ROM-63-141214 - length: 76:10 - taught on Dec, 14 2014
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
This week, a dear friend of mine called my attention to an article from Pastor Mike Fabarez of Compass Bible Church and Focal Point Ministries on false teachers…he had some interesting things to say about them.
PASTOR MIKE FABAREZ
Compass Bible Church - Focal Point Ministries
“Satan’s best work is not done when he gets fiendish rockers to drink blood out of a skull or to bite the head off a chicken at some thrash-metal concert. Satan’s best and most effective work is accomplished through those who have a Bible in their hand.”
Amen? The New Testament warns us about false teachers and false teaching in several places. First Timothy, Chapter 4, Verse 1…
But God the Holy Spirit explicitly says that in later times (in all generations) some believers in Christ will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and paying attention to the doctrines of demons…
There are enemies of truth, and there are demons that instigate heresy… teachings that are in direct contradiction of biblical teaching. Second Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 1…
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon
themselves.
False teachers and false teaching are insidious, intending deceit, and they always show up through inside agents within a church, or a family, or a soul. If you and I have different viewpoints about the Word of God, one of us or both of us are wrong. The truth never changes and is not subject to interpretation, only correct translation. Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 15…
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you sheep in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Jesus was talking about the advocates of the broad way that leads to destruction…and they are ravenous…intensely seeking your destruction. Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 21 to 23…
“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 the kingdom of heaven.”
“Many will say to Me on that day (at The Great White Throne Judgment) , ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name didn’t we cast out demons, and in Your name didn’t we perform many miracles?’”
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Jesus is making it clear in this passage that they are those who lead others astray because they are astray themselves…“depart from Me” is the swift destruction being described in 2PE 2:1…the Lake of Fire…the second death. Second Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 13 to 15 continue a focus on the deception of false teachers…
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Therefore it is not surprising if his servants (false teachers) also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
False teachers do not have divine accreditation. They should be ignored. They should not be believed. Galatians, Chapter 1, Verses 8 and 9…
But even if we (Paul speaking of himself), or (even is) an angel from heaven,
should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he
is to be accursed!
As we have said before, so I (Paul) say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received (from me), he is to be accursed!
False teachers love altering the gospel message. We need to compare what they say to Scripture. Acts, Chapter 17, Verse 11…
Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than those believers in Thessalonica, for the Bereans received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things (being preached) were so.
First John, Chapter 4, Verse 1…
Beloved (divinely loved ones), do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Pastor Mike Fabarez continues…
PASTOR MIKE FABAREZ
Compass Bible Church - Focal Point Ministries
Pastors who regularly illuminate biblical concern about false teachers often are written off as alarmists…as the “Chicken Littles” of modern Christianity (the sky is falling). But noting the sheer volume of biblical warnings about false teachers in the New Testament, it’s fair to say most Christians don’t give this problem the amount of attention God the Holy Spirit intended for us to give it.
These thoughts are the perfect introduction to the continuation of our lesson on separating the PERSON from the PERFORMANCE. Why are we more concerned with our performance than with whom we are as people? It’s because we believe false teachers. The Lord Jesus Christ is much more concerned with you as a PERSON than He is with your PERFORMANCE.
Welcome to a place where you can choose to free yourself from the tortures of bondage to a performance obsession that disregards your person.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
BECAUSE HE LIVES
Let’s begin our worship of the Lord with an opening song. Here’s June Murphy to sing…BECAUSE HE LIVES.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful to you, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Teach us how to see ourselves as You see us…teach us how to crawl up behind Your eyes and to assess our lives as you would…help us to be gracious, especially to ourselves…to give ourselves a break…to get rid of our constant self-judgments…teach us how not to create standards for ourselves that we could never achieve…teach us to value our person as much as we value our performance…and when our performance falls short of the mark…help us to see it as progress…because it is often better to do something and to fail than to do nothing and to succeed…remind us to visit the mind of Christ…the bible…for the divine solution to our human problems…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name...
Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Do You Separate Your PERSON from Your PERFORMANCE?
In spite of the glorious riches God the Father provides to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, when we face the challenges of life, we often faint in our souls and fall apart under the heat of the tribulations we encounter. When we do, it is likely that we believe the conversation of “the world” … “the kingdom of death” …Satan …more than we believe the Lord Jesus Christ and His promises, which are guarantees. In John, Chapter 8, Verse 44, the Lord Jesus Christ describes His enemy…Satan.
You (Pharisees) are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a soul murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
As the father of lies, Satan is the one who spawns lies. One of his biggest lies is that there is no difference between your person and your performance. The simple remedy is for you to say, even if it is only to yourself, “I don’t believe you, Satan. That’s a lie.”
Satan turns your performance into an identity…he connects it to your person. For example…
PERFORMANCE PERSON
Homosexuality Homosexual
Steal Thief
Lie Liar
Adultery Adulterer
PERFORMANCE PERSON
Fornicate Fornicator
Win Winner
Lose Loser
Drunk Alcoholic
If your person and your performance are inextricably linked, then your performance is part of your nature. If your performance is part of your nature, then it is impossible to change. If your person and your performance are inextricably linked, then the only time you an ever change anything is if you change your entire personality. Who’s up for that? The problem is, you believe this.
Then Satan promotes a series of expressions that reinforce the fact that your fate is fixed and that you can’t change…and you believe them, too.
EXPRESSIONS THAT YOUR FATE IS FIXED
“A leopard never changes his spots”
“Once a cheater always a cheater”
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”
“It takes twenty one days to chance a habit!”
The simple remedy is for you to say, even if it is only to yourself, “I don’t believe you, Satan. That’s a lie.” If you do something once it does NOT mean you will do it again. You actually have a choice concerning your performance.
Satan is the ruler of this world according to the Word of God…John, Chapter 12, Verse 31…
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (dethroned).
Satan deceives the whole world, and he certainly deceives you by connecting your PERSON to your PERFORMANCE…Satan makes your performance your identity, and you agree with him. You believe him. Have you ever described yourself this way? “I’m the type of person who…”
When you do, you are connecting your PERSON to your PERFORMANCE.
Satan encourages you to connect your performance to false context…to deny responsibility ... “I’m doing that because my mother did something bad to me when I was a child” … “Well my horoscope says” … “In a dream I was told” … “It takes a long time to change” … “I’m getting better” … “I’m getting there slowly”
You are able stop doing one performance and start doing another immediately. You are not powerless…you are not helpless…you are not hopeless…especially in the matter of your choices. You are not a victim. Satan wants you to think you are. And you believe him. Take a five-minute break.
BREAK
Your Love is Extravagant
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Welcome back! Do you separate your PERSON from your PERFORMANCE? When you don’t then you’ll feel unworthy, unacceptable, and inferior, especially when you make mistakes. So you can easily conclude that if you feel unworthy, unacceptable, or inferior, then you are probably not separating your PERSON from your PERFORMANCE… you have decided that your PERSON and your PERFORMANCE are the same, and that’s a big mistake.
Do you see yourself through God’s eyes? Satan doesn’t want you to. Why?
Because God sees the most despicable person with eyes of unconditional
love. Do you see yourself that way? You can. Right now!
I had an interesting conversation with a group of veterans on a recent visit to the Veteran’s Administration. They asked for my opinion on this verse… First Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 9 and 10…
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Their contention was that if you engage in homosexuality, then you can’t go to heaven. Is this true?
When you survey this verse, your biblical knowledge has to come into play right away. Who are the unrighteous? Right away you must know that the “unrighteous” are those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So stop right there. If you don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot go to heaven. If you DO believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before your physical death, you will go to heaven, regardless of your sins. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ paid for the sins of all mankind at the Cross. First John, Chapter 2, Verses 1 and 2…
My little children (believers in Christ), I (John) am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and all believers do, we have an Advocate with God the Father, Jesus Christ the ONLY righteous One;and Jesus Christ is the propitiation (the ONLY and the perfect and the satisfactory payment) for our sins (as believers in Christ); and not for ours only, but also for those sins of the whole world (unbelievers as well).
Don’t EVER forget that. Jesus Christ took care of the sin problem for ALL MANKIND so get your focus off of sin and sinning!
So those vets who contended that if you engage in homosexuality, then you can’t go to heaven were dead wrong according to Scripture. But here’s what else…look at the verses again…First Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 9 and 10…
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
I asked the vets a simple question…is there any one of you here that has not committed one of the other sins in the list…fornication…adultery… idolatry…theft…coveting…reviling…swindling…because if you have committed any one of these sins, by your logic, you won’t go to heaven either…you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Silence. Case closed.
Homosexuality is a hot topic. It is being shoved down our throats at every turn, in every movie, on every television show, even in sports, so much so that we as Christians are conceding that it is an “okay sin.” We believe Satan’s distortion that it is a lifestyle. We believe it is an identity. We even believe that is genetic…that God has doomed some to this sin malady. Would God be just if he did that? Of course not! May it never be!
Is homosexuality a more grievous sin than the others? God would say not. God is repulsed by all sinning. Yet God the Father sent His Son to pay for the things that He was repulsed by. Would you?
If you don’t want to be around homosexuality, I don’t blame you. But do you want to be around lies? Around stealing? Around drunkenness? Around murder? I don’t. First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 33…
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
God loves the person who engages in homosexuality. God loves the person who engages in any sins. He laid down His life for each of us. God despises sin and sinning. He wants nothing to do with them, and He doesn’t want you around them either. Yet here’s the challenge. Romans, Chapter 7 Verses 15 to 20…
For what I (the PERSON) am doing (the PERFORMANCE), I do not understand; for I (the PERSON) am not practicing (the PERFORMANCE) what I (the PERSON) would like to do (the PERFORMANCE), but I (the PERSON) am doing the very thing (the PERFORMANCE) I hate.
If you have never had this happen, please tell me now. If you think you are a good person because you do this less than others…if you think you have respectable sins…please let me know so I can straighten out your twisted mind. You are no better or worse than anyone else.
But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
So now, no longer am I the one doing it (the PERFORMANCE), but sin which dwells in me (is doing the PERFORMANCE).
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing (not to do good) is present in me, but the doing of the good is not (present in me).
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me (is doing it).
Good news for you. “The flesh” that is doing the PERFORMANCE is not you, THE PERSON. You the PERSON, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ are a royal priest, an ambassador, you are holy, you are blameless, you are a saint, you are indwelled by the entire Trinity, you are a new spiritual species, with absolute righteousness, justified, redeemed, reconciled, expiated, sanctified, godly, no longer a sinner, removed from the kingdom of darkness, no longer under condemnation, destined for heaven. If you can’t separate yourself from your performance, you will never see yourself as God sees you. You will never believe anything I teach. And you will be miserable and confused for your whole life. You’ll certainly never
know how to relate to other people. You’ll never really understand God.
<ROGER STAUBACH and HOLLYWOOD HENDERSON>
You are able stop doing one performance and start doing another immediately. You are not powerless…you are not helpless…you are not hopeless…especially in the matter of your choices. You are not a victim. Satan wants you to think you are.
When Satan seeks to get you to combine yourself and your performance, the simple remedy is for you to say, even if it is only to yourself, “I don’t believe you, Satan. That’s a lie.” No one can do this for you. If you can’t do it for yourself, then you might want to seriously consider why you would want to be a Christian if you want to forfeit all of its advantages.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
When God makes a promise…
it’s a guarantee!
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Jesus said to doubting Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through believing in Me.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life (the ZOE life); but he who does not obey the (command to believe in the) Son will not see (the Zoe) life, but instead the wrath of God the Father abides on him.”
CLOSING SONG
Whosoever
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of Your unconditional love, Your glorious Person, Your lucid thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your magnificent essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming…for watching…for listening!
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1220 S. Alma School Rd. Suite 201 Mesa, AZ 85210 |
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(480) 237-9903 |
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