ROM-97-150419 - length: 72:13 - taught on Apr, 19 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.
Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 7 and 8 say this…
In union with Christ we believers in Christ have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of (ALL) our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which grace He lavished on us.
Forgiveness. The Lord is not counting our mistakes against us. Not our mistakes as believers in Christ. Not the mistakes of any creature…not the mistakes of unbelievers, either. The Lord forgives us from the heart, no matter how many times a mistake occurs. Do you pass on the forgiveness that has been given to you by God to others in your periphery? Matthew, Chapter 18, beginning at verse 21…
Then Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to Peter, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.”
“When he had begun to settle the accounts, one slave who owed him ten thousand talents (ten million US dollars) was brought to him.”
“But since the slave did not have the means to repay, his lord (the king) commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.”
“So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before the lord (the king), saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’”
And the lord (the king) of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii (sixteen US dollars); and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’”
“So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’”
“But the slave was unwilling and went and threw the fellow slave into prison until he should pay back what was owed.”
“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord (the king) all that had happened.”
“Then summoning the slave, his lord (the king) said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.’”
“‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’”
“And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.”
“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to forgive each other. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 32…
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God the Father in Christ also has forgiven you.
Welcome to a place where you can learn to be a reflection of the forgiveness of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Let’s listen to June Murphy sing the opening song…HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful to you, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for being our master…thank you for allowing us to come to the earth and have the chance to worship you…thank you for being gracious to us as we learn about You and Your Word…
Help us to understand our new obligation to You as a result of Your salvation offer…help us to be obedient…help us to get to know and to trust God the Holy Spirit…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s
name...Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Which Master Will You Obey?
We are finishing up Romans, Chapter 6…which began this way, in Verses 1 and 2…
What shall we believers in Christ say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
May it never be (absolutely not)! How shall we believers in Christ (such ones as we… spiritual royalty…the children of a King), who died to sin (as an established and irrevocable fact at the moment of our salvation), still live in sin (as if sin is still our master)?
If we are under grace, and we are, the immature may well take advantage! That does not sit well, neither with the religious who are overly conscious of sin, nor with the legalists who are overly conscious of the rules (the law).
But for those of us in our right minds, we realize that when someone extends grace to us, it does not encourage us to sin. The flesh encourages us to sin…that part of us that is anti-God, anti-you, and anti-everyone else.
For those of us in our right minds, we know that to sin is to create a division n the unity between the Creator and the creature that are in union with each other.
From the moment of salvation believers in Christ are placed into union with the Lord Jesus Christ through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit. We are placed into union with Christ by an immutable God who never changes. So once we are in union with Christ we cannot get out of that union. It’s a marriage. Sin causes conflict in the marriage. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 30 says…
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
In the second passage of Romans, Chapter 6, we learn the obligations of being in union with Christ.
Therefore do not keep on letting sin reign as if it were king in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…
…and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but keep on presenting yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead would present themselves, and keep on presenting your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
For sin shall not be master (a lord) over you, for you are not under law but you are under grace.
The sinful life is the HAVE TO life…the legal life is a HAVE TO life…you have to follow the law…but the righteousness life is a WANT TO life…we willingly and gratefully follow our God…obey our God…and we have a daily enjoyment of the process of being perfected by our God. Philippians, Chapter 1, Verse 6…
For I am confident of this very thing, that God the Father who began a good work in you will keep on perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus.
The obligations of the Christian Way of Life are a holy lifestyle and a life lived for Christ, both of which God the Holy Spirit will show us how to live.
Now to finish the final section of Romans, Chapter 6, beginning at Verse 15…
What then? Shall we believers in Christ sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
God wants us to take advantage of grace…this way…
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF (Meaning 1)
To use someone or something that is favorable to your success for positive gain
…not Satan’s way
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF (Meaning 2)
To exploit…to use someone or something for selfish ends
What’s your choice? Are we to continue in sin because we are under grace, and not under law? In John, Chapter 8, Verse 34, Jesus answers the question definitively…
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Believers in Christ are NOT to be slaves to sin.
BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
…are in union with Christ
…are sharers in His death
…have had our relationship with sin broken
…are living a new life (the ZOE Life)
We are to be slaves to righteousness. Take a five-minute break.
BREAK
All who are Thirsty
TODAY’S STUDY
Which Master Will You Obey?
Welcome back…Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 16…as slaves to righteousness, what are we to bear in mind?
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either a slave of sin resulting in death, or a slave of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Are we to continue disobeying God, and instead obeying sin? Don’t be schtooopid!
What are the two masters to which we can be slaves? We can be a slave to SIN. We can be a slave to GOD. Which will you obey? In whom will you place your faith? If you obey sin, you are looking for death. If you obey God, you are looking for life. Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 to 14 give clear instructions…don’t go on presenting yourselves to unrighteousness…do go on presenting yourselves to God. Don’t be schtooopid! Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 17…
But thanks be to God the Father that though you believers in Christ WERE slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which all of you believers in Christ were handed over by God (the gospel message…salvation by faith alone in Christ alone)…
…and having been freed from sin (we died to sin), you became slaves of righteousness.
Believers in Christ are not salves to sin…we are slaves to righteousness. We died to sin! But what else died? Guilt died…our status “in Adam” died. Death freed us from sin. Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 19…
I (Paul) am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness (when you were unbelievers), resulting in further lawlessness, so now (as believers in Christ) present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
You’d like to think you are independent…you’d like to think you can do things on your own…you’d like to think you have enough depth of character to clean up your own act…but the truth is that you are a slave…under constant influence…the influence of sin…or the influence of God.
<Example: The Chaos People…anti-authority…it’s all good!>
If you want to be truly free, if you want to be truly independent, you have to walk in the truth…John, Chapter 8, Verse 32…
“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 20…
For when you were slaves of sin (as unbelievers), you were free in regard to righteousness.
Unbelievers are under no obligation to be righteous. They don’t have it in them. They are under law. And they can’t even keep it…which would make them righteous, if they could…
Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from those things (sin unrighteousness, ungodliness, lawlessness) of which you (believers in Christ) are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things (in the unbeliever lifestyle) is (the second) death.
Unbelievers are destined for the Lake of Fire if they reject a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in their time on earth. The fruit they produce is death. James, Chapter 1, Verses 14 and 15…
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 22…
But now having been freed from (slavery to) sin and enslaved (instead) to God, you (believers in Christ) derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome (of your slavery to God is the) eternal life (the ZOE life…the resurrection life).
Big finish…
For the (earned) wages of sin (the compensation paid for your sinful works) is (the second) death, but the free (gracious) gift of God the Father is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
The second death is earned. The ZOE life is a free gift. Slaves, take your pick.
In graciousness, God puts the least deserving in highest favor.
There is nothing in any of us that causes God to give us grace.
We are quite unworthy, and we can do nothing…no kind of work…to earn worthiness.
We can never be Christ-like. Anyone with flesh is NOT Christ-like.
God is immutable…He never changes…so once grace is given it is never withdrawn.
The challenge for creatures is to let themselves be loved unconditionally by God.
Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 13 and 14…
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Which master will you obey? The Lord Jesus Christ or Satan? It’s your choice. Just ask yourself a simple question…who has your best interest in mind?
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
are Guarantees!
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren (other believers) who are in the world.
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
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.
CLOSING SONG
Count it All Joy
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 glorious Person, Your lucid thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your magnificent 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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