Romans 194: Romans 7 - The Flesh Wants to Arm Bar Your LifeWelcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
Have you ever heard of the term personification? In literature it occurs when we…
PERSONIFICATION Attribute the human nature to animals, to inanimate objects, or to abstract ideas.
For example…
Lightning danced across the sky
The wind howled in the night
She heard the last piece of pie calling her name
The moon played hide and seek with the clouds
Traffic slowed to a crawl
A few biblical examples of personification…First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8…
1PE 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Satan is personified as a roaring lion. Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 24…
GAL 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The flesh is personified as being hung from a Cross. Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 23…
ROM 7:23 …but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
The body is personified as waging war with the mind. As we continue our study of Romans, Chapter 7 perhaps the use of personification will help us to see “the flesh” in our minds as the monster it is, so that we would never want to mix our human power with the power of God the Holy Spirit.
Welcome to a place where you can be reminded of your real power source.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
Everlasting God Chris Tomlin
Let enjoy the opening song…EVERLASTING GOD.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God…
Help us to realize the debilitating power of mixing the truth with lies…help us to see the harmful affects when we believe human power is capable… show us how to take direction from God the Holy Spirit…help us to realize the reason why you look at the flesh and sin and the law as dead…enlighten us so we clearly get Your message and see these things just as you do… We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY The Flesh Wants to Arm Bar Your Life
As we learn about SIN and the LAW and the FLESH, what we would like to do is count on our knowledge of the subjects and then move on. “OK Pastor, I get it…we’re dead to SIN, dead to the LAW, and we have this thing called “the flesh” that will keep on irritating us. I get it. Move on.” But do you really get it?
The apostles thought they got it. The night before the Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross, He asked Peter, James, and John to stay up with Him because the Lord was “deeply grieved” in His soul. They couldn’t do it. Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 40 and 41…
MAT 26:40 And the Lord came to the disciples (Peter, James, and John) and found them sleeping, and the Lord said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?”
MAT 26:41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Quite often we get things intellectually. For example, when we use intellect to assess the power of “the flesh,” we underestimate its power. But what if we were to use personification as a vivid way to remind us of how insidious and cunning “the flesh” is at destroying us, our lives, and everything that is precious to us? That’s the challenge of this lesson. First, a few announcements.
BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS
REMINDER Check In on Facebook Before Church Service
Like BARAH MINISTRIES on
Over 3200 people have signed up to be a part of our online community. Bring your friends to the Barah Ministries Facebook page today!
The Barah Ministries App Ready for Download!
Go to the app store or Google Play and type in Barah Ministries. Thanks again to our non-resident congregation member to Brian Davis for making this possible.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! No Face-to-Face Teaching July 5, 2015
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The Next Lord’s Supper Celebration June 14, 2015
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Next Deacon’s Meeting May 23 7:30AM MST
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Barah Ministries Coeur d’Alene Conference Coeur d’Alene, Idaho August 7-8, 2015
Barah Ministries Back on the Radio! KXEG - 1280 AM 9:30 AM on Sundays
Thanks for your financial support of the radio ministry.
Happy Birthday! ONE YEAR OLD! William Goodall May 18
Happy Birthday! Emilie Goodall May 23
Congratulations! Alyssa Lopez Mesquite High School Graduation WELLS FARGO ARENA May 20 at 3P
Prayer Meeting and Pastor Discussion After Church Next Week!
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
Let’s take the offering. This is the time when you get to make a sacrifice on behalf of all the people around the world that can’t afford to pay to study the Word of God. Your generous contributions make it possible for them to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ free of charge by means of internet teaching or by means of face-to-face teaching.
Let’s remember to give with the motivation suggested in Scripture
2CO 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful (grace oriented) giver.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
Barah Ministries Financial Policy
Even though we are sanctioned by God to charge for the many things we provide so you can worship God, we choose not to exercise our right. Therefore no price appears on any material from Barah Ministries so that anyone who desires biblical teaching may have it free of charge.
Barah Ministries Financial Policy
Even though the materials we provide are free of charge, they are not free of cost. We appreciate it when the Word of God motivates you to give financial support so as to provide biblical teaching, both for yourself and for others. Please be generous in your support of God’s work through this ministry.
OFFERING VERSE
COL 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Jesus Christ whom you serve.
OFFERING I Love You Lord
TODAY’S STUDY The Flesh Wants to Arm Bar Your Life
I wonder if you are familiar with a young lady by the name of Ronda Rousey. She is a twenty-eight year old American, probably best known for her prowess in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). She is both the first, and the current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Rousey became the first U.S. woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
Her specialty is the arm bar. She is undefeated in mixed martial arts, having won nine of her eleven fights by arm bar. What is an arm bar?
ARM BAR A submission technique used in mixed martial arts fighting which involves stretching a limb, like the arm, in angles it was not meant to be twisted to, even creating the possibility of breaking a bone, so that your opponent will resign from a fight.
Ronda Rousey is an expert at this technique. I thought it might be a good idea to show you her picture.
RONDA ROUSEY PICTURE
As you can see, she is beautiful…probably very sweet in conversation…but she is a deadly weapon in a UFC ring. Can you imagine a criminal accosting her on the street? The criminal would be in for a rude awakening. Can you imagine a boyfriend hitting her? Ruh-Roh! Ronda Rousey is the perfect personification for “the flesh.” “The flesh” is beautiful…very sweet in conversation…but deadly. It gives you the false confidence that you can accomplish your dreams in your human power. Then it ruins everything you are trying to do. It routinely forces you into submission when you get the confidence that you are more powerful than it is. After a short break, let’s enlighten you about the deceptions of “the flesh,” which is always trying to arm bar your life. Take a five-minute break.
BREAK Father I Adore You
TODAY’S STUDY The Flesh Wants to Arm Bar of Your Life
Welcome back!
As you think about the warnings in this lesson, ask yourself where these things show up in your life. In the television show Survivor last week, which I watch for the strategy of it all, one of the contestants, Mike, made a phenomenal point. He pointed to the shelter as he talked to “Mama C.,” another contestant, as he was trying to influence her vote. He said, “You think you’re safe tonight. But you’re the target tonight. Look at those two guys sleeping in the shelter. That’s “Survivor Code” for I’m safe tonight…I have nothing to worry about. His talk was convincing. He was right. The two people sleeping in the shelter had orchestrated a blindside against Mama C. She played her immunity idol, and instead of getting voted out, one of the sleepers got voted out. One of the things I have observed from watching Survivor for years, is that the minute you have confidence that you’re safe, you’re on your way out! So it is with “the flesh.” Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 3 says…
PHI 3:3 …for we believers in Christ are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in union with Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…
We place no confidence in “the flesh.” The minute we think we have it made, “the flesh” teaches us a lesson. <I would never> Do you have confidence in “the flesh?” Where does confidence in “the flesh” show up in your life?
We have confidence in “the flesh” when we think we have control of our lives. We forget that God can turn off our breathing in a nanosecond.
We place confidence in “the flesh” when we get a big order and think we are the source of it. I have that happen to me in the profession of sales all the time. I secure a big deal, thinking I am the reason it happened, and then the next thing I know “the flesh” orchestrates a couple of painful losses for me. The Lord allows it to happen to remind me of my powerlessness…to remind me of the SOURCE of my blessings.
We have confidence in “the flesh” when we take things for granted. We think we have a person wrapped around our finger, and then they dump us. We let the relationship go “unwatered” for a long time and the weeds come up and choke the relationship out.
We have confidence in “the flesh” when we place expectations on ourselves that we “should” be a certain way…that we “should” have mastered a certain thing…that we “should” be better than we are, faster than is possible. We are not the source of our spiritual growth. God the Holy Spirit is in charge of our spiritual growth. Are you on His time frame?
We place confidence in “the flesh” when we think the world has something to offer us. I see Christians, all the time, mix in the world’s offering with biblical things. I think I told you about how churches often mix in things of the world that are appealing to attract people to the church…they’ll do financial seminar series or parenting series or dating series, and just because they mix in a few bible verses here and there to a completely secular presentation, they deceive themselves and others into thinking they are being spiritual. They are not. God is God. The world is the world. The two have nothing in common. The two don’t mix. The two are enemies. When we place confidence in “the flesh,” we allow a mixture of the two. It’s as if we are saying, I know I have cancer, but isn’t it okay to keep some of the cancerous tissue along with the healthy tissue. Personification for sure, that must explode in your mind. Hell no. The cancer must go! The funny thing is, the world is a counterfeiter. Are the things the world is saying going to sound similar to the things of God? Of course. That’s the deception. Them BLAM! Out of nowhere, a slam in the head and the deception becomes obvious when it is too late.
We place confidence in “the flesh” when we move away from things that edify us. We go to bible study regularly, we are “on a roll,” and then we disappear from the bible study. In First Timothy, Chapter 4, Verse 1, Paul warns…
1TI 4:1 But God the Holy Spirit explicitly says that in later times (in every generation) some (believers in Christ) will fall away from the faith (the absolute confidence that they have everything they need), instead paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…
What is working for you that you have drifted away from? That’s what I mean by the insidiousness of “the flesh.” “The flesh” puts us in a mental arm bar and makes us submit to complacency, to self-righteousness, to lasciviousness, just to name a few, all designed to ruin your life. Where does this show up in your life?
You must realize something…you can’t trust “the flesh.” Let me repeat that. You can’t trust “the flesh.” “The flesh” can’t improve…it doesn’t get better…it gets worse. “The flesh” is not your friend, nor will it ever be. It is your enemy. It is always on duty…it is always waiting to suck you into another trap…it is always trying to give you confidence that you can handle it. It is your Ronda Rousey, always read to give you an arm bar! We want to believe “the flesh.” In relationships, when I wasn’t successful at sustaining them, I used to say, “I have a defective picker.” No. I didn’t. I had confidence in “the flesh.” A relationship is not “the flesh.” “The flesh” has no interest in a great relationship. A relationship can not be sustained by “the flesh.” Yet if we lead with “the flesh” when looking for a relationship we will get the exact relationship that we don’t want, the one that destroys us, ripping through our emotions like a category five hurricane. It can take years to rebuild after the destruction. Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 13 says…
GAL 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for “the flesh,” but through unconditional love serve one another.
When we put confidence in the flesh, God will allow us to follow the shameful, deceitful, injurious path of our choosing so that after the destruction we remember the SOURCE of our blessings. Shouldn’t we also see “the flesh” as the source of our destruction? Shouldn’t we see “the flesh” as something more powerful than us that we can never defeat?
How would one of you like to go into the MMA cage with Ronda Rousey? Not me. No thanks! But why? It’s simple. I know I will get hurt. In know I will never win. I will be humiliated and get injured and become discouraged, perhaps for life. “The flesh” is your Ronda Rousey. The only way to win against “the flesh” is not to play.
We must see “the flesh” as God sees it…dead…destructive…devastating. Instead of fighting it in our own completely inadequate human power, we send God the Holy Spirit to do our battles. Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 17 says…
GAL 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
God the Holy Spirit never loses. God the Holy Spirit always wins. Do you trust Him to fight your battles? Or are you trusting yourself head-to-head with the flesh? When we realize that we will never “get it” and that we can’t rest, we have a great start in the spiritual life.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ are Guarantees!
ACT 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
JOH 14:6 Jesus said to doubting Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through believing in Me.
JOH 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life (the ZOE life); but he who does not obey the (command to believe in the) Son will not see (the Zoe) life, but instead the wrath of God the Father abides on him.”
CLOSING SONG Essence of God
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS INTERCESSION PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of Your unconditional love, Your person, Your thinking, Your work, and Your essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
www.barahministries.com |