HOMECOMING 2021 - Part One

Through the eyes of Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOMECOMING 2021 – Part One

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Evening!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  

 

It’s Homecoming Weekend !  Welcome to the non-resident members of the Barah Ministries congregation…the people who study with us on the internet.  Welcome home to Pastor John Farley and his wife Roberta.  You two may not know this…I hope you do…but wherever I am is your home away from home.

 

When there was no internet, many people were non-resident members of a church.  In First Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 1 and 2, the apostle makes it clear in his introduction to whom the letter is addressed…

 

FIRST PETER 1:1

Peter…an apostle of Jesus Christ…to those who reside as aliens…scattered

throughout Pontus…Galatia…Cappadocia…Asia…and Bithynia…those who are the chosen one of God the Father…

 

FIRST PETER 1:2 

…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…by the sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit…to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood…may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

 

Greetings to all of you who are non-resident…and welcome home!  Here’s your welcome song… HOME by Phillip Phillips.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

HOME

Phillip Phillips

 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

HOME

Phillip Phillips

 

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 orchestrating this gathering of your believers in Christ…thank you for the ministry you have given us to make this possible…thank you for making perfect provision for this weekend…thank you for allowing the safe travel of all who have come from out of town…we trust that you will get them home safely as well when we are finished… thank you for sending your Son, our Lord and Savior…Jesus…the Christ…to shed His blood in payment for our sins…thank you for sending us God the Holy Spirit to guide us into all the truth…

 

Father, You have said that anything we ask in prayer, believing we will receive…the Lord has told us that anything we ask in Your name, You will give it to us…so we’re asking…what we want…as we listen to Your Word and as we engage in Christian fellowship this weekend…is that the experiences of the weekend are truly transformational in our lives…that we are different as a result of being here…that we see You differently…that we see ourselves differently…that we see the world differently…and that we are edified by our experience of each other…conversely Father, keep the enemy and his agents far from us, and neutralize any thoughts of pettiness that may creep in during the weekend to threaten our unity…

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

name...Amen.

 

THE HOMECOMING LESSON 

Jesus:  The Son of God and The Son of Man, Part One

Pastor John Farley

 

It’s a pleasure to welcome Pastor John Farley and his wife Roberta to Barah Ministries.  As you know Pastor John ordained me a little over thirteen years ago.  Without question, he is my best friend.  Frankly, there is no one I trust with your souls more than I trust Pastor John Farley, and it’s a pleasure for me to make room in this pulpit for him to teach you this weekend.    

 

INTRO PASTOR FARLEY

 

What is a friend?  Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, a nineteenth-century British novelist and poet said it well in her work A Life for a Life

 

WHAT IS A FRIEND?

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik…A Life for a Life

 

“Oh, the comfort…the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person… having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words…to pour them all out…just as they are…chaff and grain together…knowing that a faithful hand will take them and sift them…keep what is worth keeping…and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

 

That is a perfect description of my friendship with Pastor John Farley.  There is one Shepherd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…and one set of sheep…us believers…and one church…and one unity…and one Spirit… God the Holy Spirit…and a ministry custom made for you…whether it’s Barah Ministries or Lighthouse Bible Church.  For me there is one friendship that stands above the rest…my friendship with John…who is proven faithful in my good times and in my bad times…who tells me like it is with little concern for a filter…who grounds his advice in the Word of God…who is a respecter and lover of my first love, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Of the many possession I have been granted by God in this lifetime, this friendship is the one I cherish most.  Thank you, John, for being someone I can trust and count on.  In Exodus, Chapter 17, Verse 12…the Israelites prevailed in war as long as Moses held his hands in the air…but Moses got tired…

 

EXODUS 17:12

…when Moses’ hands were heavy, Aaron and Hur took a stone and put it under Moses, and he sat on it…and Aaron and Hur supported his hands… one on one side and one on the other. Thus, Moses’ hands were steady until the sunset….

 

The Lord has surrounded me with friends…with a Pastor and with two Deacons…Deacon Deny Goodall and Deacon Larry Collins…and our Deaconess Denise Jones…our Song Worship Leader June Murphy…and an amazing congregation…to lift me up so that I have the strength to keep my hands in the air as I fight the good fight of faith.  Monica Miller has a knack for saying amazing things at the right time…it’s a spiritual gift…and last night she came up with another gem… “There are people who get me…and there are people who don’t.”  The Lord has surrounded me with people who get me…the ones who don’t have left.  Thank God!  Thanks to all of you for making my life worth living.  This song is dedicated to all of you…THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Gladys Knight

 

Let’s welcome up Pastor John Farley.

 

INSERT PASTOR JOHN FARLEY LESSON PART 1 HERE

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Donna Summers

 

INSERT PASTOR JOHN FARLEY LESSON PART 2 HERE

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

THE HOMECOMING LESSON 

How Does God See You?

Pastor Rory Clark

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

How Does God See You?

 

I’d really like you to stop and to think about that question for a second.  It would even be a good idea if you would write your answer down this weekend.  At the beginning of the lesson, I told you one of the hundreds of ways I see Pastor John Farley.  I love it when we teach together because I always get time to reflect and to write exactly how I see him…and then I get to tell him about it.  That's a regular feature of our friendship anyway…but it's always fun for me to share my feelings with someone other than him.  I told you a minuscule amount of information in the opening of the lesson about how I see him as a friend.  But there is much so more to say.

 

How does God see you?

 

Maybe you could write a few sentences.  But there is so much more that God has to say about you, and it’s all in the Bible.

 

How does God see you?

 

In my executive coaching practice, if I want to paralyze a person I'm coaching, I ask them five questions:

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

 

         Who are you?

 

         Where did you come from?

 

         Where are you going?

 

         How will you get there?

 

         What is your purpose in life?

 

Because I have a spiritual life, I can answer these questions easily and I can back up the answers with Bible verses.  Can you?  My guess is you can’t.  We prefer to live in oblivion, especially about ourselves.  WE count on profiles to tell us how we are…Meyers Briggs…Social Styles… StrengthsFinder…Emotional Intelligence.  It would be a rather bold question to go up to someone this weekend and to ask them, “How do you see me?”  It would require MORE boldness to hear the answer without interruption and to really take it in.  Well, I ask you again, how does God see you?

 

In this first lesson, I’ll offer you an answer to this all-important question.  Perhaps you will hear little in this lesson that you don’t already know.  My question?  How often in your daily life do you summon what you know when you are being persuaded by the kingdom of death and darkness to forget about who you are as a believer in union with Christ who is a personal possession of the Sovereign God of the Universe?  How often do you delete the thoughts placed in your head by the flesh resident in you, and replace them with Biblical thoughts that are statements of fact about you? Seldom I’d guess.  In this lesson, I’d like to give you ammunition for your own defense.

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

First John, Chapter 3, Verse 1…

 

FIRST JOHN 3:1

See how great an unconditional love God the Father has bestowed on us believers in Christ, that we would be called children of God the Father…and that’s what we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

 

How does God see you?  Hillsong Worship says for us, to the Lord, I am WHO YOU SAY I AM!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

WHO YOU SAY I AM

Hillsong Worship

 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

WHO YOU SAY I AM

Hillsong Worship

 

THE HOMECOMING LESSON 

How Does God See You?

Pastor Rory Clark

 

How Does God See You?  

 

There’s the way God saw you before you were born.  He saw you as someone He was crafting from nothing to something…Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 7…

 

GENESIS 2:7

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground (formed is the Hebrew word yasar…the work of an artist)…and He breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of lives…and man became a living soul.

 

God saw you as He sees Himself…Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 27…

 

GENESIS 1:27

God created man in His own image…in the image of God He created him…male and female He created them.

 

God saw all your days on earth before He created you…Psalm 139, Verse 16…

 

PSALM 139:16

Your eyes (O Lord) have seen my unformed substance…and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me…when as yet there was not one of them.

 

God saw you as part of His detailed plan…Matthew, Chapter 10, Verse 30…

 

MATTHEW 10:30

…the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

 

God looked into the inner recesses of your being…He knows you better than you know yourself…Psalm 139, Verse 4…

 

PSALM 139:4

Even before there is a word on my tongue…behold, O Lord, You know it all.

 

God created you full of wonder…Psalm 139, Verse 14…

 

PSALM 139:14

I will give thanks to You (Lord)…for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…wonderful are Your works…and my soul knows it very well.

 

How Does God See You?  

 

There’s the way God sees you at physical birth.  He saw you separated from Him…on the wrong side of a barrier…helpless and hopeless to have a relationship with Him… Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 25…

 

ROMANS 1:25 

For those practicing ungodliness and unrighteousness (spiritually dead persons which we were at physical birth)… exchanged the truth of God for a lie…and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who created the creature…the Creator (The Lord… God the Son) who is blessed forever. Amen.

 

God saw your inadequacies…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 3:23 

…for all have sinned in the past when Adam sinned and all keep on sinning…and keep on falling short of the glory of God…

 

God saw you were destined for the Lake of Fire…Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 6:23a

For the (earned) wages of sin (the compensation paid for your sinful works) is (the second) death (in the Lake of Fire)...

 

It wasn’t your fault but it is your circumstance.

 

God saw spiritual death in you…you were on the wrong team…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 1 to 3…

 

EPHESIANS 2:1

And you were (spiritually) dead in your trespasses and sins…

 

EPHESIANS 2:2 

…in which you formerly walked according to the curriculum of this world…according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan)…walking according to the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (those in rebellion against God).

 

EPHESIANS 2:3 

Among them we too ALL formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh…indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind…and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (are who are in relationship with His wrath).

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

ROMANS 3:10 

…as it is written, “THERE IS NO CREATURE WHO IS RIGHTEOUS (before God)… NOT EVEN ONE…

 

We were in a pretty desperate state…then the best BUT in the world…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21…

 

ROMANS 3:21 

BUT now…apart from law…another principle entirely…the righteousness from God which has been made clearly visible…being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in the sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…

 

The righteousness offer from an amazing God!  Let’s take a five-minute break and we’ll continue to get the Biblical answer the question, “How Does God See You? “

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

EVERYTHING

Toby Mac

 

THE HOMECOMING LESSON 

How Does God See You?

Pastor Rory Clark

 

Now that you are a believer in Christ…How does God see you?  From this moment on He sees you differently…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.”

 

A transformation begins!  How Does God See You? 

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM AN OLD MAN TO A NEW CREATION

 

Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…

 

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 passed away (they died)…behold, new things have come.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM A POECE OF CLAY TO A WORK OF ART FROM THE HANDS OF THE ARTIST

 

Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…

 

EPHESIANS 2:10

For we believers in Christ are God the Father’s workmanship…created in union with Christ Jesus for good works…which good works God the Father prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM SINNER TO SAINT

 

From the moment of salvation, you are no longer a spiritually dead, ungodly, unrighteous, unbeliever sinner…God transforms you into a saint.  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 (while we were unbelieving… while we were unrighteous…while we were ungodly ones), the Lord Jesus Christ died for us (taking our place).

 

Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 7…

 

ROMANS 1:7 

…and this letter is written to all of you who are the divinely loved ones of God the Father…you believers in Christ living in Rome…SAINTS by the calling from God…the set apart ones…grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM UNBELIEVER TO PRIEST

 

You represent yourself before God with no intermediaries between you and Him.  First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 9a…

 

FIRST PETER 2:9a

But you believers in Christ are a chosen race…A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD…a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM COMMONER TO AMBASSADOR

 

You represent God in Satan’s kingdom…planet earth.  John, Chapter 12, Verse 31…

 

JOHN 12:31

“Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (he will be dethroned at a future time).”

 

Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 20…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:20

For our citizenship (as believers in Christ) is in heaven…from which heaven also we eagerly wait for a Savior…the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

What do ambassadors do?  First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 9b says they…

 

FIRST PETER 2:9b

proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS TO ABSOLUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

To get into heaven you must be as perfect as God is perfect.  There is no way you could ever achieve that on your own.  Therefore, at the moment of salvation, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ impute their own righteousness to you, as your admission ticket to heaven.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21…

 

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.  

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM UNHOLY AND CONDEMNED TO HOLY AND BLAMELESS

 

Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 3 and 4…

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…who has blessed us believers in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in union with Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 1:4

just as God the Father chose us believers in Christ to be in union with Christ before the foundation of the world…that we would be holy and blameless (in His sight …without blemish) before God the Father (for all eternity).

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM UNION WITH ADAM TO UNION WITH CHRIST

 

At the moment of salvation, through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit, you are placed into union with Christ, a union you can never exit.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22

For as in union with Adam all die…so also in union with Christ all will be made alive.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM BEING RUN BY THE FLESH TO BEING CONTROLED BY THE SPIRIT

 

You are indwelled by God the Holy Spirit, making your body a temple to the Lord.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 9…

 

ROMANS 8:9 

However, you believers in Christ are not in the flesh but you are IN THE SPIRIT…if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you…and of course it does. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ (and unbelievers don’t), that one (the unbeliever...the unholy, unrighteous, unregenerate one) does not belong to Christ.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM SLAVERY TO REDEMPTION

 

You are purchased from slavery to sin.  Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 14…

 

ROMANS 6:14 

For sin shall not any longer be a master…(a lord that is sovereign) over you believers in Christ…for you are not under law…but you are under grace.

 

First Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 18 and 19…

 

FIRST PETER 1:18

…knowing that you believers in Christ were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers…

 

FIRST PETER 1:18-19

…but you were redeemed with precious blood…as from a lamb unblemished and spotless…the blood of Christ.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM EXILED TO RECONCILED

 

The barrier between you and God was removed by Christ’s work on the Cross…so God no longer has anything against you.  Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 13 to 15…

 

EPHESIANS 2:13

But now…you believers in union with Christ Jesus…you who formerly were far off (when you were unbelievers)…have been brought near to God the Father by the blood of Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 2:14

…for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (in His very Person) is our peace…who made both groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one group…and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall…

 

EPHESIANS 2:15

…by abolishing in His flesh the enmity (the intense hatred) which is the Mosaic Law of commandments contained in ordinances…so that in union with Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ might make the two groups into one new man…thus establishing peace (meaning God has nothing against you)…

 

Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

ROMANS 8:31

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things? If God the Father is FOR us believers in Christ, and He is, who is ever going to be successful in opposition AGAINST us?

 

ROMANS 8:32

God the Father, who did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), but delivered Him over for us all, how will the Father not also, with our union with Christ, freely give us all things?

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM FREE AGENT TO A POSSESSION OF GOD

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 19 and 20…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:19 

Or DO YOU NOT KNOW that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is indwelling you believers in Christ…the Spirit whom you have from God the Father?  You are not your own!

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:20 

For you believers in Christ have been bought with a price (the precious blood of Christ)!  Therefore… (a command) … glorify God in your body!

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM GUILTY TO JUSTIFIED

 

God the Father declares you legally righteous as a result of your union with Christ.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 29 and 30…

 

ROMANS 8:29 

For those whom God the Father foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (the Lord Jesus Christ)…so that the Lord would be the firstborn among many brethren...

 

ROMANS 8:30 

...and these whom God the Father predestined, He also called…and these whom God the Father called, He also JUSTIFIED…and these whom God the Father justified, He also glorified.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM THE OBJECT OF WRATH TO THE FOCUS OF FORGIVENESS

 

Every sin you have ever committed…past, present and future was imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross and judged.  Therefore, all of your sins stand forgiven forever.  Psalm 103, Verse 12…

 

PSALM 103:12

As far as the east is from the west…so far has the Lord removed our transgressions from us.

 

YOU ARE TRANSFORMED FROM ORPHAN TO CHILD OF GOD

 

John, Chapter 1, Verse 12 says…

 

JOHN 1:12

But as many as received the invitation from Jesus to be saved…to them He gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD THE FATHER…even to those who believe in Jesus’ name…

 

So when you’re ready to beat yourself up next time, take this lesson out and remind yourself who you are…remind yourself how God sees you!

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Philippians, Chapter 2, Verses 5 to 11 describe a glorious moment in divine history…one that all believers in Christ are looking forward to…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:5

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:6 

…who, although He existed in the exact same essence as God the Father (equal in every way)…did not regard equality with God the Father as a thing to be seized and held onto…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:7

…instead, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:8 

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross.

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:9 

For this reason also, God the Father highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:10 

…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and those who are on the earth and those who are under the earth…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:11 

…and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (He’s God the Son….Deity)…to the glory of God the Father.

 

June Murphy says it well…His name is Jesus…in 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

 

 

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

 

CLOSING VERSES

 

         A Doxology of Praise to Our God

 

We close each week with a doxology.  What is a doxology?

 

DOXOLOGY

Biblical words containing praise to our Almighty God.

 

PROVERBS 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Jesus, and He will make your paths straight.

 

DEUTERONOMY 31:8

“For the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you…He will be with you…He will not fail you or forsake you…so do not fear or be dismayed.”

 

ISAIAH 30:18

The Lord longs to be gracious to you…He waits on high to have compassion

on you…for the Lord is a God of justice…blessed are those who wait for Him.

 

FIRST PETER 5:6-7

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may promote you at the proper time……slamming all your cares on His back, because He cares for you.

 

God considers your problems to be His responsibility.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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