He's workin'

[1eyebri]

I suppose this is a testimony. At least very interesting to me. A couple of weeks ago I watched all the Nashville conference videos. So all of last week I can't get out of the book of Genesis. Mainly the first 3 or 4 chapters. Read those chapters 8- 10 times anyway.

Three nights ago I'm lying in bed trying to go to sleep. I start thinkin. Usually not a good sleep aid for me. This pops in my head. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. WHY? I mean why are we to love our enemies. Who are my enemies? Who was Jesus' enemies? Scribes and pharisees I guess. Cain was Abel's enemy.(there's the Genisis thing) . I started to think about the old testament shadow new testament light kind of thing. I have never studied the bible like that. With that kind of thinking. Until BT I really didn't even have that knowledge. I knew the old testament was some sort of example but that's about as far as that went.

So my train of thought leads me to this:  Cain vs. Abel      scribes/pharisees  vs. Jesus   our enemies vs us.

  About an hour or so later I'm lying WIDE AWAKE. It's 4 a.m. I suppose i ain't sleepin till I get to the bottom of this. Up I get.

Well long story short, 3 to 4 hours later I've done an almost word for word study of Cain and Abel.
Gen:2-8. (I still can't believe how much info I got out of those seven verses.) Plus numerous scriptures of Jesus "The Shepard", scribes and pharisees bound to the law, all sorts of things. Studied and searched until I was convinced Cain and Abel was a shadow of Jesus and his enemies (scribes and pharisees).

At this point I am dog tired. The sun's rising. Need to sleep. I'm disappointed that I didn't get to the our enemies vs us thing which had started all this to begin with. But to bed I went. Determined to get up and finish what was started.

Well.....next day or later that day I resume my study. But I can't seem to connect the our enemies vs. us part of this thing. I get a little discouraged. So for the next day and a half I basically do nothing. By this time I feel like I was pretty much making a stretch with the shadow and light comparison. I mean I couldn't get all three elements of this thing together scripturally so I must not be correct. I decide to move on to something else. Many called-few chosen comes to mind, sounds good to me, so hear I go.

So I do a little e-sword search and start reading Mat:22. Well  it starts with a parable and in verse 14 ends with many called few chosen. But I keep reading all the way until chapter 23 verse 35 which states:
 
"That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,from the blood of righteous Abel unto.......

I mean there it is in plain english. I DID get it. I mean gee if I would have only read this at first, all the time I could have saved.  But I think I have been taught a couple of leasons on how to study and read scripture that I wouldn't have learned otherwise.  

You know. Excitement---I think I'm on to something.
               Disappointment----Well I guess not.
               Astonishment---It had to be His way. Mysterious and perfect.

By the way, as I was writing this it dawned on me. Jesus in us. Our enemies are His enemies.

scribes/pharisees vs. Jesus       our enemies vs. us  =   same thing  


                                looking forward ,   Brian
 

[Steve Meacham]

I suppose this is a testimony. At least very interesting to me. A couple of weeks ago I watched all the Nashville conference videos. So all of last week I can't get out of the book of Genesis. Mainly the first 3 or 4 chapters. Read those chapters 8- 10 times anyway.
...
                                looking forward ,   Brian

I think that the entire gospel story and every major doctrine of scripture is contained in the first 6 chapters of Genesis.

Steve

[Heidi]

Not so long ago I read on this forum something very profound that has changed my outlook on why we should love our enemies. 

We need our enemies in our lives so that we can learn to become overcomers.  We need to indeed thank God for our enemies, because if it was not for them we would not have been able to apply what God is teaching us spiritually.....so......be grateful for enemies and love them because God is using them for your own good and to form you into His son's and daughters.

Heidi

[Steve Meacham]

Matthew 5:11 - 12
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[1eyebri]

Thanks Heidi and Steve. These are the very ends of the thoughts I was having that night lying bed. And I have since found some older studies that Ray did and they say these very same things as well.

I guess I put this on testimonies for this reason: If it wasn't for BT and Ray my mind would not have thought of the things in the bible in the way that led me to Cain/Abel being a shadow of Jesus in some way. But beyond that God ultimately taught me how to study in this new, correct, revealing way that was accomplished thru just me and Him.(God) And then reveal thru Steve, Heidi, Ray that the conclusions were and are true.

Until about 18 or so months ago I thought I had it all figured out. Then I found out i knew nothing.

This Cain/Abel study is the first time i believe that i with God's guidance actually "rightly divided the word of truth". And its awsome.


                                         feeling blessed,  Brian

[Steve Meacham]

Until about 18 or so months ago I thought I had it all figured out. Then I found out i knew nothing.

This Cain/Abel study is the first time i believe that i with God's guidance actually "rightly divided the word of truth". And its awsome.


                                         feeling blessed,  Brian

Amen!