(# 284) Romans 8 - Are You Ignorant of Your Enemy’s Schemes?Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. Barah Ministries teaches the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from the human perspective. We want to know what God has to say to us though His Word, because we’re convinced that God knows exactly what He’s talking about. And our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Are You Ignorant of Your Enemy’s Schemes?
Perhaps the most central theme in the salvation of believers in Christ is the reality of one of the many free gifts at the moment salvation…our UNION WITH CHRIST. Each believer in Christ is placed into union with Christ at the moment of salvation.
I see clearly the genius of the Lord’s move from a strategic point of view. Once an immutable God places you in union with Christ, you can never get out of this union. No one can break this union. In John, Chapter 10, Verse 28, our Sovereign God, the Lord Jesus Christ, proclaims the value of this union…
John 10:28 …and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life (the resurrection life) to believers in Christ, and as a result they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Once you are in union with Christ, you can’t get out. The next verses of study in Romans, Chapter 8 call to mind the idea of unity. Our unity with Christ is of highest importance…a central tenet in Christianity…a reality that is “all over the New Testament” as one scholar put it, once you have your eyes opened to the truth of this reality. What is unity? UNITY The state of being combined into oneness of mind and of feeling… harmony…agreement…a combining of parts into a single whole.
One of the reasons I have always loved sports, and especially sports during playoff time, is to see the revelation of unity. The cream that always rises to the top in the sports world, are the teams that are able to live in unity…the team that can stay focused and stay together in the face of the adversity of another team seeking to tear them apart...that’s fun to watch.
When we become believers in Christ, we are placed into union with Christ. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…
Second Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in union with Christ, and all believers in Christ are, he is a new creature; the old self things passed away; behold, new things have come.
The Greek expression, repeated throughout the New Testament is en kristo iesu…typically translated “in Christ” … and it means “in union with Christ Jesus.” The Lord places us into union with Himself at the moment of salvation, creating a unity that can’t be broken. In other words, the two become one flesh. It’s the same unity that occurs when a couple, one male and one female, get married…the two become one flesh…UNITY.
You may remember the Harry Nilsson song, “One,” which was made popular by the singing group Three Dog Night…here’s one of the lyrics…
ONE by HARRY NILSSON
One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do…
It’s true. The opposite of unity, disunity, is the worst thing in the human experience. Satan, the enemy of God, is the sponsor of disunity. Second Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 11…
Second Corinthians 2:11 …so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. Satan’s schemes promote disunity. Welcome to a place where you can learn how to illuminate his schemes and how to avoid becoming a victim of the devastation of disunity.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
HOPE IN FRONT OF ME Danny Gokey
The opening song for this lesson is HOPE IN FRONT OF ME by Danny Gokey.
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 bringing different people together…in relationships… and in the church…thank you for introducing unity to us, especially in a world where people allow themselves to be repulsed by differences and repelled by strangers…we run from those who are different from us…and we gravitate to those we feel are just like us…
Help us to value the differences…help us to understand how important it is to be different, while simultaneously coming together in unity…help us to remember that you have placed a number of Your creatures who are quite different than Your Son into union with Your Son…show us how to follow Your example…help us to detect the insidiousness of the enemy’s attempt to separate us with his evil and nefarious schemes…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name... Amen.
Let’s begin this lesson by giving you a chance to make an offering…
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
In just a moment we’ll welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to take the offering.
The apostle Paul highlights the joy that a Pastor has in watching the congregation give, in Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 17. He says…
Philippians 4:17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account (from the giving of the gift).
I love watching you give because I KNOW what God is doing for you in return…he’ll reward your cheerful generosity, which gives this ministry life. Thank you for providing.
Please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
First Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Are You Ignorant of Your Enemy’s Schemes?
We continue our study of Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 to 39…
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, and He is, who is ever going to be successful in opposition 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 our union with Christ, freely give us all things?
Romans 8:33 Who will bring a successful charge against God’s elect (all believers in Christ)? God the Father is the one who justifies…
Romans 8:34 …who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He…the One who died, yes, rather He who was raised from the dead…He who is at the right hand of God the Father…He who also intercedes for us.
Christ does not condemn us even though He has the power to do so…
Romans 8:35 Who will separate us from the unconditional love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from His unconditional love?
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.”
As Christians, we are always at the point of the attack and we are always being persecuted, all day long, with no time off for good behavior.
Romans 8:37 But in all these things (in every situation imaginable) we believers in Christ overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us unconditionally.
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 unconditional love of God the Father, which is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
The next two verses of study in Romans, Chapter 8, introduce us to the idea of unity by asking us about disunity. Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 35 and 36…
Romans 8:35 Who will separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from His unconditional love?
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.”
The rhetorical questions Paul asks us to consider in these verses…
PAUL’S QUESTIONS TO BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
WHO will separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of Christ?
(Or WHAT?) Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from His unconditional love?
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 35 starts with WHO…who will separate us? We know who wants to separate us from the Lord’s unconditional love…it’s the Lord’s enemy, who also is our enemy…Satan…First Peter, Chapter 5, Verses 8 and 9…
First Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit (control yourself), and be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
First Peter 5:9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
The bible must be interpreted in the time it was written, and in first century Rome, this analogy was particularly painful…the Emperor of Rome at the time, Nero, was a sadistic tyrant who derived great pleasure from torturing Christians. He would dip them in oil and set them on fire at night in his garden, quipping, “They said they were the light of the world!” He also enjoyed putting them in the Roman Coliseum as a sporting event and allowing people to watch Christians be devoured by lions. Satan is such a roaring lion…looking for unity to devour. Let’s take a quick music break and we’ll see what there is to learn in these next two verses of the Lord’s love letter to His believers.
MUSIC BREAK GOD WITH US MercyMe
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Are You Ignorant of Your Enemy’s Schemes?
Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 35 and 36…
Romans 8:35 Who will separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from His unconditional love?
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.”
The WHO in Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 35 is Satan, the enemy of God. He is the one with the schemes designed to separate you from God. How does the “schemer” work? The Lord talked about it all the time. Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 1 to 9…
Matthew 13:1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
Matthew 13:2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
Matthew 13:3 And Jesus spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow…”
Matthew 13:4 “…and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.”
Matthew 13:5 “Other seeds fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.”
Matthew 13:6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”
Matthew 13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
Matthew 13:8 “And other seeds fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”
Matthew 13:9 “He who has ears, let him hear.”
The Lord makes the parable clear in Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 18 to 23…
Matthew 13:18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.” Matthew 13:19 “When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one (Satan) comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”
Matthew 13:20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…”
Matthew 13:21 “…yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Matthew 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”
Satan is the destroyer of the sower’s work…the maker of “schemes.” I think you need to ask yourself a question, “What kind of receiver are you?” This passage is talking about the sower of the gospel message…the Lord Jesus Christ…the schemer, Stan…but it is also talking about you. What kind of receiver are you when a message is being sown?
Are you an “along the path” receiver? Are you a “rocky places” receiver? Are you a “thorns” receiver? Or are you a “good soil” receiver? Are you ignorant of the enemy’s schemes?
The Along The Path Receiver…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 4 and 19…
Matthew 13:4 “…and as the sower sowed, some seeds fell beside the road (along the path), and the birds came and ate the seeds up.”
Matthew 13:19 “When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom (the gospel message inviting them to salvation) and does not understand it, the evil one (Satan) comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”
What kind of receiver are you? When you hear something you do not understand, do you run away from learning? Do you think you should understand everything right away? Most people don’t.
The Rocky Places Receiver…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 5 and 6…Verses 20 and 21…
Matthew 13:5 “Other seeds fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.”
Matthew 13:6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”
Matthew 13:20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…”
Matthew 13:21 “…yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
What kind of receiver are you? What are you like when you don’t have background on a subject? Do you run away? Is it too much work for you to seek understanding?
The Thorns Receiver…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 7 and 22…
Matthew 13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
What kind of receiver are you? Are you preoccupied with activity…with wealth…with power…with control…with worry…with the details of life? Do you run to busy-ness rather than to God?
The Good Soil Receiver…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 8 and 23…
Matthew 13:8 “And other seeds fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Matthew 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
What kind of receiver are you? We all want to be this kind of receiver…so how do you know if you are this kind of receiver? Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 15 and 16…
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Matthew 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits.”
The one thing we don’t want to be is ignorant, and especially of the ways the “roaring lion” who seeks to devour us. He looks to destroy the things that are valuable to us. He seeks to separate us from the things that God thinks are rightly ours, like happiness. Will you let him? GOD WANTS YOU! The Most Important Decision of Your Life Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ…?”
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.//For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
John 10:9 Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, (maybe you will and maybe you won’t you have a choice) he will be saved, and then he will go in and out and find pasture.”
Luke 23:42-43 And the repentant thief was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!// And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
CLOSING SONG HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
We pray that You protect our steps as we go out into the world, Father…and that you keep us on the narrow way, completely dependent on You and Your Guiding, Mentoring Spirit…we ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
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