World View
How is the world supposed to be?
Romans 12:2
1. Rom 12:2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
2. Who we are
3. What we are
4. Where we are in life
5. Forms our worldview... Your worldview as believers are Christ-centered, not worldly. The Bible says we can do nothing apart from Christ.
The worldview is based on the way the world works and where we came from, how do I fit? It is more than evolution, it's reality.
Old is passed away:
2 Cr 5:13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you.2 Cr 5:14For the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 2 Cr 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 2 Cr 5:16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 2 Cr 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cr 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, Newness to life:
Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.
Build Your House on Jesus
Mat 7:24" Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: Mat 7:25" And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Mat 7:26" But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: Mat 7:27" And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall."
Compartmentalized church
I have several concerns about the church. Many of them, I see in myself. Others, I see as human nature, regardless of whether or not I see them in myself. And some, I feel are very serious things to which I should attempt to say something. I attempt to give equal time to ranting about all of these.
I can't speak to those outside the United States, but certainly here we like to compartmentalize our church experiences from the rest of our lives. Such as I can't do because I'm in church.
Now the obvious issue that isn't occurring to us when we say this is that if God can see us doing something in the church, he can see it outside the church, too. So, the point here is that we, er just not thinking. I don't think anyone really thinks they're fooling God, but they do think they're fooling everyone else. Again, we're not thinking about what is being verbalized.
But I think there's more to it than just not thinking. There's deep trouble that we in the American church have, and maybe in the Western church as a whole, and this is a manifestation of it. I think this is a trouble that will lessen in general culture as culture emerges from its current state, and will lessen in the church as well, but slower. Like always, Europe and Canada will be years ahead of the United States.
I was fortunate to be able to attend a house church for the last few months I was in Florida, and this issue did not exist there. Immediately upon arriving in Atlanta, where we're working in a much more traditional church, there it is again. My suspicion is that this is a common tendency and that the more traditional, structured, and building-oriented a church is, the easier it is to fall into the trap of putting God into the church, the rest of our lives outside of the church, and keeping the two from the meeting. Johnathan Stegall
Compartmentalized Christianity
Compartmentalized Christianity means you have no integrity, you say one thing and do another.
You try to separate your worldly life from the life you live in Christ by compartments. IE: The Titanic... This separation is hypercritical and destructive, causing people to fall and stumble.
Compartmentalized Christianity Is sometimes called cooky cutter Christianity or a newer term is given to it known as customer service Christianity. It comes from the customer service mentality.
The customer is always right. We treat sin in the church the same way, rather than dealing with it and the people we tend to brush it under the rug and just pray about it and for these people.
Covering up, pride, and hiding, is all sin. Since we can not hide from God We are then hiding from our own selves, from the truth, and from pain. We run around like ca-millions and salamanders, changing when confronted to get by. The question is did our Lord die conveniently? We are all guilty of it, just ask someone how they are doing and they will say fine 99.9% of the time. In truth, their life is a mess. We all say we have a relationship with the Father but we are lying to each other as brothers and sisters as if we serve a God who can not see into the heart of man. It's time to stop, it's time to grow up.
1Cr 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.1Cr 13:12, For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Pro 16:18 Pride goes before destruction And a haughty spirit before a fall. Pro 16:19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Then divide the spoil with the proud.
Pro 16:20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.
Pro 29:23 A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
1Jo 2:16 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. Or maybe we need to talk about fear. The Bible says perfect love cast out all fear. We are not victims in Christ.
Paul's Warning,
1Cr 8:1 NOW concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.1Cr 8:2And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.1Cr 8:3But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.1Cr 8:4Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one.1Cr 8:5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),1Cr 8:6yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.1Cr 8:7However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.1Cr 8:8But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.1Cr 8:9But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.1Cr 8:10For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?1Cr 8:11And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?1Cr 8:12But when you thus sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.1Cr 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Analytical or Analytically
From the Greek Analutikos, meaning to resolve
The root meaning is to analyze a part or all of a nature or product, to think through something.
This nature cannot be used in the Spirit as we are to believe by faith.
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Ecumenical Church:
An ecumenical council (or oecumenical council; also general council) is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The word derives from the Greek language "Οικουμένη", which literally means "the inhabited world", which first referred to the Roman Empire and later was extended to apply to the world in general.
Due to schisms, the acceptance of these councils varies widely between different branches of Christianity. Those churches that parted ways with the others over Christological matters accepted the councils prior to their separation;
The Ecumenical Church is one that accepts false teachings to please people, IE: Gay marriage they say in these churches God loves everyone even gay people and that is true but there is no willingness to change and the church conforms to their lifestyle.
Paul's Warning!
1Cr 5:1IT is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife! 1Cr 5:2 And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.1Cr 5:3For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.1Cr 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,1Cr 5:5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.1Cr 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?1Cr 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.1Cr 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.1Cr 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.1Cr 5:10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.1Cr 5:1 1But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person.1Cr 5:12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?1Cr 5:13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."
World View and Consequences
Pro 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
"Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. If our worldview is anything other than Christ-centered then we live in defeat. The consequence to sin is being chastised by God because He loves you.
Pro 23:13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
Pro 23:14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.
Deu 8:5" You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.
Hbr 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
Hbr 12:6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
The Bible is clear that light and darkness are contrary to each other, however, we live in a world where the two are mixed, compartmentalizing our life. We also know that the Lord is not the author of confusion but the author and finisher of our faith. Mixing the two creates stress and emotional instability. James writes in his Epistle,
Jam 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Jam 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Jam 1:7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; Jam 1:8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Stewardship of the Mind:
Stewardship means using God's gifts in wisdom. Stewardship of the mind is bringing it under subjection. We are instruments of righteousness and it is to each one to live in the anointing that the Lord has placed them in. The Bible says Paul was content in all things. He says in
Philippians 4:4 to rejoice always. We can only do this if we are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ and not the world. Let us not strive with man. Even our confessed sin needs to be left at the foot of the cross. Peter never brings up his denial of Christ again. It is a mockery to God and we crucify Our Lord afresh. Heb.6:6. The flow of the anointing is suppressed. We need to pray as Jesus did in the garden, Not My Will but Thy Will Be Done. The Lord is all-knowing, all-powerful, and has all authority.
GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all" 1 Chronicle 29:11
The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth that brought comfort to many hearts and gave virility and stability to Christian character.
But, today, to make mention of God's sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse would be the sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! That it should be so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology, should be so sadly neglected and so little understood.
The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, and the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what do est Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Ps. 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor among the nations" (Ps. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.
How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom? The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.
To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.
To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin is to dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity is to degrade the Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the hounds assigned by his Creator and that God is now practically a helpless Spectator before the sin and suffering entailed by Adam? fall, is to repudiate the express declaration of Holy Writ, namely, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain" (Ps. 76:10). In a word, to deny the sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.
The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, and infinite. When we say that God is sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe, which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i.e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.
Sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes. He is sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be dormant, and then it is put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness had this happened? God exercised His power, His people were delivered and their cruel task-masters were slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord swore that He would "have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Ex. 17:16). Again when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God's power was signally displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress what happened? Israel did not draw a bow nor strike a blow: the Lord stretched forth His hand and the walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell in this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!
Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the sovereign exercise of God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His power and David was delivered from Goliath, the giant; the mouths of the lions were closed and Daniel escaped unhurt; the three Hebrew children were cast into the burning fiery furnace and came forth unharmed and unscratched. But God's power did not always interpose for the deliverance of His people, for we read: "And others had trial of cruel mocking and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were swan asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb. 11:36, 37). But why? Why were not these men of the faith delivered like the others? Or, why were not the others suffered to be killed like this? Why should God's power interpose and rescue some and not others? Why allow Stephen to be stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?
God is sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength that no other human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut. 8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, and Rockefeller? The answer to all of these questions, is, Because God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He pleases.
God is sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God, no one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin, hence the miserable are deserving of punishment, not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is a contradiction of terms.
God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner in which God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar circumstances. The sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No; he told Israel, "The Lord is wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut. 3:26). Now mark the second case those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afterword Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years" (2 Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves, and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord would not hear me," and died; but to the other, it was said, "I have heard thy prayer", and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of the truth expressed in Romans 9:15! For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
The sovereign exercise of God's mercy is shown to the wretched as displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacles among men. Take one illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda, where lay "a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water." Among this "great multitude," there was "a certain man which had an infirmity thirty and eight years."
What happened? "When Jesus saw hint lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed, and walked" (John 5:3-9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not told that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the narrative that intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a case of the sovereign exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole of that "great multitude" as this one "certain man." But the lie did not. He put forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer, and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the others. Again, we say, what an illustration and exemplification of Romans 9:15! I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
God is sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ah! That is a hard saying, who then can receive it? It is written, "A man can receive nothing, except it is given him from heaven" (John 3:27). When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody;
if He did, He would love the Devil. Why does not God love the Devil? Because there is nothing in him to love; because there is nothing in him to attract the heart of God. Nor is there anything to attract God. love in any of the fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are, by nature, "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). If then there is nothing in any member of the human race to attract God's love, and if, notwithstanding, He does love some, then it necessarily follows that the cause of His love must be found in Himself, which is only another way of saying that the exercise of God's love towards the fallen sons of men is according to His own good pleasure.
In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must be traced back to His sovereignty, or, otherwise, He would love by rule; and if He loved by rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law of love then is He not supreme, but is Himself ruled by law. "But," it may be asked, "Surely you do not deny that God loves the entire human family?" We reply it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13). If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that before they were born or had done either good or evil, then the reason for His love was not in them, but in Himself.
That the exercise of God's love is according to His own sovereign pleasure is also clear from the language of Ephesians 1:3-5, where we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will." It was "in love" that God the Father predestined His chosen ones unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, "according to"according to what? According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then?
According to what He foresaw they would become? No; mark carefully the inspired answer According to the good pleasure of His will."
God is sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for grace, is favor shown to the undeserving, yea, to the Hell-deserving. Grace is the antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial enforcement of the law. Justice requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less. Justice bestows no favors and is no respecter of persons. Justice, as such, shows no pity and knows no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied, grace flows forth.
Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but "grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21), and if grace "reigns", then is grace sovereign? Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God;
and if unmerited, then none can claim it as their inalienable right. If grace is unearned and undeserved, then none is entitled to it. If grace is a gift, then none can demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the free gift of God, then He bestows it on whom He pleases. Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of sinners is not beyond the reach of Divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace, boasting is excluded and God gets all the glory.
The sovereign exercise of grace is illustrated on nearly every page of Scripture. The Gentiles are left to walk in their own ways, while Israel becomes the covenant people of Jehovah. Ishmael the firstborn is cast out comparatively UN-blessed, while Isaac the son of his parent-sold age is made the child of promise. Esau the generous-heated and forgiving-spirited is denied the blessing, though he sought it carefully with tears, while the worm Jacob receives the inheritance and is fashioned into a vessel of honor. So in the New Testament. Divine truth is hidden from the wise and prudent but is revealed to babes. The Pharisees and Sadducees are left to go their own way, while publicans and harlots are drawn by the cords of love.
In a remarkable manner, Divine grace was exercised at the time of the Savior's birth. The incarnation of God? Son was one of the greatest events in the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence was not made known to all mankind; instead, it was specially revealed to the Bethlehem shepherds and wise men of the East. And this was prophetic and indicative of the entire course of this dispensation, for even today Christ is not made known to all. It would have been an easy matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every nation and announced the birth of His Son. But He did not. God could have readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the "star;" but He did not. Why? Because God is sovereign and dispenses His favors as He pleases. Note particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the Savior was made known, namely, the most unlikely classes of literate shepherds and heathens from a far country. No angel stood before the Sanhedrin and announced the advent of Israel,s Messiah! No "star" appeared unto the scribes and lawyers as they, in their pride and self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures! They searched diligently to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to them when He actually came. What a display of Divine sovereignty he illiterate shepherds singled out for peculiar honor, and the learned and eminent passed by! And why was the birth of the Savior revealed to these foreigners, and not to those in whose midst He was born? See in this a wonderful foreshadowing of God's dealings with our race throughout the entire Christian dispensation sovereign in the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favors on whom He pleases, often on the most unlikely and unworthy.
In the Lord's sovereignty, everything belongs to the Father. He has all authority over all life.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
How Do We Keep From Crying Out Mine, my will... My anything...
1. The word of God-
Hanging Onto Every Word of God
Let us carefully hold fast to the great doctrine of the plenary inspiration of every word of the Bible. Let us never allow any writer of the Old or New Testament could make even the slightest verbal mistake or error, when, writing as he was.
(2 Peter 1:21.) Let it be a settled principle with us in reading the Bible, that when we cannot understand a passage, or reconcile it with some other passage, the fault is not in the Book, but in ourselves. The adoption of this principle will place our feet upon a rock. To give it up is to stand in a quicksand, and to fill our minds with endless uncertainties and doubts.
~ J.C. Ryle
2. Be a doer of the Word of God and not just a hearer only.-
Jam 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
3. Fellowship
Act 2:1WHEN the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Do Not Forsake Your Brothers to whom you are accountable.
Hbr 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, Hbr 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
4. Study the word
2Ti 2:15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
5. Walk in Faith
2Cr 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
6. Build upon the gifts of the Spirit
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gal 5:23gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.
7. Operate in the Spirit
Act 19:21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."
Rom 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
See through the eyes of the Lord and know your sanctification is complete at salvation. We just have to be willing to walk in it.
There is grace if we sin but let us not use sin as a cloke.
1Pe 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--1Pe 2:16as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
Rom 6:1 WHAT shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.
John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. John. 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
A national poll states 70% of all Americans are concerned with the decline in society of moral values. There have been over 350 articles in the last year on the matter. While 54% of all evangelicals say there is no absolute truth. ( Truth Decay)
Mat 13:57
So they were offended by Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."
Truth Decay started at the time of Christ but I believe it took off in the early 80s. It was the time of the One Way campaign started by Arthur Blessed who walked the world carrying the cross.
John 18:37
Pilate, therefore, said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause, I was born, and for this cause, I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
John 18:38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.
Tolerance
Quote from Dorothy Sayers:
"In the world, it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die."
If we are tolerant according to today's standards then we tend to not shun evil. They say it is all relative truth, nothing is absolute, there is no wrong. Paul addresses this in 1st and 2nd Corinthians. He also says 1Cr 8:1 NOW concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
Jesus Himself said if we only help the believer then we are like the Pharisees who are hypocrites. James said to be doers of the Word so while knowledge is good, the true manifestation of love comes from doing the Word.
People in the world have a distorted view of the needs of others because of evil.
Tolerance is different today than it use to be. It use to be respecting someone even if there was a mutual disagreement but now if you disagree with someone you offend them. In this day in age, no one can be offended and we have gone as far as labeling it (political correctness. You are no longer gay it is no such thing in that world but they would say it is your sexual preference. This way gay people can say they have rights because they are not gay by label, what a LIE!
We call this Ethics
Ethics in the Greek = Eethos means truth unwavering or to the believer it is called integrity. It is absolutely based on the word of God.
Truth is uncomfortable it requires change.
Postmodernism
That postmodernism is indefinable is a truism. However, it can be described as a set of critical, strategic, and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyperreality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning.
The term “postmodernism” first entered the philosophical lexicon in 1979, with the publication of The Postmodern Condition by Jean-François Lyotard. I, therefore, give Lyotard pride of place in the sections that follow. An economy of selection dictated the choice of other figures for this entry. I have selected only those most commonly cited in discussions of philosophical postmodernism, five French and two Italian, although individually they may resist common affiliation. Ordering them by nationality might duplicate a modernist schema they would question, but there are strong differences among them, and these tend to divide along linguistic and cultural lines. The French, for example, work with concepts developed during the structuralist revolution in Paris in the 1950s and early 1960s, including structuralist readings of Marx and Freud. For this reason, they are often called “poststructuralists.” They also cite the events of May 1968 as a watershed moment for modern thought and its institutions, especially the universities. The Italians, by contrast, draw upon a tradition of aesthetics and rhetoric including figures such as Giambattista Vico and Benedetto Croce. Their emphasis is strongly historical, and they exhibit no fascination with a revolutionary moment. Instead, they emphasize continuity, narrative, and difference within continuity, rather than counter-strategies and discursive gaps. Neither side, however, suggests that postmodernism is an attack upon modernity or a complete departure from it. Rather, its differences lie within modernity itself, and postmodernism is a continuation of modern thinking in another mode.
Finally, I have included a summary of Habermas's critique of postmodernism, representing the main lines of discussion on both sides of the Atlantic. Habermas argues that postmodernism contradicts itself through self-reference, and notes that postmodernists presuppose concepts they otherwise seek to undermine, e.g., freedom, subjectivity, or creativity. He sees in this a rhetorical application of strategies employed by the artistic avant-garde of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an avant-garde that is possible only because modernity separates artistic values from science and politics in the first place. In his view, postmodernism is an illicit aestheticization of knowledge and public discourse. Against this, Habermas seeks to rehabilitate modern reason as a system of procedural rules for achieving consensus and agreement among communicating subjects. Insofar as postmodernism introduces aesthetic playfulness and subversion into science and politics, he resists it in the name of modernity moving toward completion rather than self-transformation.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia=
Postmodernism is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the rejection of objective truth and global cultural narrative. It emphasizes the role of language, power relations, and motivations; in particular, it attacks the use of sharp classifications such as male versus female, straight versus gay, white versus black, and imperial versus colonial. Postmodernism has influenced many cultural fields, including literary criticism, linguistics, architecture, visual arts, and music.
According to Marxist theory, a society's culture (superstructure), including art, is shaped by the society's economic system (infrastructure); therefore post-modernism designates the form of art generated by late capitalism, a period sometimes called financial capitalism, post-industrialism, consumer capitalism, or globalization. Critical theorists posit that the illness of the late capitalist system is revealed by the illness of the post-modernist art form.
Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from modernist approaches that had previously been dominant. The term "postmodernism" comes from its rejection of the "modern" scientific mentality developed during the Enlightenment.
"Postmodern" literally means 'after modernism'. These movements, modernism, and postmodernism, are understood as cultural projects or as a set of perspectives.
"Postmodernism" is used in critical theory to refer to a point of departure for works of literature, drama, architecture, cinema, journalism, and design, as well as in marketing and business and in the interpretation of law, culture, and religion in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Indeed, postmodernism can be understood as a reaction to modernism. Whereas modernism was often associated with identity, unity, authority, and certainty, postmodernism is often associated with difference, separation, textually, and skepticism.
Rom 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Example: The movie Blind Side and Pilgrim's Progress
We need to come to a place of total dying to self, to mortify the flesh and its deeds.
Jam 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Mat 26:41
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Truth in the body= Jesus
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Side Note: see Exodus 3:14
Truth in the word=
John 1:1
In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Truth in the Spirit=
John 14:16
"And I will pray for the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Godly Sincerity Concerning God's Word
For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:17)
Godly sincerity concerning God's word is another characteristic with which the Lord desires to mark us by His grace. "For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity…
we speak." The manner in which we relate to the word of God is a high priority to our Lord. In the early church, some were already relating wrongly to God's word: "peddling the word of God."
They were using the Scriptures for self-gain.
The Bible warns us about the temptations people face concerning inappropriate uses of the word. "There are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain" (Titus 1:10-11). Titus was warned of many in the church world who were rebelling against the message of God's word. They were into the meaningless chatter and religious deception that came from the legalists, who loved to coerce people by means of the law. It was necessary that these men be silenced with the truth because they were undermining the spiritual well-being of entire families. They were teaching things that were biblically unacceptable. Their motivation was the financial advantage they could acquire by peddling deceptions. So many today are tempted to go after the material gain that can be obtained from those who will embrace religious schemes.
Paul also warned about others who would be motivated by the power and influence that a cleverly distorted message might produce. "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves" (Acts 20:29-30). True disciples follow the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, a true disciple wants to assist others in their quest to follow Jesus. These deceivers wanted others to follow them. This threat would be two-fold.
Ruthless unbelievers would "come in" from outside the church. Also, "from among yourselves," men with an adulterated message would arise inside the church.
Godly sincerity is to characterize our treatment of the Scriptures. We are to proclaim the truth. "But as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ." We are to proclaim the biblical message that is from God and do it in genuineness, knowing our God is watching.
Godly Sincerity in General
We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. (2 Corinthians 1:12)
God not only wants our lives characterized with godly sincerity toward His word, but He also desires to mark our lives with godly sincerity in general. "We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity…and more abundantly toward you." As the Apostle Paul and his missionary team evangelized throughout the known world, and as they ministered among the churches, they functioned in both arenas with simple, Christlike genuineness.
The world is filled with pretense and attention to outward appearances. Many within the Lord's church have yielded to temptation in these directions. The flesh of each of us is enticed to develop an exterior image that does not match what is going on inside. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for such an attitude. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation" (Matthew 23:14). These men were actually taking advantage of helpless widows. Yet, they stood in public and made long prayers, hoping to be considered godly in the eyes of the people.
Their hypocrisy was not only a matter of observable, contradictory behaviors, but the very core of their being was drastically different from what they appeared to be outwardly. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:27-28).
Our Lord loves sincerity and hates hypocrisy. Still, it takes the working of God's grace to effect the sincerity that God desires. "We conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God." Human ingenuity cannot produce the genuineness that God wants to see in our lives. God's grace is the only sufficient resource to bring about this godly characteristic of life. God's grace works within our hearts, where true sincerity must be formed. "First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Matthew 23:26).
Contend for the Faith
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
— Jude 3
Without question, the gospel is under attack today. And I believe that most Americans, not to mention the rest of the world, have not really heard the gospel message. The fact is that when a lot of people are supposedly preaching the gospel, they are not really preaching it at all.
That is why Jude 3 says that we need to contend for the faith. We need to do this in the proper way. We don't want to do it in a sloppy manner. We want to make sure that we know what the essential gospel is because there are certain elements that must be in place for the gospel to be the gospel.
I often hear people oversimplify or overcomplicate the gospel. Either they load it down with a bunch of rules and regulations that have nothing to do with the essential gospel, or they strip it of its essential meaning by offering forgiveness without mentioning repentance or by telling people about a wonderful place called heaven without mentioning a very real place called hell. We need to find that balance and do it properly.
What would you think of a surgeon who just opened you up and started cutting away? It would be frightening for him or her to say, "I don't know where to start." We want to make sure that what we do, we do properly because what we are up to in sharing the gospel has far greater, eternal ramifications.
So let's contend for the faith. Let's live it. Let's defend it. And let's proclaim the essential gospel.
Our lives declare what is truth and what we believe.
Truth is noble, We live it, it is not just words.
Truth is tested,
Jam 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Jam 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
Jam 1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Jam 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
The word is his will for our lives as believers we do not need to pray for things that are evident in his word.
Pro 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Pro 4:24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
Pro 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
Pro 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet And let all your ways be established.
Pro 4:27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Pro 14:2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. Pro 14:3 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Pro 14:9 Fools mock sin, But among the upright there is favor.
Pro 14:16 A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.
Pro 14:17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
Pro 14:26 In the fear of the LORD, there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. Pro 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, o turn one away from the snares of death.
Pro 14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known. Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
John 3:31 "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:32 "And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. John 3:33 "He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. John 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
Rom 2:2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
We rationalize truth (Ration- Lies) Rationalization of the truth is to not have truth.
Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, Rom 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, Rom 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Rom 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, Rom 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
How you approach truth depends on how you are willing to receive from the Holy Spirit and God's Word, Then in submission doing the Father's will.
John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
See Exd 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Search the Scriptures
John 3:33 "He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.
John 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
John 5:38 "But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:40 "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
2Ti 2:14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
God is into the restoration business
Sin denies the moral order of reality and the universal order of man. When we repeat it we lower our resistance to live in and by truth.
We must believe it=
We must do it=
We must Stand for it=
We must spread it=
Liberty is a choice to not do or to do as the word tells us.
Peace comes when we are obedient to what we believe. The Bible says there is no privet interpretation.
Love is doing the word as knowledge and wisdom comes from hearing the word
1Cr 13:1 THOUGH I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 1Cr 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. 1Cr 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1Cr 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 1Cr 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
1Cr 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 1Cr 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1Cr 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
1Cr 13:13
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
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