Session 9 Marriage--Part I

Welcome to our visitors this morning--Billy and Kelley Gable. The Gables have recently moved from Giddings, Texas and have two children, Tyler(7) and Amanda(5).

Today's lesson with Bill and Anabel Gillham changes the focus somewhat from our previous lessons. The focus changes somewhat from our relationship with God to our relationship with others as directed by God. As Bill asks a rhetorical question about how we are to build and maintain our relationship with our spouse, he says, "Let's turn to the manufacturer's owner's manual," as he holds up the Bible. Indeed, the Bible is the manufacturer's owner's manual for all issues and concerns. If our marriages are to be all that God intended them to be, then they must operate according to God's plan. As Bill said earlier in this series, "God's job description is that He runs things." He is the supreme authority figure and, as such, has established His plan for marriage.

Bill points out that the Bible establishes that men and women are equal with different roles assigned by God (Genesis 5:2). God made the woman and thus completed the whole man (Genesis 2:18 and Genesis 2:23).

Bill made reference in today's lesson to the world's view of marriage. He described four different world views--all of which are lacking. The world often views marriage in one of the following ways:
Casual view--no lasting commitment
Feelings view--based on current passion
Separate lives view--living like roommates
Dictatorial view--male is dominant and superior.
None of these views represent the Godly expectations for marriage.

Most of the remainder of today's lesson deals with the needs of the female and male. Spiritually, both the male and female need to know Jesus Christ. Emotionally, the husband needs praise from his wife. The wife needs tender loving care. Perceptually, the husband needs to believe that he is the head of the relatiohship. The wife needs the husband to listen to her. Physically, the husband and wife need a sexual relationship, but not surprisingly, they most often view the sexual relationship differently.

What a great lesson! I hope you will take a look at the book's parallel comments regarding this topic. Bill and Anabel suggest the following action before the next session: In the quietness of prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to help you focus on those areas where YOU can improve in your marriage. May the Lord bless your marriage and your family this week.

If you would like to study Biblical references to Bill and Anabel's teaching this week and for the next three weeks, take a look at the following scriptural references:
John 13:34
1 Cor. 7:1-6
Eph. 5: 21-33
Phil. 3: 8-10
Col. 3:18-19
1 Peter 3: 1-7

August 15 Overcoming Temptation & Giving Burdens to God

Our lesson today was made up of two parts. The first part dealt with overcoming temptations and focused on I Corinthians 10:13. The second part of the lesson dealt with a visual and emotional tool that Anabel discovered to help Christians learn how to cast their burdens upon God.

Part I: I Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure."

With every temptation, God provides doors of escape so we can say "No" to the enemy and thus endure his attack. However, if the initial door of escape is ignored, not only do subsequent escape routes become narrower, they also become more difficult to access. Failing to take the way of escape provided does not mean the temptation was too strong and that I Cor. 10:13 does not work. It simply means that we ignored our opportunity to escape.

Just as the Bible says, God is faithful and He won't allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist. However, we must use the escape plan that He intends for us to use. Calling out to the Lord at the edge of sin and asking Him to deliver us is a dangerous and costly habit. In so doing, we load ourselves with a heavier burden of temptation. Spiritual battles are won at the threshold of the mind, not in the mind.

Anabel shared the story of a high school girl on a date in order to illustrate the dynamics of temptation. Within every temptation, there are doors of escape. Thoughts come from the Holy Spirit, your sound mind, and the power of sin. All these thoughts are manifested in first-person pronouns. Subsequent doors of escape are narrower than the first door was. Anabel shared a story of a vacuum cleaner salesman who gained access to her home and how much more difficult it was to get rid of the salesman than it would have been if she had met him at the door of her house. The strongest defense against temptation is at the first way of escape, the threshold. Say "No" to the devil's temptation--and mean it. Prepare for Satan at the threshold of your mind, remembering that in Christ, victory is already yours.

PART II--How to Give a Burden to the Lord

Psalms 68:19 says, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden..."I Peter 5: 7 says, "Cast all your anxiety upon Him." Psalm 55:22 says, "Get rid of the burden. Throw it onto the Lord." God commands us to give our burdens to Him. It is not a suggestion. There is no need to package them nicely; just give them to Him.

Anabel suggests the following: Get a piece of paper, an envelope, a pen, a marker, a watch, a brick, and a helium balloon with string on it. Go somewhere where you can be by yourself. With your marker, write your burden on the balloon. Hold the brick and the string to the balloon in your hand--with your arm outstretched. Tell the Lord everything about your burden while holding the string and the brick in your outstretched hand. Hold this "burden" until you can't stand it any longer, then simultaneously drop the brick and let go of the balloon. Immediately, write on the paper the time and date that you gave God your burden, and write at the bottom of the page, "And He took it." Put the paper in the envelope and seal it. Put a few notes around the house, with the date and time on them, to remind yourself that you gave your burden to the Lord--and He took it. Continually thank God for taking your burden. This practical exercise will give you a solid reminder that you really did give your burden to the Lord. But, you must let go. Here is a poem Anabel shared to end the lesson today:

Just as my child brings his broken toys with tears for me to mend
I took my broken dreams to God because He was my friend.
But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How could you be so slow?"
"What could I do my child?" He said,
"You never did let go."

The enemy will ferociously tempt you to take your burden back. But it is no longer yours; you gave it to the Lord.


Cindy and I will be vacationing with our girls in the Seattle area next week. We hope to attend church next Sunday at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Thanks to Beth Miles for agreeing to bring the lesson next week. We shall look forward to seeing you again on August 29.

"Dealing With Your Emotions"--The Life by Bill Gillham

VISITORS TODAY
We were pleased to welcome Tim and Jessica Pierce to class this morning. The Pierces have three children: Mikagle McDaniel(2/7/2002), Sean McDaniel (9/19/2003), and Hailey McDaniel (7/21/2005).
We have been blessed all summer with a steady stream of visitors. Let's continue to welcome our visitors and make them feel at home. I always follow-up with a letter or e-mail to our visitors inviting them to join our class. If any of you would like to make contact also, just let me know and I will provide contact information.

In today's lesson, Dr. Gillham began with a story about a bear--a mean, man-eating bear in Alaska. He asked us to imagine that we were walking along the Alaskan prairie when we saw the bear galloping toward us at break-neck speed, intent on having us for lunch. As we consider our options, we run into a cabin made of railroad ties...in other words, it is sturdy and stable. We lock the door behind us and we notice a small window in the front of the cabin. The window is large enough for the bear to look through and to stick his front paw through. However, we are safe. The bear is unsuccessful in every effort to invade the cabin. The diagram above comes from the leader's guide to today's lesson and is the diagram that was shown during the lesson. It illustrates how our mind and our emotions influence our will and our actions.

Dr. Gillham states, "Emotions are a powerful force in our lives. We dare not ignore them, but neither should we be ruled by them. God intends that we 'walk by faith,'and faith is anchored in the mind, not the emotions." In this lesson, Dr. Gillham shares four steps to help us understand how not to be dominated by our emotions, but rather to walk by faith in consistent victory.

STEP 1--TRUTH
In the case of the bear story, you are safe in the cabin. But, unless you know that you are safe from the bear, you can still die from heart failure. All of our lives, we have heard the saying, "What you don't know won't hurt you." However, Bill helps us to understand that in the case of your spiritual walk, what you don't know can and will destroy you. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)

STEP 2--FAITH
As the bear story progresses and as time passes, you eventually begin to realize that you are safe inside the cabin. Bill calls this "cabin faith." Whether you are talking about "cabin faith" or Christian faith, the issue is not the amount of faith. The main issue is the object of your faith. You can believe you are safe inside the cabin and not act on your faith and still die from heart failure.

STEP 3--WORKS (behavior, performance): Act like you are safe.
If you were in the cabin and the bear continued to ram his head against the door, shaking every timber in the building and he continued to growl and swat his paw through the window seeking to reach your body and you continued to see his bared teeth as he growls, your emotions would still have great difficulty buying the fact that you were safe. As I mentioned in class, I would still be looking for more protection, more insurance....such as a high caliber weapon or a long, sharp spear...anything that I might use to fend off the assault. However, Bill points out that regardless of what your emotions are feeling, you can choose to act like you are safe, lining your behavior up with reality. As Bill mentioned, you could even choose to lie down on the floor and catch up on your Bible reading. Remember from last week the definition of a hypocrite. If you begin to act like who you are, "feeler" will not like it and sin will accuse you of being a hypocrite; but you will be walking by faith, believing the truth, living in reality.

STEP 4--FEELINGS--You finally begin to feel safer, sort of.
You will never gain total control over your emotions. Even Jesus dealt with emotions at Gethsemane, but He still had peace. Some people say that they have lost their peace of mind when things go wrong, but they never really had peace of mind in the first place; they had peace of feel. True peace, the "peace that passes understanding," is knowing that the Father has everything under control and that He is conforming you to the image of Christ.

Here is a challenge from this lesson:
Pray, "Lord, begin a new work in me. I'm going to feel weird when I act differently than I feel. I am trusting You to make my identity in Christ a reality in my life. You, not my emotions, are the essence of my identity. I do not want the truths I am learning to be just information. Right now, as best as I understand it, I offer myself as a living sacrifice to You to do Your will in me."

Have a great week. Don't hesitate to contact me personally if I can help you in any way.

Jimmy

Why We Still Struggle; Channel 1 and Channel 2 August 1, 2010

This week's lesson with Dr. Bill and Anabel Gillham deals with the inner war that we all experience within our own minds and conscience as we struggle to honor God in a world where we face constant influences and suggestions and life options that are not Godly. Bill points out that many of us mistakenly believe that this inner war is between the old man which is symbolized by Adam and his decision to decide for himself what direction he wishes to take and the new man which is symbolized by our walk with Jesus in faith. However, as Bill states, such a struggle would mean that we are a house divided. The scripture clearly states that a house divided against itself cannot stand. So, what is it we are fighting against?

Dr. Gillham points to Ephesians 2:4-6

"Eph 2:4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:" (ASV)


Looking at these verses, Dr. Gillham points out the verb tense (past), emphasizing that this is a "done deal." God loved us, He raised us up with Him, and made us to sit in the heavenly places. You and I, as Children of God, are already sitting at the right hand of the Father. Then, why do we still struggle?

Dr. Gillham points out that the scripture says Heaven is up. But it doesn't say how far up. He suggests that we imagine heaven is one inch off the surface of the earth. If that were true, we would be standing with our feet planted on the earth, with our body extending into the realm of Heaven. You are united with Christ spiritually and are a partaker of His divine nature (See 2 Peter 1:4). Your soul and spirit are sealed in the Holy Spirit (See 1 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, and Eph. 4:30). Then, why do we still struggle? How can we be standing with our body in heaven and still face temptation, and worse, still fail?

Dr. Gillham points out that Satan is a great counterfeiter. God is your father. However, Satan seeks to be God. Satan is the false god and the "father of lies." Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Satan's false messiah is the antichrist who will appear on this earth in the last days (See 2 Thess. 2:3-4). Satan counterfeits the Holy Spirit with the power of sin.

Consider how the Holy Spirit works: He indwells you; He interprets the circumstances of life to you; He dialogues with your mind. John 14:26 states, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." The power of sin is going to function in the same manner as the Holy Spirit, but with the opposite intent.

Genesis 4:7 is the first reference to "sin" in the Bible. Here we find that sin is a noun, not a verb. God's word is personifying sin. The word "sin" appears 41 times in Romans five thru eight. 40 of these occurences are nouns. Only 1 is a verb. Romans 7 gives a clue to the way sin, the noun, works. In Romans 7:20, sin is clearly identified: "Rom 7:20 But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me." (ASV) In verse 7:15, only the pronoun "I" is used: "Rom 7:15 For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practise; but what I hate, that I do." (ASV) What happened to sin in verse 15? Sin is masquerading in verse 15 as "the old you" that was crucified with Christ, and he's imitating the old man. In other words, according to Bill, the power of sin impersonates the old man, speaking to you--the new creation--with first person pronouns (I, me, myself), using your accent and your one of voice. (Wow! That is a scary thought--my accent and my tone of voice?)

That is why it seems like the old man is still alive, even though the Scriptures state clearly that he is dead. He was crucified and buried with Christ (see Romans 6:4-6 and Gal. 2:20). Here is how Dr. Gillham describes it: "Some versions of the Bible use the term "sin nature," but this is not a Biblical term and is not a literal translation of the original language. If you are born again, then sin is no longer your nature, but rather an alien power that works in you." The key concept is, "Nature" defines the essence of a person or thing. As a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, you still have sin in you (Rom. 7:21-23); but it is not your essence (nature). You do not have a "sin nature; you have a new nature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). As a new creature in Christ, the law of God is written on your heart. You long to obey God (2 Cor. 3:3).

Bill describes two "television channels" that control our thinking. Channel 1 is described as the location of sin as identifed in Romans 7:23 "Rom 7:23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members." (ASV)

Bill uses the stimulus of a "curvy lady" to describe the process by which temptation and sin enter our lives. The diagram at the top of this blog outlines the process of how our eyes and our mind allow satan to influence and tempt us. Bill points out that temptation comes from the devil and your true desires come from God. In order to combat this powerful tempter, we must take every thought captive (see 2 Cor. 10:5) and say "No" to temptation (see 1 Cor. 10:13). Bring Christ on line to give you victory. You are dead to sin and alive to God, so act like what you are--dead to sin. James 4:7 states, "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (ASV)

Bill suggests that we change our tuner from Channel 1 to Channel 2. Channel 2 is synonymous with walking in the Spirit and setting your mind on reality, determining to depend upon Christ, and declaring that you desire for Him to express His life through you.

People believe they are being hypocritical if they act contrary to how they feel. This is Satan's definition of a hypocrite. The true definition of hypocrisy is, "pretending to be what you are not." If you begin to act like who you are, your feeler may not agree and sin will accuse you of being a hypocrite. The truth is, you are walking by faith, acting like who you really are and aligning your life on the truths in God's Word. Bill stated, "Your old flesh patterns are like your high-school algebra; they will dissipate from lack of use."

Cindy and I both experienced this concept this week. Our old knowledge of high school algebra has dissipated. We had a young man come to our home one evening this week for assistance and tutoring in a college algebra class he is taking. Cindy taught math for more than 30 years and I took advanced math classes through integral calculus and differential equations during my early years as an engineering major. Surely, together, we could work these college algebra problems in a breeze. WRONG! We worked for hours. While we were finally able to work most of the problems, I doubt if we were able to explain them sufficiently to help the student learn what he needed to understand the concept. Lack of use had caused our skills to dissipate. Bill says the same thing happens when we stop using those "green highways" and old flesh patterns that lead to sin. Think about it. It makes sense!

Let's all try to live on Channel 2 this week.

Jesus Loves Me

Wow! What a lesson we shared with Bill and Anabel Gillham this morning in Sunday School. First, Anabel explained that God's Word is like a love letter written to the one He loves. I have never thought about the Bible as a love letter but I will from now on. Isn't it great to know that God cares for His children so much that He has given us "love letters" to help us know how to deal with the challenges of life. Of course, to benefit from that knowledge, we must be engaged in reading and studying the Word of God. Here is the BIG question: How often do you read and study the Bible? You can grade your own papger on this one. You know if your answer is adequate or not. If it is not, I encourage you to re-prioritize your schedule and be sure there is time for reading and studying the Word of God on a regular basis. It may mean that you have to get up thirty minutes earlier or it may mean that you have to do without the Starbucks on one day each week. Whatever it means to you, I believe that the investment will pay big dividends in your spiritual growth. Give it a try!

Next, Anabel showed a great illustration of the scriptural concept in John 14:20: "When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." She used envelopes to show how Jesus is in God, and how she and you and I are in Jesus, and how Jesus is in us. The critical teaching point of the illustration was the fact that Anabel had to let go of the envelopes for them to all be safely tucked inside the biggest envelope labeled "God." The key point is that we all have to let go and let God. We have to depend on God and not ourselves in order to experience the security of being in God and having Jesus in us.

Perhaps, the most powerful illustration of the lesson today was Anabel's story of her son Mason. Mason was a profoundly retarded little boy who was born into the Gillham household. As Anabel was preparing to take him back to the place where he was institutionalized, she finally came to that point where she admitted that she could not do it on her own. She had a need to communicate her love to her little boy and yet, he could not respond. She said that she stood before that little boy with grubby hands and a shirt with food all over it and saliva drooling out of his mouth and told him how much she loved him. Yet, he could not respond. It was at that point that he recognized the Lord telling her that He loved her the same way that she loved Mason. He loved her because she was His--nothing else was necessary. God loves us because we are His. We don't have to do anything....we can't do anything to earn His love. We are loved because we belong to Him. God loves you and me unconditionally. We are loved. "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. We are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so."

We had a visitor this morning: Kim Reynolds. Kim is married to a United States Marine and she has two children: Emalee who is six years old, and Danielle who is three years old. Please pray for Kim and her family this week.

It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your Sunday School Teacher. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can pray with you or help you in any way.

HAVE a GREAT WEEK!

Session 3--Our True Identity in Christ

Our lesson this week addresses our TRUE identity in Christ. We are asked at the beginning of the lesson to choose a number between 1 and 10 that represents our view of ourself. The lesson begins in the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17. Our identity is determined by birth, not by performance. When we are born into this world, we inherit the spiritual traits and nature of the old man, Adam, who, as we know, decided that he could be his own boss. He became the first lord of the ring. As humans, we inherited that broken nature.

However, God created ALL things for His purposes--including time. Faith requires the time dimension. When faith is no longer needed, time will cease to be. God is not controlled by His creation. He is not time dimensional. You and I are time-dimensional beings. Bill describes our timeline as shown in Figure 3-4 to the left. It is important to understand that God never allows a problem to come into our life for which He does not already have a solution. Isn't that a great thought?



As a descendent of Adam, you and I have inherited his spiritual characteristics. We are born with a dead spirit. Thus, we must be born again (see the story of Nicodemus, John 3: 1-15). As mentioned above, birth always determines identity. All we have to do to go to hell is show up on the planet as a descendent of Adam.
Salvation is a change in your nature and your identity from the inside out. When you enter into Christ's lifeline, you receive His nature (His spiritual characteristics) and His life. You receive a new present, a new future, and a new past.


Your heritage from Adam is history. God had to do away with your old identity in order to give you a new identity. God has no plan to make something beautiful of your life (in Adam). The plan is to kill it and start over again.

It is from the perspective of who you are in Christ that you understand your true identity and realize that Christ is your life. Review the information in "Your True Identity in Christ" to better understand who you are in Christ.

LINK TO LUNCH PICTURES JULY 11, 2010

Here are the pictures I took at lunch today. Sorry I couldn't name all the kids. I don't know if I got everybody (they were moving around pretty quick), but I got most of them.

Jimmy

You are invited to view Jimmy's photo album: Sunday School Lunch 7-11-2010