(# 303) Romans 8 - The Lord’s Supper Celebration: THE RELATIONSHIP REQUIREMENT OF A FAITHFUL SAVIOR

Class Outline:

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Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebration:

THE RELATIONSHIP REQUIREMENT OF A FAITHFUL SAVIOR

 

Today, just as we do every month, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper…a remembrance meal.  We eat, by breaking bread…we drink, by tasting the fruit of the vine…and we look back to the Cross…one of the most significant occurrences in divine history.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26 (New American Standard Translation)

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

 

Here’s what it means…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26 (Rory Translation)

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup (as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration), you proclaim (as a reality and you announce the significance of) the Lord Jesus Christ’s death (on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead) until He comes (again in the second coming…an absolute certainty).

 

At the Lord’s Supper celebration we, a gathering of His believers, remember the Lord’s death on the Cross which paid for the sin of all mankind…we remember the shedding of His blood to cleanse us from unrighteousness… and we remember, with gladness, that He was resurrected from the dead three days later to prove His Deity.  Now we KNOW that the victorious Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of His Father’s throne waiting for the moment when God the Father will make the Lord’s enemies a footstool for His feet.

 

During the last Lord’s Supper celebration we began looking at the FAITHFULNESS of our Savior.  Christianity is not a religion…it is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…and a key requirement of relationships is faithfulness.  Every relationship benefits from faithfulness.

 

What is a relationship?  A relationship is… 

 

RELATIONSHIP

A connection that you decide to make with another person, and the relationship becomes a possession of yours, to be treasured, to be cared for, and to be nurtured.

 

Do you think of relationships in this way? 

 

If this is your thought about relationships, then you know that relationships are not entered into lightly…you know that the term “relationship,” a word that describes such a connection, is not a “throw away word” to be used as if it is a reference to something insignificant.

 

For example, the United States government chooses to enter into relationships with soldiers for the purpose of having them protect the nation.  One such group of soldiers is the United States Marines.  The Marine Corp slogan is “Semper Fidelis,” a Latin expression that means “always faithful.”  To a Marine, “Semper Fi,” as they abbreviate it, is more than just a slogan… it’s a lifestyle demanding absolute loyalty…a Marine is the living personification of faithfulness, with a FANATICAL dedication to the relationship they have with those they serve.  The Marines have never experienced a mutiny.  They are dedicated to relationships to the death, and are willing to fight for those they love with a love that has no conditions.

 

So it is with THE FAITHFUL SAVIOR whom we celebrate today, and every day…He is FANATICAL in His dedication to a relationship with each of His creatures, and He was loyal to His mission to go to the Cross in a sinless state so that He could die on behalf of all of us.   Second Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 13 says…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 2:13

If we believers in Christ are faithless, and we are, the Lord remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (He considers anyone with His righteousness as part of Himself).

 

Always FAITHFUL…YES…the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful to us even when we are faithless.  Welcome to a place where you can celebrate THE FAITHFUL SAVIOR, and His relationship requirement that He suggests for us…FAITHFULNESS…not only as a characteristic, but also as a lifestyle. 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

A FEW GOOD MEN

Gaither Vocal Band

 

As we prepare our souls for worship enjoy the opening song…A FEW GOOD MEN sung by Gaither Vocal Band.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, you know our needs, even when we don’t…and one of the things we need more than anything in our relationships is something You have in abundance…FAITHFULNESS…thank you for teaching us what faithfulness is by sending us a FAITHFUL SAVIOR in Your Son, who was fanatical in His dedication to each of us…so that anyone might be saved who wants to be saved…

 

Remove our blindness in relationships…correct our failures in relationships…sew into us through Your Word the seeds of faithfulness through the enabling power of Your Holy Spirit, so that we can enjoy the benefit of being in close connection with the people You put in our lives…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebration:

THE RELATIONSHIP REQUIREMENT OF A FAITHFUL SAVIOR

 

Let’s take a moment now to give you a chance to make an offering.  It’s a chance for you to support this ministry in providing the Word of God both to you and to those who are positive to the Word of God all over the world.  We appreciate the faithfulness of your contributions.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to take the offering.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JEREMIAH 9:23

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches…

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

Thank you for your generosity. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebration:

THE RELATIONSHIP REQUIREMENT OF A FAITHFUL SAVIOR

 

In our last Lord’s Supper Celebration, you were asked to reflect on a question…

 

QUESTION FOR REFLECTION

 

Are you faithful in your relationships?

 

What does it mean to be faithful in your relationships?

 

FAITHFUL
When you are faithful in relationships, you stick with the relationship through thick and thin…you never betray the relationship…you ALWAYS give the people you are in relationship with a way out of a jam…you accomplish what you set out to do for those with whom you are in relationship...

 

FAITHFUL
…you protect the relationship from all forms of harm, even in circumstances where those you are in relationship with want to harm you or want to harm themselves…you are always on the side of those with whom you have relationships…you are willing to stand up for your relationships when there is trouble.

 

So I ask you…

 

QUESTION FOR REFLECTION

 

Are you faithful in your relationships?

 

Our God is certainly faithful in His relationship with us…in fact, He is incapable of being unfaithful…so we can ALWAYS count on His fanatical dedication to a relationship with us.

 

For example, God the Father is faithful to us out of His love for the PERSON and the WORK of His Son at the Cross.  He is impressed with, and is perfectly satisfied by, the Lord’s propitiatory sacrifice on our behalf at the Cross.  As a result, God the Father is faithful to us believers in Christ because we are in union with His Son, and the Father has the same attitude toward and affection for us that He has for His Son.

 

More than all of this, God the Father would never be unfaithful to His Son… therefore He would never consider being unfaithful to anyone who is in union with His Son.  As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are absolutely and eternally secure in the certainty of God’s faithfulness.

 

Faithfulness is one of the things couples expect from each other when they go to the altar in marriage.  Each expects complete faithfulness in thought, in word and in deed from the person he is marrying.  Yet no human being is, nor has any human being ever been, faithful in this way…in thought…and in word…and in deed.  In fact, when you think about it, it’s foolish for us to even expect faithfulness from other human beings…especially in marriage.  Yet we do expect it…and we are devastated when we don’t get it…we’re disillusioned constantly when we discover that our relationships contain an unfaithful element.  What we’re disappointed by, when you think about it, is the illusion, not the person.  No person in his right mind would promise you a mistake free relationship.  Yet we expect it, and the devastation we feel when we are burned by our illusion does not keep us from hoping that the next person, the next relationship will be a faithful one.  We lament…well it just wasn’t meant to be…alas…we like living in the fairy tale fantasies of our minds rather than dealing with the truth of reality…and the truth is that you can have a pretty awesome relationship with an unfaithful person if you are willing to incorporate into your relationship a sphere of grace that allows for other people to be human and to make mistakes. 

 

While wishing for this faithfulness from humans, we ignore the faithfulness of the One who is ALWAYS faithful…the Lord Jesus Christ…the One we believers are in relationship with…the One whose death, burial, resurrection, ascension and session we celebrate today. The Lord Jesus Christ was faithful to us in His PERSON and in His Work on the Cross…He is THE FAITHFUL SAVIOR.  Funny thing about us humans…we always wish for what we don’t have and we ignore what we do have…we want faithfulness from humans which we will never get, and we ignore the faithfulness of our Savior which He extended to us before we were born.

 

Let’s enjoy the elements, and then we’ll take a look at the relationship requirement of a FAITHFUL SAVIOR.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebration:

ENJOYING THE ELEMENTS

 

Following God’s request, we keep on celebrating CHRIST and His Cross on a regular basis…we eat to remember who He is…His PERSON…we drink to remember His WORK, the voluntary sacrifice He made at the Cross on our behalf as our substitute…and we are grateful for what God has done for us.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 and 24 say…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:23

For I, Paul received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus Christ on the night in which He was betrayed took bread…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:24

…and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is, and keeps

 on being My body, which is broken for you; keep on doing this celebration

 for the purpose of remembering Me.”

 

When we eat the bread during the Lord’s Supper Celebration, we remember THE PERSON of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

When we drink the cup, we remember THE WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 25 and 26 say…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:25

In the same way the Lord Jesus Christ took the cup after supper, representing His death on the Cross, saying, “This cup is a new testament forged with My blood; keep on doing this celebration, as often as you drink it, for the purpose of remembering Me.”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup (as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration), you proclaim (as a reality and you announce the significance of) the Lord Jesus Christ’s death (on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead) until He comes (again in the second coming).

 

As you enjoy the bread and the cup, enjoy the memory of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well. Now and always, let us keep on giving thanks that we are loved unconditionally and accepted fully by THE FAITHFUL SAVIOR…and let’s enjoy His unconditional love Day by Day…and that’s the name of our Lord’s Supper song.

 

LORD’S SUPPER SONG

DAY BY DAY

Godspell

 

Let’s take a music break.

 

MUSIC BREAK

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

Mercy Me

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebration:

THE RELATIONSHIP REQUIREMENT OF A FAITHFUL SAVIOR

 

What does a faithful God expect of His unfaithful creatures? 

 

Faithfulness!  God thinks faithfulness is a relationship requirement.  He expects us to be fanatical in our dedication to each of our relationships.  And when we make the mistake of unfaithfulness, He expects us to adjust.  He does not expect perfection from us.  He expects that when He shows us the error of our ways that we come to Him and we respond to Him and we obey Him.   This is why we have been given the gift of grace.  God’s grace gives us the chance to learn from our mistakes, not to obsess about them.

 

I’m sick of this description of God’s grace…we didn’t earn it…we didn’t deserve it…but He gave it to us anyway.  That hardly describes our God’s grace adequately.

 

See a path in your mind.  God has preordained a path for your life.  All He asks of you is that you walk the path.  Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…

 

EPHESIANS 2:10

For we are God the Father’s workmanship, created to be in union with Christ Jesus and designed for good works, which God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

You, as the disobedient and imperfect creature that you are, step off the path God has preordained for you on a regular basis.  Yet God is patient toward you.  He gently nudges you to get back on the path and He wants you to willingly obey.  He is not bothered at all by your imperfection.  He is not bothered at all by your willfulness.  He is not bothered at all by your unfaithfulness.  He never turns His back on you.  For the same strong will that is directed toward disobedience can be changed in an instant and be directed toward obedience.  Ask the apostle Paul…who with one flash of light from the heavens got on a completely opposite path from the one he was on…moving from slaughtering Christians to serving Christians and to serving the Most High God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

God’s faithfulness can be described as devotion.  Just as a human parent is devoted to the wayward child, so is our God devoted to us.  In fact, what is the lesson of the wayward child for us as human beings…the child who always finds himself in the worst kinds of trouble?  The wayward child is a mirror.  He is a lamp to those of us who are great cover artists…those of us who prefer to pretend like we don’t have the same defects as the wayward child…those who think that their brand of self-righteousness is somehow wonderful, while everyone else’s is horrible and offensive.

 

The decision to be in a relationship with someone involves you making a commitment to him.  It is not a commitment that is made lightly.  It is a commitment borne on the wings of faithfulness.  What does it mean to be faithful in relationships?

 

FAITHFUL

Faithfulness means giving your WHOLE HEART and your WHOLE BEING to a relationship without regard for the pain associated with making this choice.

 

So it was with my mother…I was the one of the four children to decide for faithfulness, when it was time to care for a mother with a severe case of dementia, by asking myself, “If not me, then whom?”  I knew the answer was, “There is no one else.”  Her other three children betrayed her…I answered God’s call to faithfulness. 

 

That’s what God wants from us…ALL!  Mark, Chapter 12, Verse 30…

 

MARK 12:30

“…and you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength.”

 

ALL…especially in the matter of faithfulness in relationships.  We love the Lord this way because He first loved us that way…the Lord is ALL IN for us…He is fanatical in His dedication to a relationship with us.  What does it mean to be faithful in relationships?

 

FAITHFUL
Allowing yourself to be deprived of things in relationships that you think are rightfully yours.

 

When you’re in a relationship and you are asking yourself, “Why do I have to be the one?” … you know you are being faithful.  There are times when you wonder why you are the one who is always giving, as you watch others take in your relationships.  So it is with God…always giving and never taking.

 

The whole universe hangs on the fact that God is faithful.  And if He were unfaithful in just one thing, we would all be doomed.  If He were unfaithful to the spiritually dead, for example, they would have no hope.

 

To understand how faithful God is, you have to look at His attitude toward the worst of us…Nero…Adolf Hitler…Sadaam Hussein…the apostle Paul.  He loved them all unconditionally.

 

If I introduce a new congregation member to you, and you find out that this person is a prostitute…or a gigolo…or a stripper…or an alcoholic…or a drug addict…or a pedophile…can you see yourself being in a relationship with such vermin?  And can you ever see yourself being faithful to them?  Well they have a mother who probably is faithful to them.  The United States Marines are faithful to them.

 

What does it mean to be faithful in your relationships?

 

FAITHFUL

Standing steadfast and firm in your conviction toward the relationship.

 

The Lord is the master of this fanatical dedication to a relationship with us.  Lamentations, Chapter 3, Verses 22 and 23…

 

LAMENTATIONS 3:22

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.

 

LAMENTATIONS 3:23

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness, Lord.

 

If God promised something six thousand years ago, the promise is as solid today as it was when it was made.  And the Jews thank God for that.  Psalm 119, Verses 89 and 90…

 

PSALM 119:89

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

 

PSALM 119:90

Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.

 

Malachi, Chapter 3, Verse 6…

 

MALACHI 3:6

“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob (the Jews), are not consumed.”

 

Can you remain faithful to the one you married when they commit adultery and you find out about it?  Can you remain faithful to the one you married when you find out that they have “fallen out of love” with you?  Can you remain faithful to the one you married when they are suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease?  Can you remain faithful to the one you married when there is a terrible tragedy in your family, like your child being drowned by an alligator on a family vacation?  Can you remain faithful to the one you married when your loved one inconveniences you by having to battle cancer? 

 

Well I say if the Lord can be fanatically dedicated to a relationship with us…then we can do it too, through Him.  Deuteronomy, Chapter 8, Verse 2…

 

DEUTERONOMY 8:2

You shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you (for your own benefit and knowledge), to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

 

What’s in our hearts?  Unfaithfulness.  Nothing good.  Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 18…

 

ROMANS 7:18

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing to do good is present in me, but the doing of the good is NOT present in me.

 

Our faithful God gives us a singular voice to follow…John, Chapter 10, Verse 27…

 

JOHN 10:27

“My sheep hear My voice, and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) know them, and they follow Me…”

 

God loves our faithfulness to Him, which we express by having faith in Him.  Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 6…

 

HEBREWS 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God the Father must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

The Lord doesn’t need our sincerity…He needs us to simply follow His example.  Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse 19…

 

MATTHEW 4:19

And the Lord Jesus Christ said to Simon Peter and to Andrew (the fishermen), “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

 

The Lord wants us to follow HIS plan for our lives…Proverbs, Chapter 19, Verse 21…

 

PROVERBS 19:21

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.

 

The Lord wants us to respect Him…Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12, Verses 13 and 14…

 

ECCLESIASTES 12:13

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is this…respect God and keep His mandates, because this applies to every person.

 

ECCLESIASTES 12:14

For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

 

FAITHFUL.  The relationship requirement of a FAITHFUL SAVIOR is that we are faithful.  So when you choose a relationship, a connection that you decide to make with another person, and the relationship becomes a possession of yours, treasure it, care for it, nurture it, be faithful to it, and you will receive blessing from the Lord for following His relationship example.  Thank you to a FAITHFUL SAVIOR who was faithful to the point of death, even death on a Cross.  We love you, Lord!

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

ACTS 16:30

“…the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

ACTS 4:12

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given to mankind by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the apostle Thomas, the doubting one, “I am the way (to salvation), and (I am) the truth (the Word of God), and (I am) the (resurrection) life; no one comes to the Father but through believing in Me.”

 

ACTS 2:21

‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will be saved.’

 

CLOSING SONG

I CAN’T DISAPPOINT YOU

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

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