Romans 13: God Wants Christians to Arise from Spiritual Slumber

Class Outline:

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Cleared For Wake-Up 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God Wants Christians to Arise from Spiritual Slumber

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

The Bible has several admonitions that invite believers in Christ to wake up…a spiritual awakening…a constant spiritual awareness.  Ephesians, Chapter 5 calls believers in Christ children of light, and in Verse 14 invites us to…

 

EPHESIANS 5:14b

“Awaken, sleeper, and arise from the dead…and Christ will shine on you.”

 

First Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verses 5 and 6 say…

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 5:5

…for you believers in Christ are all sons of light and sons of day. You are not of night…nor are you of darkness…

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 5:6

…so then do not sleep as others do…but be alert and sober-minded.

 

We are warned against “spiritual narcolepsy.”   People with narcolepsy have an overwhelming urge to sleep during the day, even after adequate nighttime sleep.  It’s easy to fall asleep spiritually and to forget the spiritual life is the most important part of our lives. In today’s lesson, we’ll be reminded to stay spiritually awake as we close out our study of Romans, Chapter 13.

 

And as we do regularly, honoring the Lord’s command, we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper today.  Get your bread and your wine ready…settle in…and join us.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!According to Chris Tomin, our AWAKENING is provided by God.  Like all things in God’s plan, we don’t have to work at it.  Let’s hear Chris’s powerful message in song.

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

AWAKENING

Chris Tomlin

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

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

 

Thank youFatherfor always being our spiritual wake-up call…thank you for the spiritual eyes You give us to see our lives from Your perspective…thank you for the spiritual ears You give us to hear Your messages and to put them into action…

 

…help us not to get entangled by the drama of the moment day by day…instead help us to see things and to handle things as You do…with LOVE…

 

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

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God Wants Christians to Arise from Spiritual Slumber

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that more than 90,000 traffic accidents occur yearly due to drowsy driving.

 

If you fall asleep at the wheel, you risk killing yourself, your passengers, and other innocent victims.  Tiredness reduces reaction time, alertness, concentration, decision making, and all other crucial driving skills.  Tired drivers are much more likely to have an accident and the crash is likely to be severe because a drowsy or sleeping driver does not usually brake or swerve before impact.

 

An estimated three hundred people a year are killed, and many more are seriously injured when a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.

 

In our study of the final passage of Romans, Chapter 13 today, we'll examine a few verses that pack a powerful spiritual punch.  Let’s listen to the passage…Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 11 to 14…

 

ROMANS 13:11

Do this…knowing the time…that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep…for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

 

ROMANS 13:12

The night is almost goneand the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

 

ROMANS 13:13

Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

 

ROMANS 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

 

This well-structured passage communicates three messages…wake up…lay aside…put on.

 

Wake Up

To the dangers of being asleep at the spiritual wheel

 

Lay Aside

The entanglements of sinfulness…and there are many

 

Put On

The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as if He were protective clothing.

 

Let’s examine the passage verse-by-verse.  Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 11…

 

ROMANS 13:11

Do this (pay the debt of loving one another)…knowing the time (the season of the divine plan)…knowing that it is already the hour for you to AWAKEN FROM SLEEP…for now our salvation (our final deliverance to glorification by God) is nearer to us believers in Christ than it was when we first believed in Christ.

 

 

All the things that are going on in the world around us may seem meaningful.  They are not.  We busy ourselves with meaningless things and they lull us into a stupor that resembles sleep.  We wonder, when we are in a stupor, the significance of what we do every day.

 

The Lord is telling us to wake up!  He does not want us to allow ourselves to conform to this age's meaninglessness.  (Romans 12:2)

 

Through the grace of God,it has been my privilege and a pleasure to teach in thirty countries around the world.  One of my favorites is Italy, for many reasons, notably the people's warmth and the food's deliciousness.One of the things that's easy to love about Italians is their expressive nature.  Hand gestures, voice inflection, and jokes are regular parts of their interaction repertoire.

 

While checking in at a boutique hotel in Milan, Italy during one of my trips, the guy who was checking me in noticed that I’m American so he made me the target of his jokes.  He had an audience, and they had quite a good time laughing at my expense.  His last torment was the best.

 

"Okay, sir…thank you for being so good-natured while I make fun of you!  Is there anything else I can do for you?”  I said, “Yes…I need a 5:00 AM wake up call.”  His teasing wasn’t finished.  “5:00 AM?  5:00 AM?  This guy need a 5:00 AM wake-up call!”  Laughter abounded.  “Nobody in Italy is up at 5:00 AM!”  Oh well.

 

The next morning at 5:00 AM there was a knock on my door.  When I opened the

door, there he stood with a pot of coffee.  One of the many reasons I love Italy and Italians.

 

When traveling, wake up calls are an important part of the experience.  There would be no way for me to fulfill my teaching obligation if I sleep the day away.  God doesn’t want us to sleep our lives away.  He wants us to be sober and to be on the alert.

 

Alert for what?  Alert for the times.  There is little doubt that the world is a sick, dark, unhealthy place for us.  Satan makes it that way.  If we are closer to our salvation now than we were when we first believed, our unbelieving friends are farther away from salvation than when they were first born.

 

They are brainwashed by Satan and the kingdom of death and darkness for years!  He is convincing them they have no hope.  He wants them to think God can’t possibly want a relationship with them.

 

When we as believers in Christ are spiritually awake, we realize that the day of the Lord is coming soon…the day when the Lord comes back for us…and we express our love and caring for unbelievers…especially those closest to us…by getting them the gospel message.  We are the light for them.   We have a debt of love to pay as we get them the information they need to make a decision for a relationship with Christ.  We have little concern for their reaction to our love.

 

Believers in Christ provide the light of day for the many to whom we evangelize.

Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 13:12

The night is almost gone…and the day is near. Therefore, let us believers in Christ lay aside the deeds of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

 

An important part of being spiritually awake and spiritually alert is to notice the sin traps being laid for us by the kingdom of death and darkness.  We do that by turning on the light.  Reflecting on a life of nearly seventy years, I find it incredible how many of those traps are so easy to fall into.  All of the temptations provided by Satan, the enemy of God, promise to deliver lasting pleasure.  Unfortunately, the promises are empty and instead they deliver darkness and misery.

 

 

It may seem boring to avoid the traps of sin because when we avoid sin, we avoid entanglements.  It’s not boring.  It’s a blessing!  Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 1 describes the blessing of a life without entanglement…

 

HEBREWS 12:1

Therefore, since we believers in Christ have so great a cloud of Old Testament witnesses surrounding us…let us LAY ASIDE every encumbrance…and the sin which so easily entangles us…and let us run with endurance the race of our lives that is set before us by God…

 

What’s the benefit of laying aside the temptations of darkness to engage in the deeds of light?  Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 13…

 

ROMANS 13:13

Let us keep on behaving properly (in lifestyle…our Christian walk…behaving in a manner worthy of our calling…behaving) as we do in the day…not in carousing and drunkenness (the deeds of the night)…not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality (the deeds of the night)…not in strife and jealousy (the deeds of the night).

 

< I MARRIED YOUNG AND MISSED OUT>

 

We are the children of light!  One of the great benefits of studying the Word of God is constant renewing of our minds…the constant reminders that we are not missing anything by engaging in the deeds of darkness.  We thank the Lord for these reminders and we need to make it a daily priority to infuse our minds with the Lord’s thoughts.  He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

 

So what do we do after we wake up…after we lay aside the deeds of darkness… after we behave as the Lord thinks we should?  Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 14…

 

ROMANS 13:14

But keep on putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (reflecting Him in your lifestyle… your Christian walk)…and keep on making no provision of forethoughtfor the flesh to gratify its desires (which is the flesh clamoring for attention).

We put on the Lord’s thoughts as if they are clothing.  Knowing the Lord as we do, we will always be clean when we put Him on as clothing.We will always be protected.  Christ is the light of the world.  Christ is the long-awaited Messiah, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.  Christ is the Savior from this evil age and the central figure of the Age tocome.

 

Christ has come.  Christ will come again.

 

We live in the time between His two comings.  As believers in Christ, we are armed by Christ…armed with Christ…covered by Christ.  We relax in union with Him.  Our relationship with Him is as close as our relationship with clothing.  Just as He is, our clothing is a protective covering that we value moment by moment.

 

When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering and then we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper.  The Lord Jesus Christ freed us from the deeds of darkness.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God Wants Christians to Arise from Spiritual Slumber

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

What are your hang-ups about giving to a church?  Where do they come from?  Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what is at the foundation of your resistance?

 

Your contributions to Barah Ministries are valued and used well.We just instructed our printer to print twenty-five hundred copies of a pamphlet called BELIEVE…from 00 dollars you contributed.

 

 

…which contains one of the many gospel messages we share weekly with our hearers.  Your contributions made this possible.

 

We'll be doing group evangelism outside the church shortly, distributing these pamphlets to attract people to Barah Ministries messages from the Word of God to the whole human race.

 

Thank you for funding things like this that make a difference in the lives of people you don’t even know.  Your contributions have eternal consequences.

 

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

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

GALATIANS 3:27

For all of you who were baptized by God the Holy Spirit into union with Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ Freed Us from Adam’s SIN and from Our PERSONAL SINS

 

Welcome to The Lord’s Supper Celebration, the most intimate expression of our deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In this celebration, the Lord reminds us of the unity into which all believers in Christ have been placed.  By sharing His body and His blood with usthe Lord reminds us of our union with Him.  In First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26, the apostle Paul says, on behalf of the Lord…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26a

…as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as

you drink this cup (representing His blood)…as part of the Lord's Supper Celebration…

 

 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26b

…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross…and His resurrection from the dead…until He comes again at the second coming.

 

Every month, we celebrate The Lord’s Supper to REMEMBER.  We remember that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we depend on Him for our great salvation.  We remember that nothing can separate us from our union with Him.  We remember the Lord loves us unconditionally.  We remember we are forgiven for every sin past, present, and future.  And we remember we have the Lord’s grace to help in times of need, especially when we make mistakes.

 

The Lord’s Supper Celebration is often called communion.  It’s our chance to commune with the Lord.

 

The Lord’s Supper Celebration is sacred, so it’s not something we take for granted.  It’s not something we do “on the fly.”Get your bread and wine in front of you, and as we enjoy the elements, let’s remember to be still and to keep on counting on the Lord Jesus Christ, both for our physical and our spiritual sustenance.

 

As we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, we ask ourselves in reflection, “What did the Lord Jesus Christ do for us at the Cross?”This month we acknowledge that at the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ freed us from Adam’s sin and from personal sins.

 

What is sin?

 

SIN

A DELIBERATEviolation of God’s will.

 

First and foremost, sin is a spiritual term.  To make the term visual, it is connected to archery.  In archery, committing a “sin” means to miss the mark…to miss the bullseye.  What a great metaphor for sin!  Imperfect people keep on falling short of the perfection God wants from us…we keep on missing the mark of God’s will for us every time we sin.

 

When we are born, we inherit Adam’s SIN.  Some call it the “original” sin…Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12…

 

 

ROMANS 5:12

Therefore, just as through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world…and spiritual death entered the world through Adam’s sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned…

 

Because Adam is the head of the human race, his first sin against God in the Garden of Eden was passed along to all of us.  His sin caused spiritual death, and it erected a barrier between imperfect people and our perfect God.  Having Adam’s sin makes us sinners in God’s eyes.

 

Lest we get mad at Adam for passing on his sin to us, we commit PERSONAL

SINS as well.  There is no one to blame for our personal sins other than ourselves.  Our personal sins erected the same barrier between imperfect us and a perfect God.

There is no way for humans to erase the stain of our sins.  There is no way to blame anyone for our deliberate sins.

 

Are you wondering if you sin?  Here are a few Biblical passages that highlight some of the many sins.  First Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 9 to 11…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:9

Or do you not know that the unrighteous (unbelievers) will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived…neither fornicators…nor idolaters…nor adulterers…nor effeminate (males sexually penetrated by males)… norhomosexuals (those who penetrate effeminate males)…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:10

…nor thieves…nor the greedy…nor drunkards…nor revilers…nor swindlers…will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:11

Some of you WERE of these lifestyles (that would exclude you from the kingdom of God)…but NOW YOU ARE washed (cleansed from the filth of your sin(s) through the water of the Word…the gospel message)…NOW YOU ARE sanctified (set apart believers in union with Christ)…NOW YOU ARE justified (acquitted from the crime of your sins…legally declared as absolutely righteous by God the Father) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the (baptism of the Holy) Spirit of our God and Father.

 

Have you ever committed any of these sins?

 

Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 28 to32…

 

ROMANS 1:28

And just as (unbelievers who practice ungodliness and unrighteousness) did not see fit to acknowledge that there is a God any longer (atheism)…GOD GAVE THEM OVER to a depraved mind, to practice those things which are not proper (sins…conduct unbecoming of a human being)…

 

ROMANS 1:29

…being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil…full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice…they are gossips…

 

ROMANS 1:30

…slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents…

 

ROMANS 1:31

…without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful…

 

ROMANS 1:32

…and although THEY KNOW the ordinances of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of the sentence of death, they not only practice these things, but also they give hearty approval to others who practice them.

 

Have you ever committed any of these sins?

 

First Timothy, Chapter 1, Verses 8to 11…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:8

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:9

…realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious…for the ungodly ones and sinners (unbelievers)…for the unholy and profane ones…for those who kill their fathers or mothers…for murderers…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:10

…and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 1:11

…according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which gospel I have been entrusted.

 

Have you ever committed any of these sins?

 

Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 5…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:1

Keep on knowing this…that in every generation difficult times will come.

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:2

For men will becomefond of themselves…lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, and unholy…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:3

…unloving (without natural affection), implacable, malicious slanderers, without self-control, brutal, haters of all that is good…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:4

…treacherous betrayers, reckless, conceited, proud, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:5

…holding to a superficial form of godliness (a superficial spiritual life) although they have denied God’s power.Avoid such men as these (shun them).

 

Have you ever committed any of these sins?

 

Knowing you were helpless to handle the sin problem on your own, God the Father decided to handle the problem for you.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

ROMANS 5:8

God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners (while we were unbelieving…unrighteous…ungodly ones)…the Lord Jesus Christ was sent to die for us (to remove the barrier in the relationship between God and man).

 

So what do we know about the Lord Jesus Christ through His work on the Cross? First John, Chapter 1, Verse 9 says we know…

 

FIRST JOHN 1:9b

…He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Cleansing ourselves from the unrighteousness of sin is a task we could NEVER accomplish on our own.

 

So when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we acknowledge with joy that we have a Savior who did not think only about Himself.  In unconditional love, He thought of us.  He does not hold our mistakes against us like our human friends.  He came to earth and took on human form to eradicate the penalty of of our sin(s).Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 15…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:15

Thanks be to God the Father for His indescribable gift (the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ)!

 

It’s such a happy a day when we know the Lord Jesus Christ washed our sins away at the Cross.  So we enjoy the promise of Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 11 to 16…

 

EPHESIANS 2:11

...remember that formerly…you believers in Christ…you Gentiles…when you were in the flesh (we are now in the Spirit)…who were called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” (the Jews)…a circumcision which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

 

EPHESIANS 2:12

…remember that you were, at that time, separate from a relationship with Christ… excluded from the commonwealth of Israel…and strangers to the covenants of promise (given to Abraham and the Jews)…having no hope and without a relationship with God in the world.

 

Ouch!

 

EPHESIANS 2:13

But now in union with Christ Jesus you believers in Christ who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

 

EPHESIANS 2:14

For the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our peace…who made both groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one group (the Church Age believers)…and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall (separating God from man)…

 

EPHESIANS 2:15

…by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in union with Christ He might make the two groups into one new man (the new creation)…thus establishing peace…

 

EPHESIANS 2:16

…and so that He might reconcile both Jews and Gentiles into one body (The Body of Christ) to God the Father…through the Cross…by the Cross having put to death the enmity.

 

Thank you, Lord, for everything you did to guarantee our salvation.  Thank you for restoring our relationship with You while we were Your enemies.  Thank you for the monthly reminder of how amazing You are.

 

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 shortly 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…that Jesus Christ’s BLOOD paid for our sins…that Jesus Christ died as our sin substitute…that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to prove His Deity…that Jesus Christ saved us from the wrath of God the Father… that Jesus Christ will come again in glory to gather us unto Himself.

 

As believers in Christ, we are grateful that His work on the Cross gives us hope...the assurance of an amazing future.  Enjoy the elements as we listen to an oldie but goodie…

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER SONG

 

THEY’LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE

Tommy Walker

 

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 to Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

The Bible says God is clear-minded…First Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verse 33…

 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:33

…for God is not a God of confusion…

 

It's true!  God is so clear-minded He works in ones.  There is one category of unbelieving angels, the fallen angels; and there is one category of believing angels, the elect angels.  Here's what the Lord has to say about the fallen angels in Jude, Chapter 1, Verse 6…

 

JUDE 1:6

And the fallen angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day…

 

Here’s what the Lord says about the elect angels.  Matthew, Chapter 24, Verse 31…

 

MATTHEW 24:31

And the Lord will send forth His elect angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect believers from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

 

The Lord categorizes His human creatures the same way, and elect and fallen.  The Lord wants you to be one of the elect!

 

The bad news is you were born fallen.  You were born physically alive but

spiritually dead as a fallen, ungodly, unrighteous unbeliever.  You were born a

sinner in God’s eyes, in desperate need of a Savior.

 

It’s not your fault you were born this way, but it is your circumstance.

 

In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22, the Bible says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

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

 

The good news is that the Lord Jesus Christ knew you could not work your way out of this circumstance, so He decided to work everything out for you.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

 

It’s a great thing to know, 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?  Will you remain fallen or will you choose to be elect?

 

God doesn’t want you to go to hell!  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).

 

The Lord has a plan to make you one of the electso He can welcome you to heaven!  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.”

 

Getting to heaven requires nothing of you except the expression of your faith in Jesus Christ to save you.  You can’t work your way to heaven.

 

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 be elect on your own.  You confirm that being fallen WILL NOT get you to heaven.  It's wiser to let God make you one of His elect, because once God does something, He never changes His mind!  John, Chapter 10, Verses 28 and 29 say…

 

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.”

 

JOHN 10:29

My Father, who gives believers in Christ to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch elect believers in Christ out of God the Father’s hand.|

 

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).”

 

What if you reject a relationship with Christ?  Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 40 to 42 expresses the consequences…

 

MATTHEW 13:40

So just as weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

 

MATTHEW 13:41

The Son of Man (Jesus Christ) will send forth His elect angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers)…and those who commit lawlessness (unbelievers)…

 

MATTHEW 13:42

…and the elect angels will throw (the fallen) unbelievers into the furnace of fire (The Lake ofFire)…and in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Yes…there is a hell…and if you end up there it will be your choice.  So make the most important choice of your life!  Do what is suggested 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.”

 

Make the best decision for you!  Be an elect one, not a fallen one.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

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

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  Psalm 3, Verses 5 and 6 say…

 

PSALM 3:5

I lay down and slept…and I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

 

PSALM 3:6a

I will not be afraid of ten thousand people who have set themselves against me…

 

Hillsong Worship reminds us of the benefit of a soul that is wide awake…in their song…AWAKE MY SOUL.  Let us sing the Lord’s praises.

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

AWAKE MY SOUL

Hillsong Worship

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for Your amazing Son who died as our sin substitute…thank you for the perfect guidance of God the Holy Spirit…thank you for Your perfect plan for all mankind and Your perfect plan for each of us that conforms us to the image of Your Son…

 

…keep us safe from ourselves as we venture into a new week…help us redeem the time knowing that the days are evil…help us make a difference in the lives of everyone we meet one person at a time…

 

…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

 

Cancelled today…will resume next week

 

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

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