ROM-28-140727 - length: 67:01 - taught on Jul, 27 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.
Quite often I ask myself, “How’s my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?” Do you? He is my Savior. He is my God. I am grateful to Him. I often wonder how well my gratitude to Him shows up in my daily life. I go long stretches without thinking of Him, as in, I’m not occupied with Him every single moment…unusual in light of the fact that I must, in my job as a Pastor, contact His Word every day. I often wonder why this malady. I wonder why it takes holidays or Sundays or special events to turn the bulk of my attention to Him. The word that comes in answer to the question comes easily. SELF. In Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 we are thus exhorted…
Therefore I (Paul) urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
There is a reason this exhortation is in Romans, Chapter 12. It’s because there is a lot of learning, a lot of preparation that needs to happen before this request makes any sense to the Christian. I want to do this! We can have the will to obey God…we can have the will to serve God…and we can have both the will to obey and the will to serve with a sincerity that is earth shattering for us, and still find our sincerity lacking in sustainability. We can be grateful to God, and see His movement clearly in our lives, and be so genuine in our appreciation for what He has given to us, yet still lack the power to carry out our sincere and genuine intentions. Why? The word that comes in answer to the question comes quickly. SELF. Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 3…
For through the grace given to me I (Paul) say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
SELF dominates our waking moments. God is working things out for us in the matter of SELF. Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 12 and 13…
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
I first put on the Christian uniform about five decades ago, in the summer of 1964…maybe a little before that. But I clearly did not hear the command of the one I was placed into union with. The Lord whispered to me at that time, “Welcome to the team. Go sit there at the end of the bench, and when I need you in the game, I’ll call you.”
My life has been a series of failed attempts to insert myself into the game at my pace, in my way, rather than simply enjoying the preparation that the Lord is giving me, one day at a time.
We want to obey God…we want to serve God…He will use us for His purpose…and every day He moves us one step closer to the moment when we’ll be required to go in the game. Let’s not interfere with His preparation by thinking we know better than God. Let’s accept His preparation through the study of His Word, and watch closely what He is able to do through us. When we execute flawlessly what we are asked to do, because we are using His power, the gratitude, the genuineness, the sincerity will flow from us in a way that is immediately noticeable and eminently sustainable. Let us watch the way He is working through us one moment at a time. Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 21…
For to me, to live is Christ…
Welcome to bible study, the next step in your preparation.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
FEAR NOT
As God prepares your soul for RENEWING, let’s hear June Murphy worship our Lord in song. The opening song is FEAR NOT.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for Your plan, for Your Son, for the power given to us by means of Your Spirit…
Help us to be ready when You call, knowing we will be up to the task because of the power that works in us…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Romans 3
Are You Ready for the NEW in You?
First, a few announcements…
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The next Lord’s Supper Celebration is August 10, 2014
Coeur d’Alene Bible Conference
August 8 and 9
John and Monica Miller
Red Lion Templin’s Hotel
414 E. 1st Avenue
Post Falls, Idaho
Go to barahministries.com for more information and for important phone numbers under the tab “Latest News.”
BARAH MINISTRIES IS ON FACEBOOK
Like us on Facebook and Google Plus. Thanks to Tracy Bixby for setting us up. This morning we nearly 700 “Likes.” Get your friends to like us today!
Prayer Meeting
Immediately After Today’s Service
Let’s take the offering.
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.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
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
Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
OFFERING SONG
The Well
TODAY’S STUDY
Romans 3
Are You Ready for the NEW in You?
To the resident and non-resident members of Barah Ministries,to our guests who join us from time to time, and to all believers in Christ…grace and peace to you from God our Father. We give thanks to Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray for you always, hoping you are spreading the word of truth in your periphery, the gospel message, which God has given to you.
Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 20…
Therefore, we are believers in Christ are ambassadors for Christ, as though God the Father were making an appeal through us, because He is; we believers beg you, on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, be reconciled to God the Father.
It is our sincere hope that the seeds you are planting through your communication of the gospel message are bearing fruit and that this fruit is increasing, as you communicate your unconditional love toward others through the gospel, in the Spirit.
We are studying the righteousness from God in Romans, Chapter 3, and we’ve been looking at Verses 21 and 22…
But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…
…a righteousness that comes as a gift from God the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for whosoever believes; for there is no distinction…
The only way for man to achieve the righteousness of God on his own is to keep the law perfectly. There is no room for error. Once you break the law once, you are a lawbreaker, and you cannot unring the unrighteousness bell. Once you break the law, you are lawless…you are a law breaker…you are a criminal.
But NOW apart from the law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible…
NOW…in this age…the righteousness from God is your “way out,” and for those who take advantage of the gift through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, they are given a standing…they are able, through Christ, to stand before God the Father and to be seen by God the Father just as He sees Christ…righteous! I wonder if you imagine, ever, that moment when you will stand before the Risen Lord and Savior, the One you are in union with…aside from falling down, unable and unworthy to approach His radiant being…I wonder what you imagine you’ll say. As for me, I’ll have nothing to say…but I know what I might feel…ACCEPTED. God accepts me. Why? Righteousness. The gift He has given to me so that I AM accepted.
I often imagine righteousness as a cylinder in which we can dig. And as we dig into the cylinder of righteousness, what might we find? I think first, we’d find grace. Then, we’d find unconditional love. Then we’d find Christ, not as if they are separate mind you, but as if these things were a path to Christ. For Christ IS unconditional love…Christ IS grace…Christ is righteousness…because the Lord Jesus Christ IS God. Through righteousness, a free gift from a gracious and loving God, we are alive to God. Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 19…
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
We believers in Christ in the Church Age are dead to the law…Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 14…
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 9…
However, you are not IN THE FLESH but you are IN THE SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, and it does believers in Christ.
No change in us is required for righteousness. Righteousness is not granted on the basis of worthiness. Righteousness is not granted on the basis of merit. Righteousness is granted as a gift. Genesis, Chapter 15, Verse 6…
Then Abraham believed in the LORD; and the Lord credited his faith to him
as righteousness.
Righteousness is a gift to the ungodly, unrighteous, sinner, weak as he is, and ONLY through faith. John, Chapter 6, Verse 29…
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God the Father, that you believe in Him whom the Father has sent.”
What does it mean to believe? What is faith? When we believe…when we have faith…we simply accept what God says as true. It’s pretty simple. Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Do you simply accept what the Lord says here as true? If so, you have faith. If so, you have been given the gift of righteousness. Do you simply accept what the Lord says Bout righteousness? Take a five-minute break.
BREAK
Somewhere over the Rainbow
Welcome back…Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 and 22…God introduces the “new in you” …
But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…
…a righteousness that comes as a gift from God the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for whosoever believes; for there is no distinction…
In God’s sight, there is no distinction between creatures…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 28 says it well…once again, Paul must remind the Jewish believers who are listening to him that they have no special privilege or standing before God simply because they were given custody of the Mosaic Law…
There is neither Jew nor Greek (no racial distinction), there is neither slave nor free man (no social class distinction), there is neither male nor female (no gender distinction); for you are all one who are in union with Christ Jesus.
You are all the same to God. No one has an advantage over you because of race, class, or gender. Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 23…
…for all have sinned and keep on falling short of the glory of God…
In reflecting on righteousness…in reflecting on the first three verses of the next passage of study in Paul’s letter to the Romans, Verses 21 to 23, I see possibilities. When we look to the past, we see established and unchangeable facts. “There’s no use crying over spilled milk” is what someone might say if they wanted you to stop looking over your shoulder. The answers to your life are not in the past. Your Christian past is a past that saw you helpless, hopeless, vulnerable and naked…condemned, and unable to do a thing about it. So it is with Barah Ministries. So it is with me. So it is with you. We have a past, and there is nothing we can do about it. It is established. It is gone. It will not be coming back. You can’t change it.
Right this minute, you are everything the Lord knew you would be at this time, a billion years ago. God has you right where He wants you.
As you look to tomorrow, there is an open door. Your future is only possibilities.
We spend so much of our time with a death grip on the past…we spend so much of our time fearing the present…that we paralyze our future and we kill our possibilities.
But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible…
But NOW is the beginning of a transition for us.
The past is the past. Let it end.
Now is a transition. Notice it.
The future is ahead.
Are your ready for the NEW in you?
The rest of the book of Romans is the wondrous path of Christianity. A shedding of the skin of the past and a growing of a mature new you. The book of romans really gives us something to look forward to. It’s time for us to get busy living.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God the Father’s will for you (who are) in (union with) Christ Jesus.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God the Father, 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, to him who lacks might He increases power.
CLOSING SONG
Come Into Your Presence
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS
INTERCESSION
PETITION
And we pray You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are a reflection of Your unconditional love, Your Magnificent Person, Your perfect thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your indescribable 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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