What is God's Will For Your Life?
Romans: Unashamed - Building the Church through the Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Introduction
Attention
Need
Main Idea: How Can You Know What God’s Will is For Your Life?
Interrogative:
Transition:
It’s God’s Will That You Become His Child (vs. 1a)
Romans 12:1 (ESV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God...
Explanation - After 11 chapters, Paul is finally at the place of application.
His grand treatise is not just a bunch of theological mumbo jumbo. He truly believes what he has written and he believes this truth, God’s truth will change lives.
One of my Seminary professors said to me, if theology isn’t practical, it is worthless.
Well we are about to get a bunch of practical from the great Apostle.
And believe me, Paul thinks what he is about to tell you is very important!
Look at the text. He says,
“I appeal to you...”
“I urge you...”
I beseech you...”
“The Greek word used here, parakaleō, describes urging or encouraging someone to do something.”
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ro 12:1.
Parakaleō -
Para = to come alongside.
kaleō = to call; summon.
Paul is coming along side the church at Rome, now that he has settled his position on theology, and urging them to do something...
But before we get to WHAT he is urging them about, I want you to notice something in this part of the verse.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God...”
Romans 12:1 (CSB)
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God...
Paul is urging his brothers and sisters in light of “the mercies of God.”
What does this mean?
He is not talking to unbelievers. He cannot beseech unbelievers to do anything for God.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There are two camps folks. There is the saved camp and the unsaved camp. And in the unsaved camp, nothing of Spiritual value can take place.
Paul is talking to brothers and sisters in Christ.
How did they become brothers and sisters in Christ?
By God’s mercy!
God had pity on His creation and offered something, someone very special - Jesus Christ.
What’s the big deal about Jesus Christ?
He is the God / man. 100% God and 100% man. He is the only one like this ever to exist.
And this God / man, who never sinned once was and is the only acceptable sacrifice for you sin.
What do you mean, my sin?
Yes, you sin! You have sinned against, or broken God’s law more times than you can count.
When All Have Given up on You - Chad Bird
If the world has given you up for lost and washed their hands of you; if your friends have written you off and turned their backs on you; if even your family has disowned and discarded you; yes, if every single person in this world regards you as a hopeless, embarrassing failure at life, the Father of all mercies does not.
He will search you out, find you, embrace you, kiss you, and shout to all the earth, “This is my beloved son! This is my beautiful daughter! This is my child, my heir, the apple of my eye! With you I am well-pleased!”
That is why Jesus came. Not to die for the righteous but for those whose lives are full of one failure after another, for his is a love that never fails. He came to die not for the clean but for the dirty, for his blood washes away even the filthiest of stains embedded in your soul. He came to search out not those who come running to him, but those who have fled from God, who hide in the darkness of their doubt and unbelief, to find you no matter where you are, to give you hope in place of despair, faith instead of doubt.
In the end, it’s not about how many times you’ve messed up, but how constant, how unwavering, is the Father’s love for you in Jesus Christ.
explain the gospel....
Illustration - Something about becoming a child of God.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Argumentation - In the quest to discover the will of God for one’s life the starting place is at the foot of the cross of Christ.
God’s will for your life is that you are saved from God’s eternal wrath!
Application - Are you a believer in Jesus Christ. Have you turned from sin and turned toward Him? Are you a Christ-follower?
I cannot emphasis how important this is.
It’s God’s will that you are saved and become His child.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Review - How Can You Know What God’s Will is For Your Life?
It’s God’s Will That You Become His Child
2. It’s God’s Will That You Are A Living, Breathing, Sacrifice (vs. 1b)
Romans 12:1 (ESV)
...to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Explanation - So Paul is urging his brothers and sisters in Christ (Christians) to do something very important. He is urging them not only to be saved, but to be a living sacrifice.
This is such interesting imagery!
Sacrifices in the Old Testament were always dead
What are sacrifices in the Old Testament?
“Ancient Israelites slaughtered and dismembered animals, and priests spread blood on the altar and put animal parts on the wood of the fire on the altar, turning them to smoke so they could rise to Yahweh. Sacrifice involves killing an animal and shedding blood as atonement for sin.” Nov 20, 2020 - https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-sacrifice-of-praise-and-animal-sacrifice/
Just like the Old Testament sacrifices, they had to be something very important in order to be accepted by God.
Holy - HOLY Biblical use of the term “holy” has to do primarily with God’s separating from the world that which He chooses to devote to Himself. As God’s redemptive plan unfolded through the OT, the “holy” became associated with the character of God’s separated people conforming to His revealed law. When the time became ripe for the saving work of Jesus Christ, His redeemed people came to be known as saints (literally, “holy ones”). The cross made this possible by inaugurating the fulfillment of the preparatory OT teachings on the holy, opening the way for God’s Holy Spirit to indwell His people.
Cabal Ted, “Holy,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 772.
So believers are to present, or offer their bodies as sacrifice, a very much alive sacrifice. It needs to be holy (which happens through the sanctification God provides for us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ).
And by presenting our bodies (our lives) to the Lord in this fashion, it is considered Worship.
Worship is the reverential response of creation to the all-encompassing magnificence of God.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. 6 And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, 8 fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! 9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! 10 Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! 12 Young men and maidens together, old men and children! 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. 14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord!
So, we don’t go to worship at church. We don’t have a worship time during our services. We worship God with our lives day in and day out.
You! Christians! Have been made holy. They way you live your life represents holiness. And then this is your worship to God every moment of every day!
Do you want to be a great worshiper of God? Pursue holiness with all of your life!
Illustration - An illustration of a life of sacrifice because of thankfulness...
Argumentation - So, if your whole life is an act of worship, and worship is ascribing worth to God, as you reflect on this last week, month, year, how much value are you giving God? You are a blood bought, redeemed Child of God
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Application - I have a challenge for you this week - Before you do, say, think, anything, ask yourself this Is this action an act of worship...
Review - How Can You Know What God’s Will is For Your Life?
It’s God’s Will That You Become His Child
It’s God’s Will That You Are A Living, Breathing, Sacrifice
3. It’s God’s Will That You Renew Your Mind with His Word (vs. 2a)
Like it or not, we are inundated with with information. Some of it valuable, most of it insipid at best.
How can we know what is useful and what is not? We Christians must learn to filter it through the word of God. The Bible must become our compass for living life. A light for our direction.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
As you look at verse 2 with me, what do you notice in Paul’s words?
2 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.
To support Paul’s admonition to be holy, he now says it in the negative sense with a clear command.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind....”
In this first half of the verse did you notice some weighty words?
The admonition to not be...
Conformed - συσχηματίζω syschēmatízō, soos-khay-mat-id'-zo; from G4862 and a derivative of G4976; to fashion alike, i.e. conform to the same pattern (figuratively):—conform to, fashion self according to.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4964/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/
World - 1. aion (αἰών, 165), “an age, era” (to be connected with aei, “ever,” rather than with ao, “to breathe”), signifies a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in the period.
W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 19.
Transform - metamorphoo (μεταμορφόω, 3339), “to change into another form”
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Transfigure)
Renewal - anakainosis (ἀνακαίνωσις, 342), akin to A, No. 1, “a renewal,” is used in Rom. 12:2, “the renewing (of your mind),” i.e., the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life;
W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 524.
Mind -1. nous (νου̂ς, 3563), “mind,” denotes, speaking generally, the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception and understanding, and those of feeling, judging and determining.
W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 408.
The point Paul is making? He is commanding (yes commanding) the follower of Christ to be vigilant about caring for what comes into his or her mind. You are responsible for what you think! You cannot be passive in this. You must be intentionally directing your thinking!
This is Paul’s point in his letters to the Philippians and Colossians...
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.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
There is a two-fold process for truth-filled, God-honoring thinking found in Romans 12:2.
Don’t pattern your thinking after the thinking of the world.
Do renew your thinking after a transformational process.
Of course, this begs the question, what should I focus on that will renew my mind.
If I focus on self-help materials, for example, they will eventually fall short because these materials find their origin in humanity.
If I focus on education, the teachings I ascertain will eventually disappoint because they are rooted the experiences and fallibility of man.
However, if I focus on something that is otherworldly, and above me. Something that is divine in its origin and truthful in it content, then I have something worth patterning my life after because its origin is in the one and only creator God.
Of course, that otherworldly document is the Bible.
The renewal of our minds occurs when we soak our minds God’s amazing Bible. And as we do, we are transformed.
The MacArthur Study Bible Chapter 12
That kind of transformation can occur only as the Holy Spirit changes our thinking through consistent study and meditation of Scripture (Ps. 119:11; cf. Col. 1:28; 3:10, 16; Phil. 4:8). The renewed mind is one saturated with and controlled by the Word of God
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
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.
What happens as a result of the believer mastering the Scriptures? What takes place when we purposely transform our mind with God’s holy Word?
Look again at verse 2...
2 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.
As you understand the Word of God more completely, you’ll understand the Will of God more accurately.
The will of God is not some mysterious shell game that God plays with His children. Often times He tells us exactly what His will is.
It’s God’s Will that you Believe!
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
It’s God’s Will that you Abstain from Sexual Sin!
1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
It’s God’s Will that you Give Thanks!
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
It’s God’s Will that you Submit in Doing Right!
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Do you see?
Illustration - Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.
Issac Newton, First Law of Motion
Argumentation - It is shocking to me how many Christians look to the self-help section in the book store or in their google searches. They long to be changed to someone and something better than they already are.
We should long for this, but you will not find sustaining transformation in the self-help department. Because self cannot help!!
Looking to the world for transformation is like looking
Application
Review - How Can You Know What God’s Will is For Your Life?
It’s God’s Will That You Become His Child
It’s God’s Will That You Are A Living, Breathing, Sacrifice
It’s God’s Will That You Renew Your Mind with His Word
Conclusion
What is the result of these three “Will-finding” steps?
Visualization
Reiteration
Action
Connection Group Reflection Questions