(#392) Romans 12 - A Renewed Mind Uses the Word of God to Make Decisions\
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church with worldwide impact based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Are we right? Is Jesus Christ God? In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 14 to 19, the apostle Paul says this…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:14 …and if (for the sake of argument) Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is vain, and your faith (in Christ) also is vain.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:15 Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God the Father, because we testified against God the Father that He raised Christ from the dead, whom He did not raise from the dead, if in fact the dead are not raised from the dead.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:16 For if the dead are not raised (in resurrection), not even Christ has been raised from the dead…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:17 …and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless…you are still in your sins (in union with Adam…not in union with Christ).
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in union with Christ have perished.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are, of all men, the ones most to be pitied.
There is always a night and day difference between Christianity and religion…between Christianity and everything else. First of all, Christianity is a relationship with Christ, not a religion. Second, Christianity is based on faith in Christ, and it is not based on your works. But most importantly, in Christianity we believe the truth of the Word of God which says that the Lord Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead. If any religion believes that not to be true, then that religion is pointless because they are merely worshiping fallible men who don’t go on living after they die.
As Christians, our God is the Sovereign of the universe, the One resurrected from the dead, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes. We’re right, Jesus Christ is God, and He demonstrated His Deity by being resurrected from the dead.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON A Renewed Mind Uses the Word of God to Make Decisions
Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 5 and 6 encourage believers in Christ to…
PROVERBS 3:5 Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart (the place where your will lives)…and do not lean on your own understanding.
Human insights applied to a problem…the world’s insights applied to a problem…are never as good as God’s insights applied to a problem… because God’s ways are supernatural.
PROVERBS 3:6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Jesus, and He will make your paths straight.
God provides a victorious road to any destination…He removes the obstacles…and He makes smooth the rugged path. When we borrow the Lord’s wisdom, He fills our lives with joy.
Do you trust God to direct you in ALL the situations you face in life?
You must! Why? There is a divine solution for every human problem. There is no situation in your life that the bible doesn’t have a principle to address. In today’s lesson we’ll take a look at the wisdom of getting our advice from God. Welcome to a place where you can learn to tune to the Lord’s channel…KGOD…and where you can learn to ignore Satan’s channel…WCON…when you need advice for the situations you face in life.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
GIVE ME YOUR EYES Brandon Heath
What makes Barah Ministries unique, and quite frankly it shouldn’t make us unique...really, it ought to make us typical...is that we learn the Word of God from God’s perspective. Here’s Brandon Heath to sing about God’s perspective in the song, GIVE ME YOUR EYES.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
Almighty God and Father, thank you for the opposition, the antagonism, the frustration, the persecution, the mocking, the scourging, the humiliation, the degradation…thank you for all the times when we are innocent yet accused…for these are among the things you allow for our benefit to produce endurance in us…you deliver us from every trial Father, but most of the time the wisest thing You do is let us continue in trials and let us relive trials over and over again until we learn the wisdom of simply trusting You for advice…
Help us to be as grateful for suffering, tribulations, and trials as we are for your deliverance…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON A Renewed Mind Uses the Word of God to Make Decisions
We’re studying Romans, Chapter 12 Verse 2…
ROMANS 12:2a And do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his cosmic system of thought, and by the flesh)…instead, keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit)…through the renewing of your mind (by studying the Word of God)…
Satan is broadcasting his deception filled world view on WCON…the cosmic broadcasting network...with a philosophy that seeks to conform us… to make us similar in form…in nature…and in character to him…but the Lord commands you to keep on being transformed by God instead…
ROMANS 12:2b …so that you may see clearly…through testing…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good and that which is acceptable and that which is perfect.
Have you ever heard someone talk this way…“This world is upside down! Everything is wrong. Nothing is as it should be. The world just keeps getting worse! In our lifetime, we will never recover, and things will never be normal again!” Have you ever talked this way?
These are not the thoughts of a Christian who is reflecting the Word of God. These are the thoughts of what the bible calls, “A natural man.” First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 14…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 2:14 But a natural man (the unbeliever) does not accept the things of the Holy Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
When you think of the world as a place that is getting worse every day…when you think of the world as a place that is in utter chaos…and when your life is a perfect reflection of this chaos…remember that you are seeing exactly what is there. You’re seeing it because the ruler of this world, Satan, does not have the ability to control his kingdom. John, Chapter 12, Verse 31 calls Satan, the enemy of God, the ruler of this world, because he is…
JOHN 12:31 Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (into the outer darkness…he will be dethroned).
It is not God’s will that this chaos be so. God doesn’t create chaos in the world, and God doesn’t create chaos in your life. In fact, the world is not chaotic in God’s mind. It’s typical of what Satan can create, and God allows it to be so.
Our God has a singular purpose…and as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are smack dab in the center of His purpose…we are in the eye of the hurricane. Satan, the enemy of God, offers temptations to lure us into the bands of the hurricane…and if it were a weather system we were talking about, there is no way that we would venture out in to the bands of the hurricane when we were resident in a dry place of absolute calm. Yet we feel enticed by Satan’s temptations, and by his chaos, and by his distractions on a regular basis, and routinely we venture out into the bands of the hurricane. Then we scratch our heads wondering why we are wet and why we were thrown violently against buildings, and into trees, and why we have been dragged through the mud.
The great thing about our God is that He is the perfect parent…He does not coddle us. He is not overprotective. He allows us to wander out into the bands of the hurricane, to get tossed here and there by waves and to get blown about by every wind, and He protects us without shielding us from this self-induced pain. Through tribulation, He toughens us up and He prepares us for every eventuality. He gives us character to deal with all the situations of this life.
God allows situations to happen in your life, and every situation is designed for your benefit. Our God is much like a parent who sends a child to school knowing the child will be educated and tested and put under pressure, and the parent allows it to put the child in a position for a greater life in adulthood. Many of the situations you encounter in life, you will have never encountered before, and you’ll need advice to handle them. God sets it up so there are only two ways to handle things…His way…or Satan’s way. When you encounter situations in your life, do you trust God to direct you in ALL the situations you face in life? Or do you go to the world for advice?
Let’s take the case of a strong, competent, and independent woman who has been single for years. She decides to get married, and now she has a situation. She and her husband have decided to buy furniture. In the past, when she was single, she has bought furniture several times. She has a good sense of taste and a great sense of color coordination. She could move fast in making the purchase decision. But now she has a budget, and a husband’s thoughts, feelings and tastes to consider, which she learned in a series of heated conversations with him. These conversations slowed the process of purchasing much more than she is comfortable with. She even hears herself saying to furniture salespeople, “I need to check with my husband first.” It makes her sick at the stomach. She begins to think, as the process starts to drag out, that maybe she knows what is best for both of them. But before she does what she is totally capable of doing, just buying the furniture that she is pleased with, she realizes she needs some advice.
When she goes to the Word of God, it tells her in Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verses 22 to 24…
EPHESIANS 5:22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, just as you are subject to the Lord.
“Yes…BUT I know how to do this stuff myself!” That’s what she says to herself.
EPHESIANS 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
EPHESIANS 5:24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be subject to their husbands in everything.
Clearly, as a spiritual woman, she knows everything changed when she got married. She went from being independent to needing to include dependence and interdependence to her repertoire. Clearly she could make this decision for herself, but the marriage is not independence. Rather, it is the proper combination of dependence, independence, and interdependence. The Word of God is clearly advising against operating independently in this situation.
After consulting the Word of God, she calls a girlfriend for a little advice. After explaining the situation to her “very spiritual” Christian girlfriend, her friend has a little advice. “Girl…take it from me…I’ve been married for twenty-seven years…men don’t care anything about furniture except where the place is to hide the remote. They don’t have any sense of color except brown. They don’t have a clue about style, or fabric, or texture, or warmth. Don’t drag things out. Just go ahead and get the furniture you want. If he complains, take him to the bedroom. He’ll shut up!” They have a good laugh about the whole thing, and then they hang up. And now our strong, competent, and independent woman who has been single for years is now faced with the first big decision of her marriage. Do I listen to God and His Word? Or do I listen to the world view presented by my Christian girlfriend?
Let’s take a music break…and we’ll see what she decides to do. Being transformed means fixing your eyes on the author and perfecter of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s hear Bebo Norman sing about it in his song, I WILL LIFT MY EYES.
MUSIC BREAK I WILL LIFT MY EYES Bebo Norman
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON A Renewed Mind Uses the Word of God to Make Decisions
Let’s begin the next portion of our lesson by giving you a chance to make an offering…we need and we value your financial support to continue the work of this ministry…please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
JOHN 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world…he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness…but will have the Light of life.”
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON A Renewed Mind Uses the Word of God to Make Decisions
We continue our study of Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 2…
ROMANS 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world (by Satan, by his cosmic system of thought, and by the flesh)…instead, keep on being transformed by (God the Holy Spirit)…through THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND (by studying the Word of God)…
ROMANS 12:2 …so that you may see clearly…through testing…what the will of God is…and the will of God is that which is good and that which is acceptable and that which is perfect.
Whenever you are faced with a situation in life, and you are faced with many situations every day, some of which you may not even think of as situations, you have choices. You have a problem…it needs a solution…and you may need some advice. Where do you turn for advice? You can tune in to KGOD for advice. God seeks to influence you with His Word…the bible…the mind of Christ. His recommendations will always encourage you to obey Him, to depend on Him, and to fix your eyes on Him for the solution. His influence will always recommend faith…Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 7 says…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:7 …for we believers in union with Christ walk by faith, not by sight—
Conversely you can go to the world for advice. Satan, his world system of thought, and the flesh are always ready to influence you through temptation, encouraging you believers in Christ to depart from the wisdom of the Word of God…victorious ground…and to come over to the place where your already secure and peaceful victory can be snatched from you.
When you tune into WCON, “The Con” for short, you are encouraged to sin…to rebel against God’s advice…to do it yourself…and to fix your eyes on the world, which really means to “fit in” … to do it the way everyone else would do it.
Back to our strong, competent, and independent woman who has been single for years, who is now faced with the first big decision of her marriage. Does she listen to God and His Word? Or does she listen to the world view presented by her “Christian” girlfriend? I think you know her choice. She did what is comfortable. She took her girlfriend’s advice.
Her husband was furious about the independent decision. There were many discussions. Many arguments. A constant power struggle of going back and forth about who is right and who is wrong…who is to blame for this and that…everything but the real conversation…the conversation about how unilateral, independent decisions obliterate the trust in a relationship.
Two years later, her husband has an affair. The couple goes to marriage counseling, and the bulk of the discussion centers on a single decision. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what decision. It’s the furniture decision. Taking the world view choice never works out. God won’t let it. But long after the choice is made and forgotten, there are consequences that surface years later, often destroying the entire relationship. Satan is ecstatic that his temptation has robbed another Christian of victorious ground and the peace that surpasses all comprehension.
How about the situation at work where a co-worker is constantly coming to you for advice? As a Christian, you have a spiritual gift, and you love using it. The place you use it best is in church, so you invite the co-worker to come to church with you. The co-worker politely refuses. But every day, the co-worker takes up a good part of your day whining about all manner of problems they have in life. After about a month of this, even though you are untrained as a psychologist, you notice, after an investment of over an hour a day for about twenty-five business days, that no matter what advice you give, it doesn’t get heard or used. You’re sick of wasting your time. You have a problem and you need a solution.
If you go to the world for the solution, you’ll hear, “Keep working with them. What kind of Christian are you? This person is obviously weak and they need help! Just keep helping them.”
If you go to the Word of God for the solution, what would the Word tell you? God would say, “Do what I do…check will. What does this person’s will tell you?” Proverbs, Chapter 23, Verse 7…
PROVERBS 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.
The weak are much stronger willed than successful people. The weak are so committed to weakness, that there is absolutely nothing you can do to help. They love talking to strong and successful people about how much they want success, but the one thing you notice the whole time is NO ACTION. Nothing changes. Talking to them is a waste of your breath.
Every situation in your life is your chance to teach both angels and men how to handle things God’s Way. If you ever hear this song in your head…“sometimes it feels like somebody’s watching me”…it’s because someone is watching you. First Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 9…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:9 For, I (Paul) think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death…because we have become a spectacle (theatron) to the world, both to angels and to men.
Angels are watching the human race from the theater of the Supreme Court of Heaven. What they are watching is our decisions. You’re a Christian… does that make any difference? Either you choose to handle things in a way that glorifies God or you choose to handle things in a way that glorifies the Satan and the world. What’s your choice?
When we go to God for advice we are asking for deliverance. It’s our chance to look at things from God’s perspective and to act on His wisdom. Every situation God allows in your life is, at its base, God seeking to do something with your life. He is not confused about what it is He wants to do with you. He puts you in all the situations to get you ready for what he’ll be using you for.
In the situations God puts us in, we recognize the old man in ourselves…the flesh…and we see the flesh carrying us into areas to get us to think and do things that are not consistent with God’s will…things that rob us of serenity. God wants to show us the old man in ourselves so we will come to detest it. What we tend to do when we see the old man in us is we get out a rubber hose and start beating ourselves with it. The rubber hose is us saying to God, “I know I’m better than I’m showing.” But the truth is you really are NOT AT ALL better than you are showing. You are much worse than you are showing.
When we go to God for advice, He gives us the exact thoughts necessary to deal successfully with a situation.
When we go to the world for advice it give us the exact thing that is necessary to fail.
What’s your choice?
BE TRANSFORMED.
What are we being transformed to? The right conforming…Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 29…
ROMANS 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren…
Who is doing the transforming? Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 26 and 27… ROMANS 8:26 In the same way God the Holy Spirit also helps our weakness…for we believers in Christ do not know how to pray as we should, but God the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…
ROMANS 8:27 …and God the Father who searches the hearts knows what the mind of God the Holy Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God the Father.
God wants you to use the Word of God to make every decision. It’s one of the ways you know that your mind has been renewed.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
As a believer in Christ, I love sharing the gospel message with unbelievers, whether they are receptive or antagonistic. Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 16 says…
ROMANS 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God the Father…divine omnipotence…to provide salvation to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ…to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentiles).
There are few who really take the time to hear this amazing message…Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 13 and 14…
MATTHEW 7:13 “Enter salvation through the narrow gate (the Lord Jesus Christ)…for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction…and there are many who enter through the wide gate.”
MATTHEW 7:14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to the resurrection life, and there are few who find the narrow way.”
In John, Chapter 10, Verse 9, the Lord says…
JOHN 10:9 “I (the Lord Jesus Christ) am the door to salvation…if anyone enters through believing in Me…he will be saved…and then he will go in and out and find pasture.”
First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 22 reminds unbelievers of their condition at physical birth…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a For all in union with Adam are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
And the second part of the verse is an invitation…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22b …but all those in union with Christ will live the resurrection life.
How can you be a part of the resurrection life? Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Join us in heaven.
CLOSING SONG I CAN’T DISAPPOINT YOU June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening! www.barahministries.com
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