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Date Posted: 08:14:35 02/10/17 Fri
Author: c
Subject: Teachings 10

Teachings 10


intouch.org radio 2/6/15


1:30

It's very evident to me that one of the ways that you and I can have God's favor is to walk with Him. What does that mean: to walk daily? Trusting Him, obeying Him, seeking Him, loving Him, worshiping Him, serving Him - you walk with God, here's what's going to happen: You walk with God, you're certainly going to obey Him. You walk with God, you will love Him. You walk with God, you'll trust Him. You walk with God, you'll worship Him. You walk with God, you'll serve Him. One of the ways that you and I can find favor with God is a right relationship with Him: walking with God.

A second way you and I can find favor with God: we feed upon the Word of God. We get God's truth into our heart. Because what that does that enables us to think the way God thinks. And we know how to respond to circumstances and situations because we see how God operates. The only way to learn the ways of God is to feast upon the Word of God, put those principles in practice and then watch what God does in your life.


2:48

Now, as we said, God's going to favor us in some situations and circumstances - we don't even realize He's favoring us. Or, He favors us when it is His pure grace - the truth is we don't deserve any of it....One of the reasons God will favor us is based on the quality of the work we do. Look at this, Chapter 3 verse 23: "whatever you do, do your work heartily." That means with enthusiasm, with confidence, that means to the best of your ability, "as for the Lord rather than for men. Knowing that from the Lord you'll receive the reward of your inheritance. It is the Lord Christ Whom you serve." Now, if I want God to favor me in my labors, in my work - in your vocation - if I want God to favor me, what does God expect from me? He expects me to do my best - to give it all that I've got heartily.....He expects me to work for Him...I'm working for God....He is interested in us doing a good job. Because remember this, you and I are servants of the living God: we represent Him. Listen, we're on loan to that business whether it's sweeping floors, or sitting behind a desk, or running the whole business. We're on loan from God as one of His servants to serve in that position - and the Father is the One to Whom we have to give account.


7:02

If you want God's favor - the best that God has to offer, then you do your best in return.



13:19

Now there's some very specific reasons people don't feel God's favor:


1. Things don't go the way we want them to go.

2. God doesn't answer our prayer. We don't feel His approval. We don't feel support, encouragement when He doesn't answer our prayer.

3. He delays His answer to our prayer. We know it is the will of God and He delays it. All He's doing is delaying for a more perfect time for you and me.

4. We don't understand the suffering, pain, disappointment and heartache we experience. We all have that at times. We don't understand what God is up to in our lives.

5. When we suffer loss. Financial, death in the family, or other types of loss..

6. We look at our life and compare it with other people. We overlook ways God is favoring us.

7. We don't achieve the goals we have in life

8. God is actually not showing us favor due to our sinful behavior. When you choose to walk in sin continually - not a sin here and there - continually, God most of the time, often times (I think most all the time), He's going to withdraw His favor. Now, we're always going to have some bit of His favor, but He's going to withdraw some of His most precious expressions of favor to us.

9. Ingratitude. This is the will of God to give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18). If you don't sense His support, you're out here on your own alone, fighting the battles of life, look on the inside and ask yourself the question: "God, what's the reason? Is there something in my life that ought not to be there? Am I just an ungrateful person that I've just complained about this...when is the last time that I began to count the ways You've favored me?" Here's what you'll discover: you'll discover God favors you in so many ways that you just keep overlooking.


More than likely, if you sense that God is not favoring you, if you look at yourself and look at those 8 or 9 statements, more than likely you're going to find out why you don't sense God's favor.

Sometimes a person has a false sense of guilt. They feel guilty about something that God has already forgiven them for..Sometimes God favors us and because of our attitude, because of our sense of false guilt, because of our sense of poor self-esteem (and that what guilt creates in our life) we don't even recognize His attempts and the expressions of His favor.

He's a good God. He's a loving Heavenly Father. He has provided the best for you. He has planned His very best for you. It is His delight to favor you every possible way that He can.

If we want to experience it: get in the right relationship with Him, walk in His ways, feast upon His Word, treat others the way you want to be treated, let your heart be bent toward Him and do your best at whatever God calls you to do, you will experience God's very finest favor.


----------------------------------------------=


www.blueletterbible.org David Guzik on Matthew 11:12

(check "Tools>commentary")


c. The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force: Jesus' reference to violence refers to both the intensity of spiritual warfare surrounding the ministry of Jesus and His herald, and also to the intensity required to persevere in following God and His Kingdom.

i. The exact sense of this has been greatly debated, and is made more difficult by complicated grammar. Carson probably gives the best sense of both expressions. "The Kingdom has come with holy power and magnificent energy that has been pushing back the frontiers of darkness. This is especially manifest in Jesus' miracles and ties in with Jesus' response to the Baptist. . . . The Kingdom is making great strides; now is the time for courageous souls, forceful people, to take hold of it." (Carson)

ii. The Kingdom will never be received passively. It is always founded on God's work on our behalf, but God's work will always produce a response in us. "They are not lazy wishes or cold endeavours that will bring men to Heaven." (Poole)

iii. "Frequently complaints are made and surprise expressed by individuals who have never found a blessing rest upon anything they have attempted to do in the service of God. 'I have been a Sunday-school teacher for years,' says one, 'and I have never seen any of my girls or boys converted.' No, and the reason most likely is you have never been violent about it; you have never been compelled by the Divine Spirit to make up your mind that converted they should be, and no stone should be left unturned until they were. You have never been brought by the Spirit to such a passion, that you have said, 'I cannot live unless God bless me. I cannot exist unless I see some of these children saved.' Then, falling on your knees in agony of prayer, and putting forth afterwards your trust with the same intensity towards Heaven, you would never have been disappointed, 'for the violent take it by force.'" (Spurgeon)

Charles Stanley recently taught (intouch.org radio 10/19/13 17:11 minutes in) that when he (or someone else) gets all intense in prayer (edited quotes):

"crying out to God - 'oh God, oh God...I'm trusting You'........"

“what I'm really doing is having a fit...because if I'm trusting Him, I'm thanking Him: ‘thank You Jesus for what You’re going to do. Can’t figure it out – I’m just going to trust that You’re going to handle it some way’. That’s the peace that passes all human understanding. Faith, focus and following Him, and what happens? Somehow I’ll have a peace – can’t explain, but I’ll be able to enjoy…”

Pastor Doyle told me that begging "please, please" type prayers have faith in them as well as non-begging assured prayers have faith as well.

Creflo Dollar "God's favor doesn't depend on you" youtube.com. Summarized - not direct quotes.

Christians shoudn't do "begging" prayers. That is trusting in works: "my intense hour-or-so long prayers earned me the victory or facilitated the victory". Christians should just confess in prayer belief and thanks. Trusting in works, like intense praying, takes a saint away from the realm of grace, according to Creflo Dollar.

The only way this might not conflict with David Guzik/Spurgeon interpretation of Matthew 11:12 "the violent take it by force" prayer approach/mentality is if the Holy Spirit leads a saint to "intense" forms of praying (beyond just giving thanks and confessing belief in prayer).

I believe Charles Stanley was more accurate when Charles Stanley said on intouch.org radio 1/13/12 that there may be struggle moments when praying, and there may be things we pray about for a long time, however the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit might tell a saint at a certain point: "it's done". Charles Stanley said on that radio broadcast that a saint can't conjure that up - it's something we just have to experience. A saint can't even explain it.


---------


intouch.org Daily Devotion, Charles Stanley, 4/3/14

The Power of Prayer

Read | Matthew 7:7-11


Jesus knew the importance of prayer and practiced it regularly. He often slipped away from the crowds to commune with God. Then He would receive the guidance and strength necessary to carry on His Father's work.

In teaching about the power of prayer, Jesus promised us that God will always answer. He used three words to help us pray effectively:

Ask—We are to come to God with our requests. In doing so, we are acknowledging both our need and God's ability to meet it. Jesus assures us that every request will be granted in accordance with our Father's best for us and others.

Seek—Sometimes the Lord asks us to get involved in the situation about which we are praying. For example, we may be petitioning for Him to help us find a new job. He wants us not only to seek His wisdom and guidance but also to take practical steps to discover what's available. When we obey His directions, God promises to provide the answer.

Knock—In carrying out the Father's plan, we'll encounter obstacles along the way. For us to overcome them, sustained and persistent praying may be required. Knocking implies a level of force being applied so that a door will open. Once God presents the solution, we need no longer ask. When He opens up a path, we should walk on it.

Prayer accomplishes much (James 5:16). It engages the Lord in people's personal lives as well as in the affairs of government. It is the way we experience oneness with our Father and receive the essentials needed to carry out His work.


-----------


intouch.org radio 2/26/14 (verbatim portion of a message)

8:03


Not that you never have a moment of weakness that you want to pick up that burden again but the key is that you know what to do with it and how to lay it right back down: "Lord, You said I could come to You, I'm coming to You. God, I picked it up. Sorry I picked it up. Forgive me for my weakness. I'm giving it back to You. I'm trusting You with it. I want to thank You for getting my focus back on You where it belongs and move on in life".

(Summary of following comments – not a direct quote: Bring your burdens to Jesus Christ and share them with someone else)


---------------------------=


intouch.org radio 1/14/15


22:29

When you and I are walking in the will of God and we’re placing our trust in Him, it doesn’t make any difference how dark the storm, how deep the waters, how difficult the situation may be – God will anchor us. We’ll be able to stand upon an immoveable solid Rock of the Lord God Himself.

So when He says: “cast your burden upon Him” what is He saying? Just roll it over on Him. Now what do we do? Here’s what we do - and all of us have done this and we’ll do it at times. Here’s what happens: we get on our knees and we say: “now, Lord, this is something I don’t know what to do about. So I’m going to give it to You – Thank You very much.” And we get up and walk off and what do we do? We just pull it right on along behind us because it is a whole lot easier to tell Him “God, I’m giving it to You” and not do it.

Now, you say: “well, so what happens when you do that?” Get back down again – and give it to Him again. You say: “well, what about if it doesn’t work that time?” Get down the third time. “What about if it….?” Listen, you stay down there until when you get up, it stays down there where you left it. And there are some circumstances in life you’re going to have to tell Him over and over and over again until you are able to release it and let it go and say: “Lord, I’m trusting You for this. I’m giving this to You. I’m rolling this over to You.”


-------


intouch.org radio 3/10/15 13:52 minutes in

Somebody says: "well, I pray but, you know, nothing ever happens. God isn't going to talk to me." Well, you might as well quit praying. But don't - maybe He'll get you sooner or later.


---------------------------------=


intouch.org radio 6/27/15


17:53


Let's say for example that you're praying and asking the Lord to show you His will about something. And so you get down and pray and nothing happens. You pray tomorrow, the next day, a week, two weeks. three months, nothing happens. The truth is: you can't make God do anything, can you? You can't make Him do anything. You can't force His hand. Listen, did you know you can fast and pray and beg and plead trying to get God to do something - you can't make Him do anything till He gets ready.

So you see, we don't pray to force God's hand, we pray to get in a position so that when God's ready, we're ready.


-------------------=


www.blueletterbible.org David Guzik on Luke 13:24

(check "Tools>commentary")

b. Strive to enter through the narrow gate: The way is narrow. We can't bring our self-centeredness, pride, lusts, hate or especially our own righteousness. As the famous hymn sings: "Nothing in my hand I bring, only to Thy cross I cling."

c. Strive to enter: Therefore, we must strive (the word is literally "agonize") in order to lay these things aside and come in. The Greek word for strive has "the idea of a struggle or prize-fight." (Bruce)

d. Strive to enter through the narrow gate isn't a call to save yourself by good works. Good works aren't the right gate. You can strive to enter all your life long, but if it isn't at the right gate, it makes no difference. Jesus Himself is the gate; He is the door.

e. Then why must we strive to enter? Because there are many obstacles in the way. The world is an obstacle. The devil is an obstacle. But probably the worst obstacle is your own flesh.


---------


God doesn’t need you – and why that’s the best news you could ever hear

by Fil Anderson

In Touch Magazine August 2014

p 38

My emptiness had not appeared overnight. It was the by-product of years of relentless striving to make my mark as a leader within the church. While helping others encounter God, I had lost my own connection to Him. The lifestyle that should have enhanced my friendship with God had instead become a terrible threat, as I spoke more about Him than with Him.


p 39

I still revel in the liberation that began that day. God was freeing me to see I am here to play, to dream, and to drift as much as I am to do the work He gives me to do. What a wonderful thing – not being in charge! God doesn’t need us to work for Him, but He does want us to work with Him.

There is a time for everything, the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes assures us (3:1 – 8). There is a time to work, yes, but there is also a time to rest. And if we don’t make time for the latter, sooner or later we discover what the writer of Ecclesiastes knew: Our work, no matter how important, becomes a bitter and burdensome task.

To learn how to rest in a restless world, we must listen when Jesus says, “Come to Me.” Each time I’m tempted to forget or ignore His invitation, I read a simple paraphrase of Matthew 11:28 – 30:

Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace….Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly (MSG).

We are meant to cease from our strivings. We have limits on our time and energy. And to live as though we don’t is damaging and delusional. Although we’re made in God’s image, we’re not God. We can’t go everywhere, do everything, and see everyone. He created us in His image and then invited us to follow His example. “Stop, rest, and I will make you more like Me,” He says.

What incentive could be more compelling than that?


-------------------


intouch.org Radio 1/31/14. Summarized – not direct quotes

Spending time with the Heavenly Father and Jesus in prayer and meditation:

1. Quiets our spirit

2. Renews our energy

3. Strengthens our faith

4. Refreshes our emotions

5. Purifies our hearts

6. Multiplies our time (a time-saver)

7. Helps us be more fruitful

8. Helps us receive insights and instruction and direction

9. Prepares us for conflict and storms

10. Anchors us to the truth. Anchors us to deal with storms

11. Helps us deal with emotional pain. Unburdens our heart. Comforts us

12. Gives us deep abiding joy that surpasses happiness


--------


Subversive Spirituality by Eugene Peterson

p 31

We need to return to Square One for a fresh start as often as every morning, noon and night.

p 164

We christians are scattered through the society, standing on street corners, intersections, all over the place. We are the ones who have a chance to say, "Oh, look. Listen to that." If we just barge in and start doing something or other, we only contribute to the noise, the frenetic activity. What God has done and is doing is far more significant than anything you or anyone else will ever do. What God has spoken and is speaking is far more important than anything you or anyone else will ever say.

p 166

We can only get off on the right foot by beginning in adoration. All authentic anything has its beginning in a sense of wonder. And caring must begin with a sense of adoration and wonder. If we do not begin in adoration, we begin too small.

We begin paying attention to the God-created dimensions in the people around us that we missed in our determination to make them socially acceptable.

p 168

Teach us to be in wonder and adoration before the beauties of creation and the glories of salvation, especially as they come to us in these humans who have come to think of themselves as violated and degraded and rejected.


----------


intouch.org radio 6/3/15

18:47

We who are believers, if we believe what we say: "to love our neighbor as ourselves", then listen, our antenna's ought to be out - not tucked in because we are too busy and don't want to spend the time - but our antenna's ought to be out. Our discernment of working around, living around, speaking........God has given you a capacity and the ability and the skill and the discernment and the mind and the heart and the compassion to make you a vessel that makes a difference in somebody else's life and we cannot afford to overlook those opportunities.

All around us people are in need and it's the believer's responsibility to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we can quickly sense God's direction for reaching out to them.


----------------------------------------=


Walk with the King – Robert A. Cook


2 Timothy 2:24 - 26 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Christians need gentleness when dealing with people – not assertiveness or combativeness or aggressiveness. This gentleness will help christians teach people about Jesus Christ.

If christians come down too hard with what we consider the truth, people will become defensive against the onslaught. This defensiveness will thwart the learning process.

When christians are gentle when interacting with people, then these people can be instructed.


------------------------=


Walk with the King – Robert A. Cook

To enrich people, christians must establish rapport with people – developing real empathy for people.

Christians have to relate a person’s present concerns to what we know of God’s Word.

Don’t always preach to people because that will cause people to stay away from you.


When helping people, christians should use the expressions:

“you know it occurs to me that this passage in the Bible relates to this situation.”

“have you ever thought of…?”

“what’s your opinion on this?”


---------------------------------=


Walk with the King – Robert A. Cook


Ephesians 4:11 – 13 And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Whatever gift a christian has, the gift is not for “showing off” but for helping someone so that they can help someone else until we come to the unity of the faith and fullness of Christ.

When christians view our interpersonal interactions in this way, christians will relieve the stress, tension and pressure in our relationships.

Christians should be aware that it is somewhat odious and wrongheaded to have an “officially helpful” approach or attitude about helping others (A sort of shallow “I’m here to help you, brother” type of arrogant attitude).


--------------------------------------=


A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

P 121-122


Tough Faith

The people of God are tough. For long centuries those who belong to the world...They have tried everything...but none of it has worked. They have tried persecution, and ridicule, torture and exile, but the way of faith has continued healthy and robust:

Psalms 129:1,2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

Do you think of christian faith as a fragile style of life that can flourish only when weather conditions are just right, or do you see it as tough...that can stick it out through storm, drought, survive the trampling of careless feet and the attacks of vandals?

Here is the biblical view: Isaiah 53:2,3:

He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

It is a portrait of extreme rejection and painful persecution...Yet look at the results:

Isaiah 53:10 He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

The person of faith outlasts all the oppressors. Faith lasts.


p 127

Perseverance does not mean "perfect." It means that we keep going. We do not quit when we find that we are not yet mature and that there is a long journey still before us....

For perseverance is not resignation, putting up with things the way they are, staying in the same rut year after year after year, or being a doormat For people to wipe their feet on. Endurance is not a desperate hanging on but a traveling from strength to strength.

Perseverance is triumphant and alive.


P 128

But we will not learn it by swallowing our sense of outrage on the one hand, or, on the other, excusing all wickedness as neurosis. We will do it by offering up our anger to God Who trains us in creative love.


p 128

God sticks to His relationship. He establishes a personal relationship with us and stays with it. The central reality for christians is the personal, unalterable, persevering commitment that God makes to us. Perseverance is not the result of our determination, it is the result of God's faithfulness. We survive in the way of faith not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous.

Christian discipleship is a process of paying more and more attention to God's righteousness and less attention to our own...believing in God's will and purposes: making a map of the faithfulness of God...It is out of such a reality that we acquire perseverance.


p 130

Purposes last

The Christian faith is the discovery of that center in the righteous God. Christian discipleship is a decision to walk in His ways, steadily and firmly, and then finding that the way integrates all our interests, passions and gifts, our human needs and our eternal aspirations. It is the way of life we were created for.

There are endless challenges in it to keep us on the growing edge of faith; there is always a righteous God with us to make it possible for us to persevere.

p 182

A community of faith flourishes when we view each other with this expectancy, wondering what God will do today in this one, in that one. When we are in a community with those Christ loves and redeems, we are constantly finding out new things about them. They are new persons each morning, endless in their possibilities. We explore fascinating depths of their friendship, share the secrets of their quest. It is impossible to be bored in such a community, impossible to feel alienated among such people.


p. 194-195

Feelings don’t run the show

We are invited to bless the Lord; we are commanded to bless the Lord. And then someone says, “but I don’t feel like it. And I won’t be a hypocrite. I can’t bless God if I don’t feel like blessing God. It wouldn’t be honest.”

The biblical response to that is “lift up your praising hands to the Holy Place, ande bless God!”

Many think that the only way to change your behavior is to first change your feelings…..But there is an older wisdom that puts it differently: by changing our behavior we can change our feelings.


p. 198

God is personal reality to be enjoyed. We are so created and so redeemed that we are capable of enjoying Him. All the movements of discipleship arrive at a place where joy is experienced. Every step of ascent toward God develops the capacity to enjoy. Not only is there, increasingly, more to be enjoyed, there is steadily the acquired ability to enjoy it.

Best of all, we don’t have to wait until we get to the end of the road before we enjoy what is at the end of the road. So “Come, bless God….God bless you!”

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