimidating. He, as my husband often tells our kids, is like a Professor of the Bible. People can ask a question and he can go to many sources to answer the question from the top of his head. And we get a lot of great laughs at the Bible study.)

In answer to the question about the Bible written in the stars, he pointed out that God named the stars with Adam, and the names that we use today do not completely tell the story that God wanted to show in the stars.

Ursa Major – The Big dipper – Bear
Ursa Minor- The Little dipper
Scorpio
Virgo

These are secular names. He pointed out that the stars do not really picture, unless you use your imagination.

Who named the constellations? Virgo, the virgin, all ancient cultures had a virgin goddess, Egypt, Greece, etc. The Mizzarach (excuse the spelling)

In order to see the Bible in the stars, you have to look at the individual names of the stars within a constellation.

Virgo, some of the names of the stars in this constellation are:

The Woman,
With Child
Holding Corn
Seated on throne

So it portrays a woman with child seated on a throne and holding corn. This talks about the Christ child, who like wheat and corn will die, and then will produce new life, etc.

The names of the stars in the constellations were passed down from father to son.

Aquarius the water bearer (water is the Word).

Orion – Hercules – sword and scythe. No warrior would carry a sword and a scythe in battle at the same time. But Christ would carry the Sword which is the Word of God, and the scythe which is the harvest, and Christ will also be the warrior.

Gemini – the dual nature of God.

Sheep Fold Constellation – ahh, our great Shepherd

Nothing happens on earth, any great event, that is not mirrored in the sky. Astronomy is a phenomenal study, but astrology is a perversion of what God wrote in the stars.

Satan will imitate what God has done to pull people away from God. Pastor Don pointed out that before he was saved two astrologers told him that he and his wife were such opposite characters that their marriage would never last, it has lasted over 30 years so far. 

Revelation 12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.

If you think about the sky, there are times when a similar occurrence of positioning of stars like this is possible.

Rev. 12:3-4  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold a great, fiery dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth,  And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, do devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Now this passage talks about the birth of Jesus, and how Mary had to go into hiding, as well as how satan tried to destroy the savior.

And if you think about it, some of the signs in heaven are the same signs that the wise men followed to find the Christ child.

If you mess around with astrology remember that it is a tool of the devil to try and hide the fact that you can find out about Jesus in the stars.

God is returning everything to its rightful place by the end times.

I will continue this later. I have to go and get my daughter from a birthday party.  Sorry that I am doing it in two parts, but maybe it is easier to read that way.

Heather                                                                         

I have heard this before, but got this from a devotional that I receive. I included the contact information incase you want to subscribe. It makes me laugh, but I have used some of those same words myself.

The Lift

The following are ten reasons why people do not wash.

1. I was made to wash as a child and it put me off for life.
2. I know others who wash and they are no better than me.
3. Washing is an emotional crutch for the week minded.
4. I have never washed and I am too old to start.
5. I think I am good clean person, I don’t need to go and wash.
6. I used to wash but I was put off by the attitudes of others who washed in the same place I did.
7. There are so many different ways to wash that I don’t know which one is correct, so I don’t.
8. I am too busy to wash, perhaps I will when I am older.
9. I think bathroom stories are all make believe.
10. Modern science has proved that soap does not exist, people who wash are therefore deluded and easily led by others who exploit them for their money.

    Any similarity between reasons for not washing and reasons for not going to church are purely coincidental.

SUBSCRIBE INFO
Want to receive a Christian inspirational item AND great clean humor in an email to you each day of the week? It’s easy and FREE! Read all about Laugh & Lift at http://www.laughandlift.com/list.html

Tuesday Bible Study Part 2 – See yesterday’s entry for Part 1

Galatians 3:1-3 Oh foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from  you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Paul is asking did you get saved by a list of laws or rules? No. You got saved by reading or hearing the gospel and saying I believe it. Nobody receives salvation by works.

V. 3 Your parenting style gives you a way. Many people feel that the way to get people to heaven is by altering their flesh. An adult is not going to respond to someone “beating” up on them. They will feel condemned, and stay in guilt and condemnation, feeling they are never good enough for God. You have to make sure people know that God will accept them, with all their baggage.

V 5: Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?–

Verse 5 is a powerful verse to show anyone who believes that the gifts ended with the apostles. Did Jesus ever work a miracle because he was a good guy? No, just like us, he used faith in working the miracles.

When people come to the conclusion that the gifts of the Spirit ended with the disciples they are usually making a quantum leap in their thought process that is not biblical. It starts out with them thinking I’ve been good, I’ve followed all the rules, gone to church every time the door is open, read the Word of God, pray, do good works, and God did not work the miracle I need in my life. So (quantum leap) because the miracle did not happen in my life, it doesn’t happen at all. The miracles ended with the disciples.

Pastor Don pointed out that that was pride to the max. There is no one perfect, except Christ, so who are we to come off figuring that we will merit anything due to our works. It is faith that produces miracles.

John 6 the only acceptable work is to believe on God, who sent Christ.

Galatians 9-11 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law and do them. But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith.

We must, if we believe on Jesus, believe everything He said, not just believe for our salvation. Jesus wants to be with us through our lives, working in our lives, not just waiting to see him in Heaven. He has told us that these miracles are possible to all who believe. Not some, not just the apostles.

It is ok with Jesus if, at times in our walk we can’t say in the flesh I believe, or I know, but because of our faith we say it in obedience to God. As we say things, they become part of our reality. Most people do not have total faith in Christ, but rather have mental assent. Faith is formed through experience.

In Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened. and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean followed Him on white horses.

We are the army that will follow Jesus, and the linen garments are the righteous acts of the saints. What is the righteous acts that we perform? It is to believe on Jesus, and all the other works we do are accessories.

We seek to strive to do the acts that the Lord puts in place for us.

Revelation 19:15  “..He himself will rule with a rod of iron.” The ones Christ will rule are those left on the earth after the rapture, those who were not destroyed by the judgments of Revelation, those who did not take the mark of Christ, He will rule those. Satan is bound for 1000 years (Rev. 20), and during that millennial reign, Christ will show the earth how God wanted it to be from the beginning of Creation. Christ is the second Adam.

Then God will judge people according to their works. But you have to remember that the primary work is to believe on God, who sent Jesus. And God is looking for righteousness, for our belief and faith and obedience. He is not looking to nit pick our sins which are covered by the blood of Christ, but to show righteousness.

Heather

Tuesday Bible Study Part one (It was an hour and a half study, and long, so I will write up part 2 later today).

I got to Tuesday’s Bible study a bit late, but for good reason. My middle son made Life Scout in Boy Scouts last night. Both my sons are Life Scouts and very close to having enough merit badges to seriously think about their eagle projects.

I did get to listen to the start of the Bible study thanks to my personal CD minister, my husband who faithfully records the sessions.

Pastor Don had some people visiting from Ohio, who used to attend his Bible studies when they were only a few people in Pastor Don’s home.

They asked two questions that Pastor Don answered:

1. What is the positioning in the millennial reign? What happens after the rapture?

2. What is the role of works in salvation? Many people in denominations and groups try to work their way into heaven. And how sin is dealt with is part of the problem. When we understand works and sin we can come into a position of where we are in Christ.

The answer to the first question is in Revelation 18 and 19. Revelation 19 Verse 1, occurs in heaven with a great multitude worshipping God, his righteous judgments are praised. And in verse 9 “…Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!…”  We are those called to the Marriage Supper.

Revelation Chapter 18 deals with the fall of the great harlot, Babylon the Great.

There is a spirit in the Earth, the harlot, a lustful being that is tempting us with various idols and lusts. Not just sexual lust, but lust for anything from money to position. She is alive and well now. Pastor Don pointed out that some spirits are male and some are female. The male type of spirit is aggressive and up front, not subterfuge and the female, like the great harlot is very seductive and there is subterfuge in her dealings with us.

The great harlot comes against the first commandment, that thou shall have no other gods before God.

Pastor Don then spoke of how some of the spirits are trying to disrupt Christians all over the world. On a personal note, one of the Pastors that we sponsor in India, Pastor Abraham, called and asked for prayer because 9 of the members of a church that he sponsors were brought to prison. Lawyers were found and the members were released from prison, but they had been beaten and abused. After they were released the powers that be found two pastors and killed them. Pastor Don asked for prayer for God’s justice in this situation.

We are lucky here in the states that we do not have to face the kind of persecution that they have to face in other countries.

In Chapter 19 of Revelation, God is saying that the Bride of Christ is ready, separates the bride from the world. What separates the Bride of Christ from the world is righteous acts. What are righteous acts? Acts done with a proper motive to give glory to God are righteous. If an act is improper, for self gratification, it is not righteous.

When we are doing something that is not with a proper motive we often scheme in our heads, and we should not fool ourselves into believing that God isn’t privy to our schemes.

Most people get in trouble because they do things with expectations, but what they are doing is not in the will of God.

If you are unhappy in your present, you will be unhappy in your future. Satan has forces in the world to try to get everyone unsatisfied with their life, self-condemnation, and to stop them from feeling the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. To pull them down into their circumstances.

When we get to heaven God will show us what we have done, not to condemn us because we are covered with the blood of Christ, but to point out the righteous acts that we have done.

What righteous acts can we do:

Pastor Don said that often pastors tend to try to lead their church by manipulation. Many pastors feel that God has called them to be Holy Ghost Police. They want their people to do right and get to Heaven and they feel that to do that they have to police them, to bully them. We cannot parent or police people to Heaven. We only have the right to police our own households.

In Church, Jesus is the Head Shepherd, and a pastor is to follow the Head Shepherd’s directions. God foreknows all whom he calls, and God doesn’t make mistakes.

Some pastors have a parenting style in the pulpit. They preach on holiness, and then identify a sin, and battering ram it into the congregation, and sometimes point out a person who is “guilty” of that sin. It is a negative parenting style, and truth be told, if you look at that style in a family it doesn’t work, so why should we think it will work in a church?

When Jesus pointed out a sin in a person he never beat the person over the head with the sin. Look at how he dealt with his disciples, like Peter who was forever putting his foot in his mouth. Jesus would point out the error and move on, but it was done with love. He built up the disciples, not tear them down.

The door to heaven is not closed because of our fleshliness. The Head Shepherd teaches that God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish.

John 6:28-29 “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Pastor Don pointed out that a person called a call-in radio show and mentioned that they were homosexual, and the pastor who was answering questions on the radio prayed for the person and directed them to a local church. This pastor got in hot water for not reaming the person about their lifestyle and clearly stating that it was not Biblical.

The pastor stated that he knew he would get flack (he lost his radio job), but he felt that if the person got to church and started hearing the Word of God, it would begin to convict the person and they would change because of the Hearing of the Word of God.

Pastor Don said that the more Jesus you can get into people, the more they will not be able to stand the sin. (I can attest to that one myself – Heather note).

Sinners already know that they are sinning. Sometimes it is better not to put your emphasis on the sin, but to bring their focus to Jesus. To trust that Jesus will be able to help the person to change.

When you come to believe the Gospel of Jesus, any sin you have will begin to change and drop away.

Luke 23:39-43 deals with Christ on the cross between the two sinners. One blasphemed Jesus, and the other one started out blaspheming, but then began to realize that Jesus was not guilty of any sin. Pastor Don said that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The second criminal was not smart enough to not do the crime, but he was smart enough to recognize who Jesus was.  Luke 23:42 “Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”

Pastor Don asked what saved the criminal? It was when he said the word LORD.

A lot of legalistic people cannot stand the fact that salvation can be attained by nothing more than recognizing the Lord.

Satan tells people that unless you lead a perfect life, you have no chance. But that is a bold-faced lie. Some keep sinning because they feel that they have no chance. Pastor Don pointed out that one man confessed to him that he stayed away from church, although he was glad that his wife attended, because when he was a kid he committed bestiality. And some pastor had talked about how that would prevent someone from entering heaven. The pastor did not preach the total forgiveness that confessing to Christ can give us. After talking with Pastor Don and realizing that Jesus would forgive any sin, if a person repented and and asked for forgiveness, the man was saved, and died saved at the age of 70. We can do so much damage to God’s kingdom by condemning words.

(Personal note, I can attest to that. When I was sinning, I knew that what I did was wrong. When people preached at me, I pretty much tuned them out. It took love to break through the cracks of my armor, and then I was able to hear the Word of God, and wanted God in my life. But it was the abba kind of Love that Pastor Don exhibited to me, and his patience and acceptance of me (not my sin) that finally made me realize that I stood a chance with God. Others had preached at me until they were blue in the face, and instead of reaching me, they just made it seem impossible to be good enough for God. God is doing a mighty work in me, and now things that I used to love I cannot abide because God has changed much in me. I think sometimes when we feel we have to corner a person and drum scripture into them, condemn their lifestyles and actions, what we are really saying is that God can’t do anything without our help. Believe me, if God could reach through to me, He can reach the worst sinner. God lets us help Him reach out to others, but He doesn’t need us to do so. God can reach a person on a desert island. I pray every day that when I share God with someone that I do not drive them away with over zeal, but rather just show them that relationship with God is possible. A church on Long Island has a sign out that says, “We catch them, God cleans them.”

We will continue the study with Galatians 3 later on, but my husband needs the computer for work right now.

Have a blessed day.

Heather

Chain Interview Thingie

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Leave me a comment saying, ‘Interview me’.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. Only respond if you are willing to answer ANY question that is asked of you
4. Update your blog (or leave them in my comments section for those without a blog) with the answers to the questions.
5. Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
6. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

 

Tina (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=HeavyRevvy) gave me the following questions.

 

Here’s your interview questions:

1. What is the strangest job you’ve held?

Two come to mind. During my “hippie” days I worked in a head shop that sold posters and other hippie paraphernalia. I started out there rolling posters for 2 cents a poster, but did it so quickly that I ended up earning more than minimum wage, so they gave me a “promotion” at minimum wage. I also spent a summer stripping wood in a house in St. Louis. It was a very caustic sort of job, but fun.

2. What are your spiritual gifts? I am still rather new to Christianity, so I am not certain what gifts are going to manifest in my life. I know that I have a calling to work with children and do so. Pastor Don says that I will be a good teacher, and he has prayed over my hands for healing. I still sort of feel like a sponge, soaking up lots of stuff. I feel that God and I are working things out, and I kind of stray away from some of the spiritual gifts until I can make sure that they are not connected to the occult roots that I once had. I used to be a psychic, so am careful about what I speak over a person, making sure it comes from God, and not from things from my past. But Pastor Don has said that I will be a secret weapon, and one of the realms I will be working in is helping break people free from the occult. And he has also told me that Xanga is like a ministry for me. He has approved of all that I have shared on Xanga of his Bible teachings, and loves reading your comments. But right now, I think God is just doing a work in me to help me sort out all of the things that still need sorting out. My biggest goal is to be obedient to God, to the best of my ability.

3. How many states have you visited? 13  states: Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia  I am assuming that you mean actually stayed and toured or spent time there, not just drive through.

4. What nicknames have you gone by in your life? The only nick name I have had is Heather Dawn. I picked this name after I decided to live and not die, when I was very suicidal. Heather is a plant, growing alive and living, and Dawn is a rebirth, a reawakening, a coming anew. It still fits in my Christian life, way better than my legal name of Shirley (I was named after Shirley Temple, and I do not sing, dance, and am not a cute, little thing.)

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? My kids will be grown, hopefully I will be a grandma. I would love to be involved in ministry, and might like to go to college and take some actual Bible courses and learn much. I have a fear of teaching in error, and do not want to be held accountable for any error in teaching by God.

 

Thanks for asking these questions, it was fun to answer. I like surveys like this because they are smaller and have more content. The ones with millions of questions I can’t deal with.

Heather

Friday’s Bible Study taught by Pastor Don

Now that Xanga seems more stable.

The Bible study was on 1 Samuel 17 and Philippians 4:10-13

This is David and Goliath

There is difference between humility and pride and how they work in battle.

Philippians 4:10-13 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content; I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

In important things I can remain directed and humble. I can do all things in he control of my flesh. No matter what the circumstances, I will be all right. I can accomplish through the ability of God, and not my own capabilities.

2 misrepresentations of the above passage.

1. Religious people don’t want to say I CAN, they think we need to say we are nothing, stay humble, just focus on the Lord.

2. Name it claim it people boast that they can do all things in their flesh. They must labor, bring it on their self.

You must realize that the content of yourself is the work of God. Without self-confidence you cannot serve people. God can’t use you, he needs us to believe in ourself somewhat, that God can take us and put us in the battle, that we can believe in ourselves, with God’s help, can do what God wants us to accomplish.

The devil will use religious spirits to get you to mis-speak. You have to rap on yourself, you have to have the self-confidence that God can do something good with you.

God provides the harvest, but you must do the reaping to draw in the harvest.

Luke 6:38 – Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

We need to be willing to pray that I will participate in my salvation (faith without works is dead), and I will use the blessings I get to serve with.

Get confident that God loves you and cares for you, that when you pray, God hears you.

We can use “I” in prayers.

I Sam. 17: 4, 10  And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span….And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day, give me a man, that we may fight together.

This Philistine has no back-up to his “I”. An “I” without backup is pride.

I Samuel 17: 22-23 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers, Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gat, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.

David heard the Philistines words,

1 Samuel 17: 26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall 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 defy the armies of the Living God?

The Israelites feared the Philistine, and spoke that the king would give riches and his daughter to anyone who would dare to fight Goliath.

David asked what am I going to get if I kill this guy. A Religious Spirit led person would say, you should be doing this for God, not asking for reward, etc.

V. 28, Eliab, David’s oldest brother, gets very angry. He has a religious spirit, and tries to put David into his place, “…Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” This is not true, David came down at the behest of his father to deliver supplies to his brothers. He tries to put David in his place, that of a lowly shepherd, not a giant killer.

V. 29-30 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause? Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

Sometimes you have to be careful who you share your vision with. There are many nay-sayers out there, who will try to crush your dream or vision. There is a time when you have to step beyond just tending sheep and reach for the larger vision God gives you.

v. 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. Even the king said that David should quit.

V. 34-36 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth, and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed a lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he had defied the armies of the living God.”

V. 34 David said, I USED TO KEEP, implying that he has moved beyond the role of shepherd of sheep. This is the past tense.

After you get off your knees God wants to elevate you. V. 35 David says I WENT OUT,  I CAUGHT -He had confidence in his ability, and used his past successes to build himself up, but it was not pride, because David had back up, David says YOUR SERVANT, and he has backup,

V. 37 Moreover, David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine…

While David said I in relation to the lion and the bear, he also realized that it was the LORD who delivered him from the lion and the bear, and he was able to translate the confidence gained from the past experiences to the present and trust that the LORD will give him backup against Goliath.

We have to quit believing the devil’s excuses, and the devil will seek to give you many excuses to tell you that you cannot do what God says you can do.

(One person at the Bible study commented that Goliath was felled by a rock (Christ is called the rock) and that against the laws of physics, when the rock hit Goliath, Goliath fell forward, not backwards- so that shows a supernatural intervention).

The devil comes to you talking boldly about how things are not going to work out, lots of thoughts from the devil going through your head.

You have to shut Goliath (devil) up by hitting his head, hit the devil in the head. The battlefield is in your head (your mind). The devil can only beat you if you let him hit you in the head (your thoughts),

So, since the rock is Christ, hit the devil in the head with the Words of Christ.

The level to which you estimate yourself will determine the altitude that God will bring you.

Stop letting the devil defeat you through your thoughts, have confidence in Christ, that God will do a good work in you.

Interesting Pastor Don note, before he became a pastor, he spent a season traveling with Harry Bellefonte as a back up saxophone player.

Hope you enjoy this study.

Heather