(# 291) Romans 8 - And Sometimes You Give Up Your Life…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. At Barah Ministries we are “pursuing the truth through the study of the Word of God.” Because of the gracious provision of the internet, from our omnipotent God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Barah Ministries has a worldwide reach and an intimate impact on lives. Thank you Lord for providing a way for anyone, anywhere to be reached with Your Word.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON And Sometimes You Give Up Your Life…
John, Chapter 15, Verse 13 says…
John 15:13 Greater unconditional love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Happy Father’s Day!
Sometimes you give up your life…that’s the role of the father in a family. He is the leader of the family, and the role of the leader is sacrifice. A leader is the one who “takes the point.” In modern military parlance, to take the point, to walk the point, to be on the point, or to be a “point man” means to assume the most exposed position in a combat military formation. In short, the one on the point is the first one to incur the hostility of the enemy…the ones at the point are often the first to die.
The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded men to take the point, especially in relationships…to love unconditionally…to love sacrificially…to lay down their lives for those they love. Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verse 25…
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives unconditionally, just as the Lord Jesus Christ also loved the church unconditionally, and gave Himself up as a sacrificial substitute for her…
Men are always the first to take the arrows of hostility, and unfortunately, often from “friendly fire.” Quite often the members of a man’s own family mistake him for a “hostile,” and direct deadly fire at him, just as the Lord predicts in Matthew, Chapter 10, Verses 34 to 36…
Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I (the Lord Jesus Christ) came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but I came to bring a sword.”
Matthew 10:35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law…”
Matthew 10:36 “…and a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”
Actually, as the head of the wife and as the joint head of the family, the father gets “double point” duty…he takes double the arrows.
As a man, I have always had a tremendous love and respect for women. Women raised me, and women were usually the first people I’d notice in any situation. That is no longer the case. Quite a while ago I took a course on manhood, and the camaraderie with the other men and the impact of us sharing our lives, and our stories, and our experiences had a tremendous effect on me. It helped me to notice men.
When I used to board a flight, my eyes naturally gravitated to the female flight attendants. Now, as a result of learning about men, my eyes naturally gravitate to the men. What do I see? I see bellies that hang over belts…I see ties loosened…shirts wrinkled…suits unpressed…shoes unshined…nails unkempt…minds going a mile a minute…phones in use…these men…who are giving all of themselves for the ones back home who may not see the grueling nature of the torture these men endure on their behalf. Now, I always make it a point to thank the pilots on my way out of the plane for getting me to my destination safely, when in the past I didn’t even see them.
Today we salute the men who have done their duty as Fathers…the ones that can be called “daddy” because of their selfless dedication to their wives and to their children. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should pay tribute to fathers…and the Lord thinks so, too…Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, Verse 16 says…
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
The Lord commands that wives and children value fathers highly, and the best expression of this value is obedience to their direction. Having a father that cares is not at all rare…there are many good men in this world…valuing them is what is rare. And let’s not forget about God the Father, the Ultimate Father, on this Father’s Day…who blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…a Father, who according to Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8 made the most selfless sacrifice ever…
Romans 5:8 God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, (His Son, the Lord Jesus) Christ died instead us.
Welcome to a place where we value men…and honor those who are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ on this Father’s Day in the year of our Lord 2016.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
DANCE WITH MY FATHER Luther Vandross
The opening song for this lesson is our tribute to fathers…DANCE WITH MY FATHER by Luther Vandross.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit will touch the lives of fathers all over the world today, and that You will strengthen them to stand firm and to stand tall in these challenging days where compromise of principal is the norm rather than the exception…thank you for giving them wisdom, and revelation and courage to live Your truth and Your righteousness.
We pray, Father, that in these days when the relentless attack of the world and the flesh and the enemy insist that fathers “give in” on the seemingly small things that are really foundational for living the righteous life, that you will strengthen their resolve and build in them the character to withstand the attacks and to act with integrity. Bless our fathers, and encourage them as they seek to live their lives in a way that brings glory and honor to You…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.
A few announcements….
BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! No Face-to-Face Teaching July 3, 2016
No lesson will be posted…it’s just a day off.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Next Deacon’s Meeting July 9 7:30A-9:00A
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Alex Cramer June 20
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON And Sometimes You Give Up Your Life…
We continue our study of the final passage in Romans, Chapter 8, which extends from Verse 31 to Verse 39…here it is…
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 who died, yes, rather He who was raised…He who is at the right hand of God the Father…He who also intercedes for us.
Romans 8:35 WHO will separate us from the unconditional love of Christ? (And WHAT will separate us?) 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.”
Romans 8:37 But in all these things we 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.
Sometimes you give up your life…finishing up 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?
Will SWORD separate us from God’s unconditional love?
Definitely not! What is the sword? SWORD Death by execution
John the Baptist received the sword…and quite unexpectedly…sometimes you give up your life for a cause…Matthew, Chapter 14, Verses 1 to 12…
Matthew 14:1 At that time Herod Antipas (son of Herod the baby killer), the tetrarch (the co-ruler of one quarter of Palestine), heard the news about Jesus…
Matthew 14:2 …and said to his servants, “This ‘Jesus’ is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Now the story of John the Baptist’s encounter with the sword…
Matthew 14:3 For when Herod had John the Baptist arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias (whom Herod was living with), the wife of his brother Philip.
Matthew 14:4 For John the Baptist had been saying to Herod (and publicly), “It is not lawful for you to have (sex with) her.”
Matthew 14:5 Although Herod wanted to put John the Baptist to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John the Baptist as a prophet.
Matthew 14:6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias (Salome) danced before them and pleased Herod (he was probably in a drunken state)…
Matthew 14:7 …and the daughter of Herodias pleased him so much that he (foolishly) promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
Matthew 14:8 Having been prompted by her mother, the daughter of Herodias (Salome) said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
Matthew 14:9 Although Herod Antipas was grieved (to the point of distress), the king commanded John’s head to be given to her because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests.
Matthew 14:10 He sent and had John the Baptist beheaded in the prison.
Matthew 14:11 And John’s head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
Matthew 14:12 John the Baptist’s disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
Herod is probably going to be a resident of the Lake of Fire…he rejected a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and he rejected the Lord’s forerunner…John the Baptist.
Let’s take a short music break, and then we’ll hear more about the sword.
MUSIC BREAK HOW DEEP THE FATHERS LOVE FOR US Phillips, Craig and Dean
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON And Sometimes You Give Up Your Life…
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?
Will SWORD separate us from God’s unconditional love?
Jesus was not immune from the sword…the Cross was His sword…sometimes you give up your life…Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 47…
Matthew 26:47 While Jesus was still speaking, behold, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and from the elders of the people.
Matthew 26:48 Now he who was betraying the Lord (Judas Iscariot) gave the chief priests and elders a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”
Matthew 26:49 Immediately Judas Iscariot went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
And the great line from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar…“Judas… must you betray me with a kiss?”
Matthew 26:50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ allowed the arrest…took the sword…and saved the whole world. John, Chapter 3, Verses 17 to 21…
John 3:17 For God the Father did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:18 He who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the Person of the uniquely born Son of God.
John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
John 3:20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
John 3:21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
James, the brother of John, died by the sword…sometimes you give up your life…Acts, Chapter 12, Verses 1 to 3…
Acts 12:1 Now about that time Herod Agrippa I, the king, laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.
Acts 12:2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
Acts 12:3 When Herod saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
It was Herod’s intent to execute Peter, too, but the Lord intervened…the first century was not a great time to be a Christian…sometimes you give up your life…Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verses 32 to 38…
Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, of Jephthah, of David and of Samuel and the prophets…
Hebrews 11:33 …who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions…
Hebrews 11:34 …quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Hebrews 11:35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection…
Hebrews 11:36 …and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.
Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated…
Hebrews 11:38 …(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
Many suffered the sword for Christ’s sake but it did not separate them from Christ’s unconditional love.
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?
The God who loves us unconditionally lets us go through a series of tortures for our benefit. What are we to think face-to-face with these things? Luke, Chapter 9, Verses 23 and 24…
Luke 9:23 And Jesus was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, (maybe you do and maybe you don’t, you have a choice), he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Luke 9:24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”
As followers of Jesus, we follow Him even to death! And we do so with FAITH, knowing that in the Christian Way of Life, death is always followed by life.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ (the Messiah)…?”
Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given to mankind by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Acts 2:21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will be saved.’
CLOSING SONG FATHER I’M YOURS June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
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