ROM-144-151025 - length: 83:53 - taught on Oct, 25 2015
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. Today, we’ll have one long lesson instead of two…this lesson will be about ninety minutes long. Let’s begin the lesson with a few announcements…
BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS
THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS!
Helen Bixby
Tracy Bixby’s Mom
Back Home!
No damage to the heart…no blockages…once again prayers confound the medical community.
PRAYERS!
Larry Collins
Blood Clots in His Lungs
Typical after major surgery…thanks to Tom and Maureen Slobig…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Alyssa Lopez
October 25, 2015
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Visit the Vets
December 20, 2015
1:45PM MST
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
EVENING SERVICE
December 20, 2015
6:00PM-7:30PM MST
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Next Deacon’s Meeting
November 21, 2015
7:30AM MST
TRACY BIXBY VISIT
November 21-22, 2015
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
No Face-to-Face Teaching
December 6, 2015
December 27, 2015
Well if you boil the Christian Way of Living down to a single verse, I’d have to say the verse would be Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…
For we believers in Christ are God the Father’s workmanship (we are His masterpieces…we are His works of art), (and we were) created (by Him to be) in union with Christ Jesus for good works, which (good works) God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
After the Lord Jesus Christ saved us, with the blood of His Cross, without the help of any work of our own, He handed us off to the care of God the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit, along with God the Father…prepared an amazing life for us in eternity past…and the Spirit leads us, day by day, through this amazing life, filling it with opportunities to do the good works that He wants us to do. Perhaps the hardest part for us to accept is that He wants us to live this life without the help of any work of our own.
Said another way…our signature will not be of merit, in any way, on anything that relates to the Christian Way of Life or the Christian Way of Living. Our salvation and our holy walk are grace gifts. They do not require anything from us accept the desire to have them.
As we bring our first passage in Romans, Chapter 8 to a close, I look
forward to illuminating the hidden gems the Lord has buried in this passage for us. First, let’s get our minds ready to be transformed through the Word of God by listening to music. The opening song is BROTHER by Need to Breathe.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
BROTHER
Need to Breathe
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for the power of prayer…thank you for always coming through for us when we pray, especially in the matter of the health of your beloved ones…thank you for your grace…thank you for making us know the power of Your grace when we simply accept it as a free gift…thank you for Your Son…thank you for Your Holy Spirit…thank you for the indwelling presence of the entire Trinity…
Help us to know how to interact with You…help us to feel what it is like when we are living the life You planned for us in eternity past…help us to not seek the credit for being “good Christians” … instead to know we are being “good Christians” when we simply line up our will with Yours…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Sanctification is By Grace Through Faith
You’ve heard the GEICO insurance ad…fifteen minutes can save you 15% on your car insurance. Of course, everyone knows that. But did you know that God the Holy Spirit doesn’t need your help with your sanctification any more than the Lord Jesus Christ needed your help for salvation?
It was a V-8 moment for me. I dutifully banged my head. “Ah! I could have had a V-8.” I couldn’t believe what God the Holy Spirit was telling me. He was telling me He doesn’t need our help. Then He led me to a beautiful YouTube video, which I highly recommend that you see, called, The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly.
YouTube VIDEO
The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly
More about that in a bit.
Our salvation is by grace through faith. Everybody knows that. If they don’t, Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9 make it clear…
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that (salvation, that grace, and that faith are) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…
…not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Nothing in the Christian Way of Life will ever have your signature on it…if God allowed your signature to be on anything in the Christian Way of Life or the Christian Way of Living, you could boast. So if you can’t boast about your salvation…how would you ever be able to boast about your life as a believer in Christ? The truth is…you can’t.
Sanctification is by grace through faith, as well. Wow!
Here’s why we think differently. We misinterpret James. James, Chapter 2, Verse 20…
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
We misinterpret James. James, Chapter 2, Verse 26…
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Here is the typical Christian misinterpretation of what James is saying…
FROM “GOD VINE” … ABOUT WORKS
An important part of being a Christian is faith - but faith is nothing without works. Doing “good works” means you must act in accordance with your beliefs. If you believe that you should be generous, then you should act generously.
FROM “GOD VINE” … ABOUT WORKS
Doing good works is all about being the best Christians we can. Being a Christian is not just about faith. Having faith is easier than doing works in the name of the Lord. Acting like a Christian can be hard - and that’s how we prove our faith.
I don’t think we have to “prove” our faith with our works. Our works are a natural next step when we have faith. Our works are not something we manufacture. They are works that we are asked by God to do. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…
For we believers in Christ are God the Father’s workmanship (we are His masterpieces…we are His works of art), (and we were) created (by Him to be) in union with Christ Jesus for good works, which (good works) God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Example…you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You have been saved by grace through faith…a salvation, a grace and a faith you did nothing to earn…so you can’t boast…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that (salvation, that grace, and that faith are) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…
…not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Now that you’re a believer in Christ, God puts an unbeliever in your periphery so the unbeliever can hear the gospel message. The subject of God comes up, the unbeliever begins to articulate an uninformed viewpoint about the Lord Jesus Christ, about how to be saved, and about how hypocritical Christians are…and you say nothing.
From Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…which (good works) God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Giving the gospel message in this situation is a good work God the Father prepared for you to walk in.
When you say nothing, you are not walking in the good work that was prepared for you. It’s your right to not walk in the good work that was prepared for you because you have free will…and you can refuse to do what God prepared for you to do. When you refuse, I think James would say to you, in James, Chapter 2, Verse 20…
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
You have been given faith by God…and you are choosing not to use it…you are not doing the good works you have been asked to do by God…can you see how that choice could easily be called useless? God was not asking you to prove yourself. God is omniscient. He knows all that is knowable. He knows you have faith because He gave it to you. He simply requests that you use it. When you do…good works…when you don’t…missed opportunity. He’ll get someone else to do it. But you failing in this instance doesn’t shake God’s confidence in you. You refusing to do a good work God has asked you to do does not change God’s unconditional love for you. God is not suddenly thinking you are a bad Christian. That’s where we miss it as Christians.
So I can ask you if you live a holy life…and you can feel guilty that you don’t. It’s what we’ve been doing forever. We’ve been fretting about our sins…we’ve been panicking about the missed opportunities to do good works…we’ve been thinking we will never be holy because of our mistakes, and we’ve been squirming to figure out what WE need to change about ourselves to live a holy life. Then POW…the V-8 moment. If we didn’t do a thing for our salvation, and we didn’t, why would God require us to do anything related to our sanctification? The truth? He doesn’t require anything of us for either. But sometimes, as Christians, we can pull our underwear so far over our heads, that we miss what is right in front of us. We want to believe that God asking us to do a good work is a prerequisite for Him liking us. We want to believe God is conditional. He isn’t.
It took watching the life cycle of a Monarch Butterfly to solidify for me what God the Holy Spirit has been preparing me for, preparing us for, for the last ten to twelve weeks. He wants us to know we don’t have to do anything to assist with our own sanctification. It’s so simple, yet it’s so easy to miss.
Salvation is by grace through faith. Sanctification is by grace through faith.
It’s that simple.
Now more about The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly.
There are three phases in the life of a Monarch Butterfly.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY
Phase 1 Egg to Larva Caterpillar
Phase 2 Larva to Pupa Chrysalis
Phase 3 Pupa to Butterfly Monarch
The lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly is a metamorphosis. Let me warn you. I am not a scientist, and I am not trying to teach a science lesson here. The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly video on YouTube was about five minutes long. I just watched. I saw all the similarities of this lifecycle and our own. I believe with all my heart that in nature, God is always showing Himself, just as He says He is, in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 20…
For since the creation of the world the Lord’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made (through nature), so that all mankind are without excuse in the matter of knowing God.
The egg turns to larva. I see a tiny speck of an egg turn into a caterpillar. For humans, a sperm meets an egg, and in nine months or so, the egg turns becomes a baby.
The baby’s job is to be dependent on the parents and to eat furiously to grow. That’s what you’ll see when you watch the video. The caterpillar eats, and eats, and eats to grow. God provides the food.
In the spiritual life, this phase is the time when we are physically alive but spiritually dead…the time right after physical birth. In due time, God provides us with the food of the gospel message so we can eat it if we want to.
Next, the larva turns to a pupa. When you watch this part of the video, it will seem that nothing is happening. In reality, this a time of rapid change. It’s analogous to the first twenty-one years of our lives. To us, life is moving slowly. To God, He is helping you grow up, and there are rapid, even if imperceptible changes, going on inside of you.
Your job when growing up is to learn. The most important lesson to learn, as we grow, is learning to make decisions.
In the spiritual life, if you respond positively to the gospel message, it is a time of rapid change. You go from the old you to the new you. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
God is changing you. It’s His responsibility to change you. Your job is to accept the free gift of the change, a process called sanctification, and to grow as you are led by the Spirit to grow.
Finally, the pupa becomes a butterfly. It’s beautiful to watch as the butterfly gets an infusion of liquid into its wings that allow it to expand its wings and fly away. As I watched it, this verse came to mind…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 1…
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm in the freedom and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
God sets us free. He allows us to fly. It was no work of our own that produced the result. God did everything.
In the spiritual life, in the Christian Way of Living, in the holy life…that’s the time we fly…God continues to do everything for us just like He did in salvation. What God wants from us as butterflies is to pollinate unbeliever flowers. The good works He wants us to do involves spreading the gospel message to unbelievers and spreading encouragement to believers to expose themselves to the food of the Word of God.
Salvation is by grace through faith. Sanctification is by grace through faith.
It’s that simple.
Let’s take a music break and then we’ll learn the connection between this idea and the passage under study in Romans, Chapter 8.
MUSIC BREAK
BLESSINGS
Laura Story
TODAY’S STUDY
Sanctification is By Grace Through Faith
Salvation is by grace through faith. Sanctification is by grace through faith.
It’s that simple.
When we think our sanctification life is now up to us…it’s a frustrating experience. Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 24…
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Paul expresses the frustration of knowing he can’t do the holy life.
Thanks be to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord (for the deliverance from the body of death)! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other hand, with my flesh, I am serving the law of sin.
God does the holy life for us.
Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN UNION WITH CHRIST JESUS.
O happy day! We have died to sin as a manufacturing plant of evil…we have died to the products that come from the manufacturing plant…personal sins…we have died to the sovereignty of sin over us as it was when we were “in Adam” … Christ’s blood has washed our sins away. We simply acknowledge in our souls that this is true.
For THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF “THE RESURRECTION LIFE” in union with Christ Jesus has set you free from THE LAW OF SIN AND OF DEATH.
God the Holy Spirit is present, provided by Christ just as He promised…
the Spirit is constant operation…the Spirit’s operation is guidance… He leads us…He ministers to us…He comforts us…He gives us THE LIFE and peace in our souls is the result…a firm knowledge that God has nothing against us.
FOR WHAT THE MOSAIC LAW COULD NOT DO, (as) weak (and) as (powerless as) it was through the flesh, GOD THE FATHER DID: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…and as an offering for sin, GOD THE FATHER CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH…
…so that the requirement of the Mosaic Law (righteousness) might be fulfilled in us believers in Christ, who DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH but who WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.
The thing that amazed me most about The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly is how fragile it is during the early stages of growth. What you will get to witness as you look at the video is how God creates, protects and supplies nourishment for the Monarch Butterfly during this fragile process of its development. He does the same for us. He creates us…He protects us as we grow…he provides an endless supply of nourishment.
The things we can’t do…which is everything…God does. So we have to make a mental shift as Christians. We have to remember that God did our salvation…and KNOW that God is doing our spiritual life…our holy life…our resurrection life as well. He didn’t hand off the responsibility for our life after salvation to us. He wouldn’t give a job to someone incapable of doing it. He gave the job to God the Holy Spirit. John, Chapter 16, Verse 13…
But when He, God the Holy Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
So as a Christian, you want to live the holy life on your own…you want to be responsible for it…but you are not. God is responsible for your Christian Walk. He delivers you. He doesn't condemn you. Because you are “EN KRISTO IESU” … “in Christ Jesus” … with God’s own righteousness imputed to you…He sees you as perfect and He keeps on perfecting you through the renewing of your mind.
God does not want His believers to live a self-based life. The “in the flesh” life is a self-based life. It’s a self-righteous life. It’s a sin-based life. We are not on that team. It’s the “EN SARKI” life.
God wants His believers to live the “God based life. The “in Christ life is the God-based life. It’s the righteous life. It’s the holy life. It’s the good works life. It’s the “EN PNEUMATI” life.
Now with these things in mind we can close out the first passage in Romans, Chapter 8. First, let’s take the offering.
BARAH MINISTRIES FINANCIAL POLICY
We are sanctioned by God to charge for anything we provide so you can worship God. God expects you to provide wages for your Pastor and support for the ministry to the tune of a double portion!
BARAH MINISTRIES FINANCIAL POLICY
First Timothy, Chapter 5, Verses 17 and 18 say…
The elders (Pastors) who rule well are to be considered worthy of double
honor (compensation), especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.//For the Scripture says … “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
BARAH MINISTRIES FINANCIAL POLICY
We choose not to charge for the things we provide so as to reflect God’s grace. We invite you to help yourself to bibles, to music, to books, to pamphlets, to anything that would help you, a family member, or a friend learn about God. No price appears on any material from Barah Ministries so that anyone who wants to learn about God can do so free of charge.
BARAH MINISTRIES FINANCIAL POLICY
Even though the materials are free of charge, they are not free of cost. We appreciate the financial support you provide so we can continue to share the Word of God with the hearers God brings to listen. Please be generous in your support of God’s work through this ministry.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
THE OFFERING
Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
OFFERING
FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE
Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S STUDY
Sanctification is By Grace Through Faith
Salvation is by grace through faith. Sanctification is by grace through faith.
It’s that simple. In Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 5 to 8 we get insight into the self-based life…
For those who are walking ACCORDING TO FLESH, are controlled by a being with a mind occupied with the things of the flesh…but those who are walking ACCORDING TO SPIRIT, are controlled by a being with a mind occupied with the Person of God the Holy Spirit.
For the MIND OF THE FLESH is set on the second death, but the MIND OF THE SPIRIT is set on the resurrection life and peace…
…because the MIND OF THE FLESH is hostile toward God (completely consumed with enmity toward God); for the MIND OF THE FLESH does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so…
…and those who are IN FLESH, cannot please God.
There are two teams with contrary laws…
TEAM “IN THE FLESH”
The Unbeliever Team
Team “Sand People”
They Follow the Broad Way
They Follow the Mind Set on Death
Destined for the Great White Throne Judgment
The focus of the last few verses in the first passage of Romans, Chapter 8 shifts to the believer in Christ…what is the holy life like? Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 9 to 13…
However, you BELIEVERS IN CHRIST ARE NOT IN THE FLESH but YOU BELIEVERS IN CHRIST ARE IN THE SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, and of course it does. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ indwelling, and unbelievers don’t, that one (the unbeliever…the unregenerate one) does not belong to Christ.
IF CHRIST IS INDWELLING YOU, and He is for believers in Christ, though the body is dead because of sin indwelling, yet THE SPIRIT IS ALIVE because of righteousness imputed.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, and
The Spirit does for believers in Christ, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
God does the work.
So then, brethren (believers in Christ), we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
Where is your soul tuned?
…for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if you are living by means of the agency of God the Holy Spirit YOU ARE PUTTING TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, and you will live.
TEAM “IN THE SPIRIT”
The Believer Team
Team “Rock People”
Follow the Narrow Way
Their Minds are Set on THE LIFE
They are Destined for the Bema Seat Judgment
As a believer in Christ, when you engage in the deeds of the flesh, you are living the self-based life. That is not the life that was planned for you in eternity past. So in effect, you’re not being yourself when you’re living that life and doing those things. Furthermore, you know it. When you find yourself living that life, it’s dead. Get out of it. James, Chapter 2, Verse 20…
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without good works is useless?
Living a holy life seems like a losing battle. We ask ourselves, “How do we abandon the self-life?” We ask ourselves, “How do we keep on being transformed to the holy life?” Then we set off on a do-it-yourself course.
We forget that God the Holy Spirit transforms us.
Leave your spiritual life to the professional…God the Holy Spirit. He indwells us. He moves us from death to life. Our head is on a swivel.
We must keep on turning away from evil.
It is changing our mind…it is changing what we see…it is changing what we listen to. God the Holy Spirit is the One who makes the imperfect ones pure.
He brings our souls back from the dead…He brings our bodies back from the dead…He brings our spirit back from the dead. We are saved by grace through faith. We grow by grace through faith.
This easy and light burden is just something we’ll have to get used to.
When the Lord Jesus Christ
Promises Salvation, It’s a Guarantee!
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given to mankind by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
“For the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
CLOSING SONG
I CAN’T DISAPPOINT YOU
June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
And we pray that You protect our steps as we go out into the world, Father…and that you keep us on the narrow way, completely dependent on You and Your Guiding, Mentoring Spirit…we ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for listening!
www.barahministries.com
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1220 S. Alma School Rd. Suite 201 Mesa, AZ 85210 |
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