Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Church of the Living God
Bible Study Lesson
Presenter: Overseer Ennis F. Tait
 


Date:   Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Series: Spiritual Warfare
Reference Scripture:  II Corinthians 5:14-17
Focus Verses: II Corinthians 5:17     

Today’s Discussion:    “A Change of Address”

We are anchored in God through our relationship with the Lord, Jesus.  There are three very important spiritual actions we must execute to draw on the power of God:
(I Corinthians 13:13 – “abideth” [men’-o] to stay (in a given place, state relation or expectancy)

·         Faith – [pis’-tis]; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher) a reliance upon Christ for salvation
·         Hope – [el-pece’] – to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation or confidence
·         Charity – [ag-ah’-pay]; from the Greek word – agapao – to love, i.e. affection or benevolence; a love-feast

The lesson aim is to encourage believers to check and evaluate our place in God.  More importantly, we must conduct frequent “soul searching” evaluations.  We must also monitor the condition of our heart and mind.  As believers we are in the process of relocating to a permanent place in Christ Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul’s opening statement in verse 14 reveals the source of his commitment to “the work of the ministry”.  He exclaims, “Christ’s love constraineth us”. (soon-ekh’-o: to hold together; to compress; or arrest; to compel, perplex, afflict or preoccupy)  Paul’s testimony to the church is significant and relevant.  As ambassadors for Christ we must draw from the purest source of strength known to all mankind, the Love of Christ.  Reference: John 3:16; Ephesians 5:25; Galatians 2:20)  Each of the subsequent verses support Paul’s commitment to the ministry through his understanding of the role of Christ in our lives.

Paul’s concern for the believer is that we present our new address to others so they will know we’ve moved.  Not in the physical sense of relocating, but in the sense of spiritual transformation.   There must be evidence of our “new walk”.  (Ref: Romans 6:4; 8:1) We must be able to distinguish the difference between the flesh and the spirit.  We must understand the three stages of the mind: natural (I Corinthians 2:14), carnal
(I Corinthians 3:1-3; Matthew 16:23; Colossians 1:21) or spiritual (Romans 12:2).  As believers we are expected to change how we view God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and ourselves.  According to Hebrews 11:6, FAITH plays a huge role in the transformation process.  FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY are essential to our transformation.  Each one of these spiritual behaviors is designed to bring us closer to God through our relationship with Jesus.  Thus, Paul’s statement in verse 17 serves as a starting point for those interested in going further in their walk with Christ.

List three old habits that were part of your past life?

List three new habits that are reflection of your new life in Christ?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Church of the Living God
Bible Study Lesson
Presenter: Overseer Ennis F. Tait
 


Date:   Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Series: Spiritual Warfare
Reference Scripture:  Joshua 7:19-21
Focus Verses: Joshua 7:21     

Today’s Discussion:    “A Fallen Soldier”

What are the main struggles of the people of God?  There are three in particular that outweighs them all:

·         Disobedience – [maw-raw']; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) bitter (or unpleasant); (figuratively) to rebel (or resist; causatively, to provoke):
·         Temptation – [pi-ras-mos] - a putting to proof (by experiment [of good], experience [of evil], solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication, adversity:
·         Covetousness – [khaw-mad']; a primitive root; to delight in:

The lesson aim is to show how Disobedience, Temptation and Covetousness (DTC) has caused many to fall.  More importantly, anyone that continues to struggle with DTC in the flesh will ultimately loss the spiritual battle.  There is biblical evidence that each believer will at some point or another struggle to maintain a life of true holiness.  DTC are real issues that work in the flesh to disqualify and destroy the believer by using an inward struggle to promulgate sinful nature. 

The tragedy of sin found in this text reveals the uncontrollable human nature of men and women of God.  God has to call to Joshua’s attention the root cause of the unexpected defeat at Ai.  Joshua has to pray to God for insight.  He is not privileged to know the spiritual ramification of Achan’s sin.  However, God uses this incident to set precedence for future cases. God shows great frustration in HIS response to Joshua.  Achan’s sin is the first act of DTC in the Promised Land.  Adam and Eve fell. (Genesis 3:23-24) King Saul fell. (I Samuel 15:26-28) Unfortunately, there will be others to fall to the same cause.

DISOBEDIENCE - “The Christian has no choice, therefore, but to engage in a kind of spiritual warfare against his own natural tendency to disobey God”
References: II Corinthians 10:5-6; Isaiah 3:8

TEMPTATION - The sufficiency of God’s grace is able to sustain us and keep us from yielding to the temptations of the flesh.
References: II Corinthians 12:8-9; James 1:12-14; I Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:15

COVETOUNESS - Covetousness is a very grave sin; indeed, so heinous is it that the Scriptures class it among the very gravest and grossest crimes.
References: Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; I Corinthians 6:10


What is our defense against DTC?  Obedience, Faith and Contentment are our strongest weapons.