Romans 12:1-8
Notes
Transcript
This morning we dive right into Paul's letter to the Romans
Paul has started a new section of the letter
In the past we have discussed the sovereignty of God, Our response and Gods plan for salvation
We have even looked at our response to knowing the mercies of God
This morning we move into Romans 12 and it is a new section but it like a normal letter is built of the previous sections
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Paul starts this section off with one of his more famous words
Therefore
I believe that therefore is the same as because of what previously was said
Using the entire letter as the previous
So Paul is saying because you are worshipping God because of His amazing Mercy and Grace that was poured out on you
I urge you to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice
because Christ died to save all of you who you not just a part or portion of who you are
See God saved all of you and gave His entire self up
What He desires is a relationship with all of you
Even the parts you have kept cornered or sectioned off from others
I am reminded of Jesus’s words
37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
We are to love Jesus with our entire being
lets get right to it this morning is there a part of your life you aren’t loving Jesus with
Is there an area of your life you are not worshipping Jesus with
Then let me be clear this morning that is a problem
It is not a problem that can’t be fixed but understand it is still a problem that needs to be addressed and since you know it about this morning you need to address it
See the most important thing is to love Jesus with your entire being
Not just what is easy or comfortable
Jesus may very well be calling you to step out in faith out of the boat in an area of your life
You will not get to experience the awesomeness of walking on water if you don’t trust and love Him with your entire being
Think of your energy, time, resources, monies, goods, talents, words, actions, cars, houses, families, etc. etc. etc.
To love Jesus with our entire being is to to live in such a way that others see Christ and glorify Him
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Paul is saying that our response to experiencing the grace and mercies of God Himself
Is to live a life fully committed to Christ in worship and obedience
Yes I said fully committed, God is not interested in you living 50 or even 90 percent of your life committed to Him
Remember Jesus didn’t die on the cross just for 73.5% of you but you entire person
He wants all of you to be 100% sold out committed to Him in worship and obedience
Paul says that He is urging you and I to live that life committed to God
To do that
To live a life fully committed to Christ is not done by chance
You don’t stumble into a right relationship with God through Christ
Paul goes right into how you live your life fully committed to Christ
Is by being different
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
If you will recall this is one of our verses for Maranatha this year
This is how you live a life committed to Christ
By being different from the World
Don’t live like the world if you want to be committed and obedient to God
Don’t let the world win, don’t let it suck your energy out
Don’t be forced to be conformed to be like the world but stand for Jesus
You don’t be like the world by changing the way you think
To be different than the world is to renew your mind
That is done through reading Gods word and through prayer
I know it sounds so very simple and you and I have enough time in the day to spend time doing both and we have resources available
Owning a Bible is not outlaw like in other counties
Church we should be taking advantage of renewing our minds through reading our Bibles as much and as often as we can
So that we are prepared to share why we are reading it
Yes Read your Bible so that you are prepared to share why you are reading your Bible
Pray you understand what you are reading
Spend time listening to Podcasts
When you renew your mind by reading and praying and listening
You are more sensitive to the working of the Holy Spirit and when He moves you can more quickly follow
This is not just an annoying reminder for you to read your Bible
This is an urge from Paul, from God Himself
This is an urgent reminded that you must be reading Gods word and spending time in prayer if you want to live fully committed and being obedient to God
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
The things of this world will not be what you live on
But the Word of God is and should be what we intake to live on
Church we must be students of Gods word
Just when you think you understand it
Read it again
and read it again
For the last few years we have challenged you and given you resources to read your Bible through each year
At our house Randi and I bought Bible for the girls a long time ago and finally started reading them and writing notes in them in hopes to give them a Bible with some of our thoughts and favorites written in there
Randi has challenged her mom to read and she is enjoying it and talking about reading it through again next year
My dad about 2 years ago started reading the Bible with Lily
My mom and dad have been reading scripture with the girls for a while
My mom this year is reading a chapter a day and dwelling on it
It is really funny and we joke because she will come to Sunday school and say she found a new piece of scripture
I challenged both Em and Lily to have the entire Bible read before they get into High school
Do you understand how important it is to read your Bible
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
Then to spend time praying
Church pray should be happening more than just at meal time
Moms and Dads and grandparents when we pray in front of our kids and grand kids we are teaching them to run to prayer
we must be a praying church if we want to be used of God and to see God move
Prayer was so important to Jesus that He would often go off by Himself and spend time with God the Father
If it was important to Jesus then maybe just maybe it should be just as important
you may sit here and think I have heard all this before and you are right
You may think again with this I know this
Then the question becomes do you do it
If you are doing it then great you know how important it is and continue it
If you are not then you need to start
Paul also reminds us that we cannot do this alone
We are not to think we have it all together
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
It won’t happen apart from that
To live a life fully committed and obedient to Christ won’t happen apart from reading and praying
Just like going to church
Yes you can be a believer without going to church but you cannot expect to grow without being apart of Gods church a local body of believers called together to do the Work of Christ in their local community and throughout the nations
When you read and pray you know God more and more
Thus knowing what God would have you do throughout your life and day to day
So church let me remind you this morning
Start now to set up a time when you read and spend time in prayer
Read your Bible daily, spend time daily throughout the day in prayer talking to God
When we do that we are putting ourselves in the right frame of thinking and putting ourselves in right position according to God
Paul says that to be renewed and to live fully committed and obedient to God is done by connecting yourself to the church and serving in the local church
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
To be connect to the local church is more than just showing up but to be serving
To use the gifts that God has gifted each of you with for the glory of Him in the local church
“You need to be in a local to be edified by the gifts of other, and you need to be in a local church because others need to be edified by your gifts. Gifts are not given for one’s own enjoyment, for self exaltation, or to build ones platform.”
This may sound weird
But some of you don’t or shouldn’t serve right now
Mainly because you are doing the previous verses, and you need to be served right now
And others are not serving but should because you have been doing the previous verses and are growing in Christ but for what ever reason are not serving
See when we gather together as a local church we show up and the friction with each other sharpens each other and knocks off the junk
When we serve as God has called us to serve we are blessed because He is glorified
We know we don’t serve to be blessed we serve to be obedient to God
To serve looks like a lot of different things
We have children's church, nursery, Sunday school teaching
We have hospitality, lawn mowing, deep cleaning
We have bible studies and discipleship opportunities that you can join in on
Some of you are gifted in certain areas that others are not
Paul later describes the church as a physical body and the many different parts of the body like the many different gifts each of you has been gifted
Some of you are gifted in technology and others are not
Some of you are gifted in music and others are not
Some of you are gifted in teaching and others are not
To be honest some of you have been called to serve in certain ways that maybe you are not very comfortable
Notice it doesn’t say if you are comfortable in those areas
Paul is saying that to offer your body and life as a sacrifice to God
To live committed and obedient to Him you must be renewing your mind
To renew your mind you must be reading and praying
To ensure you are reading and praying regularly you need to be connected to a local church
To be connected to a local church you must be plugged in and serving
This is not a commercial but if you are interested in serving in a certain area please email me and let me know
Seems weird but to have a how to guide is essentially what Paul has given us here
Please don’t misuse this but use this as a guide
If last we are to worship God because of the Grace and Mercies extended to use
This is what it looks like to truly worship Him with our lives
to be fully committed to God and obedient to God
So this morning as we come to a close
The band will come up
The invitation is simple like most other weeks
If you are here and don’t know Jesus personally I would invite you to come down to the front and speak with someone
They can answer your questions and help you as you pray to repent of your sins and to trust in Jesus this morning
Or maybe you are here this morning and have a relationship with Jesus but you don’t love Him with your whole heart
Or you are not walking with Him as you should according to scripture
This would be your invitation to come to the front and repent of your sin
Or maybe you just want to come to the altar and spend time praying
The altar is open
