ASI Southern Union 2015: Prepared to Stand

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ASI Southern Union

Heart Issues

Dan Gabbert

Preparing to Stand- It’s a Heart Issue

Well, I have to be honest with you, I'm a bit trembling to be able to share what I'm going to share.

I've got a lot of growing to do and the older I get the more growing I realize I need.

Before I think I was just blind and ignorant to my ignorance and lack of awareness of where the real issues in life are at.

But I'm grateful that God is gracious to us and keeps building us up in the most holy faith if we're willing to stay in the process.

Jesus says in John 8 31 and 32, if you continue in my word then are you my disciple indeed.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

But anyway, what I want to do in these 2 short sessions is, first of all, this first 1 just to actually share with you to actually build a case for what I believe to be the most important reason for preparing for the time of trouble Christ's return before the crisis.

And then the second session this afternoon will actually be looking at the how-to.

And the major ingredient that is missing in most of the preparation people are making as Christians.

So with that, we're going to get started.

I'm going to share and move quite rapidly because I'm hoping that there will be a little bit of room before we stop, hopefully for questions.

The major event that Christ is earnestly calling us to prepare for.

Just again to refresh our memory with what we're facing.

Jeremiah 30 verse 7, alas, that day is great, so none is like it.

It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he should be saved out of it.

He shall be saved out of it, if I'm a Jacob.

And there should be a time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation even at the same time, and at that time again Thy people shall be delivered.

The time of trouble such as never was is soon to open before us.

It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality, but this is not true of the crisis before us.

The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal.

In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God.

And in that time of trial, I want to be standing myself before God in a healthy place, Amen?

Yet even in this challenging scenario, the Lord encourages us, fear thou not for I am with thee.

I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Again, I want to be held in God's righteous right hand, not just for a few moments now, but for the rest of eternity.

There are stormy times before us, but let us not utter 1 word of unbelief or discouragement.

We have no need, we serve a mighty God, an awesome savior who is able to save us to the uttermost that come unto God by him.

So here's the good news about this time of trial and trouble that is Lying on the horizon.

First of all, Christ followers who are prepared will come out on the winning side.

It is the last trial the people of God will ever have to experience for the rest of eternity.

Now here's the statement that gives us a little insight that I think is extremely valuable, particularly when you see the physiological direction we're going with this.

Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as what kind of a surprise?

And this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.

The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion.

I've played with imaginary things all my life, and it's neat to have something solid, unmovable, and eternal to hang on to.

Here's Christ's promise, Revelation 3 10 and 11.

Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Why must preparation for this extreme trial of our faith be experienced now, as we gently move into some physiological stuff here.

Here's a reason from the great controversy, a reason why we want to prepare now.

Those who delay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble or any subsequent time.

That's kind of a scary statement, but in reality what God is doing is He's calling us higher up saying, hey, I'm giving you time now, let's do something about it.

So let's look at the core ingredients involved in a victorious preparation experience for this time of trouble and of course Christ's soon return.

Human nature is 3 dimensional And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.

I pray God your whole spirit, mental, soul, this is, you'll see here in a moment, is the spiritual dimension and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at that closely and tell me, according to that, when does God want to preserve us blameless, before or after his coming?

The nature of man, Fundamentals of Education, 57.

The training enjoyed by Solomon comprehends the right development of physical, intellectual, and moral powers.

Now we're gonna just look at another statement that really kind of puts it together.

Notice the parallels here, I've got them in color.

Since the mind and the soul, the soul is a spiritual agent, you'll see that in a minute, find expression through the body, both mental and spiritual vigor are, in a great degree, dependent upon physical strength and activity.

Notice all 3 dimensions there, connected.

Whatever promotes physical health, promotes the development of a strong mind, there's the mental, and a well-balanced character, There's the spiritual.

And here, of course, just so that you didn't think I was a heretic by saying the soul was a spiritual agent, When it comes to actually human nature, 1 statement in all of inspiration, that's it.

But the law requires that the soul itself, the spiritual agent, So when it comes to mental health and stuff, we're looking at the soul as being the spiritual agent.

Be pure and the mind holy, that's the mental.

That all the thoughts and feelings shall be in accordance with the law of love and righteousness.

I just stuck that in because I wanted to make sure you didn't think I was a heretic.

Now, I want to give you a little secular mental health research, some of the discoveries now that are not even recent anymore.

They've known this for quite a while, but they really pertain to us preparing for Christ's return.

David Burns, from his famous book called Feeling Good, most of you have probably seen this book or read it, but he's right on.

Transforming Difficulties into Triumphs- It’s a Heart Issue

This morning we covered our first presentation, the hard issue behind turning tragedy into triumph.

And here is what I believe to be 1 of the most valuable and most powerful, most powerful statements that is so valid the closer we get to Christ's return.

Character building is the most important work ever entrusted to human beings and never before was its diligent study so important as now.

Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momentous.

Never before were young men and young women, by the way, and I might mention old men and older women, Never before were young men and young women, by the way, and I might mention old men and older women, never before were young men and young women confronted by peril so great as confront them today.

And of course, as we learned this morning, the closer we get to Christ's return, the greater the challenges, the greater the struggles in the human experience, and we want to be prepared and ready to be able to meet the time of trouble in peace.

This session, we're actually going to consider what I believe to be the most vital elements in the development of a character that will stand faithful to Christ through the last great crisis for the people of God.

If you remember from our first session, here is the big issue about developing character, developing habits of response to life's trials and challenges before the crisis hits.

Science now is telling us that when we become emotionally charged as in the fight or flight response, the RAS, that's reticular activating system that's a part of the brain, that actually switches on and off between the frontal lobe and the limbic system.

That RAS actually shuts down the cerebral cortex, the thought processes or learning brain for all practical purposes.

When the cortex is shut down, we proceed on automatic pilot, where instinct and training take over.

So when the overwhelming surprise comes, the body's stress response to a sudden unexpected threat shuts down the administrative activities of the frontal lobe as the limbic system responds to the surprise threat from habits that have been formed in previous responses to daily circumstances of life.

This is extremely valuable when we recognize from patriarchs, prophets and kings 626 that Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

This is what thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, page 66.

The season of temptation under which it may be 1 falls into grievous sin does not create the evil that is revealed but only develops or makes manifest that which was hidden and latent in the heart.

Before Jesus was taken in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, Peter, you're going to deny me 3 times before the cock crows twice.

Nevertheless, when the surprise came and the mob came to get Jesus, wasn't an interesting thing to see what was really in Peter's heart come out.

And him and the rest of the disciples flee.

Very, very valuable and important to recognize from our first session that the preparation for the time of trouble such as never was has got to be going on now so when the overwhelming surprise comes the response, the natural response is actually coming from habits of Christ.

Here's the victorious healing cycle of life that everyone is in.

Again, recapping what we learned the first session.

When we have a healing, knowledgeable, love relationship with Christ through His Word, that actually strengthens and affects the way we view life circumstances.

That produces healthy perceptions about life circumstances, wholesome Christ-like thoughts and feelings, which then of course translates into a more wholesome lifestyle, more godly responses including care for our body, our mind, the choices of food, the way we care for the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And of course, the healthier our lifestyle, the healthier our brain function becomes.

Which then, with healthier brain function, actually improves my love relationship with Christ through His Word.

My brain is sharper, able to connect and grasp what the Spirit of God is teaching me, and here you have a victorious healing cycle.

We looked at the vicious cycle, Unhealthy relationship with the Lord, unhealthy perceptions about life responses, unhealthy godly responses to those life circumstances, which causes the brain function to get more unhealthy.

And of course, we want, instead of that vicious cycle, we want a victorious cycle of healing.

This is all about being ready for Christ's soon return, but even more than that, it's all about being ready for that time of trial.

We know from prophets and kings that we are to be preparing now for the overwhelming surprise that'll soon break upon the world.

Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the Word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.

The Tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion.

So from that statement we've got, we discovered 2 things.

2 of the elements Essential for healthy preparation for the time of trouble are number 1, a diligent study of the word of God, which I'm very, very grateful I'm hearing from everyone else who's presenting.

And number 2, faith-filled practice of confronting our lives, conforming, excuse me, conforming our lives to its precepts.

In other words, the practice of Christ-loving responses to the circumstances of life we face.

We've just kind of covered what we were looking at in the first session.

Here's Christ's promise to us as we now start moving forward into the essential elements to being ready.

Besides diligent study of the Word of God, besides conforming our lives to its precepts, we've got another 1 coming up.

Christ promised to us, Revelation 3, 10 and 11, because you have kept the word of my promise, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation that shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.

And of course, 1 John 2, 5 and 6 tells us, but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.

Hereby, this is the way we know that we are in him.

He that sayeth he abides in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.

To walk as Jesus walked, to respond to life's circumstances the way Jesus responded to life's circumstances, I've got to practice responding to life situations the way he did while he was here on earth.

It's important to remember that in order to walk as Jesus walked, responding to people in life like he did, a person must practice thinking what Jesus thinks.

Because our responses to life proceed out of the abundance of the heart.

Luke 645, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good.

An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Very, very important.

Philippians 2.5, I'm beginning to understand a little bit more why we've got these statements in the Word of God.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

To have Christ's mind is to have his thoughts, which prepares a person to experience his responses to people and life events.

I should just mention to you, some of you maybe are Greek scholars or whatever, but the word let there, actually when you parse it, when you analyze it, tells us something very unique.

It is actually in the present tense, it's a present participle, and what it means is in present tense in Greek, not only something that happens contemporary at this moment, but it also means a continued action, an ongoing, repeated event.

So what this is saying is, form the habit, continually practice letting the mind of Christ be in you.

The professed follower of Christ must not be led by the dictates of his own will.

His mind must be trained to think Christ's thoughts and enlightened to comprehend the will and the way of God.

Our mind must be trained to think his thoughts.

There's something that we don't want to forget.

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, before the disciples' darkest hour with him, our Jesus was pleading with them to watch and pray.

Why was he pleading with them to watch and pray?

Because he knew what was coming and he knew that we respond to life's circumstances out of the habits of response we formed previous to the trial.

How do we know that the proof that Christ's counsel really works?

Now, everybody's talking about diligent study of the Word.

But I think there's another element that is absolutely vital for anybody who wants to be truly prepared to meet the crisis healthfully and victoriously.

Another key element, absolutely vital to our experience that actually makes our Bible study and our prayer and life practice effectual in preparing us for the crises ahead.

Here it is, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, there it is.

In the Greek, The love of Christ controls me, the love of Christ compels me, it's my motivating factor.

Because we thus judge that if 1 died for all, that's Jesus, then we're all dead.

We all were dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2.1.

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.

But what was motivating, what was motivating me?

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Heart Issues

Preparing to Stand- It’s a Heart Issue

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