Ephesians 3: The Evil Angels Never Saw It Coming

Class Outline:

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Blindsided by the Blood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Evil Angels Never Saw It Coming

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

One of the pleasures of my childhood was when Mom would take me to the theater to watch a movie.  It was a spectacular part of my life.  I especially remember seeing The Sound of Music for the first time at the theater, and every time I watch it again, I think of Mom.  The theater was bonding time with her.  These experiences with her are seared into my memory.

 

Because we were poor, we couldn’t afford to buy popcorn and food at the theater, so Mom would sneak food and snacks into the theater in her purse.  I was never sure why the ticket-taker couldn’t smell the delicious aroma emanating from her purse.

 

The theater was special.

 

Well, there is a theater in heaven.  It’s the Greek word theatron.  It’s the Supreme Court of Heaven, in session right this moment.  There is a trial all angelic creatures are watching.  It’s the appeal trial in the Creator-creature conflict.

 

Satan, the enemy of God has accused the Lord Jesus Christ of being unloving and unfair because He sentenced Satan and the fallen angels to the Lake of Fire for the rebellion of their sin, specifically because they refused to accept the Lord Jesus Christ’s reconciliation offer after they sinned.

 

Human history was created to resolve this conflict.  The angels, elect and fallen, are looking down on us, and they are learning from us why they are going to be in heaven or in hell.  In First Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 9, the apsotle says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:9

I (Paul) thinkGod has displayed us apostles…your teachers…as last outof all…as men condemned to death…so that we might be a spectacle (a theatron) to the world…both to angels and to men.

 

Paul, and all human beings are a spectacle to the angels, and they love watching us.  We are a movie to them.  First Peter, Chapter 1, Verse 12…

 

FIRST PETER 1:12

It was revealed to the prophets that they were not serving themselves, but they were serving you believers in Christ, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel message to you by the agency of God the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

 

Whodathunk it?  The angels are learning from us.

 

As the evil angels look down on us, they are quite shocked at what they see.  The Lord Jesus Christ made a persecutor of His Church, Paul, into the greatest believer of all time.

 

The Lord sent a “died in the wool” Jew to evangelize the goyim…the Gentiles.  Unheard of!

 

Crucifixion on a Cross would lead to a strategic victory.

 

The Lord would make me…a ghetto boy…a second-class citizen in this world…an important part of the lives of all He would bring to this ministry…allowing me to disseminate the gospel message worldwide via the internet.

 

The angelic hosts are in awe of what the Lord Jesus Christ is able to do with the least of us.

 

Whodathunk it?  Nothing is impossible with God!

 

As we’ll learn in today’s lesson, the one who considers himself less than the least of all the apostles, Paul, was given one of the most important tasks God offered to a human being.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  The evil angels were pretty shocked when they saw the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.  They were quite sure that His death on the Cross ensured their victory.  Unfortunately for them, they underestimated our Lord’s resurrection power, which He shares with us daily through the agency of God the Holy Spirit.  Here’s Chris Tomlin to sing about it…RESURRECTION POWER!

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

RESURRECTION POWER

Chris Tomlin

 

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 Your plan for all of mankind…and thank you for the personal plan You created for each one of us…

 

…as we hear about the plan you had for the apostle Paul today, help us to reflect on the plan that You have for each of us…and enlighten the eyes of our hearts so we can see Your plan for us in everything we do…

 

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

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Evil Angels Never Saw It Coming

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

We continue our study of the apostle Paul’s letter to the believers in Christ in first-century Ephesus, a city in Turkey.  It’s one of Paul's four New Testament letters from a prison cell in Rome, known in Biblical lore as the prison epistles.

 

The letter to the Ephesians was written in AD61, about three or four years before Paul’s death.  We begin our study of Ephesians, Chapter Three with the first passage.  Let’s listen to the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD TRANSLATION of the passage…Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 13…

 

EPHESIANS 3:1

For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

 

EPHESIANS 3:2

…if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you…

 

EPHESIANS 3:3

…that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.

 

EPHESIANS 3:4

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 3:5

…which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit…

 

EPHESIANS 3:6

…to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…

 

 

 

EPHESIANS 3:7

…of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

 

EPHESIANS 3:8

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 3:9

…and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things…

 

EPHESIANS 3:10

…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

 

EPHESIANS 3:11

This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord…

 

EPHESIANS 3:12

…in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

 

EPHESIANS 3:13

Therefore, I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

 

The passage is divided neatly into two parts.

 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE

 

Part One

The Great Mystery Revealed (Verses 1-6)

God showed Paul something special

 

Part Two

The Great Commission Given to Paul (Verses 7-13)

God showed Paul what to do with the mystery he was shown

 

Let’s study the passage verse-by-verse to see what the Lord wants us to learn.

 

What the Lord does with the apostle Paul is a shock to the evil angels in the Supreme Court of Heaven.Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verse 1…

 

EPHESIANS 3:1

For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

 

As you will remember, Paul’s goal before his experience on the Damascus Road was to singlehandedly wipe out the Christian Church.  He was a zealot.  His move to Damascus to continue the persecution of Christians was the modern day equivalent of him moving his focus from the USA to Europe.

 

The Lord stopped Paul in his tracks.  Acts, Chapter 9, Verses 1 to 5…

 

ACTS 9:1

Now Saul of Tarsus, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest…

 

ACTS 9:2

…and asked for letters from the high priest to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if Saul found any belonging to the Way (Christians)…both men and women…he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

 

ACTS 9:3

As Saul was traveling, it happened that as he was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him…

 

ACTS 9:4

…and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

 

ACTS 9:5

And Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…”

 

Saul was on Satan’s team.  The Lord took all of his ambition, all of his zeal, and used it for a different cause.  The Lord selected Saul of Tarsus to preach the gospel to the nations outside Israel…to the Gentiles (a word that means nations).  Imagine the shocked looks on the evil angels’ face when they saw that conversion!

 

Saul changed his name to Paul…which means little.  He saw himself as the little Christian.  In Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 3, Paul says…

 

GALATIANS 6:3

…if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

 

Is a man in prison fit to write Biblical letters?  Is he fit to teach anyone anything?  Can a convict be rehabilitated?  Humans say no, but God says yes.

 

So, as he opens Ephesians, Chapter 3…Paul boasts about being a prisoner.  He is a convict…a prisoner of Rome…he had a prison ministry to the palace guards of Caesar’s household…yet he considered himself a prisoner chained to the Lord (he was IN CHRIST).

 

Paul was placed in prison by the Lord to do the Lord's work.  The work the Lord has Paul doing is writing New Testament letters and evangelizing to the Gentiles.

 

What Paul is writing…the gospel message he is sharing…is not from man.  It’s Scripture from God.  The apostle Peter makes this clear in First Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 20 and 21…

 

FIRST PETER 1:20

But know this first of all…that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own private interpretation…

 

FIRST PETER 1:21

…for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will…but men carried along by God the Holy Spirit spoke directly from the exact thinking of THE God (the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

Preaching the gospel message is offensive to most people.  For example, through the gospel message, the Pharisees were being told there was no difference in God’s eyes between them and prostitutes in the matter of salvation.  This idea made the Pharisees crazy, and they mistreated Paul as a result.

 

In the eyes of the evil ones…the fallen angels, the Pharisees and all unbelievers…Paul’s communication of the “WHOSOEVER” gospel message needs to be squashed.

 

The Lord gave the Jews custody of the gospel message and He gave them 490 years to disseminate it.  Because they were God’s chosen people, the Jews thought they were “it” and everyone else was not.  This was never God’s intention.

 

God’s intention was that the Jewswould share the message with the whole world.  He did not intend that they would make the gospel message an invitation to a members-only exclusive club.

 

Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 6…

 

EPHESIANS 3:1

For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

 

EPHESIANS 3:2

…if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me by God for you, and of course you have heard of it…

 

EPHESIANS 3:3

…that by revelation from God the Father there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief (in Ephesians 1).

 

EPHESIANS 3:4

By referring to this stewardship, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 3:5

…which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets who are in the Spirit (believers in Christ filled with the Spirit…EN PNUEMATI)…

 

EPHESIANS 3:6

…to be specific…it has been revealedthat the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body of Christ…and the Gentiles are fellow partakers of the promise…and they are in union with Christ Jesus through their acceptance of the gospel message.

What is a mystery?  The typical definition of the word is…

 

MYSTERY (Typical Use)

Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

 

The Biblical definition of the word is…

 

MYSTERY (Biblical Use)

Information that God withholds to be revealed at the proper time only to believers in Christ…members of the Christian club...something God keeps under wraps until the proper time for revelation

 

Peter says that the way Paul teaches is a mystery in Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 15…

 

SECOND PETER 3:15b

…just as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you…

 

SECOND PETER 3:16a

…in all his letters, speaking in them of Biblical things, in which are some things hard to understand…

 

Actually, Paul was simple…Peter was dense!

 

The mystery Paul was selected to reveal is the Church Age!  The Gentiles went from this…in Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 12…

 

EPHESIANS 2:12

…separate from Christ…excluded from the commonwealth of Israel…strangers to the covenants of promise…having no hope…and without God in the world.

 

…to this…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 13…

 

EPHESIANS 2:13

But now IN CHRIST Jesus…you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

 

Paul was selected by God to reveal this “mystery” to them. Jews and Gentiles became one new man—the Church! As we learned last week, Jesus broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. God allowed the apostle Paul to reveal this special status to all the inhabited world, and all the evil angels could do was stare with their mouths agape!

 

The evil angels never saw it coming!  They couldn’t foil the plans of THE God, the Lord Jesus Christ…not through persecution…not through crucifixion…not through cruelty…not through evil men…not through any of their schemes.  As they watch human history unfold from heaven…as the angels are looking down on us…they are learning the manifold wisdom of God the Father.

 

When we return from the break we’ll take the offering, and then we’ll continue our study in the second half of the first passage of Ephesians, Chapter 3.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Evil Angels Never Saw It Coming

 

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 expects nothing from us.

 

If you choose to give, the Lord wants you to give the things He gifts toyou…your time…your talent…and your treasure…for the benefit of others.  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 inspiring offering messages.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

HEBREWS 4:16

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Evil Angels Never Saw It Coming

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

Welcome back!

 

The mystery Paul is revealing is the New Testament…a new covenant between God and Man…The Church.  Reconciliation.  The removal of the barrier between God and men.  The Old Testament is fulfilled.  It’s not about Moses anymore. It’s not about Israel anymore. Judaism is done.

 

Paul is the original preacher of inclusion…WHOSOEVER can be saved!

 

Jesus is the Messiah…He is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law…He is the One the Old Testament promised…He is the Lamb without spot or blemish…He is Abraham’s offspring…He is the Lamb of God the Father who takes away the sins of the world!  Judaism did its job.  Now there is a New Testament.  Now The Church is the Lord’s presence on the earth, and anyone can freely drink of the water of the Word…the gospel message…and be saved.

Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verse 7…

 

EPHESIANS 3:7

I (Paul) was made a minister…a servant of the gospel message…according to the spiritual gift from the source of God’s grace which was given to me by God according to the working of His divine power.

 

Spiritual gifts are supernatural.  They are a calling from God to serve Him.  God gives us a ministry and He gives us the divine power to fulfill it.  He gives us resurrection power.  We have the same power inside of us that resurrected Christ from the dead.

 

Yet there will be suffering!  What did Paul go through to take this gospel to the Gentiles?  What’s it like to be a prisoner and a minster for the Lord?  Second Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 to 33…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:23

If anyone other than me speaks boldly, are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I should more so…for I have been in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:24

Five times I received thirty-nine lashes from the Jews.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:25

Three times I was beaten with rods…once I was stoned…three times I was shipwrecked…I spent a night and a day in the deep.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:26

I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:27

I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

 

 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:28

Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:29

Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:30

If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:31

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:32

In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:33

…and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

 

If Paul had chosen to “people please” with a “softer message” none of these things would have happened to him.The letter to the Ephesians was Paul's chance to teach believers in Christ that their position in Christ is the best place to be despite their persecutions.

 

 

Was Paul special, or is every believer imbued with God’s power?  Paul explains in Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verse 8…

 

EPHESIANS 3:8

To me (Paul), someone who is less than the least of all the saints (the believers in Christ) this grace was given to me by God, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ…

 

Paul is not being self-effacing.  He means this…he says the same thing in several places…First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 9…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:9

For I (Paul) am less than the least of the apostles…and I am not fit to be called an apostle (if not for Christ)…because I persecuted the church of God.

 

He is saying, “I don’t deserve to be an apostle…I am an apostle because of God’s grace.”  Ever think about this…who are you WITHOUT Christ?

 

What does it mean that God’s riches are unfathomable?  They are…

 

UNFATHOMABLE

Impossible to understand or comprehend.

 

There is a hell and the Lord came to save us from it.  Can you even comprehend how amazing this is?  There is no more important message than this…no more important gift than this.  Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 9 and 10…

 

EPHESIANS 3:9

…and to bring to light (to make it plain…to make it simple) what is the dispensation of the mystery (the Church Age) which for a long time has been hidden in the God who created all things (the Lord…God the Son)…

 

EPHESIANS 3:10

…so that the manifold wisdom of God the Father might now be made known (through the revealed mystery) to the Church…and made known especially to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

 

Through watching human history unfold from heaven the angels are learning the manifold wisdom of God the Father.

 

What is manifold wisdom?

 

MANIFOLD

A multitude (of wisdom)…a variety of things(like wisdom) rich in diversity. It suggests something that is unlimited, varied, or multifaceted…often used to describe God’s attributes like wisdomand grace…or even to explain the diverse experiences of believers.

 

Satan and the evil angels…the fallen angels…are learning exactly why they are going to the Lake of Fire.  Their sabotage attempts were soundly defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ’s strategic victory at the Cross.  And now privileged humans and “lessor” humans are united in one new man…The Church…a shock to the fallen angels who thought they had Jesus on the ropes.

 

Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 11 to 13…

 

EPHESIANS 3:11

All of this was in accordance with the eternal purpose which God the Father carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord…

 

EPHESIANS 3:12

…in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

 

EPHESIANS 3:13

Therefore, I (Paul) ask you not to lose heart (do not be discouraged) at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

 

Paul’s job is to make the gospel message simple to understand…to bring it to light…to make it manifest to everyone, even the least of all people…to the hard working Mexican making seven dollars and hour carrying bricks up seven flights of stairs every day with a seventh grade education.

 

The Church is EK KLESIA in Greek…it means the called-out assembly of citizens…the WHOSOEVER!  God knit together the Jews and the Gentiles into the Church.

 

Let’s hear the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION of the passage…Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 13…

 

EPHESIANS 3:1

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . .

 

 

EPHESIANS 3:2

…assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending His grace to you Gentiles.

 

EPHESIANS 3:3

As I briefly wrote earlier, God Himself revealed His mysterious plan to me.

 

EPHESIANS 3:4

As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.

 

EPHESIANS 3:5

God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by His Spirit He has revealed it to His holy apostles and prophets.

 

EPHESIANS 3:6

And this is God’s plan…both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News of the gospel message share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

 

EPHESIANS 3:7

By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News.

 

EPHESIANS 3:8

Though I am less than the least deserving of all God’s people, He graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

 

EPHESIANS 3:9

I was chosen to explain to everyone the mystery of the plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

 

EPHESIANS 3:10

God’s purpose in all this was to use the Church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

 

God took the evil angels to the theater!

 

EPHESIANS 3:11

This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

EPHESIANS 3:12

Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

 

EPHESIANS 3:13

So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

 

The time of the evil angel’s torment is coming, and they know it.  They asked the Lord a question in His time on earth in Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 29…

 

MATTHEW 8:29

…the demons who were possessing two men cried out to Jesus, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

 

The evil demons and their ruler, Satan, know their days are numbered.  They are “dead creatures walking” so to speak. They are damned for all time.

 

A mere sixty-second decision rejected gave them an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  They could have easily been elect angels.  They never saw the simplicity coming.  Will you see the simplicity before it is too late?

 

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.

 

When food manufacturers noticed your fast-paced, mobile lifestyle they created INSTANT food…instant coffee…instant oatmeal…instant potatoes…and instant gravy were among their initial culinary creations.  Most of them were awful!

 

This message is for you if you want an INSTANT relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  You may be wondering what’s going to happen to   you the INSTANT you close your eyes in this life.  There is an INSTANT answer to your curiosity, and the Lord Jesus Christ guarantees that in an INSTANT you can become a child of God.

 

You may not know your unfortunate circumstance at the moment of your physical birth.  It’s called spiritual death.  You were born physically alive and spiritually dead as an ungodly, unrighteous unbeliever.

 

It’s not your fault, but it IS your circumstance.

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

Because Adam was appointed by God as the federal head of the human race, his first sin was credited to the account of all human creatures, resulting in spiritual death.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 5:12

Therefore…just as through one man, Adam…sin entered into the world… and spiritual death entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.

 

In addition, just so you don’t have Adam to blame, you commit personal sins.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Adam’s sin credited to you plus your personal sins create an insurmountable barrier between you and God.

 

Despite this unfortunate circumstance, there is good news from God that INSTANTLY frees you from the negative effects of sin, from spiritual death, and from the kingdom of darkness into which you were born.  You're invited to be born again…the spiritual birth…into a spiritual life in God’s kingdom of light where sin is no longer sovereign over you.   The Lord Jesus Christ offers you a “so great” salvation, and it is His will that you accept the free gift He made possible for you at the Cross.  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 wishing for all unbelievers to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

If you end up in the Lake of Fire the INSTANT after your physical death, it will not be because the Lord wants you there.  It will be your choice.

 

So, how can you get to heaven in an INSTANT when you close your eyes in this life?  By obeying God’s plan for your salvation!  RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, you can be saved in an INSTANT.  You can tell God the Father you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the INSTANT 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.”

 

To BELIEVE means to accept God’s word for what it takes to be saved.  God says 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 apostleThomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal 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 (the apostle 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…

 

The Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead proved that He is Deity, and it qualified Him to save you.

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can’t do a thing

to get to heaven on your own.  You can’t buy your way into heaven…you can’t “good deed” your way into heaven…you can’t “be a good person” and get to heaven.  You can only get to heaven by accepting the INSTANT gift of salvation from a God who loves you so unconditionally that He sent His Son to die for you on a Cross to pay your way into heaven.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8 says…

 

ROMANS 5:8

God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankindin that while we were yet sinners (while we were unrighteous, ungodly unbelievers), Christ died a sacrificial deathfor us.

 

God has an enemy, Satan, who deceives the whole world, including you, with a strategy to exploit human beings…RELIGION.  The religions of the world deceive you into thinking that you can work your way to heaven…that you can work to please God.  No religious ritual has ever been good enough to get you to heaven.

 

It’s wise 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 says you can, they’re lying to you.

 

There is no reason to be uncertain about what happens at the moment of your physical death. So, accept the invitation and heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment (IN AN INSTANT) …but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

When you reject a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible makes it clear there is a consequence.  Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 40 to 42…

 

MATTHEW 13:40

…just as tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

 

MATTHEW 13:41

The Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) will send forth His elect angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers)…and those who practice lawlessness (unbelievers)…

 

MATTHEW 13:42

…and the elect angels will throw unbelievers into the furnace of fire (The Lake of Fire)…and in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (for all eternity).

 

Believers in Christ have a different fate.Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 43…

 

 

MATTHEW 13:43

Then the righteous…(believers in Christ)…will shine forth as the sun shines in the kingdom of their God and Father.

 

What’s your choice?  Are you for or against Christ?

 

A relationship with the Lord does not require blind faith.  In fact, there is no such thing as blind faith.  For the wise, faith is invested after an examination.  You have faith as a gift from God, and you can place your confidence in the object of your faith.  To place your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to let Him save you is a delicious move.  You can reject a relationship with Christ, or you can make an INSTANT choice for Christ, and the result…your salvation…stands finished forever.  Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 44 encourages us…

 

MATTHEW 13:44

He who has ears…let him (really) hear (these things).

 

Some INSTANT things are quite tasty!  Take a moment right now to wrap your mind around the only INSTANT thing that lasts forever…a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  What a God we have who always plans the best for us.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 32 says…

 

ROMANS 8:32

God the Father…who did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ)…instead, delivering Him over as a sin substitute for us all…how will the Father not also, now that we are in union with Christ, freely give us all things?

 

Congratulations for being on the right team in the Creator-creature conflict!Here’s June Murphy to sing about it in her song IN THE BEGINNING.  Pay close attention to the words.

 

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

IN THE BEGINNING

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for making salvation so easy…thank you for giving us a great teacher in the apostle Paul…and thank you for giving us direct access to You…

 

…help us to learn our spiritual gifts and to use Your supernatural power in every aspect of our lives, especially in the parts You have selected for us to do…

 

…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

 

Join us Live or on Zoom Immediately Following the Lesson

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

Send your request to pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com