2019 COEUR d’ALENE BIBLE CONFERENCE - Are You Living a Spiritual Life?

Christian life or carnal life...your choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES 

COEUR d’ALENE BIBLE CONFERENCE 

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

www.barahministries.com

 

Good Evening!  

 

My name is Rory Clark and I’m the Pastor of Barah Ministries. Welcome to our NINTH annual Coeur d’Alene Bible Conference.  

 

Barah Ministries is a small, intimate Christian Church with worldwide impact… courtesy of the internet.  We make a difference by serving a local community in Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler Arizona.  We make a difference in remote locations like Idaho and Washington thanks to faithful non-resident congregation members, especially John and Monica Miller who are the hosts of this amazing conference.  Barah Ministries is a Christian Church that makes a difference by communicating the gospel message to anyone who wants to be saved, and by offering accurate teaching of the Word of God to anyone who wants to grow by means of grace in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the study of His Word.  Best of all, the teaching from Barah Ministries is offered free of charge to anyone who wants it.

 

At Barah Ministries we worship the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is God…He is Deity…He is God the Son, the Lord…who took on human form as Jesus Christ, to become the unique person of the Universe…100% God and 100% man in one Person forever.  At Barah Ministries we teach the Word of God from God’s perspective…not from man’s perspective.  I’m glad you’re here tonight…and I appreciate…on behalf of the Lord…that you have chosen to listen to this lesson.  I hope you choose to learn from it, too.  It’s my absolute pleasure to share the Word of God with you.  

 

TONIGHT’S BIBLE LESSON

Are You Living a Spiritual Life?

 

LESSON INTRO

 

A lot of people on dating websites think so.  They write, “I’m not religious.  I’m more spiritual.”  Well, what does this even mean, especially since everyone seems to be saying it? The bible tells us it means nothing. Second Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 5 says there are a lot of people who are…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:5 

…holding on to a (superficial) form of the spiritual life…although they have denied the spiritual life’s power.  Avoid such men as these.

 

The Bible tells us to avoid phony people.  A spiritual life is not talk…it’s not sound bites and catchy expressions…it’s not surface.  The spiritual life is action packed…it is built by choice intentionally…it is invested in with time…and it is edified by supernatural means through the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit.  If I asked you, face-to-face, if you were living a spiritual life…you’d probably lie to me.  We all think we are doing our best…and we are, as long as we don’t compare ourselves to what God expects of us.  In tonight’s lesson, we’ll ask you to examine what you are doing to build an intentional spiritual life.

 

SONG INTRO

 

The most important component of your spiritual life can be summed up in a single word…CHRIST.  Christianity is not a religion…it is a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Your spiritual life requires you to nurture this relationship.  Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verses 1 and 2 exhort us…

 

HEBREWS 12:1

…let us believers in Christ lay aside every encumbrance…and let us lay aside the sin which so easily entangles us…and let us run with endurance the race of our lives that is set before us…

 

HEBREWS 12:2

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfecter of faith…

 

As we nurture a spiritual life we look to Jesus and we listen to His Word as He teaches us the way to win the race of our lives. Building a spiritual life is like training for a marathon…it takes hard work, hours of training, and constant practice…while simultaneously requiring us to cast aside all that is harmful to the spiritual life.  Fixing our eyes on Jesus is the surest way to gravitate toward an amazing spiritual life. Here is Barah Ministries Song Worship Leader June Murphy to sing about the God we love with her song…COME SEE A MAN.

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

COME SEE A MAN

June Murphy 

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Thank you Father for giving every one of your believers a spiritual life…thank you for providing everything we need to grow through Your grace…thank you for sending Your Son…the Lord…to the earth in human form as Jesus Christ…not only to pay for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to…but also to set the example of what is possible when spiritual beings are being led by God the Holy Spirit…

 

Let Your message tonight touch us in the deepest part of our inner beings…let Your message tonight inspire us to intentionally change our lives so that our spiritual life is built on the foundation You intended…CHRIST…and let Your message tonight transform our thinking so that we cast aside the superficial forms of the spiritual life to which we have become accustomed so we can adopt the genuine and intentional spiritual life You crafted for us…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TONIGHT’S BIBLE LESSON

Are You Living a Spiritual Life?

 

I’d like to dismiss the suspense for those of you who do not have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…those of you whom the Bible calls unbelievers.  If you are an unbeliever, you do not have a spiritual life.  You are on a course to hear the words from God that no one would ever want to hear…Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 23…

 

 

MATTHEW 7:23

“And then I (the Lord Jesus Christ) will declare to them (unbelievers), ‘I never knew you…depart from Me…’”

 

If you say you know me…Pastor Rory Clark…you will have sat down with me… we will have spent time together…we would have had several conversations… you’d be able to tell people a lot of things about me…you’d be able to tell them what I think, how I feel, what I like, what I don’t like, who my friends are, my favorite food, my favorite color, and what my relationship is with the Lord Jesus Christ.  

 

It’s not enough to say you believe in God.  It’s your attitude toward Jesus Christ that determines your eternal future.  And if you can’t tell me all the things about Him that I just mentioned you’d know about me, don’t lie to yourself and say you’re spiritual.  You’re not.  I’ll have more to say to unbelievers later.

 

If you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you HAVE a spiritual life.  It was given to you at the moment of your salvation…Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17 says…

  

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in union with Christ (and all believers in Christ are)…there is a new creation…the old things (the original things) passed away (they died)… behold, new (creation) things have come into being.

 

The bible calls the believer’s spiritual life the “godly” life…from the Greek word eusebeia…one of my favorite Greek words, which in Greek philosophy indicated a life so awe inspiring that it was worthy of the Greek gods…Titus, Chapter 2, Verses 11 and 12 say…

 

TITUS 2:11

For the grace of God the Father has appeared…bringing salvation to all men…

 

TITUS 2:12

…(and the grace of God is) instructing us believers in Christ to deny ungodliness and to deny worldly desires and instead to live sensibly, to live righteously, and to live godly lives in the present age…

 

As a believer in Christ you have two choices…you can live the spiritual life God

has given you…intentionally…or you can abandon it, and “create” a spiritual life of your own.  Let’s call the spiritual life you create the SELF-LIFE.  In the self-life, you settle for a bastardized version of your real spiritual life by allowing the enemy of God to suggest that you customize your spiritual life by adding a mixture of things in to it that God never intended to be part of your spiritual life.

 

So, at the beginning of the lesson I asked you, “Are you living a SPIRITUAL LIFE?”  Well now you know that you are either living a SPIRITUAL LIFE intentionally, or you are living a SELF-LIFE by default.  The bible describes the SELF-LIFE of the believer in Christ as the CARNAL LIFE…a life of immaturity.  There is no middle ground.  It’s SPIRITUAL LIFE or SELF-LIFE.  So, this puts into perspective the comments on the dating websites… “I’m not religious. I’m more spiritual.”  That’s the SELF-LIFE.  It’s superficial.  Living a spiritual life is intentional.  If, as a believer in Christ, you’re not living your spiritual life then you’re living a self-life.  The godly life or the superficial life.  It’s your choice.  Living the spiritual life is not just words, it’s backed by action.

 

As believers in Christ, you have a spiritual life given to you by God.  But just because you HAVE something doesn’t mean you are using it.  I have a treadmill…but if I don’t use it intentionally, it is of no benefit to me.  All of us have parents.  We were born into a relationship with them.  But if we never call our parents intentionally, we certainly can’t claim the relationship is important to us.  All of us make money.  But if we don’t save it intentionally and don’t invest it wisely, we can’t claim to be financially sound.

 

In the matter of your spiritual life, it’s important not to lie to yourself.  The spiritual life is a relationship with God.  It needs to be nurtured and nourished and participated in intentionally every day.   Are you living the spiritual life God intended for you, or a self-created superficial form of the spiritual life?  A quick reminder…Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 1…

 

ROMANS 8:1

…there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus. 

 

The status of your spiritual life’s development…when it is inadequate…is not a cause for a guilt reaction.  Rather, God would have you make the adjustments as you learn and as you mature, so that you bring your life in line with the perfection God intends for you.

 

SONG INTRO

 

The Lord Jesus Christ has given His believers a spiritual life, and He has placed them on a spiritual foundation.First Corinthians, Chapter 3, Verse 11…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 3:11

No man can lay a foundation other than the foundation which is laid…which is Jesus Christ.

 

You don’t get to change the spiritual life to fit your requirements.  God’s spiritual life changes you.  What God really wants from us in the spiritual life is that we are all in…Mark, Chapter 12, Verse 30…

 

MARK 12:30

“…and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…and with all your soul…and with all your mind…and with all your strength.”

 

All.  That’s what God wants from our spiritual lives.  All.  As we reflect on whether or not we are living the spiritual life, let’s listen to June Murphy sing one of her new songs…a song called I’M ALL IN!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

I’M ALL IN

June Murphy 

 

TONIGHT’S BIBLE LESSON

Are You Living a Spiritual Life?

 

God has an enemy who is selling the SELF-LIFE to believers in Christ.  He wants to mix imperfection and poison into your perfect spiritual life. He’s what God’s enemy, Satan, said in eternity past…Isaiah, Chapter 14, Verse 14…

 

ISAIAH 14:14

‘I (Satan) will ascend above the heights of the clouds (I will take over the functions of God)…I will make myself like the Most High.’

 

The SELF-LIFE.  We know that Satan is a liar…and he is the one who keeps on fathering lies…and everything he says is a lie…so we know that he absolutely had no desire and no ability and no intention of taking over the function of God.  That would mean he’d have to die for someone and Satan is too selfish to die for anyone. He tempts us to do evil…he laughs at us for believing what he suggests will work…and he leaves us with the devastation of the lie and the bill for the experience.  

 

God warns us in His word not to fall for the deception…First Timothy, Chapter 4, Verses 1 and 2…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 4:1

But the God the Holy Spirit explicitly says that in later times (in every generation) some will fall away from the faith (from the SPIRITUAL LIFE TO THE SELF-LIFE)…paying attention instead to deceitful spirits and to the doctrines of demons…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 4:2 

…doctrines that come from the agency of hypocritical liars seared in their own conscience (with lies) as if (the lies were implanted) with a branding iron…

 

The majority of believers in Christ today don’t believe that Satan, the enemy of God exists.  He does.  He is a brilliant, gorgeous genius who is the master of deception.  We live in his kingdom…planet earth.  He is the ruler of this world.  And he never sleeps.  He is always active with the intent to rob believers in Christ of the joy of their already granted victory in the Creator-creature conflict.  If you are a believer in Christ, you’ve won. Game.  Set.  Match. The spiritual life was designed to allow you to enjoy the fruit of the victory provided to you by God.

 

More warnings from God…Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 4…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:1

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:2 

For men will be lovers of self (narcissistic), lovers of money, boastful (the outward manifestation of an inward quality), arrogant (the inward quality)…revilers… resulting in disobedience to parents, being ungrateful, being unholy…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:3 

…being unloving (devoid of affection), being irreconcilable, being malicious gossips, without self-control, being brutal, being haters of good…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:4 

…treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:5 

…holding to a (superficial) form of godliness (the spiritual life)…although they have denied the spiritual life’s power.  Avoid such men as these.

 

Here are a few of the things Satan introduces into your life to ruin you…Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 28 to 32…

 

ROMANS 1:28

And just as unbelievers did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper…

 

ROMANS 1:29 

…being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil…full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice…they are gossips…

 

ROMANS 1:30 

…slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents…

 

ROMANS 1:31 

…without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful…

 

ROMANS 1:32 

…and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such

things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

 

This is not the life God wants for His believers.  But when we mix the world’s ideas into our spiritual life, we become similar in function to unbelievers.  What do I mean?  We become Cafeteria Christians.   We pick and choose what we want to believe.  For example…

 

We become rational…and we want to take emotion out of the spiritual life.  We become emotional…and we want to take rational out of the spiritual life.  We are confused, and we can’t explain with precision God’s exact thinking.  If we don’t like a particular idea taught in Scripture, we dismiss it.  We avoid the word of God like it is a plague.  We gravitate to false teachers.  We adopt a do-it yourself spiritual life, forsaking the gathering of ourselves together.

 

 

Please take a ten-minute break and when we come back, we’ll take the offering, we’ll celebrate The Lord’s Supper, and we’ll look at what God wants for us in the matter of the spiritual life.

 

BREAK

Ten Minutes

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

At the Cross, the Lord Taught Us How to Live an ALL IN Spiritual Life

 

Well at the request of the resident congregation members, it is our desire to share in The Lord’s Supper Celebration with our guests and with our non-resident congregation members. The Lord’s Supper Celebration is the most intimate expression of love in The Christian Way of Living.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ demonstrates His desire for a deep, intimate and personal relationship with His believers by sharing His body and His blood with us.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread (His body) and drink this cup (His blood) as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross… and His resurrection from the dead…until He comes again at the second coming.

 

During The Lord’s Supper Celebration, the Lord Jesus Christ wants His believers to look back to the reality of His death on a Cross for us…He wants us to remember that He has been resurrected from the dead…and He wants us to look forward with absolute confidence that He will come again.  

 

The spiritual life the Lord Jesus Christ gave us at the moment of salvation is the exact same spiritual life He had…because in union with Christ we believers in Christ share everything that is Christ’s.  The spiritual life is a life lived ALL IN, and at the Cross, the Lord taught us how to live ALL IN.

 

What are the components of a spiritual life that is lived ALL IN?  SACRIFICE… Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

ROMANS 5:8

But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners (as ungodly, unrighteous unbelievers), Christ died (a sacrificial death) for us.

 

The spiritual life is DEAD TO SIN and ALIVE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS…First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 24…

 

FIRST PETER 2:24

…and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness…for by His wounds you were healed.

 

The spiritual life is a life reflecting the FRUIT of the Spirit…First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 20…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:20

But now Christ has been raised from the dead…the first fruits of those who are asleep.

 

A life of confidence in our RELATIONSHIP with God…John, Chapter 14, Verses 1 to 3…

 

JOHN 14:1

“Do not let your heart be troubled…you believe in God the Father…also you keep on believing in Me (the Lord Jesus Christ).”

 

JOHN 14:2 

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places (mansions)…if (for the sake of argument) it were not so, I would have told you…for I go to prepare a place for you.”

JOHN 14:3 

“If I go and prepare a place for you, certainly I will come again and receive you to Myself…that where I am…there you may be also.”

 

Since you have a spiritual life, why not live it ALL OUT…ALL IN…ALL THE TIME?  At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated a life of sacrifice, death, fruit and relationship to provide the salvation of all mankind…so that everyone might be saved.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Enjoying the Elements

 

Obeying God’s command, we keep on celebrating CHRIST and His Cross on a regular basis…we eat to remember who He is as a PERSON…we drink to remember His WORK on the Cross…the voluntary sacrifice He made on our behalf as our sin sacrifice.  We are grateful for what God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have done for us. Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 26 to 28…

 

MATTHEW 26:26 

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take…eat…this is My body (which is being broken for you).”

 

MATTHEW 26:27 

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you…”

 

MATTHEW 26:28 

“…for this is My blood…the blood of a new covenant…blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.”

 

As you enjoy the bread and the cup, enjoy the memory of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well. Now and always, let us keep on giving thanks that we are loved unconditionally and accepted fully by a Lord who is always there for us…the One on whom we can depend…and let’s keep on being transformed by His life, His death, His resurrection and His Word… and let’s enjoy His unconditional love, His forgiveness, and His grace.

 

 

SONG INTRO

 

Sometimes we don’t feel adequate…God thinks that’s a waste of time…here’s June Murphy to sing another of her new songs…MY CROSS MADE YOU GOOD ENOUGH.

 

LORD’S SUPPER SONG

MY CROSS MADE YOU GOOD ENOUGH

June Murphy

 

THE OFFERING INTRODUCTION
 

At Barah Ministries we choose not to charge for the things we provide to help you study the Word of God.  We wish to reflect God’s grace.  Help yourselves to bibles, to music, to books, to pamphlets, to anything that would help you, a family member or a friend learn about God.  No price appears on any material from Barah Ministries so that anyone who wants to learn about God can do so free of charge.  Even though the materials are free of charge, they are not free of cost.  We appreciate your financial support.  

 

By popular request, and deservedly so, it has been requested that Deacon Denny Goodall give you one of his amazing offering messages.  Let’s welcome him up…Deacon Denny Goodall.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

FIRST JOHN 3:16

We know unconditional love by this…that Jesus Christ laid down His life for us…and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (other believers in Christ).

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

FIRST JOHN 3:17 

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him (having no pity for him)…how does the unconditional love of God the Father abide in him?

 

TONIGHT’S BIBLE LESSON

Are You Living a Spiritual Life?

 

You are a spiritual being, and spiritual beings must learn how to live their spiritual lives.  When I say require, it does not infer guilt. What I mean by require is that spiritual beings are in desperate need of spiritual nourishment, almost as desperately as they need air.  I wonder if you ever think about your spiritual life…and when you think of it, how much of your time is being allocated to it?

 

You have 168 hours a week…twenty-four hours a day…for seven days every week…you sleep fifty-six of those hours, so for 112 waking hours, how much of it is invested in your spiritual life?  You have more than enough time to invest in a spiritual life.  

 

Are you living a spiritual life?  If you give time to your spiritual life, how much time?  What is the quality of the time spent?  You need spiritual food just as much as you need physical food. Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse 4…

 

MATTHEW 4:4 

Jesus answered Satan and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone (mere physical food)…but man shall live on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

 

The quality of your spiritual food is critical.  If you have a spiritual life, from what source do get your physical food?  My source is the Bible…the inerrant Canon of Scripture…the Word of God.

 

Many people in this world are spiritual anorexics.  They are starving for spiritual food because they never feed themselves.  Many people in this world are spiritual bulimics. They eat spiritual food but then they puke it up as fast as they ingest it so it has no effect on their soul.  Many people in this world are spiritual fast food junkies…they ingest spiritual food that has a lot of calories, but no nutritional substance.  

 

We live in a world that supports lies…If we all believe it, it’s true, right?  If we all believe that stealing is okay, it’s okay, right?  If we all believe that homosexuality is okay, it’s okay, right?  If we all believe that adultery is okay, it’s okay, right?  If we all believe that Jesus Christ isn’t God, then He isn’t, right? After all, the Bible is just a book, written by a bunch of guys who were sitting around writing their opinions. And it’s totally out of date, right? False.

 

I think about how ridiculous it would be if the Lord Jesus Christ stood before us today, held up the Bible, and said to us…

 

I am God.  The Bible is my exact thinking.  Do the things in here and you will have an amazing life!

 

Every one of us would have an opinion about what the Lord said.  We’d like it…or we wouldn’t.  We’d agree with it, or we wouldn’t.  But few of us would just do what He asks us to do.

 

I think back on the time I was raising my kids.  In Phoenix Arizona, on Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of 10PM-2AM, one third of the drivers on the road are drunk.  DRUNK!  I would tell my kids not to be on the road at that time.  Now they have a choice.  Why was I telling them not to be on the road at this time?  It’s because I wanted them to be safe.  I didn’t want them to put themselves in a position to be hurt.  If they were asked, I guarantee they thought the instruction was to keep them from having any fun.  Did they listen?  Sometimes.

 

When God tells His believers that certain spiritual life choices are bad, is it because He doesn’t want us to have any fun?  Is it because He wants us to feel guilty?  Is it that He wants to impose His rules on us like a tyrant?  I have thought those things for most of my life. I can think of times in my life when, if the Lord Jesus Christ was standing before me, holding up the Bible and saying…

 

I am God.  The Bible is my exact thinking.  Do the things in here and you will have an amazing life!

 

I would have asked Him, “What about the Catholic Church?  What about the Pope?  What about “the doctrines” of Systematic Theology?  Are they more important than You?  Are they at least equal to You, especially if I believe they are?  There was a time when no matter what He said, I would have probably stuck to my beliefs, whether they were the truth or not.  I had a self-made spiritual life.  How about you?  Does this describe your “do it yourself” spiritual life?

 

As human beings, we do so many things that are not at all supportive of us.  Yet we choose to do them anyway.  And because they do not have an immediate disastrous affect, we think we’re getting away with something.  We are storing our food without refrigeration and expecting it not to spoil.

 

Are you living a spiritual life?

 

If you want to live the spiritual life that God intended for you, here are a few suggestions.

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

 

Pick a Pastor…ONE Pastor

 

Don’t pick a Pastor for his charisma or speaking ability…what you love in your Pastor you will eventually hate, if you are immature.  Pick the Pastor for the accuracy with which he teaches the Word of God.

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

 

Listen to at least TEN of the lessons the Pastor is teaching and notice how the lesson informs your life.  (DO THIS-DON’T DO THAT)

 

Avoid being in the judging condition…I like this…I don’t like that…I agree with this…I don’t agree with that.  Instead, be in the learning state…I wonder how these messages God is sending through this Pastor apply to my life.  Notice the percentage of the lesson content that is bible verses rather than rhetoric or opinion or appeal or entertainment.  Notice if the lesson is uplifting instead of a “downer.”

Legalism and sin lessons are a downer.

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

Check the lesson for accuracy.  “What does the bible have to say?”

 

The spiritual life is an umbrella over the life of the believer in Christ.  We concern ourselves more with the pieces of the puzzle and forget that the pieces form a picture.  

There is a big difference between knowing you have a spiritual life and doing something to edify it.

 

Are you living the spiritual life God wants you to live?  

 

When you are, the spiritual life will inform every decision in every area of your life.  John, Chapter 13, Verses 17 says…

 

JOHN 13:17

If you know these things (that I, the Lord Jesus Christ am teaching you), you are blessed if you do them.

 

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 God wants you to know is that thirteen words tell the story of how to be saved!  The first word is GOD.  There is one and only one God…Isaiah, Chapter 45, Verse 5…

 

GOD
 

ISAIAH 45:5

"I am the Lord and there is no other…besides Me, there is no other God.”

 

Our amazing God reveals Himself in ways that make sense to human beings.  He is the One who wants to save you.
The next word is MANKIND, a name for all of God’s human creatures.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…

 

MANKIND

 

JOHN 1:3

All things came into being through the Lord (God the Son)…and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.

 

God created you.  

The next word is SIN. All of us were born is a state of sin. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

SIN
 

ROMANS 3:23

…for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

SIN

 

ROMANS 3:10

…as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous…not even one…”

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

SIN 

 

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…

 

It’s not our fault that we were born in a state of sin but it is our circumstance.    

 

As a result of sin, all of us need a Savior.  The next word is JESUS…the Name above all names…that magnificent Name…The God-Man…the Christ…The Jewish Messiah…the Savior of the world.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…

JESUS

 

JOHN 3:17

For God the Father did not send God the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) into the world to judge the world…but God the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through union with Him.

 

Jesus Christ is God and He wants you to be saved.  

 

The next word is CROSS. The Lord Jesus Christ chose to become a sin sacrifice for you by shedding His blood on a Cross so you wouldn’t have to die for your sins.  Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 8…

 

CROSS

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:8 

Being found in appearance as a man…the Lord Jesus Christ humiliated Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…even death on a Cross.

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 16…

 

CROSS 

 

JOHN 3:16

“For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…to be crucified on a Cross)…so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
 

Jesus Christ had you personally in mind by name as He hung from a Cross.

 

The next word is RESURRECTION.   Three days after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, He proved Himself to be Deity…just as He said…by being resurrected from the dead…in Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 5 and 6, an angel asks…

 

RESURRECTION 

 

LUKE 24:5-6

“…why do you seek The Living One among the dead ones?//Jesus is not here…but He has risen (from the dead…just as He predicted)...
 

Being resurrected from the dead separates Jesus Christ from all who pretend to be God.


The next word is SALVATION.  Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 credits Jesus Christ with the salvation of the human race… 

 

 

SALVATION

 

ACTS 4:12

“And there is salvation in no one else…for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
 

If you have salvation then you are saved from the penalty of eternity in the Lake of Fire.  

 

The next word is GRACE. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

GRACE 

 

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….

 

GRACE

 

EPHESIANS 2:9 

…therefore, being saved is not as a result of works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).

 

A God who is “full of GRACE” provides your salvation free of charge.  

 

The next word is FAITH. Mathew, Chapter 17, Verse 20…

 

 

FAITH 

 

MATTHEW 17:20

“…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed (the smallest of all seeds…and you do)…you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…and nothing will be impossible to you.”

 

God gives you the gift of faith to spend on your own salvation.  

 

The next word is REPENTANCE. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

REPENTANCE 

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...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. 

 

When you repent, you have a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

The next word is RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21 says…

 

RIGHTEOUSNESS 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21

God the Father made Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God the Father in union with Christ Jesus.

 

Righteousness, credited to your account by God, is your admission ticket to heaven.  

 

The next word is TRUTH. John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

TRUTH 

 

JOHN 8:31

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine…”

 

TRUTH 

 

JOHN 8:32 

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

Thirteen words tell the story of how you can be saved.  There is a GOD…He is the creator of all MANKIND…and SIN separated mankind from having a relationship with Him.  JESUS Christ saved the day by dying on a CROSS to pay for the sins of all mankind. His RESURRECTION from the dead three days later proved that He is God.  As a result, we have a “so great” SALVATION, provided free of charge by means of God’s GRACE.  By spending our gift of FAITH we can be saved.  When we REPENT, we change our minds about having a relationship with Christ, and God the Father credits His absolute RIGHTEOUSNESS to our account…a righteousness that is our admission ticket to heaven.  When you know this TRUTH, it will set you free from the slavery of sin and bondage to the law.  The power of the thirteen words can be summed up in one…BELIEVE.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

BELIEVE

 

ACTS 16:31 

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

 

When we BELIEVE, we take God’s word for it concerning what it takes to be saved.  So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

BELIEVE

 

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.”

 

Here’s one of June Murphy’s new songs…it reminds us that WE’RE FORGIVEN.

 

CLOSING SONG

WE’RE FORGIVEN

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

 

 

 

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