(# 382) Romans 12 - I Am the TruthWelcome 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. In Colossians, Chapter 1, Verses 9 to 17, the apostle Paul communicates the benefits that come from spending time getting to know the Lord in bible study…
COLOSSIANS 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, I (Paul) have not ceased to pray for you believers in Christ at Colossae, and I have not stopped asking that you may be filled with the complete knowledge of God’s will, with thorough spiritual wisdom (leading to practical know how) and understanding (leading to great decision making)…
COLOSSIANS 1:10 …so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (with proven character), to please Him in every way (through obedience), both by bearing fruit in every good work and by continuing to increase in the knowledge of God…
COLOSSIANS 1:11 …and that you will be strengthened (from within) with all (divine) power (omnipotence), according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience…
COLOSSIANS 1:12 … joyously giving thanks to God the Father, who has qualified us believers who are in union with Christ, to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light.
COLOSSIANS 1:13 For God the Father rescued us believers in Christ from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ…
COLOSSIANS 1:14 …in union with whom we believers in Christ have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (through His blood).
That’s quite a set of blessings…from whom do all these blessings come? They come from…
COLOSSIANS 1:15 The Lord Jesus Christ…who is the image of the invisible God (an exact representation and manifestation)…that is God the Father…this Lord Jesus Christ who is the Firstborn (the Sovereign God) over all creation.
COLOSSIANS 1:16 For by the agency of the Lord all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, both visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
COLOSSIANS 1:17 The Lord is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Welcome to a place where you can worship the One and ONLY Sovereign God of the Universe, the One from whom all blessings flow, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON I Am the Truth
There is one thing God wants from His believers in Christ more than anything else…He wants TRUTH flowing from our innermost being. And that’s why the Lord gave us the God who is the Holy Spirit of Truth, to guide us into all the truth. When we are in the truth, we are a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
THE VOICE OF TRUTH Casting Crowns
Here is the group Casting Crowns singing about our Mentor and Teacher, God the Holy Spirit...the song is THE VOICE OF TRUTH.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, we are privileged, and humbled by Your unconditional love for us…a love that is so powerful and so intimate that it would make you want to send Your only Son, our Lord, to die on a Cross and to shed His blood so that we can live…thank you for thinking so highly of us even though we are not at all worthy of the blessings you bestow on us…
Lead us into all the truth, Father, and let Your Holy Spirit’s hand keep us away from evil and instead keep us gravitating day by day to Your love and your guidance and your protection…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON I Am the Truth
We are studying Romans, Chapter 12, which has five passages.
PASSAGE 1 Verse 1
PASSAGE 2 Verse 2
PASSAGE 3 Verse 3
PASSAGE 4 Verses 4 to 8
PASSAGE 5 Verses 9 to 21
We have completed our study of the first passage, which is the first verse. Let’s read and listen to all of Romans, Chapter 12, and then let’s move on to our study of the second passage, which is Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…a verse very well know to most Christians. First, the entire chapter…here’s the “Rory Translation” of Verse 1…the apostle Paul telling us believers…
ROMANS 12:1 (Rory Translation) Because of all the things you have learned about yourselves as Gentiles, and because of all the things you have learned about Israel and The Jewish Race in the first eleven chapters of this letter…I…the apostle Paul…beg you… believers in Christ…as you keep on being persuaded because of the many and multi-faceted mercies of God…to present your bodies…by choice, not by command…simply responding to God’s invitation…as a living sacrifice… holy and acceptable to God the Father…which is your spiritual service… worship.
Next, the verse we are about to study...
ROMANS 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
ROMANS 12:3 For through the grace given to me I 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.
ROMANS 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function…
ROMANS 12:5 …so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
ROMANS 12:6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith…
ROMANS 12:7 …if service, in his serving…or he who teaches, in his teaching…
ROMANS 12:8 …or he who exhorts, in his exhortation…he who gives, with liberality…he who leads, with diligence…he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
ROMANS 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil…cling to what is good.
ROMANS 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…give preference to one another in honor…
ROMANS 12:11 …not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord…
ROMANS 12:12 …rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer…
ROMANS 12:13 …contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
ROMANS 12:14 Bless those who persecute you…bless and do not curse.
ROMANS 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
ROMANS 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another…do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
ROMANS 12:17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
ROMANS 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
ROMANS 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
ROMANS 12:20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink…for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
ROMANS 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
As unbelievers, the gospel message, the good news concerning what the Lord Jesus Christ’s shed blood did for us at the Cross…the complete removal of the wages of sin…death…introduced us and invited us to be part of the Christian Way of Life.
Romans, Chapter 12 through Romans, Chapter 16 introduces those who have accepted the invitation to believe in Christ to the Christian Way of Living. As we move into the study of the Christian Way of Living, God tells us to the DO’s and DON’Ts of “walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called,” and this introduction is every bit as frustrating as it is awe-inspiring. Creatures know, through the gospel message, that we can do nothing to save ourselves. We also know that just as we were helpless and hopeless as unbelievers to achieve salvation on our own, in the same way, we, as believers in Christ are helpless to achieve anything related to our sanctification…the second phase of Christianity.
What is Phase 1 of Christianity?
Unbelief to Salvation
What is Phase 2 of Christianity?
Salvation to Sanctification
God was responsible for accomplishing our salvation. God is responsible for accomplishing our sanctification a swell. In the second phase of Christianity, the Christian Way of Living, we learn exactly what God set us apart for when He saved us. And that is what sanctification is…to be set apart for a set of privileges that we cannot earn and do not deserve because there is nothing in us that would merit gifts as magnificent as the ones the Lord has earned for us with His death on a Cross.
So what does our magnificent God want us to have in the second phase of Christianity? More than anything, God wants us to have THE TRUTH. If we know the truth, we will know Him. Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…
ROMANS 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his world system of thought, and by the flesh)…instead, keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit…through the renewing of your mind (by studying the Word of God)… so that you may see clearly what the will of God is…what is good and what is acceptable and what is perfect.
God wants us to know THE TRUTH. If we know the truth, we will know Him. In John, Chapter 14, Verses 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to doubting Thomas, His apostle, “I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am the resurrection life…no one comes to God the Father but through believing in Me.” There is one thing God wants from us that we don’t want to give Him. TRUTH.
As humans, we are much more interested in…“Tell me what I want to hear” …and…“Don’t make me look at myself.” To face the truth as human beings, we must come to grips with our blood guiltiness, our sin at physical birth, which has only one solution… death. It’s the same challenge David faced in the Bathsheba incident. There was nothing in the Mosaic Law to handle a King and military general, derelict in his duty, an adulterer, a conspirator to commit murder, and a murderer, engaged in a sin of the greatest magnitude. David was guilty and he knew it, and there was no way out of it except death. In reflection, from the pit of darkness and from the darkest part of his soul, David knew that God provides the only way out… Psalm 51, Verse 6…
PSALM 51:6 Behold, You Lord, desire truth in the innermost being…
TRUTH is the solution to many of the problems we face. That’s why it is so refreshing and so nurturing to study the truth of the Word of God and to be guided by its principles. Let’s take a quick music break…and when we come back we’ll learn why God thinks TRUTH is so important in the innermost being. God is always working on changing our heart.
MUSIC BREAK CHANGE MY HEART O GOD Eddie Espinosa
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON I Am the Truth
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 CORINTHIANS 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON I Am the Truth
There is a mood change as we go from Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 to Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…the mood shifts from the indicative mood in the Koine Greek language…which is the mood of request…“Brethren, I’m begging you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice”…to the imperative mood in the Koine Greek language…the mood of command…the mood of “definitely do this…and definitely don’t do that” … Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…
ROMANS 12:2 And (definitely) do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his world system, and by the flesh)…instead, (definitely do) keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God)…in the renewing of your mind…so that you may discern what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good and that which is acceptable and that which is perfect.
What does it mean to BE conformed? This word is a verb, in the passive voice, which means the subject of the sentence is being acted upon…and the one God’s enemy is acting upon is YOU. To be conformed means…
CONFORM To be made similar in form…in nature…or in character.
YIKES! Listen to God’s warning to His believers about being conformed… Romans, Chapter 12 Verse 2…the first part…
ROMANS 12:2 And (definitely) do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his world system, and by the flesh)…
What God is saying to you is that there is a system of thought sponsored by His enemy, Satan…Satan’s own way of thinking, his world system of thought, and his internal agent within us…the flesh…and they all have something in common. What they have in common is that they are very interested in “conforming” you…they want to make you similar in form…in nature…and in character to them. They want to destroy you and everything that is important to you. YIKES!
What God commands us believers in Christ to do, instead of being conformed, is to keep on being TRANSFORMED by God. What does it mean to be transformed?
TRANSFORM To undergo a complete change in form
Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17 says…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in union with Christ, and all believers in Christ are, he is a new creature (completely transformed…completely changed into a new being)…the old self things passed away (they died)…behold, new self things have come (a complete transformation).
THE TRUTH transforms us. God wants the truth to rest in and to operate in our innermost being. God is transforming us from the inside out…a compete metamorphosis.
We much prefer the eyewash of “social media” where we get to shape others viewpoints concerning us.
What are we like when we find out the people we are in relationship with are human? What are we like when the people we are in relationship with are flawed? Even more, what are we like when we find out a “secret” about ourselves…that we genuinely aren’t good enough?
I’m convinced that we don’t become human until we come to terms with our blood-guiltiness. What is it when we come to terms with this helpless hopelessness?
TRUTH.
And the God we worship IS truth. John, Chapter 14, Verses 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to doubting Thomas, His apostle, “I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am the resurrection life…no one comes to God the Father but through believing in Me.”
The God we worship abhors all that is not true…and Satan is not true in any way…John, Chapter 8, Verse 44…
JOHN 8:44 You Pharisees are of your father the devil (Satan), and you want to do the desires of your father. Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever Satan speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and he is the one who keeps on fathering lies.
Our God is truth. His enemy is lies. Our God wants us to be transformed. Our enemy wants us to be conformed. What does God want for and from us? TRUTH…He wants to change us from the inside out. Psalm 51, Verse 6…
PSALM 51:6 Behold, You Lord, desire truth in the innermost being…
God wants no falsehood in us. We do not reflect Him when there is falsehood in us. It’s God the Holy Spirit’s job to transform us…in John, Chapter 16, Verse 7, the Lord says to us…
JOHN 16:7 But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away…for if I do not go away, the Helper (the paraclete…God the Holy Spirit…the One who comes powerfully to our assistance with divine power) will not come to you…but if I go, and of course I am going away, I will send God the Holy Spirit to you.
John, Chapter 16, Verse 13…
JOHN 16:13 And when He, God the Holy Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…for God the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears (from the Father and from the Lord), He will speak… (they are all on one page)…and He will disclose to you what is to come.
What’s your choice? Transformed? Or conformed? God commands you to be transformed! Obey! Coming from a transformed mind is a wholly wonderful, wholly fulfilling experience…and it is the destiny of every believer in Christ…the believers who consider it a priority to take in THE TRUTH.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
According to the Word of God there are only two kinds of people in this world…BELIEVERS IN CHRIST…those who have been justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…and UNBELIEVERS…those who remain condemned in their unbelief by rejecting a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, either through ignorance, or through willful antagonism. The Word of God makes it very clear! John, Chapter 3, Verse 18…
JOHN 3:18 “He who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is not judged…he who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ has been judged already, because he has not believed in the Person of the uniquely born Son of God.”
Everyone who has ever lived belongs to one of these two distinct groups and will spend eternity in one of two places…in Heaven for BELIEVERS IN CHRIST…or in the Lake of Fire for UNBELIEVERS.
Heaven is described as a place of no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain…a place exceeding and abundantly beyond anything we could ever ask or think…a place where BELIEVERS IN CHRIST will be absent from the body and at home face-to-face with the Lord. The Lake of Fire is described as a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…a place where UNBELIEVERS will suffer soul-racking remorse, eternal torment, and dreadful agony with no hope of escape.
If you are an UNBELIEVERS, right now, right this very minute, you can choose to be free of this predicament if you acknowledge these few very important things...
ROMANS 3:10 “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
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 for those who choose to be 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 Lord…God the Son…became flesh…as Jesus Christ…and 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 full of 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 the adopted adult 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…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
So…
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 MADE NEW Lincoln Brewster
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
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