Lesson for August 6, 2023
The Doctrine of a Personal Sense of Destiny
Lesson 6
II Peter 3:10-14, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the (human) works that are on it will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be in holy behavior and in godliness, looking for and awaiting the coming of the day of God. For on this day (after the Millennium), the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the [material] elements will melt with intense heat! But in accordance with His promise, we expectantly await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things [new heavens and a new earth], be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at the Rapture] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him].
Before the Rapture occurs, you should be advancing in your spiritual life. When a believer stops learning and applying God’s Word, they begin to retreat into a state of reversionism. Living your life in light of eternity produces a relaxed mental attitude and tranquility of soul. The objective for all believers should be to advance to spiritual adulthood. Anything short of reaching the goal of spiritual maturity should never be a consideration for a believer.
The command of Philippians 2:3-5, Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
The precedence for our spiritual life comes from the spiritual life that Jesus lived. Bible doctrine must be number one in our lives, if we are ever going to establish the spiritual life which God gave us. This requires thinking. The spiritual life is a system of thinking. Every facet of the spiritual life is related to thought. Ephesians 4:23, “If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.”
The life of every believer is their mental attitude. You are not spiritual because of what you do, but by what you think. Thinking requires divine viewpoint thinking, which is the key to your spiritual life. Divine viewpoint is the thinking of Christ. I Corinthians 2:9-10,16, “But just as it stands written, `Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God has revealed them [Bible doctrine] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things from God. For who has known the thinking of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the thinking of Christ.”
The thinking of Christ is divine power. Our thinking determines our attitudes and actions. Thinking is a battlefield in our souls. Thought can make or break you at any time. Romans 12:2-3, “And stop being conformed to this world [human viewpoint thinking], but be transformed by the renovation of your thought, that you may prove what the will of God is: the divine good production, the well-pleasing to God, and the mature status quo. For I say through the grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think; but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine.”
Your viewpoint in life is based on where you place your emphasis. God never forces us into a way of thinking or a course of action. We all have free will to decide what we want our lives to be. Proverbs 23:7, “As a person thinks in their soul, that is what they will be.”
Transferring knowledge from the Scriptures to your soul is done strictly by the power of God the Holy Spirit. The same power that sustained Christ, and raised Him from the dead, is the same power available to us during the Church Age. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to live our spiritual lives. That’s why living the spiritual life is a grace function. John 14:16-17,26 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because they neither see nor know Him, but you know Him because He lives with you, and will be in you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and cause you to remember all that I have said to you.”
John 16:12-14, “I have many more things to say to you, but you are not able to retain them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; because He shall receive from Me [My messages], and He will communicate it to you.”
The Holy Spirit reveals the plan of God the Father and the thinking of Christ. In the dispensation of the Church Age, God the Holy Spirit revealed to the human authors of the New Testament the remainder of Christ’s unfinished message. In the Church Age, it is the function of the men with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher to communicate what has been written in the Canon of Scripture (the Bible), so that Christ’s messages to us are presented.
II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the person of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” The Greek word for inspired by God is “theopneustos” meaning “God-breathed.” God the Holy Spirit is involved in all areas of communicating God’s message to Church Age believers. It is the knowledge of Scripture that develops a personal sense of destiny in our souls. The only factor that prevents us from developing a personal sense of destiny is negative volition (including laziness and neglect).
A personal sense of destiny demands powerful mental attitude dynamics, especially as you advance toward maximum glorification of God. Only a small, powerful, elite group of believers will glorify God by advancing into spiritual adulthood. A personal sense of destiny is the dividing line between spiritual childhood and spiritual adulthood.
Some of the greatest tests in the spiritual life occur when a believer attains a personal sense of destiny. A personal sense of destiny stabilizes your spiritual life by understanding that the plan of God includes suffering for blessing, which comes in the form of categories of testing. Not all believers will pass people testing, system testing, thought testing, and/or disaster testing.
Believers fail these suffering for blessing tests when they don’t give Bible doctrine its proper place in their lives. They allow their emotions to supersede the truth of God’s Word, in favor of their feelings. How you feel about or how you respond to your experiences should always be based on the doctrine in your soul. Giving control of your life over to your emotions will destroy your spiritual life.
The spiritual life is a power system designed by God specifically for each one of us. The two power options, which are part of God’s plan, are the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine. Letting emotions control your life eliminates any possible use of these power options and grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:17; I Thessalonians 5:19)
The spiritual life is based solely on God’s truth, not human emotions. However, there are good emotional responses based on understanding and applying accurate Bible doctrine. The work of God’s grace in our lives should elicit an emotional response of gratitude, thanksgiving, and joy.