10-29-25 Sermon: The Faith Rest Life and the Pre-designed Plan of God

I. Opening and Preparation for Study

Call to Silent Prayer

Purpose: To ensure the filling of the Holy Spirit for the study.

Scripture Reference: 1 John 1:9

Quote: "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Additional instruction: Cast all cares upon the Lord for any disturbances, trials, or tribulations.

Paraphrased Scripture: "cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us." (Reference to 1 Peter 5:7)

Audible Prayer

Thanksgiving for the day and the opportunity to study God's Word.

Petition for the Holy Spirit to open hearts to receive truth.

Petition for concentration on the principles being taught.

Petition for the speaker to have power and authority to speak God's Word.

Petition for the speaker to have the grace that God's Word teaches.

Closing in Jesus' name.

II. Introduction: Transitioning to the Pre-Designed Plan of God

Administrative Note: QR code for new slides is available.

Topic Announcement: The study will transition from the "faith rest life" (including arrogance and emotional complexes of sins) to the "pre-designed plan of God," which will be the focus through the beginning of the year.

Tonight's Lesson: A review of the faith rest drill/life with new principles, and an introduction to the pre-designed plan of God.

A related message will be taught on Sunday, the 16th, as part of this unfolding series.

Pivotal Nature of the Faith Rest Life

The previous 9-10 studies on the faith rest life and drill are foundational for understanding the pre-designed plan of God.

The faith rest drill is one of the problem-solving devices.

Assertion: If you cannot master the faith rest drill and its concepts, it will be impossible to execute the plan of God for your life.

Encouragement: Review past studies on the app, especially if any were missed, as these principles will be recurring.

III. The Faith Rest Life in Summary

Lesson Title: The Faith Rest Life and the Pre-designed Plan of God.

Definition: The Faith Rest Life

"The believer's ability to trust the character of God by claiming promises, developing rationales, and reaching doctrinal conclusions that produce inner peace under pressure."

Personal Testimony and Application

The speaker will introduce another personal technique from the Word of God later in the lesson.

Attribution: These principles are from studies with Pastor Bob McLaughlin, with some from Pastor R.B. Thieme Jr. in the 90s.

Personal Impact: These principles have been paramount in transforming the speaker's life in the past year and a half, ultimately delivering him from bipolar disorder.

Doctrinal Point: God is no respecter of persons; if these principles work for one person, they can work for all.

The Individuality of God's Plan

God's plan for each believer is individual and unique.

The principles to operate within the pre-designed plan of God are universal for all believers.

Warning: Do not simply copy another person's life (e.g., the speaker's) and expect the exact same results. The principles apply, but the execution is individual.

Illustration: Medication and Faith

The speaker notes it has been one year (since June) that he has been off all psych medications after over 20 years.

Caveat: This is not an anti-medicine stance or a command for others to stop their medication.

God uses means, including medicine and healthcare. The speaker works in healthcare.

Analogy: Blood Thinners: If a patient receives a heart stent, they are put on blood thinners (e.g., Brilinta or Plavix) and aspirin. They must take these, or the stent will thrombose (clot).

While God could supernaturally prevent this, He often uses means. The wisdom for these medical technologies comes from God.

A prescription from a physician is an individual matter between the patient and doctor.

Taking prescribed medication does not necessarily mean a lack of trust in God.

The speaker's journey off medication was God's specific plan for him, not a universal directive. All actions must be grounded in God's Word and truth.

IV. Review of Foundational Principles

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 4:2 (Review from many weeks ago)

Quote: "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did."

Context: "They" refers to the exodus generation of Israel.

Clarification: "Good news" here is not the Gospel, but the doctrinal teaching given by Moses in the wilderness.

Quote: "but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united with those who listened in faith."

Example of those in faith: Caleb and Joshua.

Example of those not in faith: The ten spies with the bad report.

Application: The Three Phases of Failure in Learning Doctrine

1. Perception Stage: Failing to take in doctrine at all.

2. Metabolization Phase: Hearing the principles but not "mixing it with faith" or believing it.

3. Application Phase: Knowing the doctrine but failing to apply it when pressure comes.

Illustration: A person recently told the speaker, "this faith rest drill, this is great stuff, and now I just have to apply it." The speaker's response: "Join the club... I have to do the same exact things."

V. The Faith Rest Drill: Step 1 - Claiming a Promise

Core Promise: Romans 8:28

This verse is connected to future studies on:

The pre-designed plan of God.

The three stages of spiritual adulthood: spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity.

Sowing and reaping (The Seven Laws of the Harvest).

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:28

Quote: "And we know, that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose."

Analysis of Romans 8:28

This is a conditional promise . It is not for every believer and certainly not for unbelievers.

Condition 1: "To those who love God."

How do you know if you love God? By keeping His commandments (paraphrasing Jesus).

You cannot love someone you do not know. People who claim to love God but know nothing of His Word do not truly love Him.

Condition 2: "To those who are called according to his purpose."

Greek Word Study: The word for "purpose" is prothesis .

Definition: A predetermined plan or a design.

This promise is for those operating in the pre-designed plan of God.

The Perfection of God's Plan

God is perfect, therefore His plan is perfect.

The problem is our imperfection.

Question: How can imperfect people operate in a perfect plan?

Answer: By learning to walk in the Spirit, utilizing the "new creation" part of us that is perfect. This will be a future study topic.

Function of the Promise in the Faith Rest Drill

Claiming a promise like Romans 8:28 is the first step.

It is a "stabilizing promise" that centers the soul but is not enough to carry you through the trial on its own.

Principle: "The believer's peace rests not in understanding the why, but by trusting in the who."

VI. The Faith Rest Drill: Step 2 - Developing a Doctrinal Rationale

The Next Step: Coming up with a doctrinal rationale.

Paul's Example: Paul provides the rationale for Romans 8:28 in the very next verses.

Definition of a Rationale:

Re-explaining doctrine to yourself.

Engaging in self-talk to rationalize God's Word in your own soul.

Referred to as "giving yourself a check up from the neck up."

The battle is waged in the heart, brain, and soul.

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:29-30 (The Rationale)

Verse 29 begins: "For those whom he foreknew..."

(The speaker pauses to read a personal note).

VII. Review: The Pre-Designed Plan of God (Romans 8)

Introduction to the upcoming series: "The Pre-Designed Plan of God."

Scripture Reference: (Implicitly Romans 8:29) "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined."

Review of Foreknowledge:

God knew all about you in eternity past.

God has all knowledge: He knew every struggle, failure, and success you would ever have.

Review of Predestination:

God designed a "pre-designed plan" for you to walk in.

Application: You must decide and choose if you want to walk in it.

Clarification: Predestination does not mean God predestined you to sin (e.g., alcoholism is not God's predestined will for you).

It means God has a plan for you to walk in, and you must choose to do so.

The Procedure of God:

There is a right way to do things; a right thing must be done in the right way.

God has a procedure, and we must choose to learn and operate in it.

The only way to learn the procedure is by studying the Word of God.

We must learn God's way and choose by our own volition to walk in it.

Scripture Reference: (Implicitly Romans 8:29-30)

"He also predestined to be become conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

"And those whom he predestined he also called (or elected)."

Election has to do with privilege.

"And those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

VIII. The Significance of the Aorist Tense

Slide Presentation: A slide is shown regarding the aorist tense.

Review of Previous Study:

This connects to the study on God's omnipresence.

Illustration: The ram in the thicket was already provided for Abraham.

Illustration: Hagar saw a well of water after God opened her eyes; the provision was already there.

Theological Definition: The Aorist Tense

"Faith rest produces tranquility of soul and momentum in the pre-designed plan of God."

The Aorist Tense in Doctrinal Teaching:

It often underscores the completed, non-repeatable nature of God's actions.

It is frequently seen in doctrines of salvation, justification, and positional sanctification.

It conveys the idea that what God has decreed and accomplished is final and unchangeable.

The actions are "already accomplished facts."

Application to Romans 8:

The verbs foreknew and predestined are in the aorist tense (a past tense).

It points to a specific point in time where something happened.

All the verbs in this passage (predestined, called, justified, glorified) are in the aorist tense, referring to actions completed in eternity past.

Conclusion: The things God has for our lives have already been determined and ordained by Him. It is up to us to walk in them. This is why we must learn about the pre-designed plan of God and the faith-rest life.

IX. Review: Barriers to the Faith-Rest Life

Introduction: We have been studying the barriers to faith-rest, spending about six weeks on the emotional complex of sins.

Barrier 1: The Arrogance Complex of Sins

Definition: Self-absorption, self-deception, self-justification.

Results:

Replacing divine viewpoint.

Rejection of authority.

Fragmentation of the soul.

Ultimately, divine discipline.

Working Definition of Arrogance: "Elevating yourself above God and his word."

The Doctrine of Humility

Working Definition of Humility: "The mental attitude that submits to the authority and sufficiency of God's word over human reasoning, emotion, or self-will."

Two Kinds of Humility:

1. Genuine Humility: The mindset described above.

2. Enforced Humility: What is necessary in the absence of genuine humility.

Application: We must get to a point where we can look at our thinking and say, "I am wrong, God is right," and change our thinking to align with God's Word.

This is not false humility, but a mental attitude of submission to God's Word.

Barrier 2: The Emotional Complex of Sins

Definition: "When emotion becomes a decision maker of the soul."

Results: Fear, anger, guilt, despair, blackout of the soul.

The Danger of These Complexes:

Key Point: These complexes are progressive . It is not as important to memorize the stages as it is to remember their progressive nature.

These are the two biggest barriers that will knock you out of the faith-rest drill and the pre-designed plan of God faster than anything.

Comparison: They are more dangerous than an act of immorality.

Illustration: If I steal from a store, that is a sin. I can confess it (1 John 1:9) and restore fellowship because Christ paid the penalty.

The arrogance and emotional complexes are often subtle and come on without realization.

The Difficulty of Recovery:

The further you go down the road of these complexes (e.g., emotional revolt of the soul), the harder it is to recover.

Recovery requires genuine or enforced humility—the ability to say, "This is wrong, what I'm thinking... the path I'm on is not right."

Many people get to a stage where they don't recognize their path is wrong.

Recovery also requires confession: naming and citing the sin (e.g., "God, I confess the sin of arrogance/fear/worry/anxiety").

Important Distinction:

This is not about normal human emotional reactions.

Illustration: If a pit bull is chasing you, the resulting fear is not a sin to be confessed.

The complex is when fear, anxiety, and worry dictate your life and take you down a path outside of God's will. That is when it becomes sin.

X. The Unbeliever's Walk vs. The Believer's Growth (Ephesians 4)

Slide Presentation: A slide with the text of Ephesians 4 is shown.

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:14-19

v. 14: "As a result, we are no longer to be children..." (noting children are unstable) "...tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by the craftiness and deceitful scheming."

v. 15: "But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up..." (Key: spiritual maturity) "...in all aspects into him who is the head, that is Christ,"

v. 16: "...from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."

v. 17: "So I say this and affirm in the Lord that you are no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their minds,"

v. 18: "...being darkened..." (blackout of the soul) "...in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of the heart."

v. 19: "And they, having become callous..." (scar tissue on the soul) "...have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness."

XI. The Path to Recovery and Encouragement

Summary of Recovery from the Complexes:

1. Rebound: 1 John 1:9 restores the filling of the Spirit.

2. PMA: Perception, Metabolization, and Application of Bible doctrine, which renews divine viewpoint thinking.

3. Humility: Receptivity, teachability, and dependence on God.

Self-correction: "I probably should have put that first."

Encouragement for the Believer:

No matter where you are or what you've done (arrogance/emotional complex), if you are still alive, God still has a plan for you.

This study is not to produce condemnation or guilt. God knew about every failure you would ever have.

People often run from God, thinking He is mad at them.

Review of Previous Lesson: The example of David, who would rather be delivered into the hands of God than his enemies because God is merciful and gracious.

XII. The Ultimate Example: Christ's Humility (Philippians 2)

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:5-8

v. 5: "Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus,"

v. 6-7: "...who, as he already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself..." (Doctrine of Kenosis) "...by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men."

v. 8: "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself in becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross."

Application and Preview of Future Study:

In the humanity of Jesus, His pre-designed plan was to go to the cross.

Our pre-designed plan is not the same, but we look to Jesus as our example.

Key Point: The same power system that Jesus operated in during His humanity is the same power available to us. This will be the focus of the "Pre-Designed Plan of God" series.

XIII. Illustration: The Giants in the Plan of God (Numbers 13-14)

Introduction: Continuing the topic from last week.

Audience Instruction: Turn to Numbers 14.

Context of Numbers 13 & 14: The passage shows Israel's failure and their subsequent attempt to conquer the land in human power after being told God was not with them.

Scripture Reading: Numbers 13:32-33

v. 32: "So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land... 'The land through which we have gone in spying it out is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.'"

v. 33: "'There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.'"

Scripture Reading: Numbers 14:1

"Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night."

Narrative Summary:

Moses intercedes for the people after God wants to wipe them out. God forgives them but pronounces judgment.

Scripture Reading: Numbers 14:39

"When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly."

Original Language Note: The original Hebrew indicates they were hysterical and wept all night.

Recap of the Setting and Analogy:

The Israelites were led out of slavery toward the Promised Land.

Analogy: The Promised Land represents the pre-designed plan of God for our lives; it does not represent heaven.

When they spied out the land, they saw giants, fortified cities, and high walls.

Their Reaction (Unbelief): "What is going on here?... We should just go back to Egypt. God brought us here to kill us." They were unprepared for the struggles ("giants") in the plan.

Theological Purpose of the "Giants":

The situation was designed to bring out their unbelief.

It was a foregone conclusion that they could not defeat these giants on their own. That was the whole point.

Application: We face things in our lives where we think, "How could I overcome this?" The point is not how you are going to do it.

The point is that God is the one who will go with you. Caleb and Joshua understood this.

God is the one who fights the battle; you can't do it alone.

The Ironic Reversal of Attitude:

Initially, their response was, "We can't do this," and they wanted to stone Moses.

After judgment is pronounced, they are despondent and cry all night.

Scripture Reading: Numbers 14:40

"In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, 'Here we are; we have indeed sinned, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.'"

The sermon notes the sudden and dramatic change in their attitude.

XIV. The Impossibility of Human Strength vs. The Power of God

Introduction: The Folly of Self-Reliance

The generation of Israelites who refused to enter the Promised Land now decide to go in their own power, against God's command.

Application to Christianity: This is a common mistake in the Christian life. Believers try to live the Christian life in their own strength, find it "too hard," and give up.

The Christian life is not just "too hard"; it is impossible in your own strength.

Scripture Reference: Numbers 14:41-44

Moses confronts them: "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord?"

Moses warns them: "Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies. Why? For the Lord is not among you."

"For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. And as much as you have turned back from following the Lord, and the Lord will not be with you."

Despite the warning, "they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country. Neither the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp."

Scripture Reference: Numbers 14:45

"Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and struck them and beat them down as far as Horma."

Doctrinal Point: The Arrogance of Human Effort

It is ironic that the people who were too afraid to go with God are now willing to go without Him.

This is an attempt to "prove to God" and "show God" that they can do it, hoping He will change His mind.

This is a clear display of the emotional complex of sins and the arrogance complex of sins.

XV. The Divine Mandate and The Reality of the Giants

Transition to the Next Generation

The next generation is taught by the same Bible teacher, Moses.

Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 9:1-3 (A review from the previous week)

v. 1: "Here, Israel, you are crossing the Jordan today... to go and to dispossess what? Nations greater and mightier than you."

Key Point: It is a foregone conclusion that the enemy is stronger than you. It was never a question of whether you could solve your problems in your own strength.

Application: When you face trials and tribulations ("your giants"), you must understand they are greater than you. To execute the pre-designed plan of God (PPOG), you will have to face your giants.

v. 2: They will face "cities that are great and fortified to heaven, and people who are great and tall, the sons of Anakim."

v. 3: "So be aware today, listen now, that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over ahead of you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them. He will subdue them before you so that you may drive them out and eliminate them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken."

Application for Today

We will all face struggles, trials, and problems that are greater and mightier than us.

The solution is that "The Lord your God is going to go before you and fight them."

The central question is what power system you will operate in:

1. God's pre-designed plan and power system.

2. Your own power, like the first generation of Israel.

Modern "Giants": Fear, guilt, emotional instability, arrogance, suffering.

Principle: Until we face them through doctrine, we cannot advance in the pre-designed plan of God.

XVI. The Faith-Rest Life: The Doctrinal Conclusion

Recap of the Faith-Rest Drill:

1. The Promise: Romans 8:28

2. The Rationale: God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified.

3. The Doctrinal Conclusion: Romans 8:31-39

The Practice of Faith-Rest ("Check up from the neck up")

The faith-rest life should be a constant way of life, not just for facing giants.

It involves constantly evaluating your thoughts and motivations, which requires doctrine.

Personal Testimony: The speaker constantly talks to himself, speaking divine viewpoint to counter the remnants of bipolar disorder (depression, anxiety, mania).

The process involves re-explaining the promise and the rationale to yourself.

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:31-39 (The Conclusion)

v. 31: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us [a first-class condition, meaning He is], who is against us?"

Attitude of Caleb and Joshua: Their attitude was, "If God is for us, who does it even matter is against us?" They said, "Let's go right now... because we are well able to possess this land."

v. 32: "He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?"

This is an a fortiori argument (from the greater to the lesser).

Analogy: If you saw someone do 50 push-ups, you would have no doubt they could do 10. If God did the greater thing (giving His Son), He will surely do the lesser (giving us all things).

v. 33-34: "Who will bring charges against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."

v. 35-37: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, trouble, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword, just as it is written, 'for your sake we are killed all the day long, and we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered?' No, but in all of these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us."

v. 38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, or any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Summary Point: No giant, circumstance, or power in creation can separate us from God's love.

XVII. The Power System of the New Creation

The Source of Victory: The indwelling of Christ is our power base and guarantees success in the PPOG.

Scripture Reference: Colossians 1:27

"To whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Anchored in Divine Decrees

Romans 8:28-39 is anchored in the divine decrees.

Predestination: God designed a perfect plan for every believer, even though we are not perfect.

Hint: Part of us is perfect. As believers, there is a part of us that cannot sin, is righteous, and is perfectly holy.

The Radio Analogy

The Christian life is not about adding new stations to your old radio (the flesh/sin nature). God gives you a completely new radio (the new creation).

Living the Christian life is learning to turn down the volume on the old radio and operate the new one.

Principle: For everything in creation (fish, birds, etc.), God provides the means for it to function as it was created. We are new creations in Christ, and God has provided a power system for us to operate in that new creation.

The New Wine in Old Wineskins Analogy

People try to live the Christian life in their flesh (the old system). This is like putting new wine in old wineskins; they will burst.

Structure and Function

The Pre-Designed Plan of God (PPOG) provides the structure .

The Faith-Rest Life provides the daily function.

Jesus is our model, and the same power available to Him in His humanity is available to us.

XVIII. The Battlefield of the Mind

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

v. 3: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh."

v. 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."

v. 5: "We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

Context and Principle

Paul is defending his ministry from critics who judged by human standards.

The real battlefield of the spiritual life is not physical, but mental.

The Christian way of life is fought inside the soul, not with external actions or human energy.

The Believer's Weaponry: Doctrine, the filling of the Spirit, and the faith-rest drill are divinely empowered to demolish strongholds of human viewpoint.

Word Study of 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Fortresses: A stronghold or defensive wall. Used metaphorically for mental systems of false thinking, arrogance, emotion, human viewpoint, and satanic lies that dominate the soul when doctrine is rejected. These are mental prisons.

Destroying: To demolish, destroy, or tear down.

Speculations (Arguments): Reasoning, rationalizations, or mental constructs. This refers to the systematic demolition of false human reasoning through the application of divine viewpoint.

Lofty things raised up (Arrogance): A high barrier or arrogant elevation. Refers to the mental pride that elevates human reasoning above God's revelation ("I know better than God").

Take captive (Captivity): To take captive at spearpoint or to subdue.

Thought: Design, thought, or mental perception.

Conclusion: This describes doctrinal discipline. Every thought must be examined, tested, and aligned with divine viewpoint before it can dominate the soul. Every thought must submit to the mind of Christ.

XIX. Mental Adjustment to the Justice of God

Scripture Reference: Philippians 2:5

"Have this attitude in yourselves which is also in Christ Jesus."

Connecting Doctrine to Personal Experience

The concept of "taking every thought captive" (2 Cor. 10:5) is central to the speaker's own struggle and victory.

Personal Testimony: The speaker discusses his time at Butler Hospital and learning Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Biblical Basis of CBT: Secular psychology has stolen CBT from the Bible, removing God from the process. This is a counterfeit, like all of Satan's work.

Scripture Reference: Romans 12:2

"don't be conformed to the world, but be transformed, how? By the renewing of your mind."

The speaker's previous study, "Renewed Mind, Resilient Lives," was a biblical approach to CBT.

The Daily Process of Mental Adjustment

The faith-rest life is the daily process of bringing thoughts into captivity.

When fear, resentment, guilt, or frustration arise, you must stop and adjust your thinking to the character and justice of God.

Contrasting Viewpoints:

Arrogance says: "I deserve better."

Emotion says: "I can't take this anymore."

Doctrine says: "God is just, God is faithful, and he will handle this."

By bringing thought into captivity, the believer reorients to grace and justice, recognizing God's decisions are always righteous and fair.

Application Principles for the Faith-Rest Life

1. Identify the thought: Recognize when arrogance or emotion is influencing your soul.

This is the "checkup from the neck up."

Practice: Keep short accounts with God. Do not let things pile up.

Problem: When people fail, they often hide from God instead of returning to Him.

Illustration: The Garden of Eden: The first manifestation of sin was fear. Adam hid because he was afraid. We do the same because we often don't understand the true character of God.

God is merciful and gracious.

2. Recall God's Character

Scripture Reference: Isaiah (partially quoted)

"Let the wicked person forsake his way, and the unrighteous person his thoughts." Why? Because God is merciful and gracious.

XX. Faith-Rest Drill: The Believer's Response to Giants (Full Process)

The Principle of Returning to God

Scripture Reference: Isaiah 55

When the wicked man forsakes his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, he should "return unto the Lord."

The purpose is not for God to lecture, rebuke, or punish him.

The promise is: "for he will have compassion on him."

Doctrinal Point: God's policy with us is always grace.

Illustration: The nation of Israel failed ten times in the desert, yet God continuously provided for them.

Application: God wants you to come back, regardless of how far you have gone into arrogance, emotional sins, or trusting in your own flesh.

You cannot quit, give up, or believe God will not take you back.

To think you have "blown it" permanently is a form of arrogance.

It involves misrepresenting the character and nature of God to yourself.

Step 2: Rebound

Confess any known sin to restore fellowship with God.

Step 3: Replace

Recall a promise or a doctrinal rationale.

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:28

Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 31:8 (Referred to as Romans 31:8 initially, then corrected to Deuteronomy)

Quote: "And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you. He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear. Do not be dismayed."

Word Study: "Dismayed" means looking around panic-stricken, wondering where hope will come from or how you will get through something.

Application: It is the Lord your God who is going with you on the journey into the promised land (the pre-designed plan for your life), even through horrendous struggles and trials.

Connection to the Indwelling of the Trinity

Scripture Reference: Colossians (implied reference to Colossians 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory").

Doctrinal Point: Wherever you go, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit live inside of you.

Analogy: We don't have to worry about the Ark of the Covenant going with us; the presence of God is now inside of us as we face our giants.

Step 4: Rest

This is the "rest" part of the faith-rest drill.

Reach a doctrinal conclusion, resting in the justice and love of God.

Step 5: Repeat

Keep bringing stray thoughts back in line with divine truth.

This is a process that must be constantly repeated; adjustments must be made throughout the day.

Personal Illustration: The speaker's struggle with depression.

Distinction: Depression as a normal human emotion (e.g., after a death or job loss) vs. Clinical Depression.

Clinical Depression: Experiencing the feelings that accompany a traumatic event when no such event has occurred.

The speaker's experience: Sometimes he just wakes up that way; it is his "giant" that he must face using the faith-rest drill.

Application: The speaker has determined that if he has to be depressed, he will continue on in the plan of God for his life until God delivers him from it.

The process of readjustment: Anxiety may go away and then come back, requiring constant mental adjustments ("check up from the neck up").

He must constantly ask: "What are my thoughts? Where are these thoughts coming from? Is this God?"

XXI. The Mental Battlefield and the Role of Doctrine (Summary)

The mature believer constantly takes inventory of his thoughts, making sure they align with the character of God and Bible doctrine.

This is how the soul stays stabilized under pressure.

Doctrinal Point: The real spiritual battle is fought in the mind.

Faith-rest is the believer's mental shield against arrogance, emotion, and fear.

"Bringing every thought into captivity" means constantly readjusting your soul to the justice of God.

The Power and Content for Victory

The filling of the Spirit provides the power .

Bible doctrine provides the content.

Crucial Point: You cannot execute the faith-rest drill without knowing doctrine. Your first step is what you are doing now (learning doctrine).

XXII. Final Points on Giants and Spiritual Growth

Stability in crisis comes from continuous mental realignment to divine truth.

Each time a believer rests in God's word instead of reacting in fear or emotion, another giant falls.

This moves the believer closer to spiritual maturity and the enjoyment of their "escrow blessings."

The Purpose of Giants:

They are not there to defeat you.

Though they are greater than you, they are there to reveal God's power in you.

They are divine opportunities to exercise faith-rest and prove the sufficiency of God's grace.

The giants and pressures of life expose our mentality.

XXIII. Personal Testimony: Failure, Shame, and Grace

The Backstory:

The speaker was pastoring in the mid-90s.

In 1999, he walked away from the ministry and from God.

Reason: Pressures came that he could not deal with. The "slow progress" of decline happened to him.

The Consequences:

From 1999 to 2003, he lost everything: his marriage, house, cars, and career.

Around that time, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He spent the next 20-some years trying to live in his own power and strength.

He pursued happiness through every worldly outlet and system.

All the while, he possessed a great deal of doctrine but rejected it due to arrogance and the emotional complex of sins.

The Simple Solution He Ignored:

All he had to do was practice humility and rebound (confess sin) to get back into fellowship.

This simple solution was ignored for 20 years of being on medications, in "environmental institutions," and seeing his life unravel.

The Restoration:

He finally came back to God and started taking in doctrine again.

He began putting these studies together, birthed from what he learned in the past year and a half through "Pastor Bob" (Robert McLaughlin).

He listened for months before ever attending the church in person.

The Core Realization:

Looking back, he realized it was when the pressure came that he folded and failed to trust in God's power.

The "great shame" of his life was not a specific sin, but the fact that he failed so badly as a minister.

This shame kept him from coming back to God for so long. He thought, "God will never take me back. How would I be able to go back to God?"

He now identifies this viewpoint as satanic.

God's Grace in Retrospect:

By the grace and mercy of God, he now looks back over those 20 years and sees the hand of God in everything.

Analogy: The "Footprints in the Sand" story. When he saw only one set of footprints during the hardest times, it was because God was carrying him.

XXIV. Open Discussion and Audience Comments

Announcement: Next week, the series on "the pre-designed plan of God" will begin and will likely last through January.

Comment from Audience Member 1:

Christianity requires the filling of the Holy Spirit (power) and metabolized doctrine. Without both, you cannot advance.

Analogy: It's like a car with no gas. You have to put gas in it.

You can have a lot of doctrine and still fail if you don't have the filling of the Spirit, which is what makes you love and use the doctrine.

The problem-solving devices don't work without rebound.

Speaker's Response:

Agrees, noting that most people rely on their own strength. That is the problem.

Comment from Audience Member 1 (Cont.):

We go through these things because Christ wants us to see that the power is not in us, but it is Christ in us. It is Him working through us.

The problems are greater than us; we already know we can't do it.

Quote: "He must increase, and I must decrease."

Comment from Audience Member 2:

Shares her personal battle with feeling she didn't raise her son well enough, and how that thought is not from God.

Her husband tries to reassure her, but the negative thoughts persist.

Speaker's Response:

Everyone is accountable for themselves at some point. We all represent ourselves before God.

Warning against the "victim mentality" (e.g., "woe is me," blaming a bad upbringing).

At some point, you have to stop that cycle and declare, "Today is the day that I'm responsible for myself."

The first day you can move forward is the day you can look back and own everything you've ever done.

Comment from Audience Member 1 (Cont.):

With the "Exodus generation" (referring to the conquest generation), every obstacle they faced, the Lord was always before them. But you can't see that without doctrine.

Without doctrine, you think you have to do it yourself, which is why they failed miserably.

Doctrine teaches you that God is going to do it, not you. God fights your battles.

This is what is often missed in Christianity. We think we have to do it, but we don't have the power.

Doctrinal Point: "It is finished." He did the job. We come from a position of His finished work. God's work is perfect, and we are here to demonstrate that perfection as He works through us.

XXV. Closing Prayer

The speaker closes in prayer.

Thanksgiving: For the time, the day, God's blessings, faithfulness, mercy, and goodness. Thanks for the Word taught.

Petition:

Asks the Holy Spirit to quicken the word to their hearts.

Asks that the message would help them grow closer to God, rely on Him, and execute His plan.

Prays against distractions, obstacles, and hindrances, asking for focus on God's word.

Prays for God's blessing and favor upon each person as they leave, according to His will.

Closes in the name of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

XXVI. Post-Sermon Remarks

Brief, informal conversation follows the prayer.