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Application of God's Word to our Personal Life.

The Bible tells us that we must have three different witnesses  in our life when we come to stand before God for our personal judgment.  The outcome of our personal judgment is based upon the quality and quantity of each of these three witnesses.  We must show that we have:

  1. Evidence of God changing our personal life
  2. Evidence of God working through our life to minister to others
  3. Evidence of using God's interpretation of the Bible

The requirement for these three witnesses  is explained in greater detail in Lesson 01 of the Hermeneutics lessons.  The remainder of those lessons deal with how we get the required 'Evidence of using God's interpretation of the Bible'  What is below are a series of Sunday School lessons that I taught on 'How to get God to bless your personal life'.  This is the most basic part of the method on how to get the witness  in our life which provides the 'Evidence of God changing our personal life'.  Most of the lessons from Reformers Unanimous also teach the same thing but their lessons are from a different perspective and far more detailed.  Therefore, it is adviced that the reader also consult the information that is available at that web site and from that organization.

Please note that these lessons have a lot of room for expansion.  I have not had the time to do that expansion and am not sure when I will have the time.  The lessons completed so far include:

  Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth
  Basic Worship
  Basic Bible Reading and Study
  Spirit versus Flesh
  Go Ye
  Basic prayer
 

Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth.

Righteousness  is defined as 'Doing the right thing at the right time and using the right way with the right attitude'.  Our 'Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth' tells us the 'right attitude' and the 'right actions' to do at three different times every day: when waking, just before sleeping and all day long.

Acts 3:1-11:  Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.  And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.  And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.  And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.  And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
Acts 3:16:"  And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Acts 4:4:"  Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Acts 4:16:"  Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
Acts 4:22:"  For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
  1. Start of Each Day: Start each day with personal worship and reading God's Word.

    1. This man went to the Temple to beg.
      Many people going into the Temple would say that they only had money for the Temple offering and nothing left to give him.  He would have a better chance for begging if he went near where rich men took girlfriends to impress them because giving to the poor man indicates a generous heart, which a woman wants to see.  However, he couldn't walk.  So he had people deliver him where he could drag himself in to worship God.  He put his relationship and worship to God above physical needs even while being a beggar.

    2. He went daily.
      He didn't go only for special occasions or only once a week or by anything less than daily.  Notice that Acts 3:2 says daily  and Acts 3:10 says that everyone knew who he was because they always saw him there.

    3. He was godly.
      Acts 4:22 tells us that he was forty years old.  He kept up with his daily worship for 40 years without getting healing, even though he surely prayed for it often.  No one does this without God's help and God's Holy Spirit actively helping them in their life.  Further, everyone knew who he was and came forward to see what had been done to him.  If he was ungodly and acted like a bitter person or someone who complained about what God let him suffer, people would have avoided him and not know who he was.  They wouldn't care about the good that God did for him.  He had faith in God's goodness that made him someone that people liked and he stayed this way for 40 years in spite of not getting an answer from God.

  2. All Day Long: Do the work that God gave you to do.
    1. Do the Great Commission: Witness to all that you can.
      1. Our story tells us And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.  He gathered the people.  They came because of him, not because of Peter and John.
      2. Our story continues with Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.  (In Acts 4:4).  Notice that this says men.  Therefore, it probably ended up with about 15,000 when the men brought their women and children to church.  This is 5times the number at Pentecost.
      3. Notice that Acts 3:16 says And his name through faith in his name (Jesus) hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.  Peter preached, but it was based upon what happened to this man.  1Corinthians 3:6 says: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  We don't have to be the one preaching or the one who leads someone in a sinner's prayer.  People who participate in any part of soul winning get credit for the souls with God.

    2. Do the Ministry of the church: As often as you can help wth the things of the church that need to be done.
      1. Leap to obey the man of God when his instructions help the ministry of the church and they do not go against what the Bible literally says.

        Our opening verses told us And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.  And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

      2. Notice that Peter gave no text reference but his command matched the Spirit of the God of the Bible.  This man had to act in faith in the man of God and in the God Who works through the man of God, in order to obey.  He did not argue with the man of God when told to do the impossible but did his best to obey.

      3. His act (And he leaping up stood, and walked)  required him to do what was physically impossible but he obeyed in faith that God would do what he could not do.  The people of God lost the blessings of God when they listened to the 10 spies who looked at human weakness.  The 2 spies who looked at God's power received the blessings.  We must keep our eyes on God's ability and not our own inability.

      4. He acted in obedience.  He didn't just decide to do something on his own.  Hebrews 13:17 says:Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.  Since the man of God must watch for your souls  and must give account,  God gives them special revelation that does not go against what the Bible literally says but reveals how to apply the Bible in circumstances when the Bible does not tell us exactly what to do.  For example, The Bible says to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel.  My pastor told me to pray about going to the Philippines.  The Bible does not name a specific place for us to go.  I am here in obedience to my pastor when I wanted nothing to do with going so far from home.  In addition, since the man of God must watch for your souls  and must give account,  God gives them special motivation to guide God's people to be spiritually productive in the ministry.  This not only increases their blessings but it also increases our blessings.

  3. End Each Day: Do not go to sleep until you review what God has done in and through your life that day and thank God for each thing.
    1. Our story tells us: And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.  And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple.  Ever try to teach a child to say thanks? They don't want to say it because they don't hear adults thanking God for all that they have.  Someone doesn't act like this unless they have a lot of prior practice saying thanks.

    2. I've had multiple healings from God and found that saying 'thank you'' is one of the most important parts to getting anything from God.  I've visited people in the hospital who thought I was asking too much when I told them to witness and thank God for anything that He gives them.  They did not receive any special healing and many had further problems.

    3. Paul teaches us about this attitude in 2Corinthians 12:7-10 which says 'there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

    4. Unless we end our day reviewing how God worked in our life that day and then thanking Him for it, we will not be able to thank God when things really go against our flesh.  That means we will not be able to act right at the best opportunities to give God glory.  Our blessings from God are indirectly proportional to the amount of glory that we give God.  God gets more glory from someone who thanks Him in the valley than He gets from someone who gives Him thanks on a mountain top.

    5. Notice that Acts 4:16 says Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.  The religious enemies of truth could not deny that God had done this miracle because the man had already thanked God loudly and before many people.  Too many people had already heard the truth, when the man had the evidence, for Satan to get people to believe a lie about it.  If we let Satan steal God's glory after He does a miracle for us then God has no reason to do the miracle.  One of the most important things that we need to guard is the glory of God because God's glory is going to draw people to God's truth and salvation.



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Basic Worship.

Our 'Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth'' had 'Start each day with personal Worship and Bible reading / study'' as the first step.  Since worship  is a Bible word that many religions misrepresent and teach error about, it is important to start with the Bible definition.

True definitions of words used in the Bible match all usages without changing the message of the verse within the context that that it occurs in.  Many people believe doctrinal error because they refuse to consider those parts of the Bible that go against what they have been taught.  Therefore, please consider all supporting evidence before accepting or rejecting the following definitions.

The word worship  can be defined (based upon Bible usage) as: 'The personal recognition and (often verbal) expression of the superiority of another being in relationship to self.  True worship is not a vague general expression but expresses specific ways that the superiority is recognized.  While devils and men desire worship, all proper worship is reserved for the only true God.'

In the most simple definition, we can say that worship  is 'acknowledging that another has far more power and position and other attributes than we have'.

There are several applications of this word within the Bible and several verses which support each application.  Please remember that the application is not the definition because the application matches only some of the verses within the Bible while the definition matches all usages.  In addition, please remember that God gave you a pastor to tell you how to apply what is in the Bible when it comes to your personal life.  For example, in the Old Testament people brought an animal sacrifice to the Temple as part of their worship but in the New Testament, we still make a sacrifice to worship but it is a different type of sacrifice.  Thus, the spiritual application is the same while the physical application of that spiritual application is different.  Always remember to verify teaching from someone else with your Bible and with your pastor.

Worship-Applications in the Bible.

Please see the section with this title in the Word Study on Worship.

Worship-Practice in the New Testament.

We read three different physical positions for us to be in as we worship  our God.  As taught many places on this site, God is more interested in our spiritual position than He is in our physical position.  Thus, the true importance is in the spiritual positions that are represented by these physical positions.

  1. 1Timothy 2:8-10 says I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

    Here we see a position of worship  where people are standing and raising up their hands.  While people preach this as a position that we are to worship  in, the main position is spiritual in nature and not physical.  Notice that the section says holy hands  which means that the things that we do (hands)  must be completely in line with God's Holy  nature.  This is also shown by the context saying without wrath and doubting.  We also see the emphasis for woman on the internal character instead of external image.  (Anything that the Bible calls good  comes from God.  This, women are to have godly works.)  When we lift up holy hands  we show that our hands are empty of our own works and ready to receive whatever God chooses to give us.

  2. Genesis 17:3 says And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,'.  Numbers 22:31 says: Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.  Joshua 5:14 says: And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.  And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?.

    Other places in the Bible also teach this position of worship.  When a king was conquered in the Bible the person who conquered him would make him lie on the ground with his face in the dirt and the winner would put his foot on the neck of the conquered king.  When we worship  on our face we show complete submission to God and a willingness to do whatever He commands no matter what the cost, including suffering and death.

  3. Genesis 41:43 says And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.  Isaiah 45:23 says I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.  Romans 14:11 says For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  Philippians 2:10 says That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;.

    When we worship  on our knees we show that God is our personal Lord.  We admit His right to order us to do anything and judge us for our obedience with the expectation of reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience.

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Basic Bible Reading and Study.

Our 'Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth' had 'Start each day with personal Worship and Bible reading / study' as the First Step.  Then we covered 'Basic Worship', which is a more detailed look at our First Step.  Now we will take a more detailed look at another part of that First Step.  Both the prior lesson and our current lesson are to be done every day at the start of the day.

Please remember that these things are to be done on a daily basis.  Please also recognize that reading and study are two different actions and we need to do both if we wish to grow spiritually.

Many people make the mistake of believing that reading is study.  This doctrinal error helps to keep God's people spiritual babies.  It takes far more effort and ability to study  than it does to read.  You will never do well in Math if all that you do is 'quick-read' through the book.  Yes, we need to read in order to study, but that is like saying that you need to learn how to add and subtract in order to do Algebra.  Being able to add and subtract is not enough to become an engineer.  Likewise, reading your Bible is not enough to become a workman that God can use

Many people quote 2Timothy 2:15 (Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.)  and claim that it means read  when God's Word literally says study.  This verse actually says that if someone is a workman  and they only read  but do not study,  that God says that they needeth'to be ashamed  and God will do that to them at the judgment seat of Christ, if not before then.  However, Revelation 1:3 says: Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.  Therefore, some things only need to be read and obeyed to receive a blessing, while other things, such as what people in positions of leadership need to know, require more effort.  Workers and leaders will be made ashamed  if they only read  the Bible.

We start out reading.  As we spiritually mature, we need to move up to study  with the milk  of the Word requiring simple study  and the meat  of the Word requiring extensive study.  Many people want to start out with prophecy, which is the most complex subject to study, and they want to do this before they even properly read their Bible on a daily basis.  This is of the flesh and based upon a desire to have pride in claiming some knowledge that others do not have.  This is the way to doctrinal error and punishment by God.  1Corinthians 14:40 says: Let all things be done decently and in order.  That is near the end of an epistle written to correct spiritual babies who thought they were spiritual leaders.  We are to do things in God's order which means we start out with reading and grow into study before we become a workman.  We become a workman  before we become a leader

Another source of doctrinal error is going to 'the Greek' before understanding the English.  This also leads to doctrinal error through feeding fleshly pride.  In Revelation 2:6 Jesus Christ says But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  In Revelation 2:14-15 Jesus Christ says But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  These people claimed 'special revelation' that made them superior to other believers and excused their sinful life.

The people living today who claim 'special revelation' base their claims upon books that we can't see and understand.  Many people claim to base their doctrine on Greek manuscripts, which they never read and that many cannot read.  The 'Greek' that they claim to use cannot be verified as accurate and reliable.  While people have been keeping a close eye on the KJV 1611 and even dying for it, the same cannot be said for 'the Greek' that people claim to use.  People will claim that their 'Greek' is more reliable than the English Bible that God gave you, but they cannot prove their claims.  In addition, most of the doctrinal error that is taught today is based upon claims that the error came from 'the Greek'.

God does use 'the Greek', but not the way that most people use it today.  I can prove my claims but that isn't needed.  What is needed is trust in the word of God that God gave you and avoiding the sin of pride by seeking some 'special revelation' that other people don't have.

Just as in Revelation God's people were led into error by people claiming 'special revelation', so also are people led into error today by people claiming special knowledge.  I was saved by reading an English Bible.  You were saved by believing an English Bible.  You show others how to be saved using an English Bible.  We are told to continue our Christian life by spiritually walking the same way as we got saved.  When you start believing 'the Greek' you are moving your faith from the written English Bible that God gave you to what some man says is the translation of 'the Greek'.  DO NOT move your faith away from what God used to save you

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 1Chronicles 16:15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Psalms 105:8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations

In addition, to these, there are 24 verses which tell us that we are to keep God's Word.  God did NOT preserve His Word to a generation in a language that they cannot understand and obey.  The Spirit of the God of the Bible shows us that God wants to reveal Himself to His people so that they can fellowship with Him.  The spirit of Satan hides rules to trap God's people and keep them at 'arm's distance'

Bottom line, God preserved His Word to every generation since the 1600s in English.  You understand English.  godly people died as a witness that the 1611 KJV is the inerrant, God preserved word of God for English speaking people.  You were saved by believing an English Bible and you show others how to be saved using an English Bible.  Keep your faith in what God gave you.  We not only have a 'God breathed' Bible but we have a 'God breathed, God translated and God preserved' Bible

Having said that, I admit to not knowing about the Ilongo Bible.  However, there are a couple of basic questions that always work:

  1. Does it cause people to stop their sinning or is it used by people who make excuse for ongoing sin in their life?
  2. Does it increase the personal daily worship of God for saved people or does it excuse people only doing a religious ceremony from time to time?
  3. Does it them to believe religious leaders without verifying what is taught by reading the word of God with help from the Spirit of God or does it encourage personal study by everyone?
  4. Does it have the witness of blood? Would someone literally die before giving it up?
  5. There are other tests but these three should be sufficient to let most people know if it is trustworthy

We have the concept of 'Progressive Revelation' that applies to many things that we learn including the Bible.  For example, we learn to say our numbers, then count, then add, subtract, multiply and divide.  After that comes Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and other studies for people who want to work in math.

The same is true about Bible reading and study.  We have a couple of levels of reading that we must learn to do in order to maintain our personal relationship with God.  We have to progress up to regular study if we want to be a 'workman' and we need to progress to 'expert study' if we want to be a God used leader of His people.  For example, Deuteronomy 17:18 commands the king to copy the Bible and write his own personal copy.  Deuteronomy 27 required the elders to write the law on stones after they passed Jordan and Moses was no longer with them.  Therefore, the higher the leadership position that someone has with God, the greater the requirement to study and know the Bible

Acts 17:11 says These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.  The most noble  leaders will search the scriptures daily, whether those things (said by others) were so.  We should always verify everything that someone tells us is in the Bible with the final human authority being the man of God who will answer to God for our soul

James 1:5 says If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  ALWAYS start Bible reading and study with a personal prayer for God to show you what you need to know from His Word that day.  Also, pray for God to give you what you need to share with someone else that day

  1. Basic Reading Plan: read John, Romans, 1Corinthians, the other Gospels, the rest of the New Testament in order then the Old Testament in order.  Repeat this order until you have read through the entire Bible this way by reading daily.  The Gospel of John was written to Gentiles, which most, if not all, of us are.  Romans is the main book of doctrine for today.  1Corinthians warns us about saved people who thought they were spiritually mature leaders while they were spiritual babes still sucking the milk.  The other Gospels teach us about when Jesus was living on this Earth and he is our example of how to live in this flesh using the power of the Holy Ghost.  What Did Jesus Do?  is a valid doctrine if we search the Gospels and don't listen to lies of devil motivated people.  The rest of the New Testament teaches us the spiritual part of our personal relationship with God.  The Old Testament teaches us the basis of what we have today and we can not understand and properly appreciate what we have today without knowing the Old Testament
  2. Reading Plan-2: Read each book twice: read the first and last sentence of each chapter and then read the book through normally.  Follow the order set above except that after each book read, read 5chapters of Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs.  When Psalms and Proverbs are reached while reading through the Old Testament, skip over them and continue with Ecclesiastes.  This plan helps us with our daily worship of God (Psalms) and our seeking the wisdom of God (Proverbs)
  3. Study Plan-1: this is the minimum level that God requires of workmen  (2Timothy 2:15).  This is to teach us to study the context of everything in the Bible.  The basic source of error from the devil is to take things out of context and at least 85% of doctrinal error can be corrected by considering the context of any scripture quoted by anyone.  Reject any doctrine taught by people who go out of the context of the scripture that they quote.  Add to Reading Plan-2:
    1. In all places search first for what that part of the Bible is teaching you about God and, especially in the new Testament, about the Son of God
    2. After finding what the Bible says about God, pray for God to show you how this teaches you how you as others are to act and what attitudes you are to have
    3. Every day that you are in a book read the first and last sentence of several chapters surrounding your current reading place so that you remember the context.  Then after reading the chapter, go back and read it again but stopping every so often to write in a journal what you just read.  Do NOT quote the Bible but put it in your own words.  This is the first step of 'meditating on the Word' and causes your brain too work differently than when you are just reading
    4. Memorize the verses that God makes special to you.  Now you want to be careful to quote exactly what is written.  Try to find some way to share those verses with someone every day for at least a week.  This sharing will help you to better understand and remember the verse

  4. Study Plan-2: What is required to be a proper leader of God's people.  This is too much to explain at this time but the basics require:
    1. Know how to identify people teaching doctrinal error and warn God's people against the source of doctrinal error
    2. Reject any excuse for sin by anyone
    3. Reject any claim that replaces our personal responsibility to God with a religious rule or ceremony
    4. Reject any claim that position makes a person right with God.  People have certain rights because of their position, and they are to be respected and obeyed because of the position, but the position does not keep them from disobeying God.  Know the difference between what is owed to a person because of their position and what is owed to them because of their character and walk with God
    5. Identify the godly and spiritual perspective of all that is read and use this perspective of all that is done and taught
    6. Learn and do godly judgment
    7. Separate saved people from lost people and deal with each in the way that God deals with them.  Learn how to get the lost saved and to encourage the saved to build their personal relationship with Good.  Above all, do and teach 'trust and obey'
    8. Learn to identify the spiritual maturity of your audience and avoid giving spiritual 'meat' to spiritual 'babes'
    9. Learn and teach precepts,  which are truths which are always true in all circumstances
    10. Read and study using sentences and God's use of punctuation.  This will allow learning anything that might be learned from 'the Greek' while still allowing you to teach it to others using a Bible they can read and understand
    11. Learn to do a proper Word Study of the Bible.  Dictionaries written by men with definitions of how men use words often include definitions not used by God in the Bible.  Using those definitions is the source of many doctrinal error.  Going to 'the Greek' is OK for applications after you have a proper definition from studying the Bible in English, but 'the Greek' leads to doctrinal error if used for the basic definition


Bottom line: trust and obey the Bible that God gave you.  Learn to love it and use it to learn to trust and obey your God and to build your personal relationship with God on a daily basis

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Spirit versus Flesh.

Our Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth has activities for us to do three times a day: when waking, just before sleeping and all day long.  This step is part of what we do all day long.  In this particular Step we consider the attitude that we must keep.  Righteousness  is defined as 'Doing the right thing with the right attitude'.  The 'right attitude' always matches the attitude that God tells us to have.  Thus, in our lesson on 'Spirit versus Flesh' we will see the spiritual attitude which the Bible always tells us the personally keep.

In our pursuit of God's blessings upon our personal life, we must keep in mind that the spiritual perspective of anything is different from the physical perspective.  God uses the physical to teach us principals of the spiritual, but they are not the same.  For example, a prior lesson dealt with three physical ways to pray: standing and holding up holy hands; kneeling; and laying on our face.  As pointed out there, these physical positions were actually symbolic of spiritual attitudes and the physical positions meant nothing without the spiritual attitudes.  In addition, if someone could not do the physical position, yet had the spiritual attitude, God accepted and honored the spiritual attitude.  Thus, we have already seen an example of the distinction that God and the Bible makes between the spiritual and the physical.  Now we will deal with this distinction on a more doctrinal level so that the reader can apply these doctrinal lessons to their every day walk with God.

Galatians 5:16-17 says This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
James 4:4-8 says Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace.  Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Each saved person needs to decide which we will follow, the Sprit or the flesh.  The lost are not double minded  because they don't have the Spirit of God  and the mind of Christ.  The only mind that they have is from the flesh.  Only saved people have a double mind with the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.  Each very strongly desires us to do something.  That is what lusteth  means.  Not only does each try very strongly in a direction, but these directions are opposite each other.  Therefore, we can follow one and have the other nagging us to go the other way or we can waver back and forth and never get anywhere in our life, or we can shut the mouth of one and cling strongly to the other and have peace in this life.  However, the eternal consequences are either damnation or salvation.  Therefore, the best thing to do is to try to shut the mouth of the flesh and cling to the Spirit and trust God for all results.

Several times God tells His people that he sets a choice before them: life or death.  He then urges all to choose life but leaves the choice to us.  The Bible makes it clear that following the Spirit is the way to life.  Following the flesh is the way to death.  God urges us to follow the Spirit.

King David had 2 sons who were each promised his throne after him and were raised up expecting to inherit the throne.  One followed the path of the flesh and dies an early death.  The other chose the path of the Spirit and lived a long life as the most successful king in history.  While kings sons are extreme examples, each of us have these same choices repeating themselves all through our life.  We can use these sons as examples of how each made choices and what the results were.

Absalom verses Solomon:

  1. Favor:
    1. Absalom: He was the 3rd born (2Samuel 3:1-3) but David's favorite and assured of the throne after David.  But he chose to not wait and made secret plans and rebelled and tried to take the throne early.  As a result, he rebelled.  The flesh always wants things NOW and is not willing to wait on God.
    2. Solomon was chosen to be king.  Yet when his brother Adonijah tried to set himself p as king when David was old, Solomon did nothing.  God had Nathan the prophet go to Bathsheba and they got David to correct the situation.  In 2Chronicles 1:8 we read And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.  The Spirit ALWAYS tells us the wait on God.  By waiting Solomon learned who he had to watch for rebellion and was prepared when it came.  He also had others come out in public support of him which he would not have had if he did not wait on God.
      1. Rather than being in a hurry to get things now, we need to wait on God.


  2. Position and fame:
    1. Absalom killed his brother because his brother raped his sister.  It was not his position to punish his brother but the king's position.  We are always wrong to take the law into our own hands.  He went into exile and others argued for his return.  When he was forgiven and allowed to return, he did not have the access to the king like he had before.  With his having committed murder he was no longer fit to be king even though he was forgiven.  If David had given Absalom the same access as he had before, it would have given people the wrong message about Absalom's position as the next king.  The flesh tells us that if we mess up we just need to talk people into forgiving us and all will be the same as before.  However, that is not true and the consequences of some sins can never be removed.
    2. Solomon had a brother who rebelled and tried to take the throne.  Though he was forgiven, he was not trusted any more.  At the first sign of another rebellion Solomon had him killed.  There were people who thought Solomon was too harsh but they were ignoring his earlier rebellion.  2Timothy 2:22 says Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Some sins have life-long consequences that we cannot realize when we are tempted to do them.
    3. The only safety is to 'trust and obey' God.

  3. Looks:
    1. Absalom: 2Samuel 14:25-26 says But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.  And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.  Many beautiful people think their beauty gets them special favors.  And it does.  But Esther 1:11-22 says that Vashti the queen  refused to obey the king and lost her position and lands because of it.  The special favors that come from looks do not last and they always lead people into error who rely upon them.  Absalom relied upon his looks to give him the support he needed in his rebellion and he ended up dying because of his hair.
    2. Solomon: The Song of Solomon indicated that Solomon was good looking but we do not see that noted about him elsewhere in the Bible.  He had the looks but did not rely upon their favors and, therefore, lost nothing when they left.
    3. Looks and other physical attributes will fail us when we need them the most but God never fails.

  4. Money:
    1. Absalom used his money to buy followers who abandoned him in the way.
      1. Solomon used his money the build the Temple.
      2. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Again, in Luke 12:16-21 Jesus told a parable of a rich fool building bigger barns just before he died.  Then Jesus said (in Luke 12:21-23) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.  And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.


  5. Smarts:
    1. Absalom sat in the gate and got fools and dissatisfied people to tell him how smart he was and to encourage him to make himself king.
    2. Solomon prayed to God for an an understanding heart to judge thy people  (1Kings 3:9).  He did not pray for wisdom  but for what he needed to do the job that God gave him.  God gave him wisdom, riches and much more because his heart's desire was to serve God.
    3. 1Corinthians explains the difference between the wisdom of this world  and God's wisdom.  Only fools rely on the wisdom of this world.

  6. Followers:
    1. Absalom had followers who were unreliable and abandoned him in his time of need.
    2. Solomon was faithful to God and waited on God and God gave him faithful and relable followers.


Decisions and results:

We make decisions in this life that seem to have minor consequences but can have life-long and eternal results.  Absalom kept choosing to follow the flesh and had good results for a short time followed by death.  Solomon chose to follow the Spirit and was assured of loss but ended up with great gain from God.

We started out with verses which told us that the Spirit and the flesh fight against each other very strongly.  They each try to take us in opposite directions.  God urges us to follow the Spirit, but leaves the decision to us.

We saw two men in similar situations who had vastly different results because one chose for te flesh and the other chose to follow the Spirit.

There are lots of fleshly reasons for youth to not go to Youth Camp and for parents and older people to not help with the costs.  The future of the lives of the youth and the future of this church and the future of the next generation depend upon if youth chose to follow the flesh or chose to follow the Spirit.  Each of us have a choice to make.  Youth have to decide if they will follow the flesh or the Spirit in their own life.  Others have to decide if they will follow the flesh and leave the youth to their own decision or if they will follow the Spirit and help some youth.  It is your decision but God urges you to choose life.

Home

Go Ye.

Our Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth has activities for us to do three times a day: when waking, just before sleeping and all day long.  This step is part of what we do all day long.  In this particular Step we consider the action that we must do every chance we get throughout the day, if we want to keep God's blessings flowing into our personal life.

Righteousness  is defined as 'Doing the right thing with the right attitude'.  The 'right action' for all day long is obedience to the 'Great Commission', which was the last command that our Lord Jesus Christ  gave before returning to Heaven.  This is the center of God's heart and one of the main reasons that he saves us before we are ready to die.  This is what God wants to be the main purpose and action of every saved person's life.  Thus, in our lesson on 'Go Ye' we will see the spiritual action which God wants to be the center of all that we do in this life.

Matthew 28:18-20 says And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen..
Mark 16:15-18 says And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover..
Acts 1:6-8 says When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth..
2Corinthians 5:9-11 says Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences..

All of these verses were written to saved people.  Together they compromise what we call 'The Great Commission'.  This is the center of God's heart.  It is the last instruction from our Lord Jesus Christ before He went to Heaven.  Therefore, this is the primary thing that He wants the church to accomplish.  Everything that God allows into the saved person's life is supposed to be used in support of obeying this command.  James 4:17 says Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  If a saved person lives their life and neglects this command then they are living a life of sin.  The primary reason for this message is to encourage God's peopled to not sin by neglecting this primary command from God.

Lots of people are convinced that they are obeying this command.  However, Matthew 7:22-23 says Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  From here Jesus went into the parable of the wise man and of the foolish man.  The people in our verse were sure that they were pleasing God, but will be punished.  Therefore, if you are building your life on what religion tells you to do then you are a foolish man  who will be punished.  The wise man  did the extra effort to dig down to the rock,  which is a type of Christ.  The wise man  took the extra effort to verify what he was told with Christ.

Ephesians 4:4-6 says There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  The fact that we have many religions which claim to use the Bible proves that there are many people interpreting the Bible the wrong way because they are foolish men  who base their doctrine on religion.  To be a wise man  with a personal relationship with Christ, we must use God's perfect Word God's perfect way.

There is only one perfect Word  (Bible), from God, for English speaking people and it is the 1611 KJV.  Every other so-called bible has a copyright which means it really belongs to some men.  Those are perversions of God's Word.  In John 12:48 Jesus said He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  When we are judged by God He will use His Word to judge us and He will use His interpretation.  Therefore, we need to know His interpretation, and not some reliugion's opinion, so that we are ready for our personal judgment.

  1. Religious people lead God's people into doctrinal error by using the method that Satan used when he tempted Jesus.  They quote part of the Bible but leave out a critical part of what they quote.  At least 85% of doctrinal error can be corrected by looking at the context of any verse which someone quotes.  In this case, people tell us that we have a 'God breathed' word of God.  The truth is that we have we have a 'God breathed, God translated, God preserved' word of God in the English language which is available to us today and it reveals our God to us.  Anything less matches the character of Satan and not the character of the God of the Bible (1John 4:1).  What's more, The Bible tells us that we have a perfect word of God  which gives us God's perfect way  (2Samuel 22:31; Psalms 18:30) to interpret the Bible and give us a perfect picture (John 1:1, 14) of a perfect God.  Since we have One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all,  we MUST have only one correct interpretation of our Bible.  There are many applications, but only one interpretation.
  2. God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).  Therefore, God's Word does not change.  In particular, there is a one-to-one relationship between a word in the Bible and its meaning.  Not two words in the Bible have the same meaning.  Deuteronomy 8:3; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4 all tell us Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  The phrase that proceedeth out of the mouth of God  means that we must use God's definitions for God's words, and not definitions from men, if we want the correct interpretation.
  3. Without going into all that is involved, I will say that people are going to 'the Greek' and other things because they don't know their English.  I have interpreted over 6,000 verses and cross referenced them to over 80,000 verses.  I have published my work on the web where anyone in the world can show me any error in it and no one has done so.  I have gone to 'the Greek' only twice and that was only for words which occur only once in the Bible.  If people used God's definitions for words, and considered every word,  and considered every jot and title  (punctuation), they would have one interpretation which NEVER disagrees with any other part of the Bible.  This result in only possible when we use God's perfect way  to interpret God's perfect word.  Anything else will lead you into error and foolishness which will bring the judgment of God upon you.
  4. I don't have time to explain all that is involved in God's perfect way  to interpret God's perfect Word,  but I can do a demonstration and you can see the results for yourself.  What comes next is a simplified interpretation of the verses which we started with.  Anyone who uses the rules of interpretation which God gave to me will get the same results.  The only way that we can have One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all  is if we use God's perfect Word God's perfect way.  That means that we must all use rules of interpretation which result in the same interpretation, regardless of who does the work or when or where they do it.  With that basis said, we will interpret these verses.

I already said that God has a one-to-one relationship between words of the Bible and their meaning.  Within our verses we see the word ye  and the word you.  Many people believe the doctrinal error that these two words have the same meaning.  They do not and understanding the difference is critical to a proper interpretation of 'The Great Commission'.

Let me start with a quick summary of what we are commanded to do.  This command:

  1. Requires action (go)
  2. Is personal (ye)
  3. Cannot be done from home (into all the world,  all nations )
  4. Requires actively seeking the lost (teach all nations...preach the gospel to every creature )
  5. Requires getting people saved (baptizing them in the name',  is baptized shall be saved )
  6. Requires the power of God working through us (in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,  In my name )
  7. Requires the truly saved to obey (He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned)
  8. Requires further teaching after the initial profession (Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you)

Now we will look a little closer at the words of this command.

The word ye  means 'each and every one of you personally'.  This is a command that each and every one of us personally are given by God and that we will have to personally answer for at our personal judgment by God.

The word you  is the entire group.  What we are to preach and teach is all things whatsoever I have commanded you.  Our KJV 1611 Bible has what God delivered to the church (to the entire group of saved people) to preach and teach.  We are not to preach some 'personal revelation' like all of these so-called prophecy preachers are teaching.  We are not to add to God's Word or neglect any part of God's Word.  We are to put the same emphasis as God does on things within the Bible.  Thus, we are not to preach always about the blessings from God and neglect to mention God's requirements for getting those blessings.  Neither are we to neglect the punishment for God's people when they sin such as by neglecting to obey or wasting their life seeking the things of this world.

What we are to teach and preach is also called the gospel  in our verses.  The word the  means 'there is only one and here it is'.  There is only one true Biblical gospel.  The Bible warns us about another gospel  and warns of the judgment of God on us if we believe another gospel.  In addition, to another gospel  the Bible names 10 different gospel,  which are actually all the same gospel  but presented from different perspectives and with different emphasis on parts of the whole.  For example, we can look at the head of a coin, the tail of it, the edge of it or the metal content.  Each view shows something different but it is only one coin.  Likewise, these different gospel  are different views of the same basic gospel of God  with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John being our examples of how to present the entire Biblical Gospel.  This is important because we have all sorts of messages which are called 'gospels' and even people claiming to preach a full gospel.

Basically, God had a personal relationship with Adam and Eve before they sinned.  They walked together and had personal fellowship on a daily basis before they sinned.  The gospel of God  is the 'good news' that God wants the same type of relationship with each person and He wants it on a personal basis.  However, just as sin separated Adam and Eve from God, so also does it separate us from God.  In addition, please notice that Adam and Eve were sinless children of God when they first sinned, and that resulted in their separation from God.  . Therefore, the sin of the child of God will also separate the saved child of God from God.  Therefore, the true gospel of God  not only tells us how to get rid of the sin that separates us from God, but it also tells us how to keep further sin from separating us from God after we initially get saved.

Think about this folks.  When your child deliberately does something that they know is wrong, you have a responsibility to correct them.  You can't take them out to do something that they think is fun before you correct them or they will be rewarded for doing wrong and do it more often.  The same thing is true about the relationship between God and the child of God who deliberately sins.

Satan hates all people.  Satan wants people to believe in a religious, but wrong, method of salvation so that they go to Hell while being positive that they will go to Heaven.  If Satan can't get you to believe a lie in order to keep you from being truly Biblically saved, then he wants you to believe a lie which will keep you from all of the blessings that are available from your salvation.  True Biblical salvation is having God's life in us so that we can live with Him and have an eternal ongoing personal relationship with God.  However, since we all start out as sinners, we must accept God's plan of salvation and do so using our own free will.

  1. In order to get saved God wants us to believe what He wrote in His Word and not just believe some religious man (1John 5:13).
  2. John 1:12-13 says that receive  the Son of God is equal to (eve) believe on his name,  which is the requirement to know that we have eternal life  and the requirement for spiritual growth.  We are to receive him  for an ongoing personal relationship that is pictured by a marriage relationship.
  3. We must receive him  so that He can change our basic nature.  Romans 3:21-25 says But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  We are not condemned because we do sin but because our basic nature makes us sinners and forces us to continually sin.  Only by receiving the faith of Jesus Christ  can our basic nature be changed and we receive the righteousness of God.
  4. 1John 3:4 says Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.  In order for God to remain righteous  and also remove the record of our sin, He sent His Son to live and die as a human being.  Then God counted His death as payment for the sins of those who receive Him.  Romans 5:8-9 says But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
  5. In order for this to happen, we must call upon Him as our Lord.  Not as Jesus  or as Savior  but as Lord,  which means we are agreeing to obey Him for the rest of our lives.  Romans 10:10, 13 says For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

While the Bible tells us how to get saved, the fact is that the majority of it deals with how we are to maintain our personal relationship with Him after our salvation.  All of this additional instructions are part of what we are to be Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.  Thus, 'The Great commission' is far more than just getting people to make a profession.  In addition, we can't teach someone else to obey what we refuse to obey.  Therefore, the first step after getting saved is to learn what God expects from us in this new relationship with Him.  As we learn, we are to 'trust and obey'.  Further, we are told how to tell if we are, or are not, doing as we were told.  Notice that Mark says He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  It does not say that He that believeth, but refuses to be baptized'shall be damned.  Before we deal with the disobedient let's look at the signs that someone is obedient.

  1. Matthew says teach all nations  and Mark says into all the world.  I am not here because I like the Philippines better than the U.S.  Yes, in general, I like the people here better than I generally like the people in the U.S., but I am more comfortable in the U.S.  However, I am in the Philippines as a personal command from God to me.  This is the type of obedience that God expects from each of His children and He only gives full blessings to the children that are fully obedient.
  2. Matthew says teach...baptizing them...Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.  Mark says preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.  We are to do three things:
    1. tell the lost how to get saved
    2. get newly saved obedient, which is demonstrated by baptism
    3. get saved people into the church so that they will grow spiritually and receive the blessings of God due to their observing all things whatsoever I have commanded you
  3. Mark tells us And these signs shall follow them that believe  and then lists several examples of signs.  We know that they are examples because no one has all of these signs.  However, all of these signs are miracles.  Therefore, if God doesn't do miracles in and through your personal life, then you are lost or disobedient to this command to preach and teach the words see / sightThe Great Commission'.
  4. Notice that Acts says But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  Also notice that the power  is given to Jesus Christ and not to us directly.  We have to maintain our relationship with Him in order to have God's power  in our life.  Further, the power  is to result in our personally (ye) being witnesses unto me'.  If we are not being a witnesses  then we are not using God's power  properly and will end up losing it.  The power of God is given to enable our obedience.
  5. Notice that 2Cotinthians says Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.  We will find out if we are accepted of him  at the judgment seat of Christ  (For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ).  Therefore, everything in our life after our initial profession is to be aimed at our being accepted of him  at the judgment seat of Christ.
  6. Notice that 2Corinthians says that there saved people will receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.  There will be punishment handed out there because these verses say that the terror of the Lord  is a direct result (therefore) of the judgment seat of Christ .
  7. Our verses also say we persuade men  and we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.  Something that is made manifest  is revealed to all of our senses.
  8. If you are not living a life that reveals God to the entire world and is a witness  of Christ then you are lost or disobedient.  Disobedience can cause:
    1. sickness and death (1Corinthians 11:30-32; Romans 6:16; 1John 5:16).
    2. 1,000 yearss of tears in Heaven (2Corinthians2Co 5:9-11)
    3. Homeless in Heaven: Parables of talents and of pounds.


It is your choice how you live your life and God promises results matching that choice when we are judged by Him.  We can refuse to accept Him as Lord and end up in the lake of fire  for eternity in spite of making a profession and being religious.  We can accept Him as Lord but then turn to disobedience and suffer terrible consequences.  Or, we can accept Him as Lord and live a life of obedience where others see God in our life and we are constantly a witness  for Him.  You now have an opportunity to come to the altar and talk with your Lord about what He thinks of your level of obedience.  Those people who truly want His blessings will show that to the rest of the church and come ask Him what He wants them to do so that he can bless them.  If nothing else, they will come to be an example to anyone who is here and lost.  It is easier for a lost person to come to the Lord if the saved come first and pray for the Lord to deal with the lost that are here.

Home

Basic Prayer.

Our 'Basic Plan for Spiritual Growth' had 'End the day reviewing what God has done and thanking Him' as our last action of every day.  We 'thank God' in our evening prayer while we are also seeking God's blessings so that we can have a peaceful, restful and healing sleep.  Righteousness  is defined as 'Doing the right thing with the right attitude'.  The 'right attitude' always matches the attitude that God tells us to have.  Thus, in our lesson on 'Basic Prayer' we will see the right spiritual attitude for prayer, which incorporates a thankful attitude along with other spiritual activities and attitudes  One of the best ways to get God's blessings is to follow the pattern that He gave to us.

Matthew 6:7-13 says But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.
Luke 11:1-4 says And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so in earth.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.  And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

These were two different occasions, as the context tells us.  Thus, we see this lesson taught more than once.  Matthew 6 is part of the 'Sermon on the Mount' and part of general doctrinal instructions to believers.  Luke 11 specifically says as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  Jesus was asked to teach them to do a specific thing and His response was to teach them how to do the request.  These are not the same thing.

Matthew teaches us that we are all expected to pray.  Luke teaches us that we will not keep up our prayer life if we do not do it God's way.  They wanted to pray but were failing to be consistent in prayer as they knew that they were supposed to be.  Most saved people, at least in America, have the same problem.  The answer from Jesus teaches us that if we do not use God's way, we fill fail in our efforts no matter how good our intentions are.  These men had left all to follow Jesus.  They were 'full time workers' and still having problems with their prayer life.  Thus, being a 'full time worker' does not guarantee a good prayer life.

  1. In both sections we see the word ye  used by Jesus when he says when ye pray.  Ye  means 'each and every one of you personally'.  Prayer is to be personal and not vain repetitions  of some canned words.
  2. Matthew tells us for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  We are not informing God of our need but are asking Him to supply that need.  The devil accuses God of taking away our free will.  Therefore, God requires us to act in faith before He gives us His 'overwhelming grace' in order to prove to the devil that God s not taking away our free will.
  3. Luke is followed by a parable which teaches us to be diligent in our prayer.  Hebrews 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  While we are not to have vain repetitions  of our prayers, we are to be diligent in asking for them in order to prove to ourselves, and others, how much we really want what we pray for.  A child can be very insistent that they 'really really' want something.  But if you can distract them with something else and they forget it by the next day, then they did not want it as much as they thought they wanted it.  Sometimes we just need to be diligent enough to ask for it every day, or every time we think to pray throughout the day, in order to prove how much we really want it.  In Daniel 10 we are told that God sent an answer to prayer 21 days before it reached Daniel.  We need to remain diligent in prayer because of the spiritual war with the forces of evil.
  4. Jesus starts our model prayer with Our Father.  This is a family relationship that is shared with other believers.  We cannot be right with God and be wrong with other believers.  At the same time we see many places in the Bible where God and men of God made a very definite distinction between the saved and the lost.  Our prayer life is to start with concern for the family of God because that is His concern.
  5. Next Jesus said which art in Heaven,.  While God is our Father,  we need to remember that He is in a place with no sin and where He is worshipped by angels.  We need to get cleaned up spiritually by first confessing our sins to Jesus and asking Him to make us spiritually clean before we approach God the Father in His throne room.
  6. Next Jesus said Hallowed be thy name.  This is personal worship, which we already discussed in an earlier lesson.  We are to worship to prepare our heart to say the same things in witness to a lost world through the day.  God's name is not to be cursed and when we hear others curse His name we should speak up to tell that person of their error.  This part of the prayer is designed to prepare us to do that throughout the dat.
  7. Next Jesus said Thy kingdom come.  God's kingdom is to be in the hearts of believers and is shown by our obedience.  Notice the word Thy.  This makes it personal.  This is a prayer for God to give us personal commands for us to obey throughout the day.
  8. Next Jesus said Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so in earth.  All of Heaven obeys God but not all of earth obeys God.  After we worship God and agree to personally obey His commands, we are now asking for Him to use us to change our world from sinful disobedience to holy obedience.  God only works through His people in this world.  The earth will not obey God like all of Heaven does unless we let God work through our life to cause it to happen.  While we might not change the whole world, we can change the part that we occupy.
  9. Next Jesus said Give us day by day our daily bread.  Notice that our request for provision is only after personal worship, and personal agreement to obey and serve.  We have no right to expect anything from God when we are disrespectful, disobedient and/or lazy.
  10. Next Jesus said And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.  There is a lot of error taught about forgiveness that I am not going to get into.  I will say that the Bible makes a difference between the things of this world and people.  The word debt  is talking about a person owing you for some thing.  This does not mean that we have to pray for God to forgive someone who is actively serving the devil and trying to destroy people that God gave to us to protect.
  11. Next Jesus said And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.  Many people have a problem with this phrase because they don't understand the Bible.  The Bible says that the pharaoh who stood against Moses was God's agent.  The Bible teaches that God prepares the evil thing.  God gives us choices and tests.  If we keep seeking evil things then God will give them to us and use us to teach others to not seek evil things.  This is a prayer for God to turn our heart towards the things of God so that we are not tempted to seek evil even when presented with a choice.
  12. Next Jesus said For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,.  Here we see why God should do these things for us.  Once equipped by God, we are to go out into the world and show the world God's power and God's glory and how obedience to God's kingdom makes a difference between our life and the life of sinful people.
  13. Next Jesus said for ever.  God's kingdom power and glory are for ever.  However, if we don't learn to use them while in this life then it will be too late once we are dead.  How we live today is how we will live for eternity.  This phrase is our own personal reminder of the eternal consequences of the choices we make in this life and if they are for God or for any other reason.
  14. Next Jesus said Amen.  This is a confirmation that our prayer can be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ when we answer for all of the words and deeds of our life.

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