WORSHIP SERIES
Romans 12:1-2
A LIFE THAT WORSHIPS
We have been
talking about worship.
Worship is more
than singing for a few minutes on Sunday Morning.
Worship is more
than a church service or two.
Worship is more
than an occasional outburst of spontaneous praise to God.
Worship is to be a
way of life.
Everything I do
should be an act of worship to my God.
Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
All too often
people practice Christianity for what they can get out of it. Many a person has taken out what they think is a “fire insurance policy against hell”.
People often come
to church for what they can receive.
People measure a
church by how good the choir, special music, worship
team, or preacher are.
People make being
blessed the main goal of worship.
And one of the
great excuses for leaving a church has been, “I don’t get anything out of it.”
I submit to you
that being a blessing to God should be your first goal in church. Being a blessing to others should be your
second goal.
I want to share A Life That Worships with you this
morning. This is a continuation of our
thoughts from last week. Last week we
looked at the verses found just before Romans 12:1-2.
(See PRELUDE TO WORSHIP)
Our conclusion
last week was that only God is worthy of worship.
Paul continues his
thoughts in chapter 11 with the word “therefore” beginning chapter 12.
“Therefore”, that
is, because God’s Characteristics, because of God’s competence, because of
God’s completeness.
Paul was
commanding the Romans in the tenderest of ways.
And notice what he calls them – “BRETHREN!”
Paul is talking to
born again Christians, those who have put their faith in Christ as their
Savior.
Don’t think you
being a living sacrifice will get you into Heaven. It is faith in the sacrifice that was already
made for your sins by the Lord Jesus Christ that will get you into Heaven.
Paul is saying
that our lives should be lives that worship because of God’s mercies, many of
which were enumerated in Romans 1-11
Because of God’s
mercy in sending his son to die for us
Because of God’s
mercy in forgiving us
Because of God’s
mercy justifying us or declaring us righteous
Because of God’s
mercy of enabling us to live the Christian life
Because of God’s
mercy in making us “accepted in the beloved
Because of all of these
mercies, and more, we are entreated, we are encouraged, we
are beseeched to participate in a life that worships.
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RESPONSIVE
Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
A key part of
worship for the Jewish people in the Old Testament was that of offering
sacrifices.
In the temple, a
sacrifice was offered to God both in the morning and the evening of each day.
And besides these sacrifices there were many others offered, especially on holy
days.
When a Jew came to
God in worship he would often bring a sacrifice. Sacrifices were often offered
as atonement for sin.
The Old Testament
sacrifices were pictures and temporary coverings for sin until the great
sacrifice for sin was made on the cross of
Because of
Christ’s sacrifice for sin, it is no longer necessary to offer animals.
Hebrews
God has no need
for a dead sacrifice.
But when we come
to God, we should offer Him a living sacrifice. That living sacrifice is our
own body yielded to Him out of appreciation for what He has done. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Your body is the
Through Jesus’
death on the cross, your body has been purchased. You are no longer your own.
When you give your
body as a living sacrifice, you are laying down your life once and for all, and
then daily for your God.
This sacrifice is
to be a “holy” sacrifice.
Something that is
holy is set apart from sin.
Something that is
holy is set apart for God.
When the Jews
offered a sacrifice to God it was to be perfect, without any blemishes.
When the Jews
offered a sacrifice to God it was to be the best they had, not leftovers.
When the Jews
offered a sacrifice it was to be one that was acceptable unto God.
In fact when the
Jews offered a sacrifice that was less than the best, God did not like it.
Malachi 1:8
The sacrifices we
offer to God are to be holy and acceptable unto God. And considering all that God has done for
you, being a living sacrifice is the reasonable thing to do as an act of
worship before Him.
When we are living
sacrifices we are actually dying.
The dying that we
are doing is dying to ourselves.
And that’s exactly
what Jesus wants us to do. Luke 9:23-24
And as we die to
ourselves, we are allowing Christ through his Spirit to live through us.
Galatians 2:20
So what do I say
to God when I, as a Christian, present my body to Him as a living
sacrifice? I have had said something
like this.
·
Lord, here is my mind to think
as you would have me to think.
·
Here is my heart to beat only
for you.
·
Here are my eyes to see what you
would have to see.
·
Here are my ears to hear what
you would have me to hear.
·
Here is my mouth to speak for
you and to speak and sing praises to you.
·
Here are my arms to embrace
others in love.
·
Here are my hands to serve you
in doing good.
·
Here are my knees to bend to you
in prayer and adoration.
·
Here are legs to stand
righteously in this world.
·
Here are my feet to go wherever
you want me to go.
My friend, you can
not truly worship God unless you are truly surrendered to God.
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RENEWED
Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The world’s way of
thinking is nothing like God’s way of thinking.
·
The world tells us to look out
for #1, ourselves. God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love
the Lord our God with all hearts, souls and minds.
·
The world tells us to do
whatever feels good. God tells us to do
what is right.
·
The world tells us to get even, God says to turn the other cheek.
·
The world tells us to build up
wealth. God says to share our wealth with others.
·
The world tells us there are
many ways to Heaven. God says that there is only one way to Heaven.
The world’s system
is so powerful that it is easy for us as Christians to think the way the world
thinks and to act the way the world acts.
Instead of being
conformed to this old world, God wants us to be transformed. He actually wants us to undergo a
metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis
means “to be changed into another form”.
It is what happens
when a tadpole becomes a frog and a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.
We will stop
letting the world squeeze us into its mold as we allow God to transform our
thinking.
So how do we go
about having our minds transformed?
Please turn to 2
Corinthians 3:18
But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord.
A glass is a
mirror.
Have you ever
studied yourself in the mirror, taking the time to look at wrinkles, pimples,
and or gray hairs? Have you ever
examined your looks intently?
God wants us to
gaze into a different mirror.
He doesn’t want us
to gaze in a mirror to look at ourselves.
God wants us to
look into a mirror to gaze at Him and His Son and to be transformed by that
gaze.
He wants us to
gaze into the Word of God which is like a mirror.
The more I gaze into
the Word of God, the more I will see the glory of the Lord Jesus.
The more I see the
glory of the Lord Jesus, the more I will become like Him.
This will be a
gradual change, from “glory to glory”.
It will be a
change that will be caused by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God
uses the Word of God to change us.
Psalm 119:11, 80
Only the Spirit of
God can truly change us as we live a life that worships, one that responds to Him and becomes a
living sacrifice and one that is transformed by the renewing of the mind.
Such a
transformation by the word of God requires discipline.
There is the
discipline of actually trying to learn when the Word of God is taught or
preached.
There is the
discipline of memorizing and meditating upon the Word of God.
There is the
discipline of personal Bible study. That means we spend time in the Word by
ourselves. 2 Timothy 2:15
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RESOLVED
Romans 12:2 - …that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
A life that
worships requires discipline.
The discipline to
respond to the call to being a living sacrifice every day
The discipline to
have our mind renewed through our examination of God’s Word
Another word for
discipline is resolve.
Because I
appreciate what God has done in my life I must be resolved to prove in me, what
is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
Did you get that?
God’s will is
good.
God’s will is
acceptable.
God’s will is
perfect.
If you believe that,
you should be resolved to prove it true in your own life.
Worship should be
a way of life for you as a Christian.
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RESPONSIVE
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RENEWED
A LIFE THAT
WORSHIPS IS RESOLVED