Class Notes: 11/25/2020

Thanksgiving 2020 part 1

https://youtu.be/j-XjqlHo7vA

Matthew 6:25-34 (NET) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?
26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than they are?

27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?
28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!
30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?

31 So then, don't worry saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' (How do we avoid getting Covid?)
32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to

recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks-for his kind care and protection of

the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation-for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war-for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed-for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been

enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted-for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually-to render our national government a blessing to

all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed-to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord-To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and

the increase of science among them and us-and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

In our studies we have seen that God's grace policy always focuses on doctrinal truth but religion always focuses on legalistic ritual. The reason for this is that truth is compatible with God the Holy Spirit and ritual is compatible with the sin nature. Zech 4:6; John 4:22-24;

As we observe the national holiday of Thanksgiving it is important for us to likewise be focused on truth rather than ritual. This is because when we have the who, the when, the where, the why and the how established properly, the correct what will automatically follow.

Thanksgiving is a grace response that results from grace orientation and genuine humility that is established from the tranquility of soul that Jesus Christ supplies to those who are in union with Him. John 14:27; This tranquility is the capacity from grace orientation that is necessary to have an attitude of thanksgiving.

A passage that captures what it means to have the capacity that is necessary for the reality of thanksgiving in our thinking is Col 3:12-17; This passage shows that grace capacity is required for thanksgiving to be a reality in our thinking.

It is discussing the believer who has maximum Divine viewpoint from the perception and metabolization of the thinking of Jesus that is God's Word of truth. Without the predicates from God's Word that establish capacity for thanksgiving there is no reality of thanksgiving making thanksgiving superficial, emotional and ritualistic

Col 3:12; "put on," the aorist middle imperative of the Greek word "enduo" that means to dress up, the middle voice says the believer participates with God the Holy Spirit in the process. The aorist tense is a constantive aorist that views all of the times that you take in the Word of God as an entirety. The imperative mood is a command to every believer.

This is the function of the Royal priesthood where God is free to pour out His blessings upon believers. It is the only place where God can shares His perfect happiness with believers.

Every believer has to do this for himself. Learning Bible doctrine is a personal choice and no one else can do it for you. People can hinder you but you have to choose to overcome and persevere regardless of the opposition.

"then as those who have been chosen by God"... this is the basis of our grace orientation that provides us with capacity for life that ultimately results in our response of thanksgiving to God.

The nominative plural of the Greek word "elektos" translated "chosen" emphasizes the plan of God.

Every believer is in the plan of God and this mandate is for believers to "dress up" their souls through their daily function of learning God's word of truth. This process is designed to make the believer's life in time an experience that is compatible with their position in union with Christ. It is designed to provide capacity for life.

"holy," nominative plural from the Greek word "hagios" that means saint or separated one emphasizes the grace security that God provides in His plan.

The word translated "beloved," perfect passive participle of the Greek word "agapao." It is the word for mental attitude love that could be translated as, "having been loved."

The perfect tense means that God loved us in the past and will continue to love us forever. God is not compromised in any way by loving us. God is never compromised because of the positional righteousness that every believer has on the basis of Jesus' work on the cross.

We see from this that God loves every believer with the same amount of love that He has for Jesus Christ regardless of their spiritual status because the perfect righteousness that positional truth irrevocably establishes in all believers becomes the object of the Father's perfect and unchanging love.

However the believer's attitude toward God varies in accordance with their attitude toward God's Word. The believer's capacity to love God is based on the amount of doctrine resident in their soul.

Capacity for thanksgiving is based on capacity from the virtues that Bible Doctrine circulating in the believer's stream of consciousness establishes.

The first "affections of grace compassion." This is a love that is normal to the grace-oriented believer. It is the ability to give love from your own soul because of the grace capacity that is built from doctrinal viewpoint.

The second characteristic is called "kindness," the accusative singular from the Greek noun "chrestoes" and it means a "gracious disposition." It is God's perfect happiness in the soul of the believer that produces a gracious disposition.

The third is "humility" referring to a mental attitude of grace. It does not refer to some system of self-effacement so it is not overt, it has to do with the basis of the thinking.

It is an attitude or way that you think, not something you do so it means that no matter how talented you are, no matter how smart you are, you have no illusions about yourself. It is a total understanding of the principle of grace from doctrinal viewpoint. Under grace orientation you have no illusions about yourself.

"Gentleness," is the accusative singular or the Greek word " praues". means courtesy, humility, consideration. This is a mental attitude of the soul that is independent from comparing oneself with other people so it doe not compete with others.

This is the thought pattern of the soul that is free from subjectivity and hyper- sensitivity. Hypersensitivity is subjectivity that relates everything to yourself in a negative way. So no subjectivity, no way to be "triggered", no insatiable lust pattern for acceptance, approval, or power, no distorted scale of values, no putting of people or things before Bible doctrine.

Sensitivity with regard to others is legitimate; hypersensitivity with regard to yourself is not. Grace disposition takes care of sensitivity toward others. Under this concept you avoid the mental attitude sins of pride, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, implacability, covetousness, envy, and hatred.

Instead, there is gentleness, thoughtfulness of others, courtesy and good manners; gentleness is the product of a copasetic relaxed mental attitude.

"Steadfastness," is the accusative singular of "makrothymia." The believer with this virtue understands that doctrine in the soul is the capital for our life in God's plan for our life . We are not empowered by some kind of human capital such as associations, possessions or money.

Bible Doctrine is the believer's life; money is a detail in that life. Doctrine is capital and believers can only spend the doctrine that resides in their soul. Bible doctrine cannot be used until it is resident in the believer's soul.

So just as the blood of Christ is the coin of the realm for eternal salvation so Bible doctrine is the coin of the realm for the believer's life in time and eternity. Doctrine enables the mastery of the details of life. The believer is steadfast because they have stability from doctrine that provides them with the ability to handle whatever God permits to occur in the devil's world.

Verse 12 expanded translation: "Dress yourselves therefore, as the elected ones of the God, separated ones (saints), having been loved with the result that you keep on being loved, I say, dress yourselves with affections of grace compassion that is capacity for love, a gracious disposition leading to generosity, a mental attitude of grace, humility and steadfastness."

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