(#007) 1 Corinthians - God Has a Way of Helping Those Perishing to Be Saved.There is no horse too high for God to knock us off.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God. As the Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son…as Jesus Christ, He is 100% true humanity… He is Jesus Christ. God the Son, the Lord, became flesh, Jesus Christ, and tabernacled among us here on earth. Therefore, He is the uniquely born One…the Lord Jesus Christ…the God-Man…100% God and 100% true humanity in One Person forever. He is the Sovereign God of the Universe, He is the Savior of the whole world, and He is the Jewish Messiah.
Barah Ministries makes a difference by teaching the Word of God from the Lord Jesus Christ’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective. Why? Because how God sees things is very different from how people see things. Instead of trusting what man has to say about God, we prefer to search the Scriptures to learn what God has to say, not only about Himself but also about His plan for mankind. We want you to learn what God wants for you.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Has a Way of Helping Those Who Are Perishing Be Saved
LESSON INTRODUCTION
In His time on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ had an inner circle…the apostle Peter, the apostle John, and James. What kind of men were they? Peter was an impulsive man, the kind who always said what was on his mind, which always resulted in him putting his foot in his mouth. You’ll remember Peter as the one who betrayed Jesus Christ. John, Chapter 13, Verse 38…
JOHN 13:38 Jesus answered Peter and said, “Will you lay down your life for Me (Peter)? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny (you know) Me three times.”
So it happened. Would you select someone who has betrayed you to do important work? The Lord did. He valued Peter and selected Him to evangelize to the Jewish Race after His ascension into heaven. In the final passage of First Corinthians, Chapter 1, we’ll learn that the Lord loves using men to do His work that the world would never use. In addition, as we do every month, we'll celebrate The Lord's Supper… we'll learn that at the Cross, the Lord taught us how to treat our enemies.
SONG INTRODUCTION
First John, Chapter 4, Verse 18 says…
FIRST JOHN 4:18 There is no fear in unconditional love…but perfect love casts out fear… because fear involves punishment…and the one who fears is not perfected in unconditional love.
Fear carries with it a kind of mental torment. As we mature as Christians, we learn how powerful God’s unconditional love is for us, and it obliterates fear. Here’s Josh Baldwin to sing about it in his song STAND IN YOUR LOVE.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
STAND IN YOUR LOVE Josh Baldwin
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, the day when we honor all United States War Veterans…the men and women who stand on a wall and say, “Nothing’s going to hurt you tonight…not on my watch.” Veterans are near and dear to our hearts here at Barah Ministries, and we have a ministry to visit them and to sing to them and to pray with them. So to all of you in Barah Ministries who have served in the military, to our friends at the Phoenix Veterans Hospital, to the men and women now serving in the military, to those who will be in the military in the future, including our friend Jack Farley, and really to those who have served in the military worldwide, we dedicate the Armed Forces Medley as we celebrate Veteran’s Day.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
THE ARMED FORCES MEDLEY Armed Forces Band
TRIBUTE Honoring All Who Served
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE Armed Force Medley U.S. Army
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE Armed Forces Medley U.S. Marines
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE Armed Forces Medley U.S. Navy
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE Armed Forces Medley U.S. Coast Guard
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE Armed Forces Medley U.S. Air Force
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE
God Bless America
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 being on everyone’s side, especially on the side of the underdog…and thank you for giving us people who are brave to be on the side of the underdog as well…people who care…people who are like you willing to lay down their lives for their friends…people who give us and the world hope…the men and women who engage in military service…
Protect them and keep them…restore their mental and physical health…and grant them Your peace…help us to show our gratitude constantly for all they do and all they have done…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Has a Way of Helping Those Perishing to Be Saved
We begin our study of the final passage of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
You’ll remember in passage one, Paul describes himself as God's "sent man." In passage two, we learned that God selected Paul to establish God's church at Corinth in eighteen months. In passagethree, we learned there are divisions in the Corinthians church caused by rivalries. In passage four, we learned the attitude of those being saved in contrast to the attitude of those who are perishing…the “strong” … the “powerful” … don’t think they need God. In the final passage of the first chapter, we learn that God has a way of helping those who are perishing to be saved. We don’t have time today, because of the Lord’s Supper celebration to study the whole passage…but let’s get a start. First, let’s reflect on the passage…First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verses 26 to 31…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:26 For consider your calling, brethren (fellow believers in Christ), that not many of you are wise according to the flesh (not very learned by the world’s standards)…not many of you are powerful according to the flesh (not socially and politically powerful by the world’s standards)…not many of you are well-born according to the flesh (blue bloods by the world’s standards)…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:27 …but God the Father has chosen what the world regards as foolish to shame the wise…and God the Father has chosen what the world regards as weak things to shame the strong…
This is how God helps those who are perishing to be saved.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:28 …and God the Father has chosen what the world regards as insignificant and disdained, the things that are nothing, so that God the Father may nullify (make into nothings) the things that are ("something").
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:29 …so that no flesh may boast before God the Father.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:30 From the source of Him and because of Him you believers in Christ are in union with Christ Jesus, who became for our advantage the manifestation of wisdom FROM GOD THE FATHER, and who became righteousness, and sanctification (also known as holiness), and redemption…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:31 …so that, just as it stands written, “Let him who boasts, boast about his union with the Lord.”
Let’s whet our appetites for the passage by studying the first verse today… First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 26…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:26 For consider your calling, brethren (fellow believers in Christ), that not many of you are wise according to the flesh (not very learned by the world’s standards)…not many of you are powerful according to the flesh (not socially and politically powerful by the world’s standards)…not many of you are well-born according to the flesh (blue bloods by the world’s standards)…
Paul asks his listeners to consider who they are and how they came to believe in Christ. It was by grace through faith…not because of social status, or gender, or race, or worthiness, or any spectacular works we have done. Second Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 9 reminds us…
SECOND TIMOTHY 1:9 …(God the Father) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling…not according to our works…but according to His own purpose and His own grace which was granted to those of us who are in union with Christ Jesus from all eternity…
God called us all, while simultaneously dismissing every measure of worth proposed by human beings. God does things differently than the world. God isn't looking for the elite. God loves peons. God's standards of worthiness dwarf human standards of worthiness because they are not self-based…they are God based and grace-based. Yet we're always striving to improve ourselves which isn't impressive to God at all. No matter how much you work you could never impress God. The "strong" think they are powerful without God.
As the fourth passage of this chapter indicates, the Word of the Cross was neither impressive nor attractive to the world’s elite. Jeremiah, Chapter 9, Verses 23 and 24 is so romantic and so profound…
JEREMIAH 9:23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches…”
JEREMIAH 9:24 “…but let him who boasts boast of this…that he understands and knows God…that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth…for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
Our identity and our security, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, comes from our relationship with Him. Next week we’ll finish this passage…when we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take the offering and then...
FIVE MINUTE BREAK Unconditional Love Donna Summers
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON God Has a Way of Helping Those Perishing to Be Saved
I said this last week, but I don’t believe you heard me…make it a habit to give. At every opportunity…GIVE…don’t worry about the amount. Then sit back and watch God give back to you. Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
JAMES 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from God the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU David Bauer, Instrumental
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION At the Cross, the Lord Taught Us How to Treat Our Enemies
Welcome to The Lord’s Supper Celebration, the most intimate expression of our love for the Lord Jesus Christ in The Christian Way of Living. The Lord demonstrates His desire for a deep, intimate and personal relationship with His believers by creating a way to keep on sharing His body and His blood with us, just as He did with His apostles on the night before His death. Luke, Chapter 22, Verses 14 to 16…
LUKE 22:14 When the hour had come (and His crucifixion was near) … the Lord Jesus Christ reclined at the Passover table…and the apostles reclined with Him.
LUKE 22:15 And the Lord said to the apostles, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer … ”
LUKE 22:16 “…for I say to you I (the Lord Jesus Christ) shall never again eat this Passover meal until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God the Father.”
In First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26, the apostle Paul says, on behalf of the Lord…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26 …as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as you drink this cup (representing 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.
The Lord’s Supper Celebration is a time when the resident members of this congregation join hands through the miles with our non-resident members, and we demonstrate our unity by remembering our Lord together. This is a celebration for which we set aside time. We don’t do it on the move.
During the Lord’s Supper Celebration, Jesus wants His believers to look back to the Cross for a moment. He wants us to REMEMBER how He rescued us from the kingdom of darkness. He wants us to REMEMBER the sacrifice of shedding His blood to cover our sins. He wants us to REMEMBER the deliverance to the resurrection life He orchestrated, bringing us into His kingdom of light. Most of all, the Lord wants His believers to look forward with ANTICIPATION that He is coming again.
As believers in Christ, when we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, we ask ourselves in reflection, “What did the Lord Jesus Christ do for us at the Cross?” At the Cross, the Lord taught us how to treat our enemies. In John, Chapter 1, Verse 14 we learn…
JOHN 1:14 And the Word (the Lord…God the Son) became flesh (as Jesus Christ) and lived among us…and we beheld His glory…glory as of the uniquely born one from God the Father…full of grace and full of truth.|
What is so loveable about our God? Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 15…
HEBREWS 4:15 For we believers in Christ do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
The Lord knows what we are going through because He went through it. The Lord is not a talker…He’s a demonstrator…in fact, all the members of the Godhead SHOW US what to do rather than just telling us what to do… 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 instead of us.
The Father DEMONSTRATES unconditional love. Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 10…
ROMANS 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God the Father through the death of His Son, and we were…much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His resurrection life (eternal life).
The Lord demonstrates for our benefit how to treat our enemies… Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 43 to 48…
MATTHEW5: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”
MATTHEW 5:44 “But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
MATTHEW 5:45 “…so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good…and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
MATTHEW 5:46 “For if you love those who love you, and most do, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
MATTHEW 5:47 “If you greet only your brothers, and most do, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles (unbelievers) do the same?”
MATTHEW 5:48 “Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
How does God want us to treat our enemies? Proverbs, Chapter 25, Verse 21…
PROVERBS 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat…and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink…
PROVERBS 25:22 …for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
In Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 38 to 40, the Lord says…
MATTHEW 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’”
MATTHEW 5:39 “But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, do not resist an evil person…but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
MATTHEW 5:40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, and some do, let him have your coat also.”
Even when He was dying the worst death in human history, crucifixion on a Cross, the Lord was still demonstrating for us how to treat our enemies… Luke, Chapter 23, Verses 33 and 34…
LUKE 23:33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
LUKE 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them…for they do not know what they are doing.”
One of the things that distinguish believers in Christ from unbelievers, is mature believers in Christ will imitate their Savior in all matters, especially forgiveness…things that unbelievers would never consider.
How does the Lord want us to treat our enemies? Like He did! He wants us to forgive. When we look back at the Cross, we see forgiveness of our enemies. That’s how to treat them.
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION Enjoying the Elements
Obeying God’s command, we keep on celebrating Christ and His Cross regularly. We eat to remember who He is as a PERSON. We drink to remember His WORK on the Cross…the voluntary sacrifice He made to deliver us. We remember with gratitude what God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have done to save 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 testament (a new covenant)… blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.”
As you enjoy the bread and the cup, REMEMBER the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us keep on giving thanks that we are loved unconditionally and we are accepted fully by a Lord who is always there for us…the One on whom we depend. Let’s keep on being transformed by His life…His death…His burial…His resurrection from the dead…and His Word.
SONG INTRO
The Jewish race rejected their Messiah according to Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verses 2 and 3…
ISAIAH 53:2b Jesus has no stately form…He did not look like royalty either in beauty or in majesty that we should notice Him…nor did He have an appearance that we would be attracted to Him.
ISAIAH 53:3 Jesus was despised and rejected by men…He was a man of sorrows and He was acquainted with grief…and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him (we didn’t think He was important).
The Lord Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be thought of and to be treated as if He were a nobody…yet He was anything but that…he was SOMEBODY according to Casting Crowns in their song NOBODY.
LORD’S SUPPER SONG NOBODY Casting Crowns
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.
If you’re going to place your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, you probably should get to know Him as soon as you can. While there are many things to know about Him, here are the critical few things…
The Lord Jesus Christ is Your Creator…John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…
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.
The Lord Jesus Christ loves you UNconditionally… First John, Chapter 4, Verse 8…
FIRST JOHN 4:8 The one who does not love unconditionally does not know the Lord, for the Lord IS unconditional love.
The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be saved…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.
There are some things the Lord doesn’t want for you…the Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t want you to go to the Lake of Fire…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 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).
The Lord Jesus Christ forgives all of your sins…Isaiah, Chapter 43, Verse 25…
ISAIAH 43:25 “I, even I (the Lord), am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake…and I will not remember your sins.”
The Lord doesn’t want you to work to please Him…Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says…
ROMANS 11:6 But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer on the basis of works…otherwise grace is no longer grace.
God’s graciousness makes your salvation a free gift.
Who is this God who saves you? The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received… that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…
So how can you get to heaven? This loving, forgiving, patient God who wants you to be saved is willing to save you right this minute. Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you. 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.”
John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”
So heed 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.”
When you get to know the Lord, you’ll have no problem placing your confidence in Him, both for salvation and for anything else. Why? Because you’ll know that God wants you and God loves you…so take advantage of His grace!
SONG INTRODUCTION
Who is the one who saves you? He is the great I AM. Here's June Murphy to sing about Him.
CLOSING SONG I AM June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
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