Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
041720
Learn how positive believers see the positive in the things that are negative.
Words are the substance of thought, and your words, and your thoughts make up your personality.
Without words, we cannot think.
With the wrong words, we cannot express ourselves as we want to at times.
Words have significance and meaning.
Negative thinking produces negative thoughts that express negative words.
Positive thinking will produce positive thoughts which is usually positive words of edification that we all need to hear every now and then.
Do not let anyone take away your love or your joy for the Word of God and your relationship and fellowship with Him.
David taught his son Solomon that they, the powerful words that we speak, are life to those who find them and health to all their whole body.
JOH 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
The wisdom that David warns Solomon about in Pro 4:24 is to have Joab killed because he does not fear to kill God’s anointed.
There are many believers who are involved with pessimism, which is the tendency to take the most unfavorable view of situations, or to expect the worst outcome in any circumstances.
The positive believer has the tendency or habit of seeing and expecting the good in things; looking on the bright side; anticipating favorable results; hopefulness.
They perceived the positive work of God the Father in PHI 1:6.
They perceived the positive work of God in the Apostle Paul when the apostle Paul said in Phi 1:20-21, “On the basis of my intense concentration and confident expectation [a personal sense of destiny] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with all confidence, Christ shall even now [in time] as always [in eternity] be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death.” For me, living is Christ, likewise dying is profit. = Those are positive, thoughts, words, and-or actions from the life that Paul lived.
Even though Paul classified himself as being the chief of sinners in 1TI 1:15, he still died with no regrets according to 2TI 4.
He thanked our Lord for strengthening him and considered the apostle Paul to be faithful by putting him into the ministry even though he was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor toward the Church.
He was shown mercy, because he acted ignorantly in unbelief.
When the apostle Paul said that he was the foremost of sinners, he used the adjective protos (pro’-tos) which means he was the best sinner, in time, place, order or importance.
1CO 15:8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Our Lord’s grace toward him did not prove vain because he labored even more than all of them, yet not him, but the grace of God within him.
It was here where the apostle Paul and Mark had such disagreement that there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
JER 13:23 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? {Then} you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.
The future-active-indicative of the verb apostrepho meaning that in the future, believers will make their own decisions to go negative toward doctrine.
The future-passive-indicative of the Greek verb ektrepo meaning that after a period of time they will be turned by something or someone which is created to destroy believers who have PVTD.
2TI 4:8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. = the winner.
PHI 2:3 Do nothing motivated by contentiousness or ambitious pride, but with humility of mind [grace orientation] let each of you keep on considering one another as more important than himself;
PHI 2:4 do not merely be regarding your own personal interests, but also for the personal interests of others.
Think positive: PHI 2:5 “Keep on thinking this [doctrine] within yourselves which was also resident in Christ Jesus,”
PHI 2:6-11, who, although He preexisted in the essence of God, did not think equality with God a gain to be seized, but He deprived Himself of the proper function of deity when He had received the form of a servant and was born in the likeness of men.” In fact, although having being discovered in outward appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of spiritual death, that is the death of the cross. Therefore also the God has highly exalted Him to the maximum, and bestowed on Him the name or rank which is above every name, By means of the office, rank and dignity belonging to Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth. and that every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, resulting in the glory of God the Father.
Paul’s positive attitude — Phi 2:13 for it is God [the Holy Spirit] who is at work in you, both to will [give you motivation] and to work [He gives you the ability to execute] above and beyond His good pleasure.
In PHI 2:14, he said Keep on doing all things without complaining, grumbling or arguing;
Phi 4:4 Keep on having perfect happiness by means of the Lord at all times; Once more I repeat the command, keep on having perfect happiness.
Phi 4:6-9, Stop worrying about anything, but in every circumstance through prayer and through supplication for personal needs after thanksgivings let your requests or petitions be revealed to the God. In fact, that spiritual peace and prosperity from the source of the God, which surpasses or rises above and beyond all comprehension, shall garrison your hearts [right lobes] also your motivation minds in Christ Jesus. From now on, members of the Royal family of God, whatever is true [doctrinal], whatever is honorable [noble], whatever is just [just], whatever is pure [of proper motivation] whatever personal loves exist, whatever is commendable, if there is any virtue [and there is for the mature believer says the first class condition] and if anything worthy of praise [and there is for the mature believer says the first class condition], be concentrating on these things.
Some principles concerning the optimist or the pessimist and the relationship that they have to one another and the different reactions or responses that they have to use in times of disaster and chaos.
DEU 32:4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
- He is the Rock;
- His work is perfect;
- All His ways are just;
- He is a God of faithfulness;
- He is without injustice;
- He is Righteous.
- He is upright.
NVTD = Giving place to negative thinking bears bad fruit.
NVTD = If you give place to negative thoughts, you will become a negative person; Pro 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
NVTD = Pro 15:13b Sad and negative thoughts weaken our spirits and lead to discouragement. By sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.
NVTD = To those whose hearts and minds are filled with negative thoughts, they usually spread them by voicing them with their NVTD.
NVTD = A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:
NVTD = Negative thinking is not walking in “newness of life,” but in the old carnal nature which is against God.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
The writer of Scripture says that every word is inspired by God.
If we run past this we run the danger of false interpretation, so we have to stop and look at some terminology here.
The first phrase that is important is “in me.”
Paul uses a phrase that is unique to him: “in Christ.”
He uses the phrase to refer to our positional union with Christ.
It is a forensic or legal term that is used to talk about the fact that at the moment of faith in Christ the believer is united with Christ inseparably for all eternity.
Psalm 80; Hos 5:1-7; Jer 5:10, and other passages, Israel is identified as the vine.
- We have to distinguish between Israel and the Church.
They are two separate entities in human history.
God has one plan and purpose for Israel and another plan and purpose for the Church.
- Israel was a covenant people viewed as a whole which included both saved and unsaved. The Church is just believers, the invisible body of Christ composed only of believers.
- When Jesus speaks of those “in Me” it cannot include unbelievers.
- “in Me” = “in fellowship with Me,” those who have a close personal relationship. He is not talking about salvation in this analogy.
- This is not talking about salvation, it is talking about the fact that fruit bearing is a consequence of being in fellowship with the Lord.
- If the believer is not drawing his nourishment from Christ on a day to day basis there is no growth, no advance, no fruit bearing.
- Paul uses the phrase to describe the believer’s position in Christ, but John uses the phrase simply to describe intimate relationship.
- That is our first clue to interpreting this passage. Jesus is talking about that relationship fellowship, He is not talking about salvation.
This is the Greek word karpos can be translated “fruit” but the word “production” is preferable because that is what it signifies: the production in the life of the believer.
Production in the spiritual life is always related to character, not activity.
We need to look at verse 4 here because the other key word that we must understand in this text is found in the command of this verse: “Abide in me, and I in you.”
The Greek word here is meno and the English word means to put up with, tolerate, to wait patiently for something, to be in store or ready for something.
It is used to remain in place, to continue, to affirm, to dwell, to sojourn.
Meno means to remain, to reside, to continue, to endure. One verse where this is used is very important for its understanding: John 6:56—“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him.”
This is imagery, He is not talking literally. He uses the eating and drinking metaphor because every single person can do that.
Eating and drinking means to accept something.
In the initial act of salvation, it refers to that initial act of being nourished by our Lord at the point of faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus is referring in 6:56 to faith in Christ at salvation.