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ROM-72-150117 - length: 68:01 - taught on Jan, 17 2015
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
John, Chapter 15, Verse 20 says…
Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A (bond)slave (the believer in Christ) is not greater than his master (the Lord Jesus Christ).’ If they (those who are “in the flesh” … those who are “in Adam” … those who are “in the world”) persecuted Me (the Lord Jesus Christ), they will also persecute you (believers in Christ).
You are always being influenced to use your freedom. The kingdom of death encourages you to use your freedom against yourself. In Matthew, Chapter 4, Verses 3 and 4 the Lord is encouraged by Satan to use His freedom against himself…
And the tempter (Satan) came and said to the Lord Jesus Christ, “If You are the Son of God (and I know you are), command that these stones become bread.”
But the Lord Jesus Christ answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread (physical food) alone, but on every word (of spiritual food) that proceeds out of the mouth of God (the Father).’”
Welcome to a place where you can get the spiritual nourishment you need to thrive in the kingdom of death as you struggle through various life trials. Know that the Lord will deliver you with His Word and that the Lord wills to provide you with a peace that surpasses comprehension.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
There is None Like You
The opening song for this lesson is THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute
truth...the Word of God…
Show us the folly of a life without you…show us the folly of thinking we are something when we are nothing…show us how to use the freedom you have given us in obedience to you, so that we have a life that is beyond our wildest dreams…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
One Use of Freedom is Persecutor to Preacher
What is the proper use of freedom? The apostle Paul chose to use his freedom two ways…first, as a persecutor of the church…in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 6, Paul describes himself…
…as to zeal? I (Paul) was a persecutor of the church…
He also describes a second use of freedom…in Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verse 8…
To me (Paul), the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ…
In this lesson we’ll see how the believers in the Galatian region, to whom Paul directs his letter to the Galatians, chose to use their freedom. But first a few announcements…
BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS
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February 8, 2015
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January 23
Prayer Meeting
TODAY!
January 18
Right After Services
11:30am
Ask the Pastor
Resident Congregation
January 19
7:00PM MST
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Non-Resident Congregation
February 2
7:00PM MST
Congratulations!
BRIAN and SUSANNA DAVIS
IT’S A GIRL!
Suzannah Annie Grace Davis
9 pounds 3.4 ounces
21.5 inches
<photo of Suzannah Annie Grace Davis>
Happy Birthday
Larry Collins
January 17th
THE OFFERING
Deacon Denny Goodall
Let’s take the offering. This is the time when you get to make a sacrifice on behalf of all the people around the world that can’t afford to pay to study the Word of God. Your generous contributions make it possible for them to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ free of charge by means of internet teaching or by means of face-to-face teaching.
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.
THE 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. Please be generous in your support of God’s work through this ministry.
OFFERING VERSE
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
OFFERING SONG
Friends in High Places
TODAY’S STUDY
One Use of Freedom is Persecutor to Preacher
In this lesson we hope to read all six chapters of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Here’s what a noted scholar, Merrill C. Tinney, has to say about the letter…in a book called The Charter of Christian Liberty…his thoughts should give you a great overview of Paul’s letter to the Galatians…
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
Christian liberty is the central theme of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, particularly as relates to the believer’s freedom from the bondage of legalism (slavery), (a slavery that) is the natural consequence of attempting to earn salvation by works.
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
If a man can obtain the favor of God by his voluntary fulfillment of the ceremonial law, then his salvation depends on the completeness of his obedience to the law.
How good are you at obeying the law?
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
Any deviation from the law exposes him to punishment and jeopardizes his salvation. Each small volition of life (each decision in life), therefore, must be scrutinized carefully (while trying to earn your own salvation) to determine whether the decision is in keeping with the law of God, or whether it will transgress some expressed divine command and so bring the our destiny into peril.
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
Such a legalistic attitude produces spiritual bondage, because the person involved becomes so engrossed with attending to the letter of the law that he overlooks the spirit of the law.
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
In the words of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, this person “strains out a gnat and swallows a camel.” [Matthew 23:24]
GALATIANS
The Charter of Christian Liberty
Merrill C. Tinney
The letter to the Galatians shows that the believer is to be saved by faith in what Christ has done for him rather than by his own diligence in keeping precepts of the revealed law.
Look at Galatians Chapter 1, beginning at Verse 1. In this chapter, two parts. First Paul’s terse introduction…he is rather perturbed…then a challenge concerning freedom…a choice we all have to make…the genuine article or the counterfeit. This letter is argumentative, and in this first chapter Paul defends his credentials.
A letter from Paul, an apostle (not sent to Galatia from men nor through the agency of man, but through the agency of Jesus Christ and the agency of God the Father, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead)…
…and all the brethren (believers in Christ) who are with me, to the churches of Galatia…
Galatia is a region in Northeast Asia Minor, right near modern day Turkey.
…grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ…
…who gave Himself voluntarily for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age (for freedom He set us free), according to the will of our God and Father…
…to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.
Paul is very upset…his open is not as cordial as is usual in most of his letters…he even was more cordial in his opening remarks to the Corinthians…the worst of his churches…in this letter his open is terse, and he is terse, and he gets right to the point. Take a five-minute break and we’ll see what Paul has to say next.
BREAK
Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
Welcome back! Galatians, Chapter 1, Verse 6…
I am amazed that you Galatians are so quickly deserting Him who called you (to the privilege of salvation) by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for a different gospel…
Paul is attacking false teachers…he is saying, “Right after I left you…right after I gave you the gospel message…faith in Christ plus nothing added equals salvation…so fast it made my head swim…false teachers came in and offered you a different gospel…faith plus works…and you abandoned faith alone in Christ alone for faith plus works.” My question for you, “Is this a first century only phenomenon?” Hardly. The person who “takes advantage” of freedom always seems to comply when they are face-to-face with you…but as soon as you turn your back, it’s different. <At Church vs. After Church> The insidious work of false teachers introduces fear, uncertainty, and doubt into the soul… most often using a “yeah, but what if?” philosophy. Yeah but what if there is no God? Has God not said?
<Laura and her little books>
…(this counterfeit gospel) is really not another gospel; only there are some false teachers who are disturbing you and who want to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if (for the sake of argument) we (Paul referring to himself), or even if (for the sake of argument) an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you (faith alone in Christ alone for eternal life), he is to be accursed (anathema…eternally condemned)!
As we have said before, so I say again now, if (for the sake of argument) any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received from God the Father (faith alone in Christ alone for eternal life), he is to be accursed (anathema…eternally condemned)!
If the gospel is perverted successfully, and anyone believes it, the result is continued eternal condemnation…“in Adam” all are set to die the second death. Galatians, Chapter 1, Verse 10…
For am I (Paul) now seeking the favor of men, or am I seeking the favor of God? Or am I now striving to please men? If (for the sake of argument) I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Paul is saying he is not a people pleaser. People pleasers don’t accuse others of anathema! Paul is saying if he wanted to be a people pleaser he wouldn’t have turned to the gospel of Christ after trying to destroy the first century Christian Church. He would have continued in Judaism. The proof of where his loyalties lie is in the evidence of his actions. Paul didn’t have to convert to Christianity.
The Galatian Accusations:
How is it that you are an apostle? What governing body or what man appointed you to the station of apostle?
Paul’s Answer:
Here’s how I became an apostle. I used my freedom differently than I was before I believed in Christ.
This is a great test for the gospel…does it come from God or does it come from man? It’s also a great test of religion. Does it come from God or does it come from man. <Joseph Smith> I have heard people say a million times, “Religion is man made.” If for the sake of argument, that’s true, then you have to conclude that religion is not from God…and it isn’t. Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man (an official governing body).
For I neither received it from man (a man like Ananias), nor was I taught it by man (a man like Barnabas), but I received the gospel through a direct revelation of Jesus Christ.
Divine revelation can never be confused with human revelation. Paul is saying. “I was into Judaism, into ambition, and into traditions…I was not into God…I too believed in faith plus keeping the works of the law…more than any other person. I abandoned that message in favor of faith alone in Christ alone because that’s the message from God.
What is the Lord Jesus Christ saying to us? “Use your freedom to express your faith in me.” <JOH 14:6>
For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it…
God allowed Paul to experience DEARTH…the lack…the scarcity in His humanity, before his conversion to Christianity.
…and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.
But when God the Father, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me (invited me to the privilege of salvation) through His grace…
…was pleased …to reveal His Son indwelling me so that I might preach His Son among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood (human beings…to learn about Christ)…
…nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me (to learn about Christ); but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.
He went to Arabia to be away from everyone so he could study with God and learn about God…not to get his learning from men. Going to Jerusalem was the kiss of death in ancient times…for those in Jerusalem were always out to kill anyone who did not agree with them…so Paul steered clear.
Then three years later (after the stint in Arabia) I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas (Simon Peter), and stayed with him fifteen days.
But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
Now an oath…Paul says God is his witness…God the Father, God the Son, God Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in (union with) Christ…
…but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.”
And they were glorifying God the Father because of me.
Paul used his freedom to move from persecutor to preacher. How are you using your freedom to have and to live a spiritual life?
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
When God makes a promise…
it’s a guarantee!
“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.
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.
CLOSING SONG
How Great Thou Art
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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1220 S. Alma School Rd. Suite 201 Mesa, AZ 85210 |
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