BE TRANSFORMED
TEXT: Romans 12:1-2
Today I am preaching from a text that I have used before. But I am preaching a message, coming from an angle… from which I have never looked at this passage before.
In fact, it started out to be one sermon, but as I worked on it, as the Holy Spirit worked on me… it morphed, changed, transformed into something entirely different.
Today I am not preaching a sermon… I am delivering a message that God has put on my heart.
I know it will not be well received… by some. In fact, I fully expect to get in some trouble with this sermon.
Not because I will say anything wrong… but because this sermon will be like a mirror, telling the truth, and some people will not like the truth
Turn with me to Romans 12:1-2, & listen to these words from the Apostle Paul:
“I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & 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 & approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing & perfect will.”
What is the first thing Paul urges Christians to do?
OFFER YOUR BODIES AS LIVING SACRIFICES
What is the most important thing you need if you are going to feed the poor… clothe the naked… give a cup of cold water to the thirsty… etc?
Food… clothes… water… right??
WRONG!!!
The first thing you need is… BODIES!!!
Hands, feet, mouths, backs… BODIES
Listen…
You need FEET to GO get the food
BACKS to CARRY the food… in and out
HANDS to BOX the food and give it away
HANDS to hang the clothes on hangers to give away
What is the most necessary thing if you are going to DISCIPLE Christians?
Bibles, books, lessons
WRONG!!! YOU NEED BODIES
You need FEET to go to those who need to be disciple
MOUTHS to teach the lessons
ARMS to carry the books
HEARTS to share with them
What is the most necessary things if you are going to evangelize?
I know you know… BODIES!!!
You need FEET to GO ye therefore
MOUTHS to Teach all nations
HANDS to BAPTIZE in the name of the …
MINDS to produce materials to teach them to observe all things
WALLETS to supply the materials
BODIES to go to the ends of the earth
The first step is to OFFER YOUR BODIES AS LIVING SACRIFICES
Sacrifice YOUR time… YOUR money… YOUR comfort
A living sacrifice is sacrificing watching your favorite show
So you can present your bodies
That sounds unreasonable to some of you
You don’t think God expects sacrifices today
God calls it “your reasonable service.”
Reasonable = makes sense… sounds right… logical
So the scripture says it is NOT ILLOGICAL or expecting too much that you would SACRIFICE… give up… go without things in your service to God.
In fact… it is perfectly logical
So with that in mind, let me ask some questions…
What did you sacrifice for God this week? Where did you feel the pain of loss or self-denial?
Perhaps you sacrificed the comfort of your couch and enjoying TV so you could attend church on Wednesday or Sunday night!
Perhaps you gave up your time so you could help with the food distribution!
Maybe you sacrificed some item you wanted to buy or place you wanted to go so you could give your tithe… or contribute to some benevolent cause!
Maybe you gave up an evening at home or going out to eat so you could come and help with the VBS workday!
Maybe you gave up part of your Sunday afternoon to come to choir practice!
Where did you sacrifice for God this past week? Where did you feel the pain? What did you give up?
Some of you are still saying, “That is not necessary, not reasonable, not logical.”
But God is saying, “It makes perfectly good sense to me.”
If it does not make good sense to you too… listen to verse 1 “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy…”
Paul is saying, “Now if you have trouble seeing why it is reasonable, let me suggest that you take a long, hard look at Jesus.
Look at the baby in the manger… What do you see?
SACRIFICE Jesus left the splendor of heaven, gave it up
Look at his HOUSE NONE--- gave it up… for you
His clothes 1 outfit--- gave it up… for you
WALLET empty --- sacrificed things of the world
Look at his BEATING Flogging, scourge
Look at the CROSS Dying, ultimate sacrifice
Look at Jesus and what do you see? Sacrifice and love
Why did He sacrifice? LOVE
His sacrifice makes no sense, unreasonable, illogical…
Except for the love
So why is it reasonable for us to sacrifice for Him? Love!!!
IN VIEW OF HIS MERCY (sacrifice)
Let me tell you what is NOT reasonable----
For you to sit at home in your comfortable house and forsake His house because it is inconvenient, it is raining, it is late
Do you think it was comfortable or convenient for Jesus to be ridiculed or spat on???
Unreasonable is the same 10 or 12 people having to do all the work for every event we have because other perfectly able members don’t have the time, but they have the time for shopping and for going to the beach
Jesus should have just sat on the sidelines, and waited for someone else to carry the cross
Unreasonable is the same handful of men having to serve as deacons over and over… in violation to the by-laws because perfectly capable men won’t get off their butts and serve… because they are mad about something someone did, or don’t like the way some things go, or because they are lazy
Do you think Jesus should have thrown the cross and asked his name to be removed from the list because people were cursing him?
Unreasonable is the number of empty pews here on every Sunday because no one felt it was important enough to bring someone to church with them… to invite their friends, their neighbors, or their family
TIME OUT!! Take a break!
Some of you are thinking… Something happened (or didn’t happen) this week that has Rick really ticked off!
No! Nothing happened or did not happen this week that has not happened or failed to happen for a long time… and Rick is not ticked off
RICK IS WORRIED!
Worried about THE church… the church as a whole
Worried about THIS church… FBC
But mostly, I am worried about YOU
One day you will stand before God as your judge and you are going to give an account of you sacrifices
You will be chastised for taking the easy road and refusing to sacrifice
You will lose rewards! You will be sorrowful, broken! You will wish you had done it differently. You will lament… “If only I’d known”
You will stand there in the splendor of heaven, in the radiance of His glory and you will see you pathetic little house and car and pile of stuff for which you work so hard… as a pile of rubbish and be broken that it seemed so important
If you could go back to earth and live for one more year… you would give it all away and go on the foreign mission field and no sacrifice would be enough
But you will not be allowed to come back to earth, no do over… and you will stand there heart-broken and broken to tears because you wasted the opportunity
YOU ARE GOING TO SACRIFICE…
Either you will hang onto the things in this world, building your little pile of stuff, enjoying your comfort and ease, refusing to sacrifice or give up anything you love
AND YOU WILL SACRIFICE YOUR REWARDS IN HEAVEN
Or you will give up your ease, your extra serving, your newer and better model, your time, your comfort in order to serve Jesus… and others
AND YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR REWARDS IN HEAVEN
YOU WILL SACRIFICE SOMETHING!!!
I’m not ticked off… I’m worried… for you
So I am going to help you. I’m going to help you be prepared to stand in the judgment, I’m going to help you sacrifice NOW
HOW??? By constantly reminding you
You will see two types of posters throughout the church building
At the top both will say “YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE”
One will ask you what sacrifices you have made, where you are giving something up.
((EXAMPLE))
The other one will inform you of opportunities to sacrifice
These will not guarantee that you will change your ways
But they will guarantee that you will not stand before the Judge and say, “If only I had known… If only someone had told me.”
