Day of Pentecost/The Fruitless Fig Tree

[Blood Bought]

Hi all!

I stumbled across this analogy with pentecost and the parable of the fig tree. I have never, ever thought of it this way, but it certainly has got me thinking. I am fairly new to the dispensational thinking.

"The Parable of the Fruitless Fig Tree--to understand what happened on the day of Pentecost, we need to first understand this story that the Lord told, found in Luke 13:6-9..."

http://www.gracefortoday.org/thedayofpentecost.htm

EDIT -- Sorry if this is in the wrong category. 

[Christine]

Yes...Grace For Today has some great articles and resources, don't they?

Hope to see you here more often, and welcome back!  What part of the country are you in? Do you attend a Grace Fellowship? If so, you are fortunate...we have none in our neck of the woods so the internet is where we find fellowship and like minded believers to talk with.

Tell us something about yourself....how did you first hear about right division?

[Blood Bought]

Thanks for the welcome!

I actually live in Germantown WI. ... a couple minutes drive from The Berean Bible Institute. My granparents up north sent me "2 Minutes With the bible" by C.R. Stam a couple years ago. I've been saved for seventeen years, but it's been an over all cloudy, confusing time since. Early this year I noticed on the back of the book that the BBS was right here. I had been praying for understanding, completely opening, and surrendering my heart to the Lord. All I had been reading on was election this, predestination that. Keeping salvation, losing salvation... Did "I" really repent enough years ago. I had ben listening to the pulpit pounders. Why didn't anything seem to be going right.

Well now, I have a peace like I hadn't had since I was saved. And my bible has more underlines, circles, and cross references in it than ever. I used to just accept "interpretations" of passages I couldn't satisfactorily get a handle on. Now with some direction in my personal bible study, it seems changes for the better are occuring.

My mind is still trying to deal with dispensational study vs. centuries of traditional teachings.   

[Lu]

Hi Blood Bought

Welcome to the forum!


Your friend in Christ,  Lu

[NewDawn]

Welcome Blood Bought!!

Grace and Peace,
Diana

[Christine]

Thanks for the welcome!

I actually live in Germantown WI. ... a couple minutes drive from The Berean Bible Institute. My granparents up north sent me "2 Minutes With the bible" by C.R. Stam a couple years ago. I've been saved for seventeen years, but it's been an over all cloudy, confusing time since. Early this year I noticed on the back of the book that the BBS was right here. I had been praying for understanding, completely opening, and surrendering my heart to the Lord. All I had been reading on was election this, predestination that. Keeping salvation, losing salvation... Did "I" really repent enough years ago. I had ben listening to the pulpit pounders. Why didn't anything seem to be going right.

Well now, I have a peace like I hadn't had since I was saved. And my bible has more underlines, circles, and cross references in it than ever. I used to just accept "interpretations" of passages I couldn't satisfactorily get a handle on. Now with some direction in my personal bible study, it seems changes for the better are occuring.

My mind is still trying to deal with dispensational study vs. centuries of traditional teachings.   

Oh my....well I can tell you how to unravel the confusion and get right on track. Put aside all that you have previously learned and study your Bible the way God instructs us to...rightly dividing the Word of truth. That is the ONLY way your Bible will make sense and the ONLY way you will ever find peace of mind with regard to understanding Gods plan and purpose TODAY.

As long as you are still dabbling in tradition and denominational party line teaching, you will be tossed to and fro and never grow.

Let me ask you. Do you SEE that there IS a difference between what Peter taught and what Paul taught? Do you SEE a difference between the gospel of the Circumcision and the Gospel of the UNcircumcision?

Where do we find the gospel that saves today? In Peters gospel, or in Pauls?

[Blood Bought]

Definitely Pauls'. I can read 1 Corinthians 1-4 over and over again, and I see no way to not accept this if we are to take God at His literal word. Lots of things are becoming clearer now. I absolutely want to be faithful with God's word. Some calvinists got into it with me on another board sometime back, because I disagreed with some of it's teachings, and if I disagreed with Calvinism, I disagreed with the bible. At that point, I was unsure if I was right about anything. Confusion central. It actually got to the point where I felt I didn't measure up to these super holy folks, and God hated me. Like I was living on pins and needles to somehow please God. What an exhausting effort that was.

Anyway, things seem to be clearing up to me.

I would like to join you guys on Paltalk tomorrow.

Love in Christ.

P.S... thank you for the nice welcomes! 

[NewDawn]

Hi Blood Bought,
I can understand how you felt.  I was in a prophetic church and I thought I was in the "it" church!!  Imagine my shock when I was told that personal prophecy like I was taught, was not in effect today in this age of grace. 
I couldn't shake myself out of it, because I kept believing in what was spoken into my life and waitng for it to come to pass.  I was also taught that if  it didn't come to pass then I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do and how Gods word was conditional.  I had to do my part for God to do His part. 

Now that is of works! 

What a relief to know that I dont have to "work" for anything.  I just have to believe and the rest will follow.  That's a far cry from what I was taught. 

It's so awesome to know the truth isn't !!!!

God Bless,
Diana
 

[Blood Bought]

I seemed to get tossed "to and fro" quite a bit. It is spiritually agonizing. I just want TRUTH. Do you realise how many definitions of the word "believe" people toss out there?

Abraham 'believed' God.  "Well, believe doesn't really mean 'believe', because Hebrew text this, greek text that..."

Do I really need to know more than what God's breathed word says right there on the printed page? Am I too stupid, or not really, really, REALLY looking for God's truth? Fun times I've been through, I gotta say.

[Christine]

You are looking and God aint deaf!  However, He has told you HOW to study His Word so that you can KNOW...not "guess"...the truth.

I will bet you dollars to donuts that you are fine UNTIL you encounter someone with an argument you don't have an answer to. Guess what...thats NORMAL.

What you need to do  is to STOP getting into theological debate situations and gear yourself up to STUDY...so that YOU know the answers to give.

It is kind of like how they train bank tellers to know COUNTERFEIT money. They don't train them with the counterfeit stuff...no no no...they only handle the REAL THING. They become SO familiar with it, that the minute the "funny money" passes thru their fingers, they KNOW.

Its the same way with Gods Word. Once I found right division, I shut my mouth, stopped trying to share with others above that which I knew, and I LISTENED to those who were light years ahead of me in the learning curve.

"Faith comes by HEARING, and hearing by the Word of God."

You WILL be challenged by all kinds of folks who are RELIGIOUS and who twist the Bible to meet their own agendas. YOU must be assured yourself that what you KNOW from the scriptures is TRUE and stand on it even if the whole world goes NUTS.

Commit yourself to STUDY, and stay out of debates and arguments until you are more ESTABLISHED in the faith. That is just common sense advice from an old lady who has "been there, done that, and has a drawer full of T shirts to prove it!" LOL

You are doing well by simply realizing that somewhere along the road here, you MUST park your spiritual wagon and take a stand.

This being tossed to and fro is for the BIRDS...right?

Its time for blood bought to realize WHO HE IS in Christ and to begin operating IN that NEW identity.

Let me send you some free study material...and as you have questions, you come in here where its SAFE and ask them....whaddaya say?

[Blood Bought]

Yes, I will be camped here. It's the simplicity of it that gives me peace, and I guess I just don't see how so many good people can be so wrong, as I imagine that they are as sincere in their pursuit of accurately handling God's Word as I am. In honestly, I also worry about a false peace.

There IS a simplicity that is IN Christ. You must base your peace not on a "feeling" predominantly, but on the TRUTH. We find truth by studying and understanding Gods Word the way HE exhorts us to...by rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

Alot of good people are wrong that sit in churches under BAD theology and taught by a Pastor who graduated with a Masters Degree. ONLY God is right...we side with Him even if our numbers are SMALL...big numbers doesn't mean RIGHT. Wink

I would love some study material. And I would also like to join in on th Paltalk tonight if you still do that. If you can share any info I would need to know about that, please share.

I will need you to give me your mailing address. Do that by sending me a private message or email at goinupru@yahoo.com

For Paltalk you will need to download the FREE program found at www.paltalk.com.

Pick a nickname and then either here or in an email, let me know what the nickname is...sign in on Paltalk at 7 PM Central time...8 PM Eastern time and wait for me to invite you to the room as I will be looking for whatever nikname you get. OK?

Love in Christ.

[Lu]

Hi Blood Bought and all

I'd like to share with you what helped me the most in learning right division.

As you are studying consider this:

There are two groups of people through whom God will acccomplish His purpose:

1. The nation of Israel
(God's earthly kingdom people)

2. The Body of Christ
(God's heavenly kingdom people)

...................................

A.  In Times Past
Genesis thru John
was spoken to the Jewish people

(In book of Acts, a change took place.
God temporarily set aside the nation of Israel to accompish His purpose with the present day church, the Body of Christ.)

B.  But Now, at this Present Time
Romans thru Philemon
These words were written to us (and some believing Jews).  This time period is called the Dispensation of Grace.

C. In The Ages to Come
Hebrews thru Revelation
God resumes what He was doing in times past.

While the whole Bible is written for our learning, it is not all written to us and about us.

Consider when studying:

Who wrote it?
When was it written?
Whom was it written to?
What is the passage about?

(Christine - please edit anything I may have goofed on in my zeal to help....... lol)

YFIC,  Lu

[Blood Bought]

Thanks Lu. I just realise I have to avoid other teachings. Right division teachings are so simple to understand with no confusion. Seems there's a leading here... 

[Lu]

Oh, you're very welcome, glad you can see it.

YFIC, Lu

[Oasis]

Howdy Blood Bought, and welcome, 

You've got plenty of resources on this board and I know Christine will also mail you some excelllent resources.  I would also recommend the teachings of Les Feldick.  Here is his website.  It's called, THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH LES FELDICK.

http://www.lesfeldick.org/

You'll find the times for his radio and TV teaching on there.  He's a down to earth farmer/rancher/lifelong teacher of Scripture. 

Have a great day!

ybiC,
Kab