Romans 11: The Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS Keeps His PromisesSteadfast loyalty.
If you’re in the resident congregation turn off your electronic devices and put them away. Let this be a place where you aren’t distracted by the world.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!
OPENING AGENDA
You may be wondering some things about Barah Ministries, like…
Who is the God we worship? What is our source of truth? Who is our enemy?
We’re always happy to begin each lesson by answering these questions.
Who is the God We Worshipat Barah Ministries?
We worship a Triune Godhead. There is One God who reveals Himself to mankind as three separate Persons who are co-equal…co-infinite…and co-eternal…God the Father…God the Son…and God the Holy Spirit.
GOD THE FATHER is the author of the Triune Godhead’s plan for all creatures.
GOD THE SON (our Lord) volunteered to execute God the Father’s plan…taking on human form as Jesus…the Christ (the Jewish Messiah). Jesus Christ is God.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRITis our Mentor and Teacher…the rudder of a Christian’s life. He is a Person and He is equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son.He is not a “ghost” as some like to call Him. When God describes His relationship with mankind He uses the analogy of the Shepherd and the sheep. It’s an accurate analogy because sheep are the dumbest animals in the world. 😊
The Lord describes Himself in John, Chapter 10, Verse 11…
JOHN 10:11 “I am the Good Shepherd…and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
The Lord describes believers in Christ in John, Chapter 10, Verse 4…
JOHN 10:4 “…the sheep follow the Shepherd because they know his voice.”
As believers in Christ, when we heard the gospel message, we knew it was the voice of the Good Shepherd and we were happy to follow His voice.
What is Our Source of Truthat Barah Ministries?
The Bible is the Word of God, the voice of God, the mind of God…and it is our source of absolute truth.
The Bible is described so many ways…as alive…as powerful…as sharp…as a critic…as the truth…as a lamp…and as a light that illuminates the correct path.
The Bible is a supernatural work, breathed into the human writers by God. It does not come from man, and it provides the only source of absolute truthabout eternal things. Since the Bible is the Lord’s exact thinking, and since the Lord is right all the time, the Bible is right all the time. It contains no errors or contradictions. You can trust the Bible as your source of truth.
At Barah Ministries, we teach the Bible from God’s perspective…not from man’s perspective…because we refuse to teach as doctrinal truth the precepts of men.
Who is Our Enemyat Barah Ministries?
GOD HAS AN ENEMY…Satan…whom God made ‘the ruler of this world’ for a finite period. He is the enemy of believers in Christ as well. The Lord describes Satan as one who wants to ruin usin John, Chapter 10, Verse 10…
JOHN 10:10 “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy the sheep…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) came that the sheep might possess the resurrection life (eternal life)…and that they may have it in superabundance.”
The Lord warns His believers in John, Chapter 10, Verse 5…
JOHN 10:5 “A stranger the sheep simply will not follow…they flee from him…because the sheep do not know the voice of strangers.”
The biggest enemy of believers in Christ is IGNORANCE OF THE ENEMY. Don’t be ignorant. The Lord’s half-brother instructs us believers in Christ in James, Chapter 4, Verse 7…
JAMES 4:7b …resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Follow his advice.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON The Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS Keeps His Promises
LESSON INTRODUCTION
All of us, at some time in our lives, turn our back on God. We get mad at Him because we didn’t get our way…we don’t like it that the truth critiques the seedy side of our lifestyle…we get disappointed when those we love die…perhaps we are just too obstinate to bend a knee to a Superior Being because we see ourselves as gods. When we turn our backs on God, does He then turn His back on us? We’ll find out in today’s lesson. And as we do every month, we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let’s hear some music!When someone is faithful, he is loyal and steadfast in affection and allegiance, no matter what. He can’t be swayed off of a course of action by circumstances. He doesn’t give in to the emotions of the moment. This is a perfect description of our God.Here is Matt Maher to describes the FAITHFULNESS of God.
MUSIC OPENING SONG Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises
FAITHFULNESS Matt Maher
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 that we can always count on you…thank you for always being there for us…thank you for being the ROCK, the solid foundation of our lives… thank you for not holding our frailties against us…You knew all of them before You created us...and You created us anyway…
…infect us with Your faithfulness in our relationships with others…teach us how not to be “fair weather” friends…instead, help us be a ROCK for others…and help us to notice those who are faithful, the foundational people you surround us with…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON The Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS Keeps His Promises
LESSON PART ONE
We continue our study of the middle section of the most important epistle in the New Testament, and perhaps the most important epistle in the whole Bible…the apostle Paul’s letter to first-century believers in Rome.
In Romans, Chapters 1 to 8 we learned the gospel message from the Lord Jesus Christ…a message from a gracious God to every member of the human race. In Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 16 Paul says…
ROMANS 1:16 I (Paul) am not ashamed of the gospel…for the gospel is a power from God for salvation to everyone who believes…to the Jew first chronologically…and also to the Greek (the Gentiles).
In Romans, Chapters 9 to 11 we study a testimonial of God’s faithfulness. If you’re a fan of Denzel Washington’s Equalizer movies, he always says to the bad guys, “I want to give you a chance to do the right thing.” God says the same thing to unbelievers. As long as you are breathing you have the chance to do the right thing. The right thing is to follow theinstruction of Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Some will. Most won’t. Most of the Jews didn’t. They rejected their Messiah. The apostle Paul, both a racial Jew and a spiritual Jew, testifies in these three chapters that God is faithful. We have a God who ALWAYS keeps His promises.
In Romans, Chapters 12 to 16 we’ll learn the right conduct for Christians, whether we are dealing with sinners or saints; whether we are dealing with friends or foes; even when dealing with the complexities of self.
What was God’s promise to Abraham, the first spiritual Jew? Genesis, Chapter 22, Verse 17…
GENESIS 22:17 …I (the Lord) will greatly bless you…and I will greatly multiply your seed Abraham…multiplied as many as the stars of the heavens and as many as the sand on the seashore…and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
The Jews are the human history equivalent of the angels. They are blessed beyond measure and like the angels they insisted on rejecting the Lord.
We’re studying Romans, Chapters 9 to 11. In these chapters, Paul shares insights on how to interpret God’s dealings with His chosen nation…Israel…and His chosen people…the Jews.Has God rejected the Jews because the Jews rejected Him? John, Chapter 1, Verse 11 says NO…
JOHN 1:11 The Lord Jesus Christ (the Jewish Messiah) came to His own people…the Jews…(just as He promised throughout the Old Testament)…and those who were His own (the Jews) did not receive Him (they rejected Him KNOWING He was the Messiah).”
God invited Israel and the Jews to take advantage of the privileges He offered them with this result…Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 21…
ROMANS 10:21 Regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them (Israel and the Jews) but they were disobedient and rebellious.”
Despite seeing His outstretched arms they said NOto their Messiah.
The Jews who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah cut themselves off from Christ. He didn’t cut them off! With God, promises made are promises kept. When the Jews turn their hearts back to Jesus in the future, He will come a second time to the earth to rescue them.
So let’s hear the passage of study for today…Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 1 to 15…starting at Verse 1…
ROMANS 11:1 I (Paul) say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite…a descendant of Abraham…of the tribe of Benjamin.
ROMANS 11:2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah…how he pleads with God against Israel?
Elijah says…
ROMANS 11:3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets…they have torn down Your altars…and I alone am left…and they are seeking my life.”
ROMANS 11:4 But what is the divine response to Elijah? “I (the Lord) have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Ba-al.”
ROMANS 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be, at present, a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.
In our days, they’re called Jews for Jesus!
ROMANS 11:6 But if God’s gracious choice is by grace, it is no longer based on works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
ROMANS 11:7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened…
ROMANS 11:8 …just as it is written…“God gave them a spirit of stupor…eyes to see not…and ears to hear notdown to this very day.”
ROMANS 11:9 And King David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a retribution to them.”
ROMANS 11:10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever.”
ROMANS 11:11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous.
ROMANS 11:12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world, and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
ROMANS 11:13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry…
ROMANS 11:14 …if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and help save some of them.
ROMANS 11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
This is the passage we’ll investigate in detail today. When we return from the break we’ll take the offering, we’ll celebrate The Lord’s Supper, and then we’ll dissect today’s passage verse-by-verse.
FIVE-MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON The Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS Keeps His Promises
OFFERING INTRODUCTION
King David asks an interesting question in Psalm 116, Verse 12…
PSALM 116:12 What shall I give to the Lord in repayment for all His goodness toward me?
What can we, mere humans, give to the Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Sufficient God? The Lord wants us to give the things He gifts to us for the benefit of others:our time, our talent, and our treasure. The offering is the treasure part. It’s your chance to redirect the funds God has given to you to help others. Give with an abundance mentality! Whatever you give the Lord will multiply to others AND back to you.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always insightful offering messages.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
PHILIPPIANS 2:4 …do not only look out for your own personal interests…but also look out for the interests of others.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU Instrumental Version
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION God’s Promises are a Gracious Gift
Welcome to the Lord’s Supper Celebration!
The Lord’s Supper gives us the chance to direct our focus to the Lord alone, especially to His work on our behalf at the Cross. The Lord gives a command to His believers in Luke, Chapter 22, Verse 19. He says…
LUKE 22:19c “…keep on doing this Lord’s Supper Celebrationin remembrance of Me.”
We celebrate to remember that a relationship with the Lord is the most important choice we make in this life.
The Lord’s Supper Celebration is for the Lord’s born-again ones…for spiritually alive believers in Christ who were placed into union with Christ through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit at the moment of their salvation.
We don’t celebrate The Lord’s Supper on the move. We stop…we reflect…we enjoy. So, get your bread and wine ready, and join the celebration.
Today we celebrate a simple fact. Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 29 says…
ROMANS 11:29 …the gifts of God and the calling of God are irrevocable.
When something is irrevocable, it is never altered or changed in any way. The promises of God are irrevocable. We have a God who loves us without conditions or requirements. We have a God who is faithful to us. We have a God who keeps His Word. We have a God who never changes. We have a God who keeps His promises.
If God’s promises can be changed, then our life is meaningless, and our Lord and Savior died needlessly. That is certainly not the case. So top of mind in this Lord’s Supper Celebration is a single idea…you can count on the faithfulness of the Lord.
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION Enjoying the Elements
Let’s enjoy the elements.
Bread and wine.
The Lord gave us these things to remember Him. We will partake of the elements together in a few moments as we listen to The Lord’s Supper Song.
Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 26 to 28 tells us the reason the Lord wants us to celebrate this meal…
MATTHEW 26:26 While the apostles were eating, Jesus took bread…and after blessing the bread…Hebroke it…He gave it to His disciples and He said, “Take thisand eat it…for this is My body which is being broken for you.”
MATTHEW 26:27 And when Jesus had taken a cup and given thanksHe gave it to the disciples saying, “Drink from it…all of you…”
MATTHEW 26:28 “…for this is My blood…the blood of a new covenant…My blood…that’s poured out for WHOSOEVERfor the forgiveness of sins.” As we celebrate, we REMEMBER that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to prove His Deity…He lives! We remember that Jesus Christ forgives us for every sin once and for all time through His work on the Cross. We remember that Jesus Christ saved us from the wrath of God the Father. We remember that Jesus Christ will come again to gather us unto Himself.
As believers in Christ, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper withgratitude.Enjoy the elements as we reflect on the words to a song…
THE LORD’S SUPPER SONG
ONE BREAD…ONE BODY John Foley
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON The Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS Keeps His Promises
LESSON PART TWO
Let’s study Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 1 to 15 verse-by-verse…beginning at Verse 1…
ROMANS 11:1 I (Paul) say then, God has not rejected His people…(a reference to unbelieving Israel and the unbelieving Jewish race)has He? May it never be (ABSOLUTELY NOT!). For I, too, am an Israelite (a racial Jew)…a descendant of Abraham (a believing in Christ…a spiritual Jew)…of the tribe of Benjamin (the only tribe faithful to Judah).
Paul is saying, “I am a racial Jew AND a spiritual Jew (like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and I am not rejected. I am selected. I am chosen to bring the Gentiles into the fold of Christianity. So if I’m not rejected (even though,perhaps, I should be)…my people are not rejected either. Paul is right.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 2 and 3…
ROMANS 11:2 God ABSOLUTELY HAS NOT rejected His people whom He foreknew(referring to Israel…God’s chosen nation…and the Jewish race…God’s chosen people). Or are you ignorant of what the Old Testament Scripture says in the passage about Elijah? How Elijah pleads with God against Israelsaying…
ROMANS 11:3 “Lord, the unbelieving Jews have killed Your prophets…they have torn down Your altars…and I alone am left…and they are seeking my life.”
What the Lord should have said to Elijah is, “Now you know how I felt!” Paul felt the same feelings as Elijah…that he was the only believing Jew left.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 4…
ROMANS 11:4 But what is the divine response to Elijah? The Lord says, “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Ba-al.”
The Jewish people worshipped Baal…the god of sexual immorality. Their folly did not faze a faithful God. Once God makes a promise, no person, no circumstance, and no betrayal can get Him to change His mind. He is faithful.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 5 and 6…
ROMANS 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be…at the present time (in every generation)…a remnant of Jewish believersaccording to God’s gracious choice.
ROMANS 11:6 But if the remnant is chosen by God’s gracious choice, and it is, it is no longer chosen based on works...otherwise, God’s grace is no longer grace.
What is a remnant?
REMNANT Leftovers…a small surviving group
The 7,000 got saved by placing their faith in God’s promises…it was not by religion and it was not by works.Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 7…
ROMANS 11:7a To what conclusion are we forced then (now that we know God has neither abandoned His nation, Israel, nor His people, the Jewish race)? What Israel is seekingit has not obtained (they wanted to earn righteousness through works)…
Even when the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, the Jews were still stomping their feet in obstinance…refusing to believe what they were seeing. The Sanhedrin…the Pharisees…the Sadducees all were locked into the false thought that they could be saved by their good works. They didn’t want or need Jesus…they didn’t want the simplicity of the salvation Jesus offered.
The Jews counted on Moses and the Mosaic Law…not on God’s promises to Abraham who had faith in the Lord for righteousness.
ROMANS 11:7b …but those who were chosen by God…(believers in Christ…the remnant) obtained righteousness through faith in Christ…and the rest (the unbelieving Jews) were hardened (with God allowing the hardening, not causing it)…
Jesus says, “If you don’t have a relationship with Me through faith, the Mosaic Law and your works are null and void. They can’t save you.” God chooses His believers…His believers choose Him…the two wills come together.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 8…
ROMANS 11:8 …just as it is written, “God gave the unbelieving Jews over to a spirit of stupor…with eyes that see not…and with ears that hear not…down to this very day (God allows sin to have its effect…SPIRITUAL DEATH ending in the second death in the Lake of Fire).”
Yet God does not abandon His people because of their unfaithfulness. Psalm 94, Verse 14 says…
PSALM 94:14 …the Lord will not abandon His people…nor will He forsake His inheritance.
Creators don’t tear down their own creations. God continues to work on His creation through the power of God the Holy Spirit.In the future, after many trials and much tribulation, the entire nation of Israel and all the Jews will come to know who Jesus is…their Messiah. And when they do, He will come to rescue them from total destruction.
God keeps His promises to the few…the remnant…and one day the many will worship Him. At that time, Israel will become ten times the size it is now and Jerusalem will be rebuilt…Jeremiah, Chapter 31, Verse 40…
JEREMIAH 31:40c “…Jerusalem will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore FOREVER.”
That’s quite a promise! Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 9 and 10…
ROMANS 11:9 And David (a spiritual, believing Jew) says, “Let their table become a snare and a trapand a stumbling block and a compensationto them.”
ROMANS 11:10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not…and let God bend their backs forever.”
Salvation is quite simple…choose the light of God or the dark of Satan’s kingdom…chose fulfillment with God or emptiness with unbelief…let God bear the burden of your salvation or carry your own burden, thinking you can do things to save yourself.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 11…
ROMANS 11:11 I (Paul) say then, unbelieving Israel and the unbelieving Jewish race did not stumble so as to fall beyond recovery, did they? May it never be (ABSOLUTELY NOT!). But by means of their transgression (the hardening God allowed)…salvation has come to the Gentilesto make unbelieving Israel and the unbelieving Jewish race jealous.
God keeps His promise to spiritual Israel. He knows how to deal with the racial Jews who reject Him. He is not a God who forces. Yet we wonder, “How can a group who was so uniquely prepared by God be so blind?” By choice!It’s simple.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 12… ROMANS 11:12 Now if the transgression of unbelieving Israel and the unbelieving Jewish race is riches for the world…and it is…and if their failure is riches for the Gentiles…and it is…how much more will their fulfillment be when they turn back to Christ?
The rejecting Jews had full knowledge of the truth because they were required to memorize all the prophecies of the Old Testament. For example, what was required to be a Pharisee?
Most notably, the Pharisees sought to abide by the external laws that distinguished the Jewish people from all of the other nations – the laws that made them outwardly distinct. These included laws about what to eat, what to wear, about circumcision, and about how to pray out loud. The impulse that drove the Pharisees was good works. They sought to impress God.
What did they know from study? They knew where the Messiah would be born… how He would be born…of a virgin…where He would live…how He would minister…how He would die…where He would be buried…how He would be resurrected from the dead…how the people would reject Him…things detailed all throughout the Old Testament! Yet they rejected the One they knew.
Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 13…
ROMANS 11:13 But I (Paul) am speaking specifically to those of you in Rome who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I (even though I am a Jew) am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry…
ROMANS 11:14 …if somehow, I might by any means move to jealousy my fellow countrymen (my landsmen according to the flesh…the Jews) and help save some of them.
ROMANS 11:15 For if their rejection of their Messiah is the reconciliation of the world…and it is…what will their acceptance of their Messiah be but the gift of the resurrection life from the dead for the whole world?
The Jews will figure out who their Messiah is in the future. They have much to look forward to, mostly because a faithful God refuses, under any circumstance, to give up on them.
Let’s close by hearing the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION of this passage…Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 1 to 15…
ROMANS 11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
ROMANS 11:2 No, God has not rejected His own people, whom He chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said…
ROMANS 11:3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
ROMANS 11:4 And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No…I have 7,000 other Jews who have never bowed down to Ba-al!”
ROMANS 11:5 It is the same today…for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—His undeserved kindness in choosing them.
ROMANS 11:6 And since God’s choosing of them is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
ROMANS 11:7 So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened.
ROMANS 11:8 As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day He has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
ROMANS 11:9 Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.”
ROMANS 11:10 “Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”
ROMANS 11:11 Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But He wanted his own people to become jealous and claim His salvation offer for themselves.
ROMANS 11:12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
ROMANS 11:13 I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this…
ROMANS 11:14 …for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might help save some of them.
ROMANS 11:15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!
As Gentile believers in Christ, we keep on praying for Israel and the Jewish race. We NEVER…under any circumstances…entertain anti-Semitism. Israel and the Jewish race are precious to God and they are precious to us as well.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race
The next ten minutes could be the ten most important minutes of your life. You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life. We want you to know that…
GOD WANTS YOU! He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.
If you don’t yet have a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God considers you to be a spiritually dead sinner who needs a Savior. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…
ROMANS 3:23 …all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10 says…
ROMANS 3:10 …it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a …all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
Your condition at physical birth IS NOT YOUR FAULT, but it is your circumstance.
By your own choice, you have a chance to be precious in God’s sight…Psalm 116, Verse 15 says…
PSALM 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones (His saints… believers in Christ).
The fact that GOD WANTS YOU is a great thing to know, especially as you get older, because no one gets out of this life alive. What’s going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life? Will you go to heaven or will you go to hell?
God has an enemy…Satan…the ruler of this world…and he creates counterfeit lifestyles to blind your mind called RELIGIONS that are designed to mislead you into thinking you’re saved when you’re not. Roman Catholicism is one of those counterfeits. Here is an excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church…
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (Paragraph 2010) Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can MERIT FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS the graces needed for our sanctification…for the attainment of eternal life.
Satan wants you to think you can work your way to heaven, earning your own salvation. Also, he wants you to think you can pray for the salvation of others after they have died. He’s lying. You can’t. Hebrews, Chapter 9, Verse 27 says…
HEBREWS 9:27 …it is appointed for men to die once…and after this comes judgment…
The Lord provides you with the Bible to illuminate the path to heaven…John, Chapter 20, Verse 31 says…
JOHN 20:31 …these things written in the Bible have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…(the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God…the Lord…who took on human form)…and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life (eternal life) in Hisname.
The Bible contains the Lord’s exact thinking. It is your “owner’s manual” for life. The good news is the Lord Jesus Christ did something about your sin problem. He has a plan for your salvation because He doesn’t want anyone to go to The Lake of Fire…Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).
So, how can you get to heaven? 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 by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
The ONE WAY…the ONLY WAY to get to heaven is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ…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.”
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 primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Old Testament 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 Old Testament Scriptures…
Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can’t do a thing to get to heaven on your own. It’s your confirmation that being “a good person” does not get you to heaven. It’s wiser to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind! John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…
JOHN 10:28 “…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
You can’t lose your salvation. If ANYONE tells you that you can lose your salvation, they are lying to you.
Many people in the world think they don’t need a Savior because they are “basically good people.” These people are like those who defend themselves in a lawsuit. The joke in the legal community is anyone who represents himself in a lawsuit has a fool for a client. Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 says…
ACTS 4:12 “…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).”
Reject a relationship with Christ? In Matthew, Chapter 25, Verse 30, the Lord shares the consequences…
MATTHEW 25:30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness (the Lake of Fire)… and in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So, heed the warning and accept the invitation 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.”
You can join me and a host of your believer friends in heaven when you close your eyes in this life! Choose it now!
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race
CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let’s close with music! There are many great things about our great God…among them, as Carrie Underwood and Cece Winans sing…GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS Lord.
MUSIC CLOSING SONG Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises
GREAT IS THEY FAITHFULNESS Carrie Underwood and Cece Winans
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Almighty God and Father…
…we place all of our faith in You because faith in You is well placed…direct us as You see fit, and give us the desires of our hearts when these desires are in line with Your will for us…and continue to have compassion for the Jewish race through Your Gentile believers in Christ…show us how to lead them to Your so great salvation…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please make it a habit to listen to the announcements. They are posted separately. Keep current on the things going on and coming up in Barah Ministries.
DISCUSSING THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE
…will resume in the New Year.
GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?
Ask the Pastor pastor@barahministries.com
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Send your request to pastor@barahministries.com
KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
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