(#419) Romans 12 - No One is Good Alone So We Need Each Other

/Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher\

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church that makes a difference worldwide courtesy of the internet…Barah Ministries…a Christian Church that makes a difference locally in the Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler, AZ communities.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we teach the Word of God from God’s perspective…not from man’s perspective. 

 

/TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

No One is Good Alone So We Need Each Other\

 

You are as unique as your fingerprint.  Our God, the Lord, Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ has gifted you with life.  You are the only one who can live your life.  No one can live it for you. 

 

God has put people in your life to teach you things.  The things that people teach you are not things you can learn alone.  It is obvious in so many passages of scripture, that God does not want us to be alone.  Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 18 says…

 

/GENESIS 2:18

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone…I will make him a helper (a corresponding companion) suitable for him.”\

 

The Lord gave Adam something in Eve that he did not have…a partner.  Adam needed a companion just like all of us, as believers in Christ, need each other.  In Adam and Eve the Lord inspired a unity…a harmony… something so critical to our existence.  There is a reason why prisons consider solitary confinement the ultimate torture…WE NEED EACH OTHER.  In fact, our Triune Godhead is not alone…we have one God in three separate and distinct persons.  They need each other.  We need each other.  Matthew, Chapter 18, Verses 19 and 20…

 

/MATTHEW 18:19

“Again I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to all of you (collectively), that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”\

 

/MATTHEW 18:20

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name…I am there in their midst.”\

 

We don’t only need each other individually, but also we need each other collectively.  That is why we have a church…because no one is good alone.  So we come together, learn the word together, and pray together…we need each other.

 

Individually and collectively we are to progress…to move forward…to not look backward…to forget the things that are behind…Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18…

 

/SECOND PETER 3:17

You therefore, beloved (divinely loved ones), knowing this beforehand (that the earth and the universe as we know it will be destroyed), be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men…so you don’t fall from your own steadfastness…\

 

/SECOND PETER 3:18

…instead keep on growing in the sphere of grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.\

 

Not only are we to grow in relationship with each other…but we are to grow within the sphere of the most important relationship we have…our relationship with our God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We are to grow inside our union with Christ.  Are you getting to know Christ better day by day?  Are you clear that Christianity isn’t a religion…that it isn’t merely a set of rules…but that it is actually a relationship with Christ?

 

Welcome to a place where you can get to know your God while simultaneously understanding how important we are to each other.

 

Happy Father’s Day to all the men who know what it really means to be a father…to the men their children happily call Dad…to the men who have taken on the mantle of King and Warrior…to those who are battling or who have battled the world…planning for, providing for, and protecting their family from the front line...at the point of the battle.  Here’s a song to turn your attention to your Heavenly Father, who is the perfect example of fathering…HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US by Phillips, Craig & Dean.

 

/MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

Phillips, Craig & Dean\

 

/OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...\

 

Almighty God and Father…Happy Father’s Day!  Thank you for being the perfect father…a Planner, a Provider and a Protector…thank you for all the men you have brought to this earth who have duplicated Your example, by planning, by providing for, and by protecting their families…and by staying with them through thick and thin…

 

Bless and keep the men of this world, Father…help them to know how important their fathering is…not only to their families but also to the world…and help them to see their connection to other men who are waging the same battle from the front lines, so they can realize how important they are to each other…

 

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

name...Amen.

/TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

No One is Good Alone So We Need Each Other\

 

God gave each of us believers in Christ a spiritual gift so that we would use it, giving it away as a gift to each other.  Do you now what your spiritual gift is, and are you using it to edify the brethren, especially the believers in Christ in your own congregation?  None of us is good alone…we need each other.  Are you fulfilling the request God has made that you use your spiritual gift for the benefit of the body of Christ? 

 

We’re finishing up the fourth passage of Romans, Chapter 12…Verses 4 to 8…with Verse 3 as the apostle Paul’s lead in to the spiritual gifts…

 

/ROMANS 12:3

For through the grace given to me by God the Father (the grace gift of being an apostle…Paul’s spiritual gift), I (Paul) say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think…but to think so as to have sound judgment…the thinking that’s in line with the measure of faith given to you by God as your spiritual gift.\

 

/ROMANS 12:4

For just as we have many members in one human body and all the members

of our human body do not have the same function…\

 

/ROMANS 12:5

…so we believers in Christ…who are many…are one body in union with Christ…and individually we are members one of another.\

 

/ROMANS 12:6

Since we each have a spiritual gift (charisma) that is different according to the grace (charis) given to us by God…each of us is to use the spiritual gift accordingly…if he has the spiritual gift of prophecy (for preaching the Word of God)…he is to exercise the gift according to the proportion of his faith…\

 

/ROMANS 12:7

…if he has the spiritual gift of service…he is to exercise the gift in his serving…or he who has the spiritual gift that teaches…he is to exercise the gift in his teaching…\

 

/ROMANS 12:8

…or he who has the spiritual gift to exhort, he is to exercise the gift in his exhortation…he who has the spiritual gift that gives…he is to exercise the gift with liberality…he who has the spiritual gift that leads…he is to exercise the gift with diligence…he who shows mercy…he is to exercise the gift with cheerfulness.\

 

This week I was reflecting on my decade long journey as a Pastor.  The journey actually started a decade before, in 1999, when I began teaching my sons the Word of God every Sunday from my home.  I just wanted to be a good father.  I decided that if there were only one bit of good I could do as a father, it would be to give my sons the gospel message and then teach them the Word of God.  Soon others began to come to the bible study that was being taught out of my home, and Barah Ministries was unofficially born. It was officially inaugurated ten years later with an ordained Pastor and a set of deacons.

 

I am proud of these twenty years of service to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, expressed by teaching His Word.  I am proud of the forty years I have spent studying His Word.  What I am proudest of is all the mistakes I have made along the way.  I decided that two words would define my job as a Pastor.  In fact, I decided these two words would define my life as a person…Authentic Imperfection. 

 

The AUTHENTIC part of me would be the truth within the new creation I became at the moment of salvation.  It is this part of me that has been able to hang in there through the mistakes to continue to use my spiritual gift on your behalf. 

 

The IMPERFECTION part of me would be the mistakes.  I decided that in the spite of my mistakes I would be willing to be vulnerable, and sincere, and genuine from the pulpit as someone who has nothing to hide.  I genuinely have nothing to hide.  And I decided that I would let you see my imperfections.  This week, I became convinced that the people who have left this congregation because of me have seen something in my vulnerability…something in my weakness…that they loathe in themselves and that that they refuse to acknowledge in themselves.  It was just easier to dismiss me, and Barah Ministries, than it is to go into the pit of their personal darkness, to see their own depravity, to come face-to-face with it,

and to join hands in harmony with me as another person who is Authentic Imperfection.  Going into the pit, and getting through the depravity…to be at peace with our imperfection takes a courage some refuse to develop.

 

My only regret in imperfection is the things that I have thought or done or said that have hurt others.  I would take those things back if I could…but if I could, I’d be God, for only He is perfect.  All of us have hurt others.  It’s the way we learn. 

 

There is something valuable about being given a spiritual gift by God.  When we are living our spiritual gift, we are not doing it alone.  We do it around others.  And frankly, being around others sometimes is a giant pain in the arse.  Yet who of us, that is alone, is learning the critical virtues won by being around others…grace…forgiveness…sacrifice…patience…dying to self…perseverance…and unconditional love?

 

No one is good alone…so we need each other.  When we have others in our lives they lighten the load…they influence us…they edify us…they teach us…they help us to expand…they help us to grow…they make us uncomfortable because comfort is the enemy of growth and change. 

 

Let’s take a music break. 

 

It is my hope that if your father is living, that you will reflect on his contribution to your life...that you will forgive his imperfections...and that you will respond to this day’s celebration of fatherhood in gratitude for the imperfect man that Your Perfect Father chose to be a part of your life.  Here’s Luther Vandross with his song DANCE WITH MY FATHER...then we’ll take a short break before we continue.   

 

/MUSIC BREAK                             

DANCE WITH MY FATHER

Luther Vandross\

 

/TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

No One is Good Alone So We Need Each Other\

 

We need your financial support to help Barah Ministries spread the gospel message and the Word of God all throughout this lost and dying world, courtesy of the internet.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with this week’s offering message.

 

/THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall\

 

/OFFERING VERSE

 

JAMES 1:27

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.\

 

/TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

No One is Good Alone So We Need Each Other\

 

Welcome back!   Romans, Chapter 12, Verses 6 to 8…

 

/ROMANS 12:6

Since we each have a spiritual gift (charisma) that is different according to the grace (charis) given to us by God…each of us is to use the spiritual gift accordingly…if he has the spiritual gift of prophecy (for preaching the Word of God)…he is to exercise the gift according to the proportion of his faith…\

 

/ROMANS 12:7

…if he has the spiritual gift of service…he is to exercise the gift in his serving…or he who has the spiritual gift that teaches…he is to exercise the gift in his teaching…\

 

/ROMANS 12:8

…or he who has the spiritual gift to exhort, he is to exercise the gift in his exhortation…he who has the spiritual gift that gives…he is to exercise the gift with liberality…he who has the spiritual gift that leads…he is to exercise the gift with diligence…he who shows mercy…he is to exercise the gift with cheerfulness.\

 

Paul’s letter to the Romans breaks down this way…

 

          /PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS

 

Romans, Chapters 1 to 8

An Invitation to the Christian Way of Life

          and Salvation

 

From Unbeliever to Believer in Christ

It is an indictment of the guilt all men share and God’s provision for the predicament\

 

          /PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS

 

Romans, Chapters 9 to 11

          The Fate of Israel and The Jewish Race

 

The Chosen Nation and the Chosen Race Temporarily Set Aside but Not Forgotten by a Faithful God\

 

          /PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS

 

Romans, Chapters 12 to 16

          The Christian Way of Living

          Sanctification

 

The “do’s and don’ts of the Christian Way of Living

A life of freedom\

 

As we transition out of the knowing part of Christianity detailed in the first 11 chapters of Romans, into the doing of the last five chapters of Romans, Chapters 12 to 16…Christians are called on by the Lord Jesus Christ through the apostle Paul to stand up and be counted.  Chapter 12 begins with four passages that introduce four foundational challenges…

 

          /ROMANS 12:1

         

                   Put Up…Shut Up…Grow Up…Stand Up…Show Up

 

TO PRESENT YOUR BODIES (by choice, not by command…as) AS A LIVING SACRIFICE…holy and acceptable to God the Father…which is your spiritual service…worship \

 

          /ROMANS 12:2

 

                   Do not be conformed by Satan’s world system of thought

 

Keep on being transformed by God…He is renewing your mind

 

KGOD not WCON\

 

          /ROMANS 12:3

 

                   Think highly of yourself

 

                   Not more highly than you ought to think

 

                   Think so as to have sound judgment\

 

          /ROMANS 12:4-8

 

                   Use your spiritual gift\

 

It’s not unusual that there would be a pruning of a ministry when it’s time to go to the next level…and the next level for Barah Ministries is to stop knowing…to stop talking…to put up…to shut up…to grow up…to stand up…to show up.  As a ministry we are commanded to spread the gospel… and to spread the Word of God.  The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples after His resurrection and gave them a great commission… Matthew, Chapter 28, Verses 16 to 20…

 

/MATTHEW 28:16

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.\

 

/MATTHEW 28:17

When they saw the Lord, they worshiped Him…but some were doubtful.\

 

 

/MATTHEW 28:18

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”\

 

That removed the doubt.

 

/MATTHEW 28:19

“Go therefore (a command to all of the Lord’s disciples…collectively) and make disciples of all the nations…baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”\

 

/MATTHEW 28:20

“…teaching them to observe all that I (the Lord Jesus Christ) commanded you…and lo, I am with you always…even to the end of the age.”\

 

In your periphery are unbelievers who are condemned to the Lake of Fire… some of them are your family members.  Do you care enough about them to give them the gospel message?  Do you use other believers and their spiritual gifts to give you the courage to evangelize?

 

In your periphery are believers in Christ who do not have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…who don’t know Him…and who don’t understand at all their identity in Christ as a new creation.  Are you inviting them to learn about the magnificent weapons they have at their disposal?

 

In short, there are many broken and desperate people around us.  We need to use our own brokenness and desperation to win them to Christ.  People relate to people who, like themselves, are hurting…trying to figure it out…who know they don’t have it all together…but who value being around like minded people who are struggling to figure this life out.  Frankly, the people who leave Barah Ministries aren’t looking to figure anything out.  They have it all together.  They talk…but they don’t walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they have been called…because Christians don’t turn their backs on each other.

 

Barah Ministries has failed to grow.  It occurred to me why this week.  I reflected on some of the genius of one of my favorite people and my favorite authors…Dale Carnegie…in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People.  Here’s what Carnegie has to say…

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. Did you ever stop to think of that?  Yes, just one way…\

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

…and that is by making the other person want to do it.\

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

I often went fishing up in Maine during the summer.  Personally I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms.\

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted.  I thought about what the fish wanted. I didn’t bait the hook with strawberries and cream.\

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

Rather, I dangled a worm or a grasshopper in front of the fish and said, “Wouldn’t you like to have that?”\

 

/DALE CARNEGIE

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 

Why not use the same common sense when fishing for people?\

 

 

 

Matthew, Chapter 4, Verses 18 and 19…

 

/MATTHEW 4:18

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea…for they were fishermen.\

 

/MATTHEW 4:19

And the Lord Jesus Christ said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”\

 

It’s not a coincidence that some of the disciples were fisherman.  And notice…the Lord Jesus Christ wasn’t sitting on his arse waiting for people to come to Him.  He went out fishing.

 

You’ve heard me criticizing the use of mobile phones.  You’ve heard me berate our use of them because we are falling for Satan’s isolationist strategy…he is separating us from each other and connecting us to electronics.  But we have an app.  And if the fish are biting on the phone, shouldn’t we be expanding our use of the app? 

 

No one is good alone…we need each other.  Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verses 19 to 25…

 

/HEBREWS 10:19

Therefore, brethren (believers in Christ), since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus…\

 

/HEBREWS 10:20

…by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh…\

 

/HEBREWS 10:21

…and since we have a great priest over the house of God…\

 

/HEBREWS 10:22

…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.\

/HEBREWS 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful…\

 

/HEBREWS 10:24

…AND LET US CONSIDER HOW TO STIMULATE ONE ANOTHER TO UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS…\

 

/HEBREWS 10: 25

…NOT FORSAKING OUR OWN ASSEMBLING TOGETHER, as is the habit of some, BUT ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER…and encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near.\

 

Instead of inviting people to our ground, we need to meet them on their ground.  We’ve got to get off of our arses.  Using our spiritual gift to edify each other will give us the courage to grow…to expand…and to continue to make ourselves uncomfortable with comfort.  As for the size of our church…the Lord doesn’t need numbers.  Ask Gideon.  Judges, Chapter 7, Verse 7…

 

/JUDGES 7:7

The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands…so let all the other people go, each man to his home.”\

 

If the Lord has to deliver Barah Ministries with twenty people, He will.  Those who aren’t interested may go home.  To those who are here, let’s close ranks and press on.

 

No one is good alone.  We need each other.  And we will not forget those who have left with whom we are still in unity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life\

 

The closing moments of our study are for the benefit of anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU.

 

What is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life? 

 

Many people believe that religious rituals are their ticket into heaven. They embrace religious beliefs that tell them how to live a spiritual life. The religion claims there is a God, or there are many gods…but the religion does not tell you how to have a personal relationship with God. Instead they invite you to a relationship with rules.  And, despite following the religious rituals, the religion does not guarantee that following those rituals will get you into heaven.

 

In John, Chapter 4, Verses 13 and 14, the Lord Jesus Christ is talking to a woman at a well…a Samaritan woman whom the Jews wanted nothing to do with…after a brief conversation, the Lord says to her…

 

/JOHN 4:13

“Everyone who drinks of this water (in this well) will thirst again…”\

 

/JOHN 4:14

“…but whoever drinks of the water (of the Word…the gospel message) that I will give him shall never thirst…but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (the resurrection life).”\

 

It is the Lord’s will for you to come to heaven to live with Him when you close your eyes in this life.  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

/SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward you unbelievers, not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).\

 

First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verses 3 and 4…

 

/FIRST TIMOTHY 2:3

This is good and acceptable in the sight of the God who is our Savior (the Lord Jesus Christ)…\

 

/FIRST TIMOTHY 2:4

…who desires all men to be saved and for all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.\

 

The truth of how to get to heaven is this simple…it’s a nine-word conversation with God…as in Luke, Chapter 23, Verses 42 and 43…

 

/LUKE 23:42

And a thief being crucified next to Jesus was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”\

 

/LUKE 23:43

And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”\

 

Or if you prefer…it’s a five word conversation with God the Father… “Father…I believe in Christ.”  Simply believe…and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  Now once the Lord saves you, no matter how hard you try, you cannot lose your salvation…John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

/JOHN 10:28

“…and 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.”\

 

On the other hand, if you reject the relationship offer of this God who does not want you to perish, He will honor your wishes…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 49 and 50…

 

/MATTHEW 13:49

So it will be at the end of the age…the angels will come forth and take out the wicked (unbelievers) from among the righteous (believers in Christ)...\

 

/MATTHEW 13:50

…and will throw them into the furnace of fire…in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\

 

Once you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ…you’ll belong to God…an eternal possession.  Let’s hear June Murphy sing about it in her song…FATHER I’M YOURS.  Once again…Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there.

 

/CLOSING SONG

FATHER I’M YOURS

June Murphy\

 

/CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...\

 

/Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

www.barahministries.com\


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