Hilltop Free Will Baptist Church

Mastering “…the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

Hilltop Free Will Baptist ChurchLearning to Serve:

Sword Sharpening for Men

Introduction of Teachers and Students

Teachers: The Father, The Son, andThe Holy Spirit

Students: Us


GoalTo conduct an expositional study, verse-by-verse, of

the epistles of John: John…………..21 chapters 1st John………5 chapters 2nd John……..1 chapter 3rd John………1 chapter Revelation……22 chapters


Why are We Here?

Why Are We Here?

Central Themes of the EpistlesThat Jesus Christ is the sign-working Son of God who gives

eternal life on the basis of His death, burial, and resurrection to all who will believe in Him,

that those same believers will one day be fully rewarded,that Christians are to recognize and to work for the truth

of the gospel,and that Jesus Christ will one day return to earth, destroy

all evil, and bring the kingdom of God to its glorious culmination


Why Are We Here?

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Romans 10:17

– It is important that we HEAR the Word of God!– It is important that we HEED the Word of God

“Learn God's Word. Memorize it. Hide it in your heart. Hide it in your mind. Then when opportunities arise, you can liberally and generously quote the Scripture.” Greg Laurie


Why Are We Here?

• 2 Timothy 2:15 states that we are to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”– What does it mean to “…show thyself approved”?– dokimazo – to test, to try, to make proof of– dokimos – tested, or tried (“tried men”)That which stands the test is dokimos, “approved.”


Sidebar on Greek Verbs

• Just an example of why it is important to understand the Greekwords used in thescripture

• All Greek verbs had tomeet five aspects, eachof which is clearlydefined or indicated by the verb in use

Person

Number

TenseVoice

Mood

Why Are We Here?

• 2 Timothy 2:15 states that we are to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”– What does it mean to “…show thyself approved”?– dokimazo – to test, to try, to make proof of– dokimos – tested, or tried (“tried men”)That which stands the test is dokimos, “approved.”


• Read the first part again – approved unto whom? “…approved unto God”

What is the one thing God holds higher than His own name?• Psalm 138:2b tells us “…for thou hast magnified thy word

above all thy name.” • Therefore, what could be more important in a Christian’s

life than a thorough understanding of His Word?And, if all of that is true…


Why Are We Here?

• Is God really gracious?• Is He really true?• Does He have integrity?• Does He keep His Word?• Is He really, really, going to judge us?

Our conduct before the world will reveal our real convictions about this…


Will We Stand Before God?

• Have you ever noticed that, no matter how loud you speak, no one hears? How can that be?

• “actions speak louder than words”• The church has a revolutionary vocabulary, but no one is listening…• “the world is sick and tired of the Church making such extraordinary

claims while living such ordinary lives!”Charles Spurgeon

WALK THE TALK…Jesus did!


Walk the Talk

Walk the Talk

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:Matthew 7:24

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.Matthew 15:7-8


Walk the Talk

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

John 8:31

Get busy living the message!!


Get busy living the message!!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.John 13:34-35

The importance of love cannot be overstated – recall the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


The Real Guts of the Gospel

The Real Guts of the Gospel

Our love for God is not measured accurately by how many times we say that we love Him, but by how many times we choose to obey Him because of our love for Him…Obedience from a heart of love toward God is the supreme act of the worship of Him which the First Commandment calls for.

Leah Rafaeli(The Lekarev Report)


• The Hologram Analogy• The Gospel in Genesis• Equidistant Letter Sequencing (David’s

Genealogy)• Love in the Bible


Some Interesting Insights…

Hologram Analogy(Fourier Transform)

• A form of lensless photography• Film records interference of light from the laser and

light from an object• In natural light, result can look like a darkroom mistake

(has no desirability)• Illuminate film with laser that created it to get a

window into a 3D universe…you can look behind the image vs. a picture

• Cut a piece out and you don’t lose the image – just look around the hole! (will lose resolution)


Hologram Analogy

• The Bible is like a hologram – viewed in natural light, it has “no form nor comeliness;” and “there is no beauty that we should desire” it (Isaiah 53:2)– Collection of old stories– Has no integrity to the natural man• “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the

Spirit of God” (1st Corinthians 2:14)


Hologram Analogy


Illuminate it with the Light that created it, andyou see a pictureof Jesus Christ!

Hologram Analogy


• If you were designing a communication system and were trying to minimize noise or avoid hostile jamming, you would spread the message across the available bandwidth (SST)

• The Bible does the same thing…– Where is the chapter on baptism?– Where is the chapter on salvation?– Key ideas are distributed throughout like a hologram or like a signal system– Tear out a page of the Bible and you have not lost visibility of Jesus Christ! (may

lose resolution, or detail)– This is not accidental…

“But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;”

Isaiah 28:13

Hologram Analogy

By the Way:

When you illuminate the

Bible with some spirit other than

the Spirit of God, you get

fraud and deceit

On the hologram, if you

illuminate it with a laser of a

different frequency, you get a distorted

image


The Gospel in GenesisAdam - Man

Kenan – sorrow, dirge, or elegy

Mahalalel - Mahalal which means blessed or praise; and El, the name for God – The blessed God


The Gospel in Genesis

Jared - from the verb yaradh, meaning shall come down.

Enoch – teaching or commencement (first of four generations of preachers) – the earliest recorded prophecy is from Enoch (Jude 14, 15)

Lamech – despairing (the root word is still present in our language today – lament, or lamentation)

Noah - derived from nacham, to bring relief or comfort (as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29)


The Gospel in GenesisAdam

Seth

Enosh

Kenan

Mahalalel

Jared

Enoch

Methusaleh

Lamech

Noah

Man

is appointed

mortal

sorrow

the blessed God

shall come down

teaching

his death shall bring

despairing

relief or comfort

Manis appointed

mortalsorrow

(but the)blessed God

shall come downteaching

(that)His death shall

bring(the)

despairingcomfort!


Today's Technology for an Unbelieving World

• Secret codes have been discovered hidden in the Bible…why are they there?”It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the

honor of kings is to search out a matter.”Proverbs 25:2

“I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the

ministry of the prophets.”Hosea 12:10


Searching Out a MatterWho

are the kings of who

m the Bible is speaking?

“And hast

made us

unto our God

kings and

priests: and

we shall reign

on the

earth.”

Revelation 5:10

We Are!!!

David’s Genealogy

Genesis 38 – Tamar and Judah Zarah and 1Pharez

2Hezron, 3Ram, 4Amminadab, 5Nahshon, 6Salmon, 7Boaz,

8Obed, 9Jesse, 10David

“Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.”

Ruth 4:18-22


David’s Genealogy• Embedded at 49-letter intervals

in the Hebrew text of Genesis 38 are the names Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, and David – in that order!

• Deuteronomy 23:2 says that a bastard is to be cast out of the congregation for 10 generations

• The inheritance of David is here prophesied before the days of Samuel!


"Beloved, let uslove one another; for Loveis of God, and everyone thatloveth is born of God, and knoweth God.He that loveth not, knoweth not God;for God is Love.“1 John 4:7-8

• Agape – an abstract or spiritual love; a willful love; to be totally given over to

• Phileo – heart-felt or spontaneous love; an affectionate love• Eros – a love shared between a husband and wife


Greek Words for Love

John 21:15-17So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jona,

lovest (agapeo) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest (agapeo) thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest (phileo) thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Agapeo vs. Phileo

Greek words for Love


The Romans developed a short sword-the Machaira, which, with its associated techniques, enabled them to conquer the world. It was only 24 inches long and was sharpened on both edges. But there was a secret to its effectiveness: training and practice. Its uniqueness was a liability unless it was used with the proper techniques, which required extensive practice.

Is there a lesson here for us?“And take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of

God.”Ephesians 6:17


Sword Sharpening

TRAININGAND

PRACTICE,PRACTICE, AND MORE PRACTICE

Sword Sharpening!

What Bible study was given by seven

different people, on twelve separate occasions (in just one book of the

Bible), always yielded remarkable results, and yet is

rarely given today?

Presenting Jesus Christ

as the Messiah entirely from the

Old Testament!

Bonus – Who were the seven people, and in what book did

this take place?

Sword Sharpening!

For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.Hebrews 4:12

Only the Word of God can discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.


Sword Sharpening!

• The sword is the offensive part of our armor• But it is two-edged: it is intended to be used

defensively as well as offensively• In addition to the "pulling down of strongholds”

(2 Corinthians 10:4), it was to be used in defense of the faith (1 Peter 3:15)

• Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible, is entirely devoted to describing the "Sword of the Spirit"-the Word of God


Some Techniques

Join a home or church Bible study

A group of close friends, open and interactive is one of the best ways to learn

Keep a journal!

When you come across something you don’t understand, write it down…the Holy Spirit will reveal in His time…

The proper use of our "Sword" requires training, and practice, practice, and

more practice, if we are to be effective for our Lord!


Some Techniques

• Avoid "Bible Bytes," or doctrinal snippets• Attempt to embrace "the whole counsel of God,“• Compare Scripture with Scripture

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it

shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.“

Isaiah 55:11


• To cast doubt on the veracity and authenticity of the Word of God (“Yea, hath God said?” – Genesis 3:15)

• Even when Satan quotes scripture, he puts a perverse twist to it

• It is fashionable to demean the Bible todayMastering “…the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

The Enemy’s Stratagem

• The Bible is an integrated message system• 66 books, about 40 authors, thousands of years…yet,• Every detail, every place name, even the mathematical properties of the

text are the result of deliberate and careful design (especially with John – Heptadic structure)

"Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one yot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.“Matthew 5:17-18


Supernatural Origin

How does God authenticate His message?

– By writing history before it happens– He alone knows the end from the

beginning (Isaiah 46:10)– We call this "prophecy" – To the Greek mind, prophecy is

prediction/fulfillment– To the Hebrew mind, prophecy is pattern


Outside of Time

2 Timothy 3:16“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

1. Teaching. When we read God's Word, we learn more about Him. The Bible teaches how His grace and His justice intersect, and also how He placed His Son Jesus on this earth as a sacrifice.2. Reproof. The more we read Scripture, the better we will understand it. The Holy Spirit may then bring to mind areas of our lives that cloud our relationship with God.3. Correction. God's Spirit wants to do more than simply convict us; He desires to correct sinful areas in our lives.4. Training in righteousness. Every time we read the Scriptures, God can reveal new truths to us. As we read, pray, and meditate on His Word, we slowly absorb the wisdom and knowledge of God.


2 Timothy 3:17

“That the man of God may be

perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all

good works.”

The Bible makes us adequate. No matter what

circumstance, trial, or tribulation arises, the truth

in scripture will help us face it effectively. The

Word equips us for good work. The Lord doesn't

save us simply to fill a pew in church; His desire is that

we spread His truth to others. Digging into God's

Word enables us to proclaim the gospel of Christ with confidence.


• Unconfessed Sin– He will tempt you to sin, then tell you that you are too bad to deserve

saving…• Ignorance of God’s Word

– IF we aren’t well-grounded in scripture, we can be misled by false teaching• Reliance on Emotion

– Satan is lord over the culture (2 Cor 4:4), which encourages us to trust in our feelings for guidance

The Enemy is already preparing his next attack


Satan is Waiting…

• Hilltop Church believes in a “know-so” salvation, not a “hope-so”…

• Underline the word know everywhere it appears in the epistles of John (John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Revelation)

• How many times will you underline know?• How many times does the word hope appear?• Read John chapter 1

HomeworkMastering “…the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

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