Christ the Rock

Christ the Rock

Introduction

Have you ever played the game “Telephone”? I remember playing this game as kid with my cousins. It’s a game that has been around for years and remains popular because it can be played by all ages. You pick one player in your group to whisper a difficult sentence into the ear of the next player. That player then whispers the same sentence to the next player. The process repeats until all players have gone. The final player says the sentence aloud, and the original sentence is revealed. It’s hilarious how much this one sentence can change in just a few short minutes!

There is a great truth we can learn from this game. Just as the original sentence is changed and distorted, Satan has been and is trying his best to change and distort the truth of God’s Word! We see this in the early words of Scripture, “Did God really say ... ?” (See Genesis 3:1.) This is

and has always been his plan of attack. We must be able to recognize the half-truths and outright lies that our enemy wants us to believe.

We as God’s people must NEVER put our convictions about God’s truth, revealed in and through His Word, aside to accommodate the philosophies and ideologies of our current culture. We are equipped to stand for the truth through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us as individuals but also through the corporate body known as the local church.

Our theme Scripture for VBS is Romans 12:2. Paul begins this chapter with the word therefore and allows the readers to think back on all that he has said in the previous 11 chapters. It is within these chapters that Paul meticulously explains what God has done for a lost and hopeless world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (See Romans 1:16; 3:10; 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9,13; 11:33-36.). Essentially, he began this letter with the first half giving the way, and the second half (starting in chapter 12) on how we should respond. Paul was writing to God’s people in Rome who had probably heard the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time when Peter preached at Pentecost. Then around AD 49, they planted a church prior to the construction of the Colosseum in the city of Rome—a city where its citizens proclaimed that “Caesar is Lord!” The church in Rome began to proclaim that “Jesus Christ is Lord!” The “complexities” of the everyday existence for the church in Rome were how they should live their daily lives personally but also corporately within the context of their new faith family. In other words, your personal journey with Jesus Christ not only matters for your own self but also for the local church in which God has placed you!

Scripture

Payer

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.[a] 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

So, lets dive in and look at some of the major points in this text and lessons this kids will learn this week. So, From the VBS Text, I want you to see these 3 truths that Paul wrote.

Message

A point of context and The first truth is that we are: BETTER TOGETHER

• We must keep in mind that Paul was writing to God’s people in the city of Rome. It was a new group of people formed from both Jews and Gentiles who were living in covenant community with one another and striving to live for Jesus in a hostile culture. Some Bible scholars believe that the church at Rome gathered together across the city in seven or eight groups meeting in homes, different shops across the city, and in courtyards.

• Paul’s heart for the church in Rome was to see how the gospel was relevant to the challenges that their culture presented on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, they needed one another not only to strengthen fellow believers but also to unite around the truth of the gospel. That truth is that the gospel transforms. It not only transforms the individual follower of Jesus but also the corporate body of believers who in turn show their city, state, nation, and world that the ways of Jesus and His kingdom are that of loving and serving without compromising His truth.

• This transformation process is known as sanctification. The Greek word for sanctify can be understood in terms of “saint” and “holy”—to be separate from and set apart for. In short, sanctification is the process of being set apart as a believer and becoming more like Jesus. Sanctification is a spiritual maturation experience. That all true believers, all truly converted Christian go through.

• You see, God is actively setting us apart for His purposes in this world. When we trust Jesus, we are saved. As we grow in the likeness of Jesus, we are being saved. (See Romans 12:1-2.) When we take our last breath on thisearth and see Jesus face-to-face, we will be saved. The Christian life is an exciting adventure of walking with Jesus! Let’s all strive to become more like Him in our journey with Him! As we are on this journey, let’s remember that we are Better Together.

The next truth is that your life is to be: A LIVING SACRIFICE (ROMANS 12:1)

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

• There are two important words that Paul uses here: urge and present! These two words should be read and understood as coming from someone who carries authority and is speaking with affection.

• What a shocking statement this must have been! These believers would have been familiar with presenting dead animals to please God and to be in a right relationship with God. The gospel message, however, is that Jesus died in our place so that people who repent and turn to Him in faith will then be put into a right relationship with God based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. A part of the gospel message is that God takes dead things and makes them alive! He ultimately did this through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus became the once-and-for-all sacrificial lamb. (See Hebrews 7:27;

10:1-18.) Hebrews 7:27-28 27 He (Jesus) doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.

• The gospel call is that we, as His followers, surrender our lives or “present” our whole selves—mind, body, and spirit—to God for His purposes. Jesus’ command to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength now makes even more sense as God desires our total self.

(See Mark 12:30; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.) As Mark writes in his gospel, 0 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

• We are now a “living sacrifice” to God called to walk in the ways of Jesus Christ, and by doing so we become more like Him. (See Romans 6:4,13,19.) This stands in stark contrast to who we once were. (See Ephesians 2:1-3.)

Who were we? Well, here the words of Paul to the Ephesians. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.[a] 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

• Our actions, attitudes, and words should display this inner transformation and the on-going transformation that is taking place in our lives. (See Colossians 3:1-17.) The giving of our whole selves to God and for God displays the lordship of Jesus in our lives and ultimately is our greatest

act of worship. So, present yourself as a living sacrifice to God.

The next truth is that you are to be: NOT CONFORMED, BUT

TRANSFORMED (ROMANS 12:2)

2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

• Paul’s statement here should be read and understood as a command to obey but also as a constant reminder of the ongoing battle of our fallen, sinful flesh versus our new self in Christ as we live in a fallen world.

(See Romans 7:14-25.)

• Paul reminds us of the strategy of Satan who is the ruler of this present world and its ways (Ephesians 6:12;1 Corinthians 2:6). That strategy is simply to pressure you into the world’s way of thinking and living.Every one of us in this room deal with this pressure on a constant biases.

• The word conformed refers to an outward expression that doesn’t necessarily reflect what is truly within a person (think of masquerading). It is something that we allow to be done to us.

• The word transformed speaks of freedom. It carries the idea of metamorphosis. There is something that has fundamentally changed who we are, and that change is affecting everything about us! It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us and our cooperation with that work that produces transformation. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:16.) This change ultimately takes place in our mind—righteous thinking leads to righteous behavior! The callof Jesus is to repent and believe. It is to turn from the ways of sin and this world and turn toward the ways of Jesus and His kingdom—become a living sacrifice!

• The transformed and renewed mind is a mind that is saturated by God’s Word so that when the enemy whispers, “Did God say ...” or when we face opposition from the culture, we will be equipped to recognize error and stand for truth. The purpose of a transformed self and mind leads to the ability to discern and know what honors God. Through the Holy Spirit we are enabled to obey His will. So, beloeved believer. Do not be conformed by the World, but be be transformed by the Holy Spirit as He directs you and your life.

Conclusion

There will always be a battle for truth, and God’s people will always have to battle for truth. We, as His church, must be prepared to stand up against the error and false ideologies of our world and its ever-changing culture. God has gifted us with everything we need to do this! Embrace

The evangelistic journey of Breaker Rock Beach this week and embrace your own journey with Jesus and His desire to transform you from the inside out so you will know exactly how you should live.

Gospel presentation

Prayer Walk.