(# 384) Romans 12 - Satan is Active in Conforming the Christian Life
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. In John, Chapter 15, Verse 5, the Lord says…
JOHN 15:5 I (the Lord Jesus Christ) am the vine, you (believers in Christ) are the branches…he who abides in Me and I indwelling him, he bears much fruit…for apart from Me you can do nothing.
In Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 13 Paul proclaims…
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
This is an interesting contrast of biblical thought. On the one hand, the Lord is telling us that we can do nothing without Him. On the other hand He is telling us we can do anything with Him. The message is clear. We are best as Christians when we are fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. We are obvious as Christians when our fruit is glistening for the whole world to see. Welcome to a place where you can learn to take advantage of the miraculous power of divine omnipotence through your relationship with the Savior and the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Satan is Active in Conforming the Christian Life The apostle Peter warns us, in First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8, to…
FIRST PETER 5:8 Be of sober spirit…be on the alert…your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
What are the schemes of God’s enemy? How does he seek to conform you? We’ll take a look at Satan’s attack on truth in this lesson.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
AWESOME GOD Rich Mullins
The Lord tells us that in this world, believers in Christ will have tribulation. Yet in the midst of tribulation we are to have peace in our souls, realizing that God has nothing against us...realizing that God is for us...and knowing that our God has overcome Satan, his world system of thought, and our internal enemy, the flesh...the spiritual forces of wickedness that seek to conform us. Why did our Lord overcome the world? Because our God is an AWESOME GOD! Here is Rich Mullins to sing about Him.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you, Father, for the tribulation of this life…and thank you for reminding us to fix our eyes on You…not on self, or things, or people…
Illuminate and lead us to our destinies, Father, and help us to keep on walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which You have called us…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Satan is Active in Conforming the Christian Life
We are studying Romans, Chapter 12…you’ll remember Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1, our first passage of study…
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 SACRIFICE…holy and acceptable to God the Father…which is your spiritual service…worship.
As believers in Christ, we are priests…according to First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 9…
FIRST PETER 2:9 But you believers in Christ are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…
As royal priests, we represent ourselves before God. More importantly, we take our instructions from God. After salvation, our first most important job is to sit under God’s instruction and to learn the magnificence of this royal priesthood that has been granted to us.
As we learn from God, He also makes us aware that we are ambassadors, representing Him in this foreign kingdom…the kingdom of death, planet earth…the kingdom of the ruler of this world…the enemy of God…Satan. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 20 reminds us of our ambassadorship…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:20 Therefore, we believers in Christ are ambassadors for Christ, as though God the Father were making an appeal (to unbelievers) through us (because He is!)…we beg you unbelievers, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God the Father.
As ambassadors, we share the gospel message at every opportunity God provides…and certainly when we do we encounter the hostility of the world. Here’s the insight. On this planet, there is the world system of thought, and there is Christian thought…and they have absolutely nothing in common. Is it obvious to those around you, because of your ambassadorship, that you are nothing like the world?
The current passage under study is 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…and the will of God is that which is good and that which is acceptable and that which is perfect.
So what’s your choice? Do you want to keep on being CONFORMED? Or do you want to keep on being TRANSFORMED by God? Pastor John Piper…the Chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary shared a wonderful insight…
PASTOR JOHN PIPER “We are perfectly useless as Christians if all we do is conform to the world around us.”
As we study Romans, Chapters 12 to 16, God gives us Christians the DO’s and the DON’T’s of life…the DO’s tell us how to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called…the transformed life…the Christians Way of Living…the DON’T’s tell us about the carnal life…the conformed life…the life of necrophilia, where we consort with “the flesh”…that dead thing we carry around with us until our physical death.
It is easy to see why the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be transformed. Those who are transformed in their minds make a difference in this world…here’s King David in Psalm 51, Verses 1 to 6…
PSALM 51:1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness…according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
PSALM 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
PSALM 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
We are morally impotent. We justify our actions, even when we know they are wrong and we keep doing them. David is acknowledging here that he knows he isn’t “all that.” His sins indicted David’s lifestyle (brought formal accusation against Him) and the truth revealed the abomination of his actions in the Bathsheba incident. (OUR FEAR IS THE TRUTH INDICTS>
PSALM 51:4 Against You Lord, and against You only, have I sinned and I have done what is evil in Your sight…so that You are justified when You speak and you are blameless when You judge.
PSALM 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
David acknowledges that sinning has been a practice for his whole life, even from the womb…yet David knows what God wants…
PSALM 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being…
God wants truth in us. How is it that believers in Christ are transformed? We are transformed as God renews of our mind…and God renews our minds by implanting the truth of the Word of God in the innermost being.
God has an enemy though, Satan, and his objective is to keep believers in Christ from getting truth in the innermost being. Here are a few facts about God’s enemy. John, Chapter 12, Verse 31…
JOHN 12:31 Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (dethroned and sent to the outer darkness).
There will be a time when us believers will no longer live in the domain of darkness. John, Chapter 16, Verse 11…
JOHN 16:11 …and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
Satan has been tried, convicted, and sentenced…and after his appeal trial fails, he will be executed. He has lost the Creator-creature conflict. He is a liar, and his approach is deception. Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 9…
REVELATION 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world…he was thrown down to the earth (expelled from the Supreme Court of Heaven), and his angels were thrown down (expelled) with him.
He is the accuser of the brethren, but ALL of his accusations are false. Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 10…
REVELATION 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses believers in Christ before our God day and night.
Satan is worst than the worst ever gossip…Ezekiel, Chapter 28, Verse 18…
EZEKIEL 28:18 “By the multitude of your iniquities (Satan), in the unrighteousness of your trade (your trafficking of slander) you profaned your sanctuaries.”
Satan told lies about the perfect God. Satan is not only God’s enemy, but also He is the enemy of all believers in Christ. How does Satan attack us believer so that we might not have truth in the innermost being? Let’s take a quick music break…then we’ll take the offering, then we’ll find out how Satan attacks the truth.
MUSIC BREAK THE HURT AND THE HEALER Mercy Me
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Satan is Active in Conforming the Christian Life
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
EPHESIANS 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.//Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Satan is Active in Conforming the Christian Life
We continue our study of 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…and the will of God is that which is good and that which is acceptable and that which is perfect.
How does Satan CONFORM us? Let’s look at Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 1 to 23…the Lord illuminates Satan’s attack on the truth…
MATTHEW 13:1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
MATTHEW 13:2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
MATTHEW 13:3 And Jesus spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow…”
MATTHEW 13:4 “…and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.”
MATTHEW 13:5 “Other seeds fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil… and immediately the seeds sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.”
MATTHEW 13:6 “But when the sun had risen, the seeds were scorched…and because they had no root, they withered away.”
MATTHEW 13:7 “Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.”
MATTHEW 13:8 “And others seeds fell on the good soil and yielded a crop…some yielded a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”
MATTHEW 13:9 “He who has ears…let him hear.”
MATTHEW 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Why do You speak to them (unbelievers) in parables?”
MATTHEW 13:11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries (the things not revealed) of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted (to know these things).”
MATTHEW 13:12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance…but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
MATTHEW 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables…because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
MATTHEW 13:14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand…you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive…”
MATTHEW 13:15 “For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’”
The Lord just described people in churches all over the world today who have conformed the truth in such a way that it does not illuminate the indictment that sin brings into every lifestyle. After all, who wants to hear what they already know…that we are morally bankrupt. The Lord continues…
MATTHEW 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes (my disciples), because they see…and blessed are your ears, because they hear.”
MATTHEW 13:17 “For truly I say to you that many prophets and many righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it…and they desired to hear what you hear, and they did not hear it.”
MATTHEW 13:18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.”
The Lord explains how Satan attacks the truth in you…
MATTHEW 13:19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”
MATTHEW 13:20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…”
MATTHEW 13:21 “…yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he falls away.”
MATTHEW 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
MATTHEW 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it…who indeed bears fruit and brings forth…some bring forth a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”
God doesn’t take kindly to those who are blocking the truth from getting to His believers. Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18…
ROMANS 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness…especially against the deeds of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…
God deals harshly with those who block His desires…Psalm 51, Verse 6…
PSALM 51:6 Behold, You (Lord) desire truth in the innermost being…
Satan conforms the Christian, by blocking him from getting the truth. Do you notice his success in your own life? Do you notice Satan’s insidious breach of your own life, or are you a frog in a pot of cold water…waiting to be cooked…without realizing the subtle changes that Satan is using to ruin your life?
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 justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation…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 in 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.”
Your soul, once born, never dies…you choose where it spends eternity…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 for all eternity.
If you are an UNBELIEVER, right this very minute, you can choose heaven if you acknowledge a few very important things...
ROMANS 3:10 “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
This means you…from the moment of your physical birth.
ROMANS 3:23 …for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the essence of God… Once you commit a single sin there is nothing in you that is worthy of consideration for salvation.
ROMANS 6:23 For the compensation for sin is death (an eternity in the Lake of Fire)…BUT…the free gift offer of God the Father is the resurrection life for those who choose to be in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is your opportunity. Why believe in Jesus Christ?
COLOSSIANS 2:9 For in Christ Jesus all the essence of Deity dwells in bodily form…
The Lord Jesus Christ is God!
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.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to seek you out and to save you!
FIRST PETER 2:22 …Christ Jesus…who committed no sin…nor was any deceit found in His mouth…
All He had to do to save you is to be righteous…to live a sinless life, to die on a Cross, and to be raised from the dead.
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…
If you are an unbeliever, how can you be saved?
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.”
Join us believers in heaven…there will be plenty of room!
CLOSING SONG HOW GREAT THOU ART June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
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