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

Lesson 2--Bill and Annabel's Flesh

We had a great time sharing lunch today at Fuddrucker's. Cindy and I enjoyed watching your little ones. While they did eat, they appeared to be more interested in the games. I especially enjoyed watching little Will Gutierrez. He stood in front of one of those games mesmerized. He would point the pistol toward the screen and periodically yell for himself. He was having a blast! And it did not matter to him that no one had activated the game with a quarter. He thought he was playing the game just like the big boys and girls and he was having a great time...for free. As Bo observed, it will be a sad day when he realizes that you have to put a quarter in the game for it to work. I also enjoyed meeting Kathleen's Mom. It is nice to meet folks for whom we have been praying. It was also great to see each of you who were able to make it. I always enjoy our fellowship time together.

As Craig reported, we have looked at the support materials that are available to accompany the DVD study series called "The Life." Beth passed around a couple of children's books available at the website and I passed around "The Life" Study Guide that accompanied the DVDs. Craig spoke with Karin Peters about the possibility of buying the book, "The Lifetime Guarantee" to accompany our study. We are going to explore the possibility of having the church provide each couple in our class with a copy of this book. We will keep you informed.

TODAY'S LESSON

In today's lesson, we saw both Bill and Annabell share their own personal versions of "the flesh" which weighed them down, enslaved them, and ultimately threatened to destroy their marriage. Even though it appears that many of our flesh patterns may have developed in response to our home environment when we were young children, Bill makes the point that our parents were playing "Lord of the Ring" just like we play "Lord of the Ring." However, our real enemy and the real culprit of our flesh development is satan himself.

One of the freightening things that I saw in today's lesson is the understanding that many of the things we do, the way we say things, the actions we take, and the attitudes we demonstrate could be impacting our kids in a negative way when it comes to the development of their own flesh. While Bill's flesh pattern was based on a need to be a "manly man" and to demonstrate strength and machismo, Annabel described a need to perform well, even a need to be perfect as her own flesh. Both of these flesh patterns worked against their marriage and both individuals fell victims to their own flesh patterns as well as those of their spouse. This destructive pattern drove Bill and Annabel to the brink of divorce.

In Bill and Annabel's story, we see that God used the incompatibility of their flesh to bring them to a place of trusting Him. Annabel shared that she reached the point when she cried out, "God, I can't! You are going to have to." God responded, "Thank you, Annabel. I will do it all for you!" And with this, Annabel began to grasp the truth of Galatians 2:20--that she had been crucified with Christ and that Christ would live His life through her.

Your flesh and my flesh may be different from Bill and Annabel's. However, we all have flesh and we all behave in ways that are fleshly. The sooner we recognize these patterns and the sooner we admit that we simply cannot defeat the enemy, the sooner we are in a position to be delivered from the slavery of sin. We must turn it over to God. He will do it all for us. In addition to freeing us from the terrible bondage of fleshly living, our freedom in our marriages and in our homes is likely to help our own kids to avoid some of the destructive behaviors, attitudes, and emotions that are often based on subtle messages that were received during upbringing. Probably, none of us can avoid passing on some negative thoughts, actions, or attitudes to our children. However, we can minimize such teachings if we are willing to lean on God completely--to be crucified with Him and to allow Him to live through us (Gal. 2:20). Amen.

The Life: Session 1 Programming of the Flesh

REMINDER: LUNCH WITH THE FAMILY AT FUDDRUCKERS NEXT SUNDAY IMMEDIATELY AFTER WORSHIP SERVICE

PLEASE ANSWER THE ONE-QUESTION POLL AT THIS BLOG SITE. THANKS. JIMMY

In Session I of "The Life", Bill Gillham pointed out that there are really only two ways for Christians to walk (behave) in this world: according to the flesh, and in the spirit. He helped us to understand this key concept: "The Christian life is not difficult to live; it is impossible. Jesus Christ is the only one who has ever really lived the Christian life. He is the only one who can live it today, and that is exactly what He wants to do--through you (see John 15:5 and Galatians 2:20). Dr. Gillham pointed out these three basic points:
1. God is love. You were created by God to be loved unconditionally. Only God loves unconditionally, therefore you need God.
2. God created laws (ways) to govern the universe. All of His ways are good.
3. Each of us showed up on planet earth with the need to be loved. Instead of getting our need met God's way, we developed our own ways of getting our needs met. This is what the Bible calls "flesh." The cardinal sin of man is independence from God.

The human design includes the body, soul, and spirit (I Thess. 5:23). The Spirit is the dimension of your being through which you relate to God. At the time of your physical birth, your spirit is dead to God. This condition is inherited from Adam, the first man, and that is why you need to be "born again" (see Jn. 3:1-15).

The soul is your unique personality and is comprised from three parts: 1) the mind, 2) the emotions, 3) the will. Your body, called your "earth suit" by Dr. Gillham, houses your soul and spirit while you are on earth. It is the vehicle through which you relate to people and the environment. You are a spiritual being with a soul in a body, not a physical being with a spirit.

Both the mind and emotions are quick to respond to stimuli, but the emotions are much slower to recover. When you are chronically exposed to harmful stimuli, your emotions can become "stuck." As the brain repeatedly receives the same type of information and interacts with the mind, will, and emotions in the same ways, those programs become deeply ingrained. Bill refers to these programs as "green highways." After you are born again, these "green highways" become your unique version of the flesh. Walking in the Spirit most often requires you to choose to walk by what God's Word says rather than by what you feel. Bill's working definition of the flesh: "Your old ways which you developed through independent living."

Before we blame our parents for the way our self-perception (programming) developed, we must look to see how our parents were raised and how their parents were raised and their parents were raised, etc. If we look back far enough, we will find the enemy of God, Satan, who originally deceived Adam into thinking independence from God was a good plan. The battle we face is not against your parents or any other human being. Our battle is against the power of the enemy and his principalities (reference Eph. 6:12). One of the biggest examples of flesh is performance-based acceptance. If you perform well, I will accept you. If you don't, I won't.

Bill referred to a "Flesh Inventory" in his comments today. I shall attempt to copy the inventory below for your review.


Questions for Personal Reflection
When you were a child, what people and experiences had the most significant impact on what you believe, think, and feel? Were the messages you received generally positive or negative? Work through the following "Flesh Inventory." Ask the Holy Spirit to use this inventory to help you identify your unique version of the flesh. Check the issues that you struggle with and put a number from 1-10 beside each check--with 1 being low and 10 high--to indicate the intensity of your struggle. Is your "feeler" stuck at the top of your emotional Richter Scale? In the following sessions of The Life, you will discover how to appropriate what God has done through Christ to free you from these patterns!

____Anger ____Envy ____Indifference to others'____Overly quiet ____Self-gratification
problems (obsessions)
____Anxiety ____False Modesty _____Overly sensitive to criticism

___Argumentative____Fear____Inferiority Feelings ____Overly submissive____Self-Hatred

___Attraction to astrology___Feelings of Helplessness ___Inhibited___Passivity

____Self-indulgence

____Bigotry ____Feelings of Rejection____Insecurity____Perfectionist
____Self-justification

____Bitterness____Feelings of Stupidity____Intemperance____Prejudice____Self-pity

____Boastful____Feelings of worthlessness____Jealousy____Pride____Self-reliant

____Bossy____Gluttony____Laziness____Profane____Self-righteousness

____Causing dissension____Greed____Loner____Projecting Blame____Self-sufficient

____Conceited____Guilt____Low Self-Discipline____Prone to Gossip____Selfish Ambition

____Controlled by emotions____Hatred____Low Self-worth____Quick to speak ____Sensuality

____Controlled by peer pressure____Hostility____Lust for Pleasure ____Racism____Sexual Lust

____Covetousness____Homosexual Lust____Materialistic ____Rebellion at Authority ____Slow to Forgive

____Critical tongue____Idolatry____Must strive to repay any kindness shown to you

____Resentment ____Stubborness

____Deceitfulness____If it feels good, do it ____Restlessness ____Temper

____Depression(non-organic) ____Impatience____Negativism____Sadness____Unlovely

____Dominance____Impulsiveness____Nervousness____Self-Centered____Vanity

____Drug Dependency____Impure thoughts____Occult Involvement____Self-confidence

____Withdrawal

____Drunkenness____Inadequacy____Opinionated____Self-depreciation____Workaholic

____Worrier


God Bless America on this July 4! Hope to see you all at the July 4 Celebration at Church in a couple of hours! Have a great week.

Jimmy