Dealing with Depravity

Dealing with Depravity

Gen 3:1-24;
Romans 5:12; 8:20-23

Sept 27-28

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Any study of Faith needs to begin with the Holy Spirit. Let's remember the picture as Jesus experienced the Holy Spirit. Here is the picture: at the time of His baptism by John; A dove descended upon him, we guess His head. Think of a Dove, you picture a beautiful, if aggressive, bird of prey. He appears very smoothe, yet much more powerful than first impression would indicate. A dove Has a small head, not one like one who has a big head like an eagle! A different animal who might have a big head and appear regal; is a lion. The Holy Spirit did not come across that way. He was very humble in that he appeared as a dove! Observing, we might notice the two wings. These symbolize the balanced way of approaching life. We might think of the two eyes as well. the wide spacing helps to provide prospective and distance. One view looks inside and the other looks outside. Concerning the Holy Spirit; this might also be a look either at the micro or the macro. How does this look to me? One look is for all eternity and at all times (the macro). The other looks at a specific particular circumstance (the micro). The body of the dove is covered with a layer of feathers that can be fluffed out to provide insulation from the climate and the elements. The color also is white symbolizing purity and sanctification. Last there are two feet to take small steps, three forward and one back on each foot (two, also for balance.). It is by looking on the eyes that I want to illustrate this lesson,DEALING WITH DEPRAVITY. Depravity is the end result of disobedience. Some people call the Lord, Lord but do the very opposite of things that His scripture would lead them to do. Others ne ver consider the gifts and callings of the Lord.

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In The Beginning

Gen 3:1-24

1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest you die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die:

5 For God does know that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you?

10 And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 ¶ And he said, Who told you that thou was naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that thou should not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because you hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shalt bruise his heel.

16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring to you; and you shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 ¶ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The lesson

Most of us are at least familiar with the concept pictured by this curious story. Some also remembering the unfolding of the verses by heart.

The presenting question that people through the centuries forward have asked: WHY?

To think that the one who had the wisdom To create this world; WHY?

To Look at the things that science has discovered WHY?

To consider that the more things that are learned, more questions are raised than answered; WHY?

To see the unknown knowledge exploding exponentially,WHY?

To think of the misery and pain caused by sin, WHY?

So many Questions so few answers;

To have a baby die in one's arms: WHY?

To lean over in the middle of the night to kiss a lover

But only feeling an empty space left empty by ravaging disease; WHY?

To sit alone in a chair waiting for a call form a wayward child that delays it's coming; WHY?

Or never comes because premature Death has claimed a life; WHY?

To think that One so big and grand who has the power to do something

but doesn't use that power to demonstrate this Love He is supposed to have! WHY?

All of these questions are raised by people who experience some form of result listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Grief prescribes a set of internal experiences a person sees when experiencing Loss of some kind. It May be the loss of an actual thing or person or some loss felt in the thought life. Mental and emotional losses may be just as severe and even more painful.People who have unexpressed expectations or even at times inappropriate expectations experience this Grief process as well The pain felt by internal losses is just as real as the pain experienced by some one whose loved one died. As I study these areas, It seems that Loss is universal to the human condition. So in a world that universally recreates and restores; Is this Grief Process... Gods method of healing and restoring similar to the process of mending a broken bone?.

Grief

1. Shock....Denial A short to intermediate period of time permitting a person to function the life process
   
   until a more appropriate time of examination may take place. In a time of crisis, life must continue
   
   at least until circumstances of safety permit review and examination of the Loss
   

   Anger ..Recognition of the loss Emotional and sometimes violent response to loss of control, loss of the picture of life as one wants it to be!
   
   

   Why? ...Bargaining , making the unwanted reality and go away. Imaginings what if? If only?
   

   Reluctant acceptance...Realization and Bargaining necessary to assimilate the new reality while at the same time effort made to maintain some semblance of sanity.
   

   The inappropriate response to acceptance also drives some to escape,:
   

   • Dependence upon some chemical to "dull" the pain.
     
   • Negotiated sanity that refuses to accept this Loss
     
   • Retreat or escape through physical illness
     
   • So many ways to resolve the loss so as to achieve some normality

   
   

   Acceptance with thanksgiving,

   • if not for the gift of the actual event,
   • Then at least a heart of gratitude for the presence of the Lord through out the experience
   • that many would consider totally unacceptable

   
   

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Death By One

Romans 5:12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

John in the Epistle lifts back the veil between earth and heaven. The lifted veil reveals a picture of one sitting at the right hand of God. Through out all eternity, the Living God has been constantly performing the task of Advocate before the throne of God. Silently to the world, He answers the accusations of The Accuser with a simple NOT GUILTY! by venture of the blood. It seems to me that this is the only answer any of us can give to respond to the reality of Dealing with Depravity. Not guilty by vulture of the blood. This looks back to past actions and mistakes, wrong choices, and wilful sin. The other side of the picture reveals both the results of sinful action and the inequity that results from a lifestyle of sin and disobedience. We also must confess the sins of blood comitted in the land. In our day, chief among these is the sin of murder comitted in hospitals everywhere...The sin of abortion. For these and for the inequity caused by the sins of our fathers we must repent ,ask forgiveness and by faith plead the blood of Jesus. For truly, by his death and blood we have forgiveness from all these sins and restore some semblance of life to our world.

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For All Sinned

Romans 8:20-23

20 For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

A good way to identify the writer, if there is no by line, is to look carefully at the tracks. The word patterns, the sentence structure quickly gives away the mind and heart of the writer. Even with out the benefit of sitting at his feet, he delivers his thoughts reveals his mind and heart. This section is definitely one that would give away Paul the apostle. The words are somewhat awkward to us as we try to wrestle the meaning. Taken with verse context suffering with all creation we can see that Paul is using this simple fact to shore up his line of discussion about the problem of suffering about which this lesson discusses. The entire book of Romans presents Paul's Gospel or so it has been called by others. In the sixteen chapters of Romans Paul presents his account as "eye witness of the Life of Jesus." Having been guilty of at least holding the coats at the stoning of Stephen, Paul keenly feels the sting of sin. which is Guilt At the same time he also feels the glorious liberty of forgiveness. After his vision he thinks back to the words "do not lay this sin to their charge." spoken by the lips of the dying man, Stephen. Paul carries the guilt of this experience to his grave and one can be quite sure that Stephen awaits in heaven to lift the burden off of his back.

Dealing with the Depravity of this World

The Macro view of this condition raises the question of WHY? Why would a loving God permit sin, dist ruction, and all of the grief and misery caused by this. More than a few have completely turned away from God as if he were an abusing Father. Either their own experiences or even hearing of the starving children in the third world. Feed the Children advertise that a hundred thousand children a day starve to death for lack of food. How could a loving God permit this? How could he permit a whole host of other atrocities. We can think of Hitler's Holocaust! Also more recently there was the Kindeman Square massacre in China only a few years ago. The answer it seams lies in the fact of freedom. If the freedom to chose means anything it means the freedom to choose wrong. God gave Adam this freedom in the garden. Freedom brings responsibilities. Chief Responsibility of freedom is to harvest the fruit that results from the seeds derived from the free choices of the man. Paul also mentioned that each one Reaps from the fruit of his free choices.

In Summary

God has given free choice. This freedom has resulted in wrong choices that have ended in pain, sickness and death. While an omnipotent God could remove depravity, to do so would leave a race of automatons. No one would be able to respond in truth. It is like a person giving another a complement. If he gives the complement under duress, the comments are tainted, and not really believed. If however the praise is genuine and a response of true gratitude from the heart we find the complement meaningful!

In short where sin abounds grace does much more abound. The only way to deal with depravity ... is by Grace

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Result of disobedience

15 ¶ But it shall come to pass, if you wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you:

back to the lesson

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Advocate

1 John 2:1

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

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Accuser

Re 12:10

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

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Heirs of God

16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 ¶ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.Back

Charged with death of Stephen

Acts 7: 58

And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

1 ¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death.

In any court of Law an accomplice pleads the same guilt or innocence as the primary who is accused of the crime. Paul seems to feel the guilt of this "silent support."

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Inequity

6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiff necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.

10 ¶ And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

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Sins in Land

Genesis 4:10 And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries up to me from the ground.

Genesis 4:11 And now are you cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand;

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Seed time and harvest

Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed,

and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

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Each Reaps from the Fruit Sewn

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sews, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:8 For he that sews to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sews to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life

This shows that the Freedom of free choice will bring brings the responsibility of Harvest! Sadly the prayer for forgiveness will reverse the guilt and give a second chance to choose well. It will not however reverse the harvest. People have children as a harvest of sinful relationships and inequity. The blood will cover their actions, the sin and the guilt; but the children are still alive. They have to be cared for. They start a whole new cycle of forgiveness and the grief process as they reproduce each after their kind as well. Each one carries the sin of the seed of the Fathers before. This is inequity that also must be forgiven. In actual life it must be forgiven again and again and again!

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Grace abounds in hard times

Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Living For the Truth

Living For the Truth

Sept 20-21

Soon after the "confession unto salvation" is made; every believer enters a time of testing. This testing to see if that same confession really represents core beliefs or simply a superficial passing thought! (as in the parable of the sower.) Truly the test is the same as for every other believer through out the history of the FAITH! Consider Job in his time of testing. The test was only "would he stay faithful to God and by implication to his mission?" Remember last week..."Is you is or is you ain't my baby"

Luke 24:44-45;   2Peter3 15b-16;    Rev 22:18-19

This week's lesson called "living the truth" contrasts three areas of living the truth.

1. The first concentrates on the experience with in the person. It is within that the identity is clarified. This identity might also called the paradigm; How the world appears to a person. through his own eyes. The problem with understanding is that the thought life may also be deceived without the person even knowing. Consider the clients and patents of my daughter the psychiatrist. She endeavors to enter into their trust to convince them (by faith in her) that the crazy things that they are seeing are not real. This dynamic is especially true for a young believer. It is said that the cults are filled with Christians who are still Christians but their thinking is all wrong. Understanding is a tricky thing. How does a person know if they are in a state of deception? This is the subject of this section.
   
   
2. The second contrast is that baptism in truth that comes when a person endures suffering for living the Way for confession or for baptism in the faith. When a person experiences this kind of distress, he earns and enters a completely different plateau of faith. Longsuffering through testing proves his faith, both to himself and to the world.
   
3. The third contrast pictures a person who simply accepts the words of prophesy and scripture as the Word is written neither adding to or subtracting from the scripture.
4. I would also like to introduce the idea that really living the truth can only take place in a person who lives a life of Repentance  By this I mean staying Humble or teachable as to the things of the Spirit. Is he able to make changes to bring himself into the more perfect alignment with the teachings of scripture.
   
   

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Understanding

Luke 24:44

• 44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
  
• 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
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Open their understanding! How many times have I prayed that a person's understanding be opened to understand the truth of scripture! I Only eternity could keep count. Parallel to this prayer is the prayer to open their eyes to see the glorious Gospel of Truth. the answer to this prayer has revealed the truth of the particular scripture and often paved the way to change the entire paradigm of life. Afterward the lives of everyone in the [persons life was different. A church in a suburb of Tampico Mexico was started because a dump truck driver had his understanding opened. He was not a preacher but once he understood the truth of scripture everything else changed. He found a preacher, encouraged him, and loaded as many as would ride in the back of his dump truck to the services. A vibrant church was formed and on they ran from there!, As a side note he got a contract and soon his he purchased his own dump truck and next he had three and now God has blessed.
We need to understand how big God Is! He is so big that he measured the universe in the Span of his hand. Some where on that hand is a spot of out sun's solar system. somewhere on that spot is the earth. And somewhere on that speck is the country that you live in and it's world system and by implication your problems. Somewhere is your state,town,street,house, and last of all you. With this perspective (*paradigm*) Even the greatest of tests are but a puff of wind. I remember the song "In his hands he has the whole world." As we "walk the truth" we need to remember these view points.

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Longsuffering

2Peter 3:15-16

• 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; Paul's Teaching
  
• 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. top
  

Suffering is a dicey doctrine in the doctrine of "the church." Because no one ever likes to be in the middle of it, many who have experienced such things react in different ways. As I have mentioned before it is dangerous to developers doctrine based on experience. Yet when a person is conscious it is difficult t not to draw conclusions based on these same experiences. Indeed it is this distinctive that draws conclusions bases on experience that makes us human. Dogs may learn from bad experiences but do not seem to draw conclusions about life from the same. Doctrine (teaching) must be developed from scripture.

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Heareth

Revelation 22

• 18 For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
  
• 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.top
  

The challenge for each of us when we experience events that do not line up with Scripture, or our knowledge of the character of God, is to not change our doctrine to reflect this new experience. The doctrine must be a "teaching of scripture! The focus of the challenge is do we now, in light of the experience, change the basis of Faith to reflect the conclusion of the experience or do we leave it on the foundation of scripture and enforce the scripture on the experience. This process of requiring the circumstances of life to bow to the name of Jesus is called Standing in faith. It is not easy at the time and the first time it feels like a three year old jumping off of the back end of a large truck into the waiting hands of a loving father. The test is,"does the boy believe that the father will be there to catch him at the time of impact!" This really happens the first time that one "stands alone." To make this kind of confession among a group of former friends and experience their disdain for his new Faith really crystalizes the original step of faith.


Along the lines of suffering many change their doctrine based on their suffering. The Ashkenazi Jews, after suffering the Nazi Holocaust dramatically changed their view of scripture. Before there was a general belief that nothing could ever happen to them as a whole and that somehow God would "cover them under the shadow of his wings" As a result many discarded the Faith of their forefathers as irreverent for our generation. the problem comes when One interprets the scripture for another based on his own faith. Many Jews who placed personal faith in the truth of this and other scriptures did escape and their stories of miraculous delivery are extant today. The faith word has two distinct framework within which to work. the first is the General eternal word. the second is the very personal specific application of that word to a tome place and person. The second will deliver salvation while the first will correctly guide doctrine. this difference delivered the lives of Jews in the Nazi block or condemned them to a horrific death!

It is so important to place our faith in the finished work of Jesus today with the full expectation that He will deliver us from evil in the time of need!

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Repentance

1John 1:10

• If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
  
• 1John 1:10 If we deny that we have sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Message "The Truth" has no place in our hearts.
  So in this we understand that the Law was given to convince us that we can not live the whole law (at least not in our own ability!). While we might be able to live this life in the power of the Living Spirit of Love who dwells within us; inside out hearts. It is a continual sense of our need of repentance that keeps us in a state of humility and a sense of quickly turning back to the Love of God. It turns out that physical world calls out so much louder than the "still small voice" within. The awareness that we always need to turn back to Him causes us to walk softly and gently with Him and with one another.
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Sanctify them through the truth

John 17:17

• Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.back

Parable of the sower

Matthew 13:

• 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and anon with joy receive it;
  
• 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arise because of the word, by and by he is offended. {offended: he relapses, or, falls into sin}
  
• 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
  
• 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
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Parable of Job

Job 1:

• 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nought?
  
• 10 Has not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. {substance: or, cattle}
  
• 11 But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face. {and he: Heb. See if he curse you not to your face}back

Span

Isaiah 40:12

• Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? {a measure: Heb. a tierce} back

Paul's Teaching -- Truth of scripture

II Timothy 3:

• 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: back to Revelation
  
• 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. {thoroughly…: or, perfected}
  
• chapter 4:1 ¶ I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
  
• 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
  
• 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
  
• 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
  
• 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. {make: or, fulfil}
  
• 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
  
• 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
  
• 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
  
• 9 ¶ Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: back
  

  He seems to be saying in verse 7 that He "proved" his salvation or ministry by enduring to the end. It also seems that he has decided that his mission is accomplished. back

Bow

• Philippines 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
  
  
• Exodus 23:24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and completely break down their images. back

  In actual practice it takes this level of violence to win a complete victory over the test of sin. Anything less and compromise will seep in to the life of the believer. While it may not show up in the visible life of the person in faith, it most surely will in the lives of those who follow after him. (Children, Church,Fellowship, etc) back
  

  
  

Cover

Psalm 91:

1. ¶ He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. {abide: Heb. lodge}
   
2. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
   
3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
   
4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
   
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day;
   
6. Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday.
   
7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
   
8. Only with your eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
   
9. ¶ Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
   
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
    
11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
    
12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
    
13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. {adder: or, asp}
    
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
    
15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.
    
16. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. {long…: Heb. length of days} back
    

      

Did God Really say That??

Did God Really say That?

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Relying on God's Word

Sept 13-14

2Tim3:16;
2Pet 1:20-21;
Luke 1:1-4
Hebrews 6:1;
Genesis 1:1;

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Relying on or trusting GOD's word, the Scripture, The Bible means taking the next step in your faith after really becoming a believer.In Hebrews we have the list of things to step over to pass from infancy as a believer. This picture is describing a person who is able to feed his own self spiritually, maybe with a little help, but able to sustain a personal discipline of Bible study; that is to say He is able to " stand alone " within a group of unbelievers. This second step is pivotal for a person to transition into the place of effectiveness. He has to truly step off of the " cliff " as that is really how it feels at first. Will God be there to catch him as he jumps off the precipice into the faith of God. This is where the first experience of the supernatural happens. Did God really say it, If I rely on it will he back it up? The old country boy said " Is you Is or Is you ain't my baby?

Most give tacit agreement with this precept of Faith. God's word is true. The challenge comes when we cross something that counters our personal wants and desires. Are we able to subordinate our will to the stated will of God. Did He really say it! Hebrews equates the faith in God with faith in the writhen word of God as does our next scripture in
2Timothy 3:16 (Another " 3:16 of note") Most people I have seen, need a little help to walk through this step, at least the first time. Typically there is an element of sin as well. Because this sin needs to be confessed; it is best to have a mentor who also believes the scripture is " breathed " of God Most are able to stand on the truth of Scripture when they have the " silent support " from the voice of someone that they can trust. It is like the silent supporter is lending Faith until the neubbie strengthens his own faith to the point that he is sure inside himself of the truth of scripture.Romans 12:3 says that each is given a measure. If it can be measured it can increase to a larger measure or number.

Hebrews 6:1


1. 1 ¶ Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; (completion)
   
   
   not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of
   faith toward God, {principles: or, word of the beginning of}
   

   2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
   

The writer of Hebrews here thinks that believing in God is the second of the most basic primary beliefs. Belief cannot happen until repentance from dead works takes place. But then the next is to accept the truth of God's existence. Because that can only happen through the Grace that comes from Jesus, He is implied as well. Actually It is Jesus that gives the grace to see the need for repentance, & the need for forgiveness.
Faith in God works out to be Faith in God's Word!.

********************

3. 2Tim3:16;
   
   
   16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
   
   ALL ... the smallest most powerful word ALL of the Bible this is it simple word that brings to crisis all of the power of the scripture.
   
   
   
   Did God really say it? Will he back it up if I really lean on the scripture with all of my heart?
   
   Seems to me few of us really rely on the Scripture or any one else if we have any other remedy.
   
   I have found that people seldom trust, really trust another
   
   unless there abides a need greater than the loss foreseen by the trust.
   
   It is just too hard. That is why adults seldom Get Saved with out some major crisis.
   
   • Personal disaster
     
   • Near Death experience
     
   • Family trauma
     
     
   • Something has to jog their orderly world to cause them to inquire as to the truth of Christ's claims.
     
     
   • God however has placed a need in each of for fellowship. This need is only met by overcoming
     
     the natural resistance to Trust and Open the heart to the Lord. Seeing and believing that a person is trusting
     
     the Lord in a similar way to their own self will give confidence that the person may be trust worthy as well.
     
     
   
   
   
   Trust also works vertically as well. Trust in a person can give a person the hope that if that person trusts the
   
   Word of God maybe they themselves will be successful to trust in the Scriptures as well.
   
   In the same way that the trust in a person provided a " splint " to hold the faith steady for a period of time until the faith became firm,
   
   the faith in another person can stabilize the faith in the Lord until it is self sustaining.
   
   
   
   Practice in this process of trust makes the action of Faith easier in the same way any other muscle or skill is developed. .
   
   Practice in trust will prepare a person for the mysteries of Heaven as It is all based on trust.
   
   • As a person stands before the judgement seat of eternity, One is confronted with the reality of sin.
     
   • Based on this practice the response will either be
     
     does the blood of Jesus cover those misdeeds?
     
     
     does some other method of forgiveness cover the ever present sin?
     
     
   • A regular practice of forgiving others makes this prospect (God forgiving Sin) more plausible.
     
   • A regular practice of receiving the forgives of others for his own sin in his own life is just as effective.
     
   • In either case practice makes perfect!
     
   
   
   
   Over and over again we are emphasizing that practice in this process of Faith and Trust is helpful in the parallel
   Faith and Trust one places in The Scriptures as being real and true.
   
   I have found that this process is best worked out in the Fellowship of the Saints. (found in small groups of believers)
   
   This is why the small groups are so very important in the developing of the faith of a new believer.
   
   The first developments of the church in Acts met in the temple and house to house
   
   It was in this small group setting that the folk who were not actually fortunate to walk with Jesus
   learned the reality of Faith first hand and began to practice this Faith in every day situations.
   
   Eternal Life is this " to know you the One true God and Jesus Christ you have sent " (John 17:3)
   
   It is a plain fact that no one knows another with out an introduction.
   No one trusts another with out walking side by side for a while.
   This trust has to grow over time. and with positive experience.
   
   
   
   
   

   ********************

   
   
4. 2Pet 1:20-21;
   
   
   
   20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
   
   21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
   
   spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
   
   
   

   Much confusion concerning the subject of Believing God's word at face value stems from this important fact about How the scripture works in life. 2Timothy 3:16 notes that scripture is intended to be applied to a person's life! The confusion comes from the fact that The Word is translated the same way from two different Greek ideas. The first and more general is the Greek word Logos . This means the "Word" but implies that it is not specific in time place or person. The other is the Rhema a word indicating the Word of God is specific in time person and place. For example there is a scripture where "Judas went and hanged himself" and another that Jesus says "Go and do likewise!" Adding these two verses together in a specific way leads to great error. This is where our idea from last week "The Trinity" and specifically the "Holy Spirit " makes an appearance. The Holy Spirit gives a certain emphasis to the scripture for a given person that yeilds the specificity of person, place, and time! Only when this third person of the Trinity gives special life to a verse of scripture that Faith
   Comes(Romans 10:17)
   

   
   
   

   ********************

   
   
   
   
5. Luke 1:1-4
   
   
   
   
   1 ¶ Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set down in order; a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
   
   2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning there were eyewitnesses,
   
   and ministers of the word;
   
   3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first,
   
   to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
   
   4 That you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed.
   
   
   

   
   Certainty, Surety These are the questions of the day. It is said that the average person tells many lies every day. Often they are little things, of no consequence: Answers to questions like "How are You?" often are answered in a word quite different from the "true" feelings! Actually if a person were to give an honest answer the questioner would react negatively revealing the premise of the question "that I care for a true answer" is itself a lie! Once the first lie is pronounced the next one is a little easier. The third and following become so much easier that at a point truth is compromised. In order to get back to a place of truth in daily life one must come to a point that it is the truth or it is DEATH! When this place is really reached , the truth will come freely once again.Like any other Sin the only way to stop is to say death to the sin! That is what dying to the flesh is about in day by day walk.
   

   
   

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Other Scripture references

Genesis 1:1;

1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

It seems to me that the most profound question that man ever asks is answered in Genesis 1:1
As we have no independent proof one way or the other the acceptance or rejection of this precept becomes the first pivot point in the progression of a person's belief structure. Because anyone can see that the world and the sky did not create themselves, one who rejects Genesis 1;1 must come up with some other explanation. The contrary position of accepting the reality of this verse, places the person in the chute of a ball falling down into the final position of accepting the Word as being God's inspired (God Breathed) thoughts on the subjects about which HE speaks. The problem in final is where in the "L" do you come out on? Word or World? I suggest you take your "L" out of world and end up with the word!

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Romans 10:17

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God..

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"Stand Alone" +++ this phrase describes a process where a person who maintains confession unto salvation through out a contest from an unbeliever.

Jesus said: "Mt 10:32 "Every man who acknowledges me before men I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven,

(33) But whoever disowns (denies) me before men I also will disown (denies) before my Father who is in Heaven


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Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. {soberly: Gr. to sobriety}

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Living For the Truth

Sept 20-21

 
Luke 24:44-45;
2Peter3 15b-16;
Rev 22:18-19

********************

Luke 24:44-45

44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

********************

2Peter3 15b-16

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that ar unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

********************
Rev 22:18-19

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

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Dealing with Depravity

Sept 27-28
Gen 3:1-24;
Rom 5:12;8:20-23

******************** Gen 3:1-24

1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 ¶ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

******************** Rom 5:12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

******************** Rom 8:20-23

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

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Comprehending Creation

Comprehending Creation

Sept 6-7

Gen 1:1,26-28;2:7;
Acts 17:24-26;
Hebrews 11:3

No this isn't heaven, just Texas. You can tell by the Blue Bonnets

Just to look at this scene inspires a person to pause... to think

Remember the words in Job , "Where were you when..."

---

********************

1. 
   
   • Gen 1:1,26-28;2:7;
     
     
     
     1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
     
     26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
     
     and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
     
     27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
     
     28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
     and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that move upon the earth.
     
   • Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
     and man became a living soul.
     
   
   

   God offered his own explanation in this thing called the Bible.
   
   To believe the verse, God said, "I did it!" It would have been enough to say, "I Did It!"
   
   But it says more; He says he made; us in His own image, and that He made us to have dominion.
   
   

   
   

   So How many times do we make a small oversight that turns into a larger oversight.
   .
   Forgetting that He said to have dominion we soon overlook the reality that He made this world.
   
   The implication to this fact is that if He made this world He might have something to say about how things in this world go.
   
   So, is it about us or Him, does He, being the author, have any residual authority?
   
   Remembering the Psalm 91: "It is He that made us and mot we ourselves!"
   
   

   It seems to me that is isn't only whether He He actually made the world,
   but what that means for you, me, us now!
   How does that change our decisions, our actions.
   
   There are those that say this world has continued un uninterrupted for thousands of years. This has the effect for them to permit them to do what ever they want to
   do with no regard for what He residing far away in heaven,
   might have to say about what ever they wanted to do. .
   
   So, the question we have is this: Is Jesus really our  LORD? ,
   
   Or do we really run our own lives quite independent of Him?
   
   
   
   Additionally, does this assertion in Genesis &quot formed man of the dust of the ground (His  dust) and breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life, making him a living soul give him any residual claim to our bodies, souls and Spirit?
   That is, Do we really run our own lives quite independent of Him?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   ********************
   
2. 
   
   • Acts 17:24-26;24
     
     God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands;
     25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing,
     
     seeing he gives to all: life, breath, and all things; 
     
     26 He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes;
     27 that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us.
     
     28 For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being;
     
     as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said,
     
     ‘For we are also His offspring.’
     
     29 Since then we are God’s offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble,
     
     or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man.
     
     30 Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence.
     
     But now He commands all men everywhere to repent,
     
     
     
     
     
     



Here we have Paul the apostle speaking to an assembly of Greeks at the place of conversation.

This was the place the men of the town went to cuss, discuss, and generally discourse over the things of the day.

Not having newspapers or other media, this is the place the community went to &quot have a drink"
meet with friends, and talk of the world matters. This gave the first example of the quote:
I decide all the large issues, She decides all the others. The large issues were those discussed at Mars Hill.


So Paul has come into town (Athens, Greece,) he always chose the most prominent town in the region to start,
He goes to the place of meeting, and when his turn comes, begins to discourse some     "new ideas."
Their culture reveled in hearing and debating new ideas. Not having the publication of media,

these people challenged new thought and new ideas testing the good and discarding those not practical.

Paul's goal was to win the area and region for the cause of Christ. To this end he

uses his education and the format available to him to achieve this end. Paul uses the items at hand

like the idols, the cultural precepts and familiarity with the people. As we noted a few weeks ago

every culture and people group has woven into the fabric of itself the key to salvation.

and personal knowledge of God through his Son Jesus. Adroitly Paul suggests that the &quot Unknown &quot god.

whom the people have acknowledged is truly the Living God.

He complements them on their forethought thus gaining their hearing.

Using this device he continues to reason through the obvious reality that has been hidden to them previously.

Many see the light. From those that do Paul starts the foundation of a church.

Every church he founded sprouted and grew from an idea, a thought, a word, a conviction, and a belief in that idea. So it is today. Each believer, each small group, each church, each Fellowship and Denomination ... even the church universal is based in belief in a few precepts. The belief in these concepts is the foundation of our spiritual lives. What you believe does make a difference. Like the Creation idea many can not be " proven " in the normal sense. These ideas are from a different plane and are either accepted or not based on their own merit. It is like the wind that cannot be seen. The proof of it's existence must be inferred from some evidence within it's own realm. Men place a set of cups on the end of arms and count how many times that it rotates per unit of time. The wind is still not seen. All of the other reasons for the movement of the cups are eliminated yielding a replication experiment and conclusion. In the same way believers have to reduce the possible explanations of the existence of this earth and our lives as well to a resulting conclusion. The "t cups " in the spirit world to measure the movement are personal for each believer. He might look at the before and the after to conclude the change over time. He might compare what he could have done by himself to what he can do with he help of the Spirit. These as well as other tools help to substantiate belief. In the end we are in the world but our reference is not of the world. Another tool is to reduce possible other explanations using the principles of probability and statistics. This is often used in research to reduce other possible explanations to near zero. Consider the chances of taking a bucket of dust and pitching it into the air so that when it falls (a function of gravity; another law of the world) it settles down into the shape of a high powered race car able to &quot safely &quot run two hundred miles per hour.It does all of that with out the aid of any outside influence.
What do you think?






********************

3. 
   
   • Hebrews 11:3
     
     3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,
     
     so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
     

     **********
     
     Faith connects the conscious rational part of ourselves with the nonconscious spirit part.
     
     John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
     
     God is Spirit. " Pneumatic " Those that would contact and interact must do so on His terms. That would be spirit to Spirit. A spiritual connection is made by acceptance. This also simply turns out to be a base need of each person. Not finding this often people will settle for the acceptance of a smaller group of people. In the ultimate one is enough. To be accepted by that one other person gives each one a foot hold to hold on to the spiritual realm.
     
     II Corinthians5:18-19: 18 And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has appointed us to serve in the ministry of reconciliation.
     19 We are to tell how God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men’s transgressions to their account, and that He has entrusted to us the Message of this reconciliation.
     
     Once again, Jesus was in the process of reconciliation when he looked at the woman caught in the very act of adultery and rather than charging her with he fault she deserved, He looked at her and said

     " neither do I condemn you go and sin no more." He did not over look the sin He simply did not charge her with the guilt of it.
     
     
     
     

     
     
     

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