Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher - Jim Rickard Sunday, July 26, 2009

1 John 5:16 Virtue Limitations of Prayer, Pt 3

Principles:

5. Do not offer prayer, to in any way coerce the sinning believer’s volition or the volition of God the Father.

6. Pray for his awareness of his problem. You can’t solve a problem until you know you have a problem.

7. This implies that you understand what constitutes the Sin Unto Death.

8. What is not mandated? Gossip, maligning, spreading tales about the sinning believer, etc.

9. This calls for mature application, which calls for knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

1 John 5:16b, “There is sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.”

“There is”, maximum punishment situation in which the believer can find himself only through his own decision. Influence of others is no excuse; influence of self-distraction is no excuse.

“Sin” – HAMARTIA = The sinful life of the reversionistic believer. A status rather than a specific action.

PROS = “face-to-face”, THANATOS = “death”. It is the painful experience in dying, which comes when the options have all been closed down except the one final open door - Rebound.

If he Rebounds, walks through that door, then he will have temporary relief, and maybe even permanent relief, of the Sin Unto Death.

“I do not recommend” OUK LEGO John states a policy which becomes a Divine mandate regarding prayer for those under maximum discipline from the justice of God.

You can not pray for those believers who persist to live in the Cosmic System, it is out of your hands and strictly in the hands of the justice of God.

“Anyone should pray concerning that”. Aorist, Active, Subjunctive. The believer inside GPS who would ordinarily use prayer effectively, is to simply keep out of God’s way.

1 John 5:16, “If anyone sees his fellow believer missing the mark in sin (that is) not (bring him) face to face with death, he will ask, and He (God the Father) will give life to him, to those who have not sinned (bring them) face to face with death. There is sin face to face with death; I do not recommend that anyone should pray concerning that.”

The sin face-to-face with death, is the highest form of disgrace that can occur for the believer using his own volition to create his own failures in life after salvation. Psa 7:14 ‑ 16; 1 Kings 13:1-32

The believer under the sentence of death can Rebound and live. No other believer, apart from the condemned person, can make his decision to rebound.

Any sin, if continued in long enough, is a threat to a fellow Christian’s life, James 5:19-20; also cf. Prov 10:27; 11:19; 13:14; 19:16. Thus the restoration of a brother may secure a prolonging of his physical life.

Prov 10:27, “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Prov 11:19, “He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, and he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”

Prov 13:14, “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside from the snares of death.”

Prov 19:16, “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die.”

Grace Offering

Grace Fellowship Church Grace Fellowship Church Sunday, July 26, 2009 Tape # 09S-030 Virtue Limitations of Prayer, Part 3 1 John Series 1 John 5:16-17; Psa 7:14-16; James 5:19-20 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2009