(#451) Romans 13 - Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

Good Morning!

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective.

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

As Christians, we have a God who is constantly changing us.

As Christians, we know there is ONE AND ONLY ONE GOD…the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the chauffeur of our lives, and He drives us to victory over our circumstances…Second Samuel, Chapter 7, Verse 22…

SECOND SAMUEL 7:22

For this reason You are great O Lord God (because of all the things You do to reveal Yourself to each of us)…for there is no one like You (you are unique)…and there is no God besides You (there is ONE AND ONLY ONE GOD)…according to all that we have heard with our ears.

As Christians, we know there is ONE AND ONLY ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH…the bible…and it is the mind of Christ…it is His exact thinking… it is the Word of God. Christians are to be Bereans, constantly downloading the wisdom of the Word of God into our hearts, while maintaining a healthy curiosity about the bible’s authenticity…Acts, Chapter 17, Verse 11…

ACTS 17:11

Now the Berean Jews were more noble-minded than those Jews in Thessalonica…for they received the Word of God with great eagerness… EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY to see whether these things written in the bible were accurate.

As Christians, we have a GIFT FROM GOD called FAITH. Using this gift, we place our trust in God…we have absolute confidence in God…we expect Him to supply everything we need in abundance…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 8…

EPHESIANS 2:8

For by God’s grace you have been saved through FAITH in Christ for salvation…and that grace and that FAITH and that salvation are not from the source of yourselves…IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD….

As Christians, our relationship with God is based on FAITH…He expects His believers to place our confidence completely in Him…and He absolutely is able to take on the challenges posed by our faith in Him. In Luke, Chapter 17, Verses 5 and 6, the Lord’s apostles made an interesting request…

LUKE 17:5

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

But the Lord assured the apostles they didn’t need morefaith, because His gift of faith was totally sufficient.

LUKE 17:6

And the Lord said, “If (for the sake of argument) you had faith as small as a mustard seed…you would say to this mulberry tree (a tree with a deep and intertwined root system), ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’ … and the mulberry tree would obey you.”

What is faith?

FAITH

Placing unreserved trust or complete confidence in someone or something.

In this case, we place our unreserved trust and complete confidence in the

Lord Jesus Christ…and Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 1 is the result…

HEBREWS 11:1

Now faith is the absolute assurance of things hoped for…faith is the evidence when things are not seen.

Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 6…

HEBREWS 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him…for the one who comes to God the Father must believe…both that He exists…and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Christians are to use the gift of faith as our father Abraham did…Romans, Chapter 4, Verses 19 to 21…

ROMANS 4:19

Without becoming weak in faith Abraham contemplated his own body…now sexually dead, since he was about a hundred years old…and Abraham contemplated the deadness of Sarah’s womb (for she was old as well…and barren…unable to have children)…

ROMANS 4:20

…yet with respect to the promise of God the Father (that Abraham would have a son)…Abraham did not waver in unbelief…but grew strong in faith…giving glory to God…

ROMANS 4:21

…and Abraham was fully assured…knowing that what God the Father had promised, He was able also to perform.

How much faith did Abraham have? Faith about the size of a mustard seed…the smallest of all seeds.

The opposite of faith is worry. If you don’t place your unreserved trust and complete confidence in the Lord…the only person left to place confidence in is yourself. That’s a disaster! God has a better suggestion than worrying in Philippians, Chapter 4, Verses 6 and 7…prayer!

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

Stop worrying about anything…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your prayer requests be made known to God the Father.

PHILIPPIANS 4:7

And the peace of God the Father…which surpasses all comprehension…will guard your hearts and your minds in union with Christ Jesus.

God intends for us to use the gift of faith by recognizing who we are because of our union with Christ…and to use that supernatural power in every choice we make. God is the cornerstone of our life…our solid foundation…and every one of us believers are His living stones…He directs our lives with His Word…and He gives us the gift of faith to calm us as we encounter the potholes of our daily lives. Welcome to a place where you can get to know this amazing God and all of His amazing truths through the study of the Word of God.

The more you get to know about God, the more you realize that He is INDESCRIBABLE…here’s Chris Tomlin to sing about Him.

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

INDESCRIBABLE

Chris Tomlin

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 illuminating the world with our lives…thank you for sending your amazing Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to show us the kind of sacrifice that is necessary to light this dark world…thank you for His demonstrated example of unconditional love that we witnessed when Your Son went to a Cross to shed His blood and to die for us so that all of our sins…past, present, and future would be completely forgiven…

Show us how to make our imperfect lives a perfect reflection of Him in every decision…show the reason you called us out of darkness into His marvelous light…and help us be light to everyone we meet…

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

name...Amen.

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

Our last lesson of 2018 and the first few lessons of 2019 connect beautifully, just like God wants them to…and I hope you have listened to each lesson multiple times…I have…because there are some powerful messages in each lesson that don’t always sink in at the first hearing.

The last lesson of 2018 asks, “What’s Your Choice?” The question is deep, intimate and personal. It’s asking you to consider what kind of life you want. It’s asking you to consider what kind of life you are constructing. My suggestion is that you write down what you want. Are you constructing your life on the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word?

The first lesson of 2019 lets you know that when you are constructing a life on the Rock, it is a life of LOVE…unconditional love…and living a life of unconditional love is a decision. Have you made the decision?

When you make the decision to live a lifestyle of unconditional love, another lesson suggests that in addition to loving God, loving others, and loving your enemies…you should go and love yourself.

Then last week’s lesson implores you to Wake Up and Smell the Coffee… spiritually speaking. Living a life where you are sober and on the alert is a choice as well. First Peter, Chapter 5, Verses 8 and 9…

FIRST PETER 5:8

Be of sober spirit (have self-control…one part of the fruit of the spirit)…be on the alert (wake up and smell the coffee…spiritually speaking)…your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion (like the ones in the Roman Coliseum of the first century)…seeking someone to devour.

FIRST PETER 5:9

But resist him (play defense against him)…standing firm because of your faith (having unreserved trust and complete confidence in God)…knowing that the same experiences of suffering that you go through are being experienced by your brethren…other Christians…who are living in the world.

We continue our study of the final passage of Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 11 to 14. This final passage begins with an exhortation…

ROMANS 13:11

Do this (be in subjection to the governing authorities and have a lifestyle of unconditional love)…knowing the time (the season of the divine plan)… knowing that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep…for now salvation (our final deliverance to glorification by God) is nearer to us believers in Christ than it was when we first believed in Christ.

ROMANS 13:12

The night is almost gone…and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

ROMANS 13:13

Let us behave properly as in the day…not in carousing and drunkenness… not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality…not in strife and jealousy.

ROMANS 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

God keeps on reminding us of some of the do’s and don’ts of the Christian Way of Living. He is inviting us to wake up and smell the coffee, spiritually speaking, which means that as believers in Christ we need to come out of the dark because our deliverance is near, and to be lights in this dark world!

In John, Chapter 9, Verses 4 and 5, the Lord reminds His apostles that productive work is done in the light…

JOHN 9:4

“We (Jesus and His apostles) must work the works of Him who sent Me (God the Father) as long as it is day (the days allotted each person to do the things which God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them)…night is coming (our imminent physical death) when no one can work.”

JOHN 9:5

“While I (the Lord Jesus Christ) am in the world…I am the Light of the world.”

Christians have a bright future because of the LIGHT…we make a difference because of the LIGHT in us…the indwelling Trinity in us. For believers in Christ, the way to be a light in this dark world is through the study of the Word of God…it illuminates our soul, filling it with truth, including the truth about what the Lord Jesus Christ put us on earth to do for Him.

Is your life a light for those around you? When we return from our five-minute break we’ll hear how our life of faith can provide hope to ourselves and to others.

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

Unconditional Love

Donna Summers

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

Let’s welcome Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

OFFERING VERSE

FIRST PETER 3:10

“For the one who wants to live the resurrection life…who wants to love unconditionally…and who wants to see good days…he must keep his tongue from evil and he must keep his lips from speaking deceit.

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

We have a God we can count on…He is for us…so what does it matter who is against us? He will never leave us…He will never fail us…He will never for sake us. Let’s hear Casting Crowns sing about the GOD OF ALL MY DAYS.

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

GOD OF ALL MY DAYS

Casting Crowns

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Let God Make Your Life a Light in This Dark Place

Welcome back! Let’s continue our look at Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 11 that we began last week…

ROMANS 13:11

In the first part of the verse there is the idea that the divine plan has seasons…and there are seven seasons in the divine plan…

The Age of the Gentiles…The Age of Israel…The Age of the Hypostatic Union (the time when the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ was on the earth)… The Age of Grace (The Church Age…our present age)…The Age of the Tribulation that is the completion of the Age of Israel (I got that wrong twice in last week’s lesson)…The Age of the Millennium, Jesus Christ’s one thousand year reign on the earth…and then The Eternal State.

In the second part of the verse, what does it mean that our salvation is nearer to us believers in Christ than it was when we first believed in Christ?

It means that the divine plan of history, for the Christian, follows a “FROM – TO” progression…

FROM Unbeliever TO Believer

After We Accept the Invitation to the Christian Way of Life

SALVATION

FROM Immature Christian (Carnal) TO Mature Christian (Wise)

God the Holy Spirit Leads Believers to the Christian Way of Living

SANCTIFICATION

FROM Exiting Our Earthly Tent TO Taking On An Edifice from God

The Resurrection Body of The Eternal State

GLORIFICATION

Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 18 to 23 highlight the transition believers in Christ will make from life on planet earth to life in eternity…

ROMANS 8:18

For I (Paul) know for a fact that the sufferings of this present time (both RIGHT NOW, and throughout the Church Age…this “present evil age” as it is called) are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us and through us believers in Christ (in the future…in the eternal state).

The way we handle suffering provides a light in this dark place. As believers

in Christ we share in everything that is Christ’s because of our union with Him…and part of that sharing is the sharing of His glory in the future. Everyone is watching us handle the darkness of this world and they will also see us transition into the light of eternity. Sharing in Christ’s glory requires suffering, and it feels like darkness now. Yet our suffering here on earth is temporary…but our glory is forever!

ROMANS 8:19

For all creation keeps on waiting in eager anticipation for the sons of God (believers in Christ) to be revealed.

You are a surprise party waiting to happen. Your glory will be revealed at a future date. Your glory will be clearly visible for all to see. How does Katy Perry say it? “Baby you’re a firework!” Soon everyone will see just what we are worth! The manifestation of our glory…the day when our glorification is clearly visible to all…will reveal that a life that seemed pathetic is really a life that really mattered.

ROMANS 8:20

For all creatures were subjected to futility by God the Father…not willingly on our part…but because of the Father’s will who subjected us…yet He made a provision of hope (the confident expectation of a great and certain future…our glorification)…

Currently we are in a gauntlet of suffering in this dark world. In our bodies, we experience futility and corruption…in our soul and spirit, we experience the light…and we wait eagerly for the freedom from the darkness that has been prepared by God in eternity past…the glorification of God’s children.

Our glory is certain. Our future is certain. As believers in Christ, we have the indwelling Trinity as a signature guarantee of a marvelous future. Yet we spend so much of our time looking at and wallowing in the present futility, that we ignore our absolutely certain future. God subjected us… knowing that He would free us. We are His butterflies…we are undergoing a metamorphosis…a change from one state to another.

METAMORPHOSIS

Egg to Caterpillar (Physical Birth to Spiritual Birth)

Caterpillar to Pupa (Spiritual Birth to Maturity)

Pupa to Monarch Butterfly (Maturity to Resurrection Body)

ROMANS 8:21

…because the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption (in this dark world) into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (the marvelous light).

In this verse, God highlights our FROM – TO … telling us both where we are today and where we are going. Today, we are in bodies of corruption. One day we will be free from these bodies and our salvation…our deliverance…our glorification…will be complete.

ROMANS 8:22

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

As Christ’s millennial reign on earth gets closer, we feel the contractions. Yet we have hope. Hope is like a wrapped present…it’s ours but we can’t open it yet…God opens it for us at a future time. So in perseverance, we eagerly wait for our Savior…we are eager to SEE all of the gifts the Groom (the Lord Jesus Christ) has prepared for His bride (The Church).

ROMANS 8:23

And not only this, but also we believers in union with Christ, having tasted the first fruits of our salvation that God the Father has given us…namely God the Holy the Spirit…(for right now) even we keep on groaning within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, and waiting for the redemption of our body.

Our physical body remains unredeemed after salvation…our soul and our spirit are redeemed AT salvation. In other words, there is some of God’s salvation work that is yet to be completed. God will bring us out of this dark world into the LIGHT of eternity.

Until then, let God make your life a light in this dark place.

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

The closing moments of our study are for 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.

I’ve got bad news for you. The bad news is that all of us are born in a state of unrighteousness. We are born physically alive and spiritually dead as ungodly, unrighteous unbelievers. It’s not our fault, but it is our circumstance. In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22, the bible says…

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

But in the face of this bad news, there’s good news! The Lord Jesus Christ provides a way for you to be saved! The good news is preached in what Christians call the gospel message…let’s see what happened when the gospel was preached in a prison in first century Rome in Acts, Chapter 16, Verses 25 to 34…

ACTS 16:25

…about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God (from their jail cells), and the other prisoners were listening to them…

ACTS 16:26

…and suddenly there came a great earthquake…so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken…and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

ACTS 16:27

When the jailer (a prison guard) awoke and saw the prison doors opened… he drew his sword and was about to kill himself…supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

Escaped prisoners were instant death for prison guards…

ACTS 16:28

But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself…for we are all here!”

ACTS 16:29

And the jailer called for lights and rushed in…and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas…

ACTS 16:30

…and after the prison guard brought Paul and Silas out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The guard has obviously been listening to the songs…

ACTS 16:31

And Paul and Silas said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

There are no works of any kind necessary to be saved…simply faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ is the ticket to eternal life…

ACTS 16:32

And Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord (the gospel message…the good news) to the jailer together with all the people who were in his house.

ACTS 16:33

And the jailer took Paul and Silas that very hour of the night and washed their wounds…and immediately the jailer was baptized…he and all his household (who also believed…and they all did).

ACTS 16:34

And the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in THE God (the Lord Jesus Christ) with his whole household.

How did our jailer friend get saved? In a crisis, he recognized He needed a Savior. He asked someone who knew what it took to be saved. Believers in Christ presented the accurate gospel message. The jailer did what was suggested. Don’t wait for a crisis to be saved! Do it now!

It’s bad news if you choose not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 18 to 20…

ROMANS 1:18

For the wrath of God the Father is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and against the unrighteousness of men (unbelievers) who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness…

ROMANS 1:19

…because that which is known about God the Father is evident inside of them…for God the Father made it evident to them (from inside of them).

ROMANS 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes…God’s eternal power and God’s divine nature…have been clearly seen by all mankind… being understood even through what has been made (in nature…God’s creative work)…so that all mankind are without excuse before God.

It’s an easy decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved…you can do it anytime and anywhere. God provides the good news, the gospel message, from the outside, to ALL of us…using believers in Christ to deliver the message…and He also puts knowledge of Himself on the inside of ALL of us so that we are curious about Him…He even puts knowledge of Himself in nature…so that we have multiple opportunities to see Him in nature so that we can be saved. In other words, God makes Himself clearly visible to human beings in ways that make sense to human beings. Remember what Paul and Silas said to the jail guard, in 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.”

Also, you must heed the invitation and the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

It’s a simple choice to become a believer in Christ…you can be saved once and for all eternity! Don’t miss your opportunity…take advantage of the good news!

What a great God we have that would lay down His life to save us. Here’s June Murphy to sing about it in the song, HOW GREAT THOU ART.

CLOSING SONG

HOW GREAT THOU ART

June Murphy

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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