BIBLE STUDY LESSONS (Page 4)

Study to show thyself approved unto God,a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

D. The ministry of God, the Holy Spirit, in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age

C. "FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD" ... how is it possible for sinful man to have fellowship with God who is Holy?

B. Old testament characters who illustrate the importance of having personal responsibility

A. Looking at Our Human and Spiritual Intelligence

BIBLE LESSON TWENTY NINE JUMP DOWN TO LESSON TWENTY NINE

A. Manna

BIBLE LESSON THIRTY JUMP DOWN TO LESSON THIRTY

A. What is the spiritual life?

No doubt, every thinking person has asked that question at some time in their life.

Let's explore some facts that the Lord has given us: Yes, He has an answer to EVERY problem you and I could possibly face, but it must be done by a concentrated effort to study the 66 books contained in the Holy Scriptures we commonly call the Bible.

If you have never personally put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour, stop right now and consider the following facts I'm going to relate to you:

(2) He came into the world and became true humanity for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for the sins of the world

(3) Because He is sinless, Jesus Christ was able to bear every sin that has been or ever will be committed, and took our place as a substitute for each one of us

(4) When you accept that fact by faith and add NOTHING you do to that simple faith in the work of Christ on the cross, you become a Christian. No one can decide for you, because the Lord has given each of us a decider known as a free-will to make that decision. When you become a Christian you are then able to understand spiritual truth. To the unbeliever, the Word of God is a closed book which they not only do not understand, but they distort the meaning God intended for us.

I'll be using the terms "believer" and "unbeliever" as we look at the big picture of why we are here and the purpose for our existence.

A believer is a person who has believed in Jesus Christ for salvation. An unbeliever is a person who prefers to accept his OWN good works rather that the ONLY work that God, the Father can accept which is God, the Son in true and perfect humanity paying the penalty for our sins.

Each one of us has a nature to sin, and we are born with that "Sin Nature". Nothing we can do, good or bad, is acceptable to God!

In eternity past, before Adam and Eve were created, God created angels. The most beautiful angel of all was Lucifer, the son of the morning. His position was to be guardian of the throne room of God. That was the highest rank possible for a created being to hold. All the angels were also given a free-will to make their own decisions.

One day Lucifer became very proud of his magnificent beauty and talent and decided he would exalt himself above all the angels and that he would be exactly like God. We are told about his words in Isaiah 14:13,14.

Also, one-third of the angels decided to go with Lucifer. They are called demons

God's response to Lucifer's arrogance was to give a sentence of eternal judgment. He also changed Lucifer's name to Satan, which means ADVERSARY.

Satan appealed that sentence and said it wasn't a fair decision. God cannot be unfair to anyone, so He created a new creature ... man ... to prove to Satan that given a free-will like the angels had, man would decide whether or not they would choose God's will for his life or decide to go the same arrogant way Satan and his angels did.

Now, we have the basic reason for our being here, which is to make that decision during our lifetime whether to obey God or to follow Satan.

During this contest, angels are observing us, but we cannot see them except through the written pages of God's Word.

God has set a time limit for this contest, but he has not told us exactly when it will end. He has told us that when it does end, Satan and his demons will be cast into a Lake of Fire which will never be quenched. Also, people who refuse to accept the work of Jesus Christ on the cross will join them in that place of eternal torment.

Those people who accept Jesus Christ as their saviour will spend eternity with Him where there will be no more tears, no more pain and no more death.

That decision is the responsibility of each one of us, and I trust that you have made that all-important choice, because that is why you and I are here on this earth today!

Todays Verse John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God might be mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. ( 2 Tim. 3:16-17

When you tell people your problems, 50% don't really care and the rest think you had it coming!

Before, we talked about "why we are here", and now if you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He has a plan for your life!

God has a perfect plan for your life ... that's God's DIRECTIVE WILL, he also will allow you to go your own way under certain circumstances ... that's God's PERMISSIVE WILL. But wait ... He also has an OVERRULING WILL which prevents you from going a certain way. There are examples of these wills in the Bible, but today let's talk about PROBLEM-SOLVING.

You don't need counselling to solve your problems! (that is the popular way to go today in our society, of course) What you really need is GOD'S VIEWPOINT... or DIVINE VIEWPOINT as we will refer to it.

What is DIVINE VIEWPOINT? Psalm 119:105 tells us, ''THY WORD is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

How do we get DIVINE VIEWPOINT? 2 Timothy 3:16 ''Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."

Why should we study? Psalm 119:11 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

(b) are you willing to listen or read and concentrate? If you are, you will learn and then you will think the way God thinks. After that, you will be able to apply what you have learned and believed (metabolized) to every problem in your life. (this doesn't happen overnight ... it takes time to learn and absorb the truth of God's Word! You don't go from simple fractions to calculus!) BE PATIENT AND BE FAITHFUL TO FIND GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE!

You need to find a man who has the spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher, and who knows the original languages of scripture so that he can give you the tools with which you can study and learn BIBLE DOCTRINE.

(1) principles: ie: truths which are the foundation upon which we build knowledge of Bible Doctrine

(2) categories: ie: classified thoughts or actions through knowing Bible Doctrine

(3) Doctrines: ie: learning what the Bible teaches about specific subjects from Genesis to Revelation, and then coming to a conclusion about each of those subjects that is correct... GOD"S VIEWPOINT

To whet your appetite for more Bible Doctrine, here's just a sample of what I'm talking about. This sample is one that always divides Christians because they don't have the "big picture"...the Bible Doctrine... about the subject.

There are two categories of Baptism, and they are as follows: (there are a total of 7)

Baptism of Moses: (the children of Israel are IDENTIFIED with Moses as they pass through the Red Sea 1Corinthians 10:1,2)

Baptism of the Cross or Cup: (the Lord Jesus Christ is identified with the cross. Matthew 20:22)

Baptism of Fire: (for the unbeliever only... it is a baptism of judgment) Matthew 25:31,33; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; 2 Thess. 1:7-9

Baptism of the Holy Spirit: (for the believer only...the Holy Spirit enters believers into union with Christ at the moment of salvation. Acts 1:5; 1 Cor. 12:13;; Romans 6:3,4; Gal.3:27;; Col. 2:12; Ephesians 4:5

WET (Ritual Baptisms...water symbolic of something else, but the individual is really identified with the water)

Baptism of John: (Matthew 3:6, 11a... water symbolic of the Kingdom of God, which John preached. Acts 19:4. The people who came to John were saying in effect "I have trusted in Christ"

Baptism of Jesus: (water is used for his UNIQUE BAPTISM which symbolized the Father's will for him. He said by his baptism that He would go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. Matthew 3:13-17)

Baptism of the Believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age in which we live: (Matthew 28:19. Water represents the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in His DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION)

The last time we met here on the Website, we looked at the importance of knowing how God thinks .., ie: BIBLE DOCTRINE, and we had a small sample of what BIBLE DOCTRINE is.

When we hear what God thinks, our lives should improve, and our problems can be handled.

We are overly passive today, because it is the "easy way" to live. Sadly, however, when we let everyone else do our thinking for us, we become lax in thinking for ourselves, and we fail to analyze what we read and hear by comparing those things with what God thinks.

Do you believe everything you read and hear from the media which surrounds our lives every day? If you said "yes", you don"t have Bible Doctrine as a believer in Jesus Christ. In that case, you will be a "loser" when it comes to living a life which is honoring to the Lord.

When we get correct teaching from a pastor-teacher who knows the original languages of scripture and can give us a foundation on which to build our faith in the Lord, we must first of all want to be taught ... we call that BEING TEACHABLE!"

When we desire and LEARN Bible Doctrine, we get UNDERSTANDING. Our understanding becomes our THINKING. When we think Bible Doctrine, we can APPLY it to our lives and to our many problems which face us on a daily basis. Then we can SOLVE those problems!

Think of your life as being in a frame that you can study and look at in order to check your progress in this 'game of life' in which we are all involved:

1.) In this frame, you can put thoughts and actions together in order to look and examine them closely.

(a) Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels."

2.) Next, you build a new vocabulary with which you can arrange and define your thoughts.

(a) Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding."

3.) All the things you hear and read about can be classified into certain categories where they can be divided into usable and worthwhile thoughts and actions.

(a) Proverbs 5:1 "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding."

4.) We can distinguish right from wrong so that we may change our ways and thoughts to agree with God's thoughts and ways.

(a) Isaiah 55:8-11: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I send it."

5.) We learn to overcome the pressures in life ... little by little, as we take in Bible Doctrine.

(a) Isaiah 28:10 "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little."

6.) Through the intake, on a regular basis, of Bible Doctrine, we will be able to form sound judgment, and make the BIG PICTURE of ourselves pleasing in our own eyes. When we are able to do that, we build self-esteem.

(a) Proverbs 16:7 tells us: "When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Pride was the original sin in the universe, and it was committed by Lucifer. He was the most beautiful creature God ever created! One day, he decided he was going to be exactly like God. Isaiah 14:12-14:

"For thou hast said in thine heart, I WILL ASSCEND INTO HEAVEN, I WILL EXALT MY THRONE ABOVE THE STARS OF GOD: I WILL SIT ALSO UPON THE MOUNT OF THE CONGREGATION IN THE SIDES OF THE NORTH, I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE HEIGHTS OF THE CLOUDS: I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH."

As a result of Lucifer's arrogance, God changed his name to Satan (adversary), and sentenced him to the Lake of Fire.

"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed." 1 Samuel 2:3

"The Wicked, through pride of his countenance, will not seek God; God is not in all his thoughts." Psalm 10:4

"Only by pride cometh contention; but with the well-advised is wisdom." Proverbs 13:10

As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are in carnality when we are proud, and we have no fellowship with him in time. 1st John 1:9 tells us "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." At that moment you are Filled With The Holy Spirit and now have fellowship with God in Time.

Some of the results of PRIDE are: jealousy, bitterness, self-pity, temper, anger, hatred, murder and refusal to take responsibility for our own actions.

If you take care of your body and look your best at all times, it doesn't mean you are PROUD! (some people may think so, but just stay with Bible Doctrine and move on)

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you and I are here to please Him ...not always trying to please people. When you are in fellowship with the Lord, you will please people ... remember Proverbs 16: 7 which we looked at last time ... "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."

I'd like to leave you with the following thought expressed by the Lord in Proverbs 12:15:

"THE WAY OF A FOOL IS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES, BUT HE THAT HARKENETH UNTO COUNSEL IS WISE."

Each one of us uses time in a different way, because each of our lives are unique to the others.

Time spend in fellowship with the Lord is the most profitable time spent for the Christian. When we have no unconfessed sin in our life, God's Word tells us we are in fellowship with Him, and we are filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit controls the believer, he/she is teachable. The Holy Spirit teaches our human spirit the things of God, which are not understandable by the carnal believer or the unbeliever.

In the Church Age in which we find ourselves every believer, upon simple faith in the work of Christ on the cross, is regenerated, baptized into the body of Christ ( the Church ), indwelt perpetually by the Holy Spirit, sealed by the Holy Spirit and given the privilege of being continuously FILLED with the Holy Spirit. All of this is unique and distinctive to the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer in the Church Age.

God, the Holy Spirit, is the revealer of all Divine Truth ... the scriptures are the product of the Holy Spirit. He guides the believer and calls the Christian to various service in the body of Christ ... the Church.

Before the Church Age began officially ... on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not indwell believers, but He came upon some of them for special services like kings, prophets and priests. that is called INDUEMENT, which means to put on. He could be taken away as He was in the case of king Saul. Remember, David prayed, "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:11

We can't pray that prayer today. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:30 "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." We can grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, but never lose Him!

Believer ... STOP WORRYING ABOUT LOSING YOUR SALVATION because you have committed a sin which is unforgiveable! Your salvation was secure at the moment you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 10:28 tells us clearly, "I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."

Keep short accounts with God regarding your personal sins! Confess them to the Lord, forget about them and MOVE ON TO MATURITY through learning Bible Doctrine, applying Bible Doctrine and solving your own problems. You can do that only by a consistant intake of God's Word.

The last time we met here on the Website we saw how it is absolutely necessary for the believer in Jesus Christ to confess his/her known sins to the Lord in order to be in fellowship with Him.

When you hear good, doctrinal teaching, the Holy Spirit teaches your human spirit, and He makes the things taught understandable. When you believe what you hear, you store those things in a reference library in your mind.

When you have a question or a problem that needs solving, you can go to that reference library and recall what you learned, and then you can apply the necessary doctrine to the situation.

If you are persistent in knowing and doing God's will, you will also begin to build up a vocabulary that is Bible-oriented. (often, you will find things to be contrary to what you believed before and/or learned from your human resources, ie: the media, books, etc.) It will be up to you to examine and sort this information correctly!

The result of having a good reference library built up in your memory will be your ability to put what you learn into specific categories. Then, when you hear certain words, you will automatically refer to your memory in that reference library, and you will be able to use the information to help yourself as well as those who may come to you with their questions, (I'm not talking about counselling, but instead, that would be giving correct information which you have learned so that the person needing help can decide for themselves about your advice)

The Lord has given each one of us a conscience so we may make decisions about whether or not something we think or do is right or wrong. God's Word will convict us of wrong-doing so that we may confess it and move on. (hopefully, we will not keep repeating the same sins over and over again, because discipline will surely follow if we do!) Look at Isaiah's word ... "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)

Finally, if you really want to be wise in everything you do, you will listen, concentrate, learn, categorize, think and apply Bible Doctrine to every situation in life!

WISDOM is the application of Bible Doctrine to experience. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. God gave him this great wisdom when Solomon asked for guidance in ruling over Israel. (2 Chronicles 1:9-12)

Solomon gave us some excellent advice in Proverbs 1:5 ... "A wise man will hear and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels."

Also Solomon said, "The fear of the Lord (ie: reverence for Him) is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

When was the last time you were really motivated and excited about doing something? Maybe it was about taking a special vacation, going anywhere you think might make you happy? Some people spend all their lives in a FRANTIC SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS ... not that the things you want are not legitimate, but if you are a Christian, you should have certain priorities regarding finding what the Lord wants you to do. Of course, don't neglect your family or your responsibilities to your employer, etc., but you can always find time to do what you really want to do, can't you? BE HONEST ABOUT IT ... MOST OF US ARE NATURAL-BORN PROCRASTINATORS, AND WE KNOW IT!

Every Christian knows he/she is told by Peter to: "Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2) Then Timothy tells us to: "Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) Did you notice that Timothy said "rightly dividing the Word of Truth?" Anyone can take the Word of God and make it mean what they want to have it say, but that only leads to a lot of confusion ... and what's even worse ... FALSE TEACHING. That's why we have so many cults in the world today. Satan knows scripture too, and he influences unbelievers as well as untaught believers about twisting the scriptures to their liking!

Satan did that when he tempted Jesus right after Jesus was identified with the Father's plan for his 3-year ministry. In Matthew chapter 4 we have the details of that temptation, and it is in three parts, (1) Jesus, in perfect humanity, had gone without physical food for forty days. God the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He would be tempted (not tested, you understand), by Satan himself.

Wait ... before we really study the discourse between Jesus and Satan, we must understand that the word "IF" can mean four differerent things in the Bible. Only understanding that principal can clarify the way Satan used scripture in trying to get his way with Jesus. The four meanings of the Word (if) are as follows:

(a) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

(a) Paul told believers, "If you were suffering for righteousness sake ..." (I wish you were, but you're not)

READY TO TACKLE MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 and apply what we just said about the word "IF"?

Satan said to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread."

Jesus answered with scripture and said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Next, Satan said to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Satan used scripture, but twisted the word!)

Jesus answered again with scripture, "It is written again, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Finally, Satan misused scripture when he said as he took Jesus up to a high mountain where they both could see all the kingdoms of the world, "All these things will I give thee, If thou wilt fall down and worship me."

Jesus ordered, "Get thee hence, Satan for it is written, "Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

All four uses of the word (IF) are found in Matthew 4:1-11. Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God in perfect humanity. Satan thought he could destroy Jesus if He jumped from a high place. Satan is now, at this present time, ruler of the world, and his offer to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world was LEGITIMATE! The last temptation is a kind of combination of "maybe" and "wish", because Jesus had volition (a free will) to do what the Devil asked him to do.

We are also tempted as Christians, and 1 John 2:16 tells us clearly, "For all that is in the world, the LUST OF THE FLESH, the LUST OF THE EYES, and the PRIDE OF LIFE, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Satan tempted Eve in the same way also. Examine Genesis 3:6 to see that Eve hungered for the forbidden fruit, it was beautiful to look at, and she believed the lie Satan told her that she would be as wise as God if she ate the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

LET'S GET BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL SUBJECT ... MOTIVATION. If you are a Christian, you ought to want to please the Lord. If you don't, we have an illustration that can be like a mirror to look into when we just plug along not caring about God's plan and purpose for our lives. The illustration is found in PROVERBS 24:30-32 (Use your imagination, and think of yourself as a vineyard which the Lord planted ...)

"I went by the field of the slothful, and the vineyard of the man void of understanding. (no Bible Doctrine) And, lo it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it, and received instruction".

Then the next two verses in chapter 24 tell us what happens to the Christian who let's the cares of this world, etc. overtake his thoughts and actions. "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep; So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."

The believer with no Bible Doctrine in the thinking part of his mind, will be frantic under adverse situations. Remember, adversity is inevitible, but stress is what we do to ourselves!

BIBLE DOCTRINE which has been LEARNED, UNDERSTOOD, BELIEVED and APPLIED can be used when we face any adversity in life!

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In previous lessons we talked about the importance of being in fellowship with the Lord. Remember, we must NAME our sins to Him! It is a PRIVATE MATTER between you and the Lord!

Let's review the verse that best illustrates the principal: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) There are many other verses in the Bible to illustrate that principle ... one of them is Job's confession after he blamed God for his misfortune and complained about it to his friends. His confession is found in Job 40:4 where he says, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth." Then, after David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband which followed, David confessed those sins to the Lord, and tells us about it in Psalm 51:4: "Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight ..."

Conviction of sin doesn't always come from our own conscience or thought pattern where we have stored information regarding right and wrong ... it comes from getting into contact with God's Word! The Lord provided men with the gift of Pastor-teacher to study and give us the Bible Doctrine we so desperately need ... then we can take the things we've learned to the pages of scripture ourselves, where God the Holy Spirit can speak to us as believers in fellowship with the Lord. He then will point out our sins ... privately ... so we can confess them. The prophet Isaiah tells us, "... this is the way; walk ye in it." (Isaiah 30:21) Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6 & 7, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught; abounding therein with thanksgiving." We become believers through faith, and we are to walk by faith! We must be ROOTED IN BIBLE DOCTRINE, GROW SPIRITUALLY, and eventually become MATURE and EFFECTIVE for the Lord while we are alive on this earth.

Well, we've seen how important confession of sin is by which to stay in fellowship with the Lord. It is only then that we are TEACHABLE, because God the Holy Spirit teaches our human spirit ... not our soul. When we sin, we are quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit and we cannot learn spiritual things.

Did you know that right after a great spiritual victory we are most vulnerable to defeat? One of the great Old Testament prophets. Elijah, is a very good example to look at. Let's see what happened to him as we look at the events of his victory and his failure.

Elijah is introduced to us as he was sent to minister to Israel in the days when Ahab was king. Ahab was an apostate, carnal believer who had married a beautiful woman by the name of Jezebel. She was the daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon. Jezebel had great influence over Ahab, and because of that, he made very bad decisions which brought judgment upon the nation of Israel. Jezebel brought her idolatrous practices to Israel when she became queen, and she supported 450 prophets of the idol Baal and 400 prophets of the Astarte. Through her influence over Israel, Bible Doctrine was mixed with false, pagan doctrines which engulfed the people of Israel in idolatry. DISCIPLINE UPON THE KING AND THE ENTIRE NATION FOLLOWED.

A judgment of no rain for a three-year period was the message which God gave Elijah to take to king Ahab. After telling Ahab the bad news, Elijah was told to keep out of Ahab's sight to save his own life. During the time of drought and famine which followed, the Lord took care of Elijah's every need.

At the end of the three years, Elijah was told to go back again to Ahab to announce that rain was on the way to relieve the land. However, before that would happen, Ahab was told to gather the prophets of Baal, the prophets of the groves where idols were worshipped, and then to invite all the Israelites in the area to Mt Carmel where a sacrifice would be made.

When the people were gathered together before Elijah, he said to them, "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is god, follow him." The people listened to his words, but did not answer. Elijah went on speaking, "I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are 450!

Next, Elijah told the people to bring two bullocks for the sacrifice. The prophets of baal were to choose one for themselves to offer, and he would take the other. They were instructed to build an alter of wood on which to lay the offering, but put no fire under it ... then the false prophets were to call upon Baal to accept their offering. They did so, and then called upon Baal from morning to evening without getting any response. In the middle of that day, Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god .. either he is talking, or pursuing, or he is on vacation ... or maybe he's asleep and you have to wake him." The prophets even cut themselves in an effort to please Baal, but still no answer!

Then Elijah gathered the people to him. They watched while he repaired the altar for the Lord which was broken down. He took twelve stones ... one for each of the tribes of Israel ... and built an altar in the name of the Lord. He made a trench around the altar which would contain much water, placed wood on the altar, the pieces of the bullock and ordered the people to fill four barrels of water to pour into the trench as well as on the sacrifice itself. They did this twice, and everything was saturated with water. Next, Elijah came near to the altar and prayed aloud so that the onlookers could all hear him. "Hear me, O Lord; hear me that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou has turned their heart back again." When he finished his prayer, the fire of the Lord fell upon the sacrifice and consumed not only the animal, but the wood, the stones, the dust and all the water that was in the trench! When the people saw that, they fell on their faces and said, "The Lord, He is the God (the only God)"

After that, Elijah commanded that they bring all of the prophets of Baal before him, and the prophets were executed! Then Elijah turned to Ahab and said, "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain." Ahab gathered his robes about himself and high-tailed back to the palace to tell Jezebel about the events he had witnessed.

Jezebel was furious to learn that her prophets were slain by Elijah, and she sent a threatening note to Elijah. She could have sent an assassin with a dagger to finish him off, but instead, she frightened him with a note saying that by the next day he would be dead!

Well, our great, victorious Elijah ran for his life when he got that message from Jezebel! He went a day's journey into the wilderness and sat down under a tree where he asked the Lord to take his life ... it just wasn't worth living anymore ... poor Elijah! well, the Lord gave him food and rest and sent him on his way again. He spent forty days and forty nights on the strength of that food, and then he found a cave in which to hide. (He is fearful and not trusting the Lord ... he's out of fellowship!) (Fear is a sin)

The Lord spoke to Elijah in the cave and said, "...what doest thou here, Elijah?" By Elijah's answer, we know he was completely centered on himself and his problem when he said, "I have been very Zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, EVEN I ONLY, AM LEFT, AND THEY SEEK MY LIFE TO TAKE IT AWAY!" Then the Lord told Elijah to look out of the opening of the cave where he was hiding, and He sent a great wind that tore up the mountains and broke rocks around him. After that, the Lord sent a great earthquake, and followed it by fire to remind Elijah the LORD GOD IS OMNIPOTENT. After all the noise which the wind, earthquake and fire had made, God sent a STILL SMALL VOICE OF SILENCE. When that happened, Elijah wrapped his mantle about his face, and he went to the mouth of the cave to look out and see what was happening. God spoke to him again and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" The same answer containing all of the "I's" came back again. Then, because Elijah wouldn't confess his sin of fear and not trusting the Lord, the Lord said he would be replacing Elijah with another prophet ... Elijah could no longer have the respect of the people when he failed to trust the Lord! You can fill in all of the details to this story of Elijah by reading 1 Kings chapters 17, 18 and 19. Also see Ahab's confession in 1 Kings 21:27-29.

Elijah was still used by the Lord to some extent before he was taken up in a chariot of fire in a whirlwind before the very eyes of Elisha who was his replacement to minister to Israel. (2 Kings 2:11)

Elijah appeared with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Matthew 17:3) Again, he will appear with Moses as one of the two witnesses in the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. Revelation 11:3-12 give all the details of the event. Moses was the representative of the LAW, and Elijah was the representative of the PROPHETS ... the Law and the Prophets embrace the Old Testament scriptures and present them to the Jews as a witness to the truth of the Word of God.

Well, I trust you will read and digest all the information we have briefly touched on in our study ... it is important to understand how a great believer can fail ... we should profit from his mistake and learn to trust the Lord in our problems.

Hamartiology is a theological word for SIN. The word hamartiology comes from the Greek word HAMARTIA, which means to fall away or to miss the mark. It embraces the fact that EVERYTHING which is contrary to the expressed WILL OF GOD is SIN! Even though a sin is committed against another person or people, it is primarily against the LORD! King David said it beautifully in Psalm 51:4. This Psalm was written after David confessed his sins of adultery with Bathsheba followed by the murder of her husband to cover his sin of adultery. "AGAINST THEE, THEE ONLY, HAVE I SINNED, AND DONE THIS EVIL IN THY SIGHT: THAT (purpose of his confession) THOU MIGHTEST BE JUSTIFIED WHEN THOU SPEAKEST, AND BE CLEAR WHEN THOU JUDGEST."

1. IMPUTED ... "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam), sin entered into the world, and death (spiritual death) by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that ALL sinned." (because we are Adam's seed) (Romans 5:12

2. INHERENT ... "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) (we sin because we have a nature to sin)

3. PERSONAL ... "They are all gone of the way, they are altogether become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good and sinneth not." (Romans 3:12)

1. GOOD ........ Moral, kind, good citizen, etc. (this kind is hard to reach because he thinks he's okay)

2. BAD ............ This one knows he's bad, and is the easiest to reach with the Gospel. (a good illustration of "bad" is in the King James Bible: Acts 17:5, "But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them LEWD FELLOWS OF THE BASER SORT ..."

3. RELIGIOUS .. This kind of person is extremely difficult to reach, because they are always busy doing good deeds in the name of God.

Religion is in contrast to Christianity, because religion attempts to please God by their good works. Christianity is relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

About all three of these categories of men, God says, "as a man thinketh in his heart (mind), so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)

1. SPIRIT OF PRIDE: Exalted feeling based on success or position, good training, appearance, having a natural gift or ability, and having inner feeling of self-importance.

2. HAVING A LOVE FOR HUMAN PRAISE: Secretly wanting to be noticed or recoqnized by other Christians. Wanting supremacy drawing attention to yourself with conversation, exhibitionism or trying to make yourself look like a spiritual giant.

3. INTERACTION IN A GROUP: Showing anger or impatience with people, being touchy and sensitive., having resentment and retaliate when contradicted. Displaying jealousy, sour grapes attitude, being envious , etc.

4. BEING VERY SELF_WILLED: Having a stubborn or unteachable nature. Ready to be argumentative, a nit-picker, one who is critical, and who wants to mind everyone else's business.

5. MAGNIFYING OTHERS FAULTS: Showing the faults and failing of others while emphasizing your own virtues. Resenting it when others succeed and prosper.

6. HAVING A NEGATIVE DISPOSITION: Being peevish, fretful, wanting to be coaxed and honored. Being dishonest, deceitful, showing discouragement when under pressure after failure. Trying to solve your problems by hysteria and tantrums.

7. BEING APATHETIC: Being generally indifferent to Bible Study and Bible Doctrine in particular.

3. "Hands that shed innocent blood" ... MURDER (killing during war is not murder!)

4. "A heart (mind) that deviseth wicked imaginations" ... a mind that has jealousy; jealousy breeds suspicion; suspicion thinks the worst about someone.

5. "Feet that be swift in running to mischief" ... going around making trouble, mostly by use of the tongue.

6. "A false witness that speaketh lies" ... downgrading someone to make yourself look good to other people.

7. "He that soweth discord among the brethren" ... maligning someone; deliberately trying to separate one friend from another.

Sin unto death is no specific sin that a believer can commit, but it is a PRINCIPLE. In short ... it is caused by CONTINUAL CARNALITY in the believer's life! It is a sin which ignores GRACE, WARNING and DISCIPLINE. It is also a sin which has maximum adverse effect on other Christians.

(a) Saul had no business offering sacrifices. He was King, not a priest. A priest didn't show up when Saul thought he should, so Saul acted against the known will of God. Saul was told to utterly destroy the Amalakites, but he didn't kill their king.

5. Being self-righteous and depending upon man instead of God. (Isaiah 38 in the life of King Hezekiah.)

6. Turning apostate (standing off from the Word of God and using human viewpoint instead of Divine Viewpoint! Numbers 31-8 in the life of Balaam; 1 Timothy 1:19,20 in the lives of Hymenaeus and Alexander.)

SOME OF THESE SINS ARE OVERT AND SOME ARE MENTAL ATTITUDES. As you look at the verses we've listed, see if you can distinguish one from the other, and then consider what they mean and what you should avoid in your own life.

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Since time began, man has worshipped someone or something, because there is something in man's nature which prompts him to some sort of faith or worship.

Adam and Eve taught their children how to worship the true God, but the boys decided for themselves as to how they would worship. Abel sacrificed a lamb in obedience to the acceptable sacrifice ordained by the Lord, and it was pleasing to the Lord. Cain didn't obey God, and he brought some beautiful produce he had grown as a sacrifice, God did not accept Cain's offering, and when Cain saw that he was rejected and his brother was accepted, he became angry and jealous with the result that he murdered his brother Abel.

A great many men and women through history have been murdered and martyred in the name of RELIGION. Technically, religion is what man thinks will please God ... it is by something he himself does. In contrast, CHRISTIANITY is what God has done ... namely, Jesus Christ dying for the sins of the world on Calvary's cross over 1900 years ago.

Let's take a closer look at RELIGION. In a sense, it is IDOLATRY in which a person gives outward religious service to an object or even to a person.

In idolatrous practices, people worship inanimate objects, such as stones, trees, rivers, animals, the sun, moon, stars, fire, their deceased ancestors, etc. All ancient civilizations, had their heathen gods. The Egyptians worshipped many gods and portrayed them as a bird or animal-headed Egyptian deity. The Canaanites were famous for their worship of fertility and moral abandonment. Theirs was so degrading that the Lord ordered the Israelites to kill every man, woman, child and even their animals in order to prevent the spread of their evil practices to Israel. Babylonia and Assyria worshipped the sun, moon, fire, angels and fertility gods, All of those false gods had eyes, but could not see; and they had ears, which could not hear.

In sharp contrast, we have the ONLY TRUE GOD who has many attributes which we need to look at and understand. They are as follows:

1.) God is the supreme ruler of the universe! Psalm 10:16 tells us, "The Lord is KING forever and ever...."

2.) God's absolute RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE are synonymous with His HOLINESS. 1 Samuel 2:2 says it this way, "There is none HOLY as the Lord; for there is none beside thee."

3.) God's perfect LOVE is displayed to man on Calvary's cross where Jesus Christ paid the penalty for the sins of the world. John 3:16 says it all: "For God so LOVED the world, that He sent His only begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

4.) God is ETERNAL. He had no beginning, and He has no ending. In Revelation 22:13 we read, "I am Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

5.) God has perfect and complete KNOWLEDGE about anything and everything in the universe. He is OMNISCIENT. In Proverbs 15:3 we are told, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

6.) God is all powerful. He is able to do anything and everything that is in harmony with His wise and perfect nature. He is OMNIPOTENT. Jeremiah 32:27 tells us, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me?"

7.) God is everywhere. He alone is free from the laws of limitation of space. He is OMNIPRESENT> David said in Psalm 139:7&8: "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in the heart of the earth, behold Thou art there.

8.) God never changes. He is IMMUTABLE. Malachi said, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." Malachi 3:6

9.) God is absolute TRUTH. That means He is VERACITY. Jesus told some of his listeners,"...I am the way, the TRUTH and the Life; no man cometh to the Father but by ME". John 14:6

Well, we have had a brief look at the characteristics or attributes of God. If you want to hear the Lord speak about Himself, read what He said to Job in Job chapters 38, 39, 40 and 41. It is truly awesome and very humbling for all believers.

Here's a question I'd like you to think about ... if you had a party and had a beautiful 4-tiered cake on the table, would you cut it for your guests, or would you just have them dig in with their hands and get what they could for themselves?

If you said they should dig in with their hands, ...UGH...SHUDDER...THUD! Well, I'm sure you didn't give that answer, but that's the way a lot of people interpret the Bible ... no kidding!!!

We are told in 2 Timothy 2:15 that we are to "Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly D I V D I N G the Word of Truth," What does DIVIDING mean? Well, the writer of Hebrews explains it this way ... "God who at sundry times, and in divers manners spake in time past ... "(Hebrews 1:1) In the original Greek language the "sundry times and diverse manners" means BY MANY PORTIONS. The "many portions" are called DISPENSATIONS by theologians.

From the time of Adam and Eve until we meet a Chaldean Gentile by the name of Abram, we have the AGE OF THE GENTILES. There was a specific time period given to that particular DISPENSATION. Then, Abram, who was a Gentile, became the first Jew through obedience to the Lord. The Lord told Abram that he would be the father of a new race of people called the Jews, and He also told Abram how much time those people would have on the earth to represent Him to the world. Here is how the Lord explained it to Abram: "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. (he had a nightmare!) And He (the Lord) said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them for four-hundred years. And also, that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge. Afterward, shall they come out with great substance, and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace! Thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation, they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." (before the people would be brought back to the land which God promised to them, certain people had to reach total depravity and be eliminated)

God had promised Abram a son, but when Abram was 99 years old and sexually dead, he still had no son by his wife Sarah. Of course she had passed the child-bearing age too. Finally, Abram believed that what God promised, He was able to do ... it was then that God changed his name to Abraham, which means in the Hebrew language, "Father of many nations." Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah

The Lord promised the Jews that they would have 490 years to be His representative nation on the earth. That period of time is called the AGE OF THE JEWS. It includes the 33 years when Jesus Christ, in perfect humanity as the God-man, ministered on this earth. Theologians call that "THE HYPOSTATIC UNION" ... ie: God and man in one Person forever.

When the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, God cut their 490 years short by seven years. That 7-year period is know as the TRIBULATION, and it will follow the CHURCH AGE in which we now live.

The Church Age was a mystery to the Old Testament prophets. They saw the CROSS (read Isaiah 55); they saw the TRIBULATION (read Isaiah 34); and they saw the KINGDOM, or MILLENIUM. (read Isaiah 35)

The Lord did not give a specific period of time to the CHURCH. Only the Lord Himself knows when it will end, but we are told what will happen when it does come to an end. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives us the picture: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, Brethren, concerning them which are asleep (death is temporary for the believer), that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (preceed) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, and with the trump of god, and the dead in Christ (believers who died during the Church Age) shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Then in 1 Corinthians, Paul said, "Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption (our physical bodies) must put on incorruption (resurrection bodies), and this mortal must put on immortality." 1Cor 15:51-53

There is only one Person in the universe who has a resurrection body, and that belongs to Jesus Christ. (Many people were raised from the dead, but it was not resurrection ... it was rescussitation) Jesus christ, in a resurrection body, is now seated in the 3rd heaven (beyond our atmosphere and beyond outer space) where He is waiting for the time when He will meet the Church Age believers in the air and take them, in resurrection bodies, to heaven. Theologians call that event "THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH". When the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH takes place, the Church Age will come to an end, and the age of the Jews will resume right where it was cut off after the death, burial, resurrection and ascention of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me give you a simple little illustration I like to use...it is something almost everyone understands. In a football game, time is very important while the game is in progress. In Bowl games especially, a lot happens during the half-time period when the clock has been stopped temporarily. When the game begins again, time is all-important, and the players come back on the field to resume the game. Eventually, the game comes to an end. The Church Age interrupts the Age of the Jews in a similar way.

The TRIBULATION period of 7 years will complete the 490 years which were promised to the Jews. While the Jews are on the earth during that seven years, the Church Age believers will be evaluated and then rewarded accordingly at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.

The TRIBULATION will begin with only unbelievers, but many of them will find Jesus Christ as their Saviour shortly after the RAPTURE, because the Gospel was given to them during the Church Age. The 7 years is divided by 3 1/2 years of peace, and 3 1/2 years of the worst bloodshed the world has ever known.

During the first 3 1/2 peaceful years, the nations which were part of the old Roman Empire will again be cooperating with each other. From that federation of nations, a man will become so powerful and well-received that he will become a world dictator. He will deceive the people ... especially the Jews ... and the Jews will accept him as their Messiah.

In the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, we will see how Satanic influence will bring the kings of the NORTH, WEST< EAST and SOUTH together to join forces and descend upon Israel to destroy that nation. The Lord Himself will return to stop the horrible bloodshed which is the result of the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. Theologians have a name for Christ's return to the earth ... it is called "THE DAY OF THE LORD, or THE SECOND ADVENT".

In the middle of the TRIBULATION, that dictator, who is called in scripture by several names including "THE BEAST", will place a statue of himself in the new temple in Jerusalem which was built during the first 3 1/2 year period. When the Jews see that statue in their temple, they will realize that they have been deceived ... the statue is called, "THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION" in the Bible. The Lord has given instructions in His Word through Old Testament prophecies, to run and hide from their enemies. The Lord also chose 7,000 Jewish evangelists, who have been instructed to preach the Gospel under very adverse circumstances, and they will be martyred.

When the Lord comes back to the earth, He will descend upon the Mount of Olives from which He ascended nineteen hundred years ago. He will put Satan and his angels (demons) in a pit where they will be locked up for 1,000 years while Jesus Christ reigns as absolute monarch on the earth. It will be a time of perfect environment and perfect justice. During the 1,000 years, children will be born, and there will be no death except where capital punishment is involved. Most of the children will reject Jesus Christ as their substitute for sin, even though they saw Him ruling in perfect environment. The all-important lesson for us to learn through that testing period is that IT ISN'SATAN OR HIS DEMONS WHO CAUSE US TO BE NEGATIVE TOWARD GOD ... MAN'S WORST ENEMY IS HIS OLD SIN NATURE!!!

At the end of the MILLENIUM, Satan and his demons will be released from their imprisonment in order to temp those people who had not made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their substitute for sin. After that, Satan and his angels will be thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE which was prepared for them.

Then God will judge all unbelievers of all the ages at what is called "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. He will judge them "according to their works" The apostle John, the human author of the book of Revelation, was on the Island of Patmose where the Lord told him what to write about the last days of mankind on the earth. He tells us in Revelation 20:11-15: "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaved fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened. (the 'dead' refer to all people who rejected Christ as their Saviour at God-consciousness, and again at Gospel hearing) John goes on to say, "And another book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell (which is hades in the hearth of the earth) gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every man according to his works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast into the Lake of Fire.

Everyone's name is placed into the Book of Life when they are born physically. The only people who are not responsible for their decision regarding Jesus Christ are those who never mentally reach ACCOUNTABILITY... they are automatically saved because God is perfect JUSTICE. All responsible unbelievers who stand in a resurrection body at the last judgment will be shown where their name was written in the Book of Life when they were born, and they will see that their name was BLOTTED OUT and written in the BOOK OF WORKS. Human works are NOT acceptable to the Lord, so, because they rejected Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they will stand on their own good works. Their judgment will be to join Satan and his angels in the Lake of Fire and share his eternal death.

ETERNAL LIFE comes only by believing in the work of Jesus Christ, dying on the cross for your sins ... THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!!!.

What we have covered here on the subject of DISPENSATIONS is actually very brief. If you want a more detailed study of this all-important study, contact us, and you will be given information on how you can get a more in-depth study.

Recently, a question came from one of our viewers regarding the subject, THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, so here are some thoughts and words on that important subject.

The Bible teaches us in Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

Renewing your mind comes by way of LISTENING , CONCENTRATING, UNDERSTANDING, BELIEVING and APPLYING (which is doing) what God'sWord teaches. If we refuse to follow those steps and go our own way, we will spend our time here on earth in self-absorption, which is CARNALITY. When a believer is out of fellowship (carnal) he cannot be distinguished from an unbeliever, because his sin nature is in control of his thoughts and actions. Our sin nature is not in control of our life when we are in fellowship with the Lord, but instead, the Holy Spirit controls our lives and the production of the Holy Spirit can be seen as a result. The apostle Paul calls that production, THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. The fruit which is produced is Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Self-Control.

Jesus Christ, in perfect humanity, was filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, and the fruit of the Spirit was evident in His life continually. When He was still on this earth, Jesus told His disciples that the Father would send the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to indwell them after He left the earth. That took place 70 days after Jesus died, was buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven. Now, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell every Christian in this Church-Age at the moment he/she believes in Jesus Christ as their saviour. He cannot be taken away from us, however, He can be quenched or grieved by our sinful thoughts and actions.

Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given only to a few believers for special service. The Holy Spirit would come upon some designated people like Samson. King Saul, King David, the prophets, etc. That was called ENDUEMENT, and He could be taken away because of carnality.

We can all understand familiar, physical illustrations, and the Bible gives us those illustrations to teach us spiritual truths. For example: Fruit is the production of a good, well-cared-for tree. So is a Christian's production pleasing to God when he is in fellowship with the Lord, because the Holy Spirit is doing the producing. It is not what you and I can do that is pleasing to the Lord!! Remember, Satan is a great immitator, and he can make people do things that look like the fruit of the Spirit in order to distract and confuse the onlookers.

Let's contrast the FRUIT of the SPIRIT with the production of the Old Sin Nature. We are told in Galatians 5:19-21 that when we, as Christians, are out of fellowship with God because we have known sin in our life and we do not confess that sin to the Lord, certain things can be produced in our lives by the Old Sin Nature control of our life. The evidence of that is as follows:

Adultery and fornication, which are unrestrained sexual desires and activities contrary to the will of God; uncleanness and lasciviousness, which are considered to be immoral acts in general; Idolatry, which is making someone or something more important to the Christian than the Lord; witchcraft, which is addiction to anything; hatred; variance, which is to always be disagreeable; emulations, which is making yourself look better than someone else to call attention to yourself; wrath, which is fierce anger; strife, which is to be argumentative; seditions, which means to stir up trouble against any lawful authority; heresies, which is to hold an opinion or doctrine which is contrary to God's truth; envyings; murders; drunkenness; and revellings, which means to take great pleasure in wild riotous living.

All those we mentioned are the production of our sinful natures, and it certainly isn't an attractive picture for anyone to look at!!!

The Holy Spirit's production is in sharp contrast ... it is definitely not of our doing!!! Let's take the characteristics which can be evident in our lives when we are in fellowship with the Lord. Notice, all of the components make up ONE FRUIT ... IT IS A PACKAGE with all of the following things evident as we need to use them:

LOVE............................having a relaxed mental attitude toward all people; having no malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, etc. toward anyone

JOY...............................having inner happiness, regardless of outer circumstances

PEACE..........................having inner peace of mind, free from worry and anxiety

GENTLENESS..............showing kindness toward everyone, whether they deserve it or not in our estimation

MEEKNESS...................having true humility ... knowing who and what we are, and knowing Who and What the Lord is

Let's learn to keep "short accounts" with God by confessing our sins as soon as we're aware of them. Only then are we in fellowship with the Lord, and only then can the Holy Spirit produce the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in our lives. David understood that the Lord would not restore fellowship with him until he confessed his sins. Psalm 66:18, "If I regard iniquity in my hearth, the Lord will not hear me."

End of lesson eleven Jump to top ____________________________________________________________________________________________

In many ways, thinking for ourselves is a rather foreign word in our vocabularies these days. With the mass media constantly telling us what to think, and the new technology we have doing much of our thinking for us, where we used to rely on our own skills, is it any wonder that we don't put our brains to the best possible use?

Have you ever sincerely thought about why you are here? Well, God's Word tells us we are here to make a decision regarding the Lord Jesus Christ during our lifetime. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."

When Adam disobeyed God, his human spirit died, and he lost his fellowship with the Lord. At that time, he received a sin nature. We are the descendants of Adam, and when we are born, we have a body and soul. The body has a sin nature within it which was passed down to us from Adam.

If we put our faith in the work of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins, we are said to be born-again, and our dormant human spirit is activated by God the Holy Spirit. Then we can have fellowship with God and begin to understand spiritual things.

The apostle Peter said, "Being born-again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible; by the Word of God, which lived and abideth forever." (1 Peter 1:23)

After the new birth, we are babies, and we must grow spiritually just as a human baby grows physically. We do that by taking in God's Word ... learning basic things and eventually being able to understand more complex doctrines in the Bible.

Peter gives us more good advice in 1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." We must learn Bible Doctrine ... not someone's own application or thoughts ABOUT the scriptures!

What is DOCTRINE? The word doctrine means teaching. Bible Doctrine is teaching what the Bible says about specific subjects from Genesis to Revelation. After we do that, we can come up with a correct conclusion about each of those subjects. Then we will have God's viewpoint. When we understand Divine Viewpoint, our lives should improve, and our problems can be handled by applying the doctrine we have learned.

Next ... how do we learn Bible Doctrine? We live in the Church Age, and God has Given the gift of Pastor-Teacher to certain prepared men who can give believers the tools with which to study and learn Bible Doctrine. The Lord will guide you into the place where you can get good teaching, so be patient!

Next, the question often comes from believers ... "Why should I study the Bible? Timothy answers that question by the following answer: "Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) Also, David gives us another reason to study in Psalm 119:11: "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

We grow up spiritually by learning to think the way God thinks! The Bible is the mind of Christ. The apostle Paul explains it this way in 1 Corinthians 2:16: "... for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ."

Let's start by applying some principles. (1) you must DESIRE to be taught, (2) you must be WILLING to listen and concentrate on the things which are taught (3) when you UNDERSTAND and BELIEVE what is taught correctly, you will be THINKING about the things you have learned and (4) thinking should result in APPLYING what is learned to your life every day. When you learn, think and apply Bible Doctrine, you become your own counsellor, and you will be able to solve your own problems by applying and using that knowledge for yourself. Then you will find God's plan for your life! The Holy Spirit convicts us through His Word so we may live our lives to please the Lord!

Once you have made the important decision to listen to good teaching and learn Bible Doctrine, you must make it a priority in your life. You will receive some opposition from people who are afraid you are getting spiritual indigestion. The Lord will test you to see if you really are serious. Good and legitimate activities will attempt to take most of your free time. However, you must not neglect your family, because that is your responsibility, but you can find time to study if you want to!

Divine guidance is promised for the believer in Psalm 32:8:, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shall go; I will guide thee with mine eye." To find God's will for you, you must understand that God has three wills which are: (1) directive will, (2) permissive will and (3) overruling will. All three of these are illustrated beautifully in the life of a man by the name of Balaam. You can read all of the details in Numbers chapters 22, 23, 24.

Now that you are a Christian, you are in two places at the same time. That's right! The moment you believed in Christ, the Holy Spirit placed you into union with Christ. You share His destiny and His eternal life. No one can ever change that! Jesus makes it very clear in John 10:28: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." You also are still in a physical body, and you have a sin nature to deal with every day. When we are out of fellowship with the Lord through acts of personal sin, we are called "carnal" in the scriptures. When we are carnal, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and God the Father is not happy with us.

God has a perfect solution for restoring our fellowship with Him when we admit our sins to Him. 1 John 1:9 explains it this way, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God wants us to NAME our sins to Him, and when we do, we are forgiven immediately! We must learn to keep SHORT ACCOUNTS with the Lord by confessing our known sins right away. He forgives that sin, and He also cleanses us from all of the unknown sins in our life. David prayed, "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." (Psalm 19:12)

God called David "a man after My own heart" in 1 Samuel 13:14. Do you think that was because David never sinned? NO! David certainly committed some capital sins when he was king of Israel. What made him so great was the fact that David confessed his sins and took full responsibility for his actions!

One time when David got out of fellowship with the Lord, he was not in the place where the Lord wanted him to be. He should have been on the battlefield with his troops. Instead, david sent his general and the army to the battle while he stayed home and pampered himself. He slept most of the day, and when he got up from his bed, David took a stroll through his garden on the roof of the palace. From that vantage point. David observed a beautiful woman bathing on her rooftop nearby. He inquired as to who she was, and then David sent for her. He committed adultery with the woman, whose name was Bathsheba, and then he apparently forgot about the incident. Awhile later, Bathsheba sent word to David telling him that she was carrying his child. David was afraid of the embarrassment that would follow if he did nothing about it, so he sent for her husband, Uriah, who was an officer in the army, and brought Uriah home from the battle. David wanted Uriah to spend time with his wife in order to cover David's sin of adultery. Uriah refused to go to his house, so David arranged to have him set in the front line of battle SO THAT HE WOULD BE KILLED. That was a very clear command in 2 Samuel 11:14,15. Sounds like murder, doesn't it? After Uriah was killed in battle, David took Bathsheba to be his wife, and the child was born. David stayed out of fellowship and he refused to confess those sins for nearly a year ... he was in the process of dying when the Lord graciously sent Nathan, the prophet, to David with a story to illustrate how wrong he was. The details of this part of David's life are found in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12.

David's confession is found in Psalm 51:4 when He said to the Lord, "Against thee, and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." David knew that all sin is primarily against the Lord, and we must also understand that very important principle!

David was forgiven as soon as he confessed his sins, but there was a four-fold discipline which followed. We also are forgiven when we confess our sins, but we don't get away with sin!

Where should you begin reading in your Bible? Certainly not with the book of Revelation ... that seems to be where most Christians want to begin, because they are naturally curious about the future. Remember that Revelation is the LAST book in the Bible ... sixty-five other books preceed it, and unless you have a thorough understanding of the Old Testament scriptures, you will only be confused by the contents of the book of Revelation.

Well, you should begin to read the Bible just as you would read any other book ... you start at the beginning! When you do that, you will be able to get the "big picture" and just some scattered information here and there. You won't understand a lot of what you read, but keep reading anyway! Now and then there will be a glimmer of light!

There are many promises to be found as you read the scriptures, and they are intended primarily for a particular person or group of people. However, you can still get some application from those promises for yourself. For example: At the Red Sea incident the Egyptians were in hot pursuit of the Children of Israel after they were freed from their four-hundred years of bondage in Egypt. The Israelites were frightened out of their wits, but Moses said, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the lord, He will show you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:13,14) It is very obvious that those words were for the Israelites who were with Moses, but you can claim that promise when you have a serious problem which you can't handle!

As you read your Bible, you will also see how the Lord sometimes gives a complete picture of an event, and then He goes back to the beginning of that same event and fills in the details. Perhaps you have told a story to someone in that same way ... I know I have done that many times!

Many Christians concentrate on Psalms or some other favorite book in the Bible that they personally enjoy, but I have noted that those believers never really get the full scope of what God wants them to know. Please avoid that trap!

One more warning ... there are many books available which were written by sincere and well-meaning people who talk about their own ideas about the Bible teaches without basing those ideas on solid Biblical doctrine. What they say may be an emotional stimulant, but that doesn't help you grow spiritually. God gave us emotions so we can appreciate things like good music, etc. but what we really need in order to put solid meat on our spiritual bones is a correct interpretation of scripture, Then we will know what God wants to say to us, and the Holy Spirit can teach our human spirit the things which affect us personally and privately as we absorb and categorize the Word of God.

Another question you may ask is, "What happens to the Bible Doctrine I'm learning?" You will begin to store Biblical information in a special compartment in your mind, where it can be made available to you when you need it. Next, you will begin to put various subjects into categories. One example of that might be to answer the question, "What does the Bible say about the subject of death?" You will learn that there are seven different kinds of death listed in the scriptures, and they are:

When you have learned those things about the subject of death, you can identify them as you read your Bible, and it will make good sense to you. You can do that with many other major doctrines in the scriptures, and it will keep you from mistranslating and being confused.

While you are maturing as a Christian by getting Bible Doctrine in your mind daily, you will build a "self-portrait" of yourself. You can study that portrait regularly and see that you can refer to it when you have a question. Also it will be in your memory and your vocabulary as well as separated into categories. You will learn how to identify sins so you can confess them to the Lord and stay in fellowship, and last of all, you will apply Bible Doctrine to your experiences in life, and that will make you wise in the eyes of God.

I trust that the things we have examined in this brief study of Bible Doctrine will help you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

End of lesson twelve Jump to top __________________________________________________________________________

Let's look at some of Satan's strategies in our lesson today and see how God looks at various situations that take place in our universe.

Satan, the Devil, hates mankind, and one of his objectives is to confound and confuse our thinking and try to make us believe that all problems in the world can be solved by man's efforts.

ENVIRONMENT is a topic of interest to many people these days. The dictionary says that environment involves those things which surround and influence the circumstances in which we live. Everyone wants to find perfect environment. Many people believe that all man's problems could be solved if we create such an atmosphere through man's own efforts. That kind of thinking is just human viewpoint ... it will not be done by any action of man! God is the creator of all things, and He alone is the ultimate source of all climatic changes and disasters that occur in the universe. He has a purpose for every tornado, hurricane, earthquake, etc. Sometimes, these disasters are just a warning, and other times they are used by the Lord as a disciplinary action.

The Bible tells us of two instances when perfect environment is on the earth. Satan successfully deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. The second time will be a future occasion when Satan will be released from the bottomless pit where he is incarcerated for 1,000 years, and he will be allowed to invade that perfect environment for a short time before his final judgment is carried out.

Sadly, even in perfect environment, man decided and will decide to listen to satanic lies and rebel against God! All of this proves that man's worst enemy is not the Devil after all ... man's worst enemy is his own sinful nature!

If you are a Christian, you have found the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) If you have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot find perfect environment or peace, regardless of how hard you try, so don't put it off any longer..."BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED". (Acts 16:31)

Here's another example of Satanic deception... PEACE. Man has been unsuccessful in making peace that lasts for any length of time, because people have a sin nature which motivates their power lust to conquer and control others. In Isaiah 48:22, God tells us, "THERE IS NO PEACE, SAITH THE LORD, UNTO THE WICKED." Also, Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Psalm 14:1 shows us God's viewpoint of sinful, unregenerate mankind..."THE FOOL HATH SAID IN HIS HEART, THERE IS NO GOD. They are corrupt. They have done abdomnible works. There is none that doeth good." Again, the only lasting peace is the peace which God gives to those who trust in the work of Jesus Christ dying for our sins on the cross. Only then can we have the inner peace which Isaiah tells us about ... "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

Another idea which Satan promotes as good is ECCUMENICALISM, or a world church. You might ask ... why not have one church? Can't we all cooperate with one another since we all have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer is NO! That can never work satisfactorily, because we would have to compromise important doctrinal issues. The Lord tells us we are not to CHANGE everyone or force our beliefs on others, but we are told to SEPARATE from Christians who hold, as truth, doctrines which are contrary to sound Biblical teaching! We are admonished to not cooperate with some, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 16:17..."NOW I BESEECH YOU, BRETHREN, BEWARE OF THEM WHICH CAUSE DIVISIONS AND OFFENSES CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE WHICH YE HAVE LEARNED, AND AVOID THEM." Also, Titus 3:10 says we must reject those who promote heresy and will not be corrected. Heresy is a departure from revealed truth which is found in the scriptures. The only way to identify heresy is to know the doctrines of God's Word so well that you are able to discern between TRUTH and HERESY< which is false doctrine.

SOCIALISM is another one of Satan's ideas. It teaches that people can be equal by way of robbing the "have's" and giving it to the "have-nots". Jesus told us that the poor will ALWAYS BE WITH US! (Matthew 26:11) When you take away from achievers and give it to those who don't try to help themselves, you destroy the will of people to better themselves. When you take away free enterprise, everything and everybody has to depend upon big government for their needs. The result is loss of freedom! If a person disagrees with a Socialist state, he is imprisoned or fined and sometimes executed. In other words, the idea that "if you can get members of the human race in proper adjustment to other members of the human race, all problems can be solved," IS THE SOCIAL GOSPEL, and it is being permeated in many areas in which we are involved. This is NOT the plan of God! Revelation 12:9 says that Satan deceives the entire world! Now he is in the process of doing that, and his deception is aimed at the four Divine Institutions, which are: VOLITION, MARRIAGE, FAMILY and NATIONALISM. God has divided the human race into national entities by race, language and geographical location, because He knows it is the only way the human race can survive!

Satan promotes and loves INTERNATIONALISM! Internationalism WILL become a reality during the 7-year Tribulation period that will immediately follow the Church Age in which we now live. God the Holy Spirit will NOT be indwelling or influencing people who are living at that time, so Satan will have no resistance against his plan for Internationalism, except that he is still only a creature, and he is in subjection to God who created him. God's PERMISSIVE WILL will allow Satan to carry out his plan.

Satan will indwell and control a man who will appear on the world scene at the beginning of the Tribulation, and he will deceive the nations by way of 3 1/2 years of peace. Eccumenical religion will also be in full sway during those years. In the middle of the Tribulation, Satan's man will put a statue of himself in the new temple which will be built in Jerusalem. Then he will destroy the religious system and demand that everyone worship his image! Daniel was told in Daniel chapters 7 through 12, about the things that will occur under the rulership of Satan's man. It was so terrible and frightening to him that Daniel 8:27 tells us that Daniel fainted and was ill for days when he was given the details. Also, Daniel 10:15 says he was so shocked, he couldn't speak for awhile!

Satan's man is called "the man of sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and he is also called "the Anti-Christ" (1 John 2:22) and the "Beast" (Revelation 20:10) He is definitely indwelt and empowered by Satan, and some Bible scholars believe he is actually the Devil incarnate.

The Anti-Christ will force everyone to wear a stamp on their hands or foreheads in order to identify them with his kingdom. No one will be able to buy food or clothing without the "mark of the Beast". (Revelation 13:16)

The final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation will find the world involved in the worst and bloodiest war in the history of mankind. The final battle is called "THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON" (Revelation 16:16)

To stop the bloodshed and set up His own righteous kingdom, Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives ... the spot from which He ascended over 1900 years ago, and the battle of Armageddon will end. Jesus Christ will put Satan and his demons into a bottomless pit, where they will remain during the Millennial reign of Christ, and after that he will be released one more time in order to tempt those who are born during the Millenium. After that, he will be cast into the Lake of Fire...his final judgment!