Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher - Jim Rickard Tuesday, January 11,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse 2 Tim 2:4, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”

John 16:1-6 The Importance of Preparedness.

TAUTA - “these things”, the previous 2 chapters. The promise of Divine aid in the face of persecutions as we execute the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.

LALEO - Perfect, Active, Indicative, “to say, speak or talk”, referring to Bible Doctrine Jesus has taught.

LEGO means to organize information in your mind and then speak it. But LALEO means to communicate doctrine.

The Perfect Tense: Doctrines taught have an impact on your life going forward.

HUMIN - “you all”, Dative of Advantage. To the select few who learn the Word of God it is an advantage in life.

ME - “not”, SKANDALIZO - “stumble”. Aorist, Passive, Subjunctive.

SKANDALIZO, “to put a snare (in the way), to cause to stumble, or to give offense, to cause someone to sin, or to cause someone to give up his faith.”

Passive Voice; “to be led into sin, to fall away, i.e. apostatize.” Cf. Mat 5:29-30

Aorist Tense views the entirety of the action beginning with fear, anxiety and sorrow due to persecutions that lead to reversionism and apostasy.

Subjunctive Mood is for potential. It is a volitional choice. Jesus has given Bible doctrine for the purpose of edifying our souls so that we do not fall away into reversionism.

When you take in doctrine you exhale doctrine. The ECS is built on residual doctrine. The more doctrine you take in the greater the build-up of residual doctrine. John 6:61; Mark 14:27

John 6:61, “But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble (SKANDALIZO)?”

Mark 14:27, “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away (SKANDALIZO), because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered’.”

Bible Doctrine is designed to avoid frustration, shock, hurt or disillusion in any pressure of life.

The only protection the believer has in this life against these things is Bible doctrine in the soul with the filling of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:1, “These things (previous Doctrines), I have spoken to you all in order that you all do not fall way, (into reversionism).”

Luke 21:12, “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.”

Principles: 1. Jesus warns of future persecutions to fortify our souls with Doctrine, so that we do not fall away into reversionism.

2. Regardless of what we may think and how we may be treated by segments of the world, it has a permanent antagonism toward us.

3. The believer priest must be prepared for the intensification of the Angelic Conflict. He must be shock-proof so that he does not fall away into reversionism as a result of the antagonism.

4. Expecting trouble beforehand helps you to remain in the path of God’s will.

5. Remembering that Jesus was ostracized and martyred, and that He had predicted the same for His disciples helps fortify your soul.

6. People are much more affected by a hardship or persecution when they are unaware of its coming.

7. Christ was careful to remove every occasion of stumbling from our path, as we should do the same for our brethren.

8. SKANDALIZO, the bait- stick of a trap, connotes an element of surprise. Jesus is preparing us for sudden rejection so that we will not be taken by surprise and overcome, 1 Peter 4:12-14.

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Tape # The Importance of Preparedness Upper Room Discourse, Part 457 John 16:1; Mat 5:29-30; Mark 14:27; Luke 21:12; 1 Peter 4:12-14 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2011