Sermon Tone Analysis

Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)

 

 

You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.

 

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth," (John 4:24)

 

 

                           Living Grace

 

 

                THE BENEFITS OF GRACE (Tit 2:11)

 

 

       Every believer-priest has the privilege and responsibility of preparing himself for the study of the Word of God.

This preparation involves the grace provision of the "rebound technique."

The benefits, the profits in the study of the Word of God, the avoidance of hang-ups, the avoidance of disillusionment, and the ability to focus on the message depends upon the ministry of the Third Person of the God-head in the Spirit-filled believer.

The Holy Spirit does not control the life when we are in a state of carnality.

The only way we can be filled or controlled by the Spirit is through, (1Jn 1:9):

 

       If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Therefore, confession of every known sin should precede the study of the Word so that you can assist yourself of all the benefits of His grace.

This should always be a matter of privacy.

The priesthood functions best, in privacy under conditions of silent prayer!

There is absolutely no way any believer can avoid the Person of God the Father.

There is no way we can ever escape His plan.

He knew about us in eternity past; we could not escape then, and we cannot escape now.

There is no corner of the earth to which we can run, there is no activity of sublimation, and there is no way that we can bury ourselves in "Cosmos Diabolicus," (The Matrix).

We belong to Him; we are His children.

He has placed around us a wall of fire, which is His making, His doing.

(Psa 139:1-18; Zec 2:5)

       Every blessing we have ever had, every wonderful thing we have ever discovered, every worthwhile thing in this life, and even many things that may not be, are the result of grace.

And since grace belongs to God, and since it is an expression of His character and His Person, and since grace is the key to our capacity to love Him, I trust that God the Holy Spirit will make these things very real to you as you meditate on His matchless grace from the passage before us in, (Tit 2:11): For the grace of God has appeared, bringing Salvation to all men.

On the surface, it looks as though this verse could be explained in about three minutes.

However, nothing could be farther from the Truth!

Two fantastic Doctrines reside in this particular verse; in fact, almost every other word is a category of Doctrine.

Let's take the first phrase: "The grace of God."

 

       THE PROVISION OF GRACE IN THE GARDEN

 

       We have to start with the last word of this phrase --- God; because of Who and what God IS.

He has, within His own character, a number of facets which are not contradictory, which are absolute, and which are perfectly reconciled to each other.

God has lived with Himself FOREVER!

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE!

There never was a time when He did not live with Himself; there never was a time when He was disappointed in Himself, or a time when He failed, nor when He thought He had failed, when He was discouraged, upset, depressed or unstable.

GOD IS EVERYTHING; that we are not!

When we came from the hand of God in the form of our original parents, mankind was in a state of perfection.

Sin was only a possibility because of volition.

Furthermore, man enjoyed perfect environment --- Bible class, as well as pleasure every day!

That was it.

It may be difficult for some of you to think that Bible class might be a part of perfect environment.

But in perfection, that was the pattern and that was the story.

Apart from naming the animals; no work --- all play!

And it certainly didn't make Adam and Eve dull.

So far as we know, they never had a complaint.

But they did have one thing that eventually fouled it up: they had volition, or free will.

By an act of their own volition, they actually destroyed their perfect relationship with each other, as well as with God.

Now, I don't like the word "innocent" in connection with Adam and Eve because there are two things that an innocent, naive person will never do: one, come to Bible class every day; and two, have sex every day.

But that is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve over a period of perhaps a hundred years.

Now, how can two people have so much and "blow it''?

You must understand that we are merely looking at the historical facts of Truth; we are not criticizing Adam and Eve.

If I could sit back and look at my life and say that it was perfect, I might look down my nose a little bit at them; but somehow I have not been able to manage it.

Yet I never think about Adam and Eve without wondering why they "blew it."

Now you stop and think about it.

What was there to make them unhappy in the Garden?

Food?

No! Did they lack any fun?

No! Did they lack any Truth?

No! And then add a few other things: it was quiet in the Garden --- except when they were frolicking; no bad music; no noisy neighbors; and --- pardon the expression no children!

No problems with schools and busing!

Can you imagine anything better?

They had everything… Never getting up to go to work… Never being tired… Spending the entire morning with your right man or right woman… Spending the afternoon in Bible class… Having a great evening probably living on a couple of hours' sleep and never having a wrinkle… No puffiness.

Everything they ate was good and healthy.

They never had bad weather, so no need for air conditioning.

And think about all the things they couldn't do.

You know that Adam was never jealous of Eve? Do you know that Eve never checked up on him?

Do you know that not once were they ever suspicious of each other?

Do you know that they never lied to each other?

Do you know that they never had a fight?

Do you know that they had so much fun they could hardly stand it?

Do you know that they had a phenomenal understanding of Bible Truth?

And the best Pastor-Teacher - Jesus Christ, Himself!

Well, how did they manage to "blow it"?

       Now I know that you don't think much about Adam and Eve because you just don't dwell on things so far in the past.

But I want to tell you how man is, and then, in contrast, how God Is; to help you understand the phrase "grace of God."   Man has something great and "blows it."

Oh, you and I have done the same thing.

Can you ever look back at your life at something that was so fantastic you couldn't believe it and then proceed to take steps to mess it up?

Or are you an unusual member of the human race?

Apparently some of you have never had any fun!

Did you ever reach a beautiful plateau, and, though you may not have realized it at the time.

Everything was so fantastic and so great that you started looking over your shoulder waiting for something horrible to happen?

It was just too good to be true.

I guess some of you have never been there.

But enough of you have for me to make the point.

By an act, or by a series of acts from your own volition, you ''blew it."

You walked into "Paradise" with dynamite --- mental attitude sins --- and blooey!

You threw a grenade of insult and anger.

You blew the whole thing apart.

Did you ever sit down and ask yourself why?

Why did I do this?

Because man, with his free will, could never do anything by his own merit or by his own ability BUT "blow it"!

And that was even before he had an old sin nature!

Adam and Eve didn't have a sin nature.

And God never solicited to sin --- not once!

The reason why Adam and Eve "blew it" comes out so beautifully and so clearly in the third chapter of Genesis.

The woman heard a couple of things that appealed to her.

She thought she was low on the totem pole.

There was Jesus Christ coming to them in Person every day; (Gen 3:8) there was Adam, her husband, who made fantastic love to her, gave her the greatest soul activity in the world; gave her everything that is perfect in Spiritual Virtue love.

(Also trees for the Body, soul and spirit; Gen 2:9) But she still had the feeling that she was a little low on the totem pole.

Then along came Satan, disguised as her pet serpent!