Romans 12 (Bryan and Kate)
- Teaching 12.7.10
- Romans 12:1
- “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.”
- Why does it say Therefore?
- It is continuing from the teachings before
- What are the mercies of God?
- God’s grace
- What is God’s grace?
- A free gift that is our choice to accept or not
- Freedom from His judgment
- He sent Jesus to die for our sin
- He is talking to people who have already accepted God’s grace
- Romans 10:9
- “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
- God’s grace
- “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
- Present your bodies as living and holy sacrifice
- He is referring to Jesus’ sacrifice
- Service of worship
- What is worship?
- Church every Sunday?
- Singing?
- Playing the organ?
- NO!
- All you have to do is give yourself over to the Lord
- This is a personal choice
- What is worship?
- I urge you
- You do not have to do it
- This will not determine if you go to hell or not
- It is a choice
- John 3:16
- “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
- Instead of being scared…
- Know that God loves us
- What gets in the way of us truly accepting God?
- Our ego
- Maybe you just want to preserve your right to sin
- Maybe you just do not trust God
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
- “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- So fulfilling
- Nothing in the Kosmos will ever fulfill you
- You will always want more
- “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Why does it say Therefore?
- “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.”
- Romans 12:2
- “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.”
- Either conform to the world or be transformed by the renewing of your mind
- Conform to the world
- Fitting into a mold (society, school, culture, etc.)
- When you live your life trying to fit into these certain molds
- It is a lot like collecting beer cans because…
- After you die, it does not matter anymore
- Your beer cans do no matter
- Being transformed
- Matthew 22:37
- “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.’”
- Your behavior is changed
- “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.’”
- You never really hear people talking about changing your mind
- To be transformed in your value system
- The Lord wants us to think and learn
- Gaining substantial knowledge!
- Something that is actually real
- A result of this is wisdom
- Understanding of a lot of things
- Different kinds of wisdom:
- World or God
- Matthew 22:37
- World vs. God
- God
- Needs are already met
- You can give to others (love, charity, serving, etc.)
- Not afraid to sacrifice
- Able to drop what is owed to you
- Perspective is eternal
- Build for eternity with the Lord
- Focus on eternal things
- You are confident in who you are and why you are here
- The Lord put you here to serve a purpose
- Spread His Gospel to all the nations
- You do not need others to approve you
- World
- Basis of fear that your needs are not going to be met
- You have to go out and manipulate others
- Keep doing this until your needs are met
- You build up barriers in yourself so no one can get it
- Perspective is temporary
- Going to do everything in your power to not have pain
- In this view, there is no after life
- You are so confused about who you are and why you are here
- You constantly need to be affirmed by others
- You feel like nothing
- Because you want this approval you fit into that mold
- God
- Psalms 14:1
- “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God ‘. They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.”
- You are always afraid that everything is going to collapse
- This is foolish
- “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God ‘. They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.”
- Proverbs 2:6
- “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
- Basis of wisdom is God
- God is solid ground and cannot be shaken
- You have got it made with God
- “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
- “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.”
- Comes down to being free and not being free
- When you are transformed with the Lord, you are being set free from the world
- But if you are still stuck in this conformity, you are still trapped
- You cannot have both because you are going to tear yourself in half
- What is at the center of your universe?
- The world OR the Lord
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