(#397) Romans 12 - God Lets Us Learn His Will Through ExperienceWelcome 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.
All of us, as creatures, were born with an enmity toward God…a hostility… an antagonism…a hatred toward God. It’s not our fault…but it is our circumstance from the moment of our physical birth. This animosity came to us courtesy of Adam, the federal head of the human race. His sin in the Garden of Eden was imputed by God to each of us, and it resulted in spiritual death that had all of us destined for the Lake of Fire. In short, we were born into bondage…we were born at the wrong end of God’s justice. BUT…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 4 and 5 say…
EPHESIANS 2:4 …God the Father, being rich in mercy, because of His great and UNconditional love with which He loved us…
EPHESIANS 2:5 …even when we were spiritually dead in our transgressions…(when we were sinners in His eyes)...He made us spiritually alive and placed us together in union with Christ…
God the Father sent His amazing Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to reconcile the breach between God and Man and to put to death the enmity. In so doing, God proved to us, through His actions, that His sphere of His mercy trumps His judgment for those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior… James, Chapter 2, Verse 13…
JAMES 2:13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy…but God’s mercy triumphs over judgment.
It is God’s will that all creatures come out of bondage to sin and instead bask in the sphere of His mercy. John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…
JOHN 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine…”
JOHN 8:32 “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John Chapter 8, Verse 36…
JOHN 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Welcome to those of you who have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…welcome to those of you seeking a relationship with Him…and welcome to those of you who are antagonistic toward your Creator and who do not want to change the relationship. Come forth, all of you, and hear what God the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Lets Us Learn His Will Through Experience
When my older son was two years old he had a habit of touching things. One of my concerns is that he didn’t know the difference between a hot oven and a cold oven. So whenever we were using the oven to cook, and he was around, I was like a cat on a hot tin roof, worried that he would touch the oven and get burned. Once, when the oven was hot and he was hovering around it, I decided to teach him not to touch the oven when it is hot.
I took his little hand, and put it near the hot oven door. He instantly felt the temperature change, and pulled back. I said to him, “The stove is hot! Don’t touch it!” Then I put his hand close to the hot oven door again. “It’s hot Zachary! Don’t touch. Hot! Ouch!” I shook my hand as if it were in pain. He repeated the instruction. “Ot daddy? Ot? No touch!” he said. I congratulated him, “That’s right Zack…it’s hot…don’t touch it!”
The lesson was over. I didn’t want my son to learn about “hot” the hard way. I felt proud as a dad. Convinced I had given him perfect instruction, I headed for the couch to watch some football. About a minute later, Zack came running into the family room screaming bloody murder. “Ot daddy! Ot!” You guessed it. He touched the oven. And it was a lot hotter after a direct touch that it was by simply putting his hand close. Alas…we all seem to like learning things the hard way.
Our God is the perfect parent. God lets us learn His will through experience. Like a great parent it would not be His will that we learn the hard way, yet through experience we learn the difference between Satan’s plan for our lives and God’s plan for our lives. And God doesn’t think we’ll learn those lessons by simply reading a book. In today’s lesson, we’ll take a look at some of the things God wants us to learn through experience.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
FLAWLESS MercyMe
When you get behind God’s eyeballs and look at yourself, how does God see you? How He sees you matters. How you see yourself matters. And by the way, they should be the same! Here’s the group MercyMe with a powerful message for you. The Cross...and a simple request from you to be saved... has made you FLAWLESS! Do you see yourself that way? As you listen to the song, let that amazing message sink in...believers in Christ...you are flawless in God’s eyes!
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
Almighty God and Father…thank you for the way You see your believers in the Lord Jesus Christ…You see us as flawless…You see us as perfect… because You see only Your own absolute righteousness You have placed in us…let this supernatural, powerful gift You have given us, the gift of perfection, transform our eyes so that we decide to see ourselves the same way You do…and help us to take advantage of Your power in our lives to do anything we set our minds to…by teaching us to tap into the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Lets Us Learn His Will Through Experience
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) AS A LIVING SACRIFICE…holy and acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service…worship.
ROMANS 12:2a And do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his cosmic system of thought, and by the flesh resident in you)…instead, keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit)…through the renewing of your mind (by studying the Word of God)…
ROMANS 12:2b …so that you may see clearly…through the testing of experience…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good for you and that which is acceptable to Him and that which is perfect (in result).
We’ve spent quite a bit of time on the first two passages of Romans, Chapter 12, and we could spend much more time on them, but I think a poem from Kate Wilkinson summarizes well what we have been studying in these passages…especially the portion about being transformed by God through the renewing of our minds…her poem is called, MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR…
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May the mind of Christ, my Savior Live in me from day to day By His love and power controlling All I do and say.
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart…from hour to hour So that all may see I triumph Only through His power.
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May the peace of God my Father Rule my life in everything That I may be calm…to comfort those Sick and sorrowing.
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May the love of Jesus fill me As the waters fill the sea Him exalting. Self? Abasing! This is victory.
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May I run the race before me Strong and brave to face the foe Fixing my eyes on Jesus As onward I do go.
MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR by Kate B. Wilkinson
May His beauty rest upon me As I seek the lost…to win And may they forget the messenger Seeing only Him.
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) AS A LIVING SACRIFICE…holy and acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service…worship.
In summary, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ offers us a WANT TO life, not a HAVE TO life. He doesn’t command us to worship Him…He allows us to make a decision from our own will. Religion, on the other hand, is the HAVE TO life…religion insists you HAVE TO do things to please God… and if you don’t, God will come down on you and condemn you and sentence you to the seventh circle of hell…a classic mental approach of someone who knows absolutely nothing about the character and nature of God. God’s enemy, Satan, seeks to distract you and to deceive you and to get you to waste your time, so you’ll end up missing the chance to choose a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you miss it, you be spending all eternity in the Lake of Fire.
When you, as a believer in Christ, present you body to the Lord, you are a LIVING SACRIFICE…HOLY AND ACCEPTABLE TO GOD THE FATHER…because all God the Father sees in you is His own imputed righteousness reflecting from you. The Cross has made you flawless…and you need to start seeing yourself that way. Maybe it’s time to make the transition from seeing all the things that are wrong with you, to looking at yourself the way God does…and God looks at all the things that are right with you…like His righteousness indwelling you.
What is the secret to changing your mind about how you see yourself? Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…
ROMANS 12:2a And do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his cosmic system of thought, and by the flesh resident in you)…instead, keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit)…through the renewing of your mind (by studying the Word of God)…
The message we have been sending from Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2, is that what you put into your mind matters! Your mind is the engine of your life and every moment of every day you are filing it with thoughts. Bold, powerful, adventurous thoughts lead to a bold successful, adventurous life… a life powered by faith. Conversely cowardly, powerless, “realistic” thoughts lead to a cowardly, powerless, “realistic life”…a life powered by doubt. You make the choice! You choose your thoughts. You can allow yourself to be transformed by God or allow yourself to be conformed by the Lord’s enemy. You make the choice! What’s your choice? From whom will you take direction? KGOD or WCON?
The world order…the cosmos…run by Satan, the ruler of this world and the enemy of God, seeks to create a sanitized utopia that is without the influence of God. The whole world lies under the power and the deception of the evil one. So when we choose KGOD’s direction as we make our decisions, we are choosing a life with only God’s thoughts in it. When we choose WCON’s direction as we make our decisions we are choosing a life without God’s thoughts in it. How good are your decisions when God’s thoughts are not taken into account? In a word…they’re a “disaster.” What is a better word? Death. God allows it because God lets us learn His will through experience.
There is nothing Satan can do to remove the supernatural power of God’s plan for mankind from his world…a power that has already given us believers in Christ every victory…a power that is greater than the power of the one who is the ruler of this world.
As believers in Christ, our minds are under the influence of God the Holy Spirit’s ruling power. We are to be influenced by Him. His thoughts ought to stick to us like things stick to Velcro. Simultaneously, we are to resist the thoughts of Satan, his world system, and the flesh, letting those thoughts slide off of us as if they are hitting Teflon.
Unfortunately, often our spiritual wires are crossed. We let Satan’s thoughts stick to us like things stick to Velcro, and we operate with them…and by the time we leave bible study, all the good things we have heard about our fantastic spiritual life have slid off of us like they are hitting Teflon. Here’s Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2, the second part…and the focus of our study today…
ROMANS 12:2b …so that you may see clearly…through the testing of experience…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good for you and that which is acceptable to Him and that which is perfect (in result).
As believers in Christ we give our hearts to God at the moment of salvation. Then we give our bodies to God, after salvation, in our walk with Him…it’s called sanctification…our life after salvation…The Christian Way of Living. After salvation, God places us on a narrow road called the resurrection life.
NARROW ROAD PICTURE
On this path you are transformed…transfigured…metamorphosed into a completely different person…you are a NEW CREATURE. God wants you to see the new you. Most often we don’t see ourselves as God sees us. So along the narrow road, He has placed a series of experiences for us…and the experiences teach us the lessons we need to learn…many times the hard way. What are the lessons?
Let’s take relationships. Marriage counselors will tell you that by the time they see couples in their office, the couple has tried what they think is “everything” to work through their difficulties. Often, at the core of a broken relationship, is a struggle for control. The one who wants to wrest away control of the relationship may do it passively, by doing nothing…or actively by doing something, but the subtle ongoing argument in the relationship finds the couple metaphorically banging their heads against a wall as they contemplate their accumulated sorrows and disappointments, a significant crisis, or both. They feel powerlessness…they lose hope…they feel depleted…their internal resources and energy are drained…they feel bruised and defeated…and they come to counseling with a desperate plea for direction. Their eyes beg for answers…should we learn how to fix this broken relationship or should we trade this relationship in for a new one? God lets us learn His will through experience. When searching for an answer to a relationship dilemma, what would KGOD suggest? Let’s take a music break...and we’ll see what God’s will is in the matter of our lives.
MUSIC BREAK CLEAN Natalie Grant
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Lets Us Learn His Will Through Experience
Thank you for your financial support of this ministry. Through your generous support, the Lord has been able to provide the Word of God from this pulpit for over a decade. There is no way to measure how many souls have been touched by your generosity, but we know God is watching. Let’s take a few moments to give you a chance to make an offering. If you are benefiting from the work of this ministry, then we ask you to contribute to the continuation of the ministry with any gift, large or small, helping us to keep on providing the truth to those who might not otherwise be able to hear it. Please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with his offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
ROMANS 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Christ Jesus through baptism into death… so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of God the Father…so we too might walk in newness of life.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Lets Us Learn His Will Through Experience
Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…the second part…keep on being transformed by Go din the renewing of your mind…
ROMANS 12:2b …so that you may see clearly…through the testing of experience…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good for you and that which is acceptable to Him and that which is perfect (in result).
God wants your soul to be a combination of Teflon and Velcro. Teflon is a non-stick surface. What God doesn’t want to stick to His believers is anything that would be debilitating. Anything the flesh is telling you to think, God wants you to use your Teflon against it. He doesn’t want you to experience things the hard way.
Velcro is a sticky surface. What God wants sticking to you is all the thoughts that come from His Word…you are justified; you are in union with Christ; you are under grace, not the law; you are the recipients of the indwelling Trinity; you have access to the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit; you are recipients of help in times of trouble; you are divinely loved; you are “elected” ones; you have absolute righteousness; you are not condemned; you are completely free from sin; you are perfect in God’s eyes; you will be glorified in the future; you are inseparable from God; you are protected and provided for by a faithful God.
In your broken relationship…what is sticking to you and what are you repelling? When new thoughts come your way, by way of experience, you get to choose…what’s your choice? Teflon or Velcro? Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…the second part…
ROMANS 12:2b …so that you may see clearly…through the testing of experience…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good for you and that which is acceptable to Him and that which is perfect (in result).
God has a plan for your life and it is His will that you to know what His plan is for you. Here is God’s plan for your life…
(1) BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BE SAVED
Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST TIMOTHY 2:3 This is what is good and acceptable in the sight of the God who is our Savior…the Lord Jesus Christ…
FIRST TIMOTHY 2:4 …who desires all men to be saved and who desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth. Your salvation is important to God. He wants you to experience it.
(2) KEEP ON BEING TRANSFORMED BY GOD, AND LET HIM RENEW YOUR THINKING
We discover God’s will through studying the Word of God…Second Corinthians, Chapter 3, Verse 18…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
As the song says, “Day by day…three things I pray…to see thee more clearly…love thee more dearly…follow thee more nearly…day by day.” When we take in the Word of God, we can’t help but see the transition that He is making in us. I have decided that I want to enjoy the good things I have done in this life, and I want to learn from the mistakes, treating each as lessons. I am tired of spending my time obsessing about my imperfections and my mistakes and my broken relationships and the past. These thoughts are too consuming. God gave me relationships to teach me His will through experiences, and I can see through experience where deviating from His suggestions have not proven to be fruitful.
(3) WALK THE NARROW WAY…PICK UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW THE LORD
Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 1…
EPHESIANS 4:1 Therefore I (Paul), the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called…
Luke, Chapter 9, Verse 23…
LUKE 9:23 And the Lord Jesus Christ was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me…maybe you do and maybe you don’t…you have a choice…he must deny himself…and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Experiences hurt sometimes. Yet that’s what makes them precious. The pain gets our attention and we get a chance to ask for God’s solution in a matter before us. As Christians, a lot of times, I think we just forget to ask for the help.
(4) THROUGH EXPERIENCE, DISCOVER WHAT IS PLEASING TO THE LORD
Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verses 6 to 10…
EPHESIANS 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words (a false gospel and false talk about sin), for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Unbelievers will feel the wrath of God because they refuse to let the Lord Jesus Christ takes His Father’s wrath for them…
EPHESIANS 5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them (in sinful things)…
What similarity is there between an unbeliever and a believer? Believers in Christ are not to form partnerships with the children of wrath… unbelievers…or with believers who have gone astray…
EPHESIANS 5:8 …for you believers in Christ were FORMERLY darkness…but now you are Light in the Lord…walk as children of Light…
Here’s to all those who believe you can lose your fellowship with the Lord…children of light can NEVER be children of darkness…ever again… children of darkness are unbelievers…not believers. As a believer in Christ, you may prefer to believe Satan’s deception that you can lose your fellowship with God…but it’s important that you know that what you are really saying is God is unfaithful…that He doesn’t keep His promises. God promises that once He does something, there is no “shifting shadow” … so how is it that He would let you lose something He gave you…like fellowship? He doesn’t let us lose salvation…but He’d let us lose fellowship with Him? A God who would do such a thing is unfaithful. Our God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not unfaithful.
EPHESIANS 5:9 …(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth)…
As believers in Christ we are to live in the light and to reflect the light… God the Holy Spirit produces fruit in the believer, and this fruit shines as a light…and what shines forth is goodness and righteousness and truth…
EPHESIANS 5:10 …proving through experience what is well pleasing to the Lord.
When you follow God’s plan for your life your whole mode of life will make you look like a freak to the world.
(5) REFLECT THE LORD’S GOODNESS TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
David prays for what we all want in Psalm 51, Verse 1…
PSALM 51:1 Be gracious to me…O God…according to Your lovingkindness…according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me….
Our transformation will be complete one day and we will have the ability to stay away from things that defile us through the power of God the Holy Spirit…we just need to ask the Spirit to act on our behalf. Psalm 51, Verse 10…
PSALM 51:10 Create in me a clean heart…O God…and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
That’s what God wants for us…we now need to want it for ourselves.
In First Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 5, Paul gives a heads up to his protégé Timothy…
FIRST TIMOTHY 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is unconditional love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
When our love is truly unconditional, we are reflecting our Savior, and this love looks nothing like the world’s version of love. In this form of love, we see others and ourselves the way God sees us…as clean and pure and righteous. We see no man’s flesh. Second Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 22…
SECOND TIMOTHY 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and instead pursue righteousness…faith… unconditional love…and peace…with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
When we are transformed we listen to the Lord and His Word…KGOD. Colossians, Chapter 4, Verse 12…
COLOSSIANS 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.
This is the definition of spiritual maturity.
When we are conformed, we listen to Satan, his world system, and the flesh…WCON. We must come to believe with all of our heart that God’s will is better than our own…and God’s will is definitely better than Satan’s.
If you can’t trust someone who would die for you, whom can you trust?
God lets us learn His will through experience. God sees only His righteousness in us. He is not counting up our flaws. God is forgetting your past. He is helping you create your future. Can you see yourself the same way? Can you do the same thing? Can you simply learn through experience that god is always right? Of course you can, preferably sooner than later.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
The closing moments of our study are for anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU.
What is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life? Is there an “afterlife?” And if there is an afterlife, how can you get to heaven?
Many people have beliefs about God. A belief is an opinion…a conviction…a confidence in the existence of something that does not seem provable. Satan, the enemy of God, prefers we have beliefs because there is a big difference between a belief and the truth. Only when your beliefs and the truth are the same is it significant. Satan hates the truth. He can’t handle the truth. He loves beliefs.
So what is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life? Is there an “afterlife?” And if there is, how can you get to heaven?
Many people believe they can earn their way into heaven by doing good deeds. They give money to beggars…they give food to the homeless…they are actively involved in community projects…they generously donate their time, talent, and treasure to charitable organizations…they “give back”… you’ve heard people use that term countless times. People who “give back” usually are convinced they are better than most people. They think they are so good, that after they die God will reward them by letting them into heaven for their good deeds.
Unfortunately, in the bible they find a completely different story. Titus, Chapter 3, Verse 5…
TITUS 3:5 The Lord Jesus Christ saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in self-righteousness, but according to His mercy…by the washing of regeneration and by the renewing by God the Holy Spirit…
Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…
EPHESIANS 2:8 For by God’s grace you have been saved through faith (in Christ for salvation)…and that grace and that faith and that salvation are not from the source of yourselves…it is the gift of God….
EPHESIANS 2:9 …therefore, being saved is not as a result of works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).
One thing you would never want to do is to put the burden of your salvation on your own back. So how do you get to heaven? There’s only one way to get to heaven…in John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”
When we choose to believe that Jesus Christ is God, it is much more than a belief…it is the absolute truth. So how do you get to heaven when you close your eyes in this life? Romans, Chapter 10, Verses 9 and 10…
ROMANS 10:9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (that He is God)…and if you believe in your heart that God the Father raised Him from the dead… you will be saved…
ROMANS 10:10 …for with the heart a person believes…resulting in the imputation of absolute righteousness (your admission ticket to heaven)…and with the mouth a person confesses (admitting faith in Christ alone)…resulting in salvation.
Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.” John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
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.”
John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…
JOHN 3:17 For God the Father did not send God the Son into the world to judge the world…but the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through Him.
Take the free gift of eternal life right now! There’s no time to waste! God wants you.
CLOSING SONG ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
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