Enjoying the Journey

(1 John 1:5-7) When God created the world, the first thing He created was light. Immediately after, He divided the light from the darkness. One mark of God's children is that they live in the light and despise the darkness! (0982250403) Visit https://enjoyingthejourney.org/you-can-know/ to download the FREE “23 Birthmarks of the Believer” handout. Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 John 1:1-4) Belief in Jesus precedes the new birth into His family. Growth as a child of God depends on the same concept of believing. How can your belief be developed? (0981250402) Visit https://enjoyingthejourney.org/you-can-know/ to download the FREE “23 Birthmarks of the Believer” handout. Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 John 3:1, 9; 4:7; 5:1) There is no greater relationship than being a child of God! A corollary truth is that there is no greater knowledge than knowing you are a child of God. Listen to today's episode to discover how you can know with certainty! (0980250401) Visit https://enjoyingthejourney.org/you-can-know/ to download the FREE “23 Birthmarks of the Believer” handout. Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 John 2:3; 5:20) Throughout the little book of 1 John, different forms of the word "know" are used thirty-eight times. In this age of increasing uncertainty and mass confusion, 1 John provides divine insight into the clarifying and purifying knowledge of knowing God. (0979250331) Visit https://enjoyingthejourney.org/you-can-know/ to download the FREE “23 Birthmarks of the Believer” handout. Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Revelation 5:8) We will not see the answer to some prayers until we kneel at Jesus Christ's nail-pierced feet. Occasionally, God gives us glimmers of those answers here, but one glorious day, we will see them in whole. Imagine what we have to look forward to! (0978250329) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 Corinthians 2:9-13) The same God who gave us the Scriptures works in us to help us understand them. He also gives us a work to do! The Word of God is the foundation of our faith. (0977250328) ----more---- The Works of the Bible Did you know that by the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Old Testament books had been generally accepted as inspired writings? The New Testament books were listed in their current form by AD 397. Most of them were accepted immediately after the time of the Apostles, but by AD 397, all of them had, if you will, passed the test. In other words, they bore the mark of Divine authority. They were accepted by local New Testament churches as having evidence of being the very word of a living God. Throughout the centuries, the word of God has been passed on to us. It is beautiful to see how God has overseen the preservation of His word for every generation. I thank God for that because the word of God is the foundation of our faith. The Importance of Applying God's Word Now, I want to come full circle in our discussion about what the Bible says regarding the word of God, bringing it to where we live, to our hearts, and to its application in our lives. You see, my friend, you could accept the fact that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself. You can say you believe that God breathed it, that it was inspired by God. You can even agree that God has promised to preserve His word for every generation, but if you don't allow that book to affect your life, you've fallen short. You've missed the whole point. God gave His word so that it would change our lives. Did you know that there is a work God does through the word and a work we are to do in the word? That's what I want to focus on today as we conclude our study of what the Bible says. I am praying that this series will be the impetus, the motivation, the prodding from God, if you will, for you to love the Scriptures more, to engage with the word of God more deeply, and to learn all that God has to say to you. God's Work Through His Word: Illumination Let's begin with how God uses His word in our lives. In 1 Corinthians chapter two, the Bible states, beginning in verse nine, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” Hear me with your heart, please. You can't be spiritual without being scriptural. Do you see how the Holy Spirit is connected to the word of the living God? May I say to you that God's work through His word is a work of illumination. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, helping us understand the word of God. One of the greatest prayers in the Bible is found in Psalm 119:18. The Psalmist prays, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” What is he praying for? Light, illumination. I want to tell you that the God who inspired the word now works in illumination. The same Holy Spirit who gave the word now opens your understanding to it. You have the Author living with you all the time. The best way to understand a book is to talk to the person who wrote it. The best way to understand God's book is to talk to God, because I promise you, He'll respond; He'll teach; He'll speak. Jesus said in John 14, 15, and 16 that the Holy Spirit would come to teach us all things and to bring all things to our remembrance. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives, helping us understand and apply the truth. That is His work through the word. Our Responsibility: Interpreting the Word If that's His part, what's our part? Our work in the word is the work of interpretation. In other words, we have to be good students. Here's the verse: 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 15 says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” That is our job: to rightly divide, to rightly interpret. If God's work relates to understanding the truth, then our work relates to investigating it. In other words, we should approach the word of God by studying it for its literal interpretation to find out exactly what God has to say to us, with the goal of applying that to our lives. Now we are in 2 Timothy, so let's look across the page to 2 Timothy chapter 3. Let's complete the circuit. We began with this: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." You remember that in verse 16, and is profita

(Psalm 119:89) A person's character is only as good as their word. God's good name is connected to the innerancy of His Word. In this study we learn the principle of divine preservation and deepen our conviction in the trustworthiness of the Bible. (0976250327) ----more---- How Can I Know the Bible Is Right? Psalm 119 is the Psalm of the Scriptures. In fact, of the 176 verses in Psalm 119, all but two make a definite reference to the word of God in some way. It is a powerful Psalm, and right in the middle of it, we read these words: Psalm 119:89 says, "Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." What does it mean? It means the word of God never changes. So the question is, "Can I trust the Bible?" We've been talking about the fact that God gave His word, He revealed Himself in Scripture, and he inspired the very words of Scripture to be written down by men. He used men to convey his truth to men, but he did it in such a way that we hold in our hands the perfect word of the living God. Can you trust it? There are so many proofs that the word of God can be trusted. Historical and Scientific Proofs of the Bible For example, there's historical proof. Think of all the fulfilled prophecy in scripture. Did you know that about 30% of your Bible is prophecy? Think of that. There's no real prophecy in any of the other what are referred to as holy books outside the Bible. All of these religions have their holy books, but read them carefully, and you'll find that one of the vastween them and scripture is that the word of the living God is full of very exact differences bet prophecies. Andcies have already been fulfilled exactly as scores of those specific prophe God said. It's an accurate book. The Bible lines up perfectly with proven historical records. As a matter of fact, even archeology has begun to prove the Bible's claims. For years, historians said there was no such group as the Hittites, for example, no such group as the Hittites that was given in scripture. That was a myth. And yet archeology has now proven the Bible's claims of a group known as the Hittite. It's proven the historical existence of David and a united kingdom (Israel). 100% of the time, after all the evidence was in the Bible, it was vindicated. Now, I'm not saying that to say that we vindicate the Bible with external things. Remember that we accept the word of God by faith. We come to God by faith that he can be trusted. I'm simply saying that the word of God is accurate in every way. Scientifically, for example, the Bible revealed truth beyond its years. Leviticus 17:11 talks about the life of the flesh being in the blood. We've only really discovered that in the last few hundred years - this use of blood. Job 26:7 tells us that the earth is suspended in space. Isaiah 40:22 that tells us the Earth is round. Luke 17 tells us that the earth revolves on its axis. Genesis 22:17 tells us that the stars are more than can be counted. Genesis 1 tells us that plants and animals reproduce after their own kind or species. Hebrews 1:2 tells us that there are other worlds or planets. Job 28 25 tells us the air has weight. Psalm 8:8 tells us the ocean has currents. I'm saying to you that the God of all truth can be trusted. What is the Preservation of Scripture? And so we've come today to another thing that must be discussed when you're studying what the Bible says about the word of God. We've talked about revelation, we've talked about inspiration. Let's talk today about preservation. What does preservation mean? It literally means that God Almighty, who was powerful enough to give his word, is powerful enough to preserve his word to every generation. Now I wanna give you a number of scriptures that may help with this in your own mind. Scriptural Evidence of Preservation Listen to the words of Psalm 12:6-7. "The words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times." Now listen to this. "Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever." I hear people say I believe God may have given his word perfectly the first time, but after all of these years. Certainly it's been tainted by man, wait a minute. The same God who gave his word is powerful enough to preserve His word to every generation. That includes our generation. How about Psalm 33:11, "The council of the Lord standeth forever. The thoughts of his heart to all generations." We're in the all generations. How about Psalm 100:5? And by the way, for every verse I'm showing you today there are a dozen more just like it. I'm just giving you a little sample here. Psalm 100:5 says, "For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations." I want to remind you that the character of the word is tied to the character of the God of the Word. So if you want to agree that the Lord is good, if you want to agree that His mercy is everlasting, then you must agree that His truth endured to all generations. P

(2 Timothy 3:16) Every Word from God is "God breathed"—it is connected to His very nature and life. Today we learn more about how God gave His Word to man and see the amazing proofs of divine inspiration in the Bible. (0975250326) ----more---- The Inspiration of Scripture Is God perfect? If God is perfect, would everything that comes from God comes out of God? Be perfect. If that's the case, then would you say God's breath? Is perfect. Someone says, that's a strange line of questioning. Not at all, because the Bible says that the word of God literally was breathed out from God. In other words, it came directly from God's very nature. It came from God's heart to us. Here's the verse 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" Now, we can't believe that the word of God is profitable if we don't believe the word of God is inspired. We use the word inspired fairly loosely today. Writers say, I had a moment of inspiration. Speakers say I felt inspired to say something, but the word inspiration in two Timothy 3:16 is not some some passing surface emotion. No, the word inspiration there literally means God-breathed. It was breathed out from the very nature of God. It came directly from God. To man. Is God's Word Perfect? So I ask again, is God perfect? Oh, yes. God is perfect. If God is perfect, would everything that comes from God be perfect? Yes. Everything that comes directly from God would be perfect, untainted by sin and corruption. If everything that comes out of God is perfect, then would not the very God-breathed words of Scripture be perfect? One of the great struggles that people have is whether the word of God can be trusted to be perfect in every way. My question is this: Does it come from a perfect God? We're going to talk more about how God preserved his word through the ages and God's promise to do that. But let me just say right up front that to question the authority and the accurateness of scripture is to question the very nature of God. In fact, the Bible says that God has set his word above his name. Do you understand? God's name is on the line? Is God powerful enough to preserve his word? Is God wise enough to give his word perfectly the first time? All of this goes to our theology, to what we believe about God. So I read again that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. Aren't you glad it's been given that God spoke through the Bible writers? So that when they wrote it was without error, without omission, and without exaggeration, we might say it this way. It was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Human Penman and the Bible And that doesn't mean that God made men robots. He never does that. He allows men to work with him. What a privilege to be laborers together with God. And such was the case for these Bible writers. The truth was conveyed in such a way that it employed those men. For example, the human penman personal experience comes out. There's no doubt. They're giving firsthand accounts many times. You can see Peter's personality shine through. You can hear Paul's educational background come through their historical accounts and read the gospel according to Luke. And it's very obvious that a medical doctor, a physician, someone with knowledge of the human body and of those types of things is writing a very detailed account. So, the information is given directly from God through men, and he employs and uses those men, their backgrounds, their style of writing. It's wonderful. And before scripture was written down, information, truth, historical accounts, and information handed down through parents were passed along verbally. Words that were passed on from generation to generation. But aren't you glad God wrote it down for us? He wrote it down on the pages of holy scripture. So we're not resting on dreams and visions and experiences. Now, somebody said, I wish we had the truth in black and white. You do have the truth in black and white. God gave us the truth in his holy word. It is literally the voice of God to us. Lemme give you some examples. Acts 28:25 is a beautiful expression the Bible says, "25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers," Then who does he say is speaking? The Holy Spirit was speaking. He was speaking through Isaiah, but Isaiah was simply the mouthpiece, if you will. But the word was the very word of God. How about this one? Peter chapter one, verse number 11 says, searching what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ, which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow who was speaking through these prophets, the spirit of Christ. Which was in them. A Peter would use a similar expression in his second letter. In 2 Peter 1:21, read

(Isaiah 34:16) The Bible is the very Word of God. It is God's special revelation of Himself! The more we seek God in the Scriptures the more we come to know Him personally. (0974250325) ----more---- What is the Bible? What is the Bible? Where did it come from? How can we be sure that it is accurate? Can it be trusted? And we're gonna deal with some of those questions over the next few episodes, and The Bible's Divine Foundation I'm very excited about this final section in our study on what the Bible says because we've come to know what the Bible says about the word of God, literally what the Bible says about itself. Now, there are lots of external evidences that the Bible is the word of God. We're gonna talk about some of those, but internally, just read the Bible and the power of scripture will bring great conviction and assurance to your heart that indeed this is God's divine revelation. That it is the perfect revelation of our great God. I'm excited about this section, and I've saved it last, not because it's the least, but because, in fact, it lays a foundation for everything that we believe. All of the great truths we've been talking about for the last several weeks are built on the foundation of the word of God. If you don't have an authority to draw from, then it's just my opinion and your opinion. And this lays a foundation for any other question that might come up. Certainly, this study has not been exhaustive on even the subjects we've discussed, and then there are so many questions that arise in the world we live in today. Where do you find the answers? We believe that the Bible is the very word of the living God and that you can trust the word of God because you can trust the God of the word. Where Did the Word "Bible" Come From? Now the term Bible is an interesting term. Where does it come from? It actually comes from a word that means role or book. Now book. We understand role is a reference to the way an ancient civilization that they would write. I remember many years ago being in Cairo, Egypt, and they gave us a demonstration of how they created papyrus paper. These roles that would oftentimes become scrolls. They took reeds that grew along the Nile River and they would cut them into strips, lay them line up upon line at right angles, and then beat them and press them and polish them. And after they have dried and strengthened and bound together, it created a wonderful paper that could be written on. I remember bringing a sample of that back with me. It was just an idea about what an ancient civilization was done. We take so much for granted in our modern era with all the technology we have to convey writing, I. But in the early days, it was a very expensive and laborious process. Much work went into both writing it and then preserving it. The word Bible literally means a role or a book. It is a library of 66 books that all come together to be divine In fact, this is revelation. It's referred to throughout the word of God as scripture or the word of God. The Bible says in Isaiah 34:16, "16 Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read:" That's powerful, isn't it? This book that we're studying, this book we're talking about is not just any book. This is not man's book. This is literally the book of the Lord. And did you notice that he gave two action verbs? Two things we should do. He says, first, seek and then read. There is here a process. That's what reading is, but there's also heart in it. That's what seeking is. This is more than just something to read like you'd skim the headlines of the newspaper. No, my friend. This is something to read on a heart level. It's something to read with a great passion to know the God of the Bible. The Bible as God's Revelation The Bible is the finished revelation of God. It is the place where God reveals his person, his work, and his will. For mankind, it is God's record of who he is. And he said to man, write it down. Now, the first mention of such writing is all the way back atf the Old Testament. In fact, in Exodus 24:4, the Bible says, " 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord," We believe that though men were used as instruments of writing the scriptures. That all scripture is given by inspiration of God. That means it has a divine source. It may come to us through many tributaries. It may come through many human penman, but it has one source, and that is, it comes from God. Peter wrote and said that Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, literally as they were born along by the Holy Ghost. In other words, this is a spiritual book because this is a book the Holy Spirit wrote. It is the foundation for everything that we believe. And now I wanna talk to you for just a moment today about the most basic truth about the word of God. And it is this the Bible is God's revelation of himself. The God of the Bible is a God who wants to be known. Is there mystery related to our God? Certainly because there are things we can't fully un

(Revelation 22:20-21) Come with us to the last page of the Bible. This is how it all ends. Prophecy leads us beyond earth to a new heaven and new earth, beyond time to eternity. (0973250324) ----more---- The End of the World There's nothing quite as exciting as coming to the end of a book and seeing how it all ends. How the pieces all come together, how the story concludes the victory of the end. The same thing is true in scripture. When you come to the end of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, you discover how it's all going to end. The Return of Christ and the Rapture And we know the next thing on God's agenda is the return of Christ in the air, the rapture of the church that sets in motion the tribulation period here on Earth. And while we're in heaven, we'll have the judgment seat of Christ and the marriage supper of the lamb. What a great celebration that will be, but that's not the end of it all. No, immediately after that, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to this planet. That's right. He's coming back to this earth and we are coming with Him. Listen to the words of Revelation 20:1, "1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up..." Won't that be a good day when the devil gets shut up? "...and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." Did you catch the little expression there, "a thousand years,"? In fact, that expression, "a thousand years" is used six times in Revelation 20:1-10. The Millennial Reign of Christ It is commonly referred to in prophetic language as the millennium of the millennial reign of Christ. It's a reference to the thousand-year visible earthly reign of the Lord Jesus on this earth that follows the great tribulation. He returns from heaven. We come with him. He sets up his throne to rule and reign on this earth. If you read through Revelation 20, there's an amazing description of all that takes place during this time, or at least everything that God wants us to know at this point. And some people have questioned, do you really think that's gonna happen? Oh, yes, I do. Because when the Lord Jesus sets up his kingdom and rules and reigns here on the earth, then he is gonna have the opportunity to completely fulfill his unconditional covenant covenants that he made with the nation of Israel. He's going to free this world from the curse of sin. Think of that and reward the faithfulness of saints. I had a Bible teacher years ago that used to ask this question. He said, "Are you getting ready to rule?" According to scripture in the millennial kingdom, the saints are awarded positions of authority based on their faithfulness in this life. We're allowed to rule and reign with Christ. So let me ask you, "Are you getting ready to rule once and for all?" The Lord Jesus is going to rule and reign on this earth for that thousand year period, it's gonna be the most wonderful time. If the tribulation is the most awful time in world history, this is gonna be the most wonderful time this world has ever known. According to scripture, people are going to enjoy increased lifespans. Isaiah 65 tells us that. Isaiah 65 also tells us that the nature of animals will even be radically changed. The lion will lay down with the lamb. Somebody says that's not natural. No. That's what happens when the Lord brings peace. All of nature will be fruitful as it's never been before in this cursed world. Isaiah 35 tells us about that and the head of the government, who will that be? That's gonna be the King. The King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be truly a theocracy. God's going to prove once and for all that only he is able to perfectly govern this earth. We believe according to the book of Isaiah, that he's gonna rule and reign from his throne in Jerusalem. It is the spiritual center of the whole Earth. Zechariah 8 tells us that, and we believe that God is going to rule and reign during that period. Satan's Final Revolt and Judgment Now you'll notice when I read you from Revelation 20, the Bible says, "After that, Satan will be loosed for a little season." Can you imagine that? After a thousand years of perfect peace and harmony and the Lord's ruling reign, the devil's gonna be released for a short period of time and is gonna attempt one last revolt as described for us in Revelation 20:7-9, "7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about,

(Revelation 5:1-7) It is not a sin to ask questions! The Bible is full of them, and even Jesus Himself asked them. Listen to today's episode to receive the answer to one of Scripture's supreme questions. (0972250322) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 Corinthians 3:10-15) Soon we will see Jesus. There are two main events that believers in heaven will experience, after the rapture of the church, while the tribulation is taking place on earth. Each of us should be getting ready to meet God! (0971250321) ----more---- What Is Heaven? Do you ever think about what's going on in heaven? There's so many things we do know about heaven and there are many things frankly we don't know about heaven. Heaven During the Tribulation One of the things that is very intriguing to me is what's going to go on in heaven while the tribulation is going on earth. The Lord is going to spare His church from that great tribulation. He has special things in store for us, great things planned. When we began our study most recently about the tribulation, we saw, really from an earthly perspective, what's going on with the Antichrist, here on this planet, but let's look at the same period of time, from Heaven's perspective. Basically there are two big things going on that you have to look forward to and should be thinking about. When it comes to the Lord Jesus returning for us, we're called away. We meet Him in the clouds, and then what, during that seven year period, what's going on? The Judgment Seat of Christ The first thing that's gonna happen is you're going to stand before the Lord. It's commonly referred to in scripture as the judgment seat. Of Christ immediately after the rapture, we're going to be standing before the Lord, or should I say we're gonna be bowing before the Lord. As a matter of fact, in Revelation 4:1, the door opens in heaven and the voice says, "Come up hither." And in that very same chapter in (chapter four verse four and verse ten) the believers are seen casting their crowns at the feet of Jesus, kneeling before the throne. So we know that one of the first things that's going to happen, though we don't know all the details of it, is we're going to stand before the Lord at what is called the judgment seat of Christ. Paul's Teachings on the Judgment Seat It's very interesting to me that the Apostle Paul seemed to talk more about this to the church at Corinth, than any other church. Let me share what I'm talking about. First Corinthians chapter three, beginning in verse number ten, says this, "10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." He said, we're in a spiritual building program. Be careful how you build. And then he says this in verse 12, "12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." He says that there's coming a day that is going to declare the truth about your life.I don't know about you, but that's thought-provoking to me. The day shall declare it. It's not about your salvation in this passage. You don't go into the fire, but your works do. You are spared the fire. Praise God. I'm not going to hell because I've trusted Christ as my personal Savior, but though my soul cannot be lost, I can lose rewards. On that day, anything that was not of eternal value was gonna be burned up. I wonder, when we stand before God someday, what will we have? I'm thinking now of the old hymn: must I go empty-handed? Must I meet my savior so? Not one soul, with which to greet Him? Must I empty-handed go?" I wonder if we'll have anything when we stand before the Lord on that day. He goes on in 1 Corinthians, listen to these words in chapter nine. He's speaking personally as far as a testimony and he says this in chapter 9 in verse number 25, "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." He borrows from the Olympics of the day, the Greek games where the rewards were given, and the people would come before, before what was referred to as a bema seat, they were thrown like platforms where judges sat and there they were rewarded. He uses the same language, the same terminology for the judgment seat of Christ, the bema. Seat on that day. We're standing before the Lord for rewards. He continues to the church at Corinth and second Corinthians, his second letter to them, chapter five, listen to the words beginning in

(Matthew 24:21) Our world has never seen tribulation like the tribulation that is coming on this planet at the end of the church age. God's Word explains the rise of anti-christ and the fall of civilization in graphic detail. Christ is our only hope. (0970250320) ----more---- The Tribulation Period You think the news is bad? Now wait. Just wait until the tribulation period that God says is coming on this earth. You wait. Because the news then is going to be the worst time this world has ever known. Now, thankfully, as a follower of Jesus Christ, a New Testament Christian, I don't believe we're going to be here during that period of time, and I want to pause and thank God for that. But I want to tell you, this world is about to face the worst time it's ever gone through. The Rapture Triggers the Tribulation Period We've talked most recently as we look at what the Bible says about the end of time, about the rapture of the church, that Christ is coming in the clouds and the church is going to be carried away, caught away to be with him. What does that set in motion here on this earth? There's a period of time known in scripture as the tribulation period. It's a seven year period of time that immediately follows the church being taken out of here. Now we know that in our world today, we all have tribulation. Even now there's some tribulation. John 16:33, Jesus said, "In this world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." So when we're talking here about the tribulation, we're not just talking about bad things happening. That happens in our present time. It doesn't mean we're in the seven-year tribulation, period. Now the tribulation taught in prophecy and scripture refers to a specific period of time at the end of this age, which is a worldwide tribulation. It literally is the worst time this world has ever seen. Jesus spoke of it in Matthew chapter 24. Here's the way he says it. Matthew 24:21, He says, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Pretty strong words, wouldn't you say? Literally the powers of hell get unleashed on this planet. The Role of the Holy Spirit: God's Restraining Power There is something right now restraining Satan. Oh yes. Actually not something someone, his name is the Holy Spirit. He's the great restrainer. He's the damn holding back the flood tide of iniquity keeping men from just going off the cliff and the devil running rampant and doing whatever he wants to do, but that day is coming to an end. As a matter of fact, in 2nd Thessalonians 2, the Bible talks about it, he says In 2nd Thessalonians 2:1, "Now we beseech you brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him." Remember, we've talked about Christ comes, we're called away, we're gathered to be with him. He says, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time." Let me explain that verse. He says, there's something holding back. What withholds us? Something is restraining the antichrist from coming on the scene. Something is keeping him from being revealed. What is it he says in verse seven? For the mystery of iniquity to already work. Only he. Who now Lth will let, or he who prevents or hinders, will continue preventing and hindering until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. The Rise of the Antichrist He says, look, an Antichrist is coming. There is a man coming called the antichrist, called the man of lawlessness, called the Little Horn in. Daniel called the Beast. He's a political ruler, empowered by Satan, who's gonna receive worship and blaspheme the true God. He'll persecute believers that are present who believe on God during the tribulation period. He's going to dominate the world scene. He's gonna make a covenant with Israel and break it. Halfway through that seven-year period, he's gonna have a prophet helping him, a false prophet, referred to in scripture as the second beast, who'll come along and perform miracles and deceive lots of people. The Antichrist is going to be a powerful person. He's going to control world commerce and even use it to demand worship. I'm telling you the Antichrist is coming, but please don't miss what is taught in Second Thessalon

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) Someday soon God's people are going to get carried away! The next great event in the last days is the coming of Christ for His church. Are you ready to be caught away? (0969250319) ----more---- The Last Days Welcome to the last days. Second Timothy 3:1 says this, "Know also that in the last days perilous time shall come. For men should be lovers of their own selves. covetous, boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent fiercce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." I repeat, "Welcome to the last days." We are living, my friends, in perilous times, and yet I'm afraid too often when we talk about the last days, it gives the connotation of some doom. Now, certainly those doomed for those who do not know God. It is a sad reality that people will be separated from God forever. But if you're a child of God, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, this is not a sad ending. Instead, it's a glorious beginning of eternity with God, of every good thing that God has planned for us. The Bible says, "Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither is entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him." Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, I want you to know the Lord who loves you first, and loves you more than you could ever imagine. Has mighty things in store for you. The Rapture of the Church We're talking about what the Bible says about the end of time and what it will be set in motion. Now we know that scripture teaches, we just read it in 2nd Timothy 3, that the last days describes that period between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ, and we know that Christ came the first time and he's promised he will come again. So I believe that the next thing on God's agenda. The next thing on the divine calendar is what is commonly referred to as the rapture of the church. And we're gonna talk about that word in just a moment, but a simply put, we're referring to the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. I. For us when he comes to take his children out of this world. Now, the word rapture is not actually found in scripture, and yet the teaching of it certainly is. You see the word rapture comes from a word that means to, to catch away, to seize or carry away. The word is actually used in scripture. For example, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says this, "We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds." That's the exact meaning of the word rapture. That is exactly what we're talking about. We're gonna be caught away. It's used of Philip in Acts chapter eight. Remember when the Holy Spirit caught him away? It's used of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12. He was caught up into the third heaven; and so we believe there's gonna be a definite moment when God catches away his children, when he removes us from this perilous world, this wicked age, and brings us into his presence forever. As a matter of fact, when you come to the last book of the Bible, the revelation of Jesus Christ. He talks to his churches in the New Testament age. In Revelation chapter two, revelation chapter three. When you come to Revelation chapter four, verse one, you read these words, "After this, I looked and behold a door was open in heaven, and the first voice, which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." It's my conviction that verse is representative of a shift from the church age into the things which shall be hereafter. Friend, there's about to be a door open in heaven. There's about to be a voice and a trumpet. There's about to be a word come up hither. That's the catching away of believers in this New Testament age to be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. Scriptural Basis for the Rapture Now, the most definitive portion of scripture that deals with the rapture of the church is 1 Thessalonians chapter four. So let me read the portion of scripture and then we'll draw a few observations. First Thessalonians chapter four, beginning in verse thirteen says, "But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep." That means those who've died. "That you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again." May I pause and ask, Do you believe that's the only way? That you can truly know Christ as your Savior? Do you believe Jesus died and rose again? If you believe that the Bible says, "even them also, which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." In other words, as surely as Jesus didn't end at the cross and didn't stay in the tomb, he's not finished with us. There's more to come. The best is yet to come for the child

(Isaiah 46:11) Scripture is full of prophecy and sincere Bible students must not neglect it. Today, we uncover five definite blessings connected to the study of prophecy. Our goal is to learn more than end time events; it is to know more deeply the eternal God. (0968250318) ----more---- The World's Fascination with End Times Hollywood has made a small fortune imagining what the end of the world is going to look like. In fact, it seems every week. Something new in printed form or media comes out about the end of time, and yet I think it may be smarter if we ask the one who started time, how time is going to end. That is the eternal God, the creator of all things. What does God say? What does the Bible say? About the end of time, about last things. Biblical Prophecy: An Overview As you read and study the word of God, you're gonna be shocked, I think, to see how much of the Bible is prophetic - I mean by that telling us about things to come. Sixteen Old Testament books are considered to be prophetic books. You have what is commonly referred to as the major prophets and the minor prophets. But prophecy's not restricted just to those books. In fact, prophetic elements are found all through the word of God. In the Psalms there are prophetic psalms. Moses was referred to as a prophet, so that's hearkening all the way back to the beginning of the Old Testament. When you come to the New Testament, about 1/20th of the New Testament is prophetic. Now, obviously the revelation of Jesus Christ the apocalypse the final revelation. That's prophetic, but there are prophetic elements in the teachings of Christ and the writings of Paul. You can't neglect scripture. When it comes to prophecy. I heard someone recently say, what gives us the right I. To pick and choose which verses we wanna believe. What gives us the right to pick and cho choose which verses we want to study and apply and live. No, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. So what is the profit of us studying what the Bible says about the end of time? Lemme give you several profitable things that it'll do in your life. The Sovereignty of God in Prophecy First of all, if you study what the Bible says about prophecy. It's going to reveal something to you about the sovereignty of our God, that He truly is on the throne. He has a plan. He's all wise and all powerful. He knows exactly what he's doing. Listen to the words of Isaiah 46, verse 11. The Bible says, "Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executed with my counsel from a far country. Yay, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also do it." Now, the context of this text is in a prophecy to the nation of Israel. But listen to the revelation of God himself, the one who's giving the prophecy, he said, I've spoken it. I'm gonna bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I'm going to do it. When you begin to study prophecy, one of the things immediately that is revealed is that our God is not arbitrary. He has an eternal purpose in the ages. This is not some emergency plan with our God. From the very beginning, before time started, God knew exactly how it was going to end. So his purpose is being fulfilled. That ought to help you not just to know events, but to know the God of the Bible in a greater way. Closely akin to that, let me give you a second profitable thing. Faith in Bible Prophecy In the book of Acts chapter number 20, we're told this beginning in verse number 26, the Apostle Paul says, "Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I'm pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." One of the things that happens when you start seeing what the Bible says about prophecy is it increases your faith in the word of God itself. And the Apostle Paul said, Acts 20:27, "I've not shunned to declare all the counsel of God." May I say to you, we should not shun all the counsel of God. Study all of the Bible. Seek to understand all of scripture. Teach and preach all of the Bible. Why? Because God has a message for us in every part of scripture that includes prophecy, faith cometh by hearing by the word of God. Your faith is gonna grow as you see God fulfilling what he foretold and everything. God foretells, he fulfills. When you see all the prophecies that have been fulfilled to this point, do you know what it says? It says that the same God who never lies, who always tells the truth and always keeps his word, is going to fulfill the rest of the prophecies. So it reveals the sovereignty of God. It increases our faith in the word of God. How about this? This is a very practical thing. Hope in Bible Prophecy When you begin studying what the Bible says about prophecy, it's gonna give you some hope and comfort. I'm talking about living through difficult days. It's gonna help you. Second Corinthians 4:17 says, "For our light affliction, which is, but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and

(1 Timothy 3:15) The church is not called to do everything—it is commanded to do one thing! His purpose must become ours! Every member must find their place in the wonderful work of God in this world. (0967250317) ----more---- The Mission of the Church We've taken a good bit of time to look at what the Bible says about the church, and here's why. Because this is what God is doing in this world right now. This is present tense. This is where we're living. This is not theory, this is practice. What is God doing in this world through the local New Testament church? And what are we to be doing? What's our mission? Let's begin with one verse today, 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul writes, "But if I tarry long that thou may know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." Understanding Our Role in the Church We find something here that's true of the institution, of the church and something that's true for the individual in the church. The truth for the institution is this. We have one mission and that mission as the Church of the Living God, is to be the pillar and ground of the truth, literally to uphold the truth, to lift up the truth in love. We've been given a body of doctrine. And it's our mission, not just to hold it. Did you hear the words, the pillar and ground of the truth? What's the pillar and ground do? That's the foundation. And then the pillars hold it up. It's not just our responsibility to hold the truth, it's our responsibility to uphold the truth. It, in other words, to show it to others, to share it with those around us, to lift it up in the midst of a world that is filled with error. That's the church's mission. Now individually, what's my part in that? The Bible says that we're to know how we're to behave ourself in the house of God. In other words, we're to find our place in that work. We're to find our mission in God's mission. The New Testament Church exists to accomplish Christ's purpose in this world, not our purpose. So when you identify the Lord's mission, you've identified the local church's mission, you've identified your own mission. The Church's Mission: Unlike Any Other Churches have not been called on to do everything in this world. Today churches are trying to offer services and programs for every possible need. But could I remind you, the church has been given a mission that no other organization on Earth can fulfill. Ours is eternal work. Ours is not simply to make this world a better place from which to go to hell. Ours is a mission to keep people out of hell. Do you remember when we began our study of what the Bible says about the church? Jesus said of the church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We're to be on the offense. We're to be advancing against the gates of hell we're to be pulling people out of the fire. In the words of Jude we're to be rescuing the perishing. That was Fannie Crosby's famous hymn, rescue the perishing care for the dying. Snatch them in pity from sin in the grave. Our mission is to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in this world and to bring people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mission is Christ's mission. The Church & the Great Commission In Matthew chapter 28, the Lord Jesus gave what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Some people have have said that the Great Commission has become the great omission. How true it is that the one thing God left us to do is the one thing we're most failing to do. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto me, in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you all way, even under the end of the world. Amen." I love this. The same one who founded the church is still with us. The same one that was with that first primitive church. Those first disciples that were the called out assembly is with us now and He is with us. Not so we can simply sit in a building and enjoy a good message, not so we can simply sit around in fellowship and talk to one another and think about how great it is. We're not going to hell, but to carry out his work in this world. Active Faith and Influence It was Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission that famously said, God is always advancing. I wonder if God's always advancing, are we? Because if we're in step with God, that must mean we're supposed to be on the move, not passive. But active, not simply sitting around waiting on Jesus to come. That was the error of the church at Thessalonica at one point. They thought they'll just sit around and wait on the Lord to show up. When Jesus said, occupy till I come, he did not mean occupy church pew. He meant be busy. Be busy about the Lord's business, the work of the Lord and the tool that we use in this world. Is influenc

(Revelation 4:1-11) One million years from this moment, you will be somewhere. Death is merely a door into eternity. You can know where you will be and what will occur after your death. (0966250315) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Acts 4:23) Is church membership taught in Scripture? In our study of the New Testament the Lord reveals His purpose in belonging to a local church. Membership matters. (0965250314) ----more---- Questions about Church Membership A very kind lady called me one day, and she was a little perturbed, we might say, by something that I had given in a Bible message regarding church membership. She said to me, I don't believe in belonging. I don't believe in being a member of a local church. I don't believe that's found in the Bible. Biblical Basis for Church Membership And I said to her the truth of the matter is I believe in a local New Testament church, which means I believe that the local church has autonomy. They have the right to do it any way they choose to do it. But the principle of belonging to a local assembly. Is certainly found in the Word of God. Now, how they keep up with those members and how they track them and all that kind of thing, that's not laid out in scripture, but belonging certainly is. As a matter of fact, at the very beginning of the early stages of the New Testament church, you find it repeatedly emphasized. Examples of Church Membership from the Book of Acts Let me show you what I mean. Acts chapter 4, verse 23, refers to the apostles after they had been beaten and persecuted. The Bible says in Acts 4:23, "And being let go they went to their own company and reported all of the chief priest and elders had said unto them." Look, they belonged somewhere. They had a company, there was a group that they were connected to and watch this. They were not only connected, they were accountable. I think right in this example, in Acts chapter 4, verse 23 perhaps is one of the reasons why people don't like the idea of membership. People don't wanna belong because they don't wanna be accountable. I. They wanna be attenders and not members, spectators and not participants. There are far too many people today who view the church as something they just come and observe. So they slip in at the last minute. They sit and they watch the goings on and then they slip out very quietly and they're not expected to do anything. May I tell you that is not the church that Jesus started and knowing the local New Testament church there is great accountability. Lemme show you again. How about Acts 5:12, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch and of the rest durst no man join himself to them, but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes, both of men and women." Did you hear it? There were some people that joined them, and there were others that said, we're not joining this group. They were. They were afraid. They were frightened. When people look at the New Testament church they may either be attracted or they may be repelled. And it has everything to do with their attitude towards Christ. If you love Christ, you'll love being with his people. If you love Christ, you'll love what he's doing in this world. And so here were people who were choosing whether they were going to join this local assembly or not. Here's another example. Paul's Joins the Church Acts 9:26, the Apostle Paul originally called Saul has just gotten saved, praise God, but there's a little issue because they're all afraid of him. He was a terrorist. He'd been killing Christians and imprisoning them. So in Acts 9:26, the Bible says, "And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples. But they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple." And I love the next verse 27 says, "But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly Damascus in the name of Jesus, and he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem." What do we learn from the example of Paul and the early church in Jerusalem? One thing we know is there was a visible body. There was a local church, there was a group there that met together. Then we know they had an identifiable body of doctrine. They believed something. They were preaching Christ, and only those who could line up with their doctrine. We're joining them, then we know people could join them because Paul wanted to, he wanted to put himself in line with this local group of followers of Christ. And then we know that only a true disciple was admitted. Criteria for Church Membership Now, that's very important, because we believe that to be a member of a local New Testament church, you first. Must know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, that only those who are willing to publicly confess Jesus Christ and follow him in baptism should be admitted into the membership of the local church. If I go stand in a garage, that does not make me a car, and if I go sit in a church, that does not make me a Christian because

(Hebrews 10:25) You can worship God in many places, but there are some things you can only do as you meet with God's people. Today we discover seven simple, plain Bible reasons to regularly assemble in a local church. (0964250313) ----more---- Why Go To Church? Why go to church? I mean, honestly, what’s the point? Why did the Lord intend that his people would meet together? You know, we’ve learned already that the word church means “a called out assembly.” Now, while the purpose of the church doesn’t stop with the assembly, it does start there. Some people have so emphasized the fact that the church works outside the walls (which I believe) that we’ve forgotten, that we’re still supposed to meet with God’s people. The assembly part is important because, in the meeting of the New Testament church, the ministry is set in motion. It is as we fellowship, as we come together, as we are edified, as we grow, that then we can function in this world. Hebrews 10:25 says this, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” There’s a lot of truth wrapped up in Hebrews 10:25. We Are Not To Forsake The Assembling Of Ourselves Together. Do you remember the Lord Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (18:20). There’s something precious to Christ about His followers assembling. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He very often took His disciples aside, by themselves, so He could teach them. May I submit to you? He still wants to do that. And then the Bible says in this verse, as the manner of some is, boy, that describes the world we’re living in. Here we are, the end of the age when the assembling of God’s people ought to mean more and more, and instead, it seems it means less and less to many Christians. On the average Lord’s Day morning, you can drive through the community and see people doing almost everything except going to meet with God’s people. May I tell you that’s not the Lord’s way? We Are To Exhort One Another. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhort one another.” This is one of the great keys that unlocks the purpose of why we should assemble together. In fact, the previous verse, verse 24 says, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” We’ve come to the place in our world today where people even look at church selfishly. What can I get out of it? Are my children going to have a good time? How is this going to benefit us? We ought to turn the thing around. It should not be about “what I can get out of the church meeting?” but “what can I contribute?” “How can I be a blessing?” 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that all of the members are connected to the body. All of the members are under the head of the body, which is the Lord Jesus, but they all contribute to one another. We Are To Remember The Founder Is Coming Back. All are participants. None are dispensable. And so we ought to start looking at the local assembly and thinking, what can I do to make my church all God wants it to be? How can I be the kind of member of this called-out assembly that will help us move forward to the glory of God, and then listen to the powerful end of Hebrews 10:25, “and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.” What day is he talking about? He’s referring here to the day of the Lord’s return. Friend, Jesus is coming back. The Founder is about to return. The Head of the church is going to show up. And I don’t know about you. I’d be terribly ashamed for Him to find me totally disconnected from all the other members when He arrives I want Him to find me in my place, doing exactly what God wants me to do. So it brings us back to the question. Why go to church? Why did the Lord establish that we should meet? Let’s see what says. Let’s study the example of the early church, in the New Testament. Here Are Seven Bible Reasons We Go To Church 1. We Assemble To Pray. This is very important. And we begin here. Maybe, perhaps not where you thought I would begin. Everybody wants to run to the preaching, and I love preaching, let me tell you, I love to do it. And I love to hear it. But why don’t we begin with prayer? Because that’s where God began. What did Jesus command his disciples to do? Go to the upper room and pray. Acts 1:13-14. We read these words: “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” The first meeting in the New Testament church after the Ascension was not an evangelistic crusade, not a revival meeting, not a Bible study. It was a prayer meeting.

(1 Corinthians 14:40) The basic structure of the New Testament church is determined by only one person—the Founder of the church, Jesus Christ! God is a God of order and He has plainly left us the order He desires. The measure of any church is its obedience to Christ. (0963250312) ----more---- The Meaning of the Word "Church" Words matter. So why did the Lord Jesus Christ choose the word church to represent his people in this world? The word church itself literally means a called out assembly. Now there's two wonderful parts to that. First, we've been called out, are you glad you've been called out? Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9 and says that we've been called out of darkness into his marvelous light. I love that. The Lord Jesus when he first came, called his disciples that they should be with him. So we're part of that. Called Out Assembly: Unity and Gathering We've been called out, but then it's a called out assembly. It presupposes the idea that we're not just supposed to belong, we're to be together. That we would meet, that we would gather, that we would stay connected to one another. A called out assembly. Now, while every person on Earth that has put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior belongs to the Lord, that entire group has never met together at one time, no matter how big the meeting may be. And it never will meet together at one time until we all get to glory someday. Won't that be a wonderful assembly? What a day that's gonna be. You've never been in a meeting, like the meeting around. The throne of God at the nail pierced feet of Jesus. That's gonna be a great day. Local New Testament Churches But my point is this, the overwhelming emphasis in the New Testament regarding the New Testament Church is that the New Testament Church is a local assembly. It's a local group of baptized believers who voluntarily joined themselves together to carry out the great commission. It is, if we might say it this way, a visible manifestation of the body of Christ in every place. For example, acts chapter eight, verse number one. This goes to really the heart of the church and the early stages of the church. Acts chapter eight, verse one says, "And Saul was consenting unto his death." That was the death of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. And the Bible says, and at that time there was a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem. There was a visible group of believers. Assembling together at Jerusalem. If you go over a few pages to Acts chapter 13, verse one. "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch." You hear that it's a reference to the geographical location of each assembly? We could go through the letters of the Apostle Paul, you'd find it again and again. Galatians chapter one, verse number two, one Thessalonians chapter one, verse number one. How about this one? Philippians 1:1, "Paul and Otus, the servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons." So our spiritual place is in Christ Jesus. We're seated with him in heavenly places. Praise God for that. But physically speaking, geographically circumstantially, we are at Philippi. At Thessalonica in Galacia or wherever your local assembly meets today. So we're dealing with local New Testament churches. Isn't that a simple principle? The Simplicity of God's Church Structure And a part of this simplicity, it's wonderful, is to see the simple structure of God's amazing work when the Lord Jesus founded his church. He established it in such a way that there was a simplicity to it. There was a simple structure. Let me give you a few thoughts today. Two Ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper First of all he established two ordinances. That's wonderful. What are the two things he ordered that we do? They are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Matthew chapter 28, before he left the disciples, he told them to go into all the world to teach and then to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. So He ordered that we would baptize new believers and that baptism would identify those people with Christ and with His church in this world. You've gotta have several things, right? To have the right baptism, you gotta have the right authority. That's the local church. You have to have a right candidate. That's a saved person. They have to believe on Christ first. You have to have the right mode. That's immersion. That's what the word baptism means. It literally means to dip, immerse, or plunge, and so that's God's way. And then you have to have the right method, which is to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, because that's the way Christ said to do it. He ordered baptism. The second ordinance that he left the church was. What we refer to as the Lord's Supper or the memorial supper. Paul really expounds on this in one Corinthians chapter 11 and it's powerful, all the teaching tha

(Matthew 18:15-20) There is much discussion today about what people think about church. Scripture tells us what Jesus thinks about the church, and how it should affect our thinking. Let's let the Founder speak for Himself... (0962250311) ----more---- Jesus: The Founder and Foundation of the Church If you want to know about any institution, perhaps the best place to start is listen to the words of the founder. Recently I read an interview with Dr. Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. It was fascinating. Not just because of his business sense, but because of his dedication to Christ, his Christian testimony. But it was so intriguing to me just to hear from the founder's mouth, his own words the foundational principles that they'd built their company upon. If you want to know something about the church of the Lord, Jesus Christ, maybe it would be good if we asked the founder. In our world today, everybody has an opinion. Everybody wants to give their idea. This is what I think of church. Now this is what we want church to be. Wait a minute, let's get a word from the Founder today. What does He say about His church? Jesus' Vision for His Church And we began this study in Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, where Jesus said, "And I say also unto thee that thou Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church.And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." So we know it's his church. We know he's building his church. We know he is building his church upon himself. It's not upon Peter that the church is being built. As a matter of fact, there's a little divine humor here. Peter's name literally means a little pebble, a little rock. And then he goes on to say, but I'm gonna build my church upon this rock. In other words, upon a great rock, a great truth, what is that great truth? Oh, it is the great truth of who Jesus is. Paul would later say, of the foundation, can no man lay then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So this is where the Founder begins talking about His church. But if you go two chapters later in the gospel, according to Matthew chapter 18, He continues. Remember, He's laying foundational principles in the hearts and minds of His first followers, the original disciples. I believe it's my conviction that the church started with Christ and His disciples. Now, there's some people that believe the church didn't start until the Book of Acts. I believe from my study of scripture that the Lord Jesus who is the Founder of the church, was the first pastor, and I believe the original disciples that little group of 12, that was the first called out assembly, that was the first church, and that then that church was empowered by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. In Acts, you see the advancement of the church. It's the book of the Continuing Christ. But if you want to know something about the beginning of the church, then you have to go back and see what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples. And so in Matthew chapter 18, beginning in verse 15, Jesus is teaching something about discipline within the church. Christ's Purpose and Principles for His Church Listen to what he says. "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou is gain thy brother. But if you will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established." That's not my purpose to get into all the implications here, but there's a great principle. And the great principle is this, that when you have a problem with another brother or sister in Christ that should be dealt with personally, and then it should be dealt with privately within the local church. This is a day and age, especially with social media where everything gets aired. The Lord Jesus said. There's some things that ought to be dealt with in the family, within the family of God. So he goes on in verse number 17 and says this, "And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man. And a publican verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loose in heaven." Does that sound vaguely familiar? That is the same teaching that He gave in Matthew chapter 16, when he first talked about building his church, He said to Peter, "I'm going to give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever you bind on earth, we bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven." The Power of Prayer in the Church In other words, God has given to his church the great privilege of prayer, which is the divine link. It is the connection between earth and heaven. Heaven and earth. Isn't that glorious? And then he says in Matthew chapter 18, verse 19, "Again, I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shoul

(Matthew 16:16-19) What is the church? Where did it come from? Why is it so important? Today we begin to look at the church that Jesus started. (0961250310) ----more---- The Church: God's Family When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior, immediately they become a part of the family of God. It is the greatest family on earth. And as soon as possible, that new believer should then unite with a local body of believers, a local assembly of believers who can study the word of God together, fellowship together, encourage one another, and work together to get the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ to other people. This is the importance of the local New Testament church. The Importance of the Local Church Now, what does the Bible say about the church? We have recently been studying what the Bible says about salvation, and I think it's a very natural progression now to move to the church because the Lord didn't just save you from something. He saved you for something. He saved you for himself. He wants you to be a part of what he is doing in this world, and that is being done through the local New Testament Church. Jesus' Teachings on the Church The Lord Jesus testified to his own disciples about the church and its work in Matthew chapter 16 in verse number 17. "And Jesus answered and said unto Peter, Blessed Art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood, if not revealed it unto thee, but my father, which is in heaven." He's referencing of course, Peter's confession of faith, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And he said, that's come by revelation. God's revealed the truth to you. You've responded to that truth, by the way. That's how everybody gets saved. But then notice how he moves from salvation to the work of the church. He says in verse 18, "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter. And upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loose." In heaven. Heaven's work is being done on earth through the local New Testament church. So when people say to me I'm a Christian, but I'm just not into church. I always am puzzled by that. Either they're openly disobeying what the scripture says, or they're just ignorant of what the scripture says. And because you cannot divide Christ and his church, the Lord Jesus is the head, the church is the body. So to say you love the head but have nothing to do with the body sounds very abnormal to me. The Lord Jesus intended that his disciples from the very beginning would be connected to what he is doing in this world, and this is powerful. He doesn't call it your church. He calls it my church. You might say, this is my church, but in fact. The church belongs to the Lord. It is his church. It is the Church of the Living God. God's Three Institutions Now, God established three basic institutions that are all represented for us in scripture. First of all he established the home that was the first institution ordained by God. You find it all the way back in the Book of Genesis. It is the basic unit of civilized society. It's my conviction. That's why the devil has done everything he can to try to disrupt the home, because when you break down the family, immediately society civilization begins to crumble. So it begins with a home. Then he establishes civil government. Now why was that second? Why was that necessary? That grew out of the fall of man. Fallen men lash out at other fallen men we're living in a fallen world cursed by sin. And so God had to establish definite laws and a government to oversee that. Otherwise people would just kill each other. Every man doing that, which is right in his own eyes. So he establishes civil government. And I'll remind you that though you may not always like the government. It is right for us to respect government and pray for those in authority over us. The Bible says there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. But the third institution established by our God is the local New Testament church. And you find it in the New Testament. The church is not revealed in the Old Testament saints. They didn't understand all about the New Testament church. In fact, it's referred to in scripture as a mystery until you come to the New Testament. It was a sacred secret that would, was revealed by God in his own time. So the church was hidden to Old Testament Saints. I'd be quick to say this too. The church is not the same as Israel. God as a definite plan and purpose in this world and in the future for the nation of Israel, we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We should pray that our own country continues to be peaceable towards Jerusalem, because God is not through with His chosen nation, but Israel and the church are not the same thing. The church is something

(Revelation 3:22) While the church anticipates Christ’s soon coming, we must not miss what the Holy Spirit is doing now! Be cautious of being so consumed with future events that you neglect present opportunities. Listen to today’s edition of The Weekend Pulpit as we begin a new study on Christ’s last words to His church. (0960250308) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Ephesians 2:4-7) God's perfect salvation takes care of your past, your present, and your future! The eternal Son of God has worked for our salvation. He continues to work at this very moment, and He will finish His work in us! Salvation is more than an event - it is God's perfect work in his children. (0959250307) ----more---- Salvation by Grace Through Faith Will you permit me one more day? Just one more day to talk to you about what the Bible says about salvation? Honestly, I'm just having a good time in the word of God, having a good time talking to you about what it means to be saved. Because I know what Jesus Christ has done for me, and I'm starting to see more and more of what God says about this in scripture. And it's thrilling. It's thrilling to talk about. I hope you'll talk about it to someone else. I hope you'll get so excited. You'll wanna pass this along and share it with others. What does the Bible say about salvation? The last time we talked, I read you from Ephesians chapter two, verse eight and nine, famous verses, "For by grace you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." And we learn that it's all of grace and it's a gift. It's received by simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But let's return to Ephesians two, to the verses that precede those verses. The Bible says in Ephesians two, verse four, "But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith, he loved us even when we were dead in sins, have quickened us together with Christ By grace, you're saved. And it raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Do you hear again, the past, present, and future tenses? One of the things I want you to see is that we think in time, but God who's eternal is not in time. He's working in our lives in a way that is continual, that there's no end to. He began his work of redemption in the very beginning of time. In Genesis chapter three, that's where we started our study. He promised Messiah was coming. All of scriptures, really the story of redemption. And when the Lord Jesus Christ came, he paid for the send debt of every man. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, that work of salvation begins in your life. And there's so many things connected to that. Key Bible Terms About Salvation There's so many Bible words that you should study. For example, a substitution. Did you know when Jesus died on the cross? He took your place. He literally died for your sins, and he died as you. That's part of the doctrine of salvation. What about redemption? Redemption is to pay a price, to buy something back by paying a price. Did you know that's what he did for you when he died on the cross? He redeemed you with his own precious blood. How about the Bible word propitiation. He is the propitiation for our sin. That's a big word. What does it mean? It means to satisfy. Did you know when Jesus Christ paid the sin, debt on the cross? He satisfied a holy God. He satisfied the justice of God so that you could go free, so that you could be saved. What about the word reconciliation? It means that Jesus Christ took a holy God in one hand and sinful humanity in the other, and made a way to bring the two together. He reconciled us to God. When you come to the Lord Jesus and you take Him as your savior, what happens? How about this Bible word regeneration? It means new birth. Remember, Jesus said, you must be born again. To be regenerated is to be redeemed, made new. He doesn't make you a little better. He makes you a totally new person. He gives you a new nature. He comes to live inside of you himself. How about the word justification? Someone said that means just as if I'd never sin. Oh, it's better than that. No, it's not just that he deals with a negative. He declares you righteous. He puts his righteousness on your account. So now it's not just as if you had never sinned, it's just as if you had never even been a sinner. Did you know when you receive Jesus as your savior, all of his righteousness goes on your record. So when God looks at you, he no longer sees you as a sinner, though you have a sin nature, he no longer sees you as a sinner. He sees you as his own son. How about this word, the word adoption. We've been adopted, made part of the family of God. We've been given the spirit of adoption. Isn't that glorious? It means the Holy Spirit brings us into the family conversation. That's what we have in prayer. That's how we can come boldly to God and pray because we've been given that spirit. I'm just simply saying all of these words reveal great truth about what happened at Calvary and what happens in us when we receive the Lord Jesus as our personal savior.How about this word? It's a little scary to some people. Sanctification. Did you know sanctification is in the Bible?

(Ephesians 2:8-9) Grace is the gift of God. It is a gift to be received and to be shared! Rejoice today in God's grace to you and pass the truth on to someone else. (0958250306) ----more---- Salvation by Grace We're discussing day by day what the Bible says about great truths, a great Bible doctrine, and I know that normally today we would move on to. Yet another doctrinal section, but I can't, I'm sorry. Forgive me. The last time we met, we talked about so great salvation. Lemme just tell you, it's so great that there's more to talk about. In fact, we're not even scratching the surface. We really aren't on any of these doctrinal sections, but I feel like I can't move on yet. You see what the Bible says about salvation is so rich and so full that we must press it just a little more. We've talked about the greatness of this salvation. Let's consider today the grace of this salvation. Ephesians chapter two and verse number eight and nine says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." God's perfect salvation is all of grace. You don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. You don't get to the place where you're worthy of it. Instead, it is just the free gift of eternal life. That's what grace is. Let me read another scripture to you from two Timothy chapter one. The Apostle Paul, who is a great sinner, but he met a great savior, testified and said in second Timothy chapter one, verse nine, "Who have saved us and called us with an holy calling. Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace." There's that word again, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our savior Jesus Christ, who have abolished death and have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. In other words, it's all of grace. Every good thing in my life is because of God, not because of me, and everything connected to salvation is the gift of grace in my life. In the same chapter in two Timothy chapter one. He goes on to say this in verse number twelve, "for the which calls, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and then persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day." Past, Present, and Future of Salvation Did you know that there's a past, present and future tense to your salvation? There's a past transaction. It's done, it's already paid for. It's been already settled and dealt with on the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ paid for your sin in full. I. When Jesus went to the cross, all of your sins were future. You weren't alive when Christ died. When He died on that cross, he paid for all of mankind, sin for all time, past, present, and future that settled. And the moment you come to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive him as your personal savior, all of your sins are dealt with at that moment. In a moment of time, Isaiah chapter one, verse number 18. Jesus said come now. Let us reason together though your sins be a scarlet. They should be white as snow, though. There'll be a red light, crimson. They should be as wool. In other words, salvation is instantaneous. My sin was nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ. He paid for my sin, debt in full, all of it. And the moment I come and acknowledge that and accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, I'm delivered from the penalty of my sin and the guilt of my sin, P.P. Bliss, one of my favorite hymn writers, he died as a very young man in his thirties, but he wrote these words, "My sin, all the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole. It is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Even so it is well with my soul." I wonder, can you say it's well with your soul today? That's done. That's cared for in my life. I trust it's cared for in your life. If not, it needs to be at this moment. Today's the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Would you receive the free gift of eternal life through God's wonderful grace? That's what salvation is all about. The Assurance of Eternal Life But then not only is there a past transaction. There's a present possession. Salvation is not an event that happened to me years ago. Salvation is my present possession. I'm not even waiting till I die to get eternal life. I receive eternal life the moment I receive Jesus Christ. Salvation is a present tense thing because God, the God of salvation is a present tense. God, remember his name is I am. If you're a believer, he's with you right now and you are his child right now. You don't get any more of God. You got it all the moment you got saved. First John chapter three, verse number two says, beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear. We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is now. We're coming to the future in just a moment. T

(Hebrews 2:3) One little word reveals the greatness of God's salvation. It is a heart word, a word of joy and soberness. "So" both defies definition and, at the same time, reveals how great salvation is! (0957250305) ----more---- The Power of a Little Word A big truth can be packed into a little word. Have you ever considered the little word? So it's a powerful little word. It's an adjective that can be used in a myriad of different ways, but in scripture. It is used frequently. The Meaning of 'So' in Scripture For example, John chapter three, verse number 16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." What does that mean? He's so loved. You see the little word, so is a word that defies definition. Really. It's an intensive word. It's a word that says to an extent or a degree that cannot be explained. It cannot be expressed perhaps by finite minds. It cannot even be understood. He just so loved the world. Today in our study, we've come to one of those sows in scripture. The Greatness of Salvation It's found in Hebrews chapter two and verse number three, where the Bible says, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him." I would submit to you that the little word, so here is both a joyful word and a sobering word. At the same time, we're talking about what the Bible says about salvation and God describes it this way. His salvation is not just salvation. It's not even just great salvation. No, it is so great salvation. It is so great that you need it. It is so great that without it you'll be separated from God forever. It is so great that you ought to rejoice when you have it, my friend. You ought to thank God that he saved you, but it's also so great that you ought to be sober about it and realize what a serious, costly thing this salvation is. We're talking today about the greatness of this salvation and if somebody said to me how great is it? I just have to use the Bible word and say, it's so great. An infinite God uses the word so to, to try to relate this truth to finite man. Why is our salvation so great? The Divine Author of Salvation It's so great because of its divine author. Just this week I've been preaching in the place where I've been ministering from the little Book of Jonah, and I came to that verse. Just last night, Jonah chapter two at verse number nine, it says, "Salvation is of the Lord." Can I remind you that man didn't come up with salvation. Salvation was God's idea that apart from God, we'd all still be lost in our sin would either be in hell or on our way there. But the divine author of salvation is the God of love and mercy and grace. It came to us according to the eternal purpose of God. This was not God coming up with an emergency plan. No. Our sovereign God knew from the very beginning of the world, this was not an afterthought. He knew from the very beginning of the world that we were gonna need a savior. Ephesians one, verse four says, "Before the foundations of the world." Ephesians three verse eleven says, "According to his eternal purpose." Titus 1:2 says, "Before the world began." First Peter 1:20 says, "Before the foundation of the world." It sounds to me like God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. Don't you think that he's been writing this story of redemption? Graham Scragg, he wrote a powerful book on the Bible many years ago and he titled his book, and I love the title, the Unfolding Drama of Redemption. My friend that's really what the Bible is. It is God's redemptive story to man Herbert Locky wrote this deep and far in an untrackable eternity. Its foundations were laid. It's not a thing of yesterday, it will not pass away with tomorrow. The father has endorsed it with his own everlasting ness. Think of that my salvation is rooted in the eternalness of God. He's the divine author that makes it so great. The Cost of Salvation It was also so great because of the price that was paid for it. In First Peter chapter one, we're told that we've been bought, not with corruptible things, but incorruptible. The incorruptible blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The precious blood of Christ was what the cost of my salvation was. Don't take this lightly friend. We should never discuss spiritual things in a flippant way. One of the things that is tragic today is the lack of reverence. When people talk about God and spiritual truths and friends, you might make a joke about some things, but never joke about Christ and about salvation. It's so great and then it's so great because. The Universal Offer of Salvation Of the fact it's universally offered to every man. John chapter three, verse number 16, still says, "whosoever." First Timothy chapter two says that God will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Don't you love that verse, John 2:2 says, "Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world." Does that mean

(Genesis 3:15) The teaching of salvation is wonderfully simple in Scripture. God has made a way for man to be saved from himself, from his sin, from the wrath of God. Nothing else is more important than knowing the answer to the question: "What must I do to be saved?" (0956250304) ----more---- The Question of Salvation Some questions in this world are more important than others because some questions affect not only time. They affect all of eternity. Questions like what think you of Christ. Or how about this question, sirs? What must I do to be saved? Soteriology: The Doctrine of Salvation We've come in our study of what God says in the word of God to a subject that is of supreme importance because it affects where you're gonna spend eternity. And that is what the Bible says about salvation. Perhaps no other doctrinal subject has been more debated and more discussed and more misunderstood. Then the doctrine of salvation. And yet in scripture, there's a beautiful simplicity to the message of salvation. The First Promise of a Savior I want us to begin where God begins with the very first promise of a savior. It's found all the way back in the Book of Genesis, in Genesis chapter three. It's a great reminder that Jesus Christ truly was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That from the very Garden of Eden, God viewed Golgotha. In fact, before he ever created Adam. In the mind of God, his precious son, the Lord Jesus Christ was already on the cross. From the beginning of time, God intended to redeem fallen humanity, and that's revealed in Genesis chapter three and verse number 15, where the Bible says God speaking, "And I will put iny between thee." That's the devil between the and the woman. "And between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel." Now Genesis three 15. It's easy to breeze over it, but Oh, don't do that. Mark it in your Bible and mark it in your heart, because Genesis three 15 is the very first promise in the Bible that a Messiah was coming, that a redeemer, a savior was coming. And in it we find the very first message concerning the doctrine of salvation. Remember, someone has said that the first 11 chapters of the Book of Genesis are a seed bed of doctrine, and that every great doctrine in the Bible can be found there in seed form. And when you come to the New Testament, you find those same doctrinal truths just in more fully developed form. We've been discussing from the Book of Genesis what the Bible says about man who man is. We've discussed what the Bible says. About sin, but now we come to the good news. Aren't you glad that the God who made man and the God who knew we would sin provided salvation? He made a way so that we could be saved. Understanding Our Need for Salvation Now, what are the basic lessons we learned from Genesis three 15? The first is that man is a sinner. That we are fallen. You don't need a savior unless you have been separated from God. Something has come between you and God. So the very first thing we must remember in the doctrine of salvation is that everybody needs it. Remember what Jesus said in Luke chapter 19, verse number 10, he said, "For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." People have to understand they're lost before they can understand what it means to be saved or even have a desire to be saved. We might say it this way. You have to understand the bad news before you can appreciate the good news. The good news. That's the gospel of the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But frankly, who cares that he died was buried and rose from the dead if there wasn't a necessity for that, but there wasn't a necessity because we're all sinners. Romans chapter three, verse number 23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We needed a savior. So it brings us to the second great truth. God's Provision of a Savior The first is that man is a sinner, and the second is that God alone can provide a savior. God is the savior. He promised that the seed of the woman would come. That's the lovely Lord, Jesus Christ. That's why it's important that we acknowledge that Christ was born of a virgin. He didn't come through Adam's lines. Sin was passed down from Adam to the next generation through the mainstream of humanity. But he did not come from Adam. He came from God through a virgin Mary. The seed of the woman and the seed of the woman when he came for one purpose. And that purpose was to redeem fallen humanity, to restore us to God, to bring us back to the righteous God. Our sins separated us from the Lord, but Jesus Christ came for one purpose, and that is that we could be saved. John chapter three, verse 16 says, "For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life." No man cometh unto the father, but by me.

(Romans 3:23) How would you draw sin? Satan and the world draw only a picture of the pleasure of sin. God draws vivid pictures of sin's results. Today we examine three words that picture perfectly what sin is in the eyes of God. (0955250303) ----more---- What Does Sin Look Like? If you had to draw a picture of what sin looks like, what would that picture be? Our world draws a picture of pleasure and riches and happiness. That's the picture the devil wants to draw. But let the Lord, the true artist, the one who most accurately reflects all truth. Let him draw the picture, walk through scripture and see the pictures that he gives symbolic of sin. Biblical Symbols of Sin When He paints the picture, He says, it is darkness. It blinds. He calls it leaven. It spreads. He says, it's sickness and disease. It corrupts and it is pervasive. He calls it cords and chains. It binds a man, he calls it fire all consuming. He calls it poison deadly. I tell you, if we could see sin, like God sees it, no matter what kind of sin it is, we would think differently about the sin in our own life. Examples of Sin in the Bible It doesn't matter what your sin is. With Aiken, it was stealing with David, it was adultery. With Saul, it was jealousy. With Cane, it was murder. Judas was betrayal. Nebuchadnezzar's pride lot. And Deus loved the world. Coral rebelled against authority. Solomon loved pleasure anoni and of fire lied. Why do you think God gives us all of these pictures? He draws these pictures for us in scripture so that we will come to see sin like he sees it. Sin is worse than you think it is. It is worse than you think it is. The Nature of Sin It's a state of rebellion against God, an absence of righteousness. It is a nature that has come into every one of us. Romans chapter three, verse 23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Do you know that you are a sinner by nature? That no matter what you have done or haven't done, you're a sinner because you were born that way? We're all born that way. It was passed on from Adam and Eve. In, into all of our lives and that we have become sinners by nature. You don't have to teach a child to misbehave or to cry. You have to teach it to be good and obey. Why is that? Because the rebellious part comes naturally to all of us. And then in a practical way, sin is an act. It's disobedience to the known and revealed will of God and our sin. Nature works its way out in our sins every day. Three Words That Describe Sin Now God calls sin many different things in scripture, but I want today to talk to you about three words, if I might, three words that really describes sin and the way God paints the picture of sin in scripture. God uses words to convey great truth. Every word is purposeful. And there are many different words used in the Bible for sin that help us understand it. Words like evil, that's a good word for sin. Or unrighteousness or wickedness or ungodliness. Those words are all used frequently. But there are three words that are used primarily to represent what sin is in the sight of a holy God. And I'm giving you these three today and I'm gonna give you a little object lesson and if I might for each, that I think will help you remember it. I hope you can see what I'm about to say. Sin, Transgression, and Iniquity The first word, the most obvious word is the word sin for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now that word is used over 500 times in the Old Testament. It's used over 200 times in the New Testament. And the New Testament word that is used for sin literally means to miss the mark. Listen to Romans 3:23 again, "For all of sin and come short of the glory of God." So it is to fall short of the mark. You shoot at it you try to be good. You try to do right. You want to be perfect, but you miss it, and you miss it. Be it intentionally or unintentionally. You not only miss the mark, you hit the wrong mark. Imagine that we were shooting at a target. Some friends and I recently were doing that, had a great time together, and these men that I were, was with, they were much better shots than me. Let me tell you, it doesn't matter if you miss the bullseye by an inch or by a hundred yards either way, friend. You missed it, the bullseye, the perfection of a holy God. God is holy. Heaven is perfect. And it doesn't matter if you're a good moral person or you've lived the most immoral life possible. Either way, you are a sinner. You have missed God's mark. So if you can imagine a mark of holiness, of righteousness, that's God's standard. You fell short of that. Sin is missing the mark. The second word is the word transgress. And the word transgress is used all through scripture. It literally means to cross the line. So there's some lines God draws and he says, this is my law. This is what I expect out of you. This is what I want you to do in obedience. And when we transgress God's law, we rebel against God. We literally cross his line. So remember, s

(Mark 1:1-4) Nobody looks forward to the hard seasons of life, yet God looks at them as holy moments for us to know Him more intimately. Are you weak or wounded today? Listen to this episode to hear how God can use your valley. (0954250301) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Romans 5:12) Sin has not gone away; it just doesn't get talked about much. It is a reality in all of our lives and the source of every sorrow in this world. We must learn the truth about our own sin and about the only Savior who can deliver us from it. (0953250228) ----more---- Ignoring Sin Whatever happened to sin? Many years ago, people used to talk about sin. Preachers used to preach against sin. People used to fear sin, but now there seems to be so little talk about it. And yet, while we're talking about it less, it seems sin in our world and in many of our lives is growing. It's getting bigger. Left unchecked apart from God. Hamartiology: The Study of Sin Let me give you one verse today as we begin our study of what the Bible says about sin. Romans chapter 5 and verse number 12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." That's a powerful verse. There's a lot of doctrine, a lot of truth wrapped up in that one verse. This is what the Bible says about sin. Now, we most recently talked about what the Bible says about man. And there's a natural progression here because man enters into the world and soon on its heels, sin enters into the world. The Origin of Sin from Lucifer to Adam Wherefore, as by one man, who is that one man? That's Adam. By Adam, sin entered into the world. That means that the state of sin, fallen humanity, began in the garden. We trace it all the way back to the very beginning. Someone has said that woven through the Bible there are cords or threads that are consistent throughout. One of those is the gold thread of God's promises. It's woven throughout. God's faithful. One of them is the red thread or the crimson thread of the blood of Jesus and blood atonement, the sacrifice for sin. Aren't you glad for the mercy of God that is faithful? But one of those cords that is woven throughout from beginning to end is the black cord of man's sin of disobedience. And Romans 5:12 tells us not only where it came from, but where it led to. The Consequences of Sin: Death and Destruction The Bible says wherefore is by one man's sin entered into the world, and death by sin. James says it this way, that lust, when it is finished, brings sin, and sin when it is finished brings death. Where does sin lead to? It always leads to the same place. In every generation and in every nation, in every person, and in every place, sin always produces the same thing. It produces death. Did you know sin is older than the world? Certainly older than man. Because there was sin in the universe before there was sin on earth. You remember that sin began, not first with Adam, but with the tempter that came to Adam and Eve. It began with Lucifer. Sin began in the heart of one that was created but thought he knew better than his creator. And from the very beginning, sin always led to destruction, to death. The Bible passes this judicial statement on all of humanity in Romans 5 verse 12, "And so death passed upon all men." The gavel fell. The Judge says the sentence is death. Sin's Universality: All Have Sinned Romans chapter 3 verse 23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We've all missed the mark. We're all sinners, and because of that, the sentence of death is passed upon every one of us. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death." There's not a single person listening to me right now that's not a sinner, not one. Every last one of us is a sinner. Now, we don't like to think about it. You may not want to hear this today, and I really don't enjoy talking about it, but there's no fact so evident and no subject more important than the subject of sin, because sin is the reason Christ died. You can't appreciate the good news until you understand the bad news. Sin is the thing that keeps men from God. Sin is the thing that holds back Heaven's blessing. Theological Connections: Sin and Doctrine In a sense, sin connects to every doctrinal thing we're talking about. It connects to our theology, what we believe about God, because God is holy and hates sin. It connects to what we believe about Jesus Christ, because that's why Christ died. He's the sinless Son of God who died for sin. It connects to what we believe about the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit comes to reprove the world of sin. It certainly connects to what we believe about man, because it's through our disobedience that through Adam's disobedience, that many were made sinners. And it is through our daily disobedience and our own sin, That fellowship is broken with God. I'm telling you, we must understand what the Bible says, not what people say. Some folks say it's not really sin, and they've started rebranding it and renaming it. Oh, but I say to you, we must call it what God calls it. We must say about it what God says about it. We must understand sin from the perspective of the mind of God, not the perspective of a so called moral society. Why

(Genesis 1:27; 2:7) Man was created in the image of God. Our sin has marred that image, but our gracious God has made a way that we can be restored! The Bible is the only book that can accurately explain our past, present, and future. (0952250227) ----more---- The Creation of Man in God's Image "And God said, let us make man in our image." What a privilege. What a mind-boggling truth that we, humanity, were made in the image of our Creator. Now that is found in Genesis chapter 1 and in Genesis chapter number 2. God expounds upon that. He gives even more detail to His creative work. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 2 verse number 7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." The Unique Formation of Man If you want to know how man is different than the animals, Here's how. He was, first of all, the only part of the creation that was literally shaped by the hand of God. We preachers get pretty artistic at times and we say God flung the stars into space and He carved out the rivers with His finger, but actually that's not what He did. Now when you read Genesis 1 and 2, you find that God just spoke. That's the power of the Word of God. He just said, light, and there was light, and it was very good. So God spoke all of the created world into existence. But with man, this was the first record that we have that God of His own hands formed man. He took the dust of the ground and He shaped him. Why would He do that? I think it's a very beautiful picture to all of us that from the very beginning of time, God always intended for man's life to be in His hands. In a very real sense, your life is in His hands today. Your times are in His hands. The time of your life and the time of your death is all in the hand of God, not in your own hand. But I wonder, is your life really in God's hand today? Have you put your whole life in the nail pierced hand of Jesus and realized it's not your own? Have you said to your Creator, I want you to be my Redeemer? Have you said to the One who gave you life, I want this new life that comes through Jesus Christ? So the first way we are distinct is that we were formed by His own hand in this creative work. He made us. The Breath of Life and Eternal Soul And then, He breathed into our nostrils the breath of His life. Ecclesiastes says that God has put a little bit of eternity in every one of us. That's quite a thought, to think that God has put an eternal soul in all of us. Everything is going to burn up, die, disappear, be gone, but not man. A million years from this moment you will be alive somewhere forever because you have an eternal soul. God says He made you a living soul, and when God gives that kind of life, His own life, put into man, There is no end to that. Man's Constitution and Likeness to God We've been talking about how God created man, but think about man's constitution. He was made in the image of God. That word image literally comes from a word that means to shade. The illusion of something, the resemblance of something. It doesn't mean that we are little gods. It means that He has made us in His likeness to, to resemble Him. He has used His own nature, if you will, as a model for creating us. Like God, we have life, an eternal soul. Like God, we have intelligence with the ability to reason and think and decide. Like God, we have emotional and relational capabilities. Like God, we have been made in three parts. Our God, the Godhead, we've talked about this, is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. We have spirit, soul, and body. Man is a spirit. And that's literally the part of you where God dwells. You have a soul, your intellect, your emotion, your will, and then He's given you a body. He's put that spirit and soul in a body. And with your body you have five senses to relate to the world around you. That's really a beautiful thing to see how God has reflected His own nature in the creative work. When He made us without sin. Every sinful thing, every wicked thing, every vile thing in this world did not come from God. Everything good had its beginning in God. Everything evil has its beginning in God. in the devil and man's disobedience to his Creator. Sin is the source of every unholy thing. But in the beginning, Adam and Eve were made with innocence. He didn't have the presence of sin because God's not the author of evil. He had the possibility of sin. He was made with the ability to choose, with a free will and a responsibility to His Creator. Now aren't you glad God made us as free moral agents, not as robots? He could have made us like robots. People sometimes argue that. Why would a good God make us So we could do wrong. Let me ask you a question. Why would a good God make us to only do what He says do? Why would He not make us to have a free will to choose? And so this was the way God created us in our constitution. The Fall of Man in the Garden Then you gotta lo

(Psalm 8:4-9) Today we examine great questions connected to our own existence. What is man? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Only our Creator can give an answer. We must uncover what the Bible says. (0951250226) ----more---- Fundamental Questions About Humanity Where did man come from? More important, why is he here? What makes him distinct from the rest of the creation, from everything else in the world? And perhaps the most important question, where does he go when he dies? Now these are basic questions about humanity, and the truth of the matter is, if you want to get the answers, the right answer, the only answer, You've got to ask man's creator. Man and His Relationship with God When you start talking about humanity, it leads you very quickly to talking about deity. You've got to go beyond man to the God who made him. Because man is simply a reflection of the image of God. Psalm 8 and verse number 4, we read these words, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou made us tend to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou was put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen. Yay, and the beast of the field, the foul of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever pass it through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth?" Biblical Perspective on Man's Creation When people wanna talk about man and build man up, they miss the point because as you study, man, it leads you to the God. That created man. Man is the crown of creation. He's unique. In the words of scripture, God is mindful of him. Aren't you glad God thinks about you today? And then the Bible says that God visits him. Aren't you glad that God visits you? That He desires fellowship with you? I think this is one of the most humbling passages in all of scripture as it relates to the way God made us. And all through the Word of God, God is connecting us to Him. Psalm 103, verse 14, He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 139, He knows our thoughts. Yeah, that's right. Your secret thoughts today that no one knows and that you don't express, God knows them. Matthew 10, verse 30, He knows the number of hairs on our head. John chapter 2, verses 24 and 25, Jesus said, He didn't need anybody to testify what was in man. He said, "I know what is in man." Understanding Man Through the Word of God If you want to understand man, study his creator. If you want to know something about humanity, study the Word of God. Today we're talking about what the Bible says about man. Not what man says about man. Not what you think about yourself. Not what picture someone draws of what the perfect man is supposed to look like, but rather, let's look in the mirror. And the mirror is the very Word of God. Genesis: The Beginning of Man We must begin where God does in Genesis chapter number 1 verse number 26, the Bible says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image. After our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them, and God blessed them. And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Now why are we starting in Genesis chapter 1? Because you've got to begin where God begins to reveal something about man and his original intent. These are foundational truths to understanding ourselves. If you want to understand you, and you want to understand mankind around you, then you must go to God. I was in an airport the other day, and I was sitting doing some studying, and I had my Bible open, and my computer open, and to be honest with you, it was oblivious to what was around me. And a lady walked up to me, and she handed me a card, and she obviously saw my Bible, and she was a kind Christian woman, and she handed me a card that was a little promotional thing for a website on creationism. And I thanked her for it. And I thought how interesting it was that the moment she saw an open Bible she immediately connected that with the Creator. She saw in me someone that would understand. That God had created the world. The Significance of Man in Creation So we've got to begin talking about man by saying God created him. Everything begins with God, including man. In the beginning, that's the point of creation. God created, that's the person of creation. And the word created means out of nothing, to make out of nothing, so that's the power of creation. We didn't give him anything to work with. In fact, God made man out of the dus

(1 John 4:4) There are three angels called by name and two "orders" of angels identified in Scripture. Lucifer led a number of angels to rebel against the Lord and these fallen angels now operate as enemies of God. In today's study we see what the Bible says about each of them and about the God who is above all. (0950250225) ----more---- Angels and Demons in the Bible Can you tell me the name of any angel? Specifically the name. There actually are only three that are given to us in all of Scripture. Now, why is that so important? We've been studying the fact that angels are God's messengers and that they are not to be worshipped. In fact, they would be the first to tell you worship God only. It's not their name that's important, it's the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus Christ. And we don't want to go beyond what the Bible says when it comes to angels. Now today, we're discussing not only angels, but demons and the devil. Why is that? Because demons and the devil himself, who leads that demonic host, they are simply fallen angels. They are created beings who were given certain power and gifts and then rebelled against God and are now using those against their creator. Exploring the Three Named Angels Who are the three angels that were named specifically? Michael is named. He is the archangel. We find him in Daniel chapter 10 and verse number 21 and we find him in Jude, we find him in the revelation of Jesus Christ. The name Michael means who is like God. Isn't that beautiful? For In other words, even the archangel, the highest angel says, I want you to know there's no one like God. There's no one like our creator. Then there's Gabriel. Gabriel's mentioned in Daniel chapter 9 and of course famously known in Luke chapter 1 as the angel that announces the birth of Messiah. And Gabriel's name means the mighty one. Now, these angels are mighty because they were created by the almighty God. And then the third angel given by name in scripture is Lucifer, son of the morning. You can read about him in Isaiah chapter 14, what a description of him. His name means he who is the light of God. Now, hear that carefully because you want to remember that Lucifer becomes Satan, becomes the devil, and plunges into sin. He brings the whole world into darkness. He is the chief of the darkness. And yet his name originally was one who reflected the light of God. If you reject light, you enter into darkness. And Satan is the classic example of that. Orders of Angels: Seraphim and Cherubim If there are three angels given by name, there are two orders of angels given to us in Scripture. There may be more than this. Scripture talks about the principalities and the powers and We honestly don't know all the orders of angels and all the things going on in the spirit realm, but we know these two groups of angels. There are the seraphim, the seraphs, and there are the cherubim. The seraphim you find in Isaiah chapter 6, in Isaiah's vision of God, His holiness. And what are they doing? They're just worshiping the Lord. They seem to be leaders in praise. People that are just created, or beings rather that are created to do one thing, and that is to give glory to the God who's worthy of all glory. The cherubims, or the cherubs, you find in Genesis chapter 3, and again in Ezekiel chapter 1, and they are always connected to the glory of God. Both of these orders of angels, the seraphim and the cherubim, are always in some way connected to God's throne. You find them Very near to the Lord. The Fall of Lucifer: From Light to Darkness Now we shift from thinking simply about angels, to talking about the devil and demons. Why? Because the devil was a created being. In fact, he was a chief angel. Listen to the words, the description given to us of Satan, Lucifer, originally in Ezekiel chapter number 28, beginning in verse 13. God says, "Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardis, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle in gold, the workmanship of the tablets of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou wast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. By the merchandise of thy, by the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence. And thou hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." What was his chief sin? Ezekiel 28:17 tells us, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings." I might go so far as to say that th

(Psalm 103:20) We must be very careful not to fall short of Scripture, and not to go beyond it. Angels are real, created beings, messengers of the Lord. Today we discover what the Bible says about them. Believe in angels...but trust in the Lord! (0949250224) ----more---- Angelology: The Doctrine of Angels What does the Bible say about angels? In our world today, there's a great deal of speculation about these invisible creatures and who they are and what they do. And then some people on the other end of the spectrum say that's all imaginary. That's just make believe. It's like some children's fairy book tale. It's something that was just concocted from the imagination of some person. But what does the Bible say? What does the Word of God teach about angels? In Psalm 103, verse 20, we read these words, "Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word." I think that probably is one of the greatest summary verses on the doctrine of angels that you'll find in all of scripture because it reveals so many primary truths about them. Now there are many things we do not know about the angels. But there are a few things we do know. One is that they are created beings. The Bible says that they are His angels. Where did they come from? They came from the Lord. And what do they exist for? Psalm 103 verse 20 answers that. They exist to do His commands. They hearken to the voice of one person. They don't come to do our bidding. Instead, they exist to do the bidding of their Creator. Primarily, that is to bring Him worship and bring Him praise. The Bible says they are to bless the Lord. Everything they do is connected in some way to the glory of God. That's why when you talk about Satan and the fallen angels, their great sin was in detracting from the glory of their creator. Stealing from God, if you will, the glory that was due to His name alone. Now these angels are higher than man, but they're lower than God. The Bible says here in Psalm 103 verse 20 that they excel in strength. They're greater than man. In the sense of their created abilities and yet they are not God. They should not be worshiped as God. I think there are several errors and misinterpretations when it comes to the subject of angels. One is that some people have just outright rejected the idea of angels. Liberal theology attacks, anything that's miraculous or supernatural or invisible. They say, if you can't prove it, then it can't be. But that is totally against the principle of faith. So God's Word teaches that there are angels. We're going to learn more about them. We can't reject them. Then, on the other hand, some people have made idols out of angels. Many people have perverted the place of angels in worship. They have exalted them to the place of a Savior to be prayed to, to be trusted in. And my friend, that's idolatry. Colossians chapter 2, verses 18 and 19 says, Let no man beguile you of your reward. In a volunteer humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things, which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth. The bottom line is this, the angels must never take away from the place that Christ alone is worthy to have. Now that portion of scripture in Colossians 2 also tells us a third misinterpretation of angels. Some people reject them, some people make idols out of them, and then some very well intentioned people presume to know things about them that God's word is not clear on. Sometimes writers of fiction have assumed and attributed things to God. To angels that are not scriptural they have overemphasized the place of angels. I want to tell you this. We must not fall short of scripture, but we certainly must not go beyond scripture. Let me say it this way. We must not be unwise about what is written. We must be wise about what is written. In other words, we must know what does the Bible say about angels. Psalm 148, verse 2, and again in verse 5, we read these words, Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise ye Him, all His hosts. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, If you follow the angels back to their origin, you will find the one who is worthy of worship, and that is the God that the angels serve. As a matter of fact, in scripture, when men fell down at the feet of created beings, of angels to worship, those angels very hastily said, Stand up, get up, don't worship me, worship God. Why? Because they reflect the glory of God, and they deflect all glory. back to God. Now, what do we know about angels from Scripture? ‌ First of all, we know they're real. They exist. They appear all through the Word of God. They're mentioned 108 times in the Old Testament. Job tells us that they were present at the creation. They were there at the fall of Adam. You remember the cherubim and the flaming sword guarding

(Mark 1:16-20) Only Jesus could transform ordinary fishermen into soul-winners! However, this transformation required some sacrifice from His disciples. How can one become a fisher of men today? (0948250222) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(2 Corinthians 13:14) There is only one God. That God has expressed Himself in three Persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It should be our greatest desire to grow in knowledge of and love for every member of the Godhead. (0947250221) ----more---- The Divine Trinity Over the last several studies, we've been looking at what the Bible says about God, about the Lord Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. Come to see that God the Father is God, that God the Son is God, and that God the Holy Spirit is God. And we don't have three gods, we have one God expressed in three persons. The Bible says there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so they are distinct and separate persons of the Godhead. And yet, they are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal. The word that is frequently used to describe our God is the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Really the word Trinity is a great word. It means three in one, the triune God, Trinity in unity. Understanding the Godhead But the Bible word for it is the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, working together. Jesus spoke about this in John chapter 14 when Philip came to him and said, "Show us the Father and it sufficeth us." We want to see the Father. And Jesus says to him, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." In other words, if you want to know the Father, You have to know the Father through the Son. In the same chapter in John chapter 14, He said, "When I leave you,(when the Son leaves), I'm going to send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth." And he says, "The Holy Spirit's going to come and dwell with you and be in you and he's going to reveal more of me to you." So watch this. If you want to know the Father, you've got to know the Son. And if you want to know the Son, then you've got to know the Spirit. Do you see how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together? The Father is the begetter, the Son is the begotten. The Father is the sender, the Son is the sent one. And then the Father and Son together send the Spirit of God to abide with us forever. It's also a beautiful thought to see how each glorifies the other. The Father glorified the Son came to fulfill the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit comes not to do his own will or to speak of himself, but rather to glorify the Lord Jesus so that the Father will be pleased. It's just, it's wonderful to see this perfect unity and part of the reason we can't comprehend it is we don't see that kind of unity in our world today. Our finite and fallen minds cannot wrap our imaginations around something so perfect and yet that's our God, our perfect God. Biblical References to the Trinity From the very beginning of the scriptures we see this triune God at work. For example, Genesis chapter 1 verse number 26 says "Let us make a man in our image." Oh, who is that having a conversation? Oh, that's the Father, Son, and Spirit. Who've been in perfect communion from eternity past. In fact, in Genesis chapter number one, we see the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters and we learn in Colossians 1 that the Lord Jesus Christ was the one who created all things. So someone's going to say who created the world? The Father, the Son, or the Spirit? And the answer to that question is yes. Isn't that beautiful? So even in the plurality of the pronoun that's used in Genesis 1, even in the plurality of The name that is used for our God, the Lord God. There is a reference to the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all working together. Our perfect God. One God at work in this world. Let me read something to you from the book of Isaiah that may help you to understand this a little better. I love this passage. Isaiah chapter number 48, verse number 16, says, "Come ye near me, hear ye this, I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, there I am, and now the Lord God and His Spirit hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord by God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." Did you see all three members of the Godhead? The Lord God. Now this is Jehovah, Yahweh. A reference to our Father. And there is the Redeemer, that's a reference to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is His Spirit, a reference to the Holy Ghost of God. The first time we see them in the New Testament is in Matthew chapter 3 at the baptism of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says in Matthew 3 verse 16, "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight way out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and laying upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Do you see the Lord Jesus, the Son, standing in the water? And do you hear the voice of the Father speaking from His throne in heaven? And

(1 Corinthians 6:19) How strange it would be for someone to live in your house and to never communicate with that person. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every believer. Is He at home in us? We must learn what it means to be filled with the Spirit. (0946250220) ----more---- The Holy Spirit in Your Life Do you ever talk to the person that lives in your house? On the day you trusted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself, came to live in your house. That's right, in your temple, in your heart. Your heart is His home now. Do you ever talk to Him? Does He have liberty to? To go and roam into every room and control every part. Is he at home in your house? It would be a strange thing if you married someone and lived with them for 40 years and never spoke to them. That perhaps happens at times and that's an awful thing. But how awful it is to think that some people meet the Lord, and the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside of them on the day of their salvation, and they live the rest of their life never talking to that Person and never letting that Person talk to them! The Mystery and Reality of the Holy Spirit Now granted, there is a great mystery to the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus said in John chapter 3 verse number 8, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whether it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit is often likened to wind or breath in Scripture. And there is a mystery to the wind. You can't explain all of that, but as surely as there's a mystery, friend, there's also a reality. And there is a real person living inside of you at this moment. His name is the Holy Spirit. Understanding the Person of the Holy Spirit Perhaps the least understood and most misunderstood person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. He's not a thing. He's not merely a power or influence, he's a real person, he's just as real as the Father and the Son. Matthew 28:19 says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He is just as real as the Father and the Son, and He's just as real as any person here on earth. Acts 15:28 says, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things." The apostles were saying, "Look, the Holy Spirit is speaking just like we're speaking. The Holy Spirit is working just like we are working." I wonder, do you know the Person that lives in your house? All through scripture, we're introduced to his personality. We learn something about his actions. The Holy Spirit's Actions and Reactions He speaks. Acts 13, verse 2, He literally spoke. He spoke to the apostles. He prompted them. In Romans 8:26, He prays. He intercedes for us. In John 15:26, He testifies. He's the Spirit of truth. He testifies of Christ. He commanded in Acts 16. He oversees. In Acts chapter 20, in verse number 28, He guides. Jesus said in John 16:13, "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth." He teaches. John 14:26, He's the great teacher. I'm telling you, He's a Person. He not only acts, he reacts. Ephesians 4:30 tells us He can be grieved. Isaiah 63:10 tells us He can be vexed. They tempted the Holy Spirit in Acts 5, verse 9. They resisted the Holy Spirit in Acts 7:51. Mark 3 warns us against blaspheming the Holy Spirit. He's a real person. He has an intellect. He has emotions. He has a will. When you refer to the Holy Spirit, don't refer to him as an it. Refer to Him as a real Person because that's exactly what He is. The Divine Nature of the Holy Spirit And He's not only a real person, He is God. He is all God, just like the Father and the Son. We see the attributes of the Holy Spirit all through Scripture, identical to those of the Father and the Son. He is omnipotent, and omniscient, and omnipresent. He is eternal. He's the Spirit of love, and of holiness, and goodness, and grace, and life, and truth. And when you look at His works tell you He's God. Remember, He was there in the creation in Genesis 1. He was the Spirit of resurrection power in Romans 8 verse 11. He is the spirit of regeneration in all of us. Friend, if you're saved today, it's because the Holy Spirit convicted you that you were a sinner, revealed to you the person of Jesus Christ, and made you a new person in Christ. You are born again, John chapter 3, of the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6 verse 11 says, "Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." I'm telling you, when you study the Bible, Old Testament, New Testament, anywhere you want to study, you're going to find that the Holy Spirit is a real Person, He is all God, and He is at work at this present hour. And if that is true, I ask you again, How well do you know the person that lives in your house? How much have you come to unde

(Genesis 1:2) The most misunderstood and misrepresented Person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. How well do you know the Spirit of God? We are introduced to Him on the first page of the Bible and it is time we all got to know Him better. (0945250219) ----more---- An Introduction to the Holy Spirit Have you met the Holy Spirit? Some people refer to the Holy Spirit like He's an object or a thing or a force, but in fact, He is a real person. Co equal, co existent, co eternal with God the Father and God the Son. And the first time we meet Him is not on the day of Pentecost. The First Mention of the Holy Spirit The first time we meet Him is in Genesis chapter 1. It's amazing to me, really, how many of these great doctrinal truths begin on the opening pages of Scripture. Someone called Genesis 1:11 a seedbed of doctrine, and they said that every major truth in the Bible can be found in seed form in the opening chapters of Genesis. I think that's beautiful. Genesis 1 verse 1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Now, did you catch that? The Spirit of God, right there He is, in the creation. Remember, God is a Spirit. And the Spirit of God is at work in the creative work. He's hovering, He's brooding over His creation from the very beginning. He's involved in creation. The Holy Spirit as the Breath of God The psalmist said in Psalm 33:6, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." The Holy Spirit literally is the breath of God. Job said in Job 33:4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." So the Holy Spirit is the creator. The Holy Spirit is the one who gave you life. When God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and man became a living soul, the Holy Spirit was at work. That same Holy Spirit that breathed into man and the creation is the same Holy Spirit we find in Scripture that gave us the Word. The Bible says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Literally, God breathed it out. It is the work of His Holy Spirit. Second Peter 1:21, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Second Samuel 23:2, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me and His Word was in my tongue. Amen." This book we're studying, this Bible, you have the Holy Spirit to thank for that. Here's what's wonderful, if you're a Christian, the Author lives in your heart. The Holy Spirit, who gave the Word, lives inside of you. Ask Him to help you understand it. He'll help you. Talk to the Author today. I do love the Holy Spirit. Oh, I do love the Holy Spirit. I love the Holy Spirit because everything I know about God, the Holy Spirit taught me. I say that with authority and conviction because it's impossible to understand spiritual truth apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. So everything I know about Jesus, everything I know about God, everything I know about the Bible, I know because of the Holy Spirit. He's our teacher. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament We see Him in the Old Testament. In Genesis 6 verse 3, He is the restrainer of wickedness. The Lord said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man. He was holding back wickedness." We see Him enabling believers, even in the Old Testament, for special service. For example, in Genesis 41, the Spirit of God was seen on Joseph. Numbers 27:18 the Lord said to Moses, "Take thee, Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit." Daniel 4, verse 8, they recognize that Daniel had the Spirit of God. We know that the prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit. Samuel was moved by the Spirit of God. The Lord poured the horn of oil anointing David in 1 Samuel 16 verse 13, and the Bible says< "The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson. Over and over again, the Holy Spirit was working in the Old Testament in the lives of men. The Holy Spirit in the Life of Christ Then we see Him in the life of Christ. In His conception, Luke 1:35, the Holy Ghost came upon Mary. The power of the highest overshadowed her. Where do you think the Lord Jesus came from? He had no earthly father. So He was conceived of the Holy Ghost. That's a powerful thought. Matthew 1:20 says, "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." The Holy Spirit came at the baptism of Christ. You remember that beautiful dove, that picture of purity and peace coming down from heaven, lighting upon the Lord Jesus? And it's beautiful. There's no record that the dove ever left Him. It's symbolic of the fact that the Holy Spirit came upon Christ. But he never left Him. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came and went. He didn't indwell every believer consistently all the time. He came and went. But when Christ came, He came and stayed. And when you come to know the Lord Jesus and Christ co

(1 Timothy 3:16) Today we examine one of the great summary verses of the Bible. A verse that is about the great theme of God's Word - the Lord Jesus Christ. As we walk through all of Scripture we find Jesus on every page. (0944250218) ----more---- A One-Verse Summary About Jesus There are certain verses of Scripture that are great summary verses. I mean by that, they encapsulate so much doctrine in a concentrated way in just a few words. 1 Timothy 3:16 is one of those verses. Would you hear it with your heart today? 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." The Person and Work of Jesus Christ What is 1 Timothy 3:16 about? It's all about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Literally, it summarizes in one verse the whole message of Christ in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation. From creation to His glorification. It's God was manifest in the flesh. So the creator God of the universe God came to earth. Then He was justified in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was evident through His life and ministry, His words and His works. He was seen of angels at different points all through His life and ministry. He was then preached unto the Gentiles. He's been believed on in the world, and now where is he? He's received up into glory, where he's sitting on the right hand of the Heavenly Father, praying for us, preparing heaven for us, and yes, coming again. I want to say to you today that you find Jesus on every page of the Bible. Someone has said that you can take your text from anywhere. And you can find some path that leads from that place to the person of Jesus Christ. I do believe that. Jesus in the Old Testament Our study of Christ does not begin in the New Testament because He did not begin at Bethlehem. Earlier in this study, we began in Genesis 3, verse 15, with the first promise of Messiah. But I want to tell you, He was there in Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning God. Because He is the eternal Son of God. As you walk through the Old Testament, Jesus. I believe that He appeared many times. He appeared to Hagar, to Abraham, to Jacob, and Moses. Joshua saw him as the captain of the host. Manoah saw him, Isaiah saw him, lifted up, Zechariah did, and Gideon. He was manifested to many different people at many different times all through the Old Testament. As you read and study the Old Testament scriptures, there are over 300 prophecies concerning Christ. Think of that, over 300 of them. Many of the psalms are messianic psalms. There are lots of pictures of Christ in the Old Testament. Some people, like Joseph, is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. But many objects point to Him. Noah's Ark is a picture of Christ, the brazen serpent, the tabernacle, the rock flowing with that living water, the Passover land, the cities of refuge, on and on throughout the Old Testament, Jesus. Jesus in the New Testament Then when you come to the New Testament, He's revealed as he is, as he's taking on human flesh, his incarnation. God became a man without ceasing to be God. That's powerful. He did not lay aside his deity, he just robed it, clothed it in humanity. Someone says, was he a man or was he God? Yes. And He wasn't 50-50. He was 100 percent man and 100 percent God and He was the perfection of both. He's the only sinless man who ever lived, and yet He is the perfect son of God. We see his humanity all through the gospel records. He hungered. He thirsted. He slept. He grew. He suffered. He had a body, a soul, and a spirit. He even referred to himself as the son of man. That was His favorite title for himself. Think of that. He had every right to call himself everyday Son of God, but He loved to refer to himself as Son of man. Why? Because He was connecting with us. Aren't you glad that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin? Not only do we see His humanity, we see His deity. He is the Son of God, the Eternal Son of God. He claimed to be God all through his life He claimed to be the same things as Jehovah of the Old Testament claimed to be. He claimed to be the shepherd, the judge, the light, the first and the last, the I am. He claimed to have power to forgive sins. He raised dead people. He quoted Old Testament messianic passages and applied them to Himself. He placed His Word on the same level as God's Word. He received worship. He told men to pray in His name. Why would He do such things? Because He's not just the Son of Mary, He's the Son of God. All man - all God. We see Him in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, and then His death, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead. What makes the Christian faith distinct? We have a living Savior. For the record, I know He's alive because I've talked to Him

(Genesis 3:15) Jesus, the Living Word, is revealed in the written Word of God. If you want to know Jesus then you must study your Bible. From the first book of the Old Testament through the New Testament we see Christ. (0943250217) ----more---- Jesus: The Subject of the Bible Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. I do love the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful that He is my personal Savior. And when I come to the written Word of God, I find the living Word of God. If you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ, then you must learn what the Bible says about Christ. Let's begin with a couple of scriptures. One in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament. Discovering Christ in the Old Testament Today, let's begin with the first mention of Christ in Scripture. Now, let me hastily say that there is no beginning. To the son of God. His sonship is eternal sonship. When the Bible says he is the only begotten son of God that is simply a reference to the eternal relationship between father and son. So he didn't begin at Bethlehem. He didn't even begin in the Book of Genesis. No, my friend, he has always been because he is. Coequal, coexistent, and coeternal with the Father and the Spirit. But this is the first reference to the Lord Jesus in scripture. Colossians chapter 3 and verse number 15. It's the first promise that a Messiah was going to come. God says in Genesis 3:15 to the devil, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head. And thou shalt bruise his heel." Ha, I love this verse. What an amazing verse it is. Basically, God looks the devil in the face and says, I want you to know that there's going to come a seed from the line of this woman that is going to conquer you. There's going to come a redeemer that is going to crush you someday. You're going to bruise his heel, but he's going to bruise your head. Heel bruises are not fatal. They're painful, but they're not the end. But a head wound, now that's a different thing altogether. And God says to the devil, you may bruise the heel of the seed of the woman that's coming, this Messiah, this Redeemer, but then he's going to take that bruised heel and he's going to crush your head with it. I want you to know at Calvary, the heel of our lovely Lord Jesus was bruised, but when He came out of that grave alive forevermore, He put his head on the, or his heel rather, on the head of that old serpent, the devil. He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. Satan is under his feet and will be under his feet for all eternity. Aren't you glad everything God foretells, He always fulfills. So this is our introduction to what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. Christ's Preeminence in the New Testament Now when you come to the New Testament, Let's read in Colossians, because Colossians is all about the preeminence of Christ above all. Colossians chapter 1 verse number 14 says, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God." Get that. God is a spirit, remember. He is the invisible God. But the Lord Jesus came to reveal God to us. He's the image of the invisible God. The firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things, He might have the preeminence, for it pleased the Father that in Him all, should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, By Him, I say, whether they be things in heaven or things in earth and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now be reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. What an amazing portion of scripture. I've marked in Colossians 1 four key words. The first is the word created. Christ is the creator. All things were made by Him and for Him, for His pleasure. Then I have circled the little word CONSIST. God not only created all things by the Lord Jesus Christ. But they are all sustained by Christ. He's the one who keeps us, by whom we continue to exist, in Him we live and move and have our being. I've circled the word cross because that's why He came. That's why He came to earth, to redeem us from our sin and bring us to God. And then I've circled the word church. He who started it all is to be preeminent. among his people. He is the head of the body, the church. Knowing Christ Personally Now the question is, do you know the one who created the world? Do you know the one by whom all things consist? Do you know the one who went to the cro

(Mark 1:3-4, 12-13) We all have busy days, but nobody has ever been busier than Jesus was! Although He was everlastingly busy during His earthly ministry, Christ was never so much in a hurry that He neglected prayer. Listen to this episode of The Weekend Pulpit. (0942250215) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Proverbs 9:10) While there are many things we do not know about God, there is much that we can know about God. He wrote it down for us! The deeper we go into Scripture the deeper we can go into our knowledge of God. (0941250214) ----more---- The Mystery of God There are many things that I do not know about God. There are many things that are beyond my understanding. And why is that? Because I am a finite being and He is an infinite God. And yet, isn't it glorious? Isn't it wonderful? That God, through His Word, has revealed Himself in such a way that there are many things we do know about God. So many people get stuck on the things they don't know and can't understand but they miss in that what they should know and what we can understand. The Fear of the Lord Is Beginning of Wisdom Proverbs chapter 9, verse number 10 says this, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy. Is understanding." Did you hear that expression? The knowledge of the holy, not of holy things, but of the holy one. Understanding God's Holiness In fact, holiness is the one attribute that is most often attached to God in Scripture. That does not mean that He is more holy than He is any of His other attributes. He's the perfection of all of them. You can't chop God up. You can't divide Him. He's not one. He is all. He's not more of one. He is perfectly all. But the reason Holiness is attributed to God more than any other thing in Scripture is that His holiness is the perfection of all of His attributes. Everything about God is holy. His knowledge, His power, His love, His mercy, His judgment, everything is a revelation of our holy God. Knowing God Through Scripture And I want to say to you that We should begin, when we are studying what the Bible says, by saying, Lord, we want to know our Holy God. We want to know Him personally. It's one of the great marvels of our God. He is both infinite and knowable at the same time. There's no limit to Him. There's no end to Him, and yet, there is a place to begin. We can know Him by finding out what Scripture says about Him. This is God's revelation of Himself. I heard for years preachers say that when we get to heaven, we're going to know everything. I don't believe that's what scripture teaches. The Bible says we will know even as we are known. But I believe when we get to Heaven, when we get into Eternity, we're going to spend the rest of Eternity entering in our knowledge and understanding more and more to the depths of our great God. I don't think you'll ever exhaust who God is. That's what's going to make Eternity such an ongoing adventure. More and more of His love and beauty and perfection. And friend, that journey is not to begin when we die or Jesus comes. It is to begin right here. And right now, it is to begin by us discovering what the Bible says about God. So what does the Bible say? We can't be exhaustive about this, certainly not in this brief time we have to study together. But may I just give you a few thoughts to, to meditate on today? Some things that you can study further for yourself and look for in Scripture. Attributes of God: Self-Existence and Immutability In Scripture, we learn that He is self-existent and self-sufficient. It means He is the Great I Am. The only limits on God are the ones He places on Himself. The limits of His own holy will. He holds back, for example, His justice with His mercy. God may limit Himself in certain areas at particular times, but there is no limit to Him. He is I Am. He's the only one who can say I Am and put nothing after it. He is the self existent and self sufficient one. Imagine Him saying to Moses, Tell them I Am sent you. I Am what? Yes. All of the above. More than you could ever imagine. Not only that, He's immutable. That means he never changes. James chapter 1 and verse number 17, Malachi chapter 3, verse number 6, all through scripture we get this truth. He says in Malachi 3 verse 6, "I am the Lord, I change not." God's Eternal Nature and Omnipresence And then, He is eternal. Eternity has no beginning and no end. It's like an open ended front and an open ended back. And God is beyond the limits in both directions. God's not in time. Time is in God. God holds time in the palm of His hand. He's the eternal God. Did you know that the word eternity is only found one time in all of Scripture? I would challenge you to find it. I could give you the reference, but I'm going to challenge you. I'll give you a homework assignment. See if you can find the one verse in the Bible where the word eternity is found, and in that verse, The Bible references the God who inhabits eternity. Think of a God so big, He fills up eternity. God is not bound by anything. Not by time or not by space. No, because He is the great I Am. God's Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence Then we know He's all powerful. Some people refer to that as His omnipotence. He is all powerful. He is omniscient. That means He knows everything

(2 Timothy 3:13-17) In an age of deception God's people must know what they believe - and why! We must be ready to share with others, not what we think, but what God thinks. It is time to know and make known what the Bible says. (0938250211/13) ----more---- The Purpose and Profit of the Bible Everywhere I go, it seems that the favorite verse of people today seems to be 2 Timothy 3 and verse number 13, where the Bible says, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." I hear everybody quoting that verse and talking about how bad things have gotten and the pitiful condition of churches and communities and culture, and there's no doubt that's true. But I want to remind you that verse does not stand alone. That text has a context. As a matter of fact, immediately after the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, those words, "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived," he says in the very next verse, 2 Timothy 3:14, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them." In other words, yes, there are negatives all around us, but on the positive side, we're supposed to continue in the truth. Yes, this is an age of deception, all the more reason for us to take a strong stand on the truth. Yes, there is a spirit of Antichrist at work in our world that's trying to deceive people. But friends, just because the spirit of the deceiver is at work does not mean that the Holy Spirit has stopped his work. Oh, the spirit of truth is alive and well. He's at work in me today. He's at work in you today. He's at work through the Word today. And that's why God's people need to know what the Bible says. Listen to the verse again, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned. And has been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them. " Learning the Bible The three great principles, the three great truths in that verse. Number one, you have to learn the word. He said, if you're going to live it, if you're going to teach it and preach it to others, you have to learn it. So we must learn what God says. Assurance of the Bible Then, you must develop some assurance about what you're learning. He not only says you've learned it, he said you've been assured of these things. You must develop some deep personal conviction that the Word of God truly is that, the Word of God. It is the revelation of God Himself. It is the truth. And I trust and pray that you're developing a deeper and deeper conviction and confidence in the Word of God. This is the very Word of Truth. And you can trust a God who never lies. As a matter of fact, he says at the end of the verse, "Knowing of whom thou hast learned them." What's that a reference to? He goes on in verse 15 to say, "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." He's saying that faith that was laid for you in childhood. That simple truth that you were willing to accept in your youth, don't ever get away from that. No matter how complicated the world may get, no matter how complex the problems may be, always go back again and again to the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ. Only Christ, only the Word of Truth can cut through the mess and the mayhem of our world and of our lives. Only the Lord can do that. So never forget. Where you learned it and who you learned it from. Timothy had a godly mother and a holy grandmother. Do you remember Lois and Eunice? Never forget those people who gave you this heritage. Never forget the people who taught you the truth. Perhaps there's some hint here as well of Paul reminding Timothy of what he personally had taught him in his youth. You remember how Timothy joined Paul when he was just a very young man. Paul is saying, don't ever forget the things that you were taught early on in your life. Don't ever get moved off the foundation of your faith. So number one, you must learn what the Bible says. Then you must be assured of what the Bible says. Continue in the Bible And then, you must continue in what the Bible says, but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Look, we're living in a world of quitters. Even when it comes to faith, even when it comes to ministry, even when it comes to, to so called Christians, we're living in a world of people that just are giving up on the Lord, giving up on the truth, giving up on the church. Don't be one of those people. You be one of those people that continue. I want to cross the finish line of glory. Not coasting in heaven, but with a pedal to the metal. I want to finish strong. I want to finish well. Is that what you want for your life? And you're going to have to make up your mind today that you're going to continue in what the Bible says. The Sufficiency of Scripture

(Deuteronomy 32:2) Doctrine is not for professional theologians and academic minds. It is simply our beliefs and teachings, taken directly from the Word of God. Study the Scriptures and settle what you believe from the Bible. (0939250212) ----more---- God's Doctrine and Our Opinions Libraries and bookstores are absolutely filled with men's opinions. Radio, television, talk news, all of it, totally filled with everybody's ideas about what they think is right. But I wonder How often we stop to say, what does God think? Did you know that God's thoughts are revealed in His Word? And if you want to know what God thinks about something, then ask yourself this question, what does the Bible say? The Importance of Doctrine We're beginning this series of what the Bible says. And I've started here by just laying a little foundation about the importance of what we call doctrine. That's a word that some people stay away from today. Let me just tell you, doctrine is not a dirty word. Not at all. In fact, it's God's word. Biblical References to Doctrine Did you know that the word doctrine is found 51 times in 50 verses of your Bible? Let me show you a couple of them today. You may want to get a good concordance and look them all up for yourself and walk through them and meditate on them. I've done that. And it's a rich, refreshing way to study that Bible word. But let me show you the first one. The first one is Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse number 2. Now remember, the first time a word is used in the Word of God, it has great significance. It's the law of first mention. Because the first time it's given, it really gives a pattern to follow. It gives an opening truth, if you will, that the Lord will consistently go back to. Doctrine as Refreshing Rain In Deuteronomy 32, we read these words, "My doctrine shall drop as the rain. My speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." There are two or three things that really strike me even as I read that verse. One is, that God connects doctrine to rain. We think of doctrine as being some really heavy thing. But I want to say to you, really, God says, my doctrine is refreshing. My doctrine is a blessing to you. It drops down as the rain, it distills as the dew. Think of the gentleness of dew and then not only what it is as it comes down, but what it produces, it brings about the tender herb. It brings showers upon the grass. I believe that every good thing that grows in our life grows out of the truth. And until we understand the importance of doctrine, we will never become the people that God wants us to be. Now that's Deuteronomy 32 too. Let me read the verse before it and the verse after it. Verse 1 of Deuteronomy 32 says, "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak. And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distill as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender herb, And as the showers upon the grass, Because I will publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe ye greatness unto our God." Doctrine and Worship The very first time the word doctrine is used in scripture, it is connected to worship. We don't study to know. We study to worship. We don't study to simply have facts. We study to know the God of truth. We come to Bible doctrine and we say, Dear Lord, we want to know you better. We want to know what you have to say to us. Oh God, speak to us and show us yourself. That's the great message of Deuteronomy chapter 32, and that's the great purpose of doctrine. False Teachings and Doctrines The last mention of the word doctrine is found in Revelation 2, in the church age, in the letters to the seven churches, and it says in Revelation 2 24, But I say unto you and unto the rest in Thyatira, As many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden. So here we have the exact opposite. Here we have. A reference to false teaching. There's always going to be truth and error. There's always going to be this battle this warfare between the God of truth and the old liar, the deceiver, the serpent, the devil. Always. That's what we're watching in our world today. That's what's going on on school campuses. That's what's going on in the news. That's what's going on In government, there's always this conflict and struggle between what is true and what is not. And in the end, we must go back to this, what does the Bible say? I said to you that the word doctrine is found 51 times in Scripture, but the plural word, doctrines, is used 5 times. And did you know that the 5 times it's used in the New Testament, it is always in the negative. It's never a reference to truth. It's always a reference to error. Now, that's very significant. For example, Matthew 15:9 Jesus says, "In vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Or how about Hebrews 13:9, "Be not carried away with divers and stran

(Genesis 1:1) The Bible is God's revelation of Himself. Its purpose is not simply information or inspiration—it is given for us to know God! On the pages of Holy Scripture we discover the truth about God. (0940250213) ----more---- Understanding the Essence of the Bible What is the Bible? At its very heart, the essence of this book we're studying, what is the Bible? Is it a book of science? Is it a book of history? Is it a book of poetry? Is it a book of literature? What is the Bible? The Revelation of God Through Scripture While it has elements of all of that in it The bottom line is this, the Bible is God's revelation. The Bible is really not first about man. It's a book about God. It's not about things or events. It's all about us knowing God. As a matter of fact, the last book of our Bible is the book of what? The book of Revelation. Now the word revelation, It literally means to take the veil away. It's like pulling back the curtain. God progressively in scripture starts taking the veil down, taking the veil down, taking the veil down until he gets to the final revelation and he just rips the curtain off. And he says, here I am in all of my glory. And here is what I'm doing in this world, and here's what I'm going to do in eternity. Knowing God Through the Bible Oh, friends, this is why I love the Bible. Because the Bible tells me about God. The Bible brings me to the knowledge of who God is. What is the very first word of the Word? Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Psalm 14 verse 1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Psalm 90 verse 2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Literally from vanishing point to vanishing point, he is God. Go back as far as you want, God is there. Go forward as far as you want. God is there. Psalm 139 verse 7, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy presence?" Isaiah 40 verse 28, "Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding?" I'm telling you, the Bible is all about knowing God. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen." What is this about? It's about revealing God to us. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And how does it all end? Revelation 19:6. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude. And as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thundering saying, Alleluia for the Lord, God omnipotent reigneth." This is what the Bible says about God, and we're beginning our series of what the Bible says with God himself because I don't see how you could start with anything else. It's all about God. From start to finish, in every book, God is revealing Himself to us. Different Beliefs About God We're living in a world where some people don't believe in God at all. They're called atheists. They just say, we don't even believe there is a God. There are deists in the world. People that say that God made the world, but then he just let it go. He doesn't sustain it or keep it. It's on its own. I'm glad that's not true. There are people who claim to be theists. They give some intellectual acknowledgement that there is a God, but they really don't know him. There are agnostics who don't outright deny God like the atheist does, but they just don't think God can really be known. They are skeptics. There are pantheists. They believe that everything is God and that God is everything. There are polytheists, people who believe in many gods. I was traveling some time ago doing gospel work outside the United States and was in a part of the world where they believe in many gods. And you must begin with this, there is one God. He is expressed in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. But there is one God. There are some people who are tri theist. They believe in three gods. We don't believe that. There are dualists, people that believe in two gods. One evil and one good and they're both equal in their power. They would almost give you the idea that the devil is equal to God. That's not true, friend. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Monotheism and the One True God We are what would be referred to as monotheist. We believe that there is one God. The Jewish people, the nation of Israel, have historically always been monotheist. You'll remember that there was a period of time in Israel's history where they served many idols. And so finally God said to them, Alright, I'm going to give you what you want. I'm going to let you go into Babylonian captivity. And so they went into captivity to the most idolatrous nation on the face of the earth. Now let me ask you a question. Wouldn't you think tha

(Acts 17:1-34) Our generation has more information available than ever, and yet there seems to be such a lack of truth. Every question must be brought to the Giver of truth! Today we look at three treatments of truth. How do we treat the truth? (0937250210) ----more---- Finding Truth in the Information Age This generation is a generation that has more information than any generation in history. We have more access to facts and to stories and to news at our fingertips than our grandparents ever could have imagined. This is an age where people know much and yet have more questions than they've ever had. Isn't it ironic that we have so much information, and yet there seems to be such a dearth of truth. Our age is an age of questions. People are asking so many things. And knowing the answers to the questions, or at least where to find the answers to the questions, is absolutely vital for a believer. One of the worst answers you can give to someone when they start asking serious questions about spiritual truth, and eternity, and God is to answer this way, or even to say, "Someone else said." It'd be much better to say the Bible, which is the word of God teaches. So in the end, we must come back to this. What does the Bible say? What does God have to say about it? The Foundation of Our Study We're beginning a brand new series of studies today on what the Bible says about a whole host of doctrinal issues and current issues. I'm very excited about this series, and I want to tell you right up front that before we give our opinion on anything, we must first lay the Bible foundation. We must begin with what thus saith the Lord. And then the application can grow out of that. Now though this is somewhat a topical series, I want you to know that we're going to deal with it. In a way that is expository. I mean by that, we're going to dig into the Word of God. We're going to let God speak for Himself. And today, I want to lay a little foundation for this series on what the Bible says by talking to you about three treatments of the truth. Three Treatments of the Truth: Thessalonica In Acts chapter number 17, the Apostle Paul is preaching, he's teaching the truth, and it's recorded for us that he's in three distinct cities. Now these three cities represent really three receptions or responses to the truth. In Acts chapter 17, beginning in verse number 1, he comes to a city known as Thessalonica. Thessalonica, of course, will be famous in history to Christians because there are two books of our New Testament written to the church at Thessalonica. And the Bible says in verse two that Paul, as his manner was went in unto them and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead. And that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. What a wonderful verse. In other words, he got right to the heart of the matter, and the heart of all of it is the person and work of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is not who he says he is, nothing else matters. What you believe about the living word is directly connected to what you believe about the written word. Their response in verse 4 says, And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort. And gathered a company, set all the city on an uproar and assaulted the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people. They literally are going to bring such persecution that the believers in Thessalonica have to sneak Paul and his missionary team out of town, undercover of darkness to spare their life. So in Thessalonica, you have a group of people who believe, but you have a large segment of people that not only do not believe, they don't want anybody else to hear the truth. I call them the Thessalonican thieves. Because they wanted to steal the truth from others. In our current day, we have a lot of Thessalonican thieves. Not only do they not want to believe, not only are they not willing to obey the word of God, they don't want anybody else to have it either. And so they speak against God, and they speak against the truth. It's almost comical, if it wasn't so sad, that many of those who profess they don't even believe in God spend a whole lot of energy and time Trying to prove he does not exist. And arguing against his existence. If he doesn't believe that there is a God, what difference does it make? Why even argue against it? The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And you're gonna deal with Thessalonican thieves in this generation. who are trying to steal the seed of truth out of the hearts and minds of people. Let's go to the end of the chapter, because I want to finish our study today with the second church, not the third. Three Treatments of the Truth: Athens The third church that's found i

(Mark 1:4, 15) While repentance is necessary for our salvation, it is equally essential for our sanctification. A Christian who fails to regularly confess his sin to the Lord resultantly fails to grow in his walk with Him. Your faith can be measured by your repentance. (0936250208) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(1 Timothy 6:5-12) Modern Christianity says, "Gain is godliness." Whereas biblical Christianity says, "Godliness is gain." Join us as we conclude our study of stewardship with some key truths to remember. (0935250207) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Luke 16:1-12, 19-31) You cannot fully understand biblical stewardship without looking at it through the lens of eternity. Eternity clarifies many circumstances and purifies our motives. Put your life in the perspective of eternity. (0934250206) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

(Luke 10:23-24) Truth is the Christian's most valuable treasure. It is a treasure to be cherished and shared. Learn from today's episode how to receive truth, rejoice in it, and relay it to others. (0933250205) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/