Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Weekly Review
Tree of Life
092618
It may be something that is too small or too great in your opinion, but with GOD all things are possible.
As we get ready for the tenth and final commandment in the Mosaic Law which is given in EXO 20:17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
However, there are just a few final thoughts I would like to give you concerning EXO 20:16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
When it comes to choosing whether or not you should give something over to the Supreme Court of Heaven, the real issue here is this: Are you ready to go forward in God’s plan or are you getting ready to quit, throw in the towel, murmur and complain because things are not turning out the way you planned.
In spite of all this info and these principles, the majority of the human race still rejects the Lord Jesus Christ and the majority of believers still do not even consider decisions from the Supreme Court of Heaven (SCOH) by the Supreme Court Judge. The Lord has done so much for all of us and yet there are still individuals who could care less about what the Lord has done for all of us. And just like the prophet Isaiah said in ISA 5:4-5, “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected {it} to produce {good} grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.”
This is the result of rejecting the blessings of the Lord.
ISA 5:6-7, “And I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”
Here we have the SCOH disciplining those believers who are implacable and ungrateful. This is why the protocol of the SCOH commands us to live a certain way as members of the RFOG, LUK 6:35, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil {men.}”
This is why the attitude of the Supreme Court Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who does not play favoritism is always just and fair because He is always perfectly right being always perfectly righteous. And this is a vital principle of doctrine for all of us to understand and accept because there are times or will be times when we all think that we are right in the matter brought before the SCOH, when in reality we are wrong. (No one’s perfect). There are also times when we don’t take certain actions to deal with a problem thinking that if we ignore the problem it will go away and nothing could be further from the truth.
We should not ignore our problems but instead focus in on the following principles of doctrine to solve our problems before we give them over to the SCOH. We do so by learning, perceiving and applying the following Three Principles:
- The Promises of God.
2. The Problem Solving Devices.
3. The Mystery Doctrine of the Church-age.
If the believer does not choose any of these principles of doctrine, then he or she will be on their own, in the cosmic system with nothing but human power. And if you are under some form of attack and you refuse God’s power then the only power you have left is creature power and creature power is no power at all, human power is no power!
This is what happens when a believer doesn’t take the Lord’s word seriously and instead focuses in on himself or herself rather than the Lord’s will. For example, Look at what has happened to the Jews? I’m sure that some of them did pass the tests the Lord has been giving to them to make them stronger. However, the majority of the Israeli military have ignored certain important spiritual issues that the Lord has been trying to train them for on the battlefield.
Remember one of the passages that we noted concerning who and what the Lord is and what He does to train us. In PSA 18:30-34, As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength, And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds’ {feet}, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Isaiah knew our Lord’s opinion of man as we have noted so many times before. For example, Isaiah is the one who wrote ISA 1:1-6.
ISA 1:1-6, The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, {and} Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, {But} Israel does not know, My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. Where will you be stricken again, {As} you continue in {your} rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, {Only} bruises, welts, and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields ‑ strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
All of those verses describe the believer’s state when he falls away from the Lord and has gone AWOL. All of those verses describe the believer’s state when he tries to fight his own battles and falls rather than give them over to the SCOH. So much so that the prophet Isaiah had to put certain principles in a book for the guidance and direction of those believers who have the spiritual life but very limited.
These are the types of believers who do not recognize that they are being used by Heylel or by Satan, that devil!
In ISA 3:9, notice how the thought pattern expression -- of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not {even} conceal {it.} Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
ISA 3:9, The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not {even} conceal {it.} Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
Even their confidence has now been scattered and many of them have turned to alcohol or sex or pleasure, etc.. In fact, in Isa 28, the prophet reveals that the priests, the prophets, and the leaders have all turned to substances that blind them from seeing the truth within us.
Now, again in ISA 5:20-23, Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink; Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
It may be something that is “too small” in your opinion or “too great” in your opinion, but with God all things are possible. In fact, we even have a selection that you can search for which talks about winner believers receiving rewards in this life for their faithfulness and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Supreme Court Judge in the Supreme Court of Heaven. These are the types of believers who have a special place in time and a special place in eternity.
In fact, one of the many blessings that the Lord has given to us is that a winner believer is allowed to roam around and have the privilege of coming and going as a winner believer. For example, our Lord puts it like this in REV 2:17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes [the winner believer], to him [the winner] I will give {some} of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name or a new title written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”
This is a part of the believer’s protocol in the SCOH. However, there are even many more blessings awaiting us in the eternal state, one of which I just mentioned as being able to travel in eternity.
Moses put it like this; DEU 30:19-20, “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, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Notice that this is a reflection of the intimacy which will exist between TLJC and the winner believer. In doing this, King David not only misses being the leader over the Israeli military but he is becoming lazy and slothful and is no longer content with who he is and with what he possesses, which is the inheritance of God. Added to this is the fact that King David is bored and slothful and he also has lost the capacity he once had to be blessed by God with appreciation for what God blesses.
David is now looking for some new adventure or new form of secret sinning. David taught his son Solomon PRO 19:15, Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger.
Speaking to Solomon on how to treat the ladies, Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, teaches Solomon PRO 31:27, She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Also in 2SA 12:23, the SCOH reveals what happens when a baby dies? “But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again [NO]? I shall go to him [Heaven ], but he will not return to me.” This passage says that the child will be in Heaven forever. The Divine Order of things says that, first of all, we all need to identify how we became sinners. The divine order of things is found PSA 51:1-4, (For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him,) (after he had gone in to Bathsheba.) Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity [rebound], And cleanse me from my sin or literally cleanse me because of the sin nature. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge. Notice what King David said in PSA 51:5, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Notice here that David says that he was conceived out of wedlock by Him and Solomon’s mother - Bathsheba. So, first of all, David said in PSA 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. This is the principle of the man and woman who passes down the trends of the Old Sin Nature while violating others for the sake of knowing TLJC and the power behind His resurrection.
And so, after David deals with his problems at birth and now he must deal with it in PSA 58:3, which states; “The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.”
So, after conception then we go on to live in the lies of the Cosmic system and we reject the PPOG and our very own Personal Sense of Destiny. Now, we have some passages that reveal how important it is for us to have the correct and proper mental attitude and to appreciate the fact that the Lord has even considered using you or me. What an honor it is for us to be used by the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just to be invited to the wedding is a tremendous honor and privilege that comes to all of us as a part of us being in union with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, as we noted before, the Supreme Court of Heaven is building up and edifying those believers who they have given their life for others. For greater love has no man then this that one lay down his life for his friends in Mat 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen {anyone} greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” And so, what do we have?
Right now, we have the Church being formed on earth and in Heaven. The Church on earth is called the body. The Church in Heaven is called the bride. On earth, the Church is continuing to grow and is being prepared for the Marriage Feast or the Marriage Supper. Attending the wedding feast will be not only the Church as the Bride of Christ, but others as well. The “others” include the Old Testament saints—they will not have been resurrected yet, but their souls and spirits will be in heaven for us and with us.
Look at JOH 13:16-17, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither {is} one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
Now, you can hear some of these doctrinal principles a thousand times and it still won’t work because the carnal believer is helpless and lacks the humility needed to learn to rebound and recover and then use these principles to do so. This is because the carnal believer makes war with others including “war against God” rather than rebound and recover.
Look at how the apostle Paul puts it...ROM 8:5-14, For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh ‑ for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The question that needs to be answered and understood is how do children handle pressure and adversity? And I wanted to give you a passage that actually deals with this in Jonah 4:5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.
JON 4:6-10, So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. And it came about when the sun came up that God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.” Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.” Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work, and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.”
Use your eye gate and your ear gate and you will come to the correct answer or conclusion to many of the problems we face. And then, here it comes, a tremendous privilege and honor to receive from the Lord some of the great problems and solutions that we face constantly. For example, and here is my illustration. What is the age or the mental ability of those who cannot discern between right or wrong?
Well, Jonah 4:11 answers this when the Lord spoke to Jonah and said; JON 4:11, “And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know {the difference} between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”
So, this is one of your answers to one of your problems that you will have to deal with someday. This talks about the individual who cannot and does not follow the Lord because they are mentally challenged. And, not only that, but the Lord tells us that all children will be automatically safe and also saved from eternal damnation. And how do we know that? Because the prophet Gad said in 2SA 12:23, that believers can go to heaven to meet all the children but the children cannot come back to us.
Now, here comes the verse which talks about when an individual reaches the age of accountability which is really not an age but it is the mental capacity or ability that the individual has. And this is because God operates like this: PSA 33:5, He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness or graciousness of the Lord.
Please notice that in all of these passages Justice and righteousness are at work together.
Why?
Because in PSA 37:28, For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His godly or mature ones; They are preserved forever; But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
There is hope for the believer who has positive volition toward doctrine. And why is this such an important principle is because in PSA 89:14, Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee.
What about when we are faced with certain ungodly situations.
PSA 97:2, Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; [however], Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Please notice that in all of these passages Justice and righteousness are at work together. And that is why the Hebrew of ISA 30:18 says, Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you [He is tapping His foot] waiting to , And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.
In JON 4:11, the Lord says to Jonah; “And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”
Depending on the age, growth, and maturity of the child, adversity, stress, and circumstances can be all one and the same. Therefore, the parents should be the child’s FLOT line of the soul (the Forward Line of Troops). Look how Moses and David taught the adults and the children. One of the most important principles of doctrine that David taught his son Solomon in PRO 1:8, Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
A godly doctrinal mother will teach her children, not drop them off at prep school known to some of you as Sunday school and say to the teacher - teach them. She will teach them herself.
DEU 6:4-7, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”
Notice that the parents are told to teach them diligently to their children and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Then it says DEU 6:8, “And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
The hand represents working and doing things as unto the Lord. The frontal on the forward represents the proper mental attitude and motivation.
DEU 6:9, “And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This refers to individuals in your neighborhood or periphery or surroundings knowing who and what you stand for.