1 Jan 2010
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WELCOME BACK. I AM PASTOR DOUG. WE NOW CONTINUE WITH PART 169 IN OUR SERIES ENTITLED, “PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS”.
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The struggle for a born again believer is NOT to retain his/her salvation or to make the devil’s world (Luke 4:6) a better place to live.
Such things will, however, be major distractions if one does not identify and execute the true post salvation spiritual life.
The human good that we inevitably produce WILL contribute to the environment of the lives it impacts..
The classic example of how human good DOES contribute to the lives and world in which we live, would be a talented surgeon who is an atheist or non-believer. No one is disputing the contribution that the human good that such an individual can make. No one is disputing his/her right to enjoy the temporal blessings that come along with such a profession.
As we have seen in previous sessions, atheists, non-believers, and even believers all produce different qualities and quantities of human good. What must be understood, however, that as great as such things are in the world in which we live, they are still only the wood, hay, and straw of 1Corinthians 3 as far as the believer is concerned, and are the works that are of no account at the Revelation 20: 13, 15 event concerning the unbeliever.
The devil, through the Ephesians 6:12 forces of evil will encourage us to invest the time that God has given us to glorify Him in a host of alternative activities that involve human good, instead of divine good.
Satan appreciates whatever help you can render to make his world a better place to live. He will especially encourage born again believers to focus on the production of human good, hoping to deceive them into thinking that they ARE producing divine good, as well.
The production of human good will be the result of investing the time and resources at home and in the various secular positions and professions in which most of us spend a great deal of our time.
It’s been said that we spend one third of our lives sleeping, and at least half of the remaining time working at home or on our jobs or in our professions.
To ignore the divine good and objectives that the plan of God has for us to accomplish during these same activities at home or at work, is a foolish waste of time and the life that God has given to us to glorify Him.
It is at home or on the job that each believer will find the personal pulpit and work station where he/she is to function as a disciple and ambassador for the Kingdom of God.
What many who identify themselves as members of the Christian Community know about God, Heaven, Satan, and Hell come from the Gospel according to Hollywood.
Such believers see a calling from God to involved some great adventure or mission, but for most of us, our calling is right where we have been all along.
What we need to learn is exactly what it is that God wants us to do, wherever we are or whatever else we are doing at the same time.
Establishing a productive world, independent of God, has been the stated agenda of Satan before the creation of the human race (Isaiah 14: 13, 14).
Each and every day of one’s post salvation spiritual life, the born again believer makes choices that serves the interests of SELF, the world’s system, or God.
But what a human soul cannot do is to serve more than one master at the same time (Matthew 6:24). In order to truly serve self, the world, or God, one must neglect or reject serving the others.
These decisions not only impact our own lives, but influence the lives of those in our personal, social, and/or professional environments, as well.
We either encourage or discourage others from valuing God and the things of God as we interact with them. This is what gives purpose and meaning to EVERY day of our post salvation spiritual life, no matter where or with whom we spend it.
We can come up with all the excuses and reasons we want to in order to justify our lack of interest in the spiritual realm, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see whose interests we are serving when we do.
We are what we are we, in the positive sense, by the grace of God, and we are what we are, in the negative sense, by becoming the products of our own negative decisions.
What WE decide to do or not to do is what determines the quality of our days, weeks, months, years, decades, and our life as a whole. We write our own eulogy one day at a time.
Good, or bad, we DO become enslaved to whatever we submit our minds to focus on, as our thought processes are what determine our inevitable behaviors.
The pride and arrogance of the fallen nature within us would argue that no one tells US what we are going to do or not to do, but being enslaved to our self-centered fallen nature is no different than being enslaved to any other internal or external force.
Our behavior is what defines the lifestyle that we CHOOSE to accept.
Let’s take a look at some of the general lifestyles that humans tend to develop.
An IMMORAL lifestyle is one that is centered on satisfying the sinful desires of the fallen nature within us.
We are ALL tempted to entertain the sinful desires of our fallen natures.
The desires that we have are not the same ones that are manifested in others, but are ALL from the same fallen nature.
God does not condone occasional sin (Habakkuk 1:13), but Scripture does not deny the reality of its existence and our inevitable involvement in it (1John 1:8).
Any sin(s) (James 2:10) can lead us into an immoral lifestyle.
A sin becomes a lifestyle when any sin of thought or behavior becomes the frame of mind that defines that way we think and therefore act on a regular and ongoing basis. Good or bad, humans ARE creatures of habit.
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WELCOME BACK. I AM PASTOR DOUG. WE NOW CONTINUE WITH PART 170 IN OUR SERIES ENTITLED, “PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS”.
A person involved in an immoral lifestyle lives for the next encounter in whatever area of sin he/she has chosen to involve him/herself. In time, his/her daily agenda will be arranged and re-arranged to accommodate time and opportunity to enter into or prepare for the next encounter.
Believers are not immune from the temptation or from making a decision to engage in immorality.
Moses and David got involved in murder AFTER having established a relationship with God.
It is only a matter of time, if immorality is allowed to take root, that any given sin can become a lifestyle.
Whatever area(s) there are of weakness and vulnerability that is a part of the fallen nature within us, they will become more and more of a challenge to resist as we move FORWARD in the plan of God.
It is when we move FORWARD that we become more of a threat to the Ephesians 6:12 forces of evil, and it is when we are moving forward that we are more likely to be tempted with some opportunity to sin.
Keep in mind that edification is a POST salvation process. Edification, as with all spiritual activity, requires the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit (John 15:5). Learning requires humility and submission. Humility and submission are two things that the pride and arrogance of the fallen nature hates.
Unbelievers are not Spirit indwelled (Titus 3:5) and are hostile (Romans 8:7) to God and the things of God.
With the exception of a presentation of the Gospel Message, under the pre-salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit, the unsaved soul is incapable of understanding information of a spiritual nature.
It is an act of futility to try to convince unbelievers of some point of doctrine who do not have the capacity to understand God or the things of God.
Such understanding and the capacity to learn spiritual things comes from the filling of God the Holy Spirit that is one of the results of the spiritual rebirth (Titus 3:5).
Although prevented from understanding spiritual information, the inherent characteristics of the fallen nature makes such a person VERY receptive to ALL the counterfeit and religious alternatives that are developed and/or endorsed by Satan.
The ONLY message that an unsaved person can comprehend is the Gospel Message, and only then if they are being ministered to by God the Holy Spirit.
It is ludicrous to expect someone who is not born again to understand, let alone believe, the doctrines of Scripture.
Once born again, the BELIEVER then has the capacity to understand the teaching of Scripture, but he/she must choose to submit to the teaching ministry provided for him/her by God the Holy Spirit, and to apply the doctrines as well.
The type of humility needed for spiritual edification is not to be found in the thinking processes an unbeliever, or a believer who is out of fellowship with God.
Many ask why God holds us accountable for being the way we when it was He who created us “that way”.
As we have seen in the past, “that way” can be defined in different ways for different persons, but we are ALL in the same James 2:10, stinking, sinking boat.
God created Adam and then Eve with bodies, souls, and spirits.
Along with these bodies, souls, and spirits, Man was given free will to make moral decisions.
Eve was deceived and Adam knowingly sinned, causing them to lose their spiritual life.
This is what is meant when the Bible reveals that on the day they sinned, they would die.
The type of death that Adam and Eve suffered on the day they sinned was spiritual death.
Physical death became a reality for the human experience as of the Genesis 3:24 incident in which God denied Man access to the tree of life in the Garden.
From that time on, each soul has a date of creation in which it is imputed to the humanity at the birth of the body that is reproduced for him/her, and an appointed (Hebrews 9:27) date in which the soul is to leave the body and enter into eternity.
Being denied access to the Tree of Life was actually a blessing in disguise; otherwise Man could have lived on indefinitely in the world that was also altered through the Fall of Man.
Physical death does not mean the end of existence, only a change in location and environment.
Adam’s appointed time of physical death did not come until centuries later (Genesis 5:5).
Everyone has an appointed time of physical death, except for the one generation that will be alive on the Earth when the Rapture takes place (1Thessalonians 4: 17).
The soul that is created with everlasting life in God’s own likeness (Genesis 1:36) IS going to live on when it departs the body.
The body, reproduced by Man (John 3:6) receives the breath of life (Genesis 2:7) at birth, and eventually turns to dust after physical death.
The bodies of born again believers will rise in resurrection form and be re-united with the soul and spirit on the day of the Rapture (1Thessalonians 4: 16).
The human spirit must (John 3:3) be regenerated (Titus 3:5) as a result of the SOUL making a positive response to the presentation of the Gospel Message.
At the Fall of Man, Adam and Eve also received a sin nature that is passed down through the male partner (1Corinthians 15:22) in the human reproduction process (Psalms 51:5) that God established.
Born again believers are saved from this spiritual death and receive a regenerated Spirit (Titus 3:5) along with Eternal Life (John 3:16) as a result of making a positive response to a presentation of the Gospel Message.
God allows the fallen nature that Adam and Eve received to be passed down to the generations of Man, but that is only a part of the story.
Telling only a part of the story has been a Satanic technique since the beginning of time.
A degree of truth must be included in every deception that Satan engineers in order to make it credible. No one in their right mind is going to get involved in something that they know is going to destroy them.
STOP
WELCOME BACK. I AM PASTOR DOUG. WE NOW CONTINUE WITH PART 171 IN OUR SERIES ENTITLED, ‘PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS”.
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God places in the soul of Man the desire to know of eternal things (Eccl.3:11), and provides the seeking soul with everything that he/she needed to know or do during the past dispensations.
During the dispensation of the Church Age, God continues to do this through the proclamation of the Gospel Message for salvation, and the teaching of His Word for edification.
Spiritual ignorance, and its consequences, is a CHOICE that individuals make.
Abraham was saved by FAITH (Genesis 15: 6) and so are we. Individuals are saved by believing in what God has made known to any dispensation or individual.
A key teaching that is often overlooked is found in John 3:6 that make it clear what part of us, as human beings, are created by God, regenerated by God, and what parts of us are reproduced and/or passed down to us, by our natural parents.
The SOUL is created (John3:6) by God who imputes the soul at birth, along with the breath of natural life (Genesis 2:7) to the body that was prepared and provided to us by our natural parents (John 3:6).
Man IS born a sinner, but it is MAN who chooses to remain spiritually dead, or to be spiritually regenerated, by believing the Gospel Message.
It is God who regenerates the dead SPIRIT at the moment of salvation (Titus 3:5).
A one-time (John 3:16) response to the Gospel Message addresses all past, present, and future sins, as far as salvation is concerned. A 1John 1:9 response addresses post-salvation sin that can otherwise result in divine discipline (Hebrews 12:6) and loss of heavenly reward/inheritance (1Corinthians 3: 12-15).
Although Man will blame God and everyone and everything else for the consequences of an immoral lifestyle, it is Man who CHOOSES to enter into or to remain in one.
A SELF centered lifestyle designs and pursues a life that in centered on the promotion of SELF and or self/interests.
There is NOTHING wrong with a good self image and self confidence, but whenever our SELF ascends to the throne of our lives, we are under the influence of the fallen nature within us.
The self-centered individual shares his/her throne with no one, including God.
The self-centered individual’s best friends and closest counselors are Me, Myself, and I.
This self-centered focus of attention can be at the helm when we are producing human good and when we are engaged in sin.
Sin and human good are the products of the fallen nature within us.
Be it human good or sin, the self-centered person does ALL that he/she does in order to fulfill a selfish desire, or to satisfy a perceived need to elevate oneself to receive the praise and attention of others.
Human good is obviously much easier to justify than acts with a self-serving motive, but neither one is a part of the spiritual life.
The self-centered person desires to be independent of God, but will feign allegiance to persons or systems of authority if he/she believes that there is something to be gained for oneself.
The pleasing or the promotion of self is the primary objective behind ALL that a self-centered person does.
The self centered individual will appear to be interested in current events and the affairs of others, but only to the extent that they can potentially elevate or impact him/herself. Beyond that, he/she has no genuine interest in anything where there is nothing to be gained for oneself.
The self-centered person is either insecure to the point that he/she becomes paranoid, or is so filled with pride and arrogance that he/she cannot see that any one of us is just one step away from falling off the self-made pedestals that a self-centered life can build.
Remember, that the original sin of Satan was to be like God, build a world in which he would be praised for it, and to do it independently of God (Isaiah 14: 13, 14).
We are living in a world that teaches us to look out for #1. The self-centered person will see him/herself as number one, whereas the Christ centered person sees the Lord Jesus Christ as #1, other people as number 2-3 billion, and self as last.
A Christ centered lifestyle is one that identifies and is organized around the general and specific plan that God has for his/her life.
With the power of God the Holy Spirit, all thoughts and actions of immorality and selfishness of ANY kind are to be identified and kept at bay.
As long as and to the extent that one continues to be involved with immorality or has an agenda of self-promotion of ANY kind, he/she cannot establish and maintain a Christ-centered life.
The general plan of God involves being presented with the Gospel Message and making a one-time decision that settles the issue of salvation once and for all.
Until this “foundation” is laid, one can choose to be religious and moral, but there is no spiritual life in such an individual, and he/she is headed for Hades and the lake of fire (Rev. 20:13, 15).
Only when one IS born again, can he/she choose to enter into and to remain in the true POST salvation SPIRITUAL life.
Those who identify and execute the post salvation spiritual life, share the common goal of glorifying God via the daily intake and application of the Word of God.
As this process becomes one’s daily priority, God will make all the necessary changes in one self and circumstances to conform the individual to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In time, one’s spiritual gift will be revealed to him/her, as well as where and how the gift is going to be exercised.
WELCOME BACK. I AM PASTOR DOUG. WE NOW CONTINUE WITH PART 172 IN OUR SERIES ENTITLED, ‘PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS.”
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Where and how God may want one’s spiritual gift to be wxercised may change, but the gifts of God are irrevocable.
One’s place in the post salvation spiritual life will have something to do with the fulfillment of the Great Commission, either in the realm of communication or support services.
The where and how part of God’s individual plan is what helps one to find his/her niche in the spiritual realm.
Once identified, there will always be opposition and testing as with any worthwhile endeavor, but finding one’s place in the plan of God will bring the joy of the Lord that no other means can do. It will not be a burden, but the joy of one’s spiritual life.
The POST salvation plan of God applies to born again believers only and involves the development of personal discipleship.
This requires a daily choice to learn of and apply the Word of God to the events and circumstances that God engineers.
There will NEVER come a time when we can close the Bible and not need to open it again for another spiritual meal.
Just as a loss of appetite in the natural realm is an indication that something has gone amiss, the same can be said for the loss of appetite for the nourishment of the Word of God in the spiritual realm.
The believer who chooses a Christ-centered lifestyle, in time will have no other desire than to seek and to do the will of God.
At that point in one’s walk with God, the born again believer has identified his/her spiritual gift and accompanying ministry in God’s specific plan for his/her life.
As long as we hold on to anything that is going to distract us from learning and or executing the plan of God for our lives, we are not likely to have God’s plan revealed to us.
Making the necessary adjustments to the specific plan of God, or at least the willingness to do so, is something that never ends.
Remember we DO have an enemy who prowls about seeking to destroy the productivity of our post salvation spiritual life (1Peter 5:8).
The road to Damascus (Acts 9:6,15) callings do take place, but for most of us, it takes a long time before we have been prepared for service.
Old habits die hard, and God will need to eradicate the independent and rebellious tendencies that our fallen nature has engrained in our thought processes.
Most of us will take many trips back to wallowing around in the mud (2Peter 2:22) and wrestling all night long with God (Genesis 32:24) before we are ready to serve Him.
For some of us, the overhaul will be so dramatic that there will always be some who, like Paul, will view our participation in the plan of God with much suspicion (Acts 9:26).
God could just speak and instantaneously make the necessary changes, but He does not force anyone to go any further in His plan that what our own free will allow.
It is never too late for God to use a believer for His glory.
The post salvation spiritual life of the repentant thief on the cross next to our Lord only amounted to a few hours.
Yet, his confession of faith and our Lord’s response recorded in Scripture has brought dying peace to countless sinners, both off and on death row for almost two thousand years.
Capital punishment for capital crime is not a violation of Scripture.
A correct translation of Exodus 20:13) would read, “You shall not murder, not “thou shall not kill.”
The Bible teaches that there are times to kill (Eccl. 3:3), and capital punishment for capital crime is one of them Romans 13:4).
Regardless of where one is as a result of sin, the only sin that will send anyone to Hades and then to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13, 15) is the sin of disbelief John 3:18).
God the Father cannot send someone to the Lake of Fire for a sin that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has stamped PAID IN FULL.
Post salvation sin can result in divine discipline that can include physical death, but will not send a born again believer to Hades or to the lake of fire.
The glorification of God and not the disciple is always the objective of any legitimate ministry.
As in the words of John the Baptist (John 3:30), the advancing disciple must decrease and the Lord must increase.
The ultimate goal of discipleship here is that when people interact with an advancing disciple, the focus in on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Such concepts will seem way beyond our personal expectations to accomplish, but some of the greatest servants of God were at one time some of the Church’s greatest adversaries. The classic example is the Apostle Paul.
If any of us have the privilege of ever reaching the point of maximum spiritual maturity, it will likely not take place until years of failing and picking up the pieces.
Any believer who reaches an upper level of spiritual maturity and maintains a Christ-centered life can tell you that the road that brought him or her there eliminated all thoughts or illusions of grandeur concerning oneself.
Such a believer will be the first one to concede that all he/she is or ever hopes to be is dependent on the grace of God.
Acknowledging the truth concerning where one is from divine viewpoint can be a painful, but necessary, process.
The spiritually mature believer knows the reality of James 2:10 and 1John1:8 and that he/she never had and never will have any cause to look down his/her nose at anyone else.
One’s immorality is easy to identify and the removal of the guilt can be a great load lifted from one’s shoulders.
But identifying the EVIL side of human GOOD and living independently of God is much harder to perceive and just as necessary to address if one is to ever glorify God. STOP
Pastor Doug Laird
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