ANCF-441-130120 - length: 68:21 - taught on Jan, 20 2013
Class Outline:
Good Morning!
Let’s Make a Mental Shift
In preparation for the study of the Word of God, your first shift is a mental shift. We are led to believe, through the deceptions of the kingdom of darkness, that there is no absolute truth, and if there were an absolute truth, no one is teaching it anymore. Yet Proverbs, Chapter 8, in Verses 1 and 4 and 17, disagree…
PRO 8:1 and PRO 8:4 and PRO 8:17
Does not wisdom (the truth of the Word of God) call, and (does not) understanding lift up her voice?“To you, O men, I (the truth of the Word of God) call, and my voice is to the sons of men.”“I (the Lord Jesus Christ) love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me.”
The absolute truth calls out and says, “Come to me.” Thank you for answering its call. God the Holy Spirit is prepared to give each of us a unique wisdom today, one that lands in each of our souls in a way only we can understand, and He does this by communicating the exact same absolute truths to each of us. Yet each of us hears the absolute truth in a way that benefits us and only us.
INVITATION TO RESTORATION
Make a Spiritual Shift
The second shift, before you study the Word of God, is a spiritual shift. We take a few moments to remind ourselves of the three things God wants us to do during biblical study…we are guided by our God to…
…lay aside the (actions of the) old self, (an old self) which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit(ful desires),and…be renewed (by God) in the spirit of your mind, and (then) put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness (+R) and (in the) holiness of the truth.
So lay aside the world’s solutions to your problems…realize God solved all of your problems in eternity past…and learn to live the New Self Life.
SILENT REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Take a few moments, in silence, to fix the eyes of your soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, as He gets you ready for the study of the Word of God…
OPENING SONG
He Remembers to Forget
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...(0:30)
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God...
Help us to maintain our spiritual poise…and help us to not be nervous when you shake us up…help us to realize your mercy and your faithfulness and your immutability and your righteousness and your simplicity…lead us into all the truths of the Word of God…give us a clarity about Scripture that surpasses comprehension…especially as we tackle today’s lesson…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name...Amen.
WELCOME TO BARAH MINISTRIES
Pastor Rory Clark
My name is Pastor Rory Clark. You’re listening to lesson four hundred and fifteen of the Angelic Conflict series. Welcome to a ministry designed for serious students of the Word of God.
TODAY’S STUDY
The CREATOR’S Will is that You Be Shaken
We continue our study of the second of the twenty-one categories of doctrine that are part of the Angelic Conflict.
All twenty-one categories of doctrine begin with the letter C. We’re learning about the character and nature of our CREATOR at the second of the twenty-one C’s.
We are rocking around the CREATOR CLOCK as our way of developing our relationship with God...because it’s awfully difficult to love someone you don’t know…it’s awfully tough to have a relationship with someone without being of the same mind with Him. Tick tock. What time is it on the CREATOR CLOCK? It’s seven o’clock.
God is WILLING.
Turn in your bibles to Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 5…we are commanded, as believers in Christ, to think like the Lord Jesus Christ thinks…
Have this attitude in yourselves(be of the same mind), which was also in Christ Jesus…
It seems to me that absolute truth is so simple. Yet humans complicate it. It is easy to know God’s will and God’s mind and God’s Word because God wants you to know…and it is with this spirit that we proceed to tackle some of the sacred cow coat hangers in our biblical doctrine closet…these are the coat hangers that are hanging in our souls that represent the doctrines we have learned in the time we have been studying the bible. For me, that’s a quarter century of biblical study.
As I reflect on the first five years of biblical study here at Barah Ministries, there have been specific biblical doctrine coat hangers hung in your spiritual closet…I reminded you of the most significant ones in lesson 409…but as I broadened my thoughts about what I have wanted to get into you most, three broad things came to mind. They are structured in the form of questions. Great students are always asking themselves questions, knowing that God the Holy Spirit is always ready to answer their questions. John, Chapter 16, Verse 13 says…
But when He, (God) the (Holy) Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
There are three critical thoughts we do well to operate with whenever we study biblical doctrines…these are questions we can ask ourselves to test the veracity of what we are studying…
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #1
What does this biblical doctrine from the Word of God teach us about the Angelic Conflict?
The Angelic Conflict is the context of divine history, and it is almost impossible to understand the truth of the Word of God if you don’t connect the things you are studying back to the Angelic Conflict.
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #2
How consistent is this biblical doctrine from the Word of God with the person, the thinking, the work, the reputation and the essence of God?
If a biblical doctrine is at odds with the character and nature of God, it demands critical examination. For a moment, let’s just pull a biblical doctrine coat hanger out for examination…how about the idea in the doctrine of divine discipline that says there is triple compound discipline? On the face of it, without biblical examination, does it sound like that would pass the test of being consistent with the character and nature of God? The truth is I don’t know. But I sure am going to investigate the doctrine when the time is right and I’m going to see if it survives the test of scrutiny.
As this year begins, we have introduced a third critical thought for biblical study…a bigger and more important question…
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #3
What does the bible have to say about the biblical doctrine from the Word of God that is under consideration?
Ultimately, our job as Christians is to learn the Word of God, the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not the wisdom and the words of men. In First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verses 4 and 5, Paul says…
…my message and my preaching were not in persuasive (enticing) words of ( a man’s) wisdom, but in demonstration (a powerful manifestation) of the (Holy) Spirit and (a manifestation) of (His) power…
…so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men (which can be defeated), but on the power of God (which cannot be defeated).
Teachers are not above God and His Word. Not me as a teacher, nor any of the great teachers I have known…the men I have studied with who have dedicated their spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher to this noble profession.
Over the past few weeks I have invited a sacred cow to the scrutiny table…the doctrine of rebound…and these three questions about that doctrine demand answers.
THE DOCTRINE OF REBOUND TEST
What does this doctrine of rebound teach us in light of the Angelic Conflict?
How consistent is this biblical doctrine with the person, the thinking, the work, the reputation and the essence of God?
What does the bible have to say about the doctrine of rebound?
I don’t have the answer to these questions. But over the next several lesson we will begin the scrutiny to determine if rebound is a legitimate doctrine, and to find out what the bible says about post salvation sinning.
Often we, as human beings, like adding things to God’s finished work…things designed to “help” God…but the things of God need no help…they are solid. The things that are solid in the plan of God will always remain…Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verses 27 and 28 say…
This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe…
God will shake things that are biblically inaccurate. In the future, when we live face-to-face with Him, the only things that will surround us are the things of divine good, things that are perfect, like the Word of God. Some of our biblical doctrine coat hangers are perfect…yet because we are human, we have hung some biblical doctrine coat hangers in our spiritual closets that will not survive a shaking.
Occasionally, a congregation is shaken. Occasionally we believers in Christ are shaken. While we are going through the shaking, things don’t seem so fun. But when we are through it, the solid things remain. Just as discipline seems unpleasant for a time…so shaking seems unpleasant for a time…
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
…yet it is designed to produce fruit.
In a congregation, shaking identifies factions…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 19 says…
For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
Shaking identifies commitment. I have never operated under the pretense that you believe everything I teach. That is your prerogative. I have never operated under the pretense that you aren’t sitting out there deciding what you agree with and what you don’t agree with that comes from this pulpit. That is your prerogative. I have never operated under the pretense that you don’t have thoughts about your Pastor that affect how you learn. That is your prerogative. I know that you fixed in your mind, at a point in your life, what kind of student you are…a long time ago…perhaps when you were young and undiscerning…and although that viewpoint is inaccurate, many of you are fixed in that point of view, and you refuse to change it.
How do I know? Your response to my technology challenge…your response to my poster challenge…your response to my mind mapping challenge…your response to those challenges all told me what kind of students you are. Those things weren’t designed to shake you, but they did, and it told me a lot about you as students.
Look…as we investigate the sacred cow called the doctrine of rebound, as our way of installing the same mind in us that the Lord Jesus Christ has in Him about the truth, I hope you stay. I hope you hang in there. I hope you don’t tune out. I hope you don’t freak out. This is not the “there is no rebound” and “we should use the King James Version of the bible only” controversy. I am not a kook. I am not trying to bring glory to myself. I am not trying to impress you with my wisdom. I am not trying to create a new doctrine. I am not trying to stir you up. I am asking you to become serious students of the Word of God if you aren’t already. I don’t say that at the beginning of each lesson to be cute.
I’m doing my job. I’m studying and teaching the Word of God. I am your shepherd, if you choose, and you are my sheep, and I want you to be able to discern the difference between biblical doctrines and false doctrines. If the doctrine of rebound stands up to our scrutiny, great! If it doesn’t, then we better know that it doesn’t. No matter what happens after our look at this, you still have free will and you can do whatever you want to do. Your free will is not under threat. You can rebound to your heart’s content. But f you stick with this study, you will have plenty for your free will to think about.
BREAK
How Majestic is Your Name
When I Think About Home
Welcome back!
God has been preparing tiny, insignificant Barah Ministries for this day for a long time. First, He had us tackle Christianity versus religion. He had us announce to the world, via the internet, that Christianity and religion are enemies. But every time I tried to write the book on Christianity versus religion, something got in the way. It was as if He was saying, “Hold off.” Now I don’t know whether to credit God for the “holding off,” or to indict my own laziness…but whatever the case…the book is not a reality yet for some reason.
Next He led tiny, insignificant Barah Ministries to the Angelic Conflict as the context for divine history, and He had us lay out a plan for the voice of this ministry…that the Angelic Conflict has twenty-one categories of doctrine…and He began to teach it. Then, He took us to best subject matter in the bible…Himself. In essence, He said, “Get to know me Barah Ministries.” So we did.
What did we learn?
We learned that every biblical lesson connects to the Angelic Conflict as the
CONTEXT for divine history. Without understanding the whole, the context, many of the biblical parts we study become meaningless. We learned to ask ourselves the question…
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #1
What does this biblical doctrine from the Word of God teach us about the Angelic Conflict?
We began to build a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with God. I don’t know about how it is with you, but I have never felt more comfortable with God in my life, and I am really starting to get who He is and how much He cares for me. It is absolutely amazing to know in your soul that the Supreme Being of the Universe loves you unconditionally. It makes me comfortable in my own quite imperfect skin. We learned to ask ourselves the question…
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #2
How consistent is this biblical doctrine from the Word of God with the person, the thinking, the work, the reputation and the essence of God?
Now He has invited us to the ultimate party…take everything you have learned so far, turn it upside down and inspect it sideways, shake it, and see what remains.
CRITICAL THOUGHT FOR BIBLICAL STUDY #3
What does the bible have to say about the biblical doctrine from the Word of God that is under consideration?
The doctrine of rebound became the first target. When you get to know God, some of the things that we have been taught don’t make sense to me. For example, when I was teaching about God the Holy Spirit as our Mentor and Teacher…I taught that when you are in fellowship with God you are in your castle.
I taught, when you commit a personal sin, you leave your castle voluntarily, and you are vulnerable to “snipers,” demons in the cosmic system. Yet the more I have gotten to know God, the more this didn’t make sense to me. Then I started to illustrate it this way…
What this meant to me, even though I didn’t know it…is that I was learning that the Holy Spirit never leaves us…the Holy Spirit doesn’t abandon us. We are indwelled by the Trinity, and we are filled with the Spirit. Yet through the doctrine of rebound we have learned that our personal sins make us lose the filling of the Spirit, and that confession of sins is the way we regain the filling of the Spirit. It made logical sense to me. I could even draw it in a chart.
But the more I get to know the character and nature of God, the less sense the doctrine of rebound makes to me. But I certainly wasn’t going to say anything, because it’s not right to challenge a human deity, especially if that human deity happens to be one of your former teachers. Let me make this clear. I don’t think my teachers were trying to deceive me. This is easy to miss. But something was gnawing at me…maybe it is called the conscience…maybe it was the Holy Spirit…maybe it was just indigestion…and it was telling me that some things just don’t add up here…
Then a question from a man I love and respect…
CRITICAL QUESTION
Do you see any biblical connection between confessing your sins and the filling of the Spirit?
It didn’t take me long to answer. I don’t. But a biblical scholar would not just throw out the doctrine of rebound on a whim, especially if he had been using it for twenty-five years. A biblical scholar would do what the Bereans did…
Now these (the believers at Berea) were…noble-minded…for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
I want to take you on this journey. There is no threat to your spiritual life. We are not challenging the Doctrine of the Deity of Jesus Christ. We are not challenging the Doctrine of Eternal Security. I invite you to take this test with me…
THE DOCTRINE OF REBOUND TEST
What does this doctrine of rebound teach us in light of the Angelic Conflict?
How consistent is this biblical doctrine with the person, the thinking, the work, the reputation and the essence of God?
What does the bible have to say about the doctrine of rebound?
Why?
Because I don’t think the spiritual chain of command looks like this…
We, as Pastors, are not above God. God the Holy Spirit is a Pastor’s instructor…God the Holy Spirit is a biblical student’s instructor, and sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of this. But seldom are we reminded of such important things without being shaken. Let the shaking begin. My loyalty is to God and His Word. My other loyalty is to great questions…without it…the serious student of the Word of God cannot learn. When we are learning, we must have the questions, not the answers. The SOURCE of all knowledge, our Sovereign God, will give us, His intended RECIPIENTS of the truth, the answers we need, when we diligently seek Him with all of our hearts.
“So I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”
Let us seek the truth of His Word.
CLOSING SONG
The Word is Alive
CLOSING VERSES
For I am confident of this very thing, that He (God the Father) who began a (divine) good work in (the creation of) you will (keep on) perfect(ing) it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him (the wicked one) who (seems to) prosper in his way, (do not fret) because of the man who carries out wicked schemes…
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard (garrison) your hearts and your minds (for those of you) in (union with) Christ Jesus.
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS
INTERCESSION
PETITION
And we pray that you continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of your person, your thinking, your work, your reputation and your essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name,Amen.
Thanks for coming!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for listening!
www.barahministries.com
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