Rolande

Q25. (John 16:8; 6:44; 6:65) Why is it impossible for people to come to Christ without God's action to convict, draw, and enable them to come? How does God's preparation illustrate His grace? Verses 8-11: The work of the Holy Spirit is to reprove, to point out a fault or an error, or to expose something as it really is. The Holy Spirit reproves concerning three topics. 1. Sin (verse 9): The Holy Spirit reveals the need of redemption. Because they believe not on me: The greatest sin is unbelief (3:18), which the greatest work is belief (6:29). 2. Righteousness (verse 10): The Holy Spirit reveals the possibility of redemption. Because I go to my Father. Christ goes to the Father after a righteous life, and a death that will impute this righteousness to others. 3. Judgment (verse 11): The Holy Spirit reveals the reality of redemption. Because the prince of this world is judged: the power of Christ to judge Satan and to overthrow his kingdom is not future, but at the Cross and the Resurrection. “Is judged” means “has been judged” (13:31). For “the price of this world” (see also 12:31 and 14:30).The Holy Spirit will convict you of these things. If there is sin in your life, you will be compelled to straighten your life up and live for Jesus. It is actually this Holy Spirit that woos a person to accept Jesus. The Holy Spirit will come inside of you, and be a comfort to you, and will teach you all truth after you have accepted Jesus and have invited Him in.Sin is the state of the unsaved person. There is an opportunity offered to all to turn from that sinful way of life to a life of righteousness in Christ. If a person remains in sin, he or she can expect the judgment of a righteous Christ. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was approximately 40 or more days away at this point. To reprove (convict), has two meanings. (1) The judicial act of conviction with a view toward sentencing or (2) The act of convincing. Here the second idea is best, since the purpose of the Holy Spirit is not condemnation. But best, since the purpose of the Holy Spirit is not condemnation but conviction of the need for the Savior. John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” It is the Father’s will that all should be saved. He sent Jesus into the world to save the world. Whosoever believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord shall be saved. The Holy Spirit tugs at our heart and draws us to Jesus. God will not always strive with us. If we refuse over and over, the Holy Spirit will stop drawing. John 6:65 “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” Although men and women are commanded to believe and will be held accountable for unbelief, genuine faith is never exclusively a matter of human decision. Once again, in the face of unbelief, Jesus reiterated God’s sovereignty involved in selection for salvation. The offer of salvation is to whosoever will. The Holy Spirit draws us. Many will be called, but few accept. God already knows your heart, and He knows whether you will accept the call. God doesn’t predestine, but has foreknowledge of what you will do. God reveals Himself to those who will accept Him. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” (James 4:8). “Draw nigh”: Pursue an intimate love relationship with God (Phil. 3:10). The concept of drawing near to God was associated originally with the Levitical priests, but eventually came to describe anyone’s approach to God. Salvation involves more than submitting to God and resisting the devil; the redeemed heart longs for communion with God (Psalms 27:8; 42:1-2; 63:1-2; 84:2; 143:6; Matt. 22:37). “Cleanse your hands”: The Old Testament priests had to ceremonially wash their hands before approaching God (Exodus 30:19-21), and sinners (a term used only for unbelievers), who would approach Him must recognize and confess their sin. “Purify your hearts”: Cleansing the hands symbolizes external behavior; this phrase refers to the inner thoughts, motives, and desires of the heart. To be double minded means you cannot make up your mind just what you want to do. We see from the following verse, that we cannot ride the fence. We must decide who we will serve, God or man. Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Cleansing of the hands means the work you put your hands to must be clean, as well as your heart being pure, stayed upon God. When we make a step toward God, we will find that He has been there to help us all along. He just wanted us to reach out to Him. The opportunity to be saved is a free gift from God. When offered, we must accept it. The Father puts the hunger in our hearts. Jesus Christ our Lord provides the Bread (Himself). God will not always strive with man. He offers salvation, we must accept it.

Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” “Foreknow” is God’s determination from eternity to bring certain ones into a special relationship with Himself. This is not simple advance knowledge. This knowledge should also not be understood in the sense of “being acquainted with,” but in the sense of “bringing into a special relation with”. Foreknowledge is God’s determination from eternity to bring certain ones into a special relationship with Himself. “Predestinate” literally means “to mark off or choose before.” God chooses those He knows will participate in His plan of salvation and extends it to all who respond in faith. The doctrine of predestination in Scripture relates to the foreknowledge of God. Eph. 1:5: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will”. Predestination is especially noticeable in the conversion of the apostle Paul. Since he was a blasphemer and persecutor of the church, some Christians had a difficult time believing Paul could be saved even after he so testified. Still, knowing what was ahead and how Paul would respond, God chose him as Apostle to the Gentiles. When we understand that God has chosen and predestined us, we should also realize we have been ordained to good works, to bear fruit and to become like Jesus. We see from this scripture, that this predestination did not overrule our will. What this is really saying, is that God knew from even before you were born, how you would choose. God has foreknowledge of all happenings, not only in my life and yours, but he knows everything from the beginning of time to the end of time. This is because of His foreknowledge. It is predestined, because He foreknew your decision. Jesus’ crucifixion was planned from the foundation of the earth. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus paid for you and me to be adopted into the family with His precious blood at Calvary. We are part of the family of God, because our elder brother (God’s only begotten Son), purchased our right to be called God’s sons. Romans 8:30 “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” In 2 Timothy 1:9 we read: 2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” “Called”: The calling (of 8:28), is pre-temporal; it occurred before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The calling here is temporal and refers to the effectual communication of the gospel, resulting in salvation. “Justified” indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. This unmerited favor is bestowed through the redemption paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. The redeemed sinner is released on the basis of the ransom’s having been paid. “Glorified”: Glorification is God’s doing. While God’s foreknowledge and predestination take place in eternity, and while God’s calling and justification are realized in history, God’s glorifying is yet future. It is as certain, however, as the previous works. Hence glorified is in the past tense. From God’s point of view it is already accomplished. The plan was set at the foundation of the world. Man could not be saved by his own deeds, he must have a Savior. That Savior we must have is Jesus Christ our Lord. We do know that God’s call for many of His ministers was a call before they were even born, like John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s entire life (even before birth), was planned of God. Read the account of John the Baptist’s birth (in Luke chapter 1). This does not mean that John had no Choice. He could have refused, but he didn’t. God knew he would carry out God’s purpose in his life. Obedience to God’s will in our life will bring peace in our life too. Most people today take their call to serve God far too lightly. It is serious business to answer God’s call and serve God. We must first be able to say “not my will be done, but thine O Lord” and then say, “Here am I Lord, send me”.

Colossians 4:17 "And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." “Archippus”: Most likely the son of Philemon (Philemon 2). Paul’s message to him to fulfill his ministry is similar to the exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:5). “Take heed to the ministry” can be interpreted in one of two ways: (1) It is a rebuke to Archippus for failing to finish his Christian service; or (2) It may be Paul’s way of informing the Colossian church of his approval on Archippus’ ministry, and the church was to let him finish it. It appears from this, that Archippus had an important job in the church at Laodicea. Whether he was pastor, we cannot say. It does appear that he has been discouraged, and Paul is telling him to stay in there and do the work that God has called him to do. Paul also says in this, that he was chosen of God for this job, he had not appointed himself.

Q3. (Philippians 3:7-8) How do legalism and the resulting spiritual pride prevent us from trusting in Christ by faith, and knowing him? How has your pride in yourself kept you from drawing closer to Jesus? Philippians 3:7 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." All his Jewish religious credentials that he thought were in his profit column, were worthless and damning. Thus, he put them in his loss column when he saw the glories of Christ. Paul is saying, that he gave all of his position and former beliefs up to follow Christ. At one time, Paul had thought all of those things to be important, but now he has learned a better way. Philippians 3:8 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ," Paul was willing to turn his back on all the things he had been taught as a youth. He did not count anything in this world valuable enough to keep him from Christ. The Light of the world had shined in the heart of Paul, and he would never be the same again. Things of this world meant absolutely nothing to Paul, in comparison with Christ. Paul had expanded his seven credentials listed (in verses 5 & 6), which were actually detriments or liabilities. Trusting in all these religious privileges and human attainments for salvation had not brought him closer to God, but farther away from Him. Not only does Paul view those now as loss, but expanding on this idea he also regards all things, (i.e., any such human works and religious attainments on which one might depend to secure a place in heaven), as dung or excrement. As one rids himself of his body waste, so did the apostle rid himself of his “gains” upon realizing that they cut him off from God. “I have suffered the loss”, or I have forfeited, meaning Paul willingly renounced all his earthly advantages and Jewish privileges as a means of attaining salvation. “That I may win Christ”, that is, divine righteousness is imputed to the repentant sinner through his believing in Christ and depending on Him alone and not on his good works for salvation. One cannot be saved if he confides in his own efforts and accomplishments; these must be renounced before he can believe in Christ as Savior. The greatest possession any person can have is Jesus Christ. Paul appreciated the greatness of being allowed to know Jesus Christ in reality.

Sorry i am a newbie. We shouldn't be reading Pastor Ralph said. So sorry about this. Next time will be better.

Acts 9:10 : Notice Ananias answers as each of us should: "Here am I Lord". 9:11: Sometimes the places the Lord sends us look hopeless in the flesh. In fact, sometimes we feel that it is dangerous to go where the Lord sends us. It is really none of our business though. The Lord can send us wherever He wishes. Our only part in all of it is to do exactly as we are instructed of God to do. Whether we are successful or not, is not our concern. We just do what God tells us to do, and God does the rest. Success or failure is up to Him. 9:12: This would be a frightening thing for Ananias to do, but he must do it anyway, because that is what God wants. When he lays his hand on Saul, God will restore Saul's sight. God has gone ahead and prepared Saul to receive Ananias. God tells Ananias exactly where to find him. 9:13 Ananias acts like the Lord does not already know all of this. His fear of this Saul, who has been capturing the Christians and throwing them in jail, is showing. Saul was most assuredly a dangerous man. What Ananias does not realize is that Saul has had an encounter with God. Verses 15-17: Note that even Saul’s commission does not come directly from God but through a God-appointed disciple. By contrast, his apostolic authority did come directly from Christ, not by succession through one of the apostles (Gal. 1:1, 11-12). 9:15 You see, God, realizes that Saul wishes to please God. That really was why he was capturing the Christians (he did not realize he was working against God). God knows Saul's heart. 9:16 Saul has a great calling on his life. He is to bring his message to the Gentile world. He, as many others, tried to carry it to his Hebrew brothers first though. The greatest call a Christian can have is to suffer for Christ. Only the truly strong, such as Job, can suffer for Christ and still remain true. Saul's calling is great. I think it is important to note here, that the first king of the Hebrews in the Old Testament was named Saul, and now we see Saul called to service here to actually lead the people that he had been persecuting. 9:17 Saul received the Spirit without any apostles present because he was a Jew (the inclusion of Jews in the church had already been established at Pentecost), and because he was an apostle in his own right because Christ personally chose him and commissioned him for service (Rom. 1:1). Now, we see an obedient servant in Ananias. Ananias (even though he was afraid of Saul), went right on over and told Saul exactly what God had told him to say and do. This had to be a humbling experience for Saul as well. The very people he had wanted to destroy was where his help came from. Not only will Saul's physical sight be restored, but his spiritual sight as well. Notice also that God, the Holy Ghost, will empower Saul to witness the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 9:18 As I said in the verses above, the scales fell from his spiritual eyes, as well as his physical eyes. His sight was twofold: physical and spiritual. Now having eyes, he could see. The Light of Jesus had entered into his inner most being and drove out all the darkness.

Jesus pray to His Father in the morning, like we should do because for me the '"manna" is in the morning alone with our Precious Lord. In the morning, I need to have this solitary place ( ground ) where i can be with Him Alone (CONNECTION WITH MY PRECIOUS JESUS IN THE MORNING). Jesus here is teaching us ... do the things that MY Father is saying... by going out somewhere else with His disciples... In fact, , I think HE IS OBEYING TO GOD THE FATHER and HE IS FOLLOWING WHAT HIS FATHER IS SAYING TO HIM... Here, Our Precious Lord is not focusing on his needs, but where the Father wants him to go ... HIS FATHER DIRECTION. HE is TRUE SERVANT of His FATHER. Jesus do not let the WORLD stopping Him from listening to His Father direction.

The word "scary", not sure ... The fact that God has predestinated " reassure me" in a way that I depend on Him Totally. when I look back it is pure evidence for me now! *Still thinking about it. I prefer the terms " Chose" before I was born.