ROM-24-140713 - length: 64:46 - taught on Jul, 13 2014
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. In this lesson we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, obeying a request given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Luke, Chapter 22, Verse 19 says…
“…do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the Lord’s Supper, we take a look back to the Cross.
When you look back at the Cross, what do you see? I’ve asked you to reflect on that question many times. I hope such reflection as refreshing an experience for you as it is for me, every time. When I look back at the Cross today I see SELFLESSNESS.
Spiritual growth is occurring in our lives when we genuinely ask the question on a daily basis, “Lord, what do you want to use me for?”
SELFLESSNESS.
Have you asked yourself that question lately, and waited for the Lord’s response?
SELFLESSNESS.
It’s not an act in a sentimental moment. It’s a decision you make to empty your SELF out so that God the Holy Spirit can fill you up. Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verse 18…
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…
When you decide to get your SELF out of the way and to make your SELF available to God, then your empty SELF is filled by God the Holy Spirit. Our Lord and Savior did just that…Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 6 and 7…
…although the Lord Jesus Christ existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God the Father a thing to be grasped,****but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant…
When we empty ourselves of SELF like the Lord did, God the Holy Spirit fills up your emptiness with His enabling power. Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 14 to 21…
For this reason (prayer) I (Paul) bow my knees before God the Father…
…from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name…
…that God the Father would grant you believers in Christ, out of His glorious riches, to be strengthened with power through His Holy Spirit which is indwelling your inner man…
…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in unconditional love…
…may be able to comprehend with all the saints (believers in Christ) what is the breadth (how wide) and length (how long) and height (how tall) and the depth (how deep) His unconditional love for you is…
…and that you may know the unconditional love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God the Father.
Have you asked yourself the question lately, “Lord, what do you want to use me for?” The Lord Jesus Christ answered this question, not with His mouth, but with His life. John, Chapter 4, Verse 34…
The Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples, “My food is to do the will of God the Father who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
Is this your food…to do the will of the One who created you and sent you?
The SELFLESSNESS lifestyle offers a stark contrast in its simplicity and in its purpose, to its counterpart…the SELFISHNESS lifestyle. We see this SELFISHNESS lifestyle clearly manifested in creatures throughout the bible and throughout the world. Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 10 highlight the deception that seduces us into the SELFISHNESS lifestyle, through the insidious cunning of the kingdom of darkness, that is intent on destroying us.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’”
The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat…”
“…but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to the man, Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?”
Adam said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
Adam and the woman had met with the Lord God daily, without fear, since the day they were created. Then suddenly, they were afraid of Him because they were naked.
SELFISHNESS. The lifestyle of nakedness.
Today, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we seek to imitate the Lord’s SELFLESSNESS lifestyle, and to lay aside the lifestyle of SELFISHNESS.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
WHAT HELD YOU ON THE CROSS?
As God prepares your soul for The Lord’s Supper Celebration and the study of His Word, let’s hear June Murphy worship our Lord in song. The opening song is…WHAT HELD YOU ON THE CROSS? Today’s Lord Supper celebration gives us the answer.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God…
Teach us to give our lives up to You in sacrifice the way Your Son did at the Cross…help us to have confidence in You through the faith gift You have given us…help us to remember that You have freely given us all things in the past, and that our resources from You will be made clearly visible to us at the proper time…also, Father, help us to value others as You do…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name... Amen.
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION
The Cross Invites You to the SELFLESSNESS Lifestyle
First, a few announcements…
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mark Your Calendars!
The next Lord’s Supper Celebration is August 10, 2014
Prayer Meeting
Immediately Following Today’s Service
Contribute to the Food Drive
Help fight hunger in our community
unitedfoodbank.org
Non-perishable food is accepted or cash donations are accepted… provides food for five meals. Online donations accepted at unitedfoodbank.org…be sure to mention Barah Ministries…
Let’s take the offering. Welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
Let’s remember to give with the motivation suggested in Scripture
Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful (grace oriented) giver.
TODAY’S OFFERING
Deacon Denny Goodall
Barah Ministries Financial Policy
Even though we are sanctioned by God to charge for the many things we provide so you can worship God, we choose not to exercise our right. Therefore no price appears on any material from Barah Ministries so that anyone who desires biblical teaching may have it free of charge.
Barah Ministries Financial Policy
Even though the materials we provide are free of charge, they are not free of cost. We appreciate it when the Word of God motivates you to give financial support so as to provide biblical teaching, both for yourself and for others.
OFFERING VERSE
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the
world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved
Me.
OFFERING
In Your Presence
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION
The Cross Invites You to the SELFLESSNESS Lifestyle
SELFISHNESS is built into the very fabric of human nature. What is selfishness?
SELFISHNESS
An intense self-focus, characterized by a concern only for self and not for others.
When we are critical of selfishness in others, we say they are “stuck on themselves” or “caught up in themselves.” Seldom do we recognize SELFISHNESS in ourselves, but we see it easily in others.
When we see SELFISHNESS in ourselves, like Adam and Eve, we use “fig leaves” to cover it…we construct an “act” … we put on a mask…we live behind an image designed to distract people from looking at our real selves…in short, we become hypocrites, people who talk from behind a mask.
Inside, SELFISHNESS is manifested by a constant over concern for self, with a simultaneous disregard for others. Inside, we question incessantly…
What do people think of me? How am I feeling? How am I doing? Who hurt me? What do I lust for? Sex? We lust for instant gratification. Money? We seek to accumulate riches, often thinking of it as security. Power? We develop attributes in ourselves to make us better than others. Achievement? We learn skills to be able to excel. What are my hang-ups? What am I learning? How am I growing? How well am I getting what I need? Who is giving me what I need? How do I look? Am I beautiful? How impressive am I? In short, we are compulsive about covering ourselves and glorifying ourselves. Internally we run our own version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and we ask…
What is the question of this life?
“To ME…or not to ME…that is the question.”
SELFISHNESS.
It started with Adam and Eve and continued with their children. Genesis, Chapter 4, Verses 1 to 16…
Now the man, Adam, had sexual intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord.”
Again, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
This is an unrighteous offering. Righteous offerings were always animal sacrifices.
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering…
…but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Instead of fixing the problem, and giving the Lord what He was asking for, Cain was mad that the Lord didn’t accept every offering.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?”
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And Cain said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.”
“Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
“When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!”
This is an accusation that God is unfair.
“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
SELFISHNESS.
This is the lifestyle we see in humans, but it is not the lifestyle we see when we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, especially His true humanity, at the Cross.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
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…and we are grateful. First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 and 24 say…
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; ****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.
First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 25 and 26 say…
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.****For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
When we drink the cup, we remember THE WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As you remember the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, please enjoy the bread and enjoy the cup. And come on up! As you enjoy the elements, and as you give thanks to the Lord, let’s listen to the Lord’s Supper song...Give Thanks.
LORD’S SUPPER SONG
Give Thanks
Take a five-minute break.
BREAK
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION
The Cross Invites You to the SELFLESSNESS Lifestyle
SELFISHNESS. Described in Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 5…
But realize this, that in the last days (every generation) difficult times will come.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy…
…unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good…
…treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…
…holding to a superficial form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.
When we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, and when we look at the Cross, we see the opposite…we see SELFLESSNESS.
SELFLESS
Having little or no concern for self, especially in relation to fame, position, money, and accomplishments.
Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verse 6 describes an act of SELFLESSNESS…
All of us human beings, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but God the Father has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on the Lord Jesus Christ .
First Peter, Chapter 2, Verses 24 and 25…
…and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might die to the sin nature (SELFISHNESS) and live to righteousness (SELFLESSNESS); for by His wounds you were healed.
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
As we mature we recognize the futility of the SELFISHNESS lifestyle, and we return to the Lord to do things His way…SELFLESSNESS. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verses 14 and 15 helps us recognize selflessness…
For the unconditional love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died…
…and the Lord Jesus Christ died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but that they might live for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
We are selfless when we remember to learn like children learn…through faith in the one they are learning from…Matthew, Chapter 18, Verses 1 to 4…
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And the Lord Jesus Christ called a child to Himself and set the child before them…
…and the Lord said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
“Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
The SELFLESSNESS lifestyle is a life dominated by Crosses…a series of deaths that lead to life…a crucifixion that leads to resurrection. What are the lessons we take from looking back at the Cross? Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 13…
…and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness (SELFISHNESS); but present yourselves to God the Father as those alive (resurrected) from the dead, and present your members as instruments of righteousness to God (SELFLESSNESS).
At what point in life does it become okay for us to be selfless? When we are being selfless, what does it look like?
When you think about it, Christians have nothing to prove. We have only to serve. We all need a new life story…a selfless story. At Barah Ministries, we need to be asking, “Whom can we serve?” As Christians, we need to ask, “How am I emptying myself to God’s will?” If you’re confused about the answer, you know the answer.
Daily, we must empty ourselves to let the Spirit fill us…to move us from a lifestyle of sin and death to a lifestyle of resurrection and righteousness. The Cross is a constant reminder of the SELFLESSNESS lifestyle. Revelation, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18 say…
‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…’
‘I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.’”
Thank you Father for the stunning example of SELFLESSNESS that we see when we look back at the Cross. We may be wealthy with material things, but true wealth comes through spiritual wealth, the kind we get when we put others before ourselves.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
Rejoice always;****pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you (who are) in (union with) Christ Jesus.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,****casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
“Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today…”
He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.
CLOSING SONG
You Came After Me
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS
INTERCESSION
PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of Your unconditional love, Your person, Your thinking, Your work, and Your essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for listening!
www.barahministries.com
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