Romans 8: What Attracts People to God?

Class Outline:

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Lead with your heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Believe.

 

In the gospel of the apostle John, who described himself as the apostle Jesus loved, the word “believe” appears nearly one hundred times.

 

Believe.

 

The most important decision you can make in your lifetime is to BELIEVE, both to be saved AND to live a godly life.  Here’s a start…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.”

 

Once we are saved then we take the suggestion of Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 18…

 

SECOND PETER 3:18

…grow within the sphere of God’s grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

 

We come to Bible study to learn what we need to believe.

 

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 wants you to BELIEVE.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 16 says…

 

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 whosoeverBELIEVES in Him shall not perish, but haseternal life.”

 

God the Father wants you to BELIEVE in His Son.

 

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.

The Lord wants you to BELIEVE because He knows the benefits that accrue to you when you do…John, Chapter 1, Verse 12 says…

 

JOHN 1:12

But as many as received the invitation from Jesus to be saved…to them He gave the right to become children of God the Father…even to those who BELIEVE in Jesus’ name…

 

The most important decision in this life is for you to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ.

He is the ONE AND ONLY ONE WAY to heaven.  If you invest your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…asking Him to save you…He will save you…and you instantly have the resurrection life…eternal life…in His Name.

 

We worship GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.  He is our Mentor and Teacher.  He is 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.

 

God the Holy Spirit leads you into the truth of the Word of God.  It is to your benefit to BELIEVE what He tells you.  Revelation, Chapter 2, Verse 29 says…

 

REVELATION 2:29

“He who has an ear…let him hear what God the Holy Spirit says to the churches.”

 

The truth is what God the Holy Spirit wants you to BELIEVE.

 

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…a team you can call on for help in times of trouble.

 

What is Our Source of Truthat Barah Ministries?

 

The Bible is the Word of God.  It is our source of absolute truth. As Christians, the way we develop a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Godhead…the way we get to know God as a Person…is through studying the Word of God.

 

The Bible gives a full account of the life and times of God the Son coming to earth in human form as Jesus…the Christ.  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…the Lord…the Son of Godwho took on human form)…and that by BELIEVING in Him you may have the resurrection life (eternal life) in Hisname.

 

What is your source of truth?

Your source of truth for eternal matters is not an insignificant thing because it has eternal consequences.

 

The Bible is a supernatural workbreathed into human writers by God.  It does not come from man, and it provides the only source of absolute truthabout eternal things.

 

Since the Bible is the Lord’s exact thinking, and since 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…because 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 to study and let God’s Word 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 wants worship from everyone, including Jesus Christ.  In Matthew, Chapter 4, after Satan made three attempts to get Jesus Christ to believe in him and worship him, the Lord said to Satan in Verse 10…

 

MATTHEW 4:10

“Begone Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your Godand serve Him only.’”

 

The biggest enemy of believers in Christ is IGNORANCE OF THE ENEMY.  Don’t be ignorant.  Satan is a liar.  Don’t believe him.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Attracts People to God?

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

In a word?

 

LOVE.

 

In two words?  Unconditional Love.

 

All of us want to be loved.  More than that, we want a love that endures.  First Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verses 4 to 8 describe the love we have from God…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:4

Unconditional love is patient…unconditional love is kind and is not jealous… unconditional love does not brag and is not arrogant…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:5

…unconditional love does not act unbecomingly…unconditional love does not seek its own…unconditional love is not provoked…it does not take into account a wrong suffered…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:6

…unconditional love does not rejoice in unrighteousness…it rejoices with the truth…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:7

…unconditional love bears all things…believes all things…hopes all things… endures all things.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:8

Unconditional love never fails…

 

In today’s lesson, we’ll be reminded of a dogmatic and irreversible fact.NOTHING can separate a believer in Christ from the unconditional love of God.  NOTHING.  Prepare for a comfort beyond words.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!When something is everlasting, it has a beginningand no ending.  That is NOT an adequate description of God’s love for us.  God’s love for us has no beginning and no ending.  The human mind finds it hard to comprehend this kind of love.  Nevertheless, here’s Matt Boswell and Matt Papato describe a part of God’s love in their song THE EVERLASTING LOVE OF GOD.

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

THE EVERLASTING LOVE OF GOD

Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

 

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 loving us so much that when we were Your enemies, you made the ultimate sacrifice…sending Your Son…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…to repair the relationship breach between You and us by dying on a Cross…thank you for Your Son’s willingness to lay down His life for us, incurring Your wrath directed toward sin so that we didn’t have to…shedding His blood for us to pay for every sin we would ever commit…past…present…and future…one day, Father we hope the depth of this love You have for us sinks into our consciousness for more than a fleeting second…thank you for sending God the Holy Spirit to teach us about Your love for us…

 

…as we study today’s lesson, make it have a profound impact on us…help us truly know what Your love is so that we can pass it on to others as You would have us do…help us to learn to put aside pettiness when we are thinking about and interacting with others so that we become an accurate reflection of You…

 

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

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Attracts People to God?

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

Love.

 

The Beatles said it in a song…all you need is love.  Do you agree?

Well, it is pointless to long for something you already have.  You have God’s love.  There is no more important love in the universe.  If you have God’s love you have everything.

 

Today we’ll study the final passage of Romans, Chapter 8 which has been called the “king” of the New Testament epistles.  For certain, there is no more important set of words that have been written than the ones we have been studying for the last nine months.  They have a profound effect on us and on all mankind.

 

In the music industry, there is a term that describes a gradual increase in the sound of a piece of music as the music builds to its loudest point…crescendo.  In the movie industry, there is a term that describes the gradual increase in intensity as a movie moves to its conclusion…climax.  This final passage of Romans, Chapter 8 is the crescendo and the climax of the first half of Paul’s letter to the believers in Christ at first-century Rome, and it is the intense and exciting culmination of thought presented throughout the first eight chapters of Romans.

 

Let’s listen to the final passage of this part of the letter…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 to 39…using the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD TRANSLATION.  We’ll start with last week’s passage and then blend right into today’s passage…

 

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 God…to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

ROMANS 8:29

For those whom God the Father foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brethren…

 

ROMANS 8:30

…and these whom God the Father predestined, He also called…and these whom God the Father called, He also justified…and these whom God the Father justified, He also glorified.

 

Now today’s passage…

 

 

ROMANS 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?

 

ROMANS 8:32

God the Father who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will the Father not also with His Son freely give us all things?

 

ROMANS 8:33

Who will bring a charge against God the Father’s elect?  God the Father is the one who justifies…

 

ROMANS 8:34

…who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He who died…yes…rather who was raised…who is at the right hand of God the Father, who also intercedes for us.

 

ROMANS 8:35

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 

ROMANS 8:36

Just as it is written, "For Your sake, we are being put to death all day long…

we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 

ROMANS 8:37

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

 

ROMANS 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers…

 

ROMANS 8:39

…nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Love.

 

It’s fun to watch the commentators make meager attempts to describe God’s love

inwords…unshakable…unalterable…powerful…foundational…radical…secure… unalterable…impossible…deep…gripping…filling…inexhaustible.  None of these words get close.  Combining them doesn’t get close.  Language neithercontains, nor adequately describes the love of God.  Yet God chose this language and this passage to communicate His love for us…and He is counting on God the Holy Spirit to make His love for us a real experience inside of us.  It is likely that only eternity in heaven will provide believers in Christ with an eternal understanding of the unconditional love of our amazing God.

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 13makes God’s priority clear…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:13

But now faith…hope…and unconditional love…abide in the sphere of these three…but the greatest of these is unconditional love.

 

In John, Chapter 15, Verse 12…the Lord delegates to His believers a seemingly impossible task…

 

JOHN 15:12

“This is My commandment…that you love one another unconditionally…just as I (the Lord Jesus Christ) have loved you…unconditionally.”

 

This would be quite impossible if not for His unconditional love resident in us.

Love each other like I love you.  Wow!  What a challenge!

 

So, as we study this final passage of Romans, Chapter 8…what we can hope for is that the apostle Paul’s prayer comes true for us.  In Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 18 and 19 Paul prays that believers in Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 3:18

…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of God’s unconditional love)…

 

EPHESIANS 3:19

…and to know that the unconditional love of Christ surpasses knowledge…so that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

 

What I hope from this lesson is what Paul hopes for you…that you may comprehend in such a way that the love God has for you informs every decision you make for the rest of your lives.  Let’s study this marvelous passage verse-by-verse.  Come out of your coma for a moment and really zoom in on what God has to say to you today.Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 31…

 

ROMANS 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things? If God the Father is FOR us believers in Christ…and He is…who is ever going to be successful in opposition against us?

 

All these things.  What is God communicating here?  All these things is certainly a reference to Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 29 and 30…

 

ROMANS 8:29

For those whom God the Father foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…so that the Son would be the firstborn among many brethren…

 

ROMANS 8:30

…and these whom God the Father predestined, He also called…and these whom God the Father called, He also justified…and these whom God the Father justified, He also glorified.

 

Foreknowledge…predestination…calling…justification…glory.  It’s all these things and more.

 

All these things is also a reference to everything we have experienced in the first eight chapters of Romans.  We are guilty of sin…caught dead to rights in our trespasses…doomed from birth…yet in love, a love unconditional, Christ’s work on our behalf at the Cross created an opportunity for WHOSOEVER.  By simply placing our complete trust and confidence in the Lord's work for us instead of in our own works, we are justified by faith…savedonceand for all time.  That’s love.

 

As we continued our study of the first eight chapters of Romanswe gained the knowledge of sin within us…the flesh…and how deep this weakness goes.  Were it not for a loving God we could never escape.  We learned of God the Holy Spirit’s work on our behalf…warring with the flesh…and winning for us.

 

Love.

 

We learned that our only hope for deliverance from sin is the deliverance that

comes from God’s love for us.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 31…

 

ROMANS 8:31a

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things?

 

All these things.

 

What is God Communicating?

 

GOD IS FOR US!

 

Say it with me…I’ll say it first and you repeat…GOD IS FOR ME.

 

Say it again after me.  GOD IS FOR ME.

 

Now the whole verse…Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 31…

 

ROMANS 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things? If God the Father is FOR us believers in Christ…and He is…who is ever going to be successful in opposition against us?

 

What is the biggest problem you are facing in your life right now?  God considers your problems to be His responsibility.  You need to know that God loves you unconditionally, and GOD IS FOR YOU.  So who can be successful against you?  Not no one.  Not no thing.  Not no how.  Not no way.  Amen?  Do you believe it?

 

God is FOR you when you are ignorant…when you are fruitless…when you fail…when you offend yourself with how depraved you are.  GOD IS FOR YOU.  This does not only mean that God is on your side…that’s not the depth of what GOD IS FOR YOU means.  It means a gracious God is COMMITTED to you believers in Christ without conditions or requirements.  And no one and no thing can ever change His love toward you.

 

Another way to translate Verse 31?  Since God is for us, what do we care about who is against us?  Need proof?  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 32…

 

 

ROMANS 8:32

God the Father…who did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ)…but delivered Him over for us all…how will God the Father not also, with our union with Christ, freely give us all things?

 

How do we know God the Father is FOR us?  He delivered up His Son for us!  His own Son…His only Son…His divinely loved Son…not spared…instead slaughteredfor the benefit of us wretches.  God the Father subjected His Son to the hands of men…for mocking…for scourging…letting Him experience spitting and crucifixion.  God the Father subjected His Son to His own wrath as the payment for sin.  For who?  For you.  GOD IS FOR YOU.

 

In not sparing His Son, God the Father created a bridge to Himself for WHOSOEVER…and that includes YOU.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 32 is called an A Fortiori Argument…a Latin term.It proposes that if something more strong is true, something less strong has to be true as well.

 

For example…God the Father is saying to you, “If I sent my Son to die for you…the stronger thing…I’ll do everything else for you (like pay your mortgage)…the lesser thing.  If I parted the Red Sea for you, I’ll give you food and water in the desert.”   A message for the Exodus generation Jews.

 

What does God mean when He says He will give us all things?  He means everything…especially His love.  So we can say in prayer, “Father, You gave me Your Son…I know you will give me this trivial thing I am asking for…”

 

Love.

 

Is there anything more powerful in your life than God’s love for you?  Nope!

 

When we return from the break we’ll take the offering and then we’ll continue our study of this incredible passage.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

WHEN I SAY I LOVE YOU

June Murphy

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Attracts People to God?

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

Nike has it right about athletics…JUST DO IT!  At Barah Ministries, we have this thought about generosity…JUST GIVE IT!  In Proverbs 3, Verse 9 the Lord says…

 

PROVERBS 3:9

Honor the Lord from your wealth…and from the first fruits of all your produce…

 

The Lord doesn’t need you to give…He wants you to WANT TO give.  Don’t ever underestimate the power of your giving.  Of course, Satan, the enemy of God influences you to be reluctant to give.  “What are they going to do with the money?”  “Why are they always asking for money?”

 

When you give to Barah Ministries you change lives.  You may not get to know how you make a difference while you are here on earth, but God knows the impact you make and will share it with you when you get to heaven.

 

So give as if someone’s life depends on it…because it does!  Your giving is an expression of your love.

 

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

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

EPHESIANS 6:10-11

Finally (believers in Christ)…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Pick up and put on the full armor of God so you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What Attracts People to God?

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

Love.

 

Nine verses capture, but cannot fully contain, the way God loves us.  GOD IS FOR US.  Let’s continue our study of Romans, Chapter 8…Verse 33…

 

ROMANS 8:33

Who will bring a successful charge against God’s elect (that’s all believers in Christ)? God the Father is the one who justifies...

 

GOD IS FOR US.

 

Is He going to listen to someone bringing a charge against one of His children?  Does a mother ever think her child is anything but perfect?  It’s a waste of time to bring a charge against those God the Father justified.There can be no charge laid against God’s elect, especially not a charge by Satan…the accuser of the brethren.No one can come into God the Father’s court and condemn the ones God the Father has justified.

 

Remember Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 1?

 

ROMANS 8:1

There is now not even the possibility of condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

 

Condemnation is behind believers in Christ…it’s in the rear-view mirror…it cannot happen again.  Why?

 

Love.

 

Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 34…

 

ROMANS 8:34

...who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He...the One who died, yes,

rather He who was resurrected from the dead...He who is at the right hand of God the Father...He who also intercedes for us (is the One who condemns).

 

The only One who could condemn you is the only One who is qualified to condemn anyone…the Lord Jesus Christ.  Yet He doesn’t.  Remember the woman caught in adultery…in the very act?  What did the Lord say to her?  She was guilty with no possibility of argument.  John, Chapter 8, Verses 10 and 11…

 

JOHN 8:10

Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they (who accuse you)?  Did no one condemn you?”

 

JOHN 8:11

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

 

Love.

 

Christ could condemn you…He is qualified to condemn you…but He doesn’t.  Instead, He sits at the right hand of His Father and speaks on your behalf in every matter.  He keeps on interceding for you…He keeps on advocating for you… He keeps pn speaking up for you in everything so you don’t have to speak for yourself or defend yourself.

 

Love.

 

If you look at Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 22, 31, and 34…all three members of the Trinity are ALWAYS speaking up for you.  The Lord speaks up for us most when we are dead wrong.  First John, Chapter 2, Verses 1 and 2…

 

FIRST JOHN 2:1

My little children, I (John) am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and of course we do, we have an Advocate with God the Father…Jesus Christ…the ONLY righteous One…

 

FIRST JOHN 2:2

…and Jesus Himself is the propitiation for our sins…and not for our sins only (as believers in Christ)…but also for the sins of the whole world (for unbelievers as well)

 

Love.

 

No one else loves you this way…and it’s the only love you need.  Next the ultimate question…Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 35…

 

ROMANS 8:35

WHO will separate us from the unconditional love of Christ? (Or WHAT will separate us?) Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from Christ’s unconditional love?

 

What an amazing question…WHO or WHAT will separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of Christ?

 

There are several issues we face in this life.  Tribulation (pressures and troubles)…distress (crisis)…persecution (opposition or ridicule)…famine (suffering or scarcity)…nakedness (assault or shame)…peril (threats and danger)…or sword (injury, or violence, or death).

 

Can people or things like these take away God’s love for us?  Not no way…not no how.  The enemy of God, Satan, inflicts these things.  God allows us to suffer the things He suffered so we will have an affinity with Him.

 

The idea of WHO will separate us comes from an ineffective attempt by Satan, who wants to separate us from the unconditional love of Christ.  But he can’t.

First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 11 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 2:11

…no advantage will be taken of us by Satan…for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

 

God won’t allow it.  Why?

 

Love.

 

The route to greatness in God’s plan is tribulation.  God works all things together for our good.  His love is a constant encouragement to us…John, Chapter 16, Verse 33…

 

 

JOHN 16:33

“These things I (the Lord Jesus Christ) have spoken to you (my apostles and believers in Christ) so that in union with Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation…but take courage…I have overcome the world.”

 

Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 36…

 

ROMANS 8:36

Just as it is written (in Psalm 44:22), “For Your sake we are being put to death (killed) all day long…we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 

Believers in Christ will be persecuted in Satan’s kingdom.  There will be no peace on earth until Christ comes at thesecond coming. 

 

Revelation, Chapter 13, Verse 7…

 

REVELATION 13:7

Authority was also given to the beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them…and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

 

…by Satan of course.  Ultimately God had to allow it.  Satan wants to obliterate any memory of or consideration of Christ and His love for us.  Sorry…no can do!

 

Believers are sheep for the slaughter.  Yet GOD IS FOR US.  The things we go through in this world is quite an overwhelming list…tribulation…distress…persecution…famine…nakedness…peril…or sword.  Yet Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 37 encourages us…

 

ROMANS 8:37

But in all these things (in every situation imaginable) we believers in Christ overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us unconditionally.

 

Imagine that…sheep for slaughter are conquerors!  God makes us conquerors.  We have divine help to get through every difficulty because GOD IS FOR US.  The cool thing is the LOVE God has for us began in the past and continues forever…Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verse 25…

 

EPHESIANS 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also LOVED the church and gave Himself up for her…

 

Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 20…

 

GALATIANS 2:20a

“I (as a believer in Jesus…the Christ…the Jewish Messiah) have been crucified with the Christ…and it is no longer I who live…but Christ lives indwelling me…

 

GALATIANS 2:20b

…and the life which I now live in my physical bodyI live by faith alone in the Son of God alone…faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…the One who LOVED me unconditionally and who gave Himself up as a sin substitute for me.”

 

Notice the past tense?  Done!

 

Here comes the crescendo!  Here comes the climax!  Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39…

 

ROMANS 8:38

For I (Paul) am fully persuaded that neither death nor life...nor (elect) angels…nor principalities (demons...fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come...nor powers...

 

ROMANS 8:39

...nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to separate (sever) us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

To be fully persuaded is to know with absolute certainty…and all believers in Christ must be fully persuaded with absolute certainty concerning everything the Lord says in His Word.

 

Love.

 

Who or what can sever us from God’s love.  You know the answer.  Nothing!

 

Neither death nor life…death is first because believers in Christ don’t fear death.  We know at the moment of our physical death we will be at home face-to-face with the Lord.  We fear life more because it is more challenging than death.

 

The present doesn’t scare us.  Ask Job.

 

Things to come, like a new President of the United States don't scare us because God is the One who installs authorities.

 

Powers in the unseen world don't scare us…things like psychics and sorcery and necromancy and luck don’t scare us.  Satan and his demon army have no power over us.  Everything they want to do has to pass through the Lord’s hands.

 

Nothing above scares us.   Nothing below scares us.  No person scares us.  Why?  GOD IS FOR US.  As believers in Christ, our security comes from being in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.  We consider what God says to be trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.

 

The problem?  We don’t consider ourselves worthy of anything, and especially not of God’s love.  We see ourselves continue to bungle through life and we think one day we will get better, but we don’t.

 

Perhaps we might use the full acceptance route.  Perhaps we can accept that God loves us, and that there is nothing else we need.

 

Perhaps.

 

Probably not.

 

Yet GOD IS FOR US, and there is nothing else we need.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

 

The next ten minutes 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.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

And what He wants is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

You are one of God’s creatures!  If you choose, you can be a child of God.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 12 says…

 

JOHN 1:12

But as many as received the invitation from Jesus to be saved…to them He gave the right to become children of God the Father…even to those who believe in Jesus’ name…

 

The problem is you may think the Lord is like our human parents…

emotional, arbitrary, and sentimental.  Our parents tell us what to do…we do the opposite…and they let us off the hook.  Your Divine Parent, the Lord Jesus Christ, does not operate that way.  Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 24 to 27…

 

MATTHEW 24:24

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on themmay be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

 

MATTHEW 24:25

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house…and yet the house did not fallfor it had been founded on the rock.”

 

MATTHEW 24:26

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on themwill be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

 

MATTHEW 24:27

“The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house…and the house fell…and great was its fall.”

 

God is inviting you to be saved, and He tells you EXACTLY what you must do to be saved.  God says there is ONE WAY to heaven in John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

 

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said … “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (through the gospel message in 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.”

 

God has a plan for your salvation.  In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 21, the Lord says…

 

MATTHEW 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven...but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

 

What IS the will of God the Father for your salvation?  It’s simple…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.”

 

It takes about thirty seconds of your time to be saved.  You simply turn to the God who saves you and ask for salvation.  You can do it RIGHT THIS MINUTE.  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…

 

If you ignore God’s offer of salvation, there are consequences…Revelation, Chapter 21, Verse 8…

 

 

 

REVELATION 21:8

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars (all references to unbelievers)…their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

 

There’s spiritual death and there is the second death in the Lake of Fire…the eternal home of those who reject a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We encourage you to accept the invitation and heed the warning of 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 believe, you simply take God’s word for it concerning what it takes to be saved!  Do it RIGHT NOW and you’ll be saved for all time!

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  Love.  All we need is love.  Here’s MercyMe singing about THE LOVE OF GOD.

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

THE LOVE OF GOD

MercyMe

 

 

 

 

 

DOXOLOGY

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

Worthy of praise is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us believers in Christ in eternity past with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (a place of permanence)…through our union with the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 1:7-8

In union with Jesuswe have redemption (deliverance from slavery to sin) through His blood…the forgiveness of our trespasses…according to the glorious wealth provided by His grace…which He lavished on us…including as a gift, wisdom and insight…

 

EPHESIANS 3:20

Now to God the Father…who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or imagine (more than we think is humanly possible) …according to the divine power (omnipotence) that works within us…

 

EPHESIANS 3:21

…to Him be the glory…through the Church Age believers in union with Christ Jesus…and to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thanks is all we can say…

 

…help us to accept Your love in the deepest parts of our being and help us to pass it on to everyone we meet…

 

…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

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

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Send your request to pastor@barahministries.com

 

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com