(#452) Romans 13 - The Son is Coming!

Class Outline:

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Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Son is Coming!

 

Several years ago, a friend of mine invited a relative to Barah Ministries.  When the service was over, my friend asked her what she thought of the service.  Her comments were directed toward me. “Your Pastor is a misogynist!”  Even with a pretty healthy vocabulary, that word sent me to the dictionary.  What is a misogynist?

 

MISOGYNIST

A person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women.

 

I asked my friend, “What did you say in response?”  He said, “When I stopped laughing hysterically, I told her none of the ways I’d describe you would include ‘he doesn’t like women.’”  Can I get an Amen?

 

It’s easy to misunderstand someone if you don’t bother getting to know the person.  It’s easier to judge.  Unfortunately, we do the same thing with God.  We spend little or no time really getting to know Him.  

 

One thing you should know about God is that He is FAIR.  He is always fair with you and there never will be a time when He is unfair to you. He is perfect in his justice. Isaiah, Chapter 30, Verse 18…

 

ISAIAH 30:18

The Lord longs to be gracious to you…and He waits on high to have compassion on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice…how blessed are all those who wait for Him.

 

The Lord loves being fair to all His creatures, including you.  Psalm 33, Verse 5…

 

PSALM 33:5

The Lord loves righteousness and justice…the earth is full of the lovingkindness (grace) of the Lord.

 

Maybe the judicial system isn’t fair…but the Lord is ALWAYS fair…

Deuteronomy, Chapter 32, Verse 4…

 

DEUTERONOMY 32:4

“The Rock (the Lord is the Chief Cornerstone)! His work is perfect…for all His ways are just…He is a God of faithfulness and He is without injustice… righteous and upright is He.”

 

Is God ever unfair? The apostle Paul says NO…Romans, Chapter 9, Verse 14…

 

ROMANS 9:14

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be (absolutely not)!

 

Often we think of others as despicable Adolf Hitler… Saddam Hussein… Joseph Stalin…the Emperor Claudius Nero… but they are God’s creatures.  How does God feel about them?  In Acts, Chapter 10, Verse 34…the apostle Peter makes it perfectly clear…

 

ACTS 10:34

Opening his mouth, Peter said:  “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality…”

 

God thinks of them the exact same way He thinks of you.  Think about that.

God can’t be bought…you can’t pay for blessings from God…you can’t impress Him with money…you can’t buy your way into heaven…Second Chronicles, Chapter 19, Verse 7…

 

SECOND CHRONICLES 19:7

“Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you…be very careful what you do…for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”

 

In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, the idea of fairness is paramount…and this God inspired document makes God’s fairness clear…

 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal…and all are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…and that among these rights are life…liberty…and the pursuit of happiness.

 

Welcome to a place where you can experience the perfect fairness of a perfect God through the study of His exact thinking…the Word of God.

 

First Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 12…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 6:12

Keep on fighting the good fight of faith (as if it were a boxing match)…take hold of the (challenge of the) resurrection life to which you were called… The life about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

 

When life seems unfair…and let’s face it…sometimes it does…when life is challenging…the group Unspoken encourages us in song to keep on fighting the GOOD FIGHT.  Let’s listen…

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

GOOD FIGHT

Unspoken

 

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 giving us hope…a hope that Your light is always near in the midst of the dark days we experience here on earth…thank you for saving us…thank you for the Word of Truth that arises in our hearts and shines in this dark place…thank you for Your Son who died and rose from the dead for us…thank you for the guidance of God the Holy Spirit who teaches us the Christian Way of Living…

 

Help us to attract people to Your truth like moths to a flame…and show us how to live in a way that reflects Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness and Your grace…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Son is Coming!

 

It’s obvious to me from the lessons that have started this year that the Lord is preparing our minds for something…and that something is His return.  In the Old Testament, Malachi predicted the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in Chapter 4, Verses 1 and 2…

 

MALACHI 4:1

“For behold, the day (of the Lord) is coming…burning like a furnace (like a judgment of fire)…and all the arrogant and every evildoer (unbelievers) will be chaff (the worthless part of grain that is thrown into the fire)…and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that the day will leave them neither root nor branch (no place to live).” 

 

In contrast…

 

MALACHI 4:2 

“…for you who respect My name (believers in Christ)…the sun of righteousness will rise (on the Lord’s day) with healing in its wings…and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.”

 

Believers in Christ will enjoy the spiritual restoration that comes from ever being with the Lord. We continue our study of the final passage of Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 11 to 14.  

 

ROMANS 13:11 

Do this (be in subjection to the governing authorities and have a lifestyle of unconditional love)…knowing the time (the season of the divine plan)… knowing that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep…for now salvation (our final deliverance to glorification by God) is nearer to us believers in Christ than it was when we first believed in Christ.

 

In other words, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, spiritually speaking, because as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are a light in this dark world, and we need to have a mindset of preparedness for what’s coming.  

 

ROMANS 13:12 

The night is almost gone…and the day is near.  Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

 

ROMANS 13:13 

Let us behave properly as in the day…not in carousing and drunkenness… not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality…not in strife and jealousy.

 

ROMANS 13:14 

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

 

Today’s Christians are being exhorted by the Word of God…with words penned over two thousand years ago…to Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, spiritually speaking…because as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are a source of hope in this dark world. Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 14 to 16 encourage us to prepare with righteous conduct…

 

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:14

Do all things without grumbling or disputing…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:15 

…so that you will prove yourselves to be the blameless and innocent children of God the Father…above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation…among which generation you appear as lights in the world…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:16 

…holding fast to the Word of Life (the Bible)…so that in the day of Christ we will have reason to glory because we did not run in vain nor did we toil (to the point of exhaustion) in vain.

 

The Lord wants us to know the divine season just as we know about the cold wave in Chicago…God doesn’t want us to be ignorant concerning “the time” … the divine season.

 

<THE DIVINE PLAN OF HISTORY SLIDE>

 

The Age of the Gentiles…The Age of Israel…The Age of the Hypostatic Union (the time when the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ was on the earth)… The Cross…The Age of Grace (The Church Age…our present “evil” age)… The Age of the Tribulation, which is the seven year completion of the Age of Israel…The Age of the Millennium…the Lord Jesus Christ’s one thousand year reign on the earth…and then The Eternal State.

 

As Christians, we make ourselves familiar with the flow of divine history…we wait in eager anticipation for the next few events of divine history to unfold…the return of our Lord at the exit resurrection of the Church…also known as the Rapture…then the Lord’s second coming...and His Millennial reign on the earth.  We do not concern ourselves AT ALL about the timing of these events…they are imminent…we simply have certainly that these two events will occur.  The Son is coming!

 

Here’s what the bible has to say about the Rapture in First Thessalonians, Chapter 4, Verses 13 to 18…

 

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:13

But we do not want you to be uninformed…brethren…about those (Christians) who are asleep (physically dead)…so that you will not grieve as unbelievers grieve because they have no hope (of going to heaven).

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:14 

For if we Christians believe that Jesus died and rose again…and we do…even so God the Father will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in union with Jesus.

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:15 

For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord…that we (believers in Christ) who are alive and remain on earth until the coming of the Lord (at the Rapture)…will not precede those who have fallen asleep (those Church Age believers who are physically dead are raptured first).

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:16 

For the Lord Jesus Christ (the Groom) Himself will descend from heaven with a shout (a command summoning His bride…The Church)…with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God…and the dead in union with Christ will rise in resurrection first.

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:17 

Then we who are alive and remain on earth will be caught up (rapturo in Greek) together with the dead in Christ in the clouds…to meet the Lord in the air…and so we shall always be with the Lord.

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:18 

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

 

At the Rapture, the Lord will meet us in the air.  At His second coming, the Lord will touch down on earth…Matthew, Chapter 24, Verses 29 to 31…

 

MATTHEW 24:29

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light…and the stars will fall from the sky…and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

 

 

MATTHEW 24:30 

“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn (their time is up!)…and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”

 

MATTHEW 24:31 

“And the Lord Jesus Christ will send forth His elect angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect (believers in Christ) from the four winds (all corners of the earth)…from one end of the sky to the other.”

 

Revelation, Chapter 19, Verses 11 to 18…

 

REVELATION 19:11

And I (John) saw heaven opened…and I beheld a white horse (signifying victory)…and He who sat on the horse is called The Faithful and True One (The Lord Jesus Christ)…and in righteousness He judges and He wages war.

 

REVELATION 19:12 

His eyes are a flame of fire (judgment)…and on His head are many diadems (jewels symbolizing Sovereignty)…and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself (indescribable).

 

REVELATION 19:13 

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood (judgment)…and His name is called The Word of God.

 

REVELATION 19:14 

And the armies which are in heaven…clothed in fine linen…white and clean…were following Him on white horses.

 

REVELATION 19:15 

From His mouth comes a sharp sword…so that with it He may strike down the nations…and He will rule them with a rod of iron…and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Father, the Almighty One.

 

REVELATION 19:16 

And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written … “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

REVELATION 19:17 

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun…and the angel cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God (the slaughter of all unbelievers on earth)…”

 

REVELATION 19:18 

“…so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men…both free men and slaves…and small and great.”

 

As Christians, we study the Word of God so that we may know the divine seasons…and so we can move from ASLEEP (like five of the virgins) to AWARE (like the other five virgins)…and from AWARE to AWAKE (as Peter exhorts when he tells us to “be sober and be on the alert”).  The Son is coming!  Christians are to open our spiritual eyes to see the world as it really is…it’s a dark and dismal place…and we are to be totally comfortable God has us placed here. As we learn His Word we use its power to illuminate the gospel message one person at a time in this lost and dying world.

 

When we return from our five-minute break we’ll hear more about the coming of the Son!

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

Unconditional Love

Donna Summers

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Son is Coming!

 

Let’s welcome Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:12-13

I (Paul) know how to get along with humble means…and I also know how to live in prosperity…in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry…both of having abundance and suffering need.//I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Son is Coming!

 

In Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 9…Paul says… 

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:9

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me... practice these things...and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Micah Tyler says no matter how tough things get for you…the Lord will be with you, EVEN THEN!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

EVEN THEN

Micah Tyler

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Son is Coming!

 

Welcome back!  Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 13:12 

The night is almost gone (Satan’s time ruling planet earth)…and the day (of the Lord’s return to take over the planet) is near.  Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

 

God wants us to be reflections of His light in this dark place.  Are you?  I can say with great conviction…yeah…sometimes!

 

I was listening to a Pastor recently…and I noticed myself feeling bad.  His message called for Christians to actually LIVE the spiritual life. A quick survey of my life had me reaching for the rubber hose.  I often fall short of God’s perfect standard…if the truth were told, I’m not sure I’ve ever reached God’s standard.  Yet as I started to contemplate that reality, a calm came over me.  God knows me.  He knows who I am and who I am not.  I am not. I have become comfortable that I am not, because He is.  So what’s true is John, Chapter 3, Verse 30…

 

JOHN 3:30

He must increase…but I must decrease.

 

I am decreasing.  I get worse over time, not better…yet His increase in my life makes me more than I could ever be.  Legalism always starts with “I.”  Legalism always starts with “you gotta.”  I can’t.  I don’t. But He can and He does…and that’s good enough for me.  Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 13…

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

The bible consistently portrays the world as a dark place…planet earth… Satan’s kingdom…but we have something to look forward to in the future… as He was preparing to go to the Cross, the Lord Himself declared…in 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).”

 

Today, Satan is at work in the world…Second Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 4…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:4

…the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 

The Cross…and the Lord’s work on it through His shed blood for all of us…

was the strategic victory in the Creator-creature conflict.  Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 25…

 

ROMANS 1:25

For unbelievers exchanged the truth about God for a lie…and they chose to worship and serve the creature (Satan) rather than the Creator…the One who is blessed forever. Amen.

 

Christians are the light of the world…we are hope for the world…we are the light because of the Light in us…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Imagine that you are guilty of the worst crime in human history…and just as you are about to be sentenced to the worst death ever inflicted on a human being, someone steps forward to take your place and He offers to die for you. That’s exactly what the Lord did in unconditional love for each and every person who has ever come to this planet.  

 

Just before the beginning of the Lord’s Millennial Reign...His one thousand year rule of planet earth…a voice from heaven declares…in Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 10…

 

REVELATION 12:10

“Now the salvation…and the power…and the kingdom of our God (the Father) and the authority of His Christ (The Messiah) have come…for the accuser of our brethren (Satan) has been thrown down (evicted from heaven)…Satan who accuses the brethren (all believers in Christ) before our God day and night.”

 

Satan is the enemy of God and of all believers in Christ.  Today is his day, but the day is coming soon when we won’t experience his perversion of the truth anymore.  Our day will come!  The Son is coming!  Are you ready?!

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The closing moments of our study are for the benefit of 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. 

If you closed your eyes in this life right this moment…and found yourself standing before the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…and the Lord asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” …what would you say?

 

Many would talk about what a good person they are.  Many would talk about all their good works…things they have done to earn and deserve entrance into heaven.  The bible has bad news for good people and for those who want to work their way into heaven…Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 4…

 

ROMANS 4:4

Now to the one who works for salvation…his wage for his work is not credited to his account as a favor from the grace of God…but his wage is credited as what is due for the work.

 

The bad news is that your goodness as a person and your hard work are not good enough to get you into heaven, because they are not perfect.  You were born with a problem.  From the moment of your physical birth, God considered you a sinner.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

 ROMANS 3:10

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

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 3:23

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

 

In addition to being a sinner, we commit personal sins.  Sinners and those who sin simply don’t meet God’s absolute righteousness standard, because God requires perfection to get into heaven.  So being a good person, or trying to work your way into heaven with good deeds, does not impress God at all.  It’s not your fault that you’re a sinner from physical birth, but it is your circumstance.  Unfortunately being a sinner has a penalty.  Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 6:23

For the payment earned for being a sinner is both spiritual death and physical death…

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself passed along this very bad news to a self-righteous Pharisee, Nicodemus, in John, Chapter 3, Verse 3…

 

JOHN 3:3

Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again (the spiritual birth) you cannot see the kingdom of God the Father (in heaven).”

 

This gospel message is the good news concerning what God the Father did to fix the bad news for a sinner. Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

ROMANS 5:8

But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind…in that while we were yet sinners (while we were unrighteous, ungodly unbelievers)…Christ died (a sacrificial death) for us.

 

As a result, absolute righteousness, the admission ticket to heaven and eternal life…the resurrection life…is yours free of charge if you want it.  Romans, Chapter 10, Verses 9 to 11…

 

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 (choosing faith in Christ alone)…resulting in salvation.

 

ROMANS 10:11

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will not be disappointed.”

 

If you closed your eyes in this life right this moment…and found yourself standing before the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…and the Lord asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” …what would you say?  It’s easy… 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.”

 

All you have to say is, “I believed in You when I was alive, Lord.  That’s all it takes to get to heaven.”  And you’d be right!  So heed the invitation and the warning in 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.”

 

There is a hell…and it is described this way in the bible…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 41 to 43…

 

MATTHEW 13:41

The Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) will send forth His (elect) angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers), and those who commit lawlessness (unbelievers)…

 

MATTHEW 13:42 

…and (the elect angels) will throw unbelievers into the furnace of fire (the Lake of Fire)…in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

MATTHEW 13:43 

Then the righteous (believers in Christ) will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father…

 

For those without a relationship with Christ, He’ll just ask them to step to the left and to take the “HELLIVATOR” … just press down.  Don’t let that be you!  Sinners need a Savior.  That Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Believe in Him and you will be saved!

 

Here’s June Murphy to sing about our great God in her beautiful song…I AM.

 

 

 

CLOSING SONG

I AM

June Murphy 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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