EDIFICATION COMPLEX of the SOUL

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Definition - THE EDIFICATION COMPLEX OF THE SOUL (ECS): The Immaterial “structure” in the soul of a mature believer; the foundation is doctrine stored in the human spirit. Composed of “Five Floors”: 1. Grace Orientation; 2. Relaxed Mental Attitude; 3. Mastery of the Details of Life; 4. Three Categories of Love: for God: for Opposite Sex: for Friends; 5. Sharing the Happiness of God E. Category Two Love 1. Love is not an overt function, but love comes from the soul. 2. If you do not have character and values in the soul from the execution of the plan of God, even if you are sincere when you say, “I love you,” it is meaningless. 3. We are not born with the capability of loving anyone. We are born spiritually dead with built in arrogance. We are born with built in self-deception. If we lie to ourselves, we are lying to others when we tell them we love them. 4. If you say to someone, “I love you,” and this is sex outside of marriage, you have lied to yourself and to the person to whom you have said these things. The supreme court of heaven severely disciplines any person who lies in this way. 5. Category 2 love is exclusive. It is extended to one person of the opposite sex. All others are excluded! Sex love and sex happiness are found in ONE PERSON ONLY! This knocks out three things as a basis for sex happiness: homosexuality, lesbianism, and adultery. Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it. The strength of Category 2 love is declared in Song of Solomon: Song of Solomon 8:6 "Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm (finger). For *love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD. *love is as strong as death - It is as strong as death, and it cannot be quenched by any pressure in life. Once a husband or a wife is in your soul, he or she stays there. One or the other may never do anything of which the opposite one approves; but both are there to stay. 6. The glory of Category 2 love is declared in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 7. The only way you will ever have a consistent spiritual life is by true love or spirituality versus pseudo love or arrogance. a. Rapport with God is a harmonious relationship with Him. It begins at the moment of faith in Christ. This rapport is initiated by God at salvation and is fulfilled by the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. b. We do not establish rapport with God on the basis of what He can do for us. We establish rapport with God only through the fulfillment of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. c. Rapport with God must precede rapport with people. You are always going to be in trouble with people if there is something wrong with your relationship with God. d. Love relationships interacting in the human race only are effective for the believer when the principle of advancing spiritually is being employed. e. The believer cannot love God or even have compatibility with God apart from the unique spiritual life. We establish rapport with God on His terms which are the values of the post salvation spiritual life. f. Those who have no human capacity for love are self-serving. They have pseudo love that functions under self-deception by responding to flattery and various lust patterns of the sin nature which always lead believers astray. g. The result is self-justification which distorts pseudo love into failure to take responsibility for one’s own bad decisions. 8. We must understand how God uses His love to solve problems. We are born spiritually dead and helpless to do anything about it. God the Son used His love as the motivation to go the Cross and bear our sins as a substitute for us. a. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died as a substitute for us.” b. John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His uniquely-born Son that anyone who believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life.” 9. No one has to tell you how to love someone else or please someone else, if you are virtuous. You must have the capacity in your soul to love them. Love is not a matter of attraction, but capacity. We are born arrogant and without capacity for love so we must learn it through Bible doctrine. (see G. Capacity to love others… just above Lesson 22).

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] We started the Edification Complex of the Soul on 6-15-25. The reason I picked this study was to help us to grow in our spiritual life by advancing through the levels of growth to reach the top where we can share the happiness of God. You have learned several important words that you can use in your spiritual vocabulary, so you can start using them as part of your spiritual growth. Words like, “the Divine Dynasphere”, “the Cosmic System”, “Cosmic One”, “Cosmic Two’, “Personal Love”, Unconditional Love”, etc. It is important to learn from each level of growth but we also need to apply what we have learned. That is when we start to understand that we can do nothing without the help of Jesus and the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. One aspect of this is to think that we have plenty of time to go over each learning level but we don’t. We have good intentions, but time is moving faster than we notice and we have so many things to do that we forget what we studied. So, what can we do? We can pray to God to help us make priorities and how to keep them. Here is an example: For a long time, we haven’t had any young people in our church. We have prayed to God to send us not only children but also grownups. We haven’t heard from God on this issue but we continue to be consistent with our prayers, but there are things we can do to bring children and people to our church. Parents and Grandparents can talk to their children about how he or she can learn about the Bible and let them know that it is the best way to learn about life because God is the teacher. They may not be interested so you may need to be more persuasive and keep staying in contact with them. A good way to keep them interested is to ask them questions, questions, and more questions about what our live is all about and we can answer those questions with the Bible. Our website has a tab for Podcasts and there are many great teachers that can reach young people. Rick Hughes has spent most of his life teaching young people about the Bible. His broadcast only lasts 30 minutes but you can learn a lot in that amount of time if you have a good teacher. It is better when you & the child hear the lessons together so the young person can ask you questions.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] ......continued from 11/9/25...... ECS – LESSON 21 (11-16-25) 8. Love was designed to have capacity for love, integrity, and virtue in the soul. Love is based upon your integrity, virtue, and the capacity to love. Deuteronomy 30:15-16 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16) in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." 9. The (unconditional) love of believers toward other believers. John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 10. The differences between Personal Love and Unconditional Love. a. Unconditional love is just the opposite of Personal Love because the object of Personal Love relies on himself, not the Lord. b. Believers who employ Unconditional Love (the subject) rely on the Lord, not themselves. 11. Profiles of the object and the subject a. The object: 1) Can be a believer or an unbeliever 2) Can be repulsive, ugly, attractive, obnoxious, well mannered, rich, poor, kind, mean, smart, or dumb. The point is that none of that matters. 3) They can turn against anyone but especially the one who has Personal Love towards them and has Unconditional Love for them, the subject. a. The subject: 1) Must be a believer with a strong spiritual life. 2) Must consistently take in Bible doctrine. 3) Must be at least an adult believer or even better, a spiritually mature believer. 4) Must rely on the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit and acknowledge his sins to (God the Father). 12. The object often has a problem or is a problem, that is when the subject solves the problem by using the problem-solving devices of Bible doctrine, integrity, and virtue. a. Unconditional Love requires obedience to the mandates of the plan of God for it to work. b. Since unconditional love can be impersonal, it emphasizes the subject rather than the object. The subject carries the possibility of bringing the object to a better relationship and a better life. c. Unconditional love has all the integrity in human relationships. It is not easy to put Unconditional Love into operation. In fact, we cannot do it unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit and utilizing His power. d. The motivation to give unconditional love to someone has nothing to do with any merit they may possess. The motivation comes from our desire to please God and grow in our spiritual life. e. Personal Love emphasizes the attractiveness of the object. Unconditional Love emphasizes virtue integrity, and the capacity for love for those in spiritual adulthood (the subject). f. Unconditional Love is a professional function of the royal family of God who reach spiritual adulthood. g. Capacity to Love others includes devotion, maximum esteem, loyalty, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, respect, appreciation, kindness, thoughtfulness, encouragement, trustworthiness, praise, and patience.

----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] ECS – LESSON 20 (11-9-25) 11. Witnessing must be motivated by category one love. 2 Corinthians 5:14, “The love of Christ controls us.” 12. The Description of Category One Love, Read: 1 John 4:15-19. The mature believer isn’t afraid of anything. God the Father expects you to love God the Son as much as He does. That is the divine standard, but it is only possible through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit inside the Divine Dynasphere. B. Love in itself and the capacity for that love is found in the doctrine in the soul. 1. So that perpetuation of love comes from doctrine which keeps your relationship with God. 2. Only doctrine in the soul gives stability to love. Love is a thought, not an emotion. 3. Personal love for God means you now have the ability to love your husband, your wife, and your friends. 4. When God is the object of the believer’s personal love, it is classified as Virtue-Love. VIRTUE adjective, a: upholding high moral standings, b: having virtue, c: morally excellent : d: Efficacious, Potent- (having or wielding force, authority or influence, powerful), Righteous. 5. When human beings are the object of the believer’s personal love, it is classified as virtue dependent love. 6. Personal love, as a virtue, can only exist where the spiritual skills (Filling of the Holy Spirit, cognition of doctrine, execution of the plan of God) are functioning. 7. Unconditional love for all mankind is the basis for problem solving in human relationships. Virtue-Love is also a problem solving device for the Christian life including capacity for love, life, happiness, and thanksgiving. 8. Personal love for God the Father emphasizes the virtue of the object (God). Emphasis on the virtue and integrity of God as the perfect and virtuous object eliminates arrogance in the subject (us) and brings about the genuine humility that goes with doctrine circulating in the soul. 9. When the believer loves God the Father, his motivation is compatible with the virtue of the object (God), not the merit of the subject (us). 10. This means that all personal love that has virtue begins with God as the object. There is no virtue in personal love as it relates to human beings; this applies to friendships, to romance, and to marriage. Personal love is related to the human race by being virtue dependent. C. Scriptures 1. 1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected (complete) in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: 2. Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love for God.” You do this by keeping Bible doctrine as your number one priority. 3. Matthew 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all of your thinking.” Love for God starts in the soul with doctrine, but it moves throughout your entire soul. 4. James 1:12 “Blessed is the person who perseveres under testing, because when he becomes approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” 5. James 2:5 “Listen, my beloved brethren, did God not choose the poor in the world’s estimation but rich in doctrine and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” 6. Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24) Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. D. Categories of Love. 1. The love of the Father for the Son, John 15:9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 2. The (unconditional) love of God for the human race. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. 3. The (personal) love of God for believers. 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. 4. The (personal) love of believers for God, Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. This includes personal love for God the Father, occupa- tion with Christ, and fellowsh ip with the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love for God [the Father], and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” 5. Maximum love comes from the edification complex of the soul, which is built from maximum metabolization of doctrine. The Edification Complex of the Soul gives phenomenal response to God’s love.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] THREE CATEGORIES OF LOVE (3 CL) A. CATEGORY ONE LOVE 1. Definition - Love comes in three categories for the royal family of God: a. Category one is toward God. b. Category two is between the Husband and the Wife. c. Category three is toward friends. 2. Category one love is the believer’s capacity to love God and to respond to His love based on Bible doctrine in his soul. 3. Category one love is maximum when the believer reaches spiritual maturity or occupation with Christ. 4. The command to have category one love is found in Deut 6:5, 11:13, 10:12. Apart from the daily function of the Grace System of Perception, it is impossible to love God, Heb 12:2. Deuteronomy 6:5-6 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6) "And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him … Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, B. The Means of Category One Love. 1. Since God is invisible and the object of category one love, we must see and love Him through doctrine in the soul. We can only see God and love Him through His Word. 2. The reversionist doesn’t love God because he is under Satan’s policy of evil from his Cosmic System. 3. The immature believer doesn’t love God because he too lacks Bible doctrine in the soul. 4. You cannot love God unless you know God, and you cannot know God unless you have metabolized enough pertinent doctrine, 1 Peter 1:8, Eph. 3:19, Heb 6:10, 2 Tim 1:13-14, Colossians 3:1-2. 1 Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Ephesians 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. 5. Category one love sets up the standard for grace, Psalm 119:132, Psalm 31:23. You have to have capacity to be grace oriented and if you don’t have it, you can’t have category one love. 6. Category one love is the basis for supergrace blessing, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Psalm 37:4-5. 7. Category one love is the basis for personal and national blessing, Read: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 8. Category one love motivates combat courage and military victory, Read: Joshua 23:10-11. 9. Category one love provides strength for adversity and pressure, Read: Hebrews 11:27, and 12:3. 10. There is a special curse on believers who fail to have category one love 1 Corinthians 16:22 - If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha. They are said to be “cursed until the Lord comes.”

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] h) The inner happiness of the Edification Complex of the Soul, plus making it to supergrace, produces capacity for the Divine Viewpoint of life. Philippians 2:1-2 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2) make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. We need to learn; there can be rejoicing in the Lord even when outward circumstances are contrary to a spirit of rejoicing. i) Part of this, is confidence which results in the inculcation of Bible doctrine which equals - Divine Viewpoint. Confidence has a major part in our (RMA). 1. Therefore, Stability is a mental attitude, Giving is a mental attitude, Love is a mental attitude of the soul, Confidence is a mental attitude, and there are many more. 2. Worldliness is Human Viewpoint, shown in the List of Sins. All those sins are Mental Attitude Sins. It is thinking the way Satan wants you to think. Evil is also found in the List of Sins and many, many, more. Mental Attitude Sins are the worst category of sins and not only do they produce reversionism, but along the way, they produce Self-Induced Misery. 3. The Real You is What You Think. a) What a person thinks in the soul is what he or she is. To think you must have a vocabulary and how you use your vocabulary is determined by what you think. Our personality, our mental attitude, and what we say are formed by what we think. A Relaxed Mental Attitude, therefore, determines both the character and the life of any individual. Your Mental Attitude determines both integrity and capacity for life. Proverbs 23:6-7 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man or desire his delicacies; 7) For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you. b) The passage above portrays hypocrisy as the background for principle. Inside a person, he thinks hatred, implacability, but he or she invites you to sit down and eat. The real person is not the one who offers you hospitality but the one who thinks hatred and implacability toward you. A person can appear to be (on the surface) hospitable, gregarious & nice, but on the inside, he is a vicious person. Isaiah 55:6-9 “Seek the Lord while he may be found [positive volition toward doctrine in time], call upon him while he is near” - [the principle of prayer and other spiritual dynamics are related to believers] 7) “Let the wicked forsake his way [of life - negative volition toward doctrine], *and the unrighteous man [in reversionism] his thoughts [human viewpoint], and let him return to the Lord [reversion recovery], and He [the Lord] will have compassion on him; and to our God; for he will abundantly pardon.” 8) "For My thoughts [divine viewpoint] are not your thoughts [human viewpoint] Nor are your ways [Satan’s Cosmic System] My ways, [perfect grace and mercy]" declares the LORD. 9) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. d) * 7) “And the unrighteous man his thoughts” The most dangerous thing in your soul are your thoughts when you are in reversionism. The thoughts go through and through until they make you a kook, and all of the psychotic and neurotic problems must be delt with. Isaiah 43:25 It is I (J.C.), I who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more. Isaiah 44:22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me (a command), for I have redeemed you." The reversionist has a bad mental attitude. He is full of mental attitude sins, and he is a complainer. If anyone ought to forsake their way, it is the reversionist. What is his way? Negative volition toward doctrine producing complicated results in his life. e) We are commanded by God to have divine viewpoint. Since doctrine is the mind of Christ, as per 1 Corinthians 2:16, attitude toward doctrine determines your viewpoint of life. Philippians 2:5 “Keep on having this mental attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus” This command is obeyed by the consistent and daily intake of doctrine. Maximum doctrine in the soul is the only source of divine viewpoint and our only protection.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Distractions (continued) 14. There are three voids in human life. a. There is the void in the unbeliever’s life after he rejects the gospel. That void exists for the rest of his life and is a reminder of his need to believe in Christ. This could be called the void period between salvation and one’s death. b. There is the void in the believer’s post-salvation spiritual life if he rejects or neglects the teaching of God’s Word. c. Both voids are filled with distractions from the arrogance complex of sins and the emotional complex of sins. 15. Here is a description of the void found in Phil 3:18-19. It’s about a believer’s post-salvation spiritual life that has been ignored, along with God’s Word. Philippians 3:18-19 For many (reversionists under the influence of evil, keep) walking, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19) whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Paul could think of all those people he had known in the past and how he enjoyed them, and yet these people have not only turned against Paul, but they have turned against the cross. They are anti-Christian Christians, and yet they were former friends. 16. 2 Timothy 3:4-5 describes the believer with the distraction of arrogance and the void in his soul, “treacherous, reckless, pumped up with arrogance, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; who adhere to a superficial form of the spiritual life, but they have denied its power (the power of residing and functioning inside the Divine Dynasphere, including the Filling of the H.S. and metabolized doctrine); so avoid such persons as these (this is a command to separate from evil false teachers).” Some of the worst people in the world are believers. They can become a distraction because they might do something to you and you are bitter about it and want vengeance; so, avoid them. 2 Timothy 3:6-7 is a second illustration of distraction and void, “For among them (evil false teachers) are those who creep into households (houses, local churches) and seduce silly women (suckers - reversionistic believers - male or female) overwhelmed by their own sins, led on by various impulses (by various categories of lusts . . .) 7) always learning (false doctrine and principals of evil) but never able to come to an (epignosis) full knowledge of the truth.” 3. RELAXED MENTAL ATTITUDE (R.M.A.) 1. Definition a) Relaxed Mental Attitude is the function of the heart of the believer. b) The sum total of all thought impulses which emanate from the believer’s soul are called viewpoint. c) If the thought emanating from the believer’s soul is human viewpoint, then it is an expression of cosmic norms and standards of life. It is an expression of how Satan rules the Cosmos – the World. d) The antithesis of the human viewpoint above is divine viewpoint consisting of biblical norms and standards with the absolute truth of the Bible and its doctrines and promises for our lives. e) Every thought impulse of the believer can be categorized basically as Divine or Human viewpoint.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Distractions (continued) 11. Distraction from Carnality and Cosmic involvement. Everything that is done in Carnality and Satan’s Cosmic System is detrimental to God and His word. That means that the Holy Spirit is *grieved (Ephesians 4:30) and *quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19) until the believer acknowledges his sin’s to God which are forgiven and then, he or she returns back on track to the Divine Dynasphere, which includes the filling of the Holy Spirit. *Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve (v. pam - to insult, cause distress, sadness) the Holy Spirit of God, (co-equal with the other members of the Godhead) by whom you were sealed (we have eternal security) for the day of redemption (the rapture). Notice that the Holy Spirit sealed Church Age believers. The sealing of the Spirit is a stamp on you, in effect, which says God owns you forever. You can never lose your salvation. God in eternity past formulated blessings for the believer and the sealing of the Spirit is the guarantee that they are in writing and the believer can have them. *1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench (v. pam - extinguish, put out, quench, stifle, suppress) the Spirit; As believers, the moment we sin, we lose the benefits of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We lose our divine viewpoint and our relaxed mental attitude. We no longer produce divine good because we start using our own power rather than relying on God’s. And we can no longer discern scriptures with accuracy. The Bible warns us about “grieving” the Holy Spirit which we do every time we sin. It grieves the Holy Spirit when we are controlled by our sin natures but we have Ephesians1:13. Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, The Bible also warns us not to “quench” the Holy Spirit which means staying in carnality over a prolonged period of time. Quenching the Holy Spirit means that there is no divine production, no spiritual growth, no glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing but a lot of confusion and wasted time (I Thess. 5:19). When the Holy Spirit is grieved or quenched, our spiritual lives are shut down, and there is no production of divine good. When we become apathetic and indifferent towards God and His Word, we essentially lock Him out of our lives. The Holy Spirit is quenched, and we can easily become consumed by mental attitude sins like worry, fear, dread, guilt, anger, jealousy, bitterness, revenge, self-pity, greed, sexual lust, etc. Before we know it, we are on a desperate search for happiness and become frustrated because it eludes us. Frustration leads to bitterness, and bitterness poisons our entire lives. Eventually, we reach the point of *Reversion- ism where we openly resist God. This spiritual retrogress- ion may bring us to an early death, which is called *Sin Unto Death, (SUD). The verse below is one of the verses that enable believers to get back in fellowship with God when they confess their sins. This is the only way believers can get out of carnality when we sin and get back into fellowship with God and recover the Filling of the Holy Spirit. Negitive volition takes us out of our spiritual life and Positive volition puts us back into our spiritual life. 1 John 1:9 *If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. *If – is a 3rd class conditional clause used the same way we use “If” in English. (maybe we will, or maybe we won’t.) confess – HOMOLOGEO, ὁμολογέω, ③ to concede that something is factual or true, grant, admit, confess. ⓒ to focus on admission of wrongdoing Psalm 32:5 I (King David) acknowledged my sin to Thee (G.F.), And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah. Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. 12. Distraction from Categorical Problems. The verb distraction means to divert, to draw away our mind or our thinking. Distraction in the born again believer distracts him from his spiritual life. A categorical problem is defined as the problems of believers related to sins and emotion. The problems are caused by lack of doctrine, and lack of understanding. Therefore, as you advance spiritually, you eliminate categorical problems.in your life.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Distractions (continued): 4. Pleasure distractions. Many believers are distracted by Sports, football, baseball, golf, rodeos, NASCAR races, tennis, fishing, and swimming, etc. Others find pleasure in dancing, going to concerts, and operas. There is nothing wrong with any of these things above, unless you put them above reaching spiritual maturity. There are some pleasure seekers who are so serious about their sport that it has become their religion. 5. Time distractions, The disorganized life wastes time and energy. Believers should put Bible doctrine first in their life and then organize everything else around it. An organized thinker has an organized life. One of the most precious things on earth is time. We should not waste it but use it to strengthen our spiritual relationship with our Lord and to grow in grace and knowledge and eagerly look forward to the coming of our wonderful Savior. E. Distractions Related to Perspective - your observation of people and things around you. 1. Role model worship, followed by an arrogant iconoclast (one who attacks a role model). When a role model offends the one who worships him, the worship ends and he turns his back to the role model. If we recognize someone who we would like to immolate, we must remember “Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all are sinners and if you think you need a role model, choose Jesus Christ, He is the only one who is sinless. 2. Unrealistic expectations - eyes on self, you imagine yourself being great in many areas of life, which leads to frustration. Some people break off more than they can chew. They have expectations about things that are not realistic for them and they can become arrogant by having to learn the hard way by failing in what they really want to do. James 4:6 But He gives more grace (supergrace). Therefore, He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 3. Rejection by others. When other people start to reject you, something is wrong and you need to humble yourself to find out what is wrong and take care of it. Humility is the key word to get back into the good graces of those who have rejected you. Talk to them and be ready to change your ways on things that need to be changed. 4. Mental attitude as a distraction. People who have a bad mental attitude usually don’t have many friends because they think they are superior to just about everyone. They don’t seem to know that they are their own worst enemy. They need to learn how to have a Relaxed Mental Attitude, an (RMA). Our mental attitude is extremely important! I would rather hire someone who has a good attitude, even though he didn’t have as much knowledge as someone else who had much more knowledge but had a bad attitude. 5. Failure to submit to authority. These types of people are losers that will go nowhere in life unless they go to prison. They think they know more than anyone else, but they always make excuses when they get fired. Most people refuse to submit to authority because their parents never required respect from them and never disciplined them when they needed it. It is important for children to obey their parents, even if they must use forced humility. Proverbs 13:24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 22:6 & 15 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old, he will not depart from it. 15) Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Combing through Scripture, the phrase “I am with you” appears more often in the Hebrew Bible than in the New Testament, with the NIV using it about 23 times and other versions even more. Distractions Related to the Christian Way of Life. A. Common Distractions 1. Negative volition to Bible doctrine. – Believers are in heaven, lived horrible lives on earth and no rewards in heaven. 2. Ignorance of or failure to learn Bible doctrine. Hosea 4:6 3. Failure to execute the plan of God. 4. Holding the erroneous assumption that morality is the main way to live the Christian way of life. We must remember that even unbelievers can be moral. B. Distractions Related to Carnality. 1. Succumbing to the lust pattern of the sin nature: usually caused by intense or unbridled desire. Example: power lust, approbation lust, inordinate ambition, monetary lust, sexual lust, pleasure lust, revenge lust, social lust, chemical lust, and criminal lust. 2. Involvement in Satan’s Cosmic System. 3. Involvement in Christian degeneracy: 8 stages of Reversionism (believers turn their back on God) C. Distractions Related to Emotions. 1. Emotional revolt of the soul occurs when we allow our emotions to take over our soul, which causes a train wreck there. 2. Emotional sins. a. Fear, which includes worry and anxiety seems to be our worst enemy because we don’t trust our Lord to take care of us. b. Hate, which includes anger, violence, and murder. God commands us to love other people with unconditional love. c. Guilt can take over our life if we allow it. It is natural for us to feel guilty when we have done something wrong, but believers should acknowledge their sins to God and He forgives our sins so then, we are guiltless. d. Self-pity is a sign of weakness and immaturity. It is also a sign that we are not trusting God to see us through hard times. e. Involvement in “Temporary Spiritual Gifts” which no longer exist, include prophesy, miracles, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, discerning spirits, and apostleship. The problem is that these temporary spiritual gifts came to an end when the canon of scriptures were completed, (1 Corinthians 13:8-10), but there are millions of people today who erroneously believe they are still functioning. D. Distractions Related to Priorities. 1. Social distraction. This is making social life more important than your spiritual life and Bible doctrine. If you put doctrine first, you will organize your own social life according to your own level and capacity, and in your own time. 2. Mental distraction. This comes primarily through arrogance and includes extreme self-consciousness, subjectivity, and haughtiness concerning oneself. 3. Marital distraction. There is no such thing as a perfect husband or a perfect wife, so there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. The husband is commanded to love his wife and the wife is commanded to obey her husband. When they disagree on something, the husband makes the final decision and both of them treat their spouse with unconditional love when necessary.