(# 276) Romans 8 - God is on Your Side

Class Outline:

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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 teaches the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from a human perspective.  We want to know what God has to say to us though His Word because we’re convinced that God knows exactly what He’s talking about.  And our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE STUDY

God is on Your Side

 

The final passage of Romans, Chapter 8, begins at Verse 31…

 

Romans 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things?  If God is for us, and He is, who is ever to be successful in opposition against us?

 

The reason that no one can be successful in opposing you is that the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, is on your side.  God has an enemy, Satan, the ruler of this world, who is a bully.  Satan uses force, threats, and coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate you.  Isn’t it nice to know you have someone tougher than Satan on your side who will never allow you to lose?  First Peter, Chapter 5, Verses 8 and 9…

 

First Peter 5:8

Be of sober spirit, and be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

First Peter 5:9a

But resist him, standing firm in your faith…

God allows us to endure the trials of such force, such threat, and such coercion from the kingdom of death to instill endurance into our souls in the face of trials…and then First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 10 says…

 

First Peter 5:10

After you have suffered for a little while, the God and Father of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in union with Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

 

Welcome to a place where you can learn about the deliverance the Lord will always accomplish for you, because God is on your side.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

WHEN MERCY FOUND ME

Rhett Walker Band

 

The opening song for this lesson is WHEN MERCY FOUND ME by The Rhett Walker Band.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father of all grace, You have given us a Savior…the Lord Jesus Christ, Your grace filled and truth filled Son…thank you for the comfort and security a relationship with You and Your Son provides…

 

Give us the courage and the ability to live by the faith You have given us…help us to make You and Your Son the center of our soul’s desire…help us to obey You while we are under the attack of the world forces of this darkness…protect us from temptations, especially the ones that are hardest to resist…make us aware in every waking moment of how much you are on our side…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name... Amen.

 

Let’s begin this lesson by giving you the chance to make an offering…

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

In just a moment we’ll welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to take the offering…in Philippians, Chapter 4, Verses 15 to 18…the apostle Paul says…

 

Philippians 4:15

You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone…

 

Philippians 4:16

…for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

 

Philippians 4:17

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

 

Philippians 4:18

But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied…

 

I love watching you give because I KNOW what God is doing for you in return…He rewards your cheerful generosity.  Thank you for supporting this ministry financially, when one of the greatest turn offs in Christianity is the time when a church makes its financial needs known.  Yet if the bills aren’t paid, a church can’t stay open.  Thank you for making it possible that this church is open and that the messages from this ministry are heard around the world.  And thank you that the ministries within Barah Ministries are felt one person at a time because of your kind generosity. 

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

OFFERING VERSE

 

Philippians 2:4-5

…do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE STUDY

God is on Your Side

 

In the last lesson, we learned that the final two passages in Romans, Chapter 8 are a love letter from God to you.  The passages provide a summary of all that has been communicated to you in the first eight chapters of Paul’s letter to the first century believers at Rome.  God is telling you many things… among them…Psalm 118, Verse 24…the request from God to live one day at a time…and to enjoy every moment…

 

Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

Here are the final two passages…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 26 to 39…be glad as you hear God’s unconditional love…enjoy as your privileges and your eternal security are described…

 

Romans 8:26a

In the same way we groan within ourselves (Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 23), waiting eagerly for our adoption as adult sons…waiting eagerly for the redemption of our bodies…and waiting eagerly for the freedom of the glory of the children of God…

 

Romans 8:26b

…just the way we groan…God the Holy the Spirit, who is called the “first fruits” of our salvation, groans, to help our weakness; for example, we do not know how to pray as we should…but God the Holy Spirit Himself personally intercedes for us in prayer with groanings too deep for words…

Romans 8:27

…and God the Father, who keeps on searching the hearts of all those who pray, knows what the mind of God the Holy Spirit is (through His groanings which cannot be uttered in words), because God the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints…for all believers in Christ…according to the will of God the Father.

 

Romans 8:28

And we know that God the Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love God the Father, to those who are called according to the Father’s purpose.

 

Romans 8:29

For those whom God the Father foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that the Lord Jesus Christ would be the firstborn among many brethren…

 

Romans 8:30

…and those whom God the Father predestined, He also called; and those whom God the Father called, He also justified; and those whom God the Father justified, He also glorified.

 

Romans 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things?  If God the Father is for us, and He is, who is ever to be successful in opposition against us?

 

Romans 8:32

God the Father who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will the Father not also, now that we are in union with Christ, freely give us all things?

 

Romans 8:33

Who will bring a successful charge against God’s elect (all believers in Christ)? God is the one who justifies…

 

Romans 8:34

…who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather He who was raised from the dead…He who is at the right hand of God the Father…He who also intercedes for us.

 

Romans 8:35

Who will separate us from the unconditional love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from His love?

 

Romans 8:36

Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;

we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 

Romans 8:37

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

 

Romans 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers…

 

Romans 8:39

…nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the unconditional love of God the Father, which IS, through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Even though you don’t fully understand everything in this “so great” salvation that has been given to you as a free gift…God is on your side.

 

Even though all of your rewards have yet to be conveyed…some only promised…God is on your side.

 

Even though you groan as you endure tribulation after tribulation…God is on your side.

 

Even though you don’t know how to pray as you should…God is on your side.

 

Even though you don’t realize how much He loves you…God is on your side.

 

Even though you ignore the evidence of His presence and His help…God is on your side.

 

Even though He protects you from enemy forces looking to do things to you that you can’t even imagine…God is on your side.

 

Even though you are constantly afraid…God is on your side.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 31 says…

 

Romans 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things?  If God is for us, and He is, who is ever to be successful in opposition against us?

 

And as we continue our transition into the final passage of Romans, Chapter 8…we must remember the key parts of the long journey it took to get here.  Let’s take a quick music break and we’ll reflect on our journey.

 

MUSIC BREAK

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Stephen Curtis Chapman

 

TODAY’S BIBLE STUDY

God is on Your Side

 

I used to work at WGN Television.  It is a “superstation,” an outlet whose programming is broadcast all around the country.  It is best known as the television home of the Chicago Cubs.  I sat right outside the office of one of the Corporate Vice Presidents. I would look up from my work occasionally and he’d be watching me work or listening to my phone calls.  When I’d catch his glance, every now and then he would say something wise, which I guess is what made him a Vice President.  One thing he said always stuck with me…he said, “Rory…be careful what lies you tell about yourself…but be even more careful about what truths you tell about others.”  I don’t remember why he said that to me…and at twenty years old, I wondered exactly what the hell that meant!  Well now I know…

 

In Romans, Chapter 3, the Lord tells some truths about us…Verse 10…

 

Romans 3:10

…as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

Romans 3:23

…for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

The truths the Lord was telling about who we are “in Adam” painted a grim picture, yet we have hope…Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 and 22, God shows He is on our side by giving us a way out of our predicament…

 

Romans 3:21

BUT NOW…APART FROM THE LAW…THE RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD…has been manifested, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law and by the Old Testament Prophets…

 

Romans 3:22

…even the righteousness from God the Father through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for all those who believe…

 

In Romans, Chapter 4 we learn that Abraham was promised a son…and when the son did not come forth in Abraham’s timing, he took matters into his own hands…and the human solution was not the real solution.  And at a time when Abraham’s sexual prowess was gone, and his wife was barren, unable to have children, God had Abraham and Sarah right where he wanted them…and the Lord delivered a son to Abraham…a son named Isaac…and Abraham was convinced…Romans, Chapter 4, Verses 20 and 21…

 

Romans 4:20

…with respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God…

 

Romans 4:21

…and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

 

God was on Abraham’s side…and God is on our side…and when things look most grim…after an indictment…after an epic failure on our part…after a promise is made that doesn’t come through quite fast enough…God is still on our side and He demonstrates Himself to be.

 

In Romans, Chapter 5, we learn not only that God is on our side, but also that God has nothing against us…not in the past, not now, and not in the future…Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 1 to 5…

 

Romans 5:1

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ…

 

Romans 5:2

…through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this sphere of grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

 

Romans 5:3

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance…

 

Romans 5:4

…and perseverance brings about proven character; and proven character brings about hope…

 

Romans 5:5

…and hope does not disappoint, because the unconditional love of God has been poured out within our hearts through God the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

Yet we keep sinning…and it’s hard for us to remember, in light of our failures, that God is on our side.  So we engage constantly in a futile attempt to clean up our acts by trying to impress God with our conduct… and we fail miserably.  But in Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 12 to 14, the Lord warns us then comforts us…

 

Romans 6:12

Therefore do not let sin reign as the sovereign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts…

 

Romans 6:13

…and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but do present yourselves to God as if you are one of those who are alive from the dead (because you are), and present your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

 

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but you are under grace.

 

And we are calmed for a moment, knowing that God is on our side.  Yet we are unable to stop the onslaught of attacks from the kingdom of death, which goes on sucking us into betraying our God with sins…Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 15…

 

Romans 7:15

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

 

Romans, Chapter 7, Verses 21 to 25…

 

Romans 7:21

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

 

Romans 7:22

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man…

 

Romans 7:23

…but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

 

Romans 7:24

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

 

Romans 7:25

Thanks be to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord (who delivers us)!

God the Father is on your side.  God the Son is on your side.  The Lord Jesus Christ is on your side.  God the Holy Spirit is on your side.  You can’t beat that…Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 31 says…

 

Romans 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things?  If God is for us, and He is, who is ever to be successful in opposition against us?

 

So as we begin the end of this chapter, Romans, Chapter 8, the culmination of some of the most beautiful writing in the bible, with some of the most amazing promises directed to each of us…let’s spend the week rereading Romans, Chapters 1 through 8, and reminding ourselves of how far we have come, so when we hear the breakdown of God’s love letter to us, we’ll be ready to receive this unbelievable and unconditional love into our hearts.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

The Most Important Decision of Your Life

Matthew 22:42

“What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”

 

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few find it.”

 

John 10:9

Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, (maybe you will and maybe you won’t you have a choice) he will be saved, and then he will go in and out and find pasture.”

 

Luke 23:42-43

And the repentant thief was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!  And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 

CLOSING SONG

COUNT IT ALL JOY

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION

 

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