Live It!

Introduction

One of the biggest hinderance for people choosing to follow Jesus is....

FCF: Why do we fail so often to live out the gospel?

Key Point: By remembering God’s great mercy, we will be able to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

Two ways we are called to live lives that please God:

We must give ourselves fully to God through living out our worship.

We must not be conformed to the culture, but Be Transformed by the Word.

Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Pray

1. Live Out Our Worship (vs 1)

Explanation

Living out the gospel requires us to know and remember the gospel.

“by the mercies of God”

The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God for all people (chapter 1)

God’s kindness leads us to repentance (chapter 2)

We are declared right with God by his grace (chapter 3)

We have been given the righteousness of Jesus through faith in him (chapter 4)

Through being declared right by God through faith, we have peace with him (chapter 5)

We have been made alive by God and are dead to sin (chapter 6)

We are dead to the law and it no longer has power over us (chapter 7)

We have freedom in the Spirit to walk in holiness (chapter 8)

We have been saved due to God’s mercy, not our nationality or race (chapters 9-11)

The statements of truth come before the commands.

In light of the mercies of God we must respond by offering our bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God.

OT sacrifices= animals that were killed to represent dedication and worship to God.

NT sacrifice= giving our bodies (entire being) to the Lord to worship him

Romans 6:11-14 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Philippians 1:20-21 “as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

“your spiritual worship”

This is the only reasonable response to God’s mercy and the right way to worship him.

Application

How can our bodies be a living sacrifice?

Our eyes not looking upon evil.

Our ears not listening to gossip.

Our tongues not speaking deceit

Our minds not being filled with impure thoughts.

Our hearts not filled with lustful desires

Our hands not committing wickedness.

Our feet not walking the paths of unrighteousness.

Part of giving ourselves fully to God is also giving ourselves fully to his church.

*Serving the church with your spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8).

*Loving your brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 12:9-16).

*Loving the world and your enemies (Romans 12:17-21).

God wants ALL OF US!!

Have you given yourself fully to God as a living sacrifice?

Worship is not a Sunday/Wednesday thing....its an EVERYDAY thing.

2. Don’t Conform to the Culture but be Transformed by the Word (vs 2)

Explanation

We must not let the culture shape our thinking or our actions.

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

We must not act like the world acts.

Ephesians 4:17-24 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

We are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (Romans 6).

We have been raised with Christ, so we must not keep our eyes on the world (Colossians 3).

As God’s children we are called to be set apart, to be holy as God is holy

1 Peter 1:14-16 “ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Instead of being conformed to the culture, we must allow our minds to be transformed through the renewal of our minds.

We must set our minds on what is good.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

We must fill our minds with the truth of Scripture.

Psalm 119:33-40 “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!”

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

The result of a transformed mind will be the ability to know what pleases God, which will then lead us to continue to obey his will and glorify him with our lives.

Application

What kind of software are you downloading to your hardware?-EXPLAIN Illustration

What are we filling our minds with? The lies of the culture or the truth of God’s word?

Movies, Media, Music

Whatever we are filling our minds and hearts with will come out in our words, attitudes, and actions.

Response

To Live Out the Gospel we must....

Remember the mercy of God in Christ.

Don’t hold anything back from the Lord.

Delight yourself in the word of God.

Psalm 119:97-104 “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”