A Life Dedicated to God

Hook:

I wanted to thank Pastor Daniel for the opportunity to preach today, we will be in Romans chapter 12. Pastor Daniel asked if I would preach on something dealing with worship. I have adopted John 3:30 to inform my thoughts about worship where “He must increase, but I must decrease”. And I think Romans 12 gives us a great glimpse of what it looks like to live a life dedicated to God.

As you are flipping, I wanted to share a quick story: Last year my college introduced a game to us that was opened to all students. It is called the spoon games. The premise of this game is that you receive a target and the goal is to tag that person with a spoon. Once that player is out, you then receive their target. Here’s the thing — this game continued throughout the entirety of the week, including whenever you are leaving class. There was a 5 minute buffer where you would be safe, but after that .. it was game on.

What was interesting about this is that I knew the person who had me as their target. So every time I would see this person, I would have to run away or hide. I finally got tired of running (because if you have known me long, you know I am NOT a runner) and I got tired of hiring. I finally called this person to let them know that I was ready to surrender. I just didn’t have time for the games, so I surrendered the game. Surrender. I’ve used that word as something silly in an illustration, but that word has some very impactful implications when it comes to our walk with Christ.

If we genuinely believe that “He must increase, but I must decrease”, then there HAS to be a level of surrendering. As we read Romans 12, think about how it is you can worship God through surrender?

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 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. 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.

MANY GIFTS BUT ONE BODY

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

CHRISTIAN ETHICS

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,, says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.,

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good

There is a lot here, but I think that there are some very important things that we can get from this text. Throughout Paul’s letter to the Romans, he addresses several key factors: the sinfulness of humanity, the pathway of righteousness, holy living, God’s plan for the Jews and how they fit into God’s plan, which brings us into Chapter 12 where Paul uses the word “therefore”.

Paul uses this word because he has previously made statements about all that God has done for his people, and so he says “therefore … I urge you”. He gives us throughout the book of Romans so much rich theology and so much doctrine, and now he is calling the Romans into action. The first thing that we should understand about how we should live our lives according to this passage is to be

A Living Sacrifice

Our true worship means that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice for the glory of God. This means that we dedicate the entirety of who we are as a total person to live for God’s honor. Let’s look at the first two verses to help us:

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 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. 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

How then do we become a living sacrifice? Well let’s consider verse 2. Disciples of Christ Jesus are to be different from our society which by the way is very far away from Christ. The things that our world says yes to that are contradictory to the gospel message should also contradict the way we live our lives since we are not to “conform to this age”.

But instead, we are called to live a transformational life by “renewing our minds”. What does it look like for you to renew your mind? Let me offer some suggestions: Prayer, Reading & Reflecting & Living Out God’s Holy Word, Worship, meditating on God’s greatness and the things he has and continues to do in and through His people.

In order to live a life that is reflective of someone who seeks to honor God we must be willing take the necessary steps to be a living sacrifice .. that means all things for the sake of the gospel… that means striving to live a life of holiness .... that means seeking God Himself. We must also seek to transform our minds. Both of these things will help us understand the next truth which is:

Many Gifts. One Body. His Church.

I find it interesting that Paul mentions the body of Christ immediately after writing about becoming a living sacrifice and renewing your mind. Being a living sacrifice and renewing your mind is LIFE ALTERING, so for Paul to immediately bring his attention to the church should show its significance. Let’s look beginning in verse 3.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness

Earlier I mentioned how part of what Paul wrote to the Romans was dealing with the sinfulness of humanity. And let’s remember who is writing this letter… a man who before having a transformational encounter with God would persecute Christians. Paul even said in another letter to Timothy that he was the worst sinner out there.

However, he starts the next section of scripture by saying that it was by the grace given to him that he share that you should not thing highly than you ought to. There is a level in which humility is necessary in order for you truly think wisely about yourself as a Christian and your function in the body of Christ.

Paul is calling up Christians to be humble and to use what God has given for the good of the body. We see this same theme throughout the New Testament. As a disciple of Christ Jesus, you have been given gifts to use for the good of others.

Last week we were celebrating the faithfulness of God in the past, in the present, and in the future. We looked at Psalm 90 and determined that God has gone before us and is continuing to guide us and mold us, but we also gave a challenge. We challenged each other to fully invest in serving Christ’s church. And here’s the thing, I am praying that you use the gifts that the Lord has given you to make up the body.

I am amazed at the many different types of opportunities there are to worship the King of all Kings simply by serving His Church. Everything from cleaning the church, serving in our age-graded ministries, serving in the music & media team, praying over church members, showing biblical hospitality, taking the initiative to disciple another man or lady. There is so much to be done to fully make up the body of Christ… how will you invest in what God is doing here at FBC Norco?

This. Serving His church, is part of what it means to be a living sacrifice. I am asking that each person within the sound of my voice to seek to honor God by using your gifts for one body which is His Church. Being a living sacrifice & using your gifts to build up His church will lead us to our last point which is to...

Live Honorably

Part of what Paul does here is he shares a list of things you can do in order to live a sacrificial life and to transform your mind. In other word’s he is getting very practical here. This is what he says beginning in verse 9.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,, says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.,

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good

Love well (love deeply as brothers and sisters, share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality, rejoice w/ those who rejoice & weep w/ those who weep [empathy], live in harmony)

Be enthusiastic about the things of the Lord (diligence in zeal; fervent in the Spirit; be persistent in prayer)

Be humble (do not be proud, do not be wise in your own estimation… [recognize that true wisdom comes from God — grow in your dependency in Him])

Do not seek revenge. Paul knew that Christians will often suffer hatred and persecution. He says to live at peace with everyone and to give God’s grace to a world of hostility. This is because it was written that Vengeance belongs to the Lord.

Look: What we really need to understand is going back to the first thing that Paul mentions — and that is to present yourself as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. Because of the things that he has done, he deserves our full surrender. He deserves for us to seek to serve Him and His Church and to live honorably.

Took: We are about to have a time to reflect, and we are about to sing a song that is newer, and it is a prayer that says “You’re the way, the truth, and the life. You’re the well that never runs dry. I’m the branch and You are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to abide. Let that be your prayer this morning. Ask the Lord teach you to fully surrender, live sacrificially and to abide in Him. I’m going to turn it over to Pastor Daniel as he prays us into this time of reflection.