(#471) Romans 15 - Christians Who Don't Evangelize Don't Care About People.

Class Outline:

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Evangelizm is true unconditional love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries… a small, intimate, and local 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…because how God sees things is very different from how we see things. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Christians Who Don’t Evangelize Don’t Care About People

 

How often do you tell the people with whom you come in contact with about our amazing God?  Telling people the good news about what the Lord did for them at the Cross is called evangelizing.  In today's lesson, you'll learn that your evangelism effort might be a direct reflection of how much you really care for the people in your life.

 

In the opening of every lesson at Barah Ministries, we learn something about God.  Today a reminder about Him…God is on your side!  When things get you down in this life…and that happens on a regular basis for most of us… it’s so easy to forget that God is our ally. An inspirational poem called DON’T QUIT starts this way…

 

         DON’T QUIT

 

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When the cares of life are pressing you down a bit…

 

Let’s let the bible take over from there…there are several verses throughout the bible that illuminate what God is doing during the tough times in our lives…First Peter, Chapter 5, Verses 6 and 7…

 

FIRST PETER 5:6

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you (promote you) at the proper time…

 

FIRST PETER 5:7 

…casting all your anxiety on Him (slamming all your cares on His back)… because He cares for you.

 

“He cares for you” in Verse 7 is a Greek idiom.  It’s an expression that has special meaning in the Greek language that is not easily discerned from the words used in English.  The Greek idiom “He cares for you” means “God considers your problems to be His responsibility.”  Said another way, God is on your side.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

ROMANS 8:31

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

 

ROMANS 8:32 

God the Father…who did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ)… but delivered Him over (as a sacrifice) for us all…how will the Father not also now that we are in union with Christ…freely give us all things?

 

In John, Chapter 14, Verse 1, the Lord tells us…

 

JOHN 14:1a

“Do not let your heart be troubled…”

 

God has us in the palm of His righteous right hand…Second Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verses 3 and 4…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 1:4 

…who comforts us believers in Christ in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse 6…

 

HEBREWS 13:6

…so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper…I will not be afraid.  What will mere man do to me?”

 

Perhaps Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 28 puts it best…

 

ROMANS 8:28

And we believers in Christ know that God the Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him…(and that’s every believer in Christ)…to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

Here’s Steven Curtis Chapman with a song of encouragement for those times when things are weighing us down…our relationship with the almighty God turns things into SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Steven Curtis Chapman

 

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 always being there for us…for always being for us…for walking with us in this life…and thank you for reminding us that as we walk with You on our lifelong journey, when there is only one set of footprints in the sand…those are the times You carry us…thank you for being on our side…thank you for caring for us…thank you for Your personal plan for our lives which is for our good and not for calamity…

 

Teach us how not to worry…teach us how not to be anxious…teach us instead to always put our trust in You and to always be comforted by Your Word in times of trouble…

 

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

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Christians Who Don’t Evangelize Don’t Care About People

 

One of the questions that haunts me as a Pastor…a question I ask myself on a regular basis…is why doesn’t Barah Ministries grow?  There are several answers that have been viable over the years that Barah Ministries has been in existence.  One…the Pastor stinks.  Two…the Pastor is teaching false doctrine…something called Systematic Theology…it sounds a lot like legalism…where is the love?  And what is rebound?  Three…the church is all over the place…one week it meets in somebody’s house…the next week it meets at a hotel…then at a college…then at another hotel…then at the American Legion.  They’re all over the place.  Fourth…they don’t have a good website.  Fifth…they don’t have an APP.  Sixth…they don’t have publications…no brochures…no business cards…nothings to hand out.  Seventh…the people in the church have moved here from all over the country so they don’t have a network of people they know that they can bring to the church. Eight…the people in the church aren’t really friendly.  Ninth…it’s small…it’s probably a cult.  Tenth…there’s no one in the church with the spiritual gift of evangelism.  

 

I could go on and on. Hopefully, these kinks, ones that beset every church, have been worked out in our eleven plus years of existence. The passage under study…Romans, Chapter 15, Verses 14 to 21 points out that one of our kinks may not have been worked out yet.  It is so glaring, and so simple, and so obvious that it’s easy to miss. Evangelism.  The Barah Ministries evangelism effort is weak.

 

I believe that Christians who don’t evangelize have to question whether or not they really care about people.

 

What is evangelism?  

 

EVANGELISM

It is good news and glad tidings zealously proclaimed by a herald…a messenger…specifically news of great significance concerning what the Lord Jesus Christ did for all mankind at the Cross…the historical facts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

 

It is good news for the sinner…the unbeliever…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 (as ungodly, unrighteous unbelievers)…Christ died (a sacrificial death) for us.

 

John the Baptist was one of the first evangelists.  What was the message of this herald?

 

 

Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 4…

 

MARK 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father.

 

MARK 1:2 

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:  “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way…”

 

MARK 1:3 

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord…make His paths straight.’”

 

MARK 1:4 

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

 

The Herald doesn't stop to get feedback from the people he is evangelizing to…he spreads the good news and moves on.  Evangelism is a spiritual gift to be sure, yet it is also the responsibility of every Christian.

 

Why don’t most Christians evangelize?  Shame. Yet in Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 16 and 17…the apostle Paul makes it clear this is not the proper approach to evangelism.

 

ROMANS 1:16

FOR I (Paul…and by implication every Christian) am not ashamed of the gospel (message of the Lord Jesus Christ)…FOR the gospel message is the divine power of God the Father (omnipotence at work) FOR the salvation of everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ…to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentiles…the barbaros).

 

ROMANS 1:17

FOR in the gospel message the righteousness of God the Father is revealed…(imputed) on the basis of faith to those who have faith in Christ…as it is written, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”

 

The Jews have first place in evangelism…but not partiality on God’s part even though they are God’s chosen people.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 and 22…

 

ROMANS 3:21

BUT NOW…the righteousness that comes from God the Father has been manifested (made clearly visible)…

 

ROMANS 3:22

…the righteousness that comes from God the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for ALL who believe…and there is no distinction (no partiality)…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 24…

 

ROMANS 3:24

…(all who believe) being justified as a gift by God the Father’s grace through the redemption that comes from being in union with Christ Jesus…

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verses 23 and 24…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:23

…but we preach Christ crucified…to The Jewish Race a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:24

…but to those who are the called…both Jews and Greeks…Christ the power of God the Father and the wisdom of God the Father.

 

Every time I hear these irrevocable facts it takes my breath away and moves me to tears.  Anyone who can’t get excited about spreading this good news just doesn’t care about people.

 

When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take the offering and then we’ll continue our look at the power of evangelism and its connection to caring about people.

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

Unconditional Love

Donna Summers

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Christians Who Don’t Evangelize Don’t Care About People

 

When you study the Word of God, you are building a very important habit…the habit of taking.  God wants you to take the things He has to offer in His Word and to use them in your life.  God also wants you to develop a second very important habit…GIVING. Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 7 says…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:7

Each believer in Christ must give just as he has purposed in his heart…not grudgingly or under compulsion…for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

I encourage you, by the power of God the Holy Spirit in me, to get in the habit of giving…especially to Barah Ministries.  We need your support, we want your support, and as you take from this ministry, so give…make it a habit to give.

 

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

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

LUKE 9:26

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Christians Who Don’t Evangelize Don’t Care About People

 

Have you ever said, “I need to redeem myself?”  REDEEM is a word we hear quite often in our study of the Word of God.  Here’s what it means…

 

REDEEM

To gain possession of something in exchange for payment.

 

In Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 13 we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Redeemer…

 

GALATIANS 3:13

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Mosaic Law…having become a curse for us…

 

Another definition of REDEEM is…

 

REDEEM

To buy someone out of slavery.

 

In First Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 18 and 19, we learn that’s what the Lord did…and the payment was His life…

 

FIRST PETER 1:18

…knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers…

 

FIRST PETER 1:19 

…but with precious blood…as of a lamb unblemished and spotless…the blood of Christ.

 

Here’s Lincoln Brewster to tell us that being REDEEMED has made us believers in Christ a new creation…in his song MADE NEW.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

MADE NEW

Lincoln Brewster

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Christians Who Don’t Evangelize Don’t Care About People

 

Welcome back!

 

The gospel message is the essence of Paul’s letter to the Romans…it a message filled with life FOR a dead world.  The gospel message reveals God’s universal saving power FOR those who believe in Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session (meaning He is seated in victory at the right hand of God the Father).

 

The gospel is FOR WHOSOEVER has faith in Christ alone.  The righteous shall live by faith in Christ.  The Pastor’s job is to be obsessed with the good news message. Thus, in Romans, Chapter 15, Verses 14 to 21, the apostle Paul highlights the Pastor’s obsession…yet in fact, the gospel message must be EVERY Christian’s obsession…

 

ROMANS 15:14 

And concerning you, my brethren (all believers in Christ, but specifically the Christians in first century Rome)…I myself stand absolutely convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness…having been filled with all knowledge (a basic understanding of Christianity)…and that you are able also both to counsel and to admonish one another (you’re in a position to share these truths with competence).

 

From day one in the Christian Way of Living you have what it takes to evangelize…there is no magic to it. 

 

There is a song we listen to called A Few Good Men…and some of the words are, “God doesn’t need an orator who knows just what to say…”  He doesn’t. The gospel message is more powerful than you.  When you are evangelizing, do you just give people the message?

 

ROMANS 15:15 

But I wrote very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again (of these points through repetition), because of the grace that was given to me from God the Father…

 

How easy it is to forget to evangelize when we get wrapped up in the nonsense of things… "What will I say?"  "I'm not good at speaking to people" … "I don't know enough" … SELF stuff.  The truth is

 if you don't evangelize it is because you are ashamed…worse, you simply don't care about people…no condemnation intended…but the absolute candor IS intended. 

 

You’ve got the tools…the written material...the church…the Pastor…no personal magnetism is required…no perfect lifestyle……just a simple message…God would never let the power of a coward be the key to evangelism…get over yourself!

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 18…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:18

For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who [a]are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 16…

 

ROMANS 15:16 

…(the grace) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles…ministering the gospel of God…serving as a priest does…so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable to God the Father…an offering having been sanctified (set apart for privilege) by God the Holy Spirit.

 

ROMANS 15:17 

Therefore, in union with Christ Jesus, I have found a reason to be proud (to the point of boasting) about my work for God the Father (my spiritual achievements in spreading the gospel).

 

ROMANS 15:18 

For I (Paul) will not presume to speak of anything except what (supernatural things) Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in bringing the Gentiles who are obedient to the gospel message by the Word I have spoken to them and by the deeds I have done for them…

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verses 1 and 2…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 2:1

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 2:2

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified.

 

ROMANS 15:19 

…deeds I have done in the power of signs and wonders…deeds done in the power of the Spirit…so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum (from Jerusalem in a full thirty-three mile circle)…I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

 

ROMANS 15:20 

And thus, I aspired to preach the gospel…not where Christ was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation (of preaching the gospel)…

 

ROMANS 15:21 

…but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see…and they who have not heard shall understand.”

 

The courageous cowards go into the tough, uncharted territory to spread the gospel message. When we here at Barah Ministries care enough about people to evangelize to them with the gospel message and to bring them here, we will grow.  And what a great thing to see the supernatural things God does with a seed you planted and water, that the Holy Spirit caused the growth in.  

 

We will be parking it right here for a few lessons until the message of evangelism, the message of the entire book of Romans, sinks in.

 

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’re going to place your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, you probably should get to know Him as soon as you can.  While there are many things to know about Him, here are the critical few things…

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is Your Creator…John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…

 

JOHN 1:3

All things came into being through the Lord (God the Son)…and apart from

Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ loves you UNconditionally… First John, Chapter 4, Verse 8…

 

FIRST JOHN 4:8

The one who does not love unconditionally does not know the Lord, for the Lord IS unconditional love.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be saved…First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 2:3

This is good and acceptable in the sight of the God who is our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 2:4 

…who desires all men to be saved and for all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

There are some things the Lord doesn’t want for you…the Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t want you to go to the Lake of Fire…Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ forgives all of your sins…Isaiah, Chapter 43, Verse 25…

 

ISAIAH 43:25

“I, even I (the Lord), am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake…and I will not remember your sins.”

 

The Lord doesn’t want you to work to please Him…Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says…

 

ROMANS 11:6

But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer on the basis of works…otherwise, grace is no longer grace.

 

God’s graciousness makes your salvation a free gift. 

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus 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 it was Jesus Christ who 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…

 

So how can you get to heaven?  This loving, forgiving, patient God who wants you to be saved is willing to save you right this minute.  Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  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 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.”

 

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 you get to know the Lord, you’ll have no problem placing your confidence in Him, both for salvation and for anything else.  Why? Because you’ll know that God wants you and God loves you…so take advantage of His grace!

 

What do we know about the God who saves us?  He is great! Here’s June Murphy to tell us in her song HOW GREAT YOU ARE.

 

CLOSING SONG

HOW GREAT YOU ARE

June Murphy 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

www.barahministries.com