Class Notes: 1/18/2009

Heb 3:12 Continuous Persistent Perception of Doctrine is the antidote to unbelief


We are discussing the warning for believers to" Beware" found in Heb 3:12; The Greek word "blepo" is used in the imperative mood. In this case the believer is "to see" or to "watch out for" to "beware" or to "pay attention" or to "be on guard" against having an evil unbelieving heart or stream of consciousness.

Heb 3:12; "Take care", brethren, (Church age believers today) that there not be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. Literally, to "keep standing off from the living God".

The verb translated "falling away" is the Greek word "aphistemi" that when used intransitively means to stand off from, to withdraw from, to leave or to go into apostasy because of unbelief.

We have seen that unbelief is resisting the work of God the Holy Spirit who is convicting both believers and unbelievers regarding the next step God's plan for their spiritual life.

Since believers are warned against unbelief and we saw that the way unbelief is overcome is from listening to the word of God Rom 10:17; so we started a study on faith.

We saw in Psa 27:4-5 how David exhibited positive volition to God's word as an example of how God develops faith in the believer as they function in the PMA of Bible Doctrine. In David's time TLJC was revealed through the Temple, it's artifacts and the rituals performed there.

The result of the development of faith is described in Psa 27:1; where it says "The Lord is my light...." The Lord is my animation.

David is saying that without the Lord, he would have no inner beauty, no animation on the inside, no peace.

If there is to be any stability in time for any member of the human race, it must come from their thinking. Stability does not come from external sources

If one has acquired a large sum of money no matter how large it does not provide stability, because it is external. The believer may have many friends who give their attention but this does not answer the problem either.

One could have all the friends in the world and have all the wonderful social situations one could ever imagine; one could have everything in life, a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but that is not the answer.

Whatever it is, whatever one desires not going to give true satisfaction, because satisfaction is on the inside. Peace is on the inside the thinking. Stability comes from how one thinks, and that is where it must start.

Psa 27:1; "The Lord is my light", and the light is on the inside, This light is His provision. Christ is the light, and per Col 1:27; "Christ in us" his indwelling " is the hope of glory"

God the Holy Spirit indwells us, and is also called our light in Eph 5:9; where the "fruit of the Light" is the filling of the Spirit resulting in his production Gal 5:22;

This principle is also stated in Eph 5:14, "For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead," Sin is the context of the passage; Eph 5:10; and Acknowledgement of sin per 1John 1:9; is how the light of "Christ will shine on you" through the work of God the Holy Spirit as the believer is in fellowship with him.

So we see that the filling of the Spirit that produces light in the believer also becomes a source of faith in the believer.

After believers have habitually absorbed God's Word, by feeding on it day by day, after they have learned to apply it through the "faith-rest technique," after they have moved into an area where we are controlled by the Spirit most of the time, then God permits suffering.

Most of Psalm 27; deals with the subject of suffering. We see this in verses 2 and 3

Psa 27:2 "When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.." This was because of the Lord's protection. 1Pet 1:5;

Psa 27:3; "Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident." David is in a place where he is completely surrounded by the enemy and because of his confidence in the protection from the Lord he is not afraid because the Lord is his security.

Because of his consistent persistent PMA of Bible Doctrine and his belief, his confidence cannot be shaken by anything.

Psa 27:6;. "And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.."

Verses 2, 3 and 6 refer to suffering inflicted by people. There are many ways in which people hurt other people. Yet, if the Lord is our salvation, if the Lord is our security, the strength of our life, if we are absorbing his Word, if we are applying it, if we are controlled by the Spirit who indwells us, then people can not hurt us and even if they do, God has permitted it for our good and turns the curse into a blessing, Gen 50:20;

This is not because the believer has become insensitive because they have developed a self defense mechanism as thick as an elephants hide covered with calluses.

What the believer develops is a fine, smooth flexible cover in and from the Lord that is impenetrable by the evil of people. Psa 56:3-4;

This results in the believer having perfect peace and blessing, even though they have enemies, and people who despise them with or without cause and people who seek to destroy them or cause them harm with or without cause.

If they are permitted to, these types of people can often make one miserable, and they will, if the believer lets them by failing to follow the principles of Doctrine that David is explaining in our passage.

There are other sufferings described in this Psalm such as those in Psa 27:7; and Psa 27:9; where we see David suffering as a result of Divine discipline.

Here David says, "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me." Now he is under discipline from the Lord per Heb 12:6

In verse 9 he says, "Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!."

In this case, David is being chastened very severely, and he cries out in his suffering. Of course, the answer to Divine discipline is simply to acknowledge sin per 1John 1:9 and keep moving per Phil 3:13-14; which he did as we see in Psa 32:3-5;

In Psa 27:10; David describes how the Lord takes up the case for the believer even if they are forsaken by their parents and again the solution is found in the Lord through the consistent persistent PMA of Bible Doctrine.

In Psa 27:12; he goes on to describe the problem of gossip, criticism and maligning. What people say can be very mean and painful. But even for this adversity believers have a sanctuary in the promises of God. As Job found out in Job 5:21;

Paul describes this in 2Cor 12:7-10; In verse 10 The word translated "content" is the Greek word "eudokeo" that means "pleased" or "to take pleasure in".

Paul then goes on to discuss four types of adversity that he "takes pleasure in" because of the spiritual advancement that comes from them for the sake of or on behalf of Christ.

...with weaknesses: (providential preventative suffering); in insults or slanders: (people testing); with distresses or pressures (thought testing); with persecutions (system testing), with difficulties or stresses (disaster testing) on behalf of Christ because when I am weak (in or by means of my own strength) then I am strong (in or by means of the power of TLJC through his word)

The answer to all pressure in life no matter what the source is, is the temporal security of faith rest , the promises of God that are recalled and applied to the situation and the recognition that even the bad things that happen to us are ultimately for our good. Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28; 1Pet 1:7;

In Psa 27:8 and Psa 27:13; David indicates that he is occupied with TLJC. In verse 8 he says "When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O Lord, I shall seek." In verse 13 he says "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living."

This is the result of great pressures in life that he is facing being mixed with claiming promises and trusting Him in the midst of these pressures.

Believers build faith and stability when they take their sufferings, trials and problems and apply Scripture to every adverse situation.

If we turn the battle over to the Lord, we can stand still and watch His deliverance. Then we develop tremendous peace, blessing and joy in life, which results in occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our eyes are upon Him as is described in Heb 12:2.

We no longer have illusions with regard to people or things, or even ourselves. Jer 17:5;

We are no longer are guilty of standing off from TLJC because we are pursuing kosmic "solutions" to our problems rather than simply resting in TLJC and waiting for him to come through for us.

The result of occupation with TLJC is that the believer moves into a pattern of temporal security that David describes in Psa 27:14; The believer "waits on the Lord"

Psa 27:13; gives us the preview of this: I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.."

The word for believe in verse 13 means to use God as a support or a prop. It is the Hebrew word "Aman" that is transliterated into the English as "amen."

"I would have despaired" means he would have fallen apart mentally even as a believer, knowing that I have eternal life, knowing that I have an eternal relationship with Him, unless I believed it.

This faith that has been developed through the reading and studying of the Word, through the application of God's Word in the "faith-rest technique," under the mentor ministry of God the Holy Spirit and through its application in times adversity and testing.

This faith now brings the believer to the place of peace, stability and blessing. The believer has found that there is true happiness that nothing can remove and nothing can destroy in their life in time.

If one's happiness depends upon materialistic possessions, then when materialistic possessions can are removed leaving the believer unhappy. If situations in life are the basis of one's happiness then the believer will constantly be potentially unhappy even though at the moment they may appear to be happy because they are constantly in fear of losing those materialistic possessions that are the source of their happiness.

If one's happiness is based in possessions or status, having them causes worry about their loss and not having them causes an endless desire for them.

Either way, the believer is off balance and unhappy.

But if the believer is focused on TLJC and his words then it does not matter how much the believer has they are happy not because of the provision, but because the Lord is the believer's security, and if the prosperity comes or goes, the believer is still happy because the believer is "in the Lord" and he will never leave us or forsake us. Rom 8:32-35; Heb 13:5 ;


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