We gonna talk about something very exciting tonight.  Everyone’s favorite topic.  Doctrine.  Even just the sound of that word sounds mechanical and void of feeling.  It sounds so impersonal.  It’s kinda like the word religion.  The word religion in post modern Christianity has become a cuss word.  It’s become synonymous with something bad.  But James talks in his letter about a pure and undefiled religion that ministers life to the poor in spirit.  Doctrine has become so mechanical and intellectual in the post modern world, we have people arguing and wanting to kill each other over things they cant even tell you why it’s important.  And then theres those who can see thats not exactly right and because they think that’s doctrine, they take on the view that doctrines not important.  

Doctrine is only as good as its ability to catch you up into God.  It’s only so good as it is able to immerse you in the love of God.  So many times we argue about doctrine, and our arguing is only intellectual.  We believe so many things; we fight and war over so many things; without ever thinking of how this doctrine or that doctrine immerses someone in the love of God.  Example of Thomas … If we can’t see how something gives us intimacy with the nature of God.  Or how something is a stumbling to experiencing the nature of God, it’s just a tradition … and now we are arguing for our tradition.  If we want to argue let us atleast understand how what we believe produces life or is a stumblingblock to life coming forth.  

Deu 32:1  Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

This is talking about the promised land, and Gods desire to join Himself to Israel.  The promised land is a shadow pointing to Jesus, and Gods desire to be one body with mankind.  

God says through Moses, my doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew.  Rain saturates the ground so it can be fruitful.  Dew comes up from the ground, moisturizing the ground so it can bear much fruit.  God says my doctrine will drop like the rain, it will distil like the dew.  My word will be as a stream of living water pouring out of me.  It will be as me pouring myself out as an offering to you, to make the dry/arid/barren ground an oasis.  

My doctrine will abound in all of the waste places.  Making the land a land that flows with milk and honey.  I will be your provision for life.  I will pour out myself for your well being.  My life will abound over the waste places.  It will bring forth vineyards you havent planted.  You will partake of a fruit you did not labor for.  

The word doctrine in the ancient Hebrew means to take or gather in the sense of taking or gathering to yourself.  It means to take, receive, fetch, bring, get, carry, marry, buy.  It’s something that’s received from the speech of another.  With the purpose of them speaking to you, being to gather, fetch, receive you to themselves.  It’s for the purpose of them satisfying their desire to catch you up into a marriage with themselves.  

The ancient idea of marriage was that a man had a certain life.  He had a certain life in Himself, and if he wanted to be married he would propose his life to the woman.  The proposal was the man offering Himself to the woman. It was a dedication.  It was the man dedicating His life and the strength of His life towards the well being and the beautification of the woman.  Thats what God’s talking about in Ezekel 16 when he says I will spread my skirt over you.  I decked you with ornaments and put bracelets on your hand and a chain on your neck …. God was dedicating his life and the strength of his life towards the beautification of mankind .  

I tell the young guys all the time when you propose to a woman, you are promising her your life.  What you’re saying to her is her life is so precious to you that you’re dedicating your life towards her well being … when you propose you’re promising your life to the woman.  You’re telling her your plan is to pour yourself out for her.  You’re telling her you will empty yourself so her life can be exalted.  Listen, it’s not that the woman doesn’t contribute anything …. it’s a beautiful thing when a woman feels so safe and can perished and protected; that she is able to full give herself over into your arms …

Moses describes Gods doctrine God in Deuteronomy 32 as His name.  Moses says Gods doctrine shall drop as rain.  His speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Moses says all that will happen because God will publish His name.  Gods doctrine is His name.  His doctrine is the declaration of Himself, and His heart.  When we think of doctrine we should be thinking of God Himself.  His heart.  His nature.  His life.  His work.  His faith.  

The doctrine of God is about giving a person the knowledge of God.  Not knowing in the sense of knowing about God, like Job says in Job 42 I never knew you I had only heard about you .. but knowledge in the sense of intimacy with someone on account of seeing into the depth of their heart, and being caught up into the beauty of what you see there.  

Gods doctrine isnt just His name in the sense of a word.  The doctrine of God is Him cracking open His chest and bearing His soul to you …… Gods doctrine is Him offering Himself to you.  It’s God getting down on bended knee and proposing Himself to you.  Its God getting down on one knee and offering Himself to you.  Its God almighty dedicating His life to your well being; It’s Him dedicating His life towards the end of exalting you unto the likeness of His life …. Offering His body to be broken, knowing that in Him is an incorruptible life, an incorruptible seed, and that the moment His blood is shed, it is the pouring out of Himself on the world.  Gods doctrine is Him emptying Himself so you can be exalted. Just as a seed falls into the ground and dies so it does not abide alone but bears much fruit.  God offered His body up to be broken to decorate you with the fruit of His life.  

The doctrine of God is the testimony of Jesus Christ … the Father has life in Himself ….. the life He has in Himself can abound over the deadness in the earth and the deadness in our flesh.  And He is with us to pour Himself out for us.  He is with us offering His body up for us’ to be broken for us; to empty Himself; pouring Himself out for our well being.  

It’s a self sacrificial love that catches a woman up into a marriage.  That’s what causes a woman to give herself over into the arms of another.  God is love and that love has always been self sacrificial.  He’s always wanted to empty Himself for you.  He’s always wanted to pour Himself out for you.  Jesus says he only does what he sees the Father doing … Jesus emptied himself for you on the cross.  He poured Himself out for you.  He gave his body up to be broken, so you could be made one flesh with God and His indestructible life, in the body of his resurrection.  

Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 

Heb 9:16  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
Heb 9:17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Heb 9:18  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

The blood of Jesus is Gods testament to you. It’s His pledge to you, that He is emptying Himself for your well being …. When you see God has vowed a vow to you, and sealed His vow to lay down His life so your life can be exalted, by shedding His blood.  It becomes a testimony …. And then that catches you up into a marriage …. ***** He immerses you in His love; He immerses you in His life by offering Himself to you …… that’s what a proposal is meant to be … the man is offering Himself.  He’s offering all that he is and has in himself to the woman.  He’s telling the woman your life is so precious to me, I want to serve you with my life.  He empties Himself.  He pours Himself out for the well being of the woman.  

This is how God catches you up into His arms. 

Isa 54:1  Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. 

Barren speaks of dry bones.  Deadness in the flesh.  Abraham and sarah were barren.  There was no life in them.  They were not decorated in the fruit of life.  All they could see was deadness in their bodies and deadness in Sarah’s womb.  By the time Sarah was pregnant with Isaac, Abraham’s seed was also dried up.  Between the two of them, they were as a barren waste land.  Mankind was as dry ground.  We were a barren waste place.  Our bones were brittle.  We were as a barren waste land unable to bear any fruit. 

Why does Isaiah say the barren should sing?  ….. your maker is your husband.  The one who created you has joined Himself to you …. He has dedicated His life to you … there’s no shadow of turning in Him; He’s sealed His testimony … with His blood.  He sealed His dedication of Himself to you; to pour Himself out for you, by shedding His blood.  You were as a tender herb and he poured out Himself as a stream of living water, saturating you with His life; to beautify you; to decorate you in His life.  To offer Himself to you, so your life can be exalted.  

Caught up into a marriage.  What does a marriage declare … yes it declares love; proposal; bended knee; but it is also declaring two becoming one flesh ….. it’s a communion; an intimacy; a fellowship; a knowing the depth of one another in the sense of being joined together with them, and experiencing all that they are, and all they have in themselves.  

If my maker is my husband.  Well that means I’m one flesh with him, and whatever kind of life He has in Himself, I know that same life is being brought forth in me, and nothing can stop it.  If we are one flesh,  then his life is my life.  

Jesus is Gods doctrine .. he is Gods chest cracked upon.  He is the Fathers heart put on display … it drops like dew … when we can see the tender heartedness of God towards us it saturates us in the Fathers life.  It saturates our dry bones.  Our dry bones become animated by the Holy Spirit …. We begin to partake of the table the Fathers prepared for us … we begin to partake of the body of Christ, and through the body of Christ we become one flesh with God and indestructible life.  God prepared a table for us … Jesus describes the table as a marriage feast … eating from the table God prepared for us, is about us becoming one flesh with God and indestructible life, through the body of Christ …..

Prayer