(#475) Romans 15 - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

Class Outline:

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The great dragon deceives the whole world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. Jesus Christ is God, and at Barah Ministries we make a difference by teaching God’s Word from His perspective, and not from man’s perspective…because how God sees things is very different from how we see things. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

 

LESSON INTRO

For most of us, it is. Why?  Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 9 says…

 

REVELATION 12:9

And the great dragon was thrown down from heaven…the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan…the one who DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD…

 

You live in a kingdom that is completely committed to deceiving you.  It seduces you into building a life on a foundation of deception.  Most of us don’t pay much attention to our lives, and so we don’t notice the deceptions we have constructed.  The people who really know how much their lives are built on deception are the people we find “detestable”… addicts… prostitutes…criminals. The rest of us pretend our lives are “respectable,” just like the scribes and Pharisees did in Luke, Chapter 15, Verse 2…

 

LUKE 15:2

Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man

(Jesus Christ) receives sinners and eats with them.”

 

For most of us, the lie that is our life is so well constructed that our deception is invisible, even to us.  If you look at Jesus’ life, He always spent time with those whom the “respectable” people thought were lost.  Heaven is going to filled with those who were lost that God found…the “riff-raff” … the undesirables…and hell is going to be filled with respectable people.

Jesus reveals His viewpoint about people in Luke, Chapter 15, Verses 3 to 7…

 

LUKE 15:3

So Jesus told the scribes and the Pharisees this parable, saying…

 

LUKE 15:4 

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

 

LUKE 15:5 

“When he has found the lost sheep, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” 

 

LUKE 15:6 

“And when the man comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” 

 

LUKE 15:7

“I (the Lord Jesus Christ) tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner (an unbeliever) who repents (who changes his mind about having a relationship with Christ) than over ninety-nine righteous persons (believers in Christ) who need no repentance.”

 

When we evangelize…we need to get to the "respectable" people… the people who, like the scribes and the Pharisees, have built their lives on a foundation of the brilliant deception that they are righteous when they are lost.  In today’s lesson, we’ll wrap up our look at evangelism as we continue our study of Romans, Chapter 15.  Welcome to a place where you can know the truth from God’s perspective, so that it can make you free.

 

SONG INTRO

When I lay flat on my face before my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and He asks me to give an account of what I did as a Pastor that was significant… I’ll tell Him that the one thing that was good enough from my ministry is all the time I told people that Jesus Christ is God.  Here's June Murphy putting that irrevocable fact to song with the title track of her new CD.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

JESUS CHRIST IS GOD

June Murphy

 

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 the Bible so that we can understand You and Your exact thinking…thank you for sending Your uniquely born Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to shed His blood and to die on a Cross so that we can have eternal life in union with Him…thank you for God the Holy Spirit whose enabling power helps us grow by means of Your grace through the knowledge of You…

 

Give us the courage to evangelize…and open the hearts of those to whom we evangelize so that they are receptive to the truth You want to share with them through us…

 

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

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

 

What is the truth? The truth is everything our amazing God, the Lord Jesus

Christ says is truth…and through the apostle Paul, He says in First Corinthians, Chapter 3, Verse 11…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 3:11

No man can lay a foundation other than the foundation which is laid…which is Jesus Christ.

 

Is your life laid on a foundation of truth, or on a lie?  We continue our study of Romans, Chapter 15, Verses 14 to 21…and we are finishing up our look at evangelism.  When we evangelize, we are inviting friends, family, and strangers to construct their lives on the ONLY foundation…Jesus.  Here is the passage we have been studying…

 

ROMANS 15:14 

And concerning you, my brethren (all believers in Christ, but specifically the Christians in first-century Rome)…I (Paul) myself stand 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).

 

ROMANS 15:15 

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

 

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 to God 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 (Paul) have found a reason to be proud (to the point of boasting) about my work for God the Father (the spiritual achievement of spreading the gospel message).

 

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…

 

ROMANS 15:19 

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

 

ROMANS 15:20 

And 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.”

 

Well, in our look at evangelism, what are ten things every Christian should know about evangelism?

 

Point One

Christians who don’t evangelize have to question whether or not they care about people.  What is evangelism?  

 

EVANGELISM

It is the good news and the 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 significance of His life, His death, and His resurrection from the dead.

 

What is the significance of His life?  Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 9…

 

ROMANS 10:9

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is God (the Lord)…and if you believe in your heart that God the Father raised Him from the dead… you will be saved…

 

Point Two

Evangelism is a source of power, and NOT a source of shame...in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 16, the apostle Paul says…

 

ROMANS 1:16

For I (Paul) am not ashamed of the gospel message…for it is the divine power of God the Father for salvation to everyone who believes…to the Jew first (in sequence) and also to the Greek (Gentile unbelievers).

 

If the thought of evangelism elicits either shame or indifference in you, it would be wise to question the source of such thoughts…I assure you that they are NOT coming from God…they are from God’s enemy…Satan.

 

Point Three

Evangelism is not difficult…it does not require you to be articulate…it just requires you to care enough to hand a message to someone that can be read.  At the end of every Barah Ministries lesson, there is a set of notes that can be handed to a friend, and that's something you should be doing with a new person every week.  John, Chapter 16, Verse 8…

 

JOHN 16:8

And God the Holy Spirit…when He comes…will convict the world (of unbelievers) concerning (the three issues of salvation)…sin and righteousness and judgment…

 

Count on God the Holy Spirit to water the seeds of your evangelism work.

 

Point Four

When you evangelize, God does His work through you.  God is always at work in our work so we have no need to be hindered by self- consciousness when we evangelize.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 10…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:10

But by the grace of God, I (Paul) am what I am…and His grace toward me did not prove vain…but I labored even more than all of them…yet not I doing the work, but the grace of God with me doing the work.

 

Evangelism is work for which we set aside time.

 

Point Five

Evangelism is a part of your Christian ministry…it the responsibility of every believer in Christ, not just those who have the spiritual gift of evangelism.  Don’t be a “Closet Christian.”  Do evangelism as a regular part of your priestly duty.  Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 19…

 

MATTHEW 28:19

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…baptizing them in the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit…

 

The ability to evangelize is a gift from God to His holy priests. Use the gift.

When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take the offering and then we’ll continue to sum up our look at evangelism.

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

Unconditional Love

Donna Summers

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

 

The apostle Paul bragged about the church in Macedonia in Second Corinthians, Chapter 8, Verse 3…for even though they were poor, they gave with liberality…he says…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 8:3

I (Paul) testify that according to their ability…and even beyond their ability…(the Macedonians) gave of their own accord (because they wanted to)…

 

First and foremost, poverty is a mindset…you can have millions of dollars and be poor in thought. Every week we encourage you to be rich in your mindset…to make it a habit to give and not to count the cost…to give so that you get to realize what God does for you when you give because you have adopted His mindset of giving…let’s welcome Deacon Denny Goodall with today’s offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

OFFERING VERSE

 

EPHESIANS 3:20

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

 

SONG INTRO

Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verses 1 and 2 say…

 

HEBREWS 12:1-2

…let us believers in Christ run with endurance the race of our lives that is set before us…fixing our eyes on Jesus…the pioneer and perfecter of faith…who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross…despising its shame…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God the Father.

 

The group Jesus Culturesays LOVE HAS A NAME in their song…that name is Jesus…let’s listen.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

LOVE HAS A NAME 

Jesus Culture

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - Is the Foundation of Your Life Built on a Lie?

 

Welcome back!

 

What are ten things every Christian should know about evangelism?

 

Point Six

Your evangelism will blossom when you fall out of love with the world and fall into love with God. Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…

 

ROMANS 12:2

…do not be conformed to this world (Satan’s system of thought)…but keep on being transformed by God through the renewing of your mind…

 

When Satan’s thoughts run you, your life is a lie.

 

Point Seven

Share the gospel message incessantly, because The Lake of Fire isn’t something you would wish on your worst enemy.  In Mark, Chapter 9, Verses 48 and 49, The Lake of Fire is described as a literal place…

 

MARK 9:48 

“…where the worm (the internal torment) of those who are there does not die…and where the fire (the external torment) of those who are there is not quenched.”

 

MARK 9:49 

“For everyone who is there will be salted with fire (they will be preserved for an eternity of fiery judgment).”

 

The gospel message prepares your friends for an eternity in heaven instead.

 

Point Eight

Preparing for evangelism…the giving of the gospel message…requires constant reminders.  Second Peter, Chapter 1, Verse 12…

 

SECOND PETER 1:12

Therefore, I (Peter…the Pastor…the apostle…the disciple of the Lord) will always be ready to remind you of these things (like the gospel message)… even though you already know these things…and even though you have been established in the truth (of the gospel message) which is present with you…

 

Don’t ever get so familiar with the gospel message that you think you know it…knowing the gospel IS NOT ENOUGH…delivering it is of prime importance.

Point Nine

Evangelism is the most loving thing you can do in this life.  Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 39…

 

MATTHEW 22:39

“You shall love your neighbor unconditionally as you love yourself…unconditionally.”

 

Do you love your friends, family, and strangers enough to tell them about the Lord?

 

Point Ten

The Lake of Fire is a choice…a penalty for rejecting a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Those who reject the gospel message are described in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 1:23 

…and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for idols in many forms…they worshipped corruptible man…they worshipped birds…they worshipped four-footed animals…they worshipped crawling creatures. 

 

The result is predictable…Revelation, Chapter 20, Verse 15…

 

REVELATION 20:15 

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into The Lake of Fire.

 

Get rid of the lies in your life.  Realize that your life is built on a foundation of truth…Christ.  Help your friends, your family, and strangers build their lives on the truth of the Word of God as well.  Evangelize every chance you get!

 

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. 

What God wants you to know is that thirteen words tell the story of how to be saved!  The first word is GOD.  There is one and only one God…Isaiah, Chapter 45, Verse 5…

 

GOD
 

ISAIAH 45:5

"I am the Lord and there is no other…besides Me, there is no other God.”

 

Our amazing God reveals Himself in ways that make sense to human beings.  He is the One who wants to save you.

The next word is MANKIND, a name for all of God’s human creatures.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…

 

MANKIND

 

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.

 

God created you.  

 

The next word is SIN. All of us were born is a state of sin. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

SIN
 

ROMANS 3:23

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

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

SIN

 

ROMANS 3:10

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

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

SIN 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

It’s not our fault that we were born in a state of sin but it is our circumstance.    

 

As a result of sin, all of us need a Savior.  The next word is JESUS…the Name above all names…that magnificent Name…The God-Man…the Christ…The Jewish Messiah…the Savior of the world.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…

 

JESUS

 

JOHN 3:17

For God the Father did not send God the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) into the world to judge the world…but God the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through union with Him.

 

Jesus Christ is God and He wants you to be saved.  

 

The next word is CROSS. The Lord Jesus Christ chose to become a sin sacrifice for you by shedding His blood on a Cross so you wouldn’t have to die for your sins.  Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 8…

 

CROSS

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:8 

Being found in appearance as a man…the Lord Jesus Christ humiliated Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…even death on a Cross.

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 16…

 

CROSS 

 

JOHN 3:16

“For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…to be crucified on a Cross)…so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
 

Jesus Christ had you personally in mind by name as He hung from a Cross.

 

The next word is RESURRECTION.   Three days after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, He proved Himself to be Deity…just as He said…by being resurrected from the dead…in Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 5 and 6, an angel asks…

 

RESURRECTION 

 

LUKE 24:5-6

“…why do you seek The Living One among the dead ones?//Jesus is not here…but He has risen (from the dead…just as He predicted)...
 

Being resurrected from the dead separates Jesus Christ from all who pretend to be God.

The next word is SALVATION.  Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 credits Jesus Christ with the salvation of the human race… 

 

SALVATION

 

ACTS 4:12

“And there is salvation in no one else…for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
 

If you have salvation then you are saved from the penalty of eternity in the Lake of Fire.  

 

The next word is GRACE. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

GRACE 

 

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….

 

GRACE

 

EPHESIANS 2:9 

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

 

A God who is “full of GRACE” provides your salvation free of charge.  

 

The next word is FAITH. Mathew, Chapter 17, Verse 20…

 

FAITH 

 

MATTHEW 17:20

“…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed (the smallest of all seeds…and you do)…you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…and nothing will be impossible to you.”

 

God gives you the gift of faith to spend on your own salvation.  

 

The next word is REPENTANCE. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

REPENTANCE 

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

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

 

When you repent, you have a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

The next word is RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21 says…

 

RIGHTEOUSNESS 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21

God the Father made Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God the Father in union with Christ Jesus.

 

Righteousness, credited to your account by God, is your admission ticket to heaven.  

 

The next word is TRUTH. John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

TRUTH 

 

JOHN 8:31

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine…”

 

TRUTH 

 

JOHN 8:32 

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

Thirteen words tell the story of how you can be saved.  There is a GOD…He is the creator of all MANKIND…and SIN separated mankind from having a relationship with Him.  JESUS Christ saved the day by dying on a CROSS to pay for the sins of all mankind.  His RESURRECTION from the dead three days later proved that He is God.  As a result, we have a “so great” SALVATION, provided free of charge by means of God’s GRACE.  By spending our gift of FAITH we can be saved.  When we REPENT, we change our minds about having a relationship with Christ, and God the Father credits His absolute RIGHTEOUSNESS to our account…a righteousness that is our admission ticket to heaven.  When you know this TRUTH, it will set you free from the slavery of sin and bondage to the law.  The power of the thirteen words can be summed up in one…BELIEVE.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

BELIEVE

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

When we BELIEVE, we take God’s word for it concerning what it takes to be saved.  So heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

BELIEVE

 

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.”

 

Here's one of June Murphy's new songs…it tells the story of our amazing Lord who took on the form of true humanity to save us…HE CAME FROM CHRISTMAS TO THE CROSS.

 

CLOSING SONG

HE CAME FROM CHRISTMAS TO THE CROSS

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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