What Living Sacrifices do 2025-08-24
Notes
Transcript
Living Sacrifices continued
Living Sacrifices continued
We began chapter 12 with a challenge to BE LIVING SACRIFICES to God.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Today in verses 9-21 Paul describes some specific do’s and don’t for you and me to be
God’s living Sacrifices.
He doesn’t call us to a lazy,
half hearted faith
half hearted intentions
Paul is calling us to a radical lifestyle that
sometimes will shock the world around us.
Let’s read our passage
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1. Love that Labors v.9-13
1. Love that Labors v.9-13
Anybody who has been married more than a year or two knows that marriages takes work.
So does living the Christian life.
Our passage began with
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
9 Love must be sincere
Love,
real love
is more than a feeling,
it’s a choice
it’s an attitude and
it doesn’t bail when
the cost and
the rewards change.
Chuck Swindle told this story in his book Strike the Original Match page 68.
Maybe you heard about the guy who fell in love with an opera singer.
He hardly knew her, since his only view of the singer was through binoculars - from the third balcony.
He was convinced he could live “happily ever after” married to a voice like that.
He scarcely noticed that she was considerably older than he.
Nor did he care that she walked with a limp.
Her mezzo-soprano voice would take them through whatever might come.
After a whirlwind romance and a hurry-up ceremony, they were off for their honeymoon.
She began to prepare for their first night together.
As he watched, his chin dropped to his chest.
She plucked out her glass eye and plopped it into a container on the night-stand.
She pulled off her wig,
ripped off her false eyelashes,
yanked out her dentures,
unstrapped her artificial leg,
and smiled at him as she slipped off her glasses that hid her hearing aid.
Stunned and horrified,
he gasped,
“For goodness sake, woman, sing, sing, SING!”
(Swindoll - Strike the Original Match 68)
It was easy for the man to think and say that her voice would take them through whatever might come.
But he didn’t realize what he was getting into.
It’s easy to say,
“I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Words come easy.
Any of you who work under a difficult boss, with a spouse, or with children
- know how difficult the actions are to follow through on.
That’s what Paul was trying to illustrate with the next verse.
Agape love doesn’t stop with an attitude.
It CONTINUES with ACTION - sometimes DIFFICULT action.
Will the horrified man,
keep his marriage commitments and vows,
Or will he bail because he puts self above commitment.
Do you put yourself above commitment?
What other things should we do,
if we really are living sacrifices for God
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
Hate what is evil
That sounds easy enough,
when evil is oppressing us,
But
not nearly so easy
when the evil is enticing to us.
What could help us, to Hate what is evil?
the next phrase
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
cling to what is good
Sometimes I enjoy reading books written for children.
They don’t have adult situation,
situations that can linger in my mind,
long after the story has been read.
Yet children’s books, can still touch on important things like
loyalty and love.
Clinging to what is Good,
could crowd out other things,
other thoughts that seem to want to
cling to us.
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
Be devoted to one another in love
If that is not a challenge to you then
Count your self blessed.
Most Christians find the larger the group,
the greater diversity of thought and opinions.
Some of our opinions,
your opinions and my opinions could break down unity
if we were didn’t choose to
work at unity
work at loving each over,
despite our difference.
One of my dear seminary friends
apparently has very different political idea then I have
but he is devoted to Christ,
He prays for my ministry
every day.
Despite our difference.
After all these years,
he has not cancelled me
and I have not cancelled him.
What about you?
Do you cancel people?
It won’t help church unity,
if you do.
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
Honor one another above yourselves.
Honor one another might be easy
but why did he have to add
Above yourselves!
When you look down on people,
they can tell,
I don’t like being looked down on
and I bet,
you don’t like being looked down on
So, for the sake of the body,
FOR THE SAKE OF UNITY
Paul says
Honor one another above yourselves.
OK PAUL!!!!
What about our hearts.
Paul brings in a laundry list of heart attitudes that living sacrifices will surrender to God.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Do you lack zeal.?
I think
too often, I lack zeal,
too often, I am way too stoic.
It may just be my personality but
Maybe I taught myself to be that way,
as a people pleaser,
you need to show no opinions, no attitudes at all,
until you know which way the wind is blowing.
so you can stay safe and be their chameleon.
Never the less,
I should be full of zeal
excited about God
and
so
should
you.
It’s commanded,
and it’s healthy way to be.
to live
After all Nehemiah says
New International Version (2011) Chapter 8
the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
It says in
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Our hope in the Lord,
should bring us JOY.
What a joy it was for Darrell Nakagawa to have hope in the Lord, when things were not going the way he planned.
Hope for heaven with God
When you have nothing left but hope
are you joyful for that hope?
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
patient in affliction
Are you patient in affliction?
At times people have said to me,
Oh Dave, you have so much patience
but inside,
I think I’m very impatient
I need more of the mind of Christ to
truly be patient in affliction.
What else is there?
Faithful in prayer
That takes work, just like reading through your bible.
Pam and I allowed ourselves to get too busy one week and we missed most of our bible reading.
I think it’s taken me two weeks to catch up were I want to be at this date
How many of us think
we could be MORE faithful in prayer?
So
Living Sacrifices don’t just say they love,
they take actions that show love.
illus.
Do you want to hear about a man who was patient in affliction?
It’s not, Job!
Rabbi Michael Weisser lived in Lincoln, Nebraska.
And for more than 3 years, Larry Trapp,
a self-proclaimed Nazi & Ku Klux Klansman,
directed a torrent of hate-filled mailings & phone calls toward him.
Trapp promoted
white supremacy,
anti-Semitism,
& other messages of prejudice,
declaring his apartment the KKK state headquarters
& himself the grand dragon.
His whole purpose in life seemed to be to spew out hate-ridden racial slurs & obscene remarks against Weisser & all those like him.
At first, the Weissers were so afraid they locked their doors & worried themselves almost sick over the safety of their family.
Was Rabbi Weissers patient in affliction?
We will see.
2. Bless and Belong v14-16
2. Bless and Belong v14-16
Paul goes on
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Wow, this is getting really hard!
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse
That is not what we usually want to do
but even Jesus said
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
and then Paul calls us to rejoice and mourn with people.
He calls us to make time for people and love on them.
Can you do that?
Will you do that?
It’s a challenge,
but with the Holy Spirits help
we can choose to do that, those things.
Then Paul brings up four more things that just might be related:
Live in Harmony
Don’t be proud
Associate with low people
Don’t be conceited
If you have a little church group but
you are a grump, will that affect your group?
If you are too proud to associate with some people,
will that affect your church group?
If you are conceited, think to highly of your self,
will that make you proud
make you want to
stay away, dis-associated with some
of God’s lessor people?
Those things might be a problem.
Brothers and sisters:
Grumpiness, Pride, Avoiding people
because you’re conceited
might be a problem in your church group
and definitely is a problem in God’s Church
the Body of Christ.
So don’t do those things
Examine your ways and test them
Yah hear?
What about poor,
persecuted
Rabbi Weissers,
what did he do?
illus
One day Rabbi Weisser found out that Trapp was a 42-year-old
clinically blind,
double amputee.
And he became convinced that Trapp’s own physical helplessness was a source of the bitterness he expressed.
So Rabbi Weisser decided to do the unexpected.
He left a message on Trapp’s answering machine,
telling him of another side of life…a life free of hatred & racism.
Rabbi Weisser said, "I probably called 10 times & left messages before he finally picked up the phone & asked me why I was harassing him.
Isn’t that funny, the harasser, asked why are you harassing's me?
Wiesser reports,
I said that I’d like to help him.
I offered him a ride to the grocery store or to the mall."
Boy, that was not easy
that was not a natural response to
all the hate coming from Larry Trapp,
We will finish the story soon,
but I bet you might be beginning to see
when you bless instead of curse
lives and hearts can be changed
And fellowship increase.
But it’s not a walk in the park,
it’s being a living sacrifice to treat people
the way God
wants us to treat them.
3. Peace Through Patience Romans 12:17-21
3. Peace Through Patience Romans 12:17-21
Here are the last 5 verse in this section.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Again I’ll say wow,
Paul is asking a lot of us.
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil
So, if that Jerk, spray painted your car with half a dozen cans of paint,
Paul and Jesus don’t want you to go out and do the same to his car.
I’ve seen the movies,
sometimes revenge looks so fun
but that is not how we are supposed to act.
If you give them back, exactly the evil they gave you,
their is something wrong with you thinking.
verse 21 says
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
To be overcome by evil,
is not a picture of being beat up.
It’s a picture of becoming as bad as they are,
dishing out the same trash and bad behavior
that they gave you.
Soon, I’ll talk about overcoming evil with God
The rest of verse 17, all of 18 and some of 19 all mesh together
New International Version (2011) Chapter 12
Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends
If you are doing the right thing,
then your doing all you can, to live at peace
and God doesn’t want you to take revenge.
I’ll tell you a secret
Revenge is not really as sweet as they show it in the movies.
BUT, God promises to be just/fare
Everyone is going to get what they deserve in the end.
You and I are not to take revenge, but to be nice and kind.
For some, it will blow their mind.
For some, if they treat you like dirt
and you repay them with kindness
those burning coals will melt their cold hearts
as they wonder
what could motivate you to treat them
kindly, after all the trach they gave you.
Back to our true story about the Rabbi and his bad neighbor
Larry Trapp, Nazi hater of Jews.
illus
Trapp was stunned and Weissers offer!
Disarmed by the kindness & courtesy, he started thinking.
He later admitted, through tears, that he heard in the rabbi’s voice, "something I hadn’t experienced in years.
It was love."
Slowly the bitter man began to soften.
One night he called the Weissers & said he wanted out, but didn’t know how.
They grabbed a bucket of fried chicken & took him dinner.
Before long they made a trade: in return for their love he gave them his swastika rings, hate tracts, & Klan robes.
That same day Trapp gave up his Ku Klux Klan recruiting job & dumped the rest of his propaganda in the trash.
"They showed me so much love that I couldn’t help but love them back," he finally confessed.
Church family,
Church family,
if that could happen in Lincoln, Nebraska,
what could happen here in our community,
in our neighborhoods,
if we truly began to live lives that showed the love of Jesus to those around us?
What if our commitment to love, was more than just words,
but also actions.
Let’s Pray.
Father God,
through your word,
you give us impossible tasks to do.
To love our enemies and
to bless them.
To do our best to be at peace with everyone.
Send your Holy Spirit to help us moment by moment to
as we face life’s challenges
As your Living Sacrifices.
And ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SAID
AMEN!
