2019 Homecoming - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

Class Outline:

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Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a small and intimate Christian Church with a 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 - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

We continue our look at the truth and the lies about the Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s lesson we’ll summarize what we have learned this weekend.  In addition we'll celebrate The Lord’s Supper because it is always good to remember the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us at the Cross.  Welcome to a place where you can learn the Word of God.

 

In her song YOU SAY…Lauren Dagle tells us we do well to believe everything the Word of God says.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

YOU SAY

Lauren Dagle

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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

 

Father…thank you for continually transforming us through the renewing of our minds with the daily study of the Word of God…thank you for the indwelling presence of the Triune Godhead…You, along with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit…so that we have a power inside of us that makes us able to resist Satan and his temptations…thank you for giving us a soul and spirit that are a perfect reflection of You…

 

Help us to use the panoply of spiritual armor and the spiritual gift you have given us…show us how to walk in a manner worthy of You and in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called…protect Pastor Farley and Jack all of our non-resident congregation members in their journeys home…bless them abundantly and keep them from harm in a world that does not love or respect Your followers…

 

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

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

Let’s welcome up Pastor John Farley as he continues to teach us about about another Jesus and another gospel in Second Corinthians Chapter 11.

 

INSERT OPENING LESSON PJF PART 1 HERE

 

When we return from the break...

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Donna Summers

 

INSERT OPENING LESSON PJF PART 2 HERE

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

THY WILL

Hillary Scott

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

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

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into union with Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 6:4  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

Our God is indescribable…but let’s hear a song with one of the best words that makes an attempt in its title…AWESOME GOD by Rich Mullins.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

AWESOME GOD

Rich Mullins

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

Welcome back!

 

Let’s summarize what we’ve learned this weekend with ten points, and then look at a few other things to consider when we need to expose the lies of a religion. 

 

POINT 1

The Spiritual Life is Warfare

 

As Christians we are instructed to keep on fighting the good fight of faith and to put on the full armor of God because the spiritual life is warfare.  Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 13…

 

EPHESIANS 6:13 Therefore, pick up and put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
 

POINT 2

In Warfare You Must Know Your Enemy

 

In the ultimate treatise on warfare we learned…

 

THE ART OF WAR

Sun Tzu

 

If you know the enemy and you know yourself…you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

 

POINT 3

In the Divine Plan, God’s Enemy is Satan

 

Satan is a liar, and he keeps on fathering lies…there is no truth in him…he is a counterfeiter, passing off as a real spiritual life an imitation spiritual life… he hates God…he hates you…he wants to destroy you…he wants to hurt you.  First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

FIRST PETER 5:8  Be of sober spirit…be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

POINT 4

Satan Has Several Functional Titles
 

Satan is called the prince of the power of the air…the ruler of this world… the god of this world…the devil…the serpent…your adversary…the accuser of the brethren…the angel of light.  In John, Chapter 8, Verse 44, the Lord Jesus Christ describes Satan as a liar…

 

JOHN 8:44 You are of your father the devil (Satan)…and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning…and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature (from his identity…from who he is, not just from what he does)…for Satan is a liar and he is the one who keeps on fathering lies.

 

POINT 5

Satan’s Plan for Mankind Has an Objective

 

Satan wants to conform your thinking so you’ll be blind to the gospel message (if you’re an unbeliever) and so that you will avoid or disbelieve the Word of God (if you’re a believer).

 

Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2 warns us about Satan’s objective with all mankind…

 

ROMANS 12:2 And do not be CONFORMED to this world…but keep on being transformed by God through the renewing of your mind (biblical study)…so that you may prove what the will of God is…that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Satan attacks you from the outside with his world system and from the inside with the flesh.

 

POINT 6

Satan’s Plan for Mankind Has a Strategy

 

Satan’s strategy is deliberate and insidious deception.  Satan’s greatest deception is that the doesn’t exist.

 

THE BARNA GROUP

Survey Results
 

Believe it or not, most Christians…and you heard that right…MOST CHRISTIANS…do not believe that Satan exists.

 

Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 9…

 

REVELATION 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down…the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan…WHO DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD…he was thrown down to the earth…and his (fallen) angels were thrown down with him.

 

POINT 7

Satan’s Plan for Mankind Has Tactics

 

Satan wants you to do works in self-righteousness.

 

POINT 8

Satan’s Most Devastating Tactic is Religion

 

What is religion?

 

RELIGION Man by his own efforts, through Satan’s influential prompting, seeking God’s approval in a “do it yourself” salvation scheme.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ describes His thoughts about religion in Matthew, Chapter 23, Verse 27…

 

MATTHEW 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs…which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

 

Being religious is a lot different than being saved.

 

POINT 9

Religion and Christianity are Enemies
 

It is impossible for anyone to believe two opposing views simultaneously.

Matthew, Chapter 6, Verse 24…

 

MATTHEW 6:24 “No one can serve two masters…for either he will hate the one and love the other…or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (false objects of worship…like religion or money).”

 

Confusion paralyzes.

 

Let’s take a five-minute break.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THERE’S JUST ONE HOPE 

June Murphy

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Religion is the Enemy of Jesus and Christianity

 

Welcome back!

 

POINT 10

The Only Way to Expose a Deception is by Examining What is Being Proffered in Writing

 

When religious viewpoint and biblical viewpoint are put side-by-side in writing, the deception becomes obvious.  The Roman Catholic Church is one of Satan’s greatest deceptions.  Christians are warned…Second Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 4…

 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, and of course they do…

 

We are instructed not to receive such nonsense.  Religion proposes a counterfeit Jesus…counterfeit scripture… and a counterfeit gospel.

 

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC JESUS

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1405)

 

There is no surer pledge or dearer sign of this great hope in the new heavens and new earth “in which righteousness dwells,” than the Eucharist. Every time this mystery is celebrated, “the work of our redemption is carried on” and we “break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ.”

 

In other words, the Jesus Christ of Roman Catholicism did not complete the work of redemption.

 

THE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL

 

A Christian is saved by faith in Christ.  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.”

 

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.”

 

Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

EPHESIANS 2:8 For by God the Father’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 the Father…

 

EPHESIANS 2:9  …so being saved is not as a result of your works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).

 

THE COUNTERFEIT GOSPEL

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2010)

 

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for sanctification…and for the attainment of eternal life.

 

In other words, works accomplishes salvation.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2010)

 

The Roman Catholic Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the Romans Catholic Church, listed in the New Covenant, are necessary for salvation.

 

In other words, something other than faith in Christ is necessary for salvation.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1035)

 

The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell…an eternal fire.  The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God...

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1030-31)

 

All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation…but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.  The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect…as for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire.

 

In other words, there is additional cleansing needed for sins because the Lord Jesus Christ’s work on the Cross was not sufficient.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 694)

 

… so the water of baptism truly signifies…our birth into the divine life

 

In other words, it is water baptism not faith in Christ that saves.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 846)

 

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Roman Catholic Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation. The one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation…he is present to us in his body which is the Church. 

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC SALVATION

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 846)

 

Christ himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism, as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Roman Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

 

In other words, there is no salvation outside of the Roman Catholic Church, and anyone leaving the Roman Catholic Church cannot be saved.

 

Studying lies is depressing.  Studying the truth is edifying.  Keep on studying the truth!

 

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 do you believe about God?

 

Many people have beliefs about God.  A belief is an opinion or a conviction or 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 beliefs and truth.  Only when your beliefs and the truth are the same is it significant.  Satan hates the truth.  Why?  He can’t handle the truth.  

 

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 that term used countless times. People who “give back” usually are convinced they are good people because they “give back.” Many think they are so good, that after they die God will reward them by letting them into heaven for their good deeds.

 

The bible tells 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 through 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  …so being saved is not as a result of your works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).

 

One thing you would never want is to put the burden of your salvation on your own back.  So what is the truth about how do you get to heaven if you can’t get there from doing good deeds?  The one way…the ONLY way to get to heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ…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.”

 

The apostle Paul describes this amazing Messiah…the Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received… that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4  …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

It’s wise to let God save you, because once God does something He never changes His mind.  So heed 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.”

 

When we choose to believe that Jesus Christ is God, it is much more than a belief…it is the absolute truth!  When we choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, it’s more than a belief…it’s the absolute truth!  

So how can 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 by God (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 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.  Why bother working for your salvation with good deeds when it’s a free gift. Let Jesus “give back” to you!

 

Let’s hear June Murphy sing about the great I AM.

            

CLOSING SONG

I AM

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

            THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

www.barahministries.com