So let's go to Genesis and we'll see what happens. In that particular foundational principle, we see, then, that it's natural for there to be an attraction, for there to be relationships, none wanting to be alone. So what's the biblical order and what are the guidelines that lead to this particular phenomenon of two becoming one, because that's really what we're talking about-how do two become one? That's the end of relationships: two becoming one. The pursuit, the covenant, the union that is spiritual, and evidenced in the physical, for the purpose of being able to bring glory to God, because two are better than one.
Now, in Genesis we find the Lord speaking to us. Look at Genesis, Chapter 2; we'll pick this up. Following the admonition, the verses that we've been teaching on for two years or more in so many different ways, about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil versus the tree of life-following those verses you read this in verse 18, "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone . . . " I'm pausing for some of you men to say [the men in the congregation say "Amen"] and some of you ladies to say "It's about time"-I mean "Amen." "It's not good for man to be alone." I want you to catch this phrase and let it speak to you in the spirit. " . . . God said [this is God], It's not good that the man should be alone . . . " You've heard the will of God, and yet like everything, if we're walking in the flesh, we take things into our own hands. We want to control it, we want to manipulate, we want to know, we want to plan, we have an agenda, and that's why we mess up so often and are never able to really arrive at spiritual relationships, life in the spirit, and God's best for us.
I heard such a sad statement, some statistics, just the other day on Father's Day. It said that 50 percent of our homes in America, on Father's Day, have no male figure in the homes at this particular time. And of those that do, 70 percent are not the original male figure of the home. That's a sad commentary on where we've come-man's way...
Two Become One, Part 2
July 9, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Let's turn to Matthew, Chapter 19. We want to continue along with the study on two becoming one. I'm going to reiterate a number of things that we shared at Men's Breakfast the other day, because as confident as I am that all the husbands came home and shared everything that took place in the meeting verbatim-I know that happens all the time-we'll try to hit some of the highlights anyway and see what we can do.
It really starts there with the men. That's why we took the time in Men's Breakfast yesterday. Men, you are the final authority in the lives of your children as it pertains to their individual course that you oversee and spiritually as the patriarch of your household. There are requirements placed upon you, and you can't take it lightly. Ladies, of course, your role is to support them in God's ordained role as the head of the home. Children obeying their parents in the Lord; wives submitting to your husbands as unto the Lord; husbands loving your wives as Christ loved the church, willing to die to self for them: that's what love is really all about.
So as we look at this subject, I was telling the men yesterday that the thing we have to do first of all is unravel all of the bondage that we're in in our thought processes. We just taught a couple of weeks ago on the battle of the mind: renewing the mind and putting on the whole armor of God, holding up the shield of faith against the fiery darts of the enemy, pulling down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We talked about the battle we're having with the spirit of this age. As I taught that, many of us are thinking, "Yes, okay. I'm free from that. Praise God." I shared that we're under greater bondage than many of us really know as it pertains to the spirit of the age, the spirit of this world, the spirit of antichrist...
Two Become One, Part 3
July 12, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Amen. Let's turn to Matthew's gospel, we'll pick up where we were Sunday morning and just allow the Lord to minister to us. I've heard a lot of rumblings since we started on this subject. Some of you old folks are mad at me from Sunday night and those different areas. We're in a place of really trying to identify in all of our lives-remember why we started this teaching, and how we're relating to the wisdom of this world, that's what this teaching's all about. Are we people that are living by faith, walking in the spirit, living from the Tree of Life, or are we more influenced by that Tree of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; humanism, secularism? What in our lives is out of order as it's pertaining to our fulfilling the will and the promises of God? We were studying-we saw as we talked in the relationship thing, and we'll get into the practical parts as we continue through, but the Scripture says it's not good for man to be alone. He tells us why and we realize the necessity of two becoming one flesh.
So let's turn to Matthew's gospel, Chapter 19, and again refresh our hearts with the Word of God, and remembering the Pharisees that come to the Lord tempting him. Their motive was not pure, they weren't wanting to know the truth and they were just wanting to try to trip him up. [Verse 3] "http://...is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" They were looking for a way to justify their position. One of the positions that were being very strongly held by Hillel at that particular time was a perversion of biblical truths which is the authority of the man, prominent position of the man, and even until recent times outside of Christianity, women were seen as chattel, they were seen as property of men. Jesus, of course, debunked that, defused it, and revealed the truth. The Holy Spirit, through Paul's epistle, revealed the truth that it's not male or female (Galatians 3:28), amen? This body of Christ that we're in, we realize the unification of what God's doing in bringing two together, making them one is to bring that healing, that wholeness to man in the spirit, and that completion that was lost when God saw that Adam needed a help meet...
Two Become One, Part 4
July 16, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
We want to continue with this relationship teaching. There's a lot of talk going on about it. Many of us are excited. Some of us are saying, "Amen," and some of us are saying, "Oh, me!" I would just encourage you to wait until the smoke clears and we're done. Then, try to find out where you are in the midst of all this. Don't worry about anybody else. It's like every other teaching. "How does this really apply to my life? What's God saying to me?" Also, don't get caught up in the periphery. We're trying to give a lot of examples. We're trying to speak toward many different aspects of a complex subject. We'll have to go over and over many of the specifics, but don't sit waiting for one specific point that will help you solve all of life's problems and miss the general principles that we're setting forth. In other words, if you can't identify and live by the general principles, you'll never get the specifics working for you. See the obvious, first of all, and say, "Am I doing the obvious? Am I doing the general principles that God's Word speaks toward?" If so, then I'm going to be able to clearly hear the specific guidance. I'll have confidence and faith that God will order my steps and put me specifically where He wants me.
We all know the Scripture says, "He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtains favor of the Lord." All the guys said, "Amen," even those with wives, especially those with wives! Amen? I asked the question in Men's Breakfast the other day, "How many of you love your wives more now than you did when you married them?" We didn't have a show of hands, so ladies; I can't give you the report. But, I'm sure it would have been the overwhelming majority, if not unanimous. Then the question was asked, "But how many of you love them differently than you loved them when you were first married, whenever that was?" Some have longer periods that have transpired; we have some newlyweds here that have been married less than a year. That's an exciting thing. They can't identify as much with that second statement, but some who have been married for longer can...
Two Become One, Part 5
July 16, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Well, let's turn back to Genesis and allow the Lord to minister to us a little more. Let's take a look at what Father was speaking to us there. As we were looking at this morning's subject I would encourage you-somebody asked me today, "Could you go back over those points that you dealt with this morning?" I said, "I don't have a clue what they were." I've had a number of people ask me and so we can get the CDs. It sounded like something that could have been beneficial to some of us. So the CDs are there. There are some principles that it really wouldn't hurt to hear again. We'll see what we can do to approach some of these from a different area.
As we're looking at the basic principle, again, of "it's not good for man to be alone, I'll make him a helpmeet." A helpmeet is more than just a companion. We talked about loneliness and how difficult that is for the creatures that God has made us. We're social beings. We're creatures that need to be loved and need to be able to give love and show love. We're created in the image of our Father. God is, say it, love. And love gives and receives. That's what love is all about. And since that's who we're of, we're of the very source of love, God Himself, we need to be in that environment of love. We need fellowship. We need companionship. But he says that's not the only thing that Adam needed a helpmeet for or a companion for. We saw that it was someone to give him strength and ballast; someone that could be there as an advisor and a counselor to him. Someone that's there to help when he falls as we know the Scripture indicates the wisdom of two being better than one. And we see that this was the woman's role. It was to be a role that was natural, instinctive until sin entered in; and when sin entered in then Adam's helpmeet was self-indulgent, selfish, and prideful. And because of that schism between Eve and God, and that elevation of self, because-We've shared on numerous occasions the original sin, we know pride was the cause, the source of it, but the original sin was broken order...
Two Become One, Part 6
July 19, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Praise God! We'll let's turn to the book of Ephesians; we want to continue with our study. I don't know how much longer we have on this. We seem to have stirred up a lot of stuff, and there are a lot of places we need to go with this. I'd just like to remind you of how we got here. We were talking about the fact that we are not as free from the world as we think we are. In this, the most crucial area of all of our lives, outside of our regeneration, the fact of the matter is that many of us still think like the world as it pertains to relationships and marriage: the natural secular humanist perspective of how two people come together and are, ultimately, made one.
The world has no clue what marriage is. The World's system has no clue what God intended marriage to be. The only way we're going to know what it is, and why it is, is through the Word of God. For it to be performing what God intended, we have to know what the original purpose was. We know from our study that it is because God didn't want Man to be alone. "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone..." (Genesis 2:18). He looked for a help meet [for him]; someone who would be there to prop him up, to bring ballast, to bring perspective: the feminine perspective. We said that that was within Adam, because that's where the woman came from. Ladies: that will help you understand, you are not a separate entity; you are of man. God created man, and then from man He took woman. "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man," the Scripture says (1 Corinthians 11:9). That is not only a statement of authority and order, it's a statement of origin. Because of that, we know what the purpose is. We realize how perverted our society is today as we've seen the feminist movement and the moving away of women, the females, into the secular realm...
Two Become One, Part 7
July 23, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
et's turn to Genesis; we want to continue along the study we've been on. I know it's stirred a lot of conversation, and there's a lot of fellowship coming from it; it's a good thing. So, we're trying to really establish, in the midst of all of this world that's literally upside down from a biblical perspective, how we can be in the world and not of it, as the Apostle said. The Lord's coming. Amen? That's exciting! We see all of the signs of the times; you see, again, what's going on in the Middle East. The generation that sees these signs shall not pass until the Lord comes, and we believe we are the generation that's going to see the coming of the Lord. John says that every man that has that hope in him will then purify himself even as He is pure (1 John 3:3).
It's interesting. I was talking to [a friend] on the phone yesterday, and I talked to him for the first time in 35 years. I was just sharing with him a little bit, after we caught up on where he's been, and tried to bring him up over the last 35 years of my life- I haven't done a lot, but a few of the things we've done-I was just sharing with him what God's doing in our midst. Here's a young man, he's been in a church there in Seattle for the last 35 years. And it got silent on the other end of the phone for a minute, and then he said, "Man, we don't have that." He said, "Probably for the last 20 years I haven't heard anybody say anything about Jesus coming back." The Scripture speaks toward that, doesn't it? It says, "And this shall come upon all those that dwell upon the face of the whole earth..." That's what Revelation says, and in Thessalonians. That word in the Greek means, "those that are earth-dwellers." Too many Christians have become citizens of this world. We're just passing through. Amen? This isn't our home; this isn't what it's all about, we're just in preparation to go home. He's gone to prepare a place for us, and He said, "...I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2, 3). Praise God! Are you homesick? That will help you with all of the decisions you're going to be making that we've been talking about: Just stay homesick, ready to leave here, praise God...
Two Become One, Part 8
July 30, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
I want to remind you to continue to pray. We are hearing from Tony about great things going on in Africa. We will have some more details for you. Maybe we will be able to read some in the service this evening. There's a great revival taking place. He said the Umoja church is probably the healthiest it has ever been. Some great moves are going on there. Rob is doing very well at this time, and the ministry is growing. In Eldoret, I think he said in the last service they had 26 or 30 first-time visitors that had come out from the meetings they were holding.
He said they put the new vehicle to the first test. He said they were out in the bush holding some meetings and that there was no way they could have ever gotten to these places, some of these churches. He said they went right through with all of the sound equipment. One of the men in the area made a statement that touched their hearts. He said, "No one has ever bothered to place an altar here before." That's an interesting statement. Sadly, today, much of what is missions is just going to the big cities. Some of these people, believe it or not, have still never seen a white man in person. We are going into places that nobody goes, and God is moving.
Some great things are taking place. We are at the place right now where we are holding some people at bay that want to become a part. Right at this moment over there we have fifteen churches that are family, that have been officially ordained and are part of the ministry now. We have fifteen churches that are family. About six others are champing at the bit. Constantly, people want to join us. They see what is going on, and they can't believe there is a ministry caring for families and providing for their children. The children there are just pretty much cast off to do what they want to do. Either that or they are sent away to some type of a school. We are emphasizing the family unit and the care one for another. Father is doing a great work there. Continue to pray. Exciting things are taking place...
Two Become One, Part 9
July 30, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Make Jesus Lord and everything subordinate to His role in your life, to His will in your life. The secular mind... We seem to think that we have certain privileges and rights, but God, in His grace, is loving us and placing us in this body as it pleases Him. He is making provision for us to carry out the task of edifying the body of Christ, of being conformed to His image. He has put people in our lives, iron that sharpens us, those that come alongside. We have teachers that speak into our lives, and counselors and, of course, this great role of the spouse in our lives. The helpmeet, as it is from the man's perspective, and the danger that so many of you ladies are in and the need that you have, the covering, from the female's perspective. You need a covering. We were talking about-some of you ladies may have been offended, but you've got to understand who you are. Woman's natural propensity, with Eve as mother, is to usurp authority, to be in charge, to control the man, to manipulate the man, to actually assume lordship in that man's life. "Yes, I know God said not to eat, but here. My will be done." We're talking about natural man and so, as believers, we have to combat everything that is natural to man by preparing our minds though the Word of God, though our habitual obedience to the biblical principles of going against nature, and walking in the spirit so that we don't fulfill the natural propensity of the flesh. When we talk about the lust of the flesh, we're not just talking about sexual lust. We're not talking about the appetites of food or pleasure. When we talk about the lust of the flesh, we're talking about walking according to the natural course of life. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." (1 John 2:16). That's what we're warring and everything is, then, just the residual effects of that.
We're looking at our roles. Women need a covering; men need a helpmeet. We come together to make each other better, to become more Christlike. As we saw this morning, in our review of Genesis, the man, having abdicated his authority, was placed under the lordship of Jesus to provide by the sweat of his brow, to move in those areas of assuming provision for the woman. The woman, because of that usurping, was placed under and the commandment that she was to delight, then, in her husband. Let's turn over there quickly again and refresh ourselves. It's a vital part of this. We're going to begin to go from the relationships, the singles, we've talked so much over...
Two Become One, Part 10
August 2, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Amen. Let's go ahead and turn to the book of Corinthians. We'll be picking up on our study. Father has some good things to say to us. As we're talking about marriage relationships, it's so vital to catch the main point of what we're talking about, and that's the fact that it's not good for man to be alone, amen? And he that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of the Lord, praise God! If you don't believe it, ask Dana. Some of you may have heard about the betrothal for Dana and Michelle and we're just excited for them, praise God, and believing for God to do just a great work in their lives. There are some great things that are taking place. And if things don't go well, then there can be some negative consequences. (I think some of you may have heard-others have not-that one man and his family have left the fellowship here and are no longer part of the family. It's a thing where what we're talking about-a man choosing to follow his wife, and there are usually grave consequences in that, so it's something that we're praying for the salvation of the family and for God's will to be done in their lives.) Praise God! Making choices that are wise, making choices that you're very sure of what you're getting in the process and it will save a lot of grief in your lives.
Chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians-remember, we were talking about the fact that Paul is answering questions that the Corinthian church had presented. A lot of the questions they were asking were generated by Gnostic thought or (I might say this. If you have to see them on the street at this time, they've left. They've left, not in good standing. My last words to them were when you can return in humility and a spirit of meekness, come back. That's where it stands, so relating will be based upon if there isn't any reaching in or any strife or anything else that is done in areas of defamation, then you can just treat them like anybody else that you would admonish and encourage to make sure that they are ready for the coming of the Lord.)...
Two Become One, Part 11
August 6, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Thank you, Jesus, amen! Let's turn to Ephesians, and also to Titus. We'll continue along with our study. We're going to try to wind this up here in the next session or so. A lot of good fruit has come already. We've heard a lot of testimony, a lot of discussion, and feedback that's come. I've been trying, as I've said, to keep this very practical for us and not just a doctrinal thing; most of us understand the doctrinal principals. It's just getting down to daily letting the spirit of God live through us. As we walk in the spirit, the Scripture says, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
In Ephesians, Chapter 5, we're talking about godly relationships and the order that Father has ordained for man. There is an order. The Scripture says that it was not good for man to be alone, so He made him a helpmeet. Adam, of course, was at this time delighted, fulfilled, and had communion with Father. Then, we know the order was broken. Woman became the usurper. That's been the natural tendency from the beginning, the spirit of Satan, the usurper, not content with the role he was created for. The second greatest creature of all time couldn't be satisfied, had to be head, and he was brought down and cast into hell. The woman was not content with her role. Satan came and said, "God's holding out on you. Eat this fruit. Your eyes will be opened, you'll be as gods." The woman ate, her eyes were opened, and at that point she realized for the first time, after having been deceived-the man was not deceived, the woman was deceived. After having been deceived, her eyes were opened and she realized she was under. She didn't like that role, her eyes were opened. She was content as long as she was in God.
Now there was a discontentment, first with God, and now with man. So, the role we see being carried out as a messenger of Satan, to go and seduce her husband. He ate, defected, and abdicated his role, and God brought judgment on them, as we saw. Man's role was now to be that of overseer, one that would be the authority. A lot of people think that's the role you want. I want to tell you something. It's not all it's cracked up to be, being responsible, being the one who has to make the decisions, being the one who has to answer...
Two Become One, Part 12
August 6, 2006 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Well, He is coming back soon. Amen? Looking forward to that, praise God! Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus! Let's turn over to 1 Corinthians 13 and allow the Lord to continue to speak to us. I understand that Jeff went through 1 Corinthians 13 a couple of sessions ago on friendship. We can never get enough of trying to apprehend the love of God and see it manifested in our midst; being able to, as we shared this morning, having freely received be ready to freely give. Such a precious gift; such a sobering responsibility that we have before us. As we were going through this morning we, of course, reviewed in Ephesians and in Titus the commandments for us to love one another: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. The mature women to teach the less mature how to love their husbands, love their children, tend to the call of God on their lives, to their homes. Then we see here in 1 Corinthians, as we go over to the thirteenth chapter, this discourse on love. Now, remember where it fits, here, in its context, between Chapters 12 and 14. The whole context of that is the edification of the body of Christ through the gifts of the Spirit. We're coming out of 1 Corinthians 12 as it speaks of body ministry, the building up of the church. The key word over and over again: the church, the church. He says that the only way that you can effectively use these gifts is through love. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not [love]... and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing..." the Scripture says. Everything that we do-all of the good deeds, all of the observable works-the heart motive has to be love. It has to be the natural flowing forth of our gratitude for having been loved. Freely we've received; we freely give.
As Paul's speaking here in 1 Corinthians, and we were going down through the passages, I think we were finishing up this morning on the area-let me see, I don't remember how far we got-behaving itself unseemly, I think, is where we left off. One of the things that we were talking about in that particular passage was being courteous. We were talking about allowing God's love to manifest itself through us. One of the things that I think we need to watch, as we'll finish up on this subject of not behaving itself unseemly, we talked about bringing public reproof and tearing down our loved ones publicly. There might be a time when that would be necessary, but most of the time you don't want to demean the object of your love in the eyes of others; we're looking to esteem them. We're not talking about overlooking sin, we're not talking about speaking toward certain aspects that need attention, but, we're just talking about that sharpness, that shortness...
