CHRISTIAN SOLDIER BOOT CAMP, PART 6.
Grace Bible Church
Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin
Tree Of Life
Week Ending 8-15-2021
“Jesus Left Us An Example To Follow – We Must Understand It First!”
In this week’s synopsis we will examine the following:
- Jesus is our prototype
- Nehemiah – restoration and repair
- Power of prayer – why and how
- Importance of unity in the body
- Dig deeper – the tale of 3 prepositions
- We know what Jesus did, but HOW did He do it?
- Be dilgent – study and teach!
This week we are going to start off looking at Deacon Jason’s lessons in which he returned to Nehemiah to further excavate some of the important spiritual principles and applications found in the first 6 chapters, and then continue with the Substitutionary spiritual Death of Christ at the end. Thanks for bearing with us during these times of challenge in our ministry, and please add a prayer of thanks to Deacon Jason, Deacon John, Cliff Spier, and Samantha for stepping up and filling in to keep sound doctrinal bible teaching available to us needy sheep! Also thanks to all the other Deacons, family and friends behind the scenes who help to make all this possible. Now a personal message from Deacon Jason:
“Hello again, and I am glad to be back from a short vacation-camping trip up north, I am recharged a little bit and still moving forward as most of you are as well. SO, when I left I had asked you to do your home-work , by reading through the book of Nehemiah. (I said: “It’s only 13 Chapters but read at least the first 6 for our study”). I want you to be familiar with the book so we can get into some deeper principles and re-visit the gates.Our focus last time was on unity, and we continue that today by looking at the prototype.”
Who is our prototype?
The Lord Jesus Christ! His entire life and ministry, particularly in His humanity, was a demonstration of what we call “The Great Power Experiment” of the Church Age. Everything Jesus did during His time on the earth was done not through relying on His divine power, but by using the unique spiritual system designed for the church age believer, what we call the PPOG, or the Pre-designed Plan Of God. Jesus relied on the filling of the Holy Spirit, which provides the supernatural enabling power to carry out the PPOG through the PMA (Perception, Metabolization, and Application) of Bible doctrine, and 8 of the 10 problem-solving devices which are extrapolated from doctrine. Why 8? Because He never needed to rebound for sin, since He had none, and because HE was not occupied with Himself, but with all of humanity. **You can find out all about the 10 Problem-Solving Devices from the book by the same name by our Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin, available at no charge through this website, under “publications.”
What is a prototype?
Definition:
Prototype = a first, typical or preliminary model of something, from which other forms are developed or copied.
Jesus taught us and modeled for us, In His humanity, the correct way to live by the power of the Spirit through all the temptations and trials of life. He is our example, not only in what He did, as most believers know, but how, which sadly most believers today do not understand, because it is not understood by most in the ministry. He also was our prototype so that He could make intercession for us as our high priest, having demonstrated to us that He knows what it is to be tempted in the flesh, and having proven that it can be overcome through the 10 PSD’s of the PPOG.
Hb 2:17-18 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Now if you read through the book on your own (if you didn’t I recommend reading the first 6 chapters now if you have the time), you saw Nehemiah’s leadership, the Jewish people working together in Unity, which gives us a picture of the Spiritual life we need to live In Christ. This time we are going to look at restoration and reparation.
Principle: Restoration is what God does for man; whereas Reparation is what man does for man.
Webster’s says:
Restoration = a bringing back to a former position or condition; an unimpaired or improved condition; a representation or reconstruction of the original form, as of a building.
Reparation = a repairing or keeping in repair; the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury; the payment of damages.
The Jewish people of Nehemiah’s time, are under the curse of suffering, deserved and undeserved, through the many trials they have encountered. From the destruction and captivity to persecutions by their enemies, but God never forgets His people and because of Restoration and Reparation they will have the opportunity to re-build, turning the curse into a blessing.
We all must re-build at times and be inside that PPOG, which is represented here in Nehemiah as the walls-gates of the city. Prayer is a big factor in this area of the spiritual life, and we are going to follow that subject in this lesson. Let’s look at James 5:
Jm 5:10-11 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
Jm 5:13-14 Is anyone among you afflicted? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. (KJV) Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
We saw the word ‘afflicted’ in verse 13, is the Greek word: kakopatheō = (kak-op-ath-eh'-o)
1. to suffer (endure) evils (hardship, troubles);
2. to undergo hardship: - be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble.
And the word ‘sick’ in verse 14 is ‘astheneō’ = (as-then-eh'-o) From a negative participle meaning “to be feeble” (in any sense), (be) sick, (be made) weak.
The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life, which requires supernatural means to be accomplished. Overcoming the problems of life requires we use all the tools that God designed for us, such as the 10 PSD’s and the main function of our priesthood – prayer – so that we can repair those weak spots in life to steady the course and keep advancing to maturity. Your prayer life must become effectual, and increase. Jesus Christ was and is our prototype, and we see throughout the gospels the examples of His use of prayer when facing His greatest challenges, e.g. MAT 26:36, MAR 1:35, LUK 5:16, etc. We also see the power of prayer in the lives of all the prophets of the OT, as well as the Apostles of the NT. Prayer is said to be one of the most effectual weapons in the Spiritual realm. Eph 6:18; Jm 5:16
Eph 6:18 With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints
Our God is not a God of confusion, and since He does not want us to be confused, but to be in unity, and also by way of omniscience, in that He knows what is the most effective way to do things, there is always one way that is given for us to do things. In God’s plan, a right thing must be done in a wrong way. How then should we pray?
We should always address our prayers to God the Father only. God the Father is the one who answers prayers. There is a chain of command, which is part of the protocol. We pray to God the Father, in the name of our High Priest, TLJC, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your prayers should follow this guideline:
1. Address your prayer to God the Father, Mt 6:9, Joh 16:23
2. Rebound (confession if necessary), 1JO 1:9; EPH 5:18; Joh 4:24; Ps 66:18,19.
3. “In all things give thanks...” (both the good and bad), 1Th 5:18; Col 4:2; 1Ti 4:4-5.
4. Intercession = Pray for Others (others – Believers, Unbelievers, and Enemies), Eph 6:18; Lk 6:28, Mt 5:44
5. Petition = Pray for yourself (personal need and request), Hb 4:16a, Joh 14:13-14, Joh 15:7
6. Closing of Honor- In Jesus’ Name (by the Power of the Holy Spirit), Joh 16:23, Php 2:9-11.
SO, By Nehemiah’s leadership, through his prayer and petition, he was looking out for God’s people. God blessed him and then rewarded him by placing him a leadership position during and after the completion of the re-building of Jerusalem’s walls and gates.
One of the learned principles of the growing Believer, as Nehemiah shows us, is we can pray for ourselves as well as others, just like He did. And under the pressures of adversity, we can endure affliction and be a beacon of light to others along the way. We see in the book of Nehemiah that he was a prayer warrior and a spiritual champion. This is available to every believer in Jesus Christ – that includes you!
Paul urges us to pray, one example of many (always highlighting thanksgiving and those in authority, then others, including himself)
1Ti 2:1-7 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Then Paul concludes by giving a command to all the saints
1Ti 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
YOU must be prepared to live the spiritual life inside the PPOG, because you will find when you are starting to advance, that the forces of darkness immediately revolt against you.
Yes we do have an enemy, and the battle intensifies (the heat is turned up) both within yourself (compliments of the sin nature and arrogance complex of the soul) and outside yourself (pressure and pleasures of the cosmos), which resists God's work in your life with every influence that can be used against you.
The enemy is cunning and sly but also very intense, intentionally, and forceful … these enemy forces will stop at nothing to distract and deceive you, taking you away from PPOG.
Staying in the PPOG = Daily intake of Bible Doctrine, Filling of the Holy Spirit and Utilization of the PSD becomes the only way you will survive.
Eph 5:16 brethren make “the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
Royal Family, we can see in the pages of Scripture throughout Nehemiah that the people came together in unity … and Nehemiah prayed and petitioned to God for the people to do so … I had you turn to John 17 correct, now This talks of the Spiritual life and Jesus commands us to be in Union -----
Let’s read John 17:20-26, and remember these are Our Lord’s Words recorded for us, this is how He thinks of the subject of Unity. Mind of Christ: Jesus is praying for the Church in these verses and The Church will complete the work of God’s plan for this dispensation.
Joh 17:20-26 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Verse 21 and 23 – the petition for the accomplishment of the goal is repeated. So that world may know or believe that You (Father) sent ME.
“I in them, and You in me” – a reference to the fact that Jesus Christ indwells us, and that the Father is one with Christ.
In verse 23, that we just read the phrase, “that they may be perfected in unity”, Our Lord is praying to the Father for us. The in Greek, the word for “made perfect” = teleioō (tel-i-o'-o) to complete or accomplish. To be - consecrate, finish, fulfill, (make) perfect. This is the same word used in John 17:4,
Joh 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth: I have finished the work which You gave me to complete.
There is the present active subjunctive of e)imi which is the first verb. This means to keep on being in this status. Then there is also a perfect passive subjunctive of teleioo. Which we just saw, Teleioo is in the passive voice means this completion is received. The subjunctive mood goes with the purpose clause and therefore it just simply means that this is a part of God’s purpose: that we might be completed. Literally, “that they may have received completion [or, have completeness].”
True unity is spiritual. When we abide in Christ, we abide in each other. Man does not even recognize it, but the spiritual unity exists already. What I mean is, if we are one with our Lord, we must be one with all who are members of His body, that is part of the mystery doctrine of the CA dispensation.
And the unity we see portrayed in Nehemiah’s Jerusalem, mostly in chapter 3-6 until they finished the walls, (the passages I asked you to read - review) is the same unity we need in our spiritual life by comparison, and
We have 5 different ways Unity is shown to us, in the study of Nehemiah’s walls-gates and we will see how it applies to our Spiritual life.
1. Unity is the status of being combined with others to form a greater whole.
The Jews became victorious and go back to following the plan of God and even to the point of work with people they didn’t like; (they show an act of unconditional love) to rebuild the walls for the whole city’s protection.
2Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
2Co 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
2Co 12:25-26 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
2. Unity is the status of being harmonious with other members of the Royal Family of God. ECC 4:12; Phi 2:2.
The bond that unity forms can protect us against the schemes of the adversary. But with other members of the RF of God, we can achieve much more.
3. Unity in the state of being complete, oneness, which means a maximum number of believers execute the protocol plan of God and become invisible heroes in the angelic conflict.
A maximum number of invisible heroes in the pivot not only changes the nation, (how the pivot goes, so goes the nation – we need to keep building up the body of Christ to be mature believers) but unity will also provide a tremendous amount of tolerance among believers through maximum impersonal love toward all mankind. It helps to move self out of the way.
4. Unity results in complete accord among believers regarding divine viewpoint, in the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.
Eph 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
5. Unity is complete Oneness of Sharing the Happiness of God – Occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ.
It becomes very important that we continue to learn what this Super-natural Spiritual life is all about, How to super-naturally operate within that PPOG, protect and guard it, learn utilization the tools that He provided us(PSD) and build-up unity within the body of Christ, to fulfill our calling. As we saw on Friday when Samantha mentioned this verse, which keeps coming up in our study - Heb 12:2-3 - n the context of Sharing the +H, that our Lord displayed as an example for us. (huper- instead of, in place of and on behalf of ). We will get into this and two other prepositions a little later.
Hb 12:2-3 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
These principles will continue to build in our souls a house full of doctrine, so that the Holy Spirit has them to make them effective in your life. Those are the 2 power options we have and need to use every day, along with prayer. Bible Doctrine and the Filling of The Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ, in His humanity, was able to carry out God’s plan perfectly by using the PSD’s and the power of God the Holy Spirit, in order to demonstrate the new unique PPOG and the Great Power Experiment for us, so that we have a pattern to follow.
1Pe 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
Part of that pattern is the agape, or impersonal, unconditional love of God toward sinful mankind. Parents do not stop loving their children when they are misbehaving or when they lie or betray the trust, etc. They do not revoke love. They switch to what is sometimes called ‘impersonal’ love, which means they love the child based on their own virtue and based on the child’s position as their son or daughter, rather than based on the child’s merits or virtue or their condition as meeting expectations or not meeting them. This is part of understanding the Substitutionary Spiritual Death of our Lord on the cross. When Jesus prayed for His mockers and tormenters as He hung there in physical and emotional pain, asking God to forgive them because they did not truly understand what they were doing, that is a spectacular example of impersonal love. This is the love that is in view when Jesus says to love your enemies in Matt 5:44 or Luke 6:27-28. Love them as He loved us when we were in darkness and alienation from God, dead in our sins.
These points are going to actually prepare us for the doctrines that we will be studying in the next few coming months where we have some more advanced doctrines to look forward to. The key word here for our subject is “substitutionary” – Him taking our place and dying for us as a substitute.
We’ve already noted Point 1 of our doctrine which deals with the categories of the Spiritual Death, and we noted that there are basically 2 categories –
Point 1 dealt with the Categories of Spiritual Death.
1. Real Spiritual Death (dies spiritually as a result of sin)
2. Substitutionary Spiritual Death (died spiritually without sin, impeccable, as substitute)
Now, this time we are going to dig in a little deeper, so that we can deepen our understanding and appreciate the depth and breadth as well as the height and width of God’s word. As the late great Col Thieme used to say, it is our hope not just that you CAN remember, but that you CAN NOT forget! This is why repetition is so important. I personally can attest that whenever I have gotten familiar and glossed over repetition I have later realized it did not stick! Like it or not, we all need it. But also it is important to know not just what, but how and why, so that when others question us we do not come up short. It will be clear that we really know our stuff. This does not come without some work.
In digging in deeper I mean we are going to look at the original Greek and examine three very important Greek prepositions which provide the crystal clear doctrine of the SSD. This is the “how”. How do we know that Jesus died as our substitute? We examine the original language.
The three prepositions are ‘peri’ (perry), ‘pros’ (prahs), and ‘huper’ (hoop-er or hoop-air).
(**From Strong’s Concordance)
1. Peri
Definition: about, concerning, around (denotes place, cause or subject)
Usage: (a) gen: about, concerning, (b) acc: around.
2. Pros
Definition: advantageous for, at (denotes local proximity), toward (denotes motion toward a place)
Usage: to, towards, with.
3. Huper
Definition: over, beyond, on behalf of, for the sake of, concerning
Usage: gen: in behalf of; acc: above.
The apostles took what was known in the original language as the preposition plus the genitive of advantage of the pronoun in the sentence to (actually) express substitution.\ --- which means He died “for” – there’s the preposition – “us” there’s again your pronoun… it is to our advantage that He died for us.
Even though you may not be familiar with these terms don’t let it intimidate you. The genitive of advantage in the Greek indicates that it is to your benefit, to the benefit of the person for whom, of whom, or on behalf of whom, something is done. For example,
ROM 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died(preposition – huper) for the ungodly.
"For" is the preposition, “huper” and “ungodly” is the genitive of advantage of the personal pronoun “asebes” which is translated “the ungodly”, therefore it could be translated
For while we were still helpless, at the right time (perfect timing of God) Christ died [in place of, instead of, on behalf of, as a substitute] for the ungodly.
Put your name in there where it says “ungodly” because it is to our advantage being “the ungodly”, since being ungodly means that we need a Savior, if we were godly we wouldn’t need a savior. Remember in Luke 5:31 Jesus said to the self-proclaimed godly Pharisees that He did not come for the healthy but as a physician for the sick. They didn’t think they needed a Savior. They were wrong!
In Romans 5:8, and I know we saw some of this on Sunday but as was said eariler, repetition repetition repetition...
ROM 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us,(how?) in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died (huper) for us.
In 1Pe 3:18, we have the preposition “huper” again plus a pronoun used as a genitive of advantage.
Pastor McLaughlin said he loves this doctrine btw, because he can see things and understand them so much more not just with these passages but throughout the bible, and then he can communicate them to us, and this is why it is so important to have a pastor teacher who communicates accurately the word of truth. That’s also why there is such an attack on communicating the original language.
In 1PE 3:18 we have again the preposition “huper” plus a personal pronoun used as a genitive of advantage… it says
1PE 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just (TLJC – no sin - SSD) for (huper) the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Now, when it says the just FOR the unjust, the word “just” is the nominative singular adjective ‘dikaios’ (deek-ah-yoss) which is translated "righteous."
(**From Strong’s Concordance:)
Definition: correct, righteous, by implication innocent
Usage: just; especially, just in the eyes of God; righteous; the elect (a Jewish idea).
It refers to perfect righteousness, and describes our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect "lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
As I said earlier, Jesus Christ, in His humanity, was able to remain perfect – without sin or blemish – by remaining inside the PPOG throughout His entire earthly life.
It’s one thing for us to live in the plan of God when things are going great in life, its easy, but how about when all hell breaks loose? How about when you lose a loved one unexpectedly, or more than one (think Job!)? Or how about when the bank account goes negative with mortgage and credit cards and payments overdue? How about when things are as low as they can be and any unbeliever or casual believer in our place would be giving up all hope….can you say “it’s great to be a believer (with bible doctrine)?” TLJC did that as He was functioning under the filling of the Holy Spirit and relying on doctrine in His soul.
He left us an example to follow, remember? He handled it the same way we are to handle being mistreated by an individual at your job, the same way we are to handle being mistreated by a member of your own family, the same way we are to handle other believers who mistreat and lie and deceive us…by operating in that impersonal love we looked at earlier. It is impossible to fulfill the PPOG for your life and receive the escrow blessings for time and eternity without impersonal love for mankind, which interlocks with personal love for God the Father. These things come from maximum metabolized doctrine and maximum application for spiritual momentum, which by passing momentum testing and ultimately evidence testing, brings us to spiritual adulthood. We will be studying all that in great detail in the coming months, so you can set that aside for now if it is unfamiliar. This is categorical doctrine, a system which is built slowly, precept upon precept, line upon line, brick by brick, we are building a fortress of doctrine in our souls. There is not a tragedy, a heartache, a difficulty or anything that we could go through that He does not give us the power to handle – if we take it in and apply it! But if we don’t apply it when the minor tests are upon us, we won’t do it when things really get rough either. We will revert to our default setting – emotion, self-absorption, panic palace.
There are two reasons why our Lord remained perfect as "the righteous one."
1. He was sustained by the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit in the PPOG, HEB 9:14
He was sustained by God’s power – that’s how He could handle being judged and mistreated and having His beard plucked out, and having a crown of painful thorns forced upon His head, which was about 7 sizes too small – bleeding all over the place – not even looking human but He was sustained by the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit. Secondly
2. He utilized the problem solving devices, especially +H, concentrating on and sharing the happiness of God, HEB 12:2-3.
When we start to take the time to understand what the bible says from the original languages and we see something like this little word “for” or “huper”, and what God actually means by it – that is you making Jesus Lord of your life by magnifying His word over His very own name. It may start out small, with a little word like huper, but that little word is powerful when you dig into it “with digging ears”. Imagine what the rest of this book actually has to tell us??? It’s mind blowing and this is why we should never ever- ever take for granted having a pastor who teaches or divides rightly the word of TRUTH!!!
So - What did keep Him there upon that cross…
Hebrews 12:2 gives us the answer to that question.
HEB 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him (you were that joy – so was I) endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
So - friends, beloved members of the royal family -
HEB 12:3 For consider Him (take the focus off yourself for a moment!) who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, (we just saw with all of the prophesies we studied that they were so hostile toward Him when He was completely innocent) so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
Do this when you feel discouraged…make it a habit, make it a reflex!
In closing, I hope you can see clearly why it IS important to dig into the word of God and see for yourself all the layers and depth of knowledge that is in it! It is a little bit like archaeology, discovering truth in the word of God which others who only take a superficial glance will never understand, and that is why they don’t take the word seriously and why it doesn’t benefit them when they are separated from comfort and security. The more you learn and experience how amazing the bible really is, the more reverence you have for it and the more trust you can put in it. Faith doesn’t grow by magic or an at of will, it grows by application and experience and passing tests. This is the real spiritual life in the church age. The mature believer is a rock to those around them and a source of blessing by association, they are “a light unto the world”. We are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated PT here who has set aside his own desires in order to be a bondservant of Christ and spend countless hours studying and teaching, in season and out of season, in sickness and in health. Paul says to Timothy, a Pastor under Paul’s tutelage, in 2 Timothy
2TI 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman( a pastor teacher) who does not need to be ashamed, (because he is) handling accurately the word of truth.
Notice that phrase “Be diligent”, because we’ve studied that before - it’s the Greek word ‘Spoudazo’ (spoo-dodd-zo). In the KJV it is rendered “study” as in “study to show thyself approved...”
Notice neither say “go around being sweet and doing house calls and impressing everyone with your righteous deeds” but rather just “be diligent” or “study” or we could say, “be diligent in your studies”. Why? So that you can best do what your spiritual gift was created for – to study and teach, for the equipping of the saints for good works. In the Christian life, just like in regular life, these days everybody wants to be someone else or do someone else’s work. Instead of using our gift to serve the Lord, we use it to serve ourselves. Others don’t use them at all...
Most individuals are too busy to obey that – that’s why most individuals have problems because they don’t give God the time that they need to give Him for Him to train them-- which is why TLJC told the apostle Paul to – study to show yourself approved and Paul told this to Timothy – he said I want you to study – that’s the PT job to show that your approved unto God – a workman doesn’t need to be “ashamed” the word also means embarrassed – and a lot of individuals behind the pulpit will be totally embarrassed because they don’t know what it means to rightly divide the word of truth.
What is “rightly divide the word of truth”? It actually refers to dispensations – in the OT you would kill an animal because that was dividing the word of truth ---- in the NT (or the dispensation of the church age) you don’t have to kill an animal because JC died as a substitute for us. The pastor teacher and all Christian soldiers must learn to rightly divide the word of truth.
The PT’s job is to study and teach, study and teach, not counsel and visit and tickle our ears and make us feel good and this is not referring to anyone in particular this is a principle that we have been taught over 20 years ago and it just happens to come along into this study…
So God the Holy Spirit is communicating to us how to divide the word of truth but many individuals would rather judge and malign those who are doing what they should be doing.
This is why our goal, for all individuals who are actually serious about their relationship with God, including you and I because we are in full time Christian service as well, not just the pastor teacher, is to make available all the information which God has provided and o rightly divide it and accurately handle it, so that you have the best possible opportunity to execute God’s plan for your life through growth and effective prayer and use of our spiritual gfts, and become invisible heroes in the angelic conflict. Thank you for your dedication to this cause….America and the world needs you!
Thank you Father for our Pastor Teacher Robert McLaughlin, and for making available through him and through the deacons and Samantha and all your many other chosen teachers who keep the mandate of 2Tim 2:15! We see your immeasurable glory and greatness and grace all the more clearly as we study and more and more of your perfect plan is revealed to us. I pray that god the Holy Spirit will teach us and convict us with all we have learned, and that we may take this teaching out to the lost and dying world with boldness but with all humility and gentleness, for we ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.