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VISITING PROGRAM
TRAINING CLASS
Fourth
Class
November 2, 1968
FORMAT:
1.
Open with prayer.
2.
World news discussion and drill (5
8 minutes).
3.
Difficult scripture drill (30 minutes).
4.
Sermonettes and evaluations (30
minutes).
5.
Recess (10 minutes).
6.
Lecture (one hour)
7.
Assignments for next class.
DIFFICULT
SCRIPTURES
Christ blotted out the law and
nailed it to His Cross (Col.
2:14).
A. No, Christ did not blot out the law. He blotted out the "HANDWRITING
OF ORDINANCES" (same
verse).
B. This could not refer to the law of
God. God's law is not "against
us"
and
"contrary to us" (same verse).
"The law is holy and the
commandment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12).
David said, "0 how love I thy law! It is my
meditation all the day"
(Psa.
119:97).
God's laws don't hurt
us--they help us. "Moreover by
them is thy
servant
warned: and IN KEEPING OF THEM IS
GREAT REWARD" (Psa. 19:11).
C. The context explains what
"ordinances" Paul is referring to:
"Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ" (Col. 2:8).
"Wherefore, if ye be
dead with Christ from the RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD,
why, as though living in the
world, are ye subject to ordinances,
(Touch not; taste not; handle
not; Which all are to perish with the
using)
after the commandments and doctrines of men?" (Col. 2:20-22).
What kind of ordinances? "Touch not, taste
not, handle not." In other
words: asceticism, Stoicism, Catholicism, meatless
Fridays, vegetarianism.
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It certainly doesn't mean
the Ten Commandments. It can't mean
the Feasts
where
people ate, drank and danced vigorously.
It can't mean the sacri-
ficial
law--the priest had a great portion of meat and had to handle and
slaughter
animals. This was a lusty way of
life.
D. The Greek words for HANDWRITING OF
ORDINANCES are cheirographon tois
dogmasin.
This means the note of guilt from keeping man's laws.
CHEIROGRAPHON, according to
the Greek Lexicon by Parkhurst means:
"Anything written with
the hand. . .a bond, note of hand. . it signifies
a sort of note under a man1 5 hand,
whereby he obliges himself to the pay-
ment of any debt." In other words, a note of debt or a note of
guilt.
In the same Lexicon by Parkhurst one of the meanings given for TOIS is
"from."
DOGMASIN simply refers to
law. (See Strong's Concordance). In this
case
it refers to the laws of men as proved in Section C above.
E. The note of guilt is OUR SINS. We have sinned by obeying the laws and
customs
of men rather than God. What Christ
blotted out is OUR SINS.
F. The Law was not nailed to the
cross--Christ was (John 19:18; 20:25).
He was made sin for us (II Cor. 5:21). Our sins were nailed to the
cross
in His body (I Pet. 2:24).
G. Colossians 2:15 shows
what Christ defeated. It was not the
Law:
"And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a show of them
openly,
triumphing over them in it." The
principalities and powers
referred to here are the
same as the "spiritual wickedness (wicked
spirits)
in high places" mentioned in Eph. 6:12--demons.
By making possible the
forgiveness of sin, Christ defeated the purpose
of
Satan and his demons. He made it
possible for sons to be born into
the
God Family.
*NOTE: It may be well to
emphasize here that only two things were nailed
to the stake at Golgotha:
1. The physical body of Jesus
2. The "note of guilt" -- the record
of our sins which Christ paid for
Himself in this sacrifice
of His own life
Therefore, NO LAWS of ANY
kind were nailed to the stake -- legal, cere-
monial, sacrificial or any other!
II.
What does the parable of the garments and the wine bottles mean and
what does
it have
to do with fasting? (Luke
5:36-39)
A. Jesus was answering a question. "Why do the disciples of John fast
often~
and make prayers, and
likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine
eat
and drink?" (Luke 5:33) He used this parable to help answer the
question.
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B. "No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if
otherwise, then
both the new maketh
a rent and the piece that was taken out of the new
agreeth not with the old." (Luke 5:36)
It doesn't make sense to put a
new piece of cloth on an old garment to
repair
it. After washing, the new cloth will
shrink and tear the old.
C.
"And no man putteth new wine into old
bottles; else the new wine will
burst
the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish" (Verse 37).
Strong's Concordance shows the
Greek word here translated "bottles" really
means
"wineskins." It would be
ridiculous to put new wine into an old
wineskin. An old wineskin has already stretched and
the fermentation of
new wine
would burst it.
D.
The new cloth and the new wine symbolize the new way of life Christ
was
bringing. We must change our total approach to God --
our methods and
purposes
in fasting, prayer, obedience, etc., when we are converted.
"Therefore, if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old
things
are
passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor.
5:17).
E.
Jesus gave these two examples as a lesson in incongruities. It would
make as little sense for His
disciples to fast while He was there as it
would to
put a new cloth on an old garment or new wine in an old wineskin.
We can't fit God's Truth into our
old way of life. For instance, if you
try to mix the truth of the
Sabbath or Divorce and Remarriage into your
old Methodist way of life and
concepts, it will indeed seem "hard" and
"burdensome"
to obey God--and will cause a "rent," etc.
The main reason for fasting is to
get closer to God. JESUS' DISCIPLES
DIDN'T FAST. They didn't need to fast to get closer to
Him because He
was
already with them. "And he said
unto them, Can ye make the children
of the bridechamber fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the
days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and
then
shall they fast in those days"
(Luke 5:34-35).
F.
"No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he
saith, The old is better" (Luke 5:39).
Christ had already explained why
His disciples didn't fast at that time.
This last analogy was to show why
the Pharisees and John's disciples did
fast. These men were not ready to accept the
example of Christ and His
disciples
as being right. They didn't want to
drink the "new wine"--
the new way of life that Christ
was bringing--because they felt the
"old
wine" of their customs, doctrines and practices was better.
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PRAYER,
FASTING AND MEDITATION
God has given us certain tools to
help us grow, overcome, and draw near to
Him. How we use these tools will determine how
God can use us -- in His
Work now, and in His kingdom in
the World Tomorrow! These tools are
Bible
study,
prayer fasting and meditation. In the last class we saw the
importance
of Bible study for our spiritual growth.
Today we are going
to see how we should use personal
prayer, fasting and meditation to this
end.
I.
PRAYER
A. Should We Pray
1. God Almighty Is the Source of
Everything
Everything we really want
and need comes from God! We tend to
forget this vital fact in
our modern, science-oriented, mechanical,
jangling,
intellectually vain society. We think
in terms of
happenstance, influencing
men, wheeling and dealing and working
the angles about 95% of
the time, and look to God only as a kind
of
last resort when we are really desperate.
I'm not talking about
the world -- I'm talking
about the average member of the Church of
God! But God is the source of power, knowledge,
progress, advance-
ment, organization, happiness, everything we want!
(James 1:17.)
The only source to go to to solve problems is God!
If you have
needs, whether spiritual
or physical, God is the source of every
good
gift. He is the source of wisdom,
understanding and knowledge
(Proverbs 3:6 and James
1:5). He is the source of peace (John 14:27),
power,
love, and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).
God is the source
of
promotion and advancement, not men (Psalms 75:6-7). He is our
protector,
(Psalms 91) He heals us and forgives us (Psalms 103:3).
And when our ways please
Him, He grants us favor even with those who
hate
us (Proverbs 16:7). God promises in
Proverbs 6:3 that if you
seek His help and guidance
in everything you do, He'll make even
your
thoughts a reality. Do you believe
this? You are one of a
select few who can talk to
and be helped by the Great Creator of
all
that exists!
Realize as you go to God
that you are going to the source and
fountainhead of all things
and He is able to bring about what you
want
and need. Your Father has the power to
make it right no
matter what your problem,
and set you free from guilt, trouble,
sickness,
trial.
2. You Can Receive Nothing,
Except from God
John 3:27 -- Once God calls and begins to work with you, you can
receive
nothing apart from Him. Realizing
this, you should seek
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God in prayer desperately,
urgently as a thirsty man in a desert
seeks
water (Psalms 63:1-8). Without His
direction, guidance,
favor, power and help, you can
accomplish nothing worthwhile or
of
lasting value (John 15:5). What you do
ultimately accomplish
or the spiritual progress you
make, or fail to make, is in direct
proportion
to your realization of this fact (Psalms 127:1).
3. God Requires That We Ask
Matthew 7:7-11 -- God
requires that we ask and seek that which we
need in order for us to draw
near to Him in a close, personal Father-son
relationship. He wants us to learn to trust, rely on and
look to
Him as the source of
everything.
Luke 18:1-8 -- In addition,
God wants us to learn to persevere in
prayer. The parable of the unjust judge shows us
this principle.
By praying faithfully and
steadfastly about problems or needs
until God definitely answers
one way or another, we build perseverance
into our
character (I Corinthians 15:58).
B.
When Should We Pray
There is nothing permanent about
a spiritual mind in a physical body.
Therefore, we must renew God's
Spirit in us daily (II Corinthians 4:16).
God tells us to ask, seek, come
to Him positively and persistently --
regularly
and often -- to receive the power of His Spirit (Luke 11:5-13).
A lightbulb
is useless unless it is in contact with the source of power,
and so
are we.'
Jesus set the example for us of
getting up early in the morning and
spending the first part of His
day in prayer -- before anything else
could interrupt (Mark 1:35), and David said in Psalms 5:3 that he prayed
early in
the morning.
In Daniel 6:10 and Psalms 55:16-17 Daniel and David, men entrusted with
the highest governmental powers
of major kingdoms -- very busy men --
set the example for us of praying
three times a day -- morning, noon
and
night. We need to make these examples
part of our way of life!
Praying people are producing people,
without exception! You must get
that
prayer in.' Nothing is more
important! The closer you can stay
to God and the oftener, the less
you will sin and the more you will
accomplish. If you really grasp the fact that all you
need and want
comes from God and your success,
failure, happiness, troubles, are in
direct proportion to the extent
to which you commit everything to Him
in believing prayer, you will
begin to fear to make plans, or do anything
without
seeking His counsel and help (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Be instant in prayer. Ask for wisdom before business meetings,
protection
before traveling, compassion and
patience before going home tired to
your
wife and family at night. You need to
pray always and begin to
literally
walk and talk with God (I Thessalonians 5:17-18).
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C.
Where Should We Pray
When you deeply understand and
feel the need to seek God, you will wind
up in
some awfully funny places. Often you
must improvise to seek God
and show
him you will pray no matter what.'
Broom closets, lavatories,
back
seats of automobiles, all have been used.
The important thing is
seeing and feeling the urgency of
seeking God's help and guidance and
power in all you do, then finding
a place to pray is just a matter of
course.
D.
How To Pray
The overall form for your prayers
is in Matthew 6:7. Use this outline
especially
in the longer, early morning prayers.
Begin thanking and
praising God for life, your calling,
your family, home, His mercy and
goodness
to you. Realize the need for God's
Kingdom, and your part
in this
Work. Ask God to help you fulfill His
purpose and do His Work.
Then ask Him to help and direct
this Work, its leaders, and fill its
needs,
the needs of His people and your needs.
Ask for forgiveness
and
beseech God to help you really see yourself.
Forgive others --
ask for
compassion, a spirit of mercy and kindness, patience. Ask
God to keep you from temptation
-- to help you resist Satan, this world,
yourself, and to make you soft,
yielded, pliable, humble so that sore
trial
isn1t necessary to make you see the need to change.' Ask God to
keep Satan and his demons away
from this Work and you and to set His
angels
about those in His Work and you and your family. Then end
praising
God.
Realize that God knows what you
need, but He wants to hear you phrase
it and
your approach to it. Then realize that
God is your Father, and
feel it
and see Him in all His glory and splendor.
How do your children
come to
you with their requests? Humbly,
openly, expectantly -- knowing
you will
listen and if it's good for them and within your power to do.
you'll
grant their request, or help them, or comfort them. God has the
power
you lack, the compassion you lack, the wisdom you lack. He loves
you more
than you love your little children (Ps. 103:13-14). Go to
Him as His little child --
humbly, openly, expectantly -- knowing He will
listen
and help you (Jas. 5:16).
Fervent, believing prayers get
much accomplished. Get up from your
prayers confident and believe
that God will act and that which you
have
asked will come to pass. Expect the
answer to come.' (Hebrews ll;6.)
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II.
FASTING
A. Why Fast
Jesus Christ commanded and
taught His disciples to fast. It is
the way
to real humility, a close
relationship with God, and spiritual character
and
impact.' Without fasting, you may
mentally admit that you are not
much,
but you don't really comprehend it -- you don't feel it. Being
human, as long as you feel
strong and healthy, you will by nature tend
to trust in yourself and
fail to see the necessity of relying totally
on
God.
When you fast, you learn how
weak, insignificant, useless, worthless
you
really are. Your pride crumbles, your
self-esteem diminishes,
your facade is stripped away
and you realize that all that stands
between you and death is one breath
-- and over a very short period of
time,
a little food and water. Reduced to
this, you feel and understand
the
need for God, and realize that He truly is your life (Deut. 30:20).
You feel closer to Him, more
humble and yielded, and will much more
readily
obey Him.
In short, fasting regularly
is the only way to remain close, dependent,
yielded and responsive to God. With every little success and compliment,
and the influence of the
"around1" -- this society, our family and friends,
we tend to drift more and
more toward a feeling of self-sufficiency and
rely on
God's help and guidance less and less.
Fasting brings us back
to reality, the recognition
of our utter uselessness apart from God and
His Spirit (Gal. 6:3).
B. How Often
Fasting regularly requires
self-discipline and therefore results in the
development
of strong character. In this
wishy-washy age, men of
character and purpose, those
willing to sacrifice and endure hardness
are few and far between (II Timothy 2:3). Those who will grow spiritually
and be used further by God
in His Work should fast regularly -- about
once
a month on an average.
III.
MEDITATION
A. What Is Meditation and Why
Meditate
Meditation is simply taking
a certain theme, problem, scripture and
dwelling on it -- asking
why, how, when, where and determining what is
the end
result. Then determining whether or
not that is the result
you
want. It is a matter of looking at
things from God's point of view,
and
is the key to keeping things in their proper perspective.
You can meditate about your
job. You can lose it -- will you? What
steps
can you take to insure your job. Take
Leviticus 26:14-16 as an
example. Do you know what terror is? Do you want to find out? Read
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the rest
of the chapter. Dwell on it.' Roll it over in your mind --
make it
personal. This is God's promise to you
if You won't change.'
Do you want it? Of course not.'
After meditating and dwelling on
it you see much more graphically the
need to
change. Without meditation, you can
understand the scriptures,
but you
cannot convict yourself of the need for personal change.
B.
How To Meditate
Proverbs 4:26 -- Ponder your course of action -- your way of life --
consider the end -- look before
you leap: The book of Proverbs is a
ready-made
key to meditation. These are the
conclusions of Solomon
through
meditation. Read them and reverse the
process. Read the
conclusion
and go back and fill in the thinking and meditation.
Psalm 1:1-6 -- Blessed is the man
who savors and loves God's law,
because
it is good and right and who meditates on it day and night. The
ungodly do not meditate and are
not grounded and rooted in God's Word,
but
shallow like chaff.
Joshua 1:8 -- God commands you to
meditate on His law day and night,
in order
that you might obey and do them.
The place to begin is with the Ten
Commandments. Let's take number
seven
for example. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Why not?
Isn't it enjoyable? Yes.'
Even Hebrews 11:25 says
sin is pleasurable
for a
season. But then what. Read Proverbs 6:23-35; II Samuel
13:14-15,22;
Genesis 34:7 and Revelation
21:8. You'll find out that the
immediate
result may be death at the hands
of her irate husband, your reputation
ruined
and a nagging guilty conscience. Later
may come V.D. or a
pregnancy
further complicating matters. Your own
wife finds out and is
heartbroken,
and your once happy marriage and home is a shambles. Your
wife and
children no longer can look up to you or trust you. You are
destined
to carry this scar for the rest of your life.
Then what?
Well, if not repented of deeply
and bitterly, you wind up in the lake
of
fire.
You simply ask yourself after
savoring it all, thinking it all out,
pondering
it, is it worth it for a few minutes excitement? Ghastly, NO!!
Then you think further, trembling
by this time -- where does it begin
and how
can I avoid it at all costs (Matt 5:28)? Christ says it
begins
with Playboy magazine or a sexy
movie, or looking too long at the girl
in the office with the short
skirt and taking a second to let your mind
wander. He tells you further to flee fornication
and anything that
even
looks tempting -- don't play around (I Cor. 6:18). By this time,
you are in full agreement and are
ready to pray fervently for His help
to keep
the seventh commandment. But you need
to review it in your
mind
from time to time lest it slip (Heb. 2:1).
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C.
When To Meditate
Genesis 24:63 -- Isaac was
meditating in the evening. That's the
best
time, because the pressure of the
day is over and you are in a reflective
mood. But don't just daydream and let your mind
wander. Meditate on
a definite theme in conjunction
with God's Word and law or a personal
problem
or situation in your life. You'll be
amazed at the results and
the
changes you make in your life.'
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT: Before next class read Galatians 5:19-21
which
lists
the works of the flesh. Look up each
word in a dictionary
and
ponder the meaning of it. Consider how
each applies to you
personally
and how you manifest it in your life.
Which ones are
more serious, so far as your
particular human proclivities and
weaknesses
are concerned? Meditate on how you can
recognize these
and
overcome them quickly when they begin to crop up. Consider
the results of not overcoming
these) both in this life and for
eternity.
ASSIGNMENTS FOR
NEXT CLASS
1. Your Marriage Can Be Happy
--Booklet) by Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong.
2. What All Husbands Need to Know.'-- The
PLAIN TRUTH, June, 1966, by
Mr. Roderick C. Meredith.
3. Don't Take Your Marriage for Granted -- The
GOOD NEWS, September, 1967,
by
Mr. Richard F. Plache.
4. How To Build Your Marriage -- The GOOD
NEWS, October, 1967, by Mr.
Richard F. Plache.
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