Dispensations Discussion Forum – Week 1 – April 28, 2016

[Pastor, Ronald D. Walker]

Welcome to Dispensations Discussion Forum – Week 1 – April 28th

To begin our forum discussion answer the following questions.  Discussion  forums  are  designed  to  help  the  course  be  interactive  as  well  as  to  help  make  the  content more  personal.  The  expectation  is  that  you  will  post  your  own  response  to  the  listed  question  and  then interact  in  meaningful  ways  with  at  least  two  of  your  classmates.  

• Why is a knowledge of God’s plan for man important?  

Remember to respond to at least two of your classmates.  Also, grammar is important so play close attention to what you are posting.  Read it over before you hit submit.  Blessings

[Stacy Gregoire]

Knowledge of God’s plan for man is important for several reasons.  First, knowing God’s plan speaks directly to our purpose on this earth.  Why are we here? Why do we exist? At some point, I believe, every person asks themselves this question.  As believers, however, we know that the answer comes from God.  Knowing the answer to this question gives direction to our lives and influences the choices that we make so that we are working with God to carry out His plan and not against Him, thwarting it. Proverbs 19:21 (Amplified) reads, “Many plans are in a man’s mind, But it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out)”  As believers, we want God’s purpose to be carried out.

Knowing God’s plan for man not only helps us make decisions in our own lives, but it also gives us the right perspective from which to view the world and world events “lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices (II Corinthians 2:11) .  For instance, the gay marriage agenda that is being mercilessly promoted in the United States today, flies in the face of God’s plan for man to reproduce himself as He commands in the first part of Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:”  With this knowledge, we can recognize the enemy and take our stand against him.

Finally, knowing God’s plan for man is important because it is the basis from which we read and understand the Bible.  The events and people that we are reading about and how God deals with and relates to them become clear when we know His ultimate plan for us.  He wants us to choose Him of our own free will and He wants us to be His family.  For example, it explains why He always saves a remnant of the Jews despite their disobedience and worship of strange gods. A new light is now shining on the Word.

[Donna Riley]

Stacy growing up I was always asking myself who am I and why don’t I feel comfortable on this earth. I was always interested in what existed outside our planet or find myself gravitating towards sci-fi pictures. The unknown was always of great interest. Now that I know about the spiritual realm I feel more at peace. Living in the physical realm, but using the laws of the spiritual realm is the ultimate goal. It is an awesome experience. Knowing that this is part of God’s plan for us is the assurance that I am going in the right direction. With all that we are learning, the Bible is easier to understand and seems to have opened up, becoming clearer.

[Rhonda]

Stacy I am in agreeance with you, as believers, we want God’s purpose to be carried out. We were created in His image and his plans supersedes every thing that we can think of.

[Monica Harrigan]

Stacy, in regards to the gay marriage agenda common sense dictates that it requires a Man and a Woman to be fruitful and replenish the earth, but knowing that it is a command from God that people are blatantly disobeying points directly to the enemy. He hates God…he hates family and he hates Christians that freely choose to believe in God.

But like Donna stated….we KNOW that God has a plan for us and that is to be reunited with us. What a glorious day that will be!!

[Donna Riley]

Without God, we cease to exist. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being …” Acts 17:28. This begs the questions, who is this God and where do I fit in? From the very beginning God had a plan. When man did not follow the original plan, God had a plan to fix that. In each dispensation, all the events that took place was for one purpose and one purpose only. God wanted to be reconciled with mankind.

The Bible is widely misunderstood and misquoted. Having a knowledge of the plan of God for man helps one to get a better grasp on who God is and what His intentions are for mankind. Knowledge of the dispensations brings together the past, present and future dealings of God concerning man; His love for us and His plan to bring us back to the position we once held before the fall of Adam. According to Dake, “If one will distinguish the ages and dispensations, the whole Bible will harmonize.” Throughout each dispensation God made sure the existence of man continued and the ultimate plan for us to become joint heirs with Christ remained intact.

Few people understand why what is happening in the world is taking place. The Bible in its entirety spells out God’s plan for man each step of the way. The way the world is operating today fills us with fear and uncertainty. It is easy for man to lose hope in the face of all the turmoil taking place in the world today. Once you understand God’s plan for man, fear is replaced with hope and uncertainty is replaced with assurance or confidence as to the outcome of your life. Despite the desperate plight of our planet, God guarantees us if we stay connected to Him, trust Him and follow the plan He has for our lives, we will live our lives in calmness, certainty, confidence and peace even when disaster swirls all around us. The knowledge of God’s plan for our lives will place us on a solid foundation causing us to triumph over all the wiles of the enemy.

[Monica Harrigan]

Donna, I completely agree with you as to how the Bible is misunderstood and misquoted. God’s Plan for Man is making it all so much clearer. It has me completely eager to dive in and grow in the knowledge that has always been there but is now made clearer.

[Roxanne Rhymer]

It sure does give us hope!  Especially when you read the back of the plan-book; we win!!!   God is so awesome he laid our everything for us.  He gave us a plan to walk out this thing called life.  In the plan he gave us many examples of how to walk out this life successfully but it also showcases many that chose the wrong path.  God says choose LIFE!  All he needs us to do is to stick to his plan that He laid out so beautifully for us.

[Marita Smith]

Donna I have to agree with you that without God we won’t exist.He is the ultimate reason why we exist. In him we live move and have our very being. I’m pretty sure the thought has crossed our minds of our existence why were we born? and what is the purpose of our being here? Now that we the knowledge and the resources we can now find out so we can fulfill that purpose.

[Monica Harrigan]

There are several reasons why the Knowledge of God’s Plan for Man is important. What comes to my mind at first is the scripture Hosea 4:6; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee that thou shall be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” To be rejected by one’s father is a bitter pill to swallow.

Secondly, we were created for a purpose and with authority. Ephesians 2:10 states: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” How can we know this without insight into God’s Plan for Man?

Another reason is that Knowledge of God’s Plan for Man gives us a blueprint as to how we should live daily; what influences our decisions, how to interact with others, what job we should seek, what is right and wrong, what Church we should attend, whom we should marry, etc. etc.

Despite having only began this class on Dispensations it has reinforced a primary assignment that was given to us by God, which is to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it……Genesis 1:28. God’s Plan for Man gave specific orders in that regard, many of which aren’t executed today.

Lastly,but not the last reason, Knowing the importance of God’s Plan for Man also gives us a greater understanding of God’s word in an in depth manner, not simply touching the surface. Knowledge of God’s Plan for Man breaks down the Bible into stages making it clearer and easier to be understood. Honestly, just picking up the Bible and reading it can be confusing at times; but the book God’s Plan for Man breaks it down into events and purposes which sheds new light on God’s word.

[Lilly Chalwell]

Monica, I like what you said, “Knowledge of God’s Plan gives us a blueprint.” To add to that I would say, the Bible from the beginning to the end is the blueprint for our life.

[Lilly Chalwell]

The first and foremost reason to understand God’s plan for my life is to understand the purpose why I’m here. Having knowledge of God’s plan for my life is the Backbone of the Bible. Because the Bible is the manual in which I live by, it is vital that I understand the plan of God directly from the living word of God. Which, reveals the beginning and the end of the truth of my life.

I would say that the reason why many people are confuse when they read the Bible is that they don’t understand the plan God have for their life. Hosea 4:6a. Stated it well, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” anything that is not clear tense to blind the focus of it’s existence. Understanding the dispensation would connect us with the past and the present side of God’s plan. We would be (2Tim. 2:15) “A workman needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” As the six dispensation become alive, our understanding would be enlighten.

Knowing God’s plan would teach us how to appropriate the fullness of God’s salvations: health, prosperity, and happiness etc. Our Benefit will come alive and we will walk in the plan God want us to walk in.

[Roxanne Rhymer]

I totally agree Lily! That is why we are to pray the Ephesians’ prayer for our neighbors.  We pray that the eyes of their understanding being enlightened; that they may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us and them who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  <span class=”p”>
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[Rhonda]

Lily you are correct, God’s plan contains our purpose. We are to know God’s plan because it will teach us how to live each day.

[Roxanne Rhymer]

It is important for me to have knowledge of God’s plan for man because who else would be able to explain the purpose of my life other than my creator.  If you want to know how something is made or how it is to be used the best person to ask is the inventor or the designer of the thing.   Psalm 100:3 in the New American Standard Version states: “Know that the Lord Himself is God: it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”   As believers we trust in the word of God to lead and guide us as His sheep.

God has a plan for everyone.  He has a vision for each and every one of His children.  Just think how much we plan for our own children’s lives.  Imagine how much more God would plan for us. It is our role as believers to find out what the plan is.  That is why he gave us the Bible.   Remember in Habakkuk 2:2 God said to “Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.”  That is exactly what God did for us.  He wrote the vision for our lives in His Word now He expects us to read it and run with it.

Knowing that the Bible is God’s perfect plan for our lives helps us in every area of our lives.  We not only have to read the word of God each day, but we must also search the scriptures out for specific verses that speak to those areas that challenge us.  Then we are to speak them out over our situation and expect  a change to come to pass.

[Marita Smith]

Knowing God’s plan for man is important because we need to know the reason, the plan, and the purpose of our existance. Knowing God’s plan also gives us the blueprint as to how we should live our lives on a daily basis, making the right decisions concering how we should live according to the word of God.

Having a clear knowledge of the Bible is another reason why having knowledge of God’s plan for man is important. In  the Bible we not only gain knowledge of God and who he is; we also learn how to appropriate the full blessings of life that he has already provided for us. In the word of God, we also learn how to receive healing, health, prosperity, peace and happiness right  here on earth.

Confusion and misunderstanding of the Bible comes into play because man does not know or understand the plan  God has for his life.((Hosea 4:6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.For if he did, he wouldn’t be making some of the choices he makes, going contrary to what God’s word says about what we should and shouldn’t do, and how we are to live our lives holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1)

I don’t believe Adam truly understood the power that he held, otherwise he would have not disobeyed God. When Adam spoke it was like God himself was speaking, power came out of his mouth.He was the God of this earth, he had full control, everything he needed was provided for him, he didn’t even have to work, it was the same plan God had for us. God is ever willing to show to show forgiveness, to show how much he loves us he already had another plan to get us back, his only begotten son Jesus.(John 3:16)

Yes God give us all a free will because he didn’t want us to be robots,we have a choice to obey or disobey but there are consequences we have to pay for the choices we make with our free will weather good or bad.

[Stacy Gregoire]

Donna, when I read the last paragraph in your response, it made me smile because of the “hope” and the “assurance” that the knowledge of God’s plan for man gives us.  We don’t live in a vacuum and when we see and hear some of the things that are happening in the world, it can become distressing.  It can be scary and downright depressing.   Knowing Gods’ plan gives us me peace but in a different sense than I understood peace to mean before.

[Stacy Gregoire]

Marita, as you said, God doesn’t want us to be robots so He gave us free will.  What is humbling is that even though God gives us the ability to choose Him or not, He always chooses us.  He ensures that a remnant remains from each age because He totally loves us and wants us to be with Him.

 

[Rhonda]

Knowledge of God’s plan for man is important because his plans contain the blueprints for how we should live our lives. God’s plan for man is all inclusive and He already included all contingencies such as the fall of man. God’s plan for man can be found in the Bible from Genesis to Revelations and it doesn’t only speak about his plan for man on earth which has time constraints, but his plan is eternal. God declared the end from the beginning and because God is the Planner, we are assured that the plan is both certain and good.

God has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. God formulated a Plan for all from before the beginning of the ages. The Plan of God for man includes reconciliation through the shed blood of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.

Colossians 1:19-20, 26 (KJV)
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

All the wonderful things that He has planned for man comes by Jesus Christ. When we gain knowledge of God’s plan for us we can walk in the fullness of him and receive the greatest gift to all mankind, the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

[Marita Smith]

Yes Roxanne God give us the plan and just like he provided everything that Adam needed he has done the same for us.After all he is the inventor and the creator of the plan he knows what’s best for us and what our needs are.Its all provided in that plan he has for each and everyone of us. once we stick to plan we can live that victorious abundant life he intended for us to live.

[Lilly Chalwell]

Marita, knowing God’s plan for our life would help us understand our purpose, and why we existed, very true.  The Bible is our manual in which we can follow to understand God’s plan for mankind.  It reveal the beginning to the ending, it’s from everlasting to everlasting.

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