Sister Dorothy Sunday School 2/8/15

Sister Dorothy Sunday School 2/8/15

We are in perilous times.  The enemy has buffeted me many times this week.  Thank God He has upheld me.  I give Him all the thanks and the glory.

The wiles of the enemy:  he is always on the move and always after us.  He has a bag of tricks.  Some of them we haven’t even encountered.  Seems that they always have a little twist on them that we don’t recognize them.  “What happened?  Where did this come from?”

Zec 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

Zec 13:9  And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Christians shall be tried.  When we come forth as pure gold we say, “The Lord, He is God.  To God be all the glory.”  When the gold is purified we can give Him all the glory.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Glory to God.  Even though we are tried in the fiery trial, sometimes very vicious fire, we can come through for He is faithful.

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Every one of these scriptures end in giving glory to God.  That is the end result that God is after, that we give glory to God through it all.  We see souls going through a trial and we pray for them, “Lord, help them to get the treasure out of it.”  He says, “Give me glory and I will be thy God; I will help you to get the treasure.”

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich:  Those riches unseen are wonderful. He will try us so that we will know how rich we are.  If we never go through a trial, we don’t know how many riches are there.  He helps us in many wonderful ways.  “You just be willing and I will show you how many riches I have for you.”

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Think it not strange:  there will be those that will be persecuted.  We don’t know much about persecution.  I have never been put in prison or tormented, I have only felt the slander of someone’s tongue.  What we do today will prepare us for everything that will come against us.

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

The world will not like what we stand for.  If they don’t love God then they will not love us.  The New Testament meaning of ‘the world’ is the system of religion, or society as civilization that never takes Jesus into account. 

They don’t know God and can’t understand why we do as we do and are happy in our life serving God.  It is because they don’t take Jesus into account and His redemption.  It is that which makes us happy.  It is what Jesus did for us.

Jesus went through awful things for me.  I sat in my chair this morning and thanked God that we know redemption.  The best example we have is Jesus prayed, “Not my will but thine be done.”  We have to get rid of self: we have to go to our own funeral in this walk with God. 

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Tribulations have to work something.  We are not just out on the limb; when we feel that way, then have a little patience and hope, and the love of God will be shed abroad in your life.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

There is a blessing in trials.  If we can recognize that we are given a blessing when we are in a trial and turn the wiles of the enemy around, “I am going to get a blessing out of this.  God is going to bless me and help me.”  When it is over we realize that we are really truly blessed.

All the treasures we obtain through salvation are treasures unseen.  It is the glorious reward and the life yet to be.  It is the continual treasures of our present life around which the Lord centers. 

His will and his permissive will:  Adam and Eve were not made as the animals and the rest of His creation.  They were made with a choice.  His permissive will is that they had the choice to serve God or not.  Even Jesus had the ability to say, “Not my will but thine be done: Take this cup from me, nevertheless not as I will, thy will be done.”

The enemy took advantage of the permissive will of God with Adam and Eve.  The fiery furnace is there by God’s permission.  Every choice we have is a part of God’s permissive will.  I have to have the grace of God where I am, in my circumstance, in my family and in the things that I come up against.  Sometimes they are yucky.  God gives us what we need right in that circumstance.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

After we put on the armor, there are two other important things: praying and watching.  We need every bit that God has given to us.

There are four words in, “Take the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, having done all to stand:” that I want to focus on. 

I brought my armor; it is for the storm that is outside.  Take it.  Pick it up.  It is not given, we are to take it.  Act or get a hold of it.  Take it up. 

If I only take it but don’t put it on, then it doesn’t do me one bit of good.  If I put it on then it will shield me against the storms.  I have to put it on for it to do me one bit of good.  We need all of it, but if I don’t take all I have, it will not shield me.  I have a coat, a hood, earmuffs, gloves, and boots.

Put means to sink into the garment.  Sink right into the armor, invest with clothing, array, clothe with endue.  It also means a position of rest.  I am going to put it on, sink into it, and hold my position in a relation of rest.

Withstand is one of the most important words in this about the armor.  It means to stand against, oppose, resist.  Stand against, oppose, withstand.  We have to withstand.

Stand means against an opponent especially Satan as the archenemy and adversary.  We can stand only by withstanding. 

Stand therefore.  Take a position, resist change, decay or destruction, defer without giving way.

Having done all to stand, stand therefore.  We are not to fight but to stand.  A conqueror is one that fights and wins.  A more than conqueror is the one that easily withstands the enemy by standing.

Be not easily faint in your mind; Stand in the Lord in the power of His might.  If we stand in God’s armor then the enemy cannot war against us.  Our warfare is not carnal, his resources are immeasurable and reliable.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

That is how we can prepare for persecution: we love not our lives; we are willing to give them up for God.

Score off the things that come against us, in this way we possess a holy character.  We can have victories 1, 2, and 3 and it builds character.  He can say, “That is my people.”  It takes a healthy body to resist disease, it takes a healthy mind to fight the enemy.

Read in Revelations chapter 1-3.  Every church age had to overcome.  There was a reward for every one of them.