The Angelic Conflict, Part 13. Deu 30:11-19

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary.
From the week ending 02/02/03

The Angelic Conflict
Part 13
DEU 30:11-19. Slamming Our Troubles On The Lord.

We have been noting the Satanic Game Plan and the weapons given to the Christian Soldier to combat that plan, as in Eph 6:16, "In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

One of the many Hebrew words for faith is "'aman," which is a verb meaning to believe, support, or use someone as a crutch. The root meaning is a foundation on which something is built, a foster father; a pillar, a supporter of the door.

We have seen that faith is a decision to place your trust and confidence in the character and nature of another to come through for you.

ECC 1:14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

JOH 6:68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."

As a believer, you have already trusted Him to take care of the worst problem you ever had, and to give you a new nature and forever change your destiny. Therefore, you should be able to trust in Him to change whatever else needs changing in your life. The faith-rest drill is a versatile technique for overcoming any difficulty, problem, or disaster in life. By faith the believer applies doctrine logically while resting in God's promises.

The reactions of fear, worry, anxiety, and panic do not resolve any situation in life; they only disorient people to reality. Perhaps the most potent enemy is fear because fear shuts down our thinking. Satan has formulated special tactics for the specific purpose of inducing fear in believers. However, God has intended for every believer to trust Him and to rest in that trust. One of the most gracious decisions God makes is to allow tragedies and heartbreaks in our lives so that we will learn to lean on Him rather than on our own strength and resources. When we are confronted with these situations, there are only two options-we can either doubt God's Word and be totally miserable, or believe God's Word and enter into His rest.

The place of peace is often called "rest" in the Word of God. It is a moment-by-moment rest, which Jacob discovered, as seen in HEB 11:21.

HEB 11:20-21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

The staff symbolizes divine protection, and by this time Jacob had learned to trust in God's power to deliver him.
God has given us promises and doctrines in the Bible. It's our job to learn them, believe them and use them to solve our problems, PSA 27:5, "For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle [promises]; in the secret place of His tent [doctrine] He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock [occupation with Christ]."
God has given us promises for eternity, for the resurrection body (PHI 3:21), no more sorrow, tears, pain, or death (REV 21:4), and being absent from the body and face-to-face with the Lord at physical death (2CO 5:8).

When you rest in God's promises, you can be stable and content even under the worst pressure and adversity. You can thank God for the difficulty, knowing He permits it for your benefit.

PSA 119:71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.

The second Hebrew word for faith that we have studied is "batach," which is a wrestling term. It means to trust in the sense of slamming your troubles on God; this word has a very clear faith-rest connotation-to have confidence, and to be bold, secure, and carefree. David applied this principle when facing Goliath, and so can we when facing the "Goliath's" of our lives.

1SA 17:47 "...And that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."

ISA 41:10 "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

God has given us the promises, the doctrine, and the power, everything necessary to raise the shield of faith, DEU 30:11-19.

DEU 30:11-19 "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants."

PRO 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

A third Hebrew word for faith is "qavah," which means to wait or look eagerly for, linger for, hope, expect, collect, bind together, or be collected. It depicts a fine thread woven into a giant rope that cannot be broken. This is the faith that derives its strength from outside itself.

ISA 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

It is important to understand that once you have given Him your problem, you must leave it in His hands and move on. Do not interject human solutions; you will be miserable and have no rest. The result of living in faith-rest in spite of the pressures and temptations is an exchange of human power for divine omnipotence. Remember that the Lord will either deliver you from the situation or (more likely) He will give you the strength and contentment to endure the situation so that you can say as Job did in JOB 13:15, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him."

The mechanics of the faith-rest drill are comprised of three stages:

Stage 1: Faith claims a promise.

Stage 2: Faith develops a rationale.

Stage 3: Faith draws a doctrinal conclusion.

In Stage 1, faith claims promises from the Bible, combining the promises of God with faith.

In Stage 2, faith claims doctrinal rationales, known as "reverse concentration" (application of doctrine). Doctrinal rationales include the essence of God, the plan of God, and logistical grace.

In Stage 3, faith reaches doctrinal conclusions and is in control of the situation. In this stage the believer rests and waits on the timing of God.

The plan of God rationale employs five principles that support the predesigned plan of God for every believer, and applies them to the problem at hand.

1. Foreknowledge: God has been caring about me since eternity past.

2. Predestination: God has taken care of every detail of my life.

3. Election:  God has called me for a special purpose.

4. Justification:  God is gracing me out now.

5. Glorification:  God is going to grace me out forever.

The logistical grace rationale says that it is impossible for anyone who has imputed divine righteousness to lack anything, because the justice of God sends life support and blessing to all believers.

2 Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.

Logistical grace includes four categories of support:

1. Life-sustaining support. God sustains the life of every believer on earth. No believer can depart from this life apart from God's will, PHI 4:19, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

2. Temporal needs such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation, environment, time, and a job.

3. Security provision, including guardian angels, divine establishment, and the wall of fire (for positive believers only, as security to make the advance to spiritual maturity), 1Pe 1:5, "You are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

4. Spiritual riches, such as the portfolio of invisible assets, the 10 problem-solving devices, the 10 unique factors of Church-age, the completed Canon of Scripture, a local assembly, doctrinal teaching from our right pastor-teacher, the privacy of our royal priesthood, and the royal family honor code, Eph 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."

The word "batach" is used repeatedly in the Psalms to remind us to cast or "slam" our problems on the Lord and maintain our confidence.

PSA 27:3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident.

PSA 28:77 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.

PSA 115:9-11 O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.  You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

If the problem is hopeless, and you are helpless, now is the time to trust the Lord to come through for you. The faith-rest drill means coming to the end of your rope-and then remembering that your Father is in the "rope business." As we have learned from the meaning of "qavah,"  when we place our faith in His power, that faith is like a thread woven into an unbreakable rope that will never let us fall.

1 Pe 5:7 Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

For a more detailed study, order last week's tapes, 1835 to 1837.