Abiding in Christ (September 5th, 2021)

Good morning, everybody. I'm paying attention to the benediction today, because I'll explain why the chairs are the way they are, and what we're trying to accomplish. And I have something you need for you this morning. I have what you might describe as a sermon sandwich. We're going to start out by executing some scripture, and then in the middle, I'm going to share my opinion. It is just my opinion. So I can't be part of the sermon. I think I can root my opinion in history, but I can't read it in scripture. So I just want to share with you some of my opinion of what I see happening in the world right now, and why that might impact the way we apply this morning's verse. And then after we're finished with my opinion. We're going to go back to scripture and finish, Romans 1 to 12. But last week, we talked about Jesus as the vine early. We talked about him as the light, then the bread, last week, the vine. And when we're talking with the vine, we talked about the need to abide in Christ to have a constant moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus Christ. Becoming a Christian is very much like getting married. There is an actual moment where you say I do, but that's not the end. That's the beginning. You've heard the old joke, and although the wife says that the husband you never say, you love me, and the husband says, I told you when I got married, if anything changes, I'll let you know, know know, if there's got to be a moment-by-moment relationship with Christ that we call abiding in Christ. But abiding is prices easy to preach. It's hard to do. Because we're full and we have hearts that wander. Pardaphash wants to abide in Christ. But can we just be honest part of his doesn't? Not only that. It's not only our own Hearts. It's the world in which we live. There are powerful forces arrayed against us, encouraging us not to abide in Christ. And so abiding in Christ is something that requires our attention. It requires our focus, it requires our effort. And today we want to take a look at Romans 12:1, + 2, and we're going to see three things the body in Christ, requires that decision. No matter fact, many decisions. Reverse the decision to constantly present to God ourselves. The Lord. May I present to you, myself? I am yours. It's not a one-time thing. It's a constant thing. It requires discipline. You don't just fall into the Olympics, does got to have it be a plan and there's got to be discipline and you got to stop eating some of the things you really want to eat and stop doing some of the things you really want to do and wake up early and exercise. Yes. There is some discipline required in abiding in Christ and finally dependence. We're going to find this morning that the key the key to abiding in Christ is staying on the altar long enough to be transformed. Before we do all that. We're going to look at appealing or appalling. Paul is going to ask us to climb on the Altar and become living sacrifices to God. Some people will hear that and find it appealing and uninterested. Tell me why, or how would I do that? Some people will find it, not appealing to find it. Appalling.

You want me to give up myself? Everything?

The Apostle John sound unappealing the Rich, Young Ruler, find it. Appalling. What do you need is in our versus today. We are going to find out what drives those two groups. What is the difference in the heart? And in the mind between someone who finds this request appealing and someone who finds the same request, not appealing, but appalling? So, let's begin. I appeal to you, therefore, Brothers by the mercies of God, several things. I want to say, but this phrase, one of the most important words here is there for If you're familiar with the letter of Romans, Romans 1 to 11 is all doctrinal truth. Hey, can I tell you something about God? And take us down here to hear some stuff about? God. Can I tell you something about the nature of, man? Write this down guys? This is about the nature of man. Romans 1 to 11 is doctrinal truth. Romans 12 to 16 is the practical application of it. So when he says in verse one, therefore he's saying because of everything I just told you. In verses 1 to 11. Because everything I just said about God is actually true. This is the way we should behave. By the way. There's a little this is not the sermon topic, but just a little. It's a little treasure along the way. This is a Godly pattern. God knows that action follows the truth and he always teaches the truth first. You look at any of pistol. It's roughly 1/2 Doctrine, the first half and 1/2 application. This is deep. And here's a little. Free parting gift just for coming parents. This applies to you as your children, get older. This is not the topic of the sermon. This is just a little further away. But as your children, get older, Endeavor, not to just give them the rules. But the truth underneath the rules. What we're trying to accomplish very often. When we're passing long rules to Children. It just looks like a whole bunch of fun killing and stuff, and they don't appreciate why we're doing that. God tells us why before he asked for Action there for I also wanted to mention this is just a little bit technical. So if you don't want to follow me, that's fine. But you know, how they're in parts of grammar went, when you're reading any text. But certainly the Bible is good to ask about the grammar. Where's the verbs? What tense of these verbs in? Yes, that's true. But there's also something called discourse analysis. And just as you can look at parts of grammar, you can look at parts. Of course this phrase I appeal to you. Therefore Brothers by the mercies of God is called a mess, a comment.

And it has a very specific purpose. I'm not a comment. Is something the speaker says that is not part of his message. It's just a learning you to the fact that what he's about to say is super important. I'm not a car payment is not the message. It's just something. I'm speaker says to alert you to the fact that once about to come is really important. We just finished and worship 2 songs. What is in the middle between songs 1 and 2. David said and now Pastor Don has a very special announcement. Will first of all, I don't usually do announcements and I certainly don't do them in the middle of worship and I don't ask people to say a very special off that sound that a comment. You don't know what the announcement is. You just know it's really important and then I get up and say friends. I've been your pastor 10 years. I think maybe this is the most important thing I've ever said. That's how you don't know what I'm going to say. You just know what is what comes is really big. This is a medical meant. What Paul is about to say is a key to the Christian Life. And then finally, I just wanted to take a look at this word appeal. Appeal means to encourage. Its a Christian kind of exhorting and I just want to remind us all. We are not doing life as individuals. You are not an individual, you are not an individual part of us and we are all have the duty to keep a watchful loving eyes on one another. And encourage growth, one of us. Another we are in each other's lives and we have the opportunity to appeal to one another. Posters, I appeal to you Brothers, but the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ that you all agreed that there, be no divisions among you. I see something destructive. I appeal to you as your brother change course. I appeal to you Brothers by our Lord Jesus Christ. And by the love of the spirits strivetogether. I seen Discord I appeal to you and he's doing it again. I appeal to you.

And then finally, before we move on, I appeal to you by the mercies of God, not my Apostolic Authority.

I appear to you by the mercies of God.

He's about to say. Give yourselves to God, become living sacrifices to God, and he's doing that. He's appealing to us by the mercies of God. There's a certain group of people when they hear get on the Altar and be a Living Sacrifice, who will find that appealing. There's a certain group of people who when they hear that, get on the altar. Give yourself to God, will find that appalling inoffensive. What difference is what differentiates the two groups is how they see this.

There's a group of people who sees the mercy of God, who is aware of their own sin, who is aware of the Holiness of God, who is aware that every moment. They should be condemned and they know the only reason they're not as the mercy of God and the people that are aware of this, when they hear make yourselves Living Sacrifice.

There's another group of people who does not see the mercy of God. I'm pretty good. Better than you. Have you seen how much these people over here soon? And let me tell you, how many banks have robbed this week zero. Guess how many people I killed this week 0? Don't go too. Heavy on the same stuff. I'm pretty good. Cuz my reflection of what God's pretty lucky to have you on his team. That's the way I feel.

People that don't see the mercy of God. Hear pulse a become a Living, Sacrifice and say, that's outrageous. That's outrageous. I just want to remind your friends. We want to live here. Seeing the mercies of God.

Kane wants to kill Abel. God meets with them. Don't you do that? Don't you, sin is crouching at the door and wants to control. You, don't you do that Cain killed Abel anyway, and the Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. When we see the mercy of God, we know that the very ground is calling out to God for judgment upon us for what we have done. All the people in our lives can bring damning testimony, that will invite the Judgment of God. The things we stolen this, the people we've hurt the things, we've said all the adjust God to take action and the only reason he doesn't

Is his Mercy? Jonathan Edwards, preached, the famous sermon, sinners in the hands of an Angry God. And by the way, it was, I forgot to look this up. I didn't plan on using this is Noah stration. What I'm about to say, I think is true, but I'm not positive. I think it was an evening service and this was before electric light and so he was preaching by candlelight and he had poor vision and he wasn't a particularly powerful speaker. So he's kind of preaching like this and it just kind of reading his manuscript and he's just saying things. Like we are dangling by a very thin spiders web over the pits of hell. One errant wind could snap that spiders web and we would fall into it. We are standing on a bridge. Holes that at any moment might give way into eternity. And the only reason it doesn't is mercy of God. He's just reading this thing. People are Weeping. People are freaking. Because they caught their first vision of the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of their own hearts. And they saw at that moment, the mercies of God. And when you see the mercies of God, and how it has four starts with P. That when Paul says become Living Sacrifice, is it sounds very reasonable.

So, the matter comment, I'm about to say something, super important. I appeal to you Brothers, therefore, by the mercies of God, to, what, what are you actually trying to say? What's the big special announcement present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice. This is a verb. It's in the present, continuous tense. This isn't something we do. Once we accept the Lord is our savior once, but after that, we keep giving ourselves to him. I married Sandy once June 30th 1984. The pastor asked me a question. I said, I do, we're married and I give myself to her. Moment-by-moment everyday, present, in continuous action. Your body's this phrase here in the Greek means more than physical body. That means our whole self. Everything we are corporally everything, we think everything we are emotionally, everything we own, give it all as a Living. Sacrifice this, of course, is in Greek, but if it were in Hebrew, it would be the Hebrew word for the thing you put on the Altar and offering. God has never wanted goats and cows for offering or your boat or your money. He's always wanted you. And me. And Paul was saying today's, the day present, your bodies as a Living Sacrifice.

By the way. One of the streams running through scripture. This is not the point of the sermon. That's another little Rabbit Trail. But I have a little more time this morning. So I'm going to take a couple of rabbit Trails. One of the strains that runs through scripture is the beauty of corporate worship. When we get together as a body and Worship the Lord God calls that offering he sees that as a gift from us. I will praise the name of God with a song. I will Magnify Him with Thanksgiving and this will please the Lord more than an AUX. He never wanted the aux never wanted the ball. He wants us. And our Express expressions of worship.

And when we do that, it's wholly, acceptable. Is very pleasing to God? This is what he wants. When he wakes up every morning. This is what he thinks about. Give yourself to me. I want you, I desire you. Get on the altar.

Holy acceptable to God. Which is your spiritual worship? I don't know if Ted and Kathleen are here. But if they are there reading a King, James Bible and they see that that word is reasonable. So, is it reasonable? Or is it spiritual? Actually, both are a good translation, the Greek word under needs. This?

Is logic Hoss from which we get logical. What Paul is saying is when we see the mercies of God when we see his provision for a full life.

When we see his genuine offer for permanent reconciliation and the promise of Heaven in the future, when we really see that, it's a logical thing to do, is to give ourselves to him.

This is a reasonable thing. The spiritual Act of service of giving ourselves to him. So for those of you keeping score we are right here. Is it appealing? Or is it appalling? I don't know. What do you think about the mercies of God? That may I just tell you? This is very embarrassing. But I want to tell you this because it's just so embarrassing. What? I Was preparing for this service it for the sermon. I had a memory of something. I said to someone when I was in my early twenties and it's really embarrassing and you're going to say you're exaggerating that for a fact, you can nobody's that dumb. I am you probably don't know this about me but I have always felt called to the ministry that I was 49 years old when I actually left my employer and came here, but I have always felt that in, in my early twenties. I actually resign from my job. I was accepted at Dallas, Theological Seminary. I actually won a scholarship and we were ready to go. We had our house up for sale and then it all kind of fell through, but in the middle I was with the dear friends of ours in the church, and they said we are so excited about calling calling. God calling you to the ministry. You know what I said.

I said me to it's encouraging when people of my caliber are called to the ministry.

This is a man who does not see the mercies of God. This is a man who is all about himself. You know, you've heard the old joke. Young preacher. It goes up for his first time preaching and he's got a barn burner because it's good. So he walks up the stage and he is brimming with confidence and he starts to preach any loses his place and then his notes fall off the table and then you can't remember where he was. And then he can feel himself starting to sweat and then he feels embarrassed cuz he knows everybody else can see him start this wet. And he just ends the sermon on a puddle and slink back out of his chair, the senior pastor, someone a little more mature said to him. That's a real shame. If you had gone up the way you came down, the you would have come down the way you went.

Is this appealing or a polling? I don't know. What do you think about the mercies of God? Where are you on that? And we talked about a decision, not a one-time decision. Put a constant decision to give ourselves to God, by the way. Why is it constant? Why can't we just do this once? Because we're falling, we actually get on the Altar and we actually give ourselves to him and we really mean it. We are sincere but it doesn't take very long for a heart to wander. It doesn't take very long for a temptation to knock us off the path. We need to constantly be getting on the altar. because, We constantly crawl off the altar.

That was take a look at the second abiding skill discipline.

Do not be conformed to this world.

So I want you to get on the Altar and offer yourselves as a Living Sacrifice to the to God. I'm interested, but I'm unclear like

You close to Salish, don't know what to do. Where do I sign? Like, how do I become this Living Sacrifice while there's one command with two pieces. The first command is a dune and then there's a command that it the other half of the commanders to do. Here's the, Do Not part, do not be conformed to this world. By the way, interesting, this world. Remember if you've been coming for a while, you remember, when, when I preached the sermon on the light of the world, Jesus said, I am the light of the world that I said, underneath the word world, is the Greek word Cosmos. Which means like everything created. Just, as Jesus just isn't the light at this little room of our little demographic group of our little time in history. Even of our planet. Jesus is the light of the world of the entire Cosmos. This world does not cause Moss.

It's not talking about the physical creation. This word here is

What is this world word ion or something like that? Sort of, it's just left me, but it means, This age. Do not be conformed to this age. I know what the word is.

Do not be conformed to this age, this period of History. This, there's a group of people that you're living with. They will try to mold you into a shape resist that. That's what conform means. By the way, can form means to be molded into a shape when you have a lump of plastic and you put it into a mold, you end up with a lump of plastic, the plastic does not change. The atomic structure is the same. The color is the same. The weight is the same for the shape has changed. You've taken the existing material. You just pushed it in, you haven't changed the material. You only changed the shape of the material. Will this the age that we live in? Is trying to push us into a mole if you want to abide in Christ, if you want to be a Living Sacrifice, you need to resist that.

And this is hard, God's people have always called always heard the call of our society to be something a rather. In ancient times. God said to Israel, you'll never have a king because you don't need a king about him. This is what's going to make you unique. Israel. Says, I need a king. Why, why do I why does Israel want a king? That we may be like all the nations.

I don't want you to be part of this. I don't want you to be like all the other nations, what the call is still today know we are ending the sermon. Everything I about I'm about to say, is simply my opinion. I think I can root it in history. I cannot read it in scripture. So take it if it's valuable ignored, if it isn't. What I'd like to say next is our society has moved into a much more aggressive form. Of confirmation.

Our society is much more overt and aggressive in trying to get us to conform to their image than they were even 40 years ago. I want to give you some. Some illustrations.

This is the piece of art. That was the created and displayed. I think in 1987. What is this piece of art? It's a crucifix submerged in bodily, fluids. I'm not going to tell you what the artist called, this piece of work because it's very defensive but he took a crucifix. He submerged it in bodily fluids. He took a picture of it and that's his artwork. When this was displayed in 1987, a lot of people were offended, our group said we're offended. This is the savior of the world. You don't submerge him in bodily fluids and take a picture. The answer coming back from society was so you sensitive little babies. You need to understand that we live in a pluralistic society. You can't legislate truth. You can believe whatever you want. But you got to let other people believe what they want. When are they in a Christian Society anymore? We're in a pluralistic society. We need to make room for all points of view. So be as offended as you want, but the, the, the the work of art stands and it was displayed. Okay, so that's the way Society Works. Everyone gets to have a point of view. We need to make room for each other yet. That's all changed. These things are around 2020 that all been in the past couple of years. The president of this company says that he likes a certain president of the United States. Well, the mob has already decided that the president is a bad person. So the mob doesn't say, well, it's a pluralistic society. We all have to plan, that's your opinion. Would just have to make room for that. Not, they try to put them out of business.

This is what cancel culture is. This is, does anyone know who this is? This is JK Rowling the author of Harry Potter. She tweets, you know what I think. Call me crazy, but I think men are men and women are women. That biological fact is out of fashion. So people don't say they won't do your opinion. They started threatening her life. What I'm trying to say is in these forty years Society has displaced the judeo-christian ethic and replaced it with another ethic. And now that they're firmly entrenched. They are patrolling the Wilderness and making sure that we can for him. And if you don't conform, I'm going to take your job going to take your money. You're going to be under threat at. I'm going to make sure that you are destitute. There is a much more overt strong effort to conform us to another world. Specifically in three areas.

Race, we're still in the my opinion Park gender.

And physical expression. Parents. I'm using a code here.

And may, I say, my observation is the Evangelical World. Reacts one of two ways both of which are in error. In my opinion.

The first way we react is to we reject. We reject all of it. And may, I be honest, I think we reject because the Evangelical world is in a bad mood. For the past 40 years, we've been losing every battle that we can lose. We're losing on every social issue. We have no political power. It's reported. Our current prime minister said in a private meeting that Evangelical Christians are the worst part of Canadian Society. By the way, he has not confirmed. He said that we have one person who said, he said that I'm not saying you did say that. I'm saying that we feel under attack. We feel like we're kind of always given ground and we're like, I have a nest of hornets and we're in a bad mood. And when the world says something, we say no way we rejected without even listening.

The other reaction is to accept.

Sorry, what did you say about marriage? Okay, I'm in. What are all the cool people thinking friends? I don't think reject or accept is the answer. The answer.

Examine doesn't matter whether in a good mood or not. Doesn't matter. Whether we've just lost a ton of political battles. Does what the society saying, conform to scripture. If so, we're free to accept it and really get behind it. If it does not, we can not be conformed to the image of this world. This is why, by the way. Solid Bible teaching has never been more important. Because we need the skill to actually examine what the world is saying, through the lens of scripture. We don't have to be contrary on on everything. This is May. I just say this is what the Catholic Church did the Galileo. They thought the Bible said, the Earth is the center of the universe. It doesn't. But they thought it was Galileo says something and he has a whole bunch of rabbits. Don't don't bother me with the facts. Not interested. I just reject it because you're not part of us. By the way, here's a little tidbit. Do you know how long it took the Catholic Church to admit that that was the wrong decision?

the prince as soon as I saw the diagram, What are some Flex rods? It was a full year was New Year? It was three centuries. Could we just get entrenched in these friends? It's not about our tradition. It's about what the scripture say. And we cannot allow ourselves to be conformed, but we need a good operating understanding of scripture. We need gifted teachers. That's why we are so lucky to have doctor Carter. How many churches have a theologian in Residence? How many teachers, how many churches have the former head of the theology department at a major, Seminary come and teach them? We need a operating understanding of scripture so that we can evaluate what the world is saying, correctly, identify whether it conforms or not so that we don't get pushed into the mold of the world. If you want to abide in Christ, we need to resist this conforming fresher, which my point is, this is my opinion. It is much more over in 2020 than it was in 1980. this ends my point of view. And we're back in the scripture. There's two halves of the clan. There's the, do not have do not be conformed. What's conforming? You take the material and you pushed it into a different shape. Same material just different state. That's the Do Not part. Do not be conformed. The second part is be transformed. Transformed is totally different than conformed the root word here actually, see if I can figure out how to use an eraser. Here's a theory snow. I don't know how to erase the root word here.

Metamorphoo. Can you guess what word we get from metamorphoo?

Metamorphosis. This is when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, what a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. It is not taking the same material, but just changing the form is changing the material. Everything Changes. How many wings does a caterpillar have somehow butterfly dies? How did the number of legs is different? Antenna spread out where the Renault antenna before. This is not a resistance to be pressed into a different shape. This is an invitation to be made into a different person.

There's something very, very important.

About the verb tenses here. Notice be transformed. This is the picture of scripture and we all with unveil taste behold. His glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image. This is a picture of the Christian Life. We are being transformed as we yield to the Holy Spirit. We are being transformed into the image of Christ. Now, here's what I want you to notice is the 10th, the form of this verb being transformed. This is present tense, passive voice. We are the object. We are actually being transformed, but we are not the actor. We are being transformed, but we are not the ones that are causing the transformation. We are passive. The verb is talking about us. We are indeed the ones being transformed but what it is passive. We are not the ones transforming. Someone else is transforming us. I point that out because it's the same form here.

Conforming resistant, confirmation resisting the conforming effects of society. That's active. Do that build discipline into your life in a way that you will resist the conforming. But be transformed is just stay on the altar. Long enough to allow the Holy Spirit to transform you, you are not the transforming agent. You are the transform mean, not the Transformer. Passive voice. And when we do that, our minds are renewed and the word mine here refers to attitude.

It refers to thoughts. It refers to feelings.

It refers to actions all that is wrapped up in this word, mind. All of that is renewed. Not because we resist a confirmation that the conforming, a fax, but because the Holy Spirit transforms us and makes us into the butterfly with another different. We don't have the same number of eggs. We have wings, but we didn't use that. We are just completely different. These are two halves of the same truth. And that's why I discipline is required. This is the don't be conformed. Order your life in such a way that you will not be pushed into the world's mold. I say here resistance is not futile for the Star Wars Star Trek fans. And I hope you are all Star Trek Sans. But in the next Generation, there is a villain called the Borg and the Borg tagline is resistance is futile. We are so powerful. There's nothing you can do. Just give up. There's no point. Resistance is futile. Befriends resistance is not futile. We need to resist. This is our past. This is our active agent here, but also dependents, this is transformation.

And we don't transform ourselves. We just need to get on the Altar and stay there long enough.

People going in for operations. They're not operating on themselves. But they do need to stay on the table long enough for the surgeon to get his work done.

And it's exciting when we do these things. When we give ourselves to God constantly, when we resist the molding influence of the world, when we allow the Holy Spirit to metamorphoo us, something really exciting happens. That by testing you may discern, what is the will of God test by testing. You may discern is actually one word in the Greek and it means to test something and I find it to be good. Hey. David, is the grand piano in tune? I don't know. This is David. So we go over ding. Ding, ding, ding, ding. We play a couple of cords. It's in tune by testing. We found it to be good. We come up to an old car. Will it start? I don't know. Let's test that. You put the key and you started.

Some of my friends here in the church. There air conditioning, let out a couple of weeks ago. Okay, by testing, it was found not to be good and warm in here, honey. I was thinking the same thing is I think so. I hear it. Let me go up to the van here by testing. It was found not to be good. The air conditioner had to be replaced. But when we climb on the altar, when we resist being conformed, when we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us something, wonderful happened. We test God and we find them to be true more specifically. We find him to be good morally. Good.

Morally, excellent. We find that his will for our life. Is morally, excellent. We find it to be acceptable, which means pleasing to God.

And we find it to be perfect. Which means complete.

Wish I could I wish I could know that about the will of God for my life. I wish I knew that it was in really knew in my heart and my deepest bones. I knew that God's will for me was good and acceptable and perfect. There's a way to know that test it and find it to be good. How do I test it and find it to be good? Climb on the altar. Make yourself a Living Sacrifice resist. The conforming effects of the world stay on the table, long enough for the surgeon to complete his operation. What would that look like?

What would that look like? I'm interested. Pastor Don. What would I do right now? A fresh surrender. Today. I'm Yours. Christ Jesus, I am yours. Like I'm nobody else's. I m yours whatever. I've taken back. I now give again to you. Review the battle plan. How are you maintaining this abiding? What is your, what is your plan to avoid? Spiritual adultery? How are you going to meet him everyday? How are you going to examine, what the world is telling you? And leave moment-by-moment.

I'm going to ask David to leave in just a moment. But I want you I want to say that next week will be a very unusual service. There's no sermon next week. Next week is a rededication service. It's an opportunity for us as a church to climb on the Altar and give ourselves to God. Do be a group of deacons praying on behalf of the deacons board to give themselves to God a fresh to the work here. They'll be a group of congregants who will be prey on behalf of all the congregation and we will invite us all as a family to give ourselves to God a fresh. W Yang man to be baptized who will give himself to God in the waters of baptism. We will be celebrating communion an opportunity for each of us to steal our own hearts and to give herself a fresh to God. Next week will be an exciting week. It will be a week for us as a family and us as individuals to take Romans 12 1 and 2. And apply it to our life. Because the message of last week. Is the same as the message of this week? and the same of the message of next week and that message is Lord, I need you.