Sister Dorothy Sunday School 9/1/13
We all think but we need God’s thinking to give us the
correct way and what to think about.
Pro 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his
heart is not with thee.
This is true. It
bluntly tells us that as we are thinking is what we are. Watch what you are thinking.
The word ‘think’ here means to act as door keeper.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus:
The word ‘mind’ here means to exercise the mind. To reign in or curb, fence or enclose, block
up or stop.
‘Mind’ in this scripture comes from the same idea as ‘think’
in the Old Testament.
We can be the gate keeper: keep out the bad and rejoice and
let out the good things.
‘Block up’: we can be that gate keeper and stop it.
Mat 15:18 But those things
which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the
man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a
man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
I ask God to engage my mind, “Keep the precincts of my mind
and heart entirely Thine.”
We think on different things: cares of life and what we like
to do, but the biggest precinct should be of God because that precinct affects
all we think about.
In the beginning God said let there be light.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus came he commanded the light to shine into our
heart so that it would be a value as to what we see.
How many here felt God or were moved by the voice of God
when you were a child? Isn’t that
wonderful to recognize as a child that there is a God?
God spoke to me when I was a child. When I was about ten it was my job at the
farm was to gather the cows and bring them in.
One evening I went out to bring our cow in and there was another cow
that had gotten in with ours. The cow
that I was supposed to bring in had a calf.
I was very scared of the cow that was in there and I prayed,
“God, please help me.” I was so scared
that I then turned with the thought, “Dad can do this.” God spoke to me audibly, “Why Dorothy, I
would have helped you.”
I had cried to Him and then I did not use His help. Those experiences as a child we never forget.
Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Circumstances can trouble us right out of our peace with God
if we don’t recognize it. We are
troubled right out of our relationship with God. He doesn’t want us troubled but He wants us
to believe in Him.
April 26th
The
supreme climb
Take now thy son, . . .and offer him
there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 22:2.
Character determines how a man
interprets God’s will (cf. Psalm 18:25-26). Abraham interpreted God’s command
to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this tradition
behind by the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no
other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will
break us from those traditions that misrepresent Him. There are many such
beliefs to be got rid of, e.g., that God removes a child because the mother
loves him too much—a devil’s lie! and a travesty of the true nature of God. If
the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of wrong
traditions about God, he will do so; but if we keep true to God, God will take
us through an ordeal which will bring us out into a better knowledge of
Himself.
The great point of Abraham’s faith
in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God,
no matter to what belief he went contrary. Abraham was not a devotee of his
convictions, or he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel
was the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will
remain true to God, God will lead you straight through every barrier into the
inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself; but there is always this point of
giving up convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never
declare as Peter did— ‘I will do anything, I will go to death with Thee.’
Abraham did not make any such declaration, he remained true to God, and God
purified his faith.
I thought this was so beautiful. This is how we think about God. He is working all things for our good. If we don’t go through anything then we will
not be strong at all. We may have head
knowledge but it is not what will build a strong foundation for God.
Some think that God is too busy and doesn’t care about these
little incidents. I’ve found that He
does. I dropped a screw in some bark and
I prayed, “Please help me to find it. I
need it.” He did.
1Sa 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the
LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him
actions are weighed.
People sluff off God.
Every action is weighed by the Spirit of God. God is not forgetful of His people. God is not even in the thoughts of those that
do things so contrary to Him.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine
uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
We need to bring every thought that would be contrary to God
into captivity. Imagination is a
wonderful thing and yet it can be such a detriment to us. Our direction needs to come from, “Lord does
this line up with you?” Bring all those
things into captivity.
What would God do?
How should I act here? Bring it
into captivity and let God work in your life.
We can have a heart to help and it can hinder if we are not
in God’s will. Good causes can be a
detriment. It can cause you to be led
away from what God has for you for a cause that may be even a good one.
Here is the question to ask, “Is it lifting up God and
Christ or is it just a good cause?” God
help us to be led by His Spirit or we can be carried away with dumb idols.
It behooves us to be very careful in the things that are
good. Imaginations and high things that
exalt themselves against the knowledge of God:
The enemy loves to play with our imaginations.
The grace of God is sufficient to help us conquer that great
nation of imagination. God gave us
imagination but it was not given us to roam on its own but must be in control.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
If it is not the mind of Christ then it is not the thing to
do. The god of this world works to
blind.
Oswald Chambers - God’s order is the beginning and the end,
His permissive will is the middle. God’s eternal purposes will be fulfilled,
but His permissive will allows Satan, sin and strife to produce all kinds of
misconceptions and false confidences until we all, individually as well as
collectively, realise that His order is best. It is possible to build up a
false security, as Israel and Judah did of old, based on God’s own prophetic
word, but which ignores heart purity and humility before Him.
We need to take all these things and be led by the spirit of
God.
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth
for you.
I thought of Jonah.
God’s purpose was to bring about repentance. Remember how upset Jonah was? Jonah was upset because God did not carry out
the word that Jonah preached.
Watch out for moods.
If you are moody then get to God.
Moods move us; they make us selfish and self conscience.
This is what Jonah did, “These people have repented and now
God is not going to do what He said; He is not going to bring the wrath of
God.” He could have said, “Thank you God
that you moved on these hearts.”
There is a care for our own reputation and there is a care
for the reputation of God.
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou
considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth
Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and
about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed
the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all
that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all
that he hath is in thy power; only upon
himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the
LORD.
We look on Job’s life because we know that Job became a
battle field Satan vs. God. Job did not
know this when he started into this trial he did not know that Satan had made a
bid for his soul. He did not know this
conversation.
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God
foolishly.
See how Job reacted.
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still
retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of
the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and
shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
We see that Job’s wife had a wrong conception about
God. But Job did not. Job kept that gate closed and did not think
foolishly about God.
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God
came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to
present himself before the LORD.
Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence
comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou
considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou
movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin
for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his
bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job had terrible suffering besides losing everything and
also his wife not standing. Then came
the comforters. It was a pitiful lot
that came to comfort him.
After being accused of so many things by his ‘wonderful
comforters’ you wonder how Job even kept his sanity.
Job 23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
Job 23:9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I
cannot behold him: he hideth himself on
the right hand, that I cannot see him:
Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as
gold.
Job 23:11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I
kept, and not declined.
Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment
of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
What a testimony! In
the face of every argument, all the sufferings and all the comforters that
could not comfort. “He knows the way
that I take.”
Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that
no thought can be withholden from thee.
Job 42:3 Who is
he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I
understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
It goes on to say how God blessed him because he kept his
thoughts pure and did not sin.
God you came to free me from sin, from myself and from the
hold that is on me.
Is something bothering you? Tell God.
When He answers and gives you relief, tell about it and boast in
God. Sin and sufferings are not problems
of the mind but facts of life. The heart must find rest in God and know that He
does all things well.
Keep the
notion strong and growing of the control of God behind all things. Nothing
happens in any particular unless God’s mind is behind it, so we can rest in
perfect confidence. There are times when God cannot lift the darkness, but
trust Him. Jesus said God will appear at times like an
unkind friend,
but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father,† but He is not; He will appear like an
unjust judge,
but He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. Prayer is
not only asking, it is an attitude of heart that produces an atmosphere in
which asking is perfectly natural, and Jesus says, “every one that asketh receiveth.”[2]
Keep confidence in Him.
We must retain an attitude of perfect trust. Keep in your mind, “God is here.” When we rest in Him and have faith in Him we
know His divine control and we go to God and know that He is our father and
will supply our needs.
God is my father, why should I worry.
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