Messages with tag - Volition

Legalism has been described as a list of things one should and shouldn’t do, and, by adhering to that list God will bless us. It reduces spirituality to morality. Is there anything wrong in aspiring to Biblical standards? No, as long as we understand that adhering to standards does not cause us to grow spiritually nor does it cause God to bless us. Every spiritual blessing already belonged to us at the moment we believed. All we have to do is live in light of that reality. How is that accomplished?

For a believer, dominion of the sin nature died with Christ. To have new life the old life must die. Because our sin nature died with Christ (though our new natures continue to war with it during this life), we have the new life Christ’s resurrection makes possible. Our new life in Christ is empowered only by another gift, the Holy Spirit – something an unbeliever cannot have, no matter how moral.

It’s never too late to understand the importance of getting God’s wisdom into our souls NOW, but NOW has a way of fading into yesterday which makes it too late to apply the wisdom we lost yesterday to the crisis we’re having today. God doesn’t make it difficult for us by hiding His wisdom under a rock. Wisdom, personified here as a woman, screams at us from every avenue of perception. The difficult choice is to continue to disregard it. But some do disregard it and become fools. Understand the different categories in the downward spiral of foolishness as we repeatedly reject obvious Truth. God’s offer of wisdom is continuous, but if you continually reschedule NOW to tomorrow, the guarantee is that foolishness gains momentum in your future.

The prior four verses are the “if you will” verses which highlight volition and challenge commitment. Then what? Are the next verses a formula for predicting deliverance from adversity and ending in wisdom? Deliverance doesn’t precede wisdom. Wisdom precedes God’s protection. Passion of focus on intimacy with God and His Truth is liable to incur intense arrows of distraction to tempt and challenge every decision one makes to follow wisdom. Is this obstacle course ours to negotiate? God is the defender of His Truth. When we are absorbed in His truth He becomes our personal shield. A shield doesn’t prevent arrows. It deflects arrows which seek to diminish God’s Truth with the lies which lead to death and obstruct our path to wisdom.

Click on the notes link below to access the Scripture Memory Plan Dr. Dean mentioned during this class.

What do you fear most? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Losing your job? Cancer? The death of a loved one, or even your own death? Proverbs tells us one thing we should really be fearing. Listen to this lesson to understand the true meaning of the "fear of the Lord" and the many blessings and benefits that follow. Discover how being oriented to the authority of God is the glue that holds everything together. See the importance of governments having leaders who fear the Lord.

Insistent questions swirl around God "hardening Pharaoh's heart." Could it mean God made Pharaoh do the evil things he did to the Jews? Paul tackles this question by going to Old Testament scriptures. Learn four ways Old Testament scriptures are used in the New Testament. Review the three Hebrew words for "hardened". See how God's sovereignty is expressed in the destiny of nations but that everyone has the free will to choose or reject God's plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.