Romans 7: What Will You Do When You Find Out You’re Not Good Enough?

Class Outline:

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It's a short to-do list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re in the resident congregation turn off your electronic devices and put them away. Let this be a place where you aren’t distracted by the world.

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!

 

OPENING AGENDA

 

You may be wondering some things about Barah Ministries, like…

 

Who is the God we worship?

What is our source of truth?

Who is our enemy?

 

We’re always happy to begin each lesson by answering these questions after a short, thought-provoking introduction.

 

Patience.

 

It’s the capacity to accept a delaywithout getting upset.It is a specialty of our God and a gift from God to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

There’s an old saying, “Anything worth having is worth waiting for.”  As we proceed through divine history, certainly we see it is the case.  We have an infinitely patient God.

 

Who is the God We Worshipat Barah Ministries?

 

We worship a Triune Godhead.  There is One God who reveals Himself to

mankind as three beings who are separate…distinct…co-equal…co-infinite…

co-eternal Persons…God the Father…God the Son…and God the Holy Spirit.

 

GOD THE FATHER is the author of the Triune Godhead’s plan for all creatures.

God the Father is patient, and it is His patience that leads people to worship His Son, our Lord.  Romans, Chapter 2, Verse 4…

 

ROMANS 2:4

Or do you who practice self-righteousness and religion think lightly of the riches of God the Father’s kindness and tolerance and patience…not knowing that the patience of God the Father is what leads you to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship Christ)?

 

GOD THE SON (the Lord) volunteered to execute God the Father’s plan…taking on human form as Jesus…the Christ (the Jewish Messiah).  Jesus Christ is God.  Believing in Him is the ONE AND ONLY WAY to heaven.  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9tells us of the Lord’s patience…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…NOT WISHING FOR ANY TO PERISH IN THE LAKE OF FIRE…but wishing for all unbelievers to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

There is ONE AND ONLY ONE WAY to heaven.  Invest your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, asking Him to save you, and you WILL be saved.  Jesus is the Christ…declared in advance to be the Jewish Messiah…and by believing in Him you instantly have the resurrection life…eternal life in His Name because Jesus Christ is God.

 

We worship GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.  He is our Mentor and Teacher…a guide who is the rudder of a Christian’s life.  He is fully God, equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son.He is a Person.  He is not a “ghost” as some like to call Him.  Patience is one of the many facets of the fruit He produces in believers in Christ…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 22 and 23…

 

GALATIANS 5:22

But the FRUIT OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT is unconditional love, joy, and peace (in ourselves)…patience, kindness, and goodness (toward others)…

GALATIANS 5:23

…faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (in our relationship with God)…against such virtues there is no law.

 

In God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit…believers in Christ have a Power Team that is always on their side…a team specializing in the impossible.  Are you calling on the Power Team for help in times of trouble?

 

What is Our Source of Truthat Barah Ministries?

 

The Bible is the Word of God, and it’s our source of absolute truth.  As Christians, we develop a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Godhead and we get to know God as a Personthrough studying the Word of God.  The Bible inspires patience in us…Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 12:12

...(let unconditional love manifest this way)…keep on rejoicing in hope…be patient during tribulation…be devoted to prayer...

 

Your source of truth for eternal matters is not an insignificant thing.  It has eternal consequences.  The Bible is a supernatural work…breathed into human writers by God.

 

The Bible does not come from man, and it provides us with the only source of absolute truth, especially about eternal things.Because God is right all the time, the Bible is right all the time.  It contains no errors or contradictions.  You can trust the Bible as your source of truth.  At Barah Ministries, we teach the Bible from God’s perspective, not from man’s perspective.  We refuse to teach as doctrinal truth the very fallible precepts of men.

 

The best thing you can do for yourself every day is to spend time reading, studying, and reflecting on God’s Word.  Schedule time EVERY DAY to study God’s Word and to let it set the direction for your day.  The Bible changes your mind!

 

Who is Our Enemyat Barah Ministries?

 

GOD HAS AN ENEMY…Satan…whom God made ‘the ruler of this world’ for a finite period.  He is the enemy of believers in Christ as well.  Satan is the master of impatience and he inspires impatience in us.  As we believers in Christ patiently wait for a very certain future, after waiting we will see what we long to see…Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 10…

 

REVELATION 12:10

Then I (John) heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the time of salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come to pass…for the accuser of our brethren (Satan) has been thrown down from heaven once and for all…he who accuses believers in Christ before our God and Father day and night.”

 

When Satan and the fallen angels are kicked out of heaven, it is the beginning of the end for them.  Their attempts to prove God as unloving and unfair fail, and they will live for all eternity exactly where they belong…Revelation, Chapter 19, Verse 20…

 

REVELATION 19:20

And the wild beast was seized…and with him, the false prophet was seized who performed the attesting signs in his presence, by which signs the false prophet deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped the beast’s image…and these two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire which burns with brimstone.

 

Revelation, Chapter 20, Verse 10…

 

REVELATION 20:10

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone as well…where the wild beast and the false prophet are also…and the three of them will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

We can’t wait!  God is patient until He gives the counterfeit trio what they deserve.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Will You Do When You Find Out You’re Not Good Enough?

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

In our study of the second passage of Romans, Chapter 7, that’s the exact thing with which we have to come to terms.  We’re NOT good enough.

 

As we mature, we know that for the rest of our lives as believers in Christ, God allows us to experience many humiliating memorials of our remaining imperfections.  What then?  Will we resist the learning or will we adjust to the truth?  In today’s lesson, we’ll see what insights we can draw from what we have learned from studying this passage.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!Patient endurance.  That’s what Christians are encouraged to have in Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 1…

 

HEBREWS 12:1

Therefore, since we have so many heroic Old Testament witnesses surrounding us…bearing testimony for us…let us New Testament believers in Christ lay aside once and for all every encumbrance, and let us lay aside the sin that so easily places itself in an entangling way around us, and with patience let us keep on running with endurance the race that is lying before us…

 

It's nice to know that as we endure the hardships and the ups and downs of the Christian Way of Living, we have a set of loving arms to run to when we have concerns.  Here’s Hilary Scott and Family to remind us what to do when we’re impatient with ourselves in their song COME TO JESUS.

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

UNTITLED HYMN (COME TO JESUS)

Hilary Scott and the Scott Family

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

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

 

Gratitude describes it Heavenly Father…it’s the feeling that comes from being in a relationship with You…there are so many times in this life when we let ourselves down…when we do things we consider to be out of character for us…things that shock us about ourselves…then as we reflect, we realize that our condemnation of others is a condemnation of ourselves because we do the very things we get disgusted with others for doing…thanks be to You, Father, that You have the power to deliver us from ourselves…and that You’re always willing to use that power for our benefit!

 

When we indict ourselves, help us believers in Christ to remember Your attitude toward us…the attitude of UNconditional love…something we as human beings would never offer to anyone if it were not for Your power in us…help us believers in Christ to realize our helplessness to break our own cycle of sinning with human power…show us how to count on You because nothing is impossible for You…and as we realize You are on the side of ALL Your creatures, help us believers in Christ to be kind to ourselves as well, always remembering the patience You have for Your creatures…

 

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

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Will You Do When You Find Out You’re Not Good Enough?

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

Recently I had the privilege of touching base with a woman I have known for years.  We went to college together.

 

I remember all of our deep conversations about our dreams of what we would become.  I remember her thoughts about the kind of man with whom she was looking to spend her life.  I heard all of what she described as the “boxes” this unknown man would need to check.

 

Being immature in love myself at the time, I couldn’t see the folly of her vision.

 

She found her man, preceded me to the altar, and was quick to crank out the

kids…two girls.  After talking to her this week, I remember a time when I saw her a while back. She was a single Mom.   She had a look of resignation on her face.  She wasn’t happy.

 

As it turns out the man of her dreams was quite abusive…verbally, emotionally, and physically.  After impregnating her, he abandoned her, providing no child support nor any other support of any kind.  As she said, “Playing with Barbie and Ken helped me to imagine what I wanted in life, but things sure didn’t turn out that way.”

 

True.  At the time we talked a while back, she had two willful teen-age girls…the dual twenty-one-year “care package” circumstance that deadbeat Dads leave women stuck with.  I noticed the willfulness of these two girls, who were in defiant, if indirect, rebellion against their Mom.  From listening to their thoughts verbalized, they were sure their lives were going to be different…that they would do much better than their Mom.

 

They were wrong.  Both of them, “fell in love,” gave themselves sexually to a boy, and were abandoned, left to deal with their own twenty-one-year "care packages.”

 

All of us think we’re good enough to create the lives we want, aren’t we?  Life teaches us a different lesson.  So what do you do when you find out you’re not good enough?  That’s the point of the second passage in Romans, Chapter 7.  It’s the passage that reminds us we are not good enough.

 

Unfortunately, we can read a passage…we can study a passage…and we can completely miss the point of the passage.  So let’s see what insights there are to gain from this passage.

 

A reminder of what we’ll see…in Romans 7, Verses 14 to 17, Paul notices he is practicing what he wishes not to do, and he isn’t able to change it.In Romans 7, Verses 18 to 21, as Paul notices he is failing to accomplish the desired good…he learns that his mistakes may be coming from a different source than the source of himself.Yet in Romans 7, Verses 22 to 24, Paul expresses a deep frustration with himself.In Romans 7, Verse 25, Paul realizes the solution is not from the source of himself.In Romans 8, Verses 1 and 2, Paul realizes God’s viewpoint about the situation and God’s attitude toward him.

 

Let’s look at the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION of the passage…Romans, Chapter 7, Verses 14 to 25 and Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 1 and 2…

 

 

 

ROMANS 7:14

The trouble is not with the Law…for the Law is spiritual and good (because it comes from God). The trouble is with me…for I am all too human…a slave to sin.

 

ROMANS 7:15

And I don’t really understand myself…for I want to do what is right…but I don’t do what’s right. Instead, I do what I hate.

 

ROMANS 7:16

But if I know what I am doing is wrong (from studying the Law)…and I do…this shows that I agree the Law is good.

 

ROMANS 7:17

So…I am not the one doing wrong…it is sin living in me keeps on doing the wrong thing.

 

ROMANS 7:18

Now I know that nothing good lives in me…that is, in my sinful nature (the flesh).

 

ROMANS 7:19

For I want to do what is good…but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do the wrong things anyway.

 

ROMANS 7:20

But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing the wrong things…it is indwelling sin (the flesh) living in me that does the wrong things.

 

ROMANS 7:21

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right…I inevitably do what is wrong.

 

ROMANS 7:22

I love God’s Law with all my heart.

 

ROMANS 7:23

But another power within me is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the indwelling sin (the flesh) that is still within me.

 

 

ROMANS 7:24

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death (from the flesh)?

 

ROMANS 7:25

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord who will free me from the life dominated by sin and death. So you see how it is…in my mind I really want to obeyGod’s Law…but because of my sinful nature (the flesh), I am a slave to sin (I am not obeying God’s Law).

 

ROMANS 8:1

However, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

 

ROMANS 8:2

For the law of God the Holy Spirit…the guide of the resurrection life in union with Christ Jesus…has set believers in Christ free from the law of sin and of death.

 

So a few insights.

 

Concern with our imperfections is borne on an inaccurate picture of who God is at the core of His essence.  The kingdom of death and darkness wants believers in Christ to think of a God who loves us UNconditionally as a vengeful and punishing God who looks askance at our conduct and is disgusted by our way of being.  It’s just not true.

 

Life is an undending serving of “not good enough.”  If not for our relationship with an all-powerful God, that would be a problem.  Before salvation, we believers in Christ weren’t good enough to save ourselves.  After salvation, we believers in Christ aren’t good enough to sanctify ourselves.  So why not get comfortable with not being good enough?

 

Nothing is impossible with God.  We can do all things through CHRIST’s power instead of self-power.  Why not take Hillary Scott’s advice?  COME TO JESUS AND LIVE.

 

God is patient.  He is not a coach who yells all the time.  He knows anger is the enemy of instruction.  Through Christ, we are perfect, flawless, and powerful.  In our own power, we are helpless and hopeless.  Why not enjoy being not good enough?

 

Are you powerful enough to change a stupid spouse?  Hardly.  Are you powerful enough to get stupid kids to love you?  Hardly.  Are you powerful enough to get everything you want out of life as you imagine it?  Hardly.  Yet Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 13 contends…

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

Do you believe it?

 

If you are truly selfish, you’ll go to God with all your concerns.  If you’re foolish, you’ll handle your problems on your own.

 

Christianity was designed by God to be a comfortable experience because it is a dependent experience.  When Christianity is tough, it’s when we want to take the wheel of our lives instead of letting God drive.

 

So let’s learn a couple of important things from the many things we can learn from this passage.

 

If you fall short of God’s perfect standard, and you do, He is not disappointed with you.  God wants you to make choices, to live with your choices, to learn from your choices, and He’ll be with you every step of the way to ensure your victory.

 

Forget the past.  Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 13 and 14…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:13

Brethren, I (Paul) do not regard myself as having laid hold of spiritual maturity yet…but one thing I do…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:14

…I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God the Father in union with Christ Jesus.

 

If you’re an amazing person your past is littered with mistakes in judgment.  The

key is to learn from them.  It’s not that you won’t duplicate the mistakes.  You will.  It’s that you’ll keep pressing on in the face of repeated mistakes, continuing

to realize you’re not good enough on your own…instead, depending on God FOR

EVERYTHING.

 

Let’s bask in the sphere of grace, enjoying a God who needed no help to save us, and who needs no help to sanctify us…a God who has never failed to keep a promise.

 

God loves you no matter what.  Depend on Him for everything.

 

When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, and then we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET

Danny Gokey

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Will You Do When You Find Out You’re Not Good Enough?

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

God the Father GIVES.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

ROMANS 8:31b

If God the Father is for us believers in Christ, and He is, who is ever going to be successful in opposition against us?

 

ROMANS 8:32

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

 

Since God the Father is willing to give, let’s not be conflicted about giving.  Be generous with the financial gifts the Lord has given you.  You’ll be supporting this ministry from Godso we can provide the Word of God and the gospel message free of charge to people all over the world who need to hear about the Lord.

 

Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JAMES 5:8

You too be patient…strengthen your hearts…for the coming of the Lord is near.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Through the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ Was the Picture of Patience

 

Welcome to the Lord’s Supper Celebration!

 

As we remember the Lord, let’s enjoy recalling the things the Lord has done for us, especially His work on the Cross on our behalf.  The Lord’s Supper gives us a chance to direct our focus to the Lord alone.

 

Concerning the Lord’s Supper, our God commands us in Luke, Chapter 22, Verse 19 to…

 

LUKE 22:19c

“…keep on doing this Lord’s Supper Celebrationin remembrance of Me.”

 

In celebrating the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to make time to think about everything special in our lives, especially the most important relationship in our lives…whether we are believers in Christ or even unbelievers… the relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  A relationship with the Lord is critically and eternally important.

 

Yet the Lord’s Supper Celebration is for the born-again ones…for spiritually alive

believers in Christ who were placed into union with Christ through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit at the moment of their salvation.  God the Holy Spirit turned us into eternal companions of Christ.

 

It is not wise to celebrate The Lord’s Supper on the move.  The Lord’s Supper is a chance to be still and to reflect on the blessings the Lord directs to us.

 

At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was the embodiment of PATIENCE.  In fact,

He is the picture of PERFECT PATIENCE.

 

When believers in Christ study the Romans, Chapter 7, Verses 15 to 25 passage,we can relate.  Often, the things we want to do we do not do.  In fact, we do the very things we hate.  This creates an impatience with ourselves.  We wish we could do better.  Quite often we feel like a disappointment to God.

 

We feel that way because when human beings see our imperfections, they get disappointed with us.  Unfortunately, we attribute to God the things we see from people.  It causes a feeling in us easily described with a word that has disappeared from our vocabulary…

 

Disquiet.

 

Disquiet is defined as…

 

DISQUIET

A feeling of anxiety or worry.

 

When we are impatient with ourselves, and we don’t understand the depth of God’s patience with us, disquiet is EXACTLY what we feel.

 

Did the apostle Paul feel disquiet in His relationship with the Lord?  He didn’t!

In fact, this worst person of all time proclaims in First Timothy, Chapter 1, Verses 12 to 17…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:12

I (Paul) thank the Christ (the Jewish Messiah)…Jesus…our Lord…who has strengthened mebecause He considered me faithful, putting me into service…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:13

…even though I was formerly a blasphemer (against God) and a persecutor (of Christians) and a violent aggressor (against Christianity). Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:14

…and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant…with the faith and

unconditional love that is found by those in union with Christ Jesus.

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:15

It is a trustworthy statement…deserving of full acceptance…that the Christ… Jesus…came into the world to save sinners…among whom I am foremost of all.

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:16

Yet for this reason I found mercy…so that in me as the foremost sinner, Jesus

Christ might demonstrate His PERFECT PATIENCE as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

 

For such patience, there can only be gratitude.

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:17

Now to the King…eternal…immortal…invisible…to the One and only God…to Him be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

There’s no sign of disquiet in Paul!  He knows the One he serves.  Paul shares a secret…Philippians, Chapter 1, Verse 6…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

For I (Paul) am confident of this very thing, that God the Father…who began a good work in you will keep on perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

That’s not a secret…it’s a promise from a God who always keeps His promises!

 

Is the Sovereign God of the Universe bothered by your imperfections?  Hardly.  An omniscient God who knows all that is knowable knew about your imperfections before He created you.  An omnipotent God who has all the power is not threatened by anything His creatures do.  An omnipresent God who has the ability to be everywhere simultaneously always has His eyes on you.

 

Paul, the worst person of all time, expressessupreme confidence in the God who rescued him when he was a sinner…when he was an ungodly, unrighteous unbeliever…rescuing a person who was out to singlehandedly wipe out the Christian church.

 

Why would a Sovereign God even need to be patient with a person like Paul?

He doesn’t.

 

Why is God so patient with Satan, allowing him time to prove his contention that God is unloving and unfair?He doesn’t have to be.

 

Why is God so patient with His enemies…unbelievers who completely reject Him and everything He stands for?He need not be.

 

Why was God so patient with the Jews of the Exodus generation?  He parted the Red Sea for them, and destroyed their enemies, and they showed their gratitude by complaining about the food and water situation and by worshipping a calf made of gold as their god.  Exodus, Chapter 17, Verses 1 to 3…

 

EXODUS 17:1

Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.

 

EXODUS 17:2

Therefore, the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

 

EXODUS 17:3

But the people thirsted there for water…and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

 

Would the God who parted the Red Sea and killed your pursuers forget you need food and water?  NO!  But they longed to be back in slavery.  That’s us…longing for the times when we were unbelievers.

 

It’s safe to say human beings would never consider being patient with anyone in our lives who did similar things.

 

How do you handle personal insults?  How do you handle mistreatment?  How do you handle those who make it clear they are your enemies?  You don’t handle these things the same way God handles them.

 

God is not like us.  He handles things differently.  Isaiah, Chapter 55, Verse 9…

 

ISAIAH 55:9

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth…so are My ways higher than your ways…and My thoughts than your thoughts.

 

God is NOT AT ALL like us.

 

There are many words the Bible uses to describe God’s patience with us…

 

LOVINGKINDNESS

 

PSALM 130:7

O Israel, hope in the Lord…for with the Lord there is lovingkindness…and with Him there is abundant redemption.

 

MERCY

 

EPHESIANS 2:4-5

But God the Father…being rich in mercy because of His great unconditional love with which He loved us…even when we were dead in our transgressions…made us spiritually alive together with the Christ (by grace you have been saved)…

 

SLOW TO ANGER

 

NAHUM 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power…but the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

 

COMPASSION

 

 

MATTHEW 9:36

Seeing the people, Jesus felt compassion for thembecause they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

 

A REFUGE

 

PSALM 46:1

God is our refuge and our strength…a very present help in times of trouble.

 

FORGIVING

 

EPHESIANS 1:7

In union with the Beloved…the Lord Jesus Christ…we believers in Christ have redemption through His blood…the forgiveness of our trespasses…according to the riches of His grace…

 

The Cross was the ultimate demonstration of all of these components of PATIENCE.

 

Imagine a God who in the face of being slandered, rejected, misunderstood, used, mocked, and lashed, begged His Father to forgive the perpetrators.  Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 34…

 

LUKE 23:34

(While hanging on the Cross)…Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them…for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

 

As Christians, if we don’t understand God’s patience, our Christian walk turns into a lifestyle of walking on eggshells thinking God is ready to strike us down.He isn’t.

 

Like the Tribulation martyrs, we sometimes wonder why God is so patient with our enemies…Revelation, Chapter 6, Verses 9 and 10…

 

REVELATION 6:9

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I (John) saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained…

REVELATION 6:10

…and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord…holy and true…will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

 

This is God’s perfect patience in action…perfect patience with those who love Him and perfect patience with those who hate Him.

 

Our lives tell the story of a patient God.  In Luke, Chapter 9, Verse 41 the Lord Jesus Christ says…

 

LUKE 9:41

“You unbelieving and perverted generation…how long shall I be with you and put up with you?”

 

He was patient enough to die for this perverted generation when He could have easily summoned a legion of angels to fight for Him as godless men took Him to a Cross to be crucified.  Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 53…

 

MATTHEW 26:53

(Peter…put your sword away) … do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

 

That’s 72,000 angels.  Hebrews, Chapter 7, Verse 25…

 

HEBREWS 7:25

Therefore, Jesus is able to save completely and forever those believers in Christwho draw near to God the Father through believing inHim…since Jesus keeps on living to make intercession for His believers.

 

God’s patience has a pair of open arms for WHOSOEVER.  He is always ready to accept anyone who turns to Him for help.  So how can you be worried about your imperfection?

 

Luke, Chapter 15, Verse 20 is the Father’s attitude toward His imperfect creatures…

 

 

 

LUKE 15:20

The prodigal son got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and his father ran and embraced him and kissed him.

 

Revelation, Chapter 3, Verse 20…

 

REVELATION 3:20

Behold, I (the Lord Jesus Christ) stand at the door of your soul and I keep on knocking…if anyone hears My voice and opens the door (maybe you will and maybe you won’t…you have a choice)…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) will come in to be with him and will dine with him and he with Me.

 

The Lord’s PATIENCE toward us surpasses comprehension.  Let’s be patient with ourselves as well.Remember Philippians, Chapter 1, Verse 6…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

For I (Paul) am confident of this very thing, that God the Father…who began a good work in you will keep on perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Enjoying the Elements

 

Bread and wine.

 

The Lord gave us these things to remember Him.  We will enjoy the elements together in a few moments as we listen to The Lord’s Supper Song.

 

Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 26 to 28 tells us the reason the Lord wants us to celebrate this meal together…

 

MATTHEW 26:26

While the apostles were eating, Jesus took some bread…and after a blessing…He

broke the bread, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take…eat…this is My body which is being broken for you.”

 

MATTHEW 26:27

And when Jesus had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it…all of you…”

 

MATTHEW 26:28

“…for this is My blood…the blood of a new covenant…My blood…poured out for WHOSOEVER…for the forgiveness of sins.”

 

We celebrate to remember.  Jesus Christ died as our sin substitute…Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to prove His Deity…Jesus Christ loves us unconditionally… Jesus Christ forgives us once and for all time through His work on the Cross… Jesus Christ’s BLOOD paid for our sins…Jesus Christ saved us from the wrath of God the Father…Jesus Christ will come again to gather us unto Himself.  As believers in Christ, we celebrate through this Lord’s Supper and we are grateful that His work on the Cross gives us hope...the assurance of an amazing future.

 

Enjoy the elements as…song…

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER SONG

 

Purpose, Patience, Presence

Sherene King

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The closing moments of this lesson could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

If you don’t yet have a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God considers you to be a spiritually dead sinner who needs a Savior.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

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

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10 says…

 

ROMANS 3:10

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

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

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

 

Your condition at physical birth IS NOT YOUR FAULT, but it is your circumstance.

 

By your own choice, you have a chance to be precious in God’s sight…Psalm 116, Verse 15 says…

 

PSALM 116:15

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones (His saints…believers in Christ).

 

The fact that GOD WANTS YOU is a great thing to know, especially as you get older, because no one gets out of this life alive.  What’s going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life?  Will you go to heaven or will you go to hell?

 

God has an enemy…Satan…the ruler of this world…and he creates counterfeit lifestyles to blind your mind called RELIGIONS that are designed to mislead you into thinking you’re saved when you’re not.  Roman Catholicism is one of those counterfeits.  Here is an excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church…

 

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (Paragraph 2010)

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can MERIT FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS the graces needed for our sanctification…for the attainment of eternal life.

 

Satan wants you to think you can work your way to heaven, earning your own salvation.  Also, he wants you to think you can pray for the salvation of others after they have died.  He’s lying.  You can’t.  Hebrews, Chapter 9, Verse 27 says…

 

HEBREWS 9:27

…it is appointed for men to die once…and after this comes judgment…

 

The Lord provides you with the Bible to illuminate the path to heaven…John, Chapter 20, Verse 31 says…

 

JOHN 20:31

…these things written in the Bible have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…(the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God…the Lord…who took on human form)…and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life (eternal life) in Hisname.

 

The Bible contains the Lord’s exact thinking.  It is your “owner’s manual”

for life.  The good news is the Lord Jesus Christ did something about your sin problem.  He has a plan for your salvation because He doesn’t want anyone to go to The Lake of Fire…Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

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

 

So, how can you get to heaven?  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 by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

The ONE WAY…the ONLY WAY to get to heaven is through believing in 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.”

 

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 primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Old Testament 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 Old Testament Scriptures…

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can’t do a thing

to get to heaven on your own.  It’s your confirmation that being “a good person” does not get you to heaven.  It’s wiser to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind!  John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

JOHN 10:28

“…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

 

You can’t lose your salvation.  If ANYONE tells you that you can lose your salvation, they are lying to you.

 

Many people in the world think they don’t need a Savior because they are “basically good people.”  These people are like those who defend themselves in a lawsuit.  The joke in the legal community is anyone who represents himself in a lawsuit has a fool for a client.  Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 says…

 

ACTS 4:12

“…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).”

 

Reject a relationship with Christ?  In Matthew, Chapter 25, Verse 30, the Lord shares the consequences…

 

MATTHEW 25:30

“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness (the Lake of Fire)… and in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

So, heed the warning and accept the invitation 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.”

 

You can join me and a host of your believer friends in heaven when you close your eyes in this life!  Choose it now!

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  Because the Lord is patient, quite often when we pray, we have to wait for His deliverance.  It’s worth the wait!  In Psalm 27, Verse 14 King Davis says…

 

PSALM 27:14

Wait for the Lord…be strong and let your heart take courage…yes…wait for the Lord.

 

Lincoln Brewster tells us in song what to do…WHILE I WAIT.

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

WHILE I WAIT

Lincoln Brewster

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for the gift of faith…when we fall short of Your standards, as we often do, thank you for showing us examples of believers who have fallen short, who had to place their trust in You for the solution to their human problems…

 

…as we learn from the lesson today, emblazon the confidence of faith on our hearts…sear the assurance of faith into our minds…activate the power of faith in our experience so that we always trust in You, especially when we fail…help us remember that You have already given us the victory…help us live in it…show us how to keep on having faith in Your power…

 

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

 

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Please make it a habit to listen to the announcements.  They are posted separately.  Keep current on the things going on and coming up in Barah Ministries.

 

DISCUSSING THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE

 

Join us Live or on ZoomImmediately Following the Lesson

 

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KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

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