Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The grace of God always meets the flexibility of believers who apply doctrine in adverse conditions.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Serpent = he gained the tactical victory of rulership of this world by using the serpent as his agent in the temptation of the woman.
To pour - aor-act-ind - ballo = to throw with force, to throw with violence, or intense: to strike down.
Ablative singular - stoma - mouth = the serpent projected from his mouth.
Projected from his mouth = he promoted lies about the Jews and gave the orders for the attack.
Hudor - water.
Water - the Holy Spirit, JOH 7:38.
Water - the word, EPH 5:26.
Water - salvation, ISA 55:1.
Water - ISA 8:7-8 - as a flood is often used for the invading army or invading disaster or attack.
PSA 29:10 The Lord sits as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
PSA 32:6 Therefore, let everyone who is spiritual pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
River - potamos = a river moving with a tearing speed; used in noun form for water rushing quickly = an analogy for violence or sudden disaster.
“Like the violence of rapid waters.”
After the woman = “overtaking the woman” - Israel. Israel destroyed in this holocaust refers to the unbelieving Jews; those believers who follow the instructions of Mat 24 are safe.
The attack of the third demon assault army is compared to a helpless person about to be overtaken in the rapids, or a wall of water, a flood, and drowned.
God keeps His word, and there will be live Jewish believers to receive the promises of the unconditional covenants at the Second Advent.
Not only is there survival for believers who advance to spiritual maturity in times of historical disaster, but they even have fantastic blessing.
Survival is a matter of having a phenomenal flexibility, and having developed already as a believer the habit of making good decisions from the application of doctrine, so that survival is a matter of grace.
Flexibility starts with the ability to think and to improvise and it means the absence of fear because fear is inability to think under pressure.
The greatest thing going for you is your ability to think under pressure and you have to start out with a spiritual factor: God has a plan for your life, you are still alive.
LUK 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
JOH 18:9 that the word might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom Thou hast given Me I lost not one.”
JOH 10:28-30 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given {them} to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch {them} out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”
Without warning, how quickly everything can change.
The more doctrine you learn the greater becomes your ability to innovate, to adapt, and to change.
The greater becomes your ability to handle situations as they exist, not as you want them to be.
Survivors - these people survive because of this phenomenal flexibility, but flexibility is not the whole answer.
They do not face the reality of adversity, and therefore they do not have the flexibility to meet disaster.
The grace of God always meets the flexibility of believers who apply doctrine in adverse conditions.
While this flexibility is manifesting itself in the application of doctrine, the grace of God is always providing that way of escape.