Today, we watched the first half of Session 2, “The Life”, with Bill and Anabel Gillham. In today’s lesson, we watched and listened as Bill described his own version of flesh. As Bill states, “Each of us has developed our own version of the flesh in order to get our needs met our own way.” Bill and Anabel will illustrate in their comments God’s desire to meet our deepest needs and the futility of trusting in the flesh.
As Bill begins his personal discussion of the flesh, he points toward the role played by his parents. Yet, he explains that the culprit in the development of his flesh is not his parents. The real culprit is Satan. Bill explains that he grew up in a home in which the role of husband and wife were reversed. According to Bill, this was 180 degrees counter to the instructions provided in the “Manufacturer’s Instructions”— the Bible. Bill explained how little boys have a need to discover and express their masculinity. They learn how to interact with females by interacting with their moms. If males are emasculated in their formative years, their flesh usually develops toward one of three patterns according to Bill. Homosexuality may manifest itself if the child gives up on being male. Passivity can be a path chosen by young men in this circumstance. In the case of passivity, he is likely to adopt a philosophy in which he agrees to be anything someone else wants him to be as long as he is accepted. The third path chosen by young men raised in this environment is machismo. In this circumstance, the young male employs macho behavior to try to gain masculine acceptance. This third circumstance is the one that Bill described as his own personal version of the flesh. By trying to meet his own needs, which Bill calls “Playing Lord of the Ring”, he collared himself with emotional, mental, and behavioral flesh patterns.
Bill felt like he needed to be a “MANLY MAN” to meet his need to be accepted. He transposed that expectation onto his own sons and onto his wife as well. The consequences were devastating for his family. It is important to remember that fleshly patterns are developed in response to your “stuck feeler” and will bring you into conflict with God, yourself, and others.
Next week, we will hear the touching story of Anabel’s personal version of the flesh. I hope you will be present to join us in hearing this story and in our discussion and application of the lessons learned from both of these stories.
CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: Craig handed out a copy of the “Flesh Inventory” during class this morning. I hope you will take a look at the “Flesh Inventory” and apply it to your life. Think this week about the “chains” that are holding you in bondage as a result of your personal version of the flesh. Keep in mind that none of us are capable of freeing ourselves from this bondage. Only Jesus can free us from this bondage—we simply cannot do it ourselves.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
WEEK TWO—THE LIFE with Dr. Bill and Anabel Gillham
We watched the second half of Lesson One from “The Life” Series by Dr. Bill and Anabel Gillham this week. Dr. Gillham went into more detail about the human design. Humans are made up of three components: body, soul, and spirit (according to 1 Thess. 5:23).
The Spirit is that 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 this is why you need to be “born again.” (See John 3: 1-15)
The Soul is your unique personality and is comprised of three parts:
(1) The mind—Dr. Bill calls this your “thinker.”
(2) The emotions—Dr. Bill calls this your “feeler.”
(3) The will—makes decisions. It is like a light switch; it is either on or off. According to Dr. Bill, you don’t actually make up your mind about anything; you make up your will.
The body is referred to by Dr. Bill as your “earth suit.” It is the part of your being which houses your soul and spirit while you are here on earth. It is the vehicle through which you relate to people and the environment while you are on earth. Keep in mind that you are a spiritual being with a soul in a body, NOT a physical being with a spirit.
Bill points out that both the mind and the emotions are quick to respond to stimuli, but the emotions are much slower to recover. When one is chronically exposed to harmful stimuli (e.g. unhealthy relationships), 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 flesh most often requires you to choose to walk by what God’s word says rather than by what you feel.” (Gillham, p. 10).
Bill points out that before we can blame our parents for the way our self-perception (programming) developed, we must look to see how they were raised, and how their parents were raised, and how their parents were raised, etc. He says that 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 our parents or any other human being. Our battle is against the power of the enemy and his principalities (See Eph. 6:12).
Bill also points out in this lesson that PBA (performance-based acceptance) is the most common influence in the programming of the flesh. “If you perform well, I will accept you. If you don’t, I won’t.” Bill states, “Schools are a major source of PBA.” (Gillham, p. 12)
Dr. Tracey has promised to bring copies of the Flesh Inventory for class members to review next week. If you do not have access to the Gillham book, I hope you will take time to study this inventory that is included in the book.
Come join us next week as we begin Lesson # 2: “Bill and Anabel’s Flesh.” See you next Sunday.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Life—DVD SERIES WITH BILL AND ANABEL GILLHAM
In 1987, Dr. Bill Gillham wrote a book called Lifetime Guarantee: Making Your Christian Life Work and What to Do When It Doesn’t. In 1993, the book was published by a new publisher, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon. (ISBN: 978-1-56507-075-2). For the next few months, we will be sharing a DVD study based on this book in which Dr. Gillham and his precious wife Anabel share the scripture with us in a simple, down-home style that speaks to our soul helps us learn how to live the Christian life more abundantly and what we can do when we realize that we are not living the spiritual life that God expects from each of us. Many of us in this class benefitted from the series when we used it in Sunday School in 2010. After consultation with our Sunday School Coordinator, Dr. Scasta and I have agreed that a re-visit to the Gillham study could be a great blessing to our Sunday School class. That is our prayer. If you did not buy the book referenced above, I strongly encourage you to buy a copy for yourself and your spouse and to read through the book as we study the weekly lessons. The book will reinforce concepts discussed in the weekly lesson and the weekly lesson will provide clarity and detail to issues addressed in the book.
Since our original study of this series, both Anabel and Bill have gone to be with the Lord. Anabel left her “earthsuit” on November 7, 2010 at the age of 82 and Bill graduated into his heavenly home on June 23, 2011 at the age of 84. Even so, thanks to God and to modern technology, we can continue to learn from the wisdom and discernment of these two dedicated Christian teachers just as if they were sitting in the classroom with us. I hope and pray that you will be moved and inspired by the teachings of the Gillhams as we re-visit a “Lifetime Guarantee” in the coming weeks. I welcome your comments and thoughts on this blog and in our class as we study the teachings of Bill and Anabel Gillham. To God be the glory! Amen.
WEEK ONE: SUMMARY
The basic problem in our lives is the programming of our flesh. Christians have only two ways to walk in this world: in the flesh or in the spirit. Walking in the flesh is not just doing bad things. Walking in the flesh is depending on one’s self and one’s own abilities to get one’s needs met apart from Christ. Bill says that the cardinal sin for man is “Independence.” Would you agree?
Walking in the spirit is NOT religious activity. It is allowing Jesus to live His life through you. A key concept voiced by Bill: “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 Gal. 2:20).
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 earth with the need to be loved. Instead of getting our need met God’s way, we developed our own way of getting needs met. This is what the Bible calls “flesh.”
We are a spirit being in an earth suit. We are not a physical being on earth. The human design includes a body, soul, and spirit. The spirit is that 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 and this is why you need to be “born again.” (SEE John 3:1-15)
The Soul is your unique personality and is comprised of three parts: your mind (thinker), your emotions (feeler), and your will (decision-maker). The will works like a light switch. It is either on or off. Your body (earthsuit) houses your soul and spirit while you are on earth. It is the vehicle through which you relate to people and the environment. Remember, you are a spiritual being with a soul in a body, not a physical being with a spirit.
Both the mind and the emotions are programmed for quick response to stimuli. The emotions are much slower to recover after stimulation than the mind. When one is chronically exposed to harmful stimuli (e.g. unhealthy relationships), your emotions can become “stuck.” As the brain repeatedly receives the same type of information and interacts with the mind 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.
Key Concepts: 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.”
Bill provided a “Flesh Inventory” for Personal Reflection at the very end of today’s presentation. I have a PDF Copy of the Flesh Inventory. However, as of this time, I have been unable to find a way to attach it to this blog. If you can give me directions for attaching a PDF file or if you would just like me to send you a copy of the PDF via e-mail, just shoot me a message. Have a blessed week.
Jimmy
Since our original study of this series, both Anabel and Bill have gone to be with the Lord. Anabel left her “earthsuit” on November 7, 2010 at the age of 82 and Bill graduated into his heavenly home on June 23, 2011 at the age of 84. Even so, thanks to God and to modern technology, we can continue to learn from the wisdom and discernment of these two dedicated Christian teachers just as if they were sitting in the classroom with us. I hope and pray that you will be moved and inspired by the teachings of the Gillhams as we re-visit a “Lifetime Guarantee” in the coming weeks. I welcome your comments and thoughts on this blog and in our class as we study the teachings of Bill and Anabel Gillham. To God be the glory! Amen.
WEEK ONE: SUMMARY
The basic problem in our lives is the programming of our flesh. Christians have only two ways to walk in this world: in the flesh or in the spirit. Walking in the flesh is not just doing bad things. Walking in the flesh is depending on one’s self and one’s own abilities to get one’s needs met apart from Christ. Bill says that the cardinal sin for man is “Independence.” Would you agree?
Walking in the spirit is NOT religious activity. It is allowing Jesus to live His life through you. A key concept voiced by Bill: “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 Gal. 2:20).
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 earth with the need to be loved. Instead of getting our need met God’s way, we developed our own way of getting needs met. This is what the Bible calls “flesh.”
We are a spirit being in an earth suit. We are not a physical being on earth. The human design includes a body, soul, and spirit. The spirit is that 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 and this is why you need to be “born again.” (SEE John 3:1-15)
The Soul is your unique personality and is comprised of three parts: your mind (thinker), your emotions (feeler), and your will (decision-maker). The will works like a light switch. It is either on or off. Your body (earthsuit) houses your soul and spirit while you are on earth. It is the vehicle through which you relate to people and the environment. Remember, you are a spiritual being with a soul in a body, not a physical being with a spirit.
Both the mind and the emotions are programmed for quick response to stimuli. The emotions are much slower to recover after stimulation than the mind. When one is chronically exposed to harmful stimuli (e.g. unhealthy relationships), your emotions can become “stuck.” As the brain repeatedly receives the same type of information and interacts with the mind 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.
Key Concepts: 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.”
Bill provided a “Flesh Inventory” for Personal Reflection at the very end of today’s presentation. I have a PDF Copy of the Flesh Inventory. However, as of this time, I have been unable to find a way to attach it to this blog. If you can give me directions for attaching a PDF file or if you would just like me to send you a copy of the PDF via e-mail, just shoot me a message. Have a blessed week.
Jimmy
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