Living Sacrifice

Acts & the Pauline Epistles • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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Transcript

Introduction

In case you haven’t noticed it live is hard. Living your life without Jesus being involved is even harder. Yet, what I’ve notices is that there are times in my life when I just want to do things my own way. I don’t want to listen to God and I don’t understand what it means to live a life.

If you have your Bibles I want to encourage you to turn with me to .

Romans 12:1-

Romans 12:1–2 NIV84

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.

Living Sacrifice

Mercy

Paul has been talking about God’s mercy for the past 11 chapters. Now because we have experienced God’s mercy in our life we ought to be motivated to live differently.

Living Sacrifice

There are a number of problems with being a living sacrifice. First problem:

Holy

If we are going to be a living sacrifice we need to be living holy lives—that is seeking to live our lives in accordance to the Word of God! I know we can’t be truly holy—but that it the aim or goal.

Pleasing to God

This is a great question—are our lives pleasing to God? Is He pleased with how I live and the things that I do?

Living Sacrifices Don’t Like Pain

This is a huge problem. If I’m a living sacrifice then when the fire begins to get hot, I have a tendency to crawl off the altar—should I say run away from the altar?

Spiritual Act of Worship

“Spiritual”

Some translations translate “spiritual” as “reasonable.” It can mean this, and I like that translation better. Being a living sacrifice is reasonable. It is not something out of the ordinary, it is not something that we shouldn’t expect.

Act of Worship

We hear a lot about worship today. One thing you often don’t hear is that worship is actually living our Jesus in our world!

Being a living sacrifice—giving your life to Jesus is a reasonable act of worship.

Do Not Conform

We are told that we no longer need to conform to the pattern of this world.

The idea here is that we do not need to be pressed into the world’s mold. We should be molded to show Jesus.

Ever seen a jello mold? You take the hot jello and pour it into the mold. When it cools you can pop it out and it looks just like the mold. Well, the world wants to pour you into its mold and then when you cool down you can be popped out and look just like the world.

We are NOT to look like the world. We are to look like Jesus. But how? How do we do this?

Be Transformed

Renewing of Your Mind

First step is changing what your mind focuses on. We renew our mind when we focus our mind on God and His Word.

As we renew our mind we are told we will understand what God’s will is for our lives.

Proper View of Self

Romans 12:3–6 NIV84

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

:3-

We are to have a realistic picture of who we are, and not begin to get a big head about things.

Use Our Spiritual Gifts

God gave us spiritual gifts so that we could serve Him. Whatever our gift is we need to use it to build up those around us!

Paul is going to keep adding to this list of things that help us transform to be like Jesus.

Love

Romans 12:9-13

Romans 12:9–13 NIV84

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Love

Sincere love not this fake stuff the world has to offer.

Hate Evil/Cling to Good

Boy that says it all!

Be Devoted to Each Other

Notice here he uses the term for brotherly love. We are to look out and care for each other in a special caring way.

Honor Others Above Yourselves

This sounds a lot like

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

Don’t lack Zeal

We need to have a passion and excitement about Jesus. This excitement and passion (zeal) should be easily seen by everyone!

Joyful, hopeful, patient, and faithful in prayer

This is a mouth full. We are to be joyful no matter what hits us—because we have hope.

We should be patient—enduring—when we experience affliction.

And IN EVERYTHING we should be praying!

Share with the needy

We should be concerned about those in our fellowship and in the Church (world wide) who are in desperate need. And when we care about this it should spark action—our giving to help meet the need.

Practice Hospitality

Be gracious people who open their homes and lives to people.

Now if Paul stopped there we would be a busy group of people. But he doesn’t. He goes on.

Romans 12:14–16 NIV84

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Romans 12:14-16

Bless those who persecute you.

We are told we need to bless those who wrong us and not persecute them.

Rejoice and mourn

We are to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. At the same time we are to mourn with those who are mourning.

Live in Harmony

This is within the context of the Church. With fellow believers we are to live in harmony. The fighting and arguing that happens between believers, denominations, etc. should not happen.

Don’t be proud

Nothing is too good for you and I to do. There should be nothing below us!

Don’t be Conceited

This is kind of a repeat so it must be important.

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed—you should be, because living up this list is tough. But Paul doesn’t stop there. Continue reading!

Romans 12:17–20 NIV84

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 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.”

Romans 12:17-2

No Pay Back

We can’t repay evil with evil!

Do What Is Right

In everyone’s eyes. We are to work at being careful to do what others would consider to be right, even if it costs us everything.

Live at Peace with Everyone

I love this verse. Paul tells us as far as depends with you—work to live at peace.

No Revenge

We don’t take revenge because when we do we keep God from taking out vengeance.

Now Paul sums up how we need to live our lives. Trust me when I say if you didn’t hear anything else I’v said, listen to these words from Paul.

Romans 12:20–21 NIV84

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.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.