ROM-165-160131 - length: 61:18 - taught on Jan, 31 2016
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. Barah Ministries has a worldwide reach and an intimate impact on lives, through the gracious provision of our omnipotent God, the Lord Jesus Christ. One of His many blessings is the internet, and through it, anyone with access can be reached with His Word.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON
Why Do We Think Things Won’t Work Out for Us?
It was funny to watch a video recently of a friend of mine as she got engaged. It was interesting to notice her disbelief that this event was even happening in her life. She’s a mess, and she knows it. In fact we’re all a mess and we know it. And frankly, when good things happen to us, instead of being overjoyed…instead of noticing that the Word of God has proven itself to be true…instead of noticing that indeed our God has saved the best for last in our lives…no matter how much we have tried to screw our lives up…instead of being overjoyed that we can indeed be the star in our own movie…we have a similar reaction to my friend, who asked her fiancé… “Are you lying? Oh wow!” We firmly believe that since we’re such a mess, the “Word of God stuff” is probably going to work out for everyone else, but it’s probably not going to work out for us.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Actually, things do work out for us. It just seems like they don’t because we lack perspective. We NEED perspective. When we have perspective we can watch the work of a perfect God, and we can rest assured that what He says He will ALWAYS do…we can rest assured He has a plan and a purpose, and His plan and purpose will be revealed in due time…we can learn to see things with our souls…we can learn to see things through faith…knowing that the One in whom we have placed our confidence is Faithful and True…we can learn to see things through hope…the confident expectation that our future will unfold exactly as God has planned and purposed for us.
But why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Well it all started in the Garden of Eden. Things were working out for us. And then sin. Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 17 to 19…
Genesis 3:17
Then the Lord God said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’ … cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.”
Genesis 3:18
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field…”
Genesis 3:19
“…by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from the ground you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In the Garden of Eden, everything was good…and then it was not. With man’s permission and with man’s cooperation, Satan instigated man’s fall. Everything was glorious. Then it was not. Adam sinned, and now we deal with the problem Satan instigated. Because of Adam’s sin, all mankind is subjected by God to the struggle…the constant battle between good and evil.
And like Nancy Kerrigan, a former Olympic figure skater who was beaten up by a rival just before the games…we sit in the middle of the floor and cry out, “Why? Why? Why?” when things don’t go our way.
With perspective we learn that the Lord is teaching us through the gauntlet of suffering on the way to a future of glory. And isn’t it interesting that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, during His time on earth, was a full participant in our suffering? Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 15…
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ has fully taken part in our suffering. Thus, He ALWAYS gives us things we can’t handle. Allowing us to suffer is among that list of things. And how are we to handle the suffering? We are to take the Lord’s way of escape…and we are to endure it. We are to persevere…to patiently endure under trying circumstances knowing that God is the One who is orchestrating the apocalypse…an unfolding…a revealing…an uncovering…of the magnificent future He promised all of us.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Often, we let suffering unravel our faith. Welcome to a place where you can learn that in God’s plan, especially in God’s plan for you, things always work out.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
GOOD FIGHT
Unspoken
The opening song for this lesson encourages us to keep fighting the GOOD FIGHT by Unspoken.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, when we suffer, especially for long periods of time, thank you for not letting us give up or quit…thank you for the energy and the wisdom you provide so that we can succeed, through You, in all that You have for us to do…thank you for the encouraging words of the apostle Paul, so that we know that we can do all things through Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who strengthens us…
Father help us to remember during the trials that Your grace is sufficient for us…help us to recall that Your divine power is perfected in the midst of our human weakness…as we boast about our weaknesses, help us to fix or eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, so that we may not grow weary, fainting in our souls…help us to see ourselves as the stars in the movie of our lives that You have set before us…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON
Why Do We Think Things Won’t Work Out for Us?
Let’s begin this lesson by taking the offering. In just a few moments we’ll welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
THE OFFERING
Deacon Denny Goodall
BARAH MINISTRIES FINANCIAL POLICY
We choose not to charge for the things we provide to help you study the Word of God. We wish to reflect God’s grace. Help yourselves 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 which allows us 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
…God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong…
OFFERING VERSE
…and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,//so that no man may boast before God.
OFFERING
FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE
Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON
Why Do We Think Things Won’t Work Out for Us?
Let’s continue our study of the third passage in Romans 8 that extends from Verses 18 to 25…let’s look at and listen to the passage together, as we let the Word of God speak to our souls…
For I (Paul) know for a fact that the sufferings of this present time (both RIGHT NOW, and throughout the Church Age…this present evil age) are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed IN us believers in Christ (IN THE FUTURE).
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…
…that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
The next three verses we zoom in to are these…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 20 to 22…
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…
…that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Futility. The whole of creation is subject to futility. Since Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden there has been much futility for mankind. There was Adam’s sin…then the judgment…then vanity. Solomon, the son of King David, the richest man in the history of mankind…the one who had it all…sought happiness in the things that are not God…and He came to a conclusion…Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 3…
Ecclesiastes 1:1 (NASV)
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 1:3
What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?
Or as the New International Version of the bible translates it…
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 (NIV)
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?
There is much for us to learn from Adam. Among the most poignant lessons to learn from Adam? A “do-it-yourself lifestyle” never works.
Our bodies are a remnant of Adam’s folly. Inside of our physical bodies the Lord has left us with “the flesh” … that part of us that is completely antagonistic to God…completely antagonistic to others…that part of ourselves that seeks to destroy us. This remnant of Adam’s sin produces decay, disease, suffering, death, destruction, bondage. That part of us is dead, helpless and hopeless…and as believers in Christ, who have died to “the flesh,” we listen to that part of us way too much. We are placed in “the world” … a cacophony … a disjointed mixture of confusion and noise designed to distract us.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Our eyes are in the wrong place. Let’s take a music break, and then we’ll look at what God has in store for us.
MUSIC BREAK
His Strength is Perfect
Chapman
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON
Why Do We Think Things Won’t Work Out for Us?
Frustration. That’s why we think things won’t work out for us. We live lives of frustration thanks to Adam and sin. Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 20 to 22…
For the creation was subjected by God to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…
…that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
There again, we see the gauntlet of suffering. At one side, futility and corruption…at the other side, waiting eagerly for us…the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Our glory is certain. As believers in Christ, we have the indwelling Trinity as a signature guarantee of a marvelous future. Frankly, we just forget about it. We’re so busy looking at and wallow in futility, that we ignore our absolutely certain future…
…the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
God subjected us…knowing that He would free us…knowing, in fact, that He was the only way we would ever be free. Colossians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 3…
Colossians 3:1
Therefore if you believers in Christ have been raised up with Christ, and you have, keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:2
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:3
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God the Father.
Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
We must not live thinking that things are probably not going to work out for us. We must live KNOWING that God already worked out things for us in the past as an established and irrevocable fact, and that we are simply waiting for the apocalypse…the revealing…the uncovering…of these wonderful things.
Yet we are deceived. Colossians, Chapter 2, Verses 6 to 8…
Colossians 2:6
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord (by faith), so walk in Him (by faith)…
Colossians 2:7
…having been firmly rooted (at salvation) and now being built up in union with Him (in sanctification) and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
We are in the process of a metamorphosis right now…God gives us so many things to understand His plan for us…
METAMORPHOSIS
Egg to Caterpillar (Physical Birth)
Caterpillar to Pupa (Spiritual Birth)
Pupa to Monarch Butterfly (Resurrection Body)
A metamorphosis is a transformation. God is changing us into that state in which we will be for all eternity…glory.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
Our eyes are fixed on the temporal and not on the eternal. This life is merely a subset of your life. Second Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 18…
Second Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
Second Corinthians 4:17
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…
Second Corinthians 4:18
…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
If we are going to see ourselves as we really are, we are going to have to look at the truth…we see the glory that is in our near future by looking into the mirror of the Word of God…Second Corinthians, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18…
Second Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
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 (in a condemned body) to glory (in a resurrection body), just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Our glory is in place right now…it is not revealed yet…but it will be soon. Until then, keep the faith…endure in hope…obey the Lord…knowing that He has already worked everything out in our favor.
Why do we think things won’t work out for us?
We’re not thinking. We’re emoting. And most of the time, emotions are a lie. Don’t be deceived. Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 20 to 22…
For the creation was subjected by God to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…
…that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
We look forward to continuously elevating our thoughts to our certain future….a future orchestrated by our great God.
When the Lord Jesus Christ
Promises Salvation, It’s a Guarantee!
…as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one”
But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For God the Father did not send the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) into the world to condemn the world, but the Father sent His Son into the world that the world might be saved through believing in Him.
But as many as received the Lord (taking advantage of the free gift of salvation), to them He gave the right (once and for all time) to become children of God…to those who believe in Christ’s name…
CLOSING SONG
HOW GREAT THOU ART
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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