Eph 755 2/26/88

DOCTRINE OF VISIBILITY VERSUS INVISIBILITY

A. The Invisible Hero in the Protocol Plan of God.

1. The purpose of the protocol plan of God in the Church Age is to manufacture invisible heroes.

2. Invisible heroes are defined as believers who attain spiritual maturity through consistent function of post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation.

3. As a result of perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine, the individual advances through three stages of spiritual adulthood.

a. Stage one is spiritual self-esteem, characterized by cognitive self-confidence.

b. Stage two is spiritual autonomy, characterized by cognitive independence.

c. Stage three is spiritual maturity, characterized by cognitive invincibility.

4. The invisible hero glorifies God through suffering for blessing.

a. Spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering equals spiritual autonomy.

b. Spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing equals spiritual maturity.

c. Spiritual maturity plus evidence testing equals maximum glorification of God in the protocol plan of God for the Church Age.

d. All this is invisible function; this is not high profile visibility.

5. The invisible impact of the invisible hero includes the four categories of personal impact, national impact, international impact, and angelic impact.

B. The Problem of Visibility.

1. Since the believer under the protocol plan of God is designed for invisible impact, this means that visible impact often conflicts with this divine purpose. We have not been called to high profile, visible modus operandi, such as the holy rollers espouse.

2. Therefore, all too often, visible impact and success in cosmos diabolicus gets the individual believer in trouble. There is nothing as naive and stupid as a high-profile believer minus doctrine.

a. This explains what happened to John Calvin when he ruled Geneva; his was the worst rule of tyranny in history, a rule of legalism, which executed heretics without reason.

b. This is what is happening right now with prominent television evangelists and

preachers. Most have no doctrine, with the exception of Hal Lindsay. Billy Graham, who has been exemplary in his personal life and has had greater audiences than almost anyone in history, has still made very naive pronouncements about the devil’s world, especially about Russia. There is no religious freedom in Russia! When Graham talks about world peace, he’s naive, not knowing that Jesus said, “There will be wars and rumors of wars until I come.” Because he’s high profile, he should never talk about things he doesn’t understand.

c. Lesser men than Billy Graham, such as television preachers, have shocked people with many things, such immorality, pettiness, bickering, self-righteous arrogance, revenge motivation, lawsuits, erroneous doctrinal pronouncements which are legion.

3. These and other activities indicate the fact that high visibility in the devil’s world is not part of God’s plan, purpose, and will for most believers. The exception is the mature believer who knows and applies enough doctrine to avoid the pitfalls.

4. This does not imply that believers do not and cannot succeed in many areas of life. But it does suggest deviation from God’s plan and God’s purpose is related to becoming invisible heroes with invisible impact. The impact of the mature believer is invisible, whereby the client nation survives because of the pivot of mature believers. The pivot is invisible. This emphasizes the importance of doctrinal orientation.

5. If God doesn’t promote you, you are not promoted. God only promotes prepared believers. Prepared believers are those who have maximum epignosis doctrine in the right lobe of the soul through consistent and persistent post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation. Prepared believers have extended their life beyond gnosis.

6. Many of the high profile believers of the present generation are not believers who have been promoted by God, but are believers, who because of some talent or ability, have moved into the limelight through the recent medium of television.

7. The principle is that self-promotion is not divine promotion. Divine promotion comes to those who attain spiritual maturity. God never promotes a believer to high profile status unless he is an invisible hero, and such promotion is a part of his escrow blessings.

8. The invisible hero has enough epignosis doctrine to cope with success and to avoid being naive in this devil’s world.

9. The principle is that when God promotes, the believer remains in a state of gracious orientation and humility.

10. But when the believer is self-promoted, he is in a state of arrogance which leads to his downfall. Therefore, it is not surprising that, for one reason or another, many of the prominent television personalities have fallen. This does not mean they haven’t done well in certain areas, or that they are not believers. It simply means that God hasn’t promoted them.

11. The role model syndrome assumes that because you are a preacher, or proclaim nearness to God in some way, that you’re perfect. The role model syndrome occurs because of an inferiority complex in the average believer. He thinks he isn’t as good a Christian because he’s not doing what the high profile believer is doing. But there is no role model except the one given to us in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, our Lord Jesus Christ.

12. Of course, the media will have no mercy on these “fallen” men. The Constitution guarantees that they will have no mercy. If there’s anything the average member of the fourth estate cannot stand is an eloquent, talented, or loud-mouthed preacher who has a great following of idiots; they resent it. And it’s not unusual in the devil’s world for anyone who is successful to be resented; just look at Hollywood.

13. But if God promotes you, that’s something else. God doesn’t promote unprepared people. God never promotes a believer to high profile status unless he is an invisible hero first. That means he has enough doctrine to handle it. A part of his escrow blessing is such a promotion.

14. Most invisible heroes are promoted in other areas, as in some business, industry, military, or law enforcement. It is very rare for someone with the gift of pastor-teacher or the gift of evangelism to be so promoted. Most don’t know enough doctrine. Most preachers are too lazy to study, and want to impress people with their gift rather than with the message which should be communicated through their gift.

15. The invisible hero has enough epignosis doctrine in the right lobe to cope with success status in cosmos diabolicus.

16. The principle is that when God promotes, the believer remains in a state of grace orientation and humility.

17. When the believer is self-promoted, he is in a state of arrogance which leads to his downfall. This concept is as old as the Scripture.

a. Prov 16:18, “Arrogance precedes destruction, and before a fall, a lifestyle of arrogance.”

b. Prov 11:2, “When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor; but with the humble is wisdom.” You cannot handle success in cosmos diabolicus without genuine humility.

c. Prov 29:23, “A person’s arrogance will bring him low, but a lifestyle of humility will attain honor.”

d. Jas 4:6, “He gives greater grace; this is why the Scripture says, `God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble.’” It isn’t just the press that make war against the arrogant; God does also!

e. 1 Pet 5:5-6, `"God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, humble yourselves under the powerful hand of God that He may promote you at the proper time.”

18. With doctrinal orientation comes grace orientation. Grace orientation plus doctrinal orientation equals the invisible hero.

19. The invisible hero is humble and can handle divine promotion as a part of his escrow blessings for time.

20. But the high visibility cosmic Christian is self-promoting, and his arrogance results in the inconsistencies that lead to his downfall and disgrace.

21. Never covet what God has not provided for you in grace! You future pastors, never covet another man’s ministry or congregation. _____________________________________________________________________________

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