(# 374) Romans 12 - Present Your Bodies in Marriage
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church with worldwide impact based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries we worship the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We call Him Lord because He is 100% God. We call Him Jesus Christ because He is 100% true humanity just like you and me.
The Lord Jesus Christ turned over a great commission to His believers. He entrusted us with the authority to provide direction to those who don’t have a relationship with Him…Matthew, Chapter 28, Verses 18 to 20 say this…
MATTHEW 28:18 And the Lord Jesus Christ came up and spoke to His eleven disciples, saying, “All authority has been given to Me by God the Father, both in heaven and on earth.”
MATTHEW 28:19 “Therefore keep on going…keep on discipling all the nations…and keep on baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”
MATTHEW 28:20 “…and keep on teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…”
As believers in Christ, we come to bible study to get direction for ourselves. Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 2 says…
COLOSSIANS 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. We want to live our lives in absolute calm regardless of circumstances, like the calm in the eye of the hurricane, rather than to live in the chaos of the world that is constantly drawing us into turbulence, like living amidst the wind shear that exists in the bands of hurricanes. The Word of God gives us this calm. Welcome to a place that focuses your thoughts on the calm of eternal things…the things above.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies in Marriage
Marriage is one of the best gifts we have been given by God when it is lived well…and it is lived well when it built on a firm foundation. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 19 to 22 say this…
EPHESIANS 2:19 So then you Gentile believers are no longer strangers and aliens (instead you are the new man)…and now you are fellow citizens with all the saints (believers in Christ), and you are of members of God’s household…
EPHESIANS 2:20 …you, having been built on the foundation which began with the apostles and prophets (from the day of Pentecost forward…after the Cross)…Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone of the foundation…
EPHESIANS 2:21 …and in Christ the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord…
As Gentile believers we are a part of the building of the Royal Family of God…we are a gift from God the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ for His successful work on our behalf at the Cross…
EPHESIANS 2:22 …in Christ also you are being built together into a dwelling of God the Father by God the Holy Spirit.
When God does things, He takes care of the foundation first. Christ is the foundation of all things. If you’re married or if you are thinking about getting married, you must take care of the foundation first. In today’s lesson we’ll learn how important it is to build our marriages on a firm foundation, with Christ as the chief corner stone.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US Phillip, Craig & Dean
Foundational to our salvation is the work the Lord Jesus Christ did for all mankind at the Cross…His death by crucifixion…His burial…His resurrection from the dead…His ascension…and His session…being seated victorious at the right hand of God the Father until that time in the future when God the Father makes the Lord’s enemies a footstool for His feet. Let’s listen to Phillip, Craig & Dean sing about this foundational gift we received from God the Father…the Christ…our Messiah…our Savior…the Sovereign God of the Universe…in their song, HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US. The Christ as a gift demonstrated better than anything ever could God the Father’s unconditional love for His creatures.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, thank you for the gift of marriage…and thank you for giving us a foundation for marriage…Christ…help us, as we learn today, to look at marriage through your eyes so that we can let you build our marriages on a firm foundation that ensures their success…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies in Marriage
We’re studying Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1, which has several intricate facets…
ROMANS 12:1 Therefore…I (Paul)…urge (beseech) you…brethren (believers in Christ)… as you keep on being persuaded because of the many mercies of God…TO PRESENT YOUR BODIES (by choice, not by command…as) A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE… acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service…worship.
Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 tells you a “DO” in the Christian Way of Living…DO PRESENT YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE. The Holy Spirit has chosen to use the example of marriage to focus our thoughts concerning the study of PRESENTING OUR BODIES.
We present our bodies voluntarily to marriage. The Lord gives us relationships, like marriage, so that we will GROW. There is nothing that can help us grow faster than relationships like marraige.
Relationships start when you “PRESENT YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE.” At the start, we fall in love. Nothing good happens when we are falling. After we are in a marriage relationship, often we fall out of love. Nothing good happens when we are falling.
This falling phase is similar to our use of charcoal lighter fluid to ignite charcoal on our grills. The lighter fluid ignites a fire, but the fire quickly fades. If the foundation of the charcoals has not been set in such a way that the fading flame will set the coals on fire so that they can begin their slow burn, the fire goes out.
Many relationships are like this. The chemical nature of attraction phase loves ignites a flame, but if there is no foundation set for the relationship, and the fading flame burns out before it has a chance to catch and to lead to something lasting. And then the fatal lie… “Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” Let’s look at three of the foundational bricks of marriage, and let’s assess how well we have cared for them.
God has given us the gift of time. You have time and your spouse has time.
How much intentional time, scheduled time, do you spend with your spouse each week? Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verses 15 and 16 say…
EPHESIANS 5:15 See to it that you walk with care (for the lifestyle you construct), not constructing a lifestyle as unwise men would…but constructing a lifestyle as wise men would…
EPHESIANS 5:16 …making the most of your time (making the right use of every opportunity), because the days are evil.
What happens if you don’t spend the time with each other?
Wise conduct is a walk in the lifestyle of light, not in the lifestyle of darkness. As believers in Christ, we are not of the kingdom of darkness. We are to follow the direction of our Mentor and Teacher, God the Holy Spirit, through our study of the Word.
There’s a great book by Dr. Richard Furman…it’s out of print, but quite frequently you can get out of print books on Amazon …it’s called The Intimate Husband. When I read the book for the first time, one expression Furman used stood out, and is forever embedded in my mind. It became a mental mantra that allowed me to check myself. He said, “Married men need to make a “Wife-Time” commitment. The world keeps on providing things that rob us of time, and in the process they keep on robbing us of relationships. Are you spending intentional, scheduled time with your spouse?
How much time do you spend with your spouse? What I mean is time spent with just you and them, with no distractions, spending time alone and together, wrapped up in intimate conversation that leads to physical touches. You have 168 hours a week…twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week…as the Lord has allotted all of us a number of days. How much of that time each week is set aside for, and dedicated to, uninterrupted and focus time with your spouse? Before you got married, did you ever consider that this is a vital part of nurturing the marriage relationship? Was it a criterion on which to build the relationship?
We brag that we have “date nights” with our spouse, as if it is something special, when it is really a vital thing we need to be doing all the time. And when we are on date night, that’s not the time to spend bagging on all the people you see as you people watch. Nor is it the time to catch up on your Facebook “likes.” It’s really the time to get to know the changes your spouse is experiencing as they grow…the challenges they face…the hurts they feel…and without feeling the need to solve any of these things unless a solution is asked for or called for.
by Dagmar O’Conner…PICNICS IN BED>
Let’s take a music break…we’ll hear a salute to our almighty God called TRIBUTE…sung by Andrae Crouch.
MUSIC BREAK MY TRIBUTE Andrae Crouch
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies in Marriage
Let’s begin the next portion of our lesson by giving you a chance to make an offering…we need and we value your financial support to continue the work of this ministry…please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
SECOND TIMOTHY 1:13-14 Retain the standard of sound teaching which you have heard from me, in the faith and in the unconditional love which only come from being in union with Christ Jesus.//Guard the truth, through the Holy Spirit who indwells us, this treasure that has been entrusted to you.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies in Marriage
Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1…
ROMANS 12:1 Therefore…I (Paul)…urge (beseech) you…brethren (believers in Christ)…to keep on being persuaded by the many mercies of God…to present your bodies (by choice, not by command…as) a living and holy sacrifice… acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service…worship.
God has given us the gift of Himself. You and your spouse have a relationship with God as believers in Christ. It is your spiritual life.
If deep, intimate, and personal relationships require time, how much of your time are you and your spouse giving to the study of the Word of God… TOGETHER…so that you can develop a deep, intimate and personal relationship with God. Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verses 16 and 17 say…
SECOND TIMOTHY 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God (theoneustos…which means God breathed) and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness…
SECOND TIMOTHY 3:17 …so that the man of God may be made mature by God, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We’re all experts at solo effort. We’re all really good alone. But how are we when joint effort is required? Do we understand that both parties in a marriage can have everything they want?
My experience is that when married couples study the Word of God together, is shuts up “ego” … and puts each spouse back in the right place. When the Lord and His Word is the foundation of a relationship, it will go well with you.
Have you ever had a real conversation about what submission is? I have. And I love talking to women who know what it is and who love it and thrive with it.
As I am listening to people talk about their relationships, I am listening for the two things that kill every relationship…Blame and “I.” Relationships are not selfish. Relationships are not, “What can you do for me?” experiences. Relationships are not “I did everything right.” If people are about “I,” why bother getting in a relationship? There is a large enough crop of me-me-me people in the world. Find one of them and get in a “this for that…a quid pro quo” relationship.
When we’re dealing with any relationship issue the best thought instead is, “Take care of them first, then me.” This approach seems to have a great outcome. Yet both spouses have to take on that attitude. Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 5 to 8 communicate the attitude the Lord had…
PHILIPPIANS 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…
PHILIPPIANS 2:6 …who, although He existed with the same essence as God the Father (Deity), did not regard equality with God the Father as a thing to be grasped and held onto…
This is called submission.
PHILIPPIANS 2:7 …but the Lord emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant (Jesus Christ), and being made in the likeness of men (true humanity).
PHILIPPIANS 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled (that is…humiliated) Himself by (taking on this human form)…becoming obedient to the point of death…even death on a Cross.
When only one spouse has an attitude of selflessness, if the other is selfish, the house divided against itself will surely fall. People have been asking me, “What kind of woman are you looking for?” The answer is, “One that isn’t selfish.” There’s no cure for selfishness.
God has given us the gift of health. You and your spouse have a relationship with these bodies you are presenting.
Are you taking care of yourself? In First Timothy, Chapter 5, Verse 23 the Lord approves of drinking…
FIRST TIMOTHY 5:23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
Are you taking care of your health?
There are a ton of workshops, both for men and women, that offer perspective, helping people get away from the rat race to focus on the big picture of life. One such workshop is called The Power of Story Workshop created by Jim Loehr. Jim’s contention is that if you change your story you’ll change your destiny. I agree with him. In his weeklong workshops, two full days are spent assessing the health of the participants. Why? Because men are macho about their health!
I have a friend who has been having health issues for quite some time. His health issues became noticeable. Another friend of mine, who worked with this man every day, noticed first, and began to tell the man about what he was seeing. “Nah! Bah Humbug!” was the response. I offered to intervene figuring a different voice might have a different result. The “Bah Humbug!” was a little nicer in tone when directed at me…but the man assured me he was fine. I said, “Yeah right…you’re taking seventeen medications every day that are fighting with each other, you’re stumbling all over the place, you’re addicted to some of the meds…but you’re fine?” My spiritual gift, in case you were wondering, is the gift of subtlety. He was in the hospital shortly after our conversation, and not of his own free will.
I, on the other hand, was raised by a hypochondriac…a mother who was excessively preoccupied with her health. As a result, I had a thorough physical exam at the Mayo Clinic every year from the ages of 21 to 31. At thirty-one, one of the doctors asked me, “Why do you come here every year?” When I told him, he said, “I don’t want to see you back here until you’re fifty. You’re a healthy man!”
Are you caring for your health? And if you don’t want to do it for you, will you take care of your health for others? One in two black men over the age of forty have high blood pressure. Eighty percent of them are not medicated. There was a series of public service announcements created to encourage these men to, “Do it for the loved ones in your life.” If you won’t take your medication for yourself, take the medication for the ones you love.
So when we look at just three of the many aspects of the marriage relationship…time, God, and health…have you set a firm foundation for these in your marriage? Are both of you obsessed with competence in these areas so you can bring a good gift to the relationship? Do you take time to talk about these things regularly? It’s pretty important.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
ACTS 16:30 “…the jailer asked (Paul and Silas), “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
ROMANS 10:10 …for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward you unbelievers, not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).
LUKE 19:10 “For the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
CLOSING SONG HERO June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
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