(# 370) Romans 12 - God BESEECHES Christians to Show Up

Class Outline:

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Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Barah Ministries teaches the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from the human perspective.  Our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Creator of the Universe and all things in it, including us creatures.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 3 says…

 

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. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God BESEECHES Christians to Show Up

 

What is it that God is begging you to do?  We’ll learn that in today’s lesson.

 

When things are rough in this life…and they often are…when things are getting you down…it’s nice to know that God surrounds us with a sphere of protection…Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 3 to 11 remind us just how much God cares for each of His creatures…even we think we are the least of His concern.  The apostle Paul says…

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

Blessed (worthy of praise) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us believers in Christ in eternity past, bestowing on us every spiritual blessing, in the heavenly places, in light of our union with Christ…

 

We don’t really have to ask God for blessings.  We certainly can…that’s

what prayer is for…but we really need only to wait and watch as His blessings for us unfold.  An omniscient God, who knows all that is knowable, knew what each of us would personally need in this lifetime, and He put it into place for us a billion years ago.  These are spiritual blessings…the richest kind…they are eternal blessings…not temporary ones…and they are custom made just for you.

 

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 (in eternity past), that we would be holy (hagious…saints) and blameless (just like Jesus, the Lamb without a spot or blemish) before God the Father.

 

God the Father elected believers in Christ to tremendous privilege…God the Son took on the form of true humanity and went to a Cross to die for us, shedding His blood and being resurrected from the dead to prove His Deity and to ensure our blessings…and God the Holy Spirit sealed us with a signature guarantee, ensuring the security of our salvation until the day of our real redemption…

 

EPHESIANS 1:5

In unconditional love (a divine love)…God the Father predestined us believers in Christ to adoption as adult sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of God the Father’s will…

 

EPHESIANS 1:6

…to the praise of God the Father’s glorious grace, which the Father freely bestowed on us (gracing each of us out, those of us) who are in union with the Beloved (One…the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

Our salvation is accomplished by God…and NEVER by our good works… NEVER by us being “basically good people” … because we are not good people according to the bible…all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!  Instead our salvation is an absolutely free gift through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Cross…all we do is request this “so great” salvation by asking God the Father for it, by placing our faith in Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 1:7

In union with the Lord Jesus Christ, we believers in Christ have redemption through the Lord’s blood…we have the forgiveness of our trespasses… according to the riches of God the Father’s grace…

 

EPHESIANS 1:8

…which riches God the Father lavished on us believers in Christ.

 

EPHESIANS 1:9

In all wisdom and insight, God the Father made known to us believers in Christ the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention, which He purposed for those in union with Christ…

 

Remember mystery means previously unrevealed…this revelation is not a surprise…

 

EPHESIANS 1:10

…with a view to a dispensation suitable to the fullness of the times (The Church Age), that is, the summing up of all things in Christ…things in the heavens and things on the earth. In light of the glorious grace of God the Father…

 

EPHESIANS 1:11

…also we believers in Christ have obtained an inheritance (imperishable and undefiled reserved for us in heaven), having been predestined by God according to the Father’s purpose…God the Father…the One who works all things after the counsel of His will…

 

These are encouraging words.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the object of God the Father’s unconditional and indescribable love…and because we believers in Christ are in union with Christ, God the Father sees us the same way He sees His Son.  Welcome to a place where you can know that the Supreme Being of the Universe loves you unconditionally and has made every provision for your happiness.  You are and always have been in His mind by name, and you always will be.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

GOOD FIGHT

Unspoken

 

In First Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 12, the apostle Paul encourages his protégé, Timothy, saying…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith…take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…

 

The opening song is dedicated to my new friend Christian Ralls…I encourage you, Christina, to do what this song suggests…you can start by simply telling God the Father that you are believing in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you…an eternal life you cannot lose…take hold of it…it’s yours for the taking…and in the meantime, during your remaining time here on earth…a good long time, I might add…take the advice of the opening song and keep fighting the good fight of faith by placing your complete confidence in the Lord, both for your salvation, and for everything else…especially to handle your upcoming medical challenges.  Spend time listening to and learning God’s Word and it will give you the comfort you need to endure the fight.  Here’s the group Unspoken with the song, GOOD FIGHT.

 

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 making our burdens heavy…just as we go into the physical gymnasium so that our muscles are torn down only to rebuild into  stronger more capable resources…so are You building our “spiritual muscle” by allowing us to endure tribulation that scares us and shakes us to our very core…yet we are grateful that You are there every step of the way and that nothing we endure is a surprise to You, even when it is a surprise to us, because You are omniscient, and You mean our tribulations for our good…

 

Enlighten the eyes of our souls, Father, so that we can see what You see in the road ahead…remind us that hope in Your plan is the absolute confidence of the effectiveness of Your power, and the assuredness of Your complete control of our circumstances…remind us that You love us unconditionally, and that Your love for us never changes, nor is it based on performance… that Your love for us based on Your faithfulness and integrity…strengthen our resolve, Father, to keep on fighting the good fight…

 

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

Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God BESEECHES Christians to Show Up

 

Are you fighting the good fight?

 

Paul’s letter to the Romans, Chapters 12 to 16, contain invitations from God to turn our attention from the Christian Way of Life to the Christian Way of Living.  God is beseeching us, in fact BEGGING us through the apostle Paul, to learn His plan for all mankind, to learn His personal plan for each of us, and then to SHOW UP, by executing that plan.  What does it mean to show up?

 

SHOW UP

To become clearly visible

 

When a Christian is part of God’s plan, it is obvious to everyone around him.  Christians make a difference when we want to make a difference. 

God only wants one thing from us Christians…ALL!  Mark, Chapter 12, Verses 28 to 31 say this…

 

MARK 12:28

One of the scribes (a Mosaic Law teacher) came and heard the Sadducees arguing with the Lord Jesus Christ, and recognizing that the Lord had answered them well, the scribe asked Jesus, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”

 

MARK 12:29

Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord…’”

 

MARK 12:30

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

 

MARK 12:31

“The second commandment is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor unconditionally as you love yourself…unconditionally.’ There are no other commandments (no other mandates from God) greater than these.”

 

Have you ever given ALL of yourself to anyone or anything?  This is the best description of God’s will for ALL mankind…for all of His creatures… He wants us to give him our ALL.  He wants us to dedicate our lives to Him.

 

Today, we begin our detailed study of Romans, Chapter 12.  In the first of our two transition lessons, I gave you some fatherly advice on Father’s Day, highlighting my view of the ten best decisions you can make in this life.  That lesson should be a regular part of your “listen again” repertoire.  One hearing is definitely not enough for that lesson.  In the second lesson, I reminded you that God wants us Christians to live a standard.  That does not require perfection on our part, nor does it require a lot of work on our part…it is not legalism, a vain attempt to follow a set of moral rules.  Living a standard is simply the obedient acknowledgement that God’s way is the ONLY way.  God wants us to walk in a manner that is consistent with His recommendations so that we live a life that becomes exceeding and abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think.  God has certainly provided that life for me, and I am certain that He is doing the same thing for each and every one of you, in ways that are not always clearly visible to us.

 

Romans Chapter 12 has four passages to study…

 

PASSAGE 1

Verses 1 and 2

 

PASSAGE 2

Verse 3

PASSAGE 3

Verses 4 to 8

 

PASSAGE 4

Verses 9 to 21

 

Let’s read the twenty-one verses of Romans, Chapter 12 together to see what is in store for us in this study.  Remember, Romans, Chapters 12 to 16 detail the do’s and don’ts of The Christian Way of Living.  Notice the action orientation of the passage.

 

ROMANS 12:1

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

 

ROMANS 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing

of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

ROMANS 12:3

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think…but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

 

ROMANS 12:4

For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function…

 

ROMANS 12:5

…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

 

ROMANS 12:6

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith…

 

ROMANS 12:7

…if service, in his serving…or he who teaches, in his teaching…

 

ROMANS 12:8

…or he who exhorts, in his exhortation…he who gives, with liberality…he who leads, with diligence…he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

ROMANS 12:9

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil…cling to what is good.

 

ROMANS 12:10

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…give preference to one another in honor…

 

ROMANS 12:11

…not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord…

 

ROMANS 12:12

…rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer…

 

ROMANS 12:13

…contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

 

ROMANS 12:14

Bless those who persecute you…bless and do not curse.

 

ROMANS 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

 

ROMANS 12:16

Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

 

 

ROMANS 12:17

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.

 

ROMANS 12:18

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

ROMANS 12:19

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

ROMANS 12:20

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink…for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

 

ROMANS 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Let’s take a music break…and when we come back we’ll get started learning all the wisdom God has in store for us in the first passage of Romans, Chapter 12.

 

MUSIC BREAK

HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

Chris Tomlin

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God BESEECHES Christians to Show Up

 

Speaking of begging, let’s begin the next portion of our lesson by giving you a chance to make an offering…we need and we value your financial support to continue the work of this ministry…please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 6:13

…and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness…but present yourselves to God as would those who are spiritually alive from the dead…and present your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God BESEECHES Christians to Show Up

 

What is God beseeching us believers in Christ to do?   The great challenge of Christianity is not only knowledge, but ACTION!  We begin our study of the first passage of Romans, Chapter 12 with Verses 1 and 2…

 

ROMANS 12:1

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

 

ROMANS 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing

of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Romans, Chapter 12 starts with two large DO’s, presented by God, in the opening passage.

 

PASSAGE 1

Verses 1 and 2

DO Present Your Bodies (Show Up)

DO Renew Your Mind

 

Let’s look at Verse 1…Paul opens the chapter with an exhortation…a prayer for us…that we engage ourselves in consecration.  Paul is asking us to engage in this consecration by choice…the Greek verbs in this verse are not in the imperative mood, so we are not being ordered to do these things by God...isn’t God amazing?  Isn’t it fabulous how He invites us but never forces us.  What is consecration?

 

CONSECRATION

Dedicated service to God

 

God wants you to show up.  DO you?  Here’s Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 in clearer form…

 

ROMANS 12:1

Therefore, I (Paul) urge (beseech) you, brethren (believers in Christ), by the (multi-faceted) mercies of God…to present your bodies (by choice, not by command…as) a living and holy sacrifice…acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service of worship.

 

There are so many beautiful parts of this inspiring, encouraging and amazing opening verse, and each part deserves an explanation to the eyes of our souls.

 

THEREFORE…

 

Even though it is not the actual first word of the passage, Paul is summing up in one single word, one of the most important words wherever we see it in the bible, an invitation to contemplation.  With THEREFORE, Paul is saying several things to us, like “Consider what I taught you in Romans, Chapters 1 to 8…that the Supreme Being of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, knew that you were born condemned to the Lake of Fire…that you were, at birth, physically alive, spiritually dead, on the wrong side of a barrier, without a relationship with God, and that you were helpless and hopeless to do anything about this predicament on your own…a predicament that is not your fault…but a predicament that is your circumstance.”  Paul taught us in the first eight chapters of Romans that God the Father has a plan for us Gentiles, and in summing up that plan in Chapter 8, Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the unconditional love of God the Father which comes from being in union with Christ Jesus.

 

With THEREFORE, Paul also says to us, “Consider what I taught you in Romans, Chapters 9 to 11, that Israel, the Lord’s chosen nation, and The Jewish Race, God’s chosen people, have completely turned their backs on the Jewish Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Yet the Lord Jesus Christ has not turned His back on Israel and The Jewish Race, and His plan for Israel and The Jewish Race, detailed in His promises to the father of The Jewish Race, Abraham, will be fulfilled.”

 

The word THEREFORE also points to the Cross…that by shedding His blood there, The Lord Jesus Christ broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, making two groups, Jews and Gentiles, into one group…the one NEW MAN.

 

The word THEREFORE reminds us of God’s approach to His creatures…an approach that includes unconditional love, and forgiveness, and mercy, and blessings that stagger the imagination, for those who want them, as standard operating procedure.  This makes all of Satan’s contentions about God a lie…that God is a punishing God waiting to come down on us every time we make a mistake.  Indeed Satan, the enemy of God is talking about himself…he is the one who is a punishing creature waiting to come down on us…torturing us with his insidious thoughts…inspiring fear in us…waiting to criticize us and humiliate us every time we make a mistake.  That’s why God tells us in First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

FIRST PETER 5:8

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert…your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

The good news is that this roaring lions doesn’t have any teeth.  Satan barks, but he can’t bite us.  The Lord won’t allow us to be hurled headlong.

 

THEREFORE…consider the wonder of all these things we have learned in the first eleven chapters of Romans and bring them constantly to your minds.  God is for you!  Who can be successful against you? Romans, Chapter 12, Verse 1 the second part…

 

ROMANS 12:1

Therefore, I (Paul) urge (beseech) you, brethren (believers in Christ), by the (multi-faceted) mercies of God…to present your bodies (by choice, not by command…as) a living and holy sacrifice…acceptable to God the Father… which is your spiritual service of worship.

 

Next, Paul says, I BESEECH YOU!  What does it mean to beseech someone?

 

BESEECH

To implore…to beg…to urge…to make urgent appeal…to solicit…to ask someone to DO something.

 

BESEECH is not in the imperative mood in Greek…it is not the mood of command…which indicates that God is not a bossy tyrant…He seeks to influence us, but clearly leaves our decisions to our own will…our will and His will are independent…we can act separately from God although it is never smart to do so.  The Word beseech shows up in other places in God’s word as well…like Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 20…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:20

Therefore, we believers in Christ are ambassadors for Christ, as though God the Father were making an appeal through us…we beg (beseech) you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

 

The exhortation is beautiful, and it brings with it a clear message.  It is not Paul who is beseeching us.  It is God.  What is God begging us to do of our own volition?  He’s begging us to show up in this life.  He is begging us not to sit on our arses!  J

 

What God is saying to us is simple.  He’s saying what any good parent would say.  He saying, “in light of all I’ve done to prepare you…in light of all I have given you…thorough your own volition, do something for me.

 

For example, He introduced me to Christina Ralls…He informed me of her situation…and He asked me to tell her about Him, because He knew she would listen to me.  I was happy to do this for Him.  I was happy to show up.

 

Biblical knowledge isn’t enough.  God isn’t giving us theories to contemplate…He isn’t giving us ideas to ponder…He’s directing us down a narrow road…and He expects us to voluntarily take it.  He wants us to redeem the time…to put to rout all that is not life…to focus…and to care both for ourselves and for others.  He wants us to show up.  I don’t think it is too much to ask in light of all He has done for us.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

ACTS 16:30

“…the jailer asked (Paul and Silas), “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 

ACTS 16:31

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

 

ROMANS 10:10

…for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

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 you unbelievers, not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

LUKE 19:10

“For the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

CLOSING SONG

COUNT IT ALL JOY

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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