Sunday – December 12, 2021 Romans Week 33 Romans 7:14-25 Pt 2 “This is War”

Sunday – December 12, 2021

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Word On Worship – Sunday – December 12, 2021

Romans 7:24-25
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

I tend to think of Paul as the man with all the answers. If anyone can understand sin and my struggle with it, it would be Paul. But in our text Paul is the one struggling, and he does not offer a quick or easy explanation. This is because sin cannot be understood. Sin is irrational. We try to rationalize our sinful actions to make it appear that we have reasons, good reasons, for our sin but there is no good reason for sin. Sin is an irrational act which has no easy, rational explanation.

We have little difficulty believing we struggle with sin or that others like Peter struggled, but Paul somehow seems above it all.  Yet Paul’s struggle is a deeply personal struggle, with sin and with his own flesh. It is a war within, the result from his conversion to Christ, that did not exist until he was saved. However, Paul’s despair was legitimate and even necessary. Until we hate sin, we will not turn from it. Until we reach the end of ourselves, we will not look to God. Just as unsaved person must come to the end of themselves in order to receive God’s gracious provision of righteousness, by faith in Christ, Christians too must come to the end of themselves to find the solution, once again, at the cross of Calvary.

If coming to the end of ourselves is essential to turning to God for our deliverance, then many Christians will never turn to God for victory over sin because they do not recognize their true condition or take it seriously enough. It was the self-righteous Pharisees who did not come to Jesus for forgiveness simply because they did not think they needed it. It is the “smooth-sailing saints” who do not come to the cross for deliverance from the power of sin in their lives because they do not agonize over their condition as Paul did.

How great is our struggle? My concern is that I lack the kind of agony that Paul has. If our struggle is as great as Paul’s, we will in desperation give up all self-help efforts and turn to the cross. God has provided a righteousness through the power of the Spirit. The answer is to come in Romans 8- the very Spirit that raised the dead body of Jesus Christ from the grave is the Spirit that dwells in you and will give life to your mortal bodies. The solution for Christians is the walk of the Spirit, but we will never get to that point until we have come to the desperation of Paul in Romans 7. My prayer is that we begin to grasp the immensity of the struggle with sin and forsake all efforts to serve God in the strength of our flesh.

Sunday – August 21, 2016 Thom Rachford “Today is the Day of Salvation”

Sunday – August 21, 2016 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – August 21, 2016 Thom Rachford “Today is the Day of Salvation” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Word On Worship – Sunday – August 21, 2016 Download / Print

Today events are moving rapidly to the end of this age, this period of human existence.

Persecution and intolerance of Christians is increasing worldwide, persecution and intolerance of Jews is increasing worldwide. Both are more out of favor in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, even in the United States. Violent death for both groups is increasing rapidly.

While you rarely if ever hear it on the nightly news; this information is available for any who are interested in finding out. The better your information, the better your choices in prayer, politics, charity, and your personal stand for rightness every day.

But as the end of the age approaches, so does the end of the day of relative ease and peace. God’s wrath is quickly reaching its fullness and soon will be poured out. The following days will be much harder and more challenging for everyone, ending with either Heaven or Hell.

Now is the time to make a decision for Heaven by believing in Jesus as the Christ (Messiah). He will receive any and all who come to him.

Today is the day of decision. Today is the day of salvation.  Help others understand and choose today.

Sun. Feb. 14, 2016 Rev 15:1-8 “You Can See the End of the World From Here”

Sunday – February 14, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday February 14, 2016 Rev. 15:1-8 “You Can See the End of the World From Here” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Word On Worship – Sunday – February 14, 2015 Download / Print

Revelation 15:1
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.”

Chapter 15 prepares us for the execution of the judgments described in Chapter 16. They are first described as the seven last plagues and then as seven bowls full of the wrath of God (Vs. 7; 16:1). These seven plagues will chronologically bring to an end the ordered events of the Tribulation judgments in a dramatic crescendo. The plagues described here are extremely severe and occur in rapid succession, which adds greatly to their severity. The plagues are culminated by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the final phase of Armageddon. The purpose of Chapter 15 is a vindication of God’s holiness through judgment. These judgments stem from the holiness of God and the perfection of His plan. Under the three figures of God’s final judgment – the cup of wine (14:10), the harvesting of the earth (14:14-16), and the vintage (14:17-20), Chapter 14 has anticipated what is now more thoroughly developed under the symbolism of the seven bowls.

Chronologically speaking, remember that we are first given a graphic description of six seals (6:1-17), but the seventh (8:1) is never described. We are only told that when it is broken, there is silence in heaven (8:1). The implication is that the seven trumpets come out of the seventh seal and actually express the content of the seventh seal (8:1-9:21; 11:15-19). This seventh trumpet takes us up to the return of Christ and includes within its judgments the events of the seven last plagues or bowls of Chapters 15 and 16, which occur rapidly at the end. The final great event is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory (19:11-21).

Remember, the seven plagues and seven bowls used in this chapter refer to the same judgments as they come out of the seventh trumpet. The use of different terms is designed to display the different aspects and character of these last judgments. They are plague-like calamities, and each is poured out suddenly, all at once as the contents of a bowl when it is turned over.

Revelation is an ongoing reminder that God’s glory is always manifested during the time of His judgment. The end is in sight. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Light is the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 12:35-36, Jesus spoke these words to a crowd: “‘For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.’ These things Jesus spoke and He went away and hid Himself from them.”