Brother Gyme Sunday School 5/5/13

Brother Gyme Sunday School 5/5/13

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

We can all look and know that this is our day.  The commentators said that any time in the Gospel Day forward is this time.  Sin waxes worse and worse.  Any one that can perceive anything would know that these are perilous times today.

Perilous is through the idea of reducing strength.  These days that we live in try to reduce our strength.  It means: Difficult times, dangerous times, by implication furious or fierce:

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Through looking at this we know that we are going to have to take action.  Bystanders will only be swept away.  “The violent take it by force”; there is an action.

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

We know that we want to be taught from Zion.  We are so blest to have the map, the bible, and the study helps that we have.  Today I marvel that I can click on a word on my computer and have a definition.  We are blessed.  We can understand what the Word of God teaches.

Really we have no excuse and even if we did not have all this we would have no excuse.  There are many that did not have these conveniences that made it.

Isa 28:1  Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!

Isa 28:2  Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

Isa 28:3  The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:

Isa 28:4  And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

Isa 28:5  In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

Isa 28:6  And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

Isa 28:7  But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

Isa 28:8  For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Isa 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

This is how he teaches all of us.  Precept must be upon precept and line upon line.  We must be teachable and we will be corrected.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

We know that we must go through some learning we must gird up the loins of our mind and not be a child.   

Some things are just childish and even as adults we need to recognize that some things need to be laid aside because they are absolutely profitless.

To chasten means to train up as a child, to instruct and to teach.  It aims to increase virtue.  The teaching and the chastening helps us to have virtue.

This education is not only spiritual; it is also for our bodies, for our health.  I was thinking about ‘reducing strength’.  We are not only spiritual beings with need of spiritual food but we are also natural beings.  Perilous times reduce strength. 

I was thinking of the thought of the energy that we have for the day.  Some start with a lot of energy and others start with little energy.  No matter what energy you start with, when you get to zero energy then it is zero even for a child that may start with a lot of energy. 

It doesn’t matter whether it is mental or physical tiredness.  The tougher day for me is when my mental energy is zero at the end.  I enjoy the tiredness that comes from working hard physically. 

When your energy reaches zero, the big thing is recovery.  The professional athletes say that around the age of 26 to 29 is where you are at your best physically in life.  You have the most energy; you keep it and you recover fast.  I don’t know how all that is but my children amaze me.  A child can be dead exhausted and they lay down for 20 minutes and they are up again and are outside running around. 

How we take care of ourselves is very important.  Spiritually, recovery means spending time with God.  Recovering physically is also important.  We must be right physically to be able to give our best time to God.  When I’m bad physically I don’t do very well spiritually. 

It is important to take care of your physical body so that you can take care of your spiritual man.  We need to learn how to take care of our body and then to learn to take the time to do it. 

A man with a physical problem worse than fibromyalgia told me that he must sleep for 10 hours every night and then must stretch for 1.5 hours every morning.  He must do it because he doesn’t miss work and does well.

What are we willing to do to be healthy?  One of the hardest things for me to do is to get enough rest.  I know how much better I do spiritually when I eat right and have good rest.  Hippocrates who is called the father of modern medicine said to let your food be your medicine. 

We see the day where coronary arteries get blockages in them.  There is a pinching thing that doesn’t let blood flow down.  They used to think that it was just the American diet that caused blockages.  They were seeing blockages in young military men, 19 to 20 year olds.  The blood would shear as it went up around the arch and would cause the injury and the body would lay a layer of plaque on to repair the injury.  They saw the same thing happening in young men other places. 

They found that corn syrup and hydrogenised oils caused this weakening. 

Would you eat spiritual food that is modified?  We don’t want it do we?  We have a lot of modified things here.  If you eat processed foods and you put it in your body then food equals fuel.  If you want your body to run good then eat good. 

How would your car or lawn mower run if you put sludgy gas in?  The same goes for your body.  Food is very important to your well being, even to your spiritual well being.  If you cannot function in the natural, then how can you do well spiritually?

For your general health you need to put in good fuel if you want to have a good functioning life and do your best for God. 

What do you need spiritually?  You need good food and you need good spiritual rest.  I’ve found if I rest my body but don’t let my mind relax then I’m really not resting.  We can rest spiritually but if we don’t trust God to take care of things then it is really not rest.

When the Children of Israel left Egypt they were given food and places to rest but they did not rest in their minds.  They were complaining and not trusting.

It is so important that we practice thinking Phil 4:8.

Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

We must have spiritual and literal foods but we must gird up the loins of our mind because we are targeted in every way.  One of the things is purity.  It is so important that we keep our mind on pure things.  We are living in an impure world and even without much contact with it you are still bombarded with it. 

Virtue is excellence, excellence in character.  We need good food, fuel, and rest.  We need to take good care of ourselves.  Have you noticed how your mind wanders when you are tired?  When you have taken good care of yourself it is much easier to get your mind under control. 

When we are tired there are times when an issue or thought would try to work on your mind.  I have noticed that I should just not even deal with it until after I wake up in the morning and am refreshed.  Sometimes I find that it isn’t anything. 

We are a three part person and we need to take care of all three parts, spiritual, physical, and emotional. 

God is a God of balance. 

We apply this to the day that we are in.  It is perilous times.  Perilous means ‘reducing strength’.  They are difficult and dangerous times.  Perilous means ‘furious, fierce, and perilous.’

2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Lovers of self, fond of self, selfish, we don’t want to be this way do we?  How many times do we come across people where it is all about them all the time?  I had a doctor friend that took his own life.  He did some good things for others but it was all about him.  Even in taking his own life it was still all about him.   This is a sad story. 

Fond of self, we don’t want to be selfish but we want to look out past ourselves and our own desires.  Being fond of self is a reason of spiritual strength being reduced.  These things that we are going to learn about are all things that take our strength. 

The biggest stress and conflict is when one side of the equation can only see their own part.  I dealt with one man that this last week could only see their own part in the issue.  It made things very difficult.

When you try to teach a person many times they don’t want to see the point because they don’t want to change.  They want what they want. 

We want to be teachable.  Even in the natural with food it is a touchy subject with some people. 

Wheat is a modified food.  Study and figure out what you are eating.  Just like today you would not take me for my word only, we need to study the scripture.  We want to study and know. 

It is a security blanket for people to not know, we want to live like we want to live.  Not believing that there is an eternity doesn’t change the fact that there is eternity.  Eating garbage doesn’t change the fact that it is garbage or the effects it leaves in your body.

If you think the wrong things then there is an effect and it affects everyone around you too.

Covetousness is the next:

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Luk 12:16  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Luk 12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Luk 12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Luk 12:21  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

We want to be rich toward God don’t we?