(# 380) Romans 12 - Present Your Bodies and God Does the Rest\
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, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Christianity is NOT a religion…and should never be referred to as a religion. Christianity is a relationship with a very real Person…the unique Person of the universe…the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is 100% God and 100% man in one Person forever.
God’s enemy, Satan, is the distorter of the only real religion…Judaism…and he turned religion into a cesspool that sells the idea that man must work to please God. Of course that lie is not true at all. Christianity is not about what we do for God…rather, it is about what God is willing to do for us. Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse 21 says…
HEBREWS 13:21 …(may God the Father)…equip you believers in Christ in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Do you hear that? God is working things out in us. Welcome to a place where you can learn how to develop a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies and God Does the Rest
What we have learned in the last seven lessons…and what we will keep on learning as we study Romans...not only in our entrance to Chapter 12, but also continuing until we finish Chapter 16…is that believers in Christ have been called to live a set of standards. At the moment of salvation, the Lord changed us, and the Christian Way of Living is that set of standards He is committed to working out in us, so that we live them, and so that we reflect them to a lost and dying world. God unifies us and He reminds us of our calling to His high life, the resurrection life, through the study of the Word of God. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 17 to 24 say this…
EPHESIANS 4:17 So this I (Paul) say, and affirm together (in unity of mind) with the Lord, that you Gentile believers are to keep on walking (to keep on creating a lifestyle)..no longer just as the Gentiles (who are unbelievers) also walk (in lifestyle)…in the futility of their minds (a lifestyle void of direction)…
EPHESIANS 4:18 …those Gentile unbelievers who are darkened in their understanding (because their minds are blinded by Satan)…the Gentile unbelievers who are excluded from the resurrection life that comes from the source of God the Father because of the ignorance that is in them (about God and who He is)…and because of the hardness of their heart (their willful refusal to accept a relationship with Christ)…
EPHESIANS 4:19 …and these Gentile unbelievers, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality (a life without standards) for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (a lust for more and more self gratification).
EPHESIANS 4:20 But you Gentile believers did not learn Christ in this way (a way that is the pattern of the old man)…
EPHESIANS 4:21 …if indeed you have heard Him (through the gospel message), and you have…and if indeed you have been taught (how to be) in (union with) Him…and you have been…in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus…
EPHESIANS 4:22 …that, in reference to your former manner of life (as a Gentile unbeliever) , you put off and lay aside the dead old man, which is being corrupted in conjunction with its lustful desires of deceit…
EPHESIANS 4:23 …and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind (“I’ve got a new attitude”)…
EPHESIANS 4:24 …and put on the new man, which in the likeness of God the Father, has been created to operate in righteousness and in holiness consistent with the truth.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
I JUST WANT TO BE WHERE YOU ARE Don Moen
Why is God working out His righteousness and His holiness and His unity in us? So that when we get to heaven, we will already have experienced the life we will live for all eternity. Here’s Don Moen with the song I JUST WANT TO BE WHERE YOU ARE that expresses our longing for this righteous, holy and unified life that the Lord Jesus Christ has chosen as the destiny of His believers.
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 doing everything for us…thank you for not requiring much from us who are so unworthy and who have so little to give…thank you for blessing us with the gift of a mustard seed-sized faith, so that we could express it by placing our confidence in Your Son, the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ…and thank you for demonstrating unconditional love for us by saving us when we were sinners and by turning us into saints through our acceptance of the work of Your Son at the Cross…again, thank you, Father for doing everything for us…
Show us how to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which You called us…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies and God Does the Rest
We’re studying Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1…
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.
PRESENT YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE…that portion of Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 has been our focus in the last seven lessons…as God transitions us into the DO’s and DON’Ts of the Christian Way of Living in the book of Romans.
Perhaps it’s time for us to reflect on the insights God the Holy Spirit has presented to us so far in this study. This thought comes to mind…James, Chapter 1, Verse 17…
JAMES 1:17 Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from God the Father of the heavenly lights (the star filled universe), a God with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
God never alters in appearance or in form or in character or in substance… He doesn’t change…He doesn’t change His mind…He is not confused at all. He is a God we can count on. What a blessing for us if we follow His lead in all matters. If we simply obey God’s commands, what a life is available to us when we do things God’s Way! Can you imagine such a life? I can. But I also know that there is something inside of me that is in direct opposition to me having such a life. And, of course, I listen to and obey the promptings of the flesh, just like you do. Yet I know that as believers in Christ, we are not in union with the flesh. Remember Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 9?
ROMANS 8:9 …you believers in Christ are not in the flesh, but you believers in Christ are in the Spirit (EN PNEUMATI), if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (and of course He does).
We are in union with the Spirit. We are in union with Christ. We are in union with the Father. We are indwelled by the entire Trinity. A unity such as this calls us to a higher calling. God has given us a series of classrooms to learn about relationships…and as we have studied Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1…and as we have been thinking about PRESENTING OUR BODIES AS A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE…several lessons have come from the classrooms and have asked us to assess how well we are learning. We studied these classrooms in the context of the marriage relationship, yet whether we are married or not, these classrooms are available for use to help us learn.
We’ve learned that the marriage relationship has a TIME component… the marriage relationship has a GOD component… the marriage relationship has a HEALTH component…the marriage relationship has a FINANCIAL component…the marriage relationship has an SELF component, the need for a genuine concern for our own individuality... the marriage relationship has a FAMILY component…the marriage relationship has a COMPANION component…all of these components are true aspects of marriage…and they are true aspects of life…these are components in our lives that never go away, that demand our attention, and that invoke our will to make meaningful decisions.
Our relationship with TIME is called a schedule…our relationship with GOD is called a spiritual life…our relationship with SELF is called individuality…our relationship with relatives is called FAMILY…our relationship with our bodies is called HEALTH…our relationship with money is called FINANCES…our relationship with a COMPANION is called intimacy…and our relationship with mankind is called a CAREER. It’s not news to you that these things are in play in your life…the question is, how are you handling these things? Are you handling these areas of your life in a godly way, that is, the way God would want you to?
Here are a few things that suggest themselves as we reflect on the last seven lessons…a look at some things God wants from us in the matter of relationships.
(1) GOD WANTS US TO GROW
In Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18, God warns us and encourages us …
SECOND PETER 3:17 You therefore, beloved (my divinely loved ones), knowing all these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men (false teachers) and so that you don’t fall from your own steadfastness…
SECOND PETER 3:18 …but instead GROW, within the sphere of grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
God wants us to grow. Satan wants us to stay the same. Are you GROWING?
(2) GOD WANTS US TO FOLLOW HIM VOLUNTARILY
We present our bodies voluntarily to relationships…like marriage. I hear Christians using an expression as a throw-away…“I guess God has a plan!” “You guess,” I say? God definitely has a plan, and He wants you to come to it voluntarily. He is not concealing it from you. When you express your will, God pours His enabling power into you to accomplish that which you set out to do. If what you are choosing is not in your best interest, God will use His will to close the door or He will allow you to learn from the harsh lesson while under the protection of His power in His classroom. Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1…the first part…
ROMANS 12:1a 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…
The Lord provides security for us as we learn…Psalm 37, Verse 24…
PSALM 37:24 When the believer in Christ falls, he will not be hurled headlong…because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
God wants you to “want to”…Satan presents everything related to God as a “have to” or as a “should.” Are you voluntarily learning and using the wisdom of the Word of God?
(3) GOD WANTS US TO BE INTENTIONAL
What is intent?
INTENT A state of mind that directs thoughts toward specific actions.
What is another word for intent? WILL. What WILL you to do? It is not God’s intent that you would wander about aimlessly in this life. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 14 and 15 say…
EPHESIANS 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children (immature infants), tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the cunning trickery of men, by men with crafty and deceitful scheming…
EPHESIANS 4:15 …but speaking the truth in unconditional love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ…
God expects it to be our intent to change our minds with the study of the Word of God. First Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verse 20…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking…in evil be infants…but in your thinking be mature.
God wants you to grow up. Satan wants you to be childish. Are you mature? Are you letting God’s lessons mature you? Let’s take a quick music break…and when we come back we’ll take the offering and we’ll hear more reflections on our learning from the last seven lessons.
MUSIC BREAK JUST BE HELD Casting Crowns
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies and God Does the Rest
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
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Present Your Bodies and God Does the Rest
Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1…
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.
(4) GOD WANTS US TO SACRIFICE
What is sacrifice?
SACRIFICE
We have to destroy our desire to be obsessively concerned with self, and instead value intentional togetherness and collaboration.
Relationships requires sacrifice…the sacrifice of time…the sacrifice of taking care of the foundation…the sacrifice of taking care of the another person, before thinking about SELF. And God not only expects us to love our friends…He expects us to love our enemies UNconditionally as well. Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 43 to 48…
MATTHEW 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”
MATTHEW 5:44 “But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, love your enemies unconditionally and pray for those who persecute you…”
MATTHEW 5:45 “…so that you may prove yourself to be sons of your Father who is in heaven (reflecting Him)…for God the Father causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and the Father sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
MATTHEW 5:46 “For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
MATTHEW 5:47 “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentile unbelievers do the same?”
MATTHEW 5:48 “Therefore you believers in Christ are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Of course we are to care for our own as well…the people we love…Luke Chapter 10, Verse 27…
LUKE 10:27 And the Lord Jesus Christ answered, “You shall love the Lord your God unconditionally with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind…and you shall love your neighbor unconditionally as you love yourself unconditionally.”
God wants us to be other-focused. Satan wants us to be selfish and self- focused.
(5) GOD WANTS US TO BE UNIFIED
What is unity?
UNITY The result produced in us by God when we offer control of our soul to God the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 3 is to…
EPHESIANS 4:3 …be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. As creatures, we despise unity…especially since the fall of creatures, angelic and mankind. Our mouths claim otherwise, but our actions betray us…we are quite individual and quite selfish in our approach to life. We don’t even have the ability to create unity. It is a gift from God. The fall of angelic creatures and the fall of mankind were caused by the same malady… disunity. Creatures a have a deep-seated desire to “do everything on their own,” when they absolutely can’t.
God wants us to GROW VOLUNTARILY, to act INTENTIONALLY through SACRIFICES, and to live in a state of UNITY. And when we are doing these things we are reflecting exactly what God wants others to see about Him.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
ROMANS 3:10 “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
ROMANS 3:11 “There is no creature who understands God…there is no creature who seeks a relationship with God…”
ROMANS 3:23 …for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the essence of God…
ROMANS 6:23 For the compensation from sin is death (an eternity in the Lake of Fire), but the free gift of God the Father is the resurrection life or those in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
COLOSSIANS 2:9 For in Christ Jesus all the essence of Deity dwells in bodily form…
JOHN 1:14 …the Word (the Lord…God the Son) became flesh (Jesus Christ…God took on human form), and tabernacled (lived) among us, and we beheld His glory…the glory of the uniquely born One from the source of God the Father, full of grace and truth.
FIRST PETER 2:22 …Christ Jesus, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth…
JOHN 1:12 But as many as received Jesus (accepting His work as the payment for their sins), to them the Lord gave the right to become children of God the Father, a right given to those who believe in Christ’s Person…
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life, but the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
CLOSING SONG BORN AGAIN June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
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