Living Sacrifice
Do you feel like you're so good to me. You're so good to me, or am I call you?
That's okay.
It's all good.
Nia.
Michael Brothers
Minecraft Minecraft
and now you're not tell me who can I call to tell me Whom Shall I Fear.
There's an old song The Old Rugged Cross anybody know it. One of those verses that I want to talk about for just a few moments and then I'll go to my sermon and I think it's the second one. I don't I can't even sing Amazing Grace without the word. So I'm it says so I'll cherish The Old Rugged Cross till my trophies At Last I lay down. I will cling to The Old Rugged Cross and exchange it someday for a crown iPhone quite often thought about the trophies of life. My brother golf you got some trophies in your life. And one of these days we're going to lay those trophies down at the feet of Jesus, but I believe those trophies are there and those trophies are alive in my life. And this room is full of those people who I count. as trophies
you're not because of me, but they all because of God. And he work for me. So I have the trophies. They don't belong to me they belong to Jesus and I'll one day I'll lay them at his feet but along with that my prayer is that each of you two would also have some trophies in your life. And the way to do that is to allow God to work through you let the name of Jesus be powerful. In your life and he can do an awesome work. We often we often say that the name of Jesus. We would quote the scripture at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. And for some reason maybe I just did it in my life, but I would put that over and in the in the prophetic future at that point every need but if you read the scripture send I think Philippians chapter 2 that that's that's not a future event. That's it. Whenever you need you use the name of Jesus At The Name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess after name of Jesus. So I responsibility I think It supposed to proclaim the name of Jesus so that that happens if not your name, but it is his name and he said we could use that it's your weapon.
Who was it in the Old Testament that Drew the sword?
Fuel filter. What was it? I'm having I'm having a senior moment. Gideon and Gideon full short and he said two things. He said the sword of the Lord and of Gideon, so he pulled god sword and his own sword and and landed up so those trophies are awesome.
Kevin was one of those trophies that came our way and I was able to help us I can figure out why he would come look at us. I mean we couldn't afford him. But we sure needed some help, you know, and so I made this I made this prophetic statement. Here's the deal cuz he talked to me about some of these issues and some other stuff going on this life. I just hear the deal will help you if you will help us and we made a pact on that and it worked out.
This young lady who wrote that song that they just sang when I first met her she was a mess or she still a mess, but you won't.
Casablanca Melvin, but she was she was one of these. I called Gothic throw away something she was she had she was trying to throw herself away course there was a family that was trying their best to hold onto her butt in the in the next several months. I became the faster and all the sudden. I see God doing awesome work and God had transformed. This Gothic mess into a young lady that can dance with a bass guitar before God and watch the hand of God just moves awesome. So their trophies that I'm proud of all of you all of you guys from from Claysburg. I just remember some of those some of those events and some of those trophies. Let me try to teach you something. I want to chapter 12.
The first two verses that I'm going to read for them from the New Living Translation. And it reads like this and so dear brothers and sisters I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him don't copy the behavior and the customs of this world. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think then you will learn how how you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Thank you God for your word and I pray that the Holy Spirit would be the teacher in the show us some truths that will be applying to our lives today and we just give you praise for that we receive in Jesus name. Amen. Worship what is worship? I'm afraid we is the Churchill have relegated worship to a time and an event that may happen on Sunday mornings. It may happen when a group of people get together and we call that we call that Worship On One Way Ticket. Look at these verses we find that worship may take on a little different little little different type. Let me use a little illustration that the lord gave me in a dream about that.
Anybody play baseball?
Anybody have a son that plays baseball?
Well son plays baseball baseball assume that the father has spent a lot of time teaching his son how to pitch and they've spent hours and hours and hours just teaching you how to how to how to swing and I don't know all the aspects of baseball how does pitch in and they do a lot of men comes to Gameday on Gameday the father sitting in the stands. Okay, and the Sun is on the pitcher's mound and he is ready to do his thing. Okay.
And this is what he doesn't do but this is what the church does quite often when it comes to the relationship with God. Here's what the here's what this this young picture who has been taught by a really good father hears what he does. He lays his glove in the ball down. And on the father sitting in the stands and instead of looking at the batter, he looks at the father in the stands and he start saying great job. Dad. You taught me a lot of stuff and it goes on and on for the next half hour telling the father how wonderful he did and training him to pitch the ball. All those 30 minutes is over. He picks up his glove and his ball and he walks off of the field.
Didn't accomplish anything was the father happy. well
The father felt like he had miss something. So so what was the point in all of that training and all of that information and all of that stuff?
Where was the father going to get this praise that he deserve because of all the training and so my question to us is where does gon get glorified and get worship? Do we eat and I did this at Claysburg a couple times do we sit around and get all excited over the instruction booklet and where read it was cold when I found this is a Wingnut. It's not over here. Just reading the instruction booklet. Well, she wants to know who is the church we take God's instruction in his word and I'm afraid we spend a whole lot of time spending a whole lot of time getting all excited about the instruction booklet when God wants somebody to take what he's learned grab the ball and pitch the ball and make and making strike at it. Okay, so that's what I want to talk about. I want to talk about a living sacrifice as talked about in these two verses. So the first question you've got to ask and I'm going to try to so I don't drive another hour and a half or so. Oh, I caught that. That's the one that was it worth. That was what I wanted to know. That means no that won't work. So so the first thing you need to understand is in a relationship with this father who is to be worship is to understand who you are. When you come to terms with who you are. I'm not talking about who you were but I'm talking about when you come through that relationship with Jesus Christ and become a Son of God when you become a child of God and who are you who are your second one is you need to understand who the father is who was the father in the last four years is to ask this question. Who are you praying to?
No, not me. That's a real question. Who do you pray to?
Dog who saw Jesus God the spirit God the Father we have access to scripture says through Christ Jesus because he when he died on the cross the veil was open and we have access to the phone. So our prayers and our conversation or straight with the father we come through the sun through the veil that's opened up and now we have access to the father. So we've been I mean you have you been born again your brand new creature not who you were but who you are. You become you stand in the place where you are and you stand in the place where you know him as your father and so that communication goes there. So here is what his instructions were Paul's instructions so dear brothers and sisters I plead that you will give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you has got a transfer to pray for you. Has gone missing needs in your life has God helped you avoid some situations that you might not ever otherwise a boy. Yeah, we don't in fact, there are some situations. We may never ever know about until we get to heaven and get those instant replay that I've talked about a lot. I hope we get them in heaven cuz some of the places I just want to see him again.
But you you give your birthday the King James says present your bodies a living sacrifice for sin. Your body's to the Lord because of all he has done for you. It's reasonable service that when you take a look at what he is sometimes we forget what God has done in our lives. We forget that he picked us up any brush yourself and they gave us a brand new people. Forget what year he had to remind them again who he was and remind them again who they were and how they were favored by God himself. But he says give your body's give yourself to God because of all he's done for you. But the next phrase is let them be a living and holy sacrifice Living Sacrifice. Not a dead one. Okay, a Living Sacrifice. Here's what Jesus did on the cross on the cross he gave he came to give us life and life more abundantly Hallelujah. I'm a I'm a free shirt. If all of the Easter the Resurrection Day, the resurrection tells us that we have life. God saved you to Lil now, there is some denominations that have in the past and actually my grandfather was a part of that for years that you didn't get saved them to you. I bet you couldn't you couldn't be saved until until death came along will listen if God him if dog intended for salvation to get you to heaven then you to die. Did they you got saved Okay, but guess what? He did he gave you life and life more abundantly and that's what he wants you to do. That's what he wants from you. He is trained you to do Willie wants you to pitch the ball. He doesn't want you to just just sit around and yes, it's wonderful to give him praise. It's wonderful to verbalize who he is. But until you do what he's empowered you to do you haven't actually lived for him the way he intended let it be a living in a holy sacrifice. Now. I'm going to do the living in the Holy sacrifice. What's the sacrifice? Well, I'm Living Sacrifice would be something that you do that. You don't want to do anybody been there ever had to do something. You didn't want to do Minions to God and doing what he has trained us to do and develop into us and giving us the gifts to do. The human the Human Nature has a struggle with that Jesus. The son of man, he labeled himself the son of man. He was headed for the cross. He had he had a conversation with his father in the garden and his conversation was Dad can't we do this another way? Is it possible that this cup pass from me and we could do this another way and then you see Jesus the son of man pull his will back down and shove it under the will of the father and he says nevertheless not my will but yours be done we need to learn to do if God has given us the ball in the glove and given us everything we need to do the pics of all okay, but we've decided that we want to do something then said we got to somehow in sacrifice pull that will the human will go down and shove it back up under the will of God and do exactly what he's asked us to do whether we like it or whether we don't like it. Hey, man, and the Tennessee is is it human nature to be afraid of failure. Anybody afraid of failure. Do I should have said everybody raise your hand? Okay, we all tend to be afraid of failure. But here's the here's the sacrifice is when we when we decide that we are more afraid of not giving him proper worship and we are having a chance to fail. I learned through life that I'm not afraid of Make a mistake. I'm am not afraid of failure. I made enough of them Wonder sister says if you eat crow long enough, it takes pretty good, but I've made enough mistakes. Okay, but what am I scared to death of us to do nothing is to do absolutely nothing in the more I found out about what God has done for us and the more I found out what his relationship with me can provide for me as opportunities the more I want to say not my will not to think not the way I want to do it. Let me do it your way and go find out what God's Will has to say about that obedience to him. Let it be a Living Sacrifice. Let it be all holy sacrifice. What kind of sacrifices is it? The next phrase tells you the kind he will find acceptable. Did you know that you can be acceptable to God? Did you know that the Bible says you can you can you can be acceptable or unto the Lord now? The next phrase says this is truly to the way to worship him. So worship unto God real worship unto God is that is that sacrifice of obedience to doing what he's asked you to do even if you don't like it. I used to tell my son he would he was a butt that I don't like to do it though. I said I didn't ask you to like it. I just said you going to do it God is like that he's provided everything. We need to fulfil this in the scripture says whom he calls. He also ordained that word ordained is qualify when he calls you give you everything you need to do it. So what we need to do then is the four on Wheel down shove it aside pull up under the will of God himself find out what that wheel is and just do it. Here's one of my problems that I've learned in the last last four years of retirement too many times. We are asking God to do stuff. He's been asking us to do and so we don't want to do it. And so we pray about it.
Okay, I know that hit somebody wrong. And then we then he's he's urging us to go do it and we decide where we can pray about it again, and then we going out again. We decided maybe we need to do a month of Prayer. And so what happens is we are and maybe we need to do some worship. You know, let's get the band together and let's worship. It just feels so good. So we're standing on the mound and God's given us everything. We need to do the pitch the ball and here we are with our hands in the air kind of like milk, like I'm used to do when it runs sound system. We had to read the movie off the system. I put a truck driver. Patty zumstein sun in the in the sound booth does milk. He couldn't operate.
Finally talked milk, like I'm into you come down the aisle and he on his knees at the altar. He lifts his hands. Worship God in the watches and watches children and grandchildren come in right behind him and worship. God, please. Do you need to be in the sound booth know and you know, what you doing? Yeah, I couldn't pay attention.
So sometimes we're we're spending a whole lot of time. We spend a whole lot of time given God hand clap two plays in the whole time. He wants you to do it just to do what he has to do. And listen, he's not giving you something to do that. You can't do a Moses couldn't couldn't part the Red Sea, but what Moses could do is hold his hands up and then he had a problem with that. So somebody had to come along and keep those things up. So what we learn in that whole process is obedience is better than sacrifice do what is asked you to do and if he is if he is giving you a commission and is getting any told you what to do when he's provided everything you need to do to fix the ball and get her done. How do you truly worship God will the next phrase says well, don't copy the behavior in the in the customs of this world. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think you know, most of our problems are not extra most of my right between our ears. In fact, the size of Satan is based on the thoughts between your two years, you know that did you know, God does not have any enemies you know that or you don't know that how can he have an enemy? When he brought it all into existence.
So what happens is we have decided that that Satan is an enemy of God God's having a hard time dealing with him.
Jesus said I will build my church and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against it. So here's the deal. We line ourselves up with the word of God become a part of his church and Satan doesn't even have a clue as to what to do until we decide if he's more powerful than we are and we just yield to him and just do whatever.
How can we so we got to change the way we think we got to change our Direction it's in it's in here because it's in is inside when you were you know, who you are and when you change your way of thinking not the way you used to live, but don't know who you are. Now what you used to be is it all things old things are passed away and all things are become a brand new a man. So we we must declare that we must stake a claim on the newness of the new life that God has given to us through Jesus Christ. The next phrase says after you after you change you start changing the way you think then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. there is there is a deception is going on around our world and it's very very strong very powerful because people to buy into it and the deception is that you can't know God's will. And that's that's a lie. That is not the truth. Listen. If God wanted to hide from you he can do that, but he didn't want to do that he made available to you. In fact of the day in which we live the word of God can go so fast and so quick and so far it is absolutely phenomenal tremendous these guys listening on on the on the Internet or real-time whatever it is powerful quick way and up because and we can know what God's will is when we search out dogs will then things can begin to happen. We need to Worship in obedience and doing the things that God has asked us to do. I worship is not just an event that happens on Sunday, but worship is living out God's will in our wise if you don't know what God's Will and in your life is ask him scripture says he won't turn it down. You'll tell you what that is and it's not difficult. He won't ask you to do something this without your ability with outside of your ability to do it. You do what you can do anything to the miraculous you hold your hands up your hope. He'll hold feedback you do what God asked you to do and he'll take care of you and give you the strength the power of the ability to do those things that bring him glory bring him honor and that's what he's all about. There's another song and I'm not going to sing it but let me pull. Let me pull a phrase out of it. I can know. well I think I lost it.
Hallelujah
Well, I can't find God's will for us. We need to find out what it is. And we need to do it. I'll give him glory and praise by the action is happening then is when the father glorify then when the father who has given everything you need to do. His will is magnified my challenge to you is fine as well as it is in your wife. He's not a tyrant He Still Loving heavenly father, but he does want to be glorified. He wants to be lifted up and the lift is The Obedience he wants to watch you do it. Listen, if you were father and your and your son was about to do a great deed. He you do not want him to lay down. What is what he's about to do in start Clapping Your Hands and giving you all the glory to the event and we stand together
I love him. I love him. Because he first loved.
Just my salvation.
free love him I love you. because he first
just my size.
The song says he paid he has paid the highest price. He has proven his great love for us. We will praise him with our lives and Proclaim our love for him. That's not fair. That's my challenge to you today is to praise him with your lives praise him with the actions raised him with the obedience doing what he's empowered to do doing what he's called you to do doing what he is giving you opportunities to do just do it. Don't worry about what people think we're about. Banks allow him to be glorified.
and you