A Life of Worship.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Welcome to Village Church. [0:01] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:03] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:05] And as always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:09] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Romans chapter 11. [0:13] We’re going to cover part of what we covered last week and then move into chapter 12.

[0:17] So we’re going to be starting in Romans 11, 33. [0:20] And then by God’s grace, we’ll get through verse 2 of chapter 12. [0:25] So we’re going to be transitioning into a section of Romans. [0:29] Which is really what is part 2 of the whole book of Romans, which is going to be about [0:35] how to live out the faith in Jesus that has been described in the first 11 chapters of [0:42] the book of Romans.

[0:43] But Paul has summarized there the effect of the knowledge of God on our lives. [0:49] And so in the last three verses of Romans 11 here, what you see is Paul’s reaction [0:57] to the knowledge of how God has worked in the gospel of Jesus. [1:02] And so all through these chapters, what Paul has unpacked is the reality that God has [1:07] created us to live a certain way. [1:10] We were designed to live in worship of Him, and in rebellion we have instead robbed Him

[1:16] of the glory that He deserves and sought to turn focus onto ourselves, sought to turn [1:23] worship onto ourselves, and sought to find our satisfaction in either being self-absorbed [1:30] or really trying to find your own satisfaction through the worship of other things in this [1:35] world. [1:36] And God’s response to that was that He’s not going to lose His glory. [1:41] But instead of just condemning us all, finding justice for our sin by sending us all to

[1:48] God’s response is that He has always had a plan to redeem us from our sin. [1:53] And then on the cross of Jesus Christ, what you find is that justice and mercy meet in [1:59] perfection as only God could do so that the penalty for our sin is poured completely onto [2:06] God, the Son, Jesus Christ, and He substitutes Himself for us, takes the wrath of God onto [2:12] Himself so that there can be justice for sin but also mercy for you and me. [2:18] And then through faith in Jesus, we can be restored to a right relationship with God.

[2:26] And Paul’s response to God’s sovereign plan from before the foundation of the earth is [2:32] seen starting in verse 33. [2:33] So look there with me. [2:35] He says, Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are [2:42] His judgments, how inscrutable His ways. [2:45] For who has known the mind of the Lord, who has been His counselor, who has given a gift

[2:51] to Him that He might be repaid? [2:53] For from Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. [2:58] To Him be glory forever. [3:01] Amen. [3:03] And so Paul steps back from all the information that he’s given us thus far in Romans, the [3:08] whole story of redemption in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[3:12] And he just responds in the only way that if you trust in Jesus, you can respond. [3:18] And that is to step back and say, God is amazing. [3:22] God has never come to me for advice. [3:24] God doesn’t need anything from me. [3:27] God doesn’t want anything from me other than faith and worship. [3:31] And He has given over to me everything that I could ever want, everything that I could

[3:36] ever need through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. [3:42] Because you see, friends, faith is the only thing that can give God glory. [3:47] You see, faith puts all of your trust in what God has done and is doing rather than in yourself. [3:54] A life without faith is a life that can’t give God any glory because it’s all about [4:01] you. [4:02] When you trust in God’s plan, though, and His power to complete that plan and His mercy

[4:09] for you in that plan, then and only then are you free to give God’s glory. [4:16] And that’s what Paul’s response at the end of chapter 11 is all about, is that God is [4:22] the center of everything. [4:25] He’s worthy of the focus of everyone. [4:29] And He is the greatest being in the universe. [4:33] He’s the wisest being in the universe.

[4:35] He’s got more knowledge than anyone could ever contain. [4:37] And He needs absolutely nothing from me. [4:44] Nothing. [4:46] You know that you cannot hope to really have faith until you realize that fact. [4:55] That God has never looked to me and said, you know, Steve, you’ve got some things that [5:01] I really need in my life.

[5:04] God has never looked to me and said, Steve, you just did something in such an incredible [5:08] way. [5:09] It’s better than I could have done it. [5:10] Can you really take me through the steps of how you accomplished such a wonderful thing? [5:15] God’s never done that, nor will He ever do that. [5:19] And for some of you, that would be the worst news that you could ever have, is that God

[5:25] doesn’t need you because you want to be special. [5:28] You want to be the center of something. [5:31] You want to be God’s focus. [5:33] You want to be His intention. [5:35] You want to be the most wonderful part of His plan, the most wonderful part of His universe. [5:41] But from that position, you cannot step back and worship God.

[5:46] You can’t because you’re self-absorbed. [5:50] From that kind of attitude, you may even look at Romans 11, 33 through 36 and you say, [5:55] man, who does God think He is? [5:58] God seems to be the one that’s self-absorbed. [6:01] I mean, isn’t this a little narcissistic? [6:05] Depth and riches and wisdom and knowledge from Him, through Him, to Him, all things.

[6:09] Well, what in the world, God is stuck on Himself. [6:12] Well, who’s He supposed to be stuck on?

[6:16] You?

[6:19] And when we really boil down what the center of our focus in life is, that’s really the [6:26] place that we get to, is God’s desire and God’s intention for glory and His refusal [6:32] to accept anything less than your worship for all of who He is. [6:37] Your main problem with that is, is it takes you off of the throne and puts Him on the [6:42] throne of your life.

[6:45] You see, friends, number one this morning, I want you to understand that worship transforms [6:48] the way that you live. [6:50] Worship transforms the way that you live. [6:53] When you see the wonderful plan of God in the book of Romans and you see all of the [6:59] information because you need the information to ever hope to get to the things that you [7:05] need to do in your life, because without them, you’re doing them for all the wrong reasons.

[7:12] So He gives us this information, tells us of what went wrong, tells us of how God has [7:18] made it right, tells us of how God’s plan is so huge and His power is so immense that [7:25] nothing can ever undo His plan.

[7:30] When you look at that and you say, what a good God, what a powerful God, what a wonderful [7:38] God, what a God worthy of all of my trust, what a God worthy of all of my allegiance, [7:43] what a God worthy of me submitting to Him and actually living a life that He has designed. [7:49] The only response that you can have if you trust Him for what He actually is is what [7:58] Paul does at the end of chapter 11. [8:01] But then it doesn’t stop there.

[8:03] Look in Romans 12.1. [8:07] He transitions from this moment of worship in Paul’s life and he says, I appeal to you [8:12] therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, [8:18] holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [8:23] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that [8:28] by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

[8:37] See, if you’ve spent a lot of time in church in your life, that might be a verse that you’re [8:48] kind of the battle cry verses. [8:50] This is what we look to when we say, you know what, I want to live for God. [8:54] I want to be a living sacrifice. [8:55] I don’t want to be conformed to the world. [8:57] I want to be transformed.

[8:58] I want my mind renewed. [9:00] I want to live for God. [9:01] You look to these, but the problem is that in that focus when all that we have is the [9:08] battle cry, without the foundation upon which the life of that battle cry is supposed to [9:13] be built, we end up attempting to live for God for all the wrong reasons, for all the [9:20] wrong motives.

[9:22] Did you know that you’ve got some pretty faulty motives for a lot of the things that [9:25] you do?

[9:28] Some of you would say, you know what, I am living Romans 12, 1 and 2. [9:31] I am involved in so much service. [9:34] I’m involved in so much charity. [9:36] I sponsor children every month. [9:38] I give $5 a week to feed the world. [9:41] I am doing some wonderful things.

[9:43] A lot of times when you do stuff like that, your motive kind of makes it impossible to [9:49] worship through it because your motive is really about you.

[9:54] You just do a lot of good things because it makes you feel good about yourself.

[10:00] How is God getting any worship out of you doing something to feel better about yourself? [10:09] He’s not. [10:12] You see, that takes us to the root of the issue of realizing that God doesn’t need [10:19] anything from you and neither do you. [10:23] So the answer is stop doing things to make you feel better about you and find the proper [10:32] motivation for why you need to do those things.

[10:36] So what is the proper motivation? [10:39] And that’s what Paul starts us with in verse 33 of chapter 11. [10:45] God is the only legitimate motivation for doing anything good in this world. [10:53] He’s it. [10:53] It’s not that you don’t need to do things, it’s that you need to do them for the right [10:58] reasons and the only way to find out is for you to actually hit rock bottom on yourself.

[11:04] You think that the answer is that you need to pick me up. [11:07] You need to do something to feel better about yourself. [11:10] What Paul does in the first 11 chapters of Romans is, is he spends a few chapters actually [11:15] beating you down off of your perch. [11:18] And he says the answer for you to get your life in order is not for you to keep doing [11:23] these things so that you feel good all of the time or so that you feel good about yourself.

[11:27] It’s actually to realize that apart from God, you are worthless.

[11:34] Because you’re not living as you were designed by God to live. [11:40] And it is only from that position when you realize that God is not all about me. [11:48] God is about his glory and I can get the benefit of his glory if I will trust in him. [11:55] It is only then that you can build a life worth living and a life of worship. [12:02] Because worship ultimately is about assigning worth to something.

[12:09] So as long as you’re trying to feel worthy, you’re not worshiping God.

[12:17] I mean, foundationally when we get to the bottom of things, [12:21] worship is all about giving value to something in your life. [12:24] And if you want to find out what you’re actually worshiping in your life, [12:27] it’s not about stepping back and just singing a song. [12:29] It’s actually about looking into life and seeing what you’re actually doing. [12:33] Because when we get to thirty three through thirty six, we’re like, man, that is wonderful.

[12:37] When we sing the songs here on Sunday morning, we’re like, man, I feel like I am worshiping God right now. [12:43] But then Paul kind of takes this turn and he’s like, wait a second, it’s not just about what you say. [12:48] It’s actually about what you’re doing in your life. [12:52] How are you living a life of worship? [12:54] And when we’re really honest, when we exit these doors and we get into, you know, real life, [13:02] what you actually do with the majority of your time,

[13:05] you may have a problem bringing faith and worship together to figure out how you’re actually supposed to worship God through your job, [13:15] how you’re supposed to worship God in your house, how you’re supposed to worship God, raising kids, loving your spouse, [13:21] living as a good neighbor in your neighborhood, trying to reach people, to just build relationships. [13:26] You might actually struggle in those things. [13:29] And that’s why Paul transitions here. [13:32] Because if I want to find out what you actually are giving value to in your life,

[13:38] what you’re actually assigning worth to in your life, I just need to look at two things. [13:43] What are you doing with your pocketbook and what are you doing with your time? [13:47] Because those are the things that you’re really worshiping with your life. [13:50] Because you are assigning a value to. [13:54] And the things that you assign the most value to are the things that you spend, number one, the most time on, [14:01] and number two, the most money on.

[14:05] Because if you want to know what you’re worshiping, that’s what you need to look at. [14:10] For some of you, it’s a career. [14:11] For some of you, it’s a person. [14:13] For some of you, it’s a sport. [14:14] For some of you, it’s an identity. [14:16] For some of you, it’s numbers about a sport on a computer in fantasy land.

[14:24] But whatever it is that you assign worth to, that is literally what you are worshiping.

[14:32] When you trust Jesus, you see that God is most worthy. [14:38] He looks at the end of chapter 11, he says, from him, through him and to him are all [14:44] thanks to him be glory forever. [14:48] This is the only adequate response to God’s great work throughout history and all of the promises that he makes. [14:56] Note that it is not begrudging or hesitant. [15:01] Paul’s reaction to the gospel.

[15:03] Note that it is a natural reaction that when he finishes the story of the gospel, he steps back and he just looks to God and he says he is worthy. [15:14] He has the most value. [15:16] He is the greatest being with the greatest plan and the greatest power and the greatest work through Jesus. [15:24] It gives him ultimate value. [15:26] And then he looks to us and he says, you are to assign value to him.

[15:33] And it’s literally looking into the work of God and seeing its beauty and its wonder for the first time. [15:39] It is all it is amazement. [15:41] It is joy. [15:42] Paul saw the work of God and found the joy that his life had always been looking for, yet had always looked in the wrong places for. [15:52] And this is what the gospel of Jesus has for us. [15:55] I mean, have you ever thought about the gospel or heard the gospel or read the word of God and gotten to a place where Paul is at the end of 33 through 36?

[16:06] Has it ever created amazement? [16:09] Has it ever created awe? [16:10] Have you ever looked at it and said, there is the source of joy that I’ve always been looking for, yet haven’t found because I’ve been looking everywhere else. [16:19] But in God is where it is. [16:22] And if you haven’t, why haven’t you?

[16:26] You may say, well, I don’t fully understand every detail of what God has done. [16:31] And maybe that’s my problem. [16:34] Friend, we don’t need to understand everything to praise the God who does understand everything. [16:39] And that’s Paul’s point. [16:42] That’s why his joy is so full. [16:46] Paul found the God who does understand every detail and has even ordained those details.

[16:53] There is a God with absolute authority and the gospel shows enough of his power and glory that I can trust fully in it and find absolute joy in it. [17:03] Paul came to an audacious place in his life and he actually admitted, I don’t have all the answers.

[17:09] But praise God, there’s a God who does have all the answers.

[17:16] You see, maybe the problem is, is that God is offending you because he wants you to change the reality and he wants you to admit for the first time in your life that you’re not the answer to your problems.

[17:30] That you don’t have the answer for your problems. [17:34] You don’t know the reason for everything that happens in this world. [17:39] Maybe God, through the gospel, is showing us that there is someone higher than us with a greater attention span than I have, with a greater focus than I have, with a wider scheme than I have, with more understanding that I have. [17:55] And he wants me to understand that while I may not understand everything, he does understand everything. [18:02] So I need to take my focus off of myself and put my focus on him and admit while I don’t have all the answers, I trust that you do. [18:10] And because of that, I will follow you.

[18:17] That’s the source of worship.

[18:21] That’s the place of wonder. [18:24] That’s the place of awe. [18:27] See, too many of us are trying to make God measure things our way and meet our standards. [18:33] And at the end of the day, wouldn’t that mean that we are God? [18:37] At least we’re trying to be God.

[18:41] You see, Paul then goes to a therefore. [18:45] The first question that always needs to be in your mind is, what is the therefore therefore? [18:50] This transition into Romans 12 is vital. [18:53] Paul is making an appeal based on everything that has just been taught. [18:58] He looks and he says, I appeal to you therefore. [19:02] In other words, I beg you, I plead with you.

[19:06] I’m asking you to do something with everything that I’ve just said, not just in the three verses previous, but in the first 11 chapters.

[19:17] Because everything that Paul has said is true, it needs to have an effect on your life. [19:25] Worship is not an expression of all that you walk away from to the life you have always lived. [19:33] Paul says that if God catches your attention, if God catches your trust, if God captures your faith and you focus on him [19:42] and you say this wonderful pantheon of praise from him, through him, to him, are all thanks to him be glory forever. [19:49] Amen. So be it. [19:51] All right, I got to go.

[19:54] It’s not faith.

[19:57] It’s just if God has actually done that work in you, if you actually have faith in Jesus, it will cause a change in your life that radically begins a work in all of your life.

[20:12] This new worship necessitates change. [20:16] A life of ongoing change. [20:19] John Maxwell puts it this way. [20:21] He says, when you’re through changing, you’re through. [20:25] You’re done. [20:27] You must continue in change if you hope to follow Jesus in faith.

[20:33] Worship is a realization of the life that you’ve always been looking for, that God has done everything for you to have. [20:41] It is defining and then finding the most valuable thing in the entire universe and then defining your life by that thing. [20:50] The gospel transforms your vision for life as real faith. [20:56] That’s why they use terms like transformed sacrifice. [21:01] So I Jesus calls it being born again. [21:03] So I theology calls it regeneration is because it is a life change.

[21:11] It changes you to actually obey God. [21:15] Because number two this morning, obedience is worship.

[21:20] Obedience is worship. [21:22] You know the gospel in creating a new life actually looks to you and says you actually need to do something for your life. [21:30] And see, here is where some of our struggle comes. [21:32] Here’s where some of our tension comes. [21:34] Because in the first half of Romans, our works are kind of looked down upon. [21:41] You can work and you can work and you can work and you can obey and you can obey and you can obey and you’ll never earn God’s favor.

[21:49] You will never earn forgiveness. [21:51] You will never be redeemed from your sin by the work that you’ve done. [21:55] And that’s the point. [21:56] That’s the gospel is it’s by faith. [22:00] You can never earn your salvation. [22:03] We can never be so obedient to the commands of God that it wipes the debt of our sin away.

[22:09] Redemption in Jesus, though, does exactly what we need. [22:14] Faith in Jesus wipes the debt of our sin away and gives us a new debt free life to live worshiping God. [22:21] Since God has done this great work, we can now obey him through proper motivations.

[22:28] See, most of us, we struggle to understand the place of obedience in the life of Christ because we don’t understand the wrong motivation and the right motivation. [22:37] See, most of us obey for one of three reasons. [22:42] First reason is, is that we obey because we’re trying to work off our sin. [22:47] Well, I’ve done some pretty bad things, so I’ve got to earn some of God’s favor. [22:51] So I’m going to go to the charity drive or I’m not going to cuss for a week or I’m going to give up alcohol for a month or or I’m going to not watch bad movies for a couple of weeks because I need to work off some of that bad stuff.

[23:06] Or we obey God just to feel better about ourselves. [23:11] It’s therapy for us. [23:13] It’s a way of just doing something good and actually, all right, I feel much better about myself now. [23:19] We’re number three. [23:21] We do good things. [23:23] We obey God or we reach some moral standard of obedience because we want everybody to look at us.

[23:30] We want to be seen as moral. [23:32] We want to be seen as an upstanding citizen. [23:34] But all three of those motivations are totally bankrupt because the root of all three of them is you.

[23:42] And that’s what the gospel has actually come to rid us from. [23:45] So what is the answer? [23:46] No obedience. [23:48] No, the answer is always proper obedience. [23:51] There was a time in my life where I actually obeyed out of absolute fear. [23:56] I was afraid that if I didn’t do good things, God was literally going to kill me.

[24:01] There was a period of my life where I literally thought that’s how you got diseases, is that you send enough. [24:07] And so God struck you with a terrible disease and you ended up dying homeless and addict, however. [24:12] But it’s always you did this one bad thing and there was a domino effect to absolute condemnation. [24:18] And so I would obey out of absolute fear of this God who’s standing up there waiting to zap me. [24:26] And he was he had his finger on the button. [24:28] It was just hovering there.

[24:29] I was like, do one more bad thing, Steve. [24:32] Say one more bad word. [24:34] I’ll have one more bad thought, Steve. [24:36] I’m going to push it and then you’re going to get Ebola. [24:41] And it’s over for you, buddy.

[24:45] So my obedience was just because I was afraid and I was so afraid because I knew I had this debt of sin. [24:54] But the reality is, is that that is not what Paul appeals to here, because what Paul is saying is now that your sins have been forgiven, now that you have trusted in Jesus, you have a different motivation. [25:07] Look to what Paul says in verse one. [25:08] He says, I appealed to you, brothers, by the mercies. [25:13] Of God.

[25:17] He doesn’t come to me and he says, Steve, I’m begging you. [25:19] He’s going to kill you. [25:22] Obey. [25:23] Now he comes to me and says, in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in light of this wonderful mercy that we have in the cross, in light of the kindness of God from Romans two, that leads us to repentance. [25:36] Yes. [25:37] Sin is something that was bringing condemnation into your life and was ultimately going to destroy you forever.

[25:43] But now that is not hanging over your head because Jesus took the wrath of God. [25:48] Jesus took the penalty for your sin. [25:50] So now I can literally walk through life with absolutely zero fear of any condemnation from God.

[26:00] Paul says, since that’s gone, look to his mercy. [26:05] The motive for the Christian life of obedience to Jesus is gratitude for grace. [26:13] Now that nothing is hanging over your head telling you that you have to obey to make up for all the bad things that you’ve ever done. [26:21] You can obey God out of a pure motive. [26:25] And that motive is one of worship.

[26:29] I obey God because he’s so valuable to me. [26:33] When Paul appeals to us by God’s mercy, it creates a motivation of worship for our obedience. [26:40] It’s not one of drudgery. [26:42] It’s not one of forced labor.

[26:46] View of Romans eight says there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [26:51] Fear is not our motivation here. [26:54] Thankfulness for complete forgiveness and reconciliation is the motive. [26:59] If there is no condemnation for anyone who has faith in Jesus, then I don’t have that to fear.

[27:08] Because I think sometimes we get so used to a fear based economy of obedience because, let’s be honest, as parents, sometimes that’s all we’ve got going for us is that we’re bigger and stronger. [27:21] So we’ll use that. [27:22] And don’t get me wrong. [27:23] I’ve been there a few hours ago, maybe like five minutes ago. [27:29] We just got to get that look.

[27:32] Well, they’re doing something and that. [27:34] Hey, stop that. [27:36] Hey, now you be good. [27:39] Hey, now that’s not the way a good boy acts, is it? [27:41] You stop it. [27:44] I will rain down fury.

[27:48] Don’t act like you haven’t been there. [27:50] This is a safe place because you all a bunch of sinners, man.

[27:57] Sometimes when we get there, it’s just like, oh, man, so we begin to kind of internalize and we think, well, that’s the only motivation for obedience. [28:06] So that’s the kind of God. [28:08] That’s what God is banking on, because as much bigger and stronger as I am than my kids at this point in my life, God. [28:17] And that is a factor in understanding of why we need the gospel of Jesus Christ. [28:22] But once you have the gospel of Jesus Christ, guess what? [28:26] All anger is gone.

[28:29] All wrath is taken away. [28:31] You don’t have to fear racing, facing the wrath and fury of God that we saw in Romans, chapter two. [28:37] Instead, Paul looks to us and he says, now look at the mercy. [28:45] Look at the forgiveness. [28:47] Look at the grace. [28:49] You are to live a life of joy.

[28:53] You obey God because he is so good. [28:59] So now when I look at obeying God and I look at everything that Paul has informed me of through the first 11 chapter of Romans, I look at it and I say, man, I deserve hell. [29:10] But he has put that on to his son so that I will never have to face it. [29:15] He could do it. [29:17] He’s in control. [29:18] I mean, the far the foundations of the earth, God has planned this wonderful plan of salvation.

[29:24] What an amazing God, an amazing Savior, what an amazing King. [29:27] He’s in absolute control with absolute power, absolute knowledge, absolute wisdom. [29:33] And he responds to my sin with grace. [29:36] And you step back and you say, oh, how inscrutable are his ways, his ultimate knowledge, ultimate wisdom, ultimate goodness. [29:46] He doesn’t need me. [29:48] He’s never looked at me instead.

[29:49] Steve, you’ve got some great gifts that I could really use in my life. [29:54] And so he doesn’t need me from him, through him and to him are all things. [29:58] He’s a wonderful God.

[30:02] You stand before him and you say, you are more valuable to me, Father, than anything else in this world. [30:08] What do you want from me?

[30:12] What do you ask? [30:15] I want to do whatever it is because you are so good.

[30:23] That is an attitude of worship. [30:28] You see, friends, faith in the gospel does not remove our need to obey God. [30:36] It actually gives you the only proper motive for obeying God. [30:43] You say that again. [30:44] Faith in the gospel does not remove a need to obey God. [30:50] It actually gives you the only proper motive for obeying God.

[30:56] Because God is pleased with us, we can live a life that pleases God. [31:05] Do not be as those who cheapen the gospel by saying gives us a lease to sin without repercussions. [31:12] If that is your understanding of the gospel, then there’s no faith in it. [31:17] Paul gives us a robust gospel, tells us in Galatians 1, 3 through 4, grace to you, peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to do what? [31:30] To deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. [31:36] So he sees us in our wickedness and through faith, he wants to bring us out of that life and transfer us over into a life in which we live for his kingdom, for who he is, in worship of him for what he has done for us.

[31:56] And then we actually have the opportunity to have our lives changed so that we can live for the will of God. [32:06] But that’s going to involve what many look at as a dirty word.

[32:14] Sacrifice.

[32:18] Look in chapter 12, verse one again, he says, I appeal to you by this mercy, by this wonderful gospel, this life changing gospel to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. [32:31] See, until now, it’s been cerebral. [32:35] Until now, it’s basically been classroom theory. [32:39] Until now, you’ve been just sitting in the classroom, absorbing the information of the gospel, having your vision changed, having your viewpoint changed, having the way that you view your life and the world around you changed and your relationship with God changed. [32:55] And here in Romans 12, Paul makes the transition and he says, now let’s take what you believe to be true about God and let’s actually live it out with our bodies and present your body as a sacrifice. [33:14] See, the scripture is obsessed with sacrifice.

[33:18] I mean, look at the Old Testament, just sacrifice upon sacrifice upon sacrifice. [33:23] I mean, it’s as if all day, every day they were making sacrifices and not just the kind of sacrifices that you might think about, not just giving up something for a couple of weeks and calling it a sacrifice. [33:34] We’re talking about literal death. [33:37] We’re talking about literal blood, because that was the only picture that God could give us for just how ugly our sin is to him. [33:47] For just how costly our sin is to our lives that literally sin will kill you. [33:57] So through those animals, he showed that every death of every animal is a picture of what your sin is doing to your life and doing to the way that God designed this world to work.

[34:11] And then we find out that those deaths were a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice, the death of God, the Son on the cross that the book of Hebrews says is to be the sacrifice once for all. [34:25] No more sacrifices needed, no more death to be had for any sin. [34:30] If you come to Jesus through faith, but then you say, but here’s a sacrifice.

[34:36] But what’s the difference?

[34:39] After the death of Jesus, we see not a sacrifice that leads to death, but a sacrifice that leads to life. [34:50] He calls it a living sacrifice.

[34:55] He says, when you present yourself over to this God that you have trusted, every sacrifice that you think that you are making is actually gaining you more and more life. [35:10] Because what you’re actually going to find that you are doing is, is that you are leaving behind a less than life for a more than God.

[35:20] As you follow Him as you obey Him, you find out more and more of his goodness. [35:27] You find out more and more of his wonder. [35:30] You find out more and more of his power. [35:32] You find out more and more of his holiness. [35:35] As you learn more about Him, you will learn more about yourself and you will learn more about your sin and you will learn more of the changes that need to be made. [35:44] So you will offer more and more sacrifices of yourself to God.

[35:49] As J.I. Packer puts it, and as all of those three things grow, you will follow God more.

[35:57] And he says your sacrifice is to be holy and acceptable to God. [36:01] And you say, there it is, I don’t know how to do that. [36:04] Here’s the best news in the world. [36:07] Jesus already did.

[36:11] You see, you don’t have to do anything to make yourself worthy of sacrificing to God. [36:15] Jesus has already done it. [36:18] You don’t have to do anything to make yourself holy enough for God. [36:22] Jesus has already done it. [36:24] You don’t have to do anything to make sure you’ve got the right kind of animal, [36:28] or the right kind of this, or the right kind of that,

[36:31] or make sure that your dollars are increased, [36:33] or make sure that your clothes are just right, [36:35] or make sure that your hair is just the right way, [36:38] or make sure that you use the right type of soap and you cleansed everything just the right way. [36:41] No, Jesus has already done it. [36:45] You just have to live.

[36:51] Because friends, number three this morning, understand that there is no Christian life apart from sacrifice.

[36:58] There isn’t one.

[37:00] Some of you would say, you know what, I believe in Jesus, man. [37:03] From him, through him, to him, all that. [37:07] I believe it. [37:08] It’s wonderful.

[37:11] But I got all this stuff going on. [37:14] I mean, and you do, let’s not lie. [37:17] If you’re an adult and you’re adulting, [37:19] I mean, you’ve got a job, you might have a couple of kids, [37:23] you might have a mortgage, [37:24] you might be behind on it, but you got it.

[37:26] You might have a car, you might be behind on the payments, but you got it. [37:30] You got to put food on the table, [37:31] you got homework with you, you got to do with your kids, [37:33] you got to find some time to actually have a relationship with your spouse. [37:36] You say, I don’t have time for all this stuff. [37:40] And what God is saying is right,

[37:42] because you need a better life.

[37:48] God says, and you are not going to find it apart from him. [37:52] You’re looking and you’re looking and you’re paying lip service [37:55] and you’re paying lip service. [37:56] And God says, I’m not interested in your lip service. [37:59] I’m interested in your life.

[38:03] He says, give your life over to me. [38:07] Note the terms he uses here. [38:09] He calls it a living sacrifice. [38:10] Then in verse two, he says this. [38:14] Do not be conformed to this world, [38:16] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

[38:18] that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, [38:21] what is good, acceptable and perfect. [38:24] He’s got living sacrifice. [38:25] He says, don’t conform. [38:26] He says, be transformed. [38:28] He says, be renewed.

[38:29] And he says, discern what the will of God is. [38:31] So this is obviously a very involved activity.

[38:38] He’s saying this is going to take some time. [38:41] This is going to take some effort. [38:44] A more literal translation of the spiritual worship [38:47] that he talks about at the end of chapter one [38:50] is actually the term reasonable. [38:53] He calls it reasonable worship.

[38:56] It is meant to go along with the renewal of your mind. [38:59] Faith in Jesus changes the way that you think about life. [39:06] You see, when you’ve got all this stuff [39:07] stacking up around you, all these issues, [39:10] all this baggage, all these problems, [39:12] all this time, and what God’s point is

[39:15] is you’re looking at it through your lens [39:17] of your life and your sin [39:19] and all the death that you can have [39:21] because the best good that your life’s ever going to amount to [39:24] is a tombstone at the end of it. [39:28] It’s God saying, I have more for you.

[39:30] I have life for you, [39:31] but you’re going to have to leave some things behind.

[39:36] And it’s worth it. [39:40] Friend Tim Keller writes, he says, [39:42] once you have a good view of God’s mercy, [39:45] anything less than a total, complete sacrifice [39:48] of yourself to God is completely irrational. [39:53] The reason that Paul writes here in the original language

[39:56] and he says, this is your reasonable worship [40:00] because he’s saying, if you believe that there is a God [40:03] who has done these wonderful things for you, [40:06] has this amazing power, will give you this amazing life, [40:10] will resurrect you and then give you pleasures [40:13] forevermore, as the Psalms put it,

[40:14] it doesn’t make sense to not live for Him. [40:19] Any other life is just illogical. [40:24] But what this really points out to each and every one of us [40:26] is actually the church real life divide [40:30] that we have going on.

[40:33] See, when I begin to talk about being a living sacrifice, [40:36] you may be thinking, I’ve got some of those. [40:40] I’m here, aren’t I?

[40:43] I mean, I sacrificed. [40:45] I used to sleep in on Sundays. [40:46] I got up. [40:48] I skipped breakfast. [40:51] Maybe you showered. [40:53] I hope.

[40:54] You say, I could be playing golf [40:57] or eating pancakes right now. [40:59] I like the second one. [41:01] Pancakes are good.

[41:04] I’d be saying, I get up, I’m here, [41:08] I’m sacrificing an hour, hour 15, hour 20, [41:11] we don’t know yet.

[41:14] But you’re looking, you’re like, [41:16] this sacrifice is almost full, Steve.

[41:22] It’s just like, what time did you get up earlier in the week?

[41:27] And you’re like, in the middle of the week, [41:29] I’m going to go to my village group. [41:31] I could be doing something else during that. [41:34] Living sacrifice. [41:36] You might be saying, I even joined one of your discipleship groups. [41:40] That’s like another hour or two,

[41:42] depending on how many problems they’re having that week.

[41:46] Living sacrifice. [41:48] You’re saying, and when you have church work days, [41:51] I show up sometimes 15 minutes before you’re done.

[41:58] Living sacrifice.

[42:02] And I don’t mean to discount any of that. [42:04] Maybe a little bit of it. [42:07] The whole sacrificing by showing up, [42:09] it’s a good thing, thank you. [42:11] It would be really weird if you didn’t show up. [42:13] I worked really hard on this.

[42:15] But the reality is, [42:17] is that you’re just checking a couple of things off. [42:20] And what you do in here is great. [42:22] What you do in your village group, yes, [42:24] those are sacrifices. [42:26] What you do in your discipleship group, I’m not discounting it.

[42:28] That is a sacrifice. [42:30] But God doesn’t want you to make a list and say, [42:33] those are my sacrifices, you can’t have the rest. [42:36] God is looking at all of your life, and he’s saying, [42:39] I want all of you. [42:42] Not just what’s going on inside of the walls of this church.

[42:47] God wants your marriage. [42:49] God wants your parenthood. [42:51] God wants the house that you live in. [42:53] God wants your life as a neighbor on your street. [42:56] God wants your career. [42:58] God wants your work.

[43:00] God wants your pocketbook. [43:02] God wants your bank account. [43:04] God wants your sports. [43:05] God wants your hobbies. [43:07] He wants you to see every part of your life as his. [43:12] He says, that’s what I mean by living sacrifice.

[43:17] Friends, I want your faith in Jesus to get to the point [43:21] where you understand that what you do outside of these walls [43:25] is just as important as what you do inside of these walls.

[43:33] I want you to understand that you are in your neighborhood [43:36] to be seen as someone who worships the God who saves, [43:41] who has a hope that your neighbors want, [43:45] who spends time with people so that you can live [43:48] the mission of Jesus, who goes to work, [43:51] maybe probably the same job, but for a different motivation.

[43:58] God wants you to understand that out there is a world [44:04] filled with false worship that needs to be engaged [44:08] with the right worship of God. [44:10] What if parents who trusted in Jesus engaged [44:13] the sports field for the purpose of being the light [44:16] of Jesus?

[44:17] What if at your job you went with the motivation [44:20] of being the light of Jesus? [44:22] Don’t get me wrong, putting food on the table [44:24] is a good thing, but being a light for Jesus [44:26] is an even better thing. [44:29] That is what God is talking about here.

[44:31] He’s not saying, present to me your Sunday morning. [44:35] He’s not saying, present to me your Tuesday morning. [44:37] He’s not saying, present to me your Thursday evening [44:41] or Saturday morning. [44:42] He’s saying, I want you to present your whole life [44:47] so that he can give you life.

[44:53] Jesus is the greatest gift that you’ve ever received [44:57] and he gives you a relationship with the greatest God [45:01] who gives you the greatest joy, [45:04] with the greatest hope for the greatest future. [45:09] What else would you give your life over to than that?

[45:17] Friend, the thing that I’ve learned following Jesus [45:19] is that the sacrifice is always worth it [45:22] because you are sacrificing less than things [45:25] for a more than God who promises eternal joy.

[45:30] The key is, let me give you the secret. [45:35] The key is that to do it, [45:38] you must actually believe that it is true.

[45:44] Because without that, you can’t worship God. [45:48] You might say, Steve, no, no, no, [45:49] I need a list of 47 things. [45:51] No, that’s one step. [45:53] Believe that it’s true and live it. [45:55] Maybe that’s two steps.

[45:58] But just start by believing it. [46:01] Do you? [46:02] Do you believe it? [46:04] You see, friend, in Christ, [46:06] our view of life is completely transformed. [46:10] We can’t conform to the world without Christ

[46:13] because our lives are fully in Christ. [46:17] So Romans 8.5 means when it says, [46:20] for those who live according to the flesh [46:22] set their minds on the things of the flesh, [46:24] but those who live according to the Spirit [46:26] set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

[46:31] What is your focus? [46:32] What is your vision? [46:35] All of scripture reveals to us [46:38] that God is a God worth worshiping. [46:43] What we sacrifice, though, [46:45] is a life of sin for a life

[46:48] commanded and defined by God.

[46:53] Ultimately, you must realize [46:54] that to be a living sacrifice [46:57] is to be fully at God’s disposal. [47:01] God wants us to give Him all that we are and do. [47:06] God wants to define my identity and my activity. [47:11] How you think and how you live

[47:13] are entirely changed by worshiping [47:16] the God who saves in Jesus. [47:18] And if there has been no change, [47:21] have you given your life to Jesus?

[47:26] How can you say that you’ve been transformed [47:28] if there hasn’t been any change? [47:31] If you’re chasing all of the things [47:33] that you would chase without Jesus, [47:35] how are you following Jesus? [47:38] And he says an interesting thing

[47:39] at the end there, he says, [47:41] he almost seems to give us a cop-out. [47:44] He says, so that you can discern [47:48] what is the will of God. [47:51] You say, well, once I figure that part out, [47:55] I’ll present my body over.

[47:56] Good news, I figured it out. [47:59] Actually, Paul did. [48:02] In Ephesians 1, 9 he writes this. [48:05] He says, God made known to us [48:07] the mystery of His will [48:10] according to His purpose

[48:12] which He set forth in Christ.

[48:18] Friends, the will of God for you [48:21] in your life of worship [48:22] is the glory of God found in faith in Jesus. [48:27] Living a life of obedient worship [48:28] to God so that others can know [48:31] the glory of God is what the mission of Jesus was.

[48:35] It’s what the mission of Jesus is. [48:37] It is the living sacrifice [48:39] that we are to live for. [48:42] We live to show the glory of God [48:45] to the world around us. [48:48] It is what we were designed for

[48:50] and it is what Jesus saves us for. [48:54] That is a life of worship. [48:57] When you’re living that life in this world [49:00] among people who don’t know Him,

[49:07] you’re offering yourself over to God [49:09] and He’s drawing people to Himself through you. [49:12] The only reaction to have when that actually happens is [49:16] oh, the depth and riches of the wisdom of God. [49:21] How inscrutable are His judgments.

[49:26] You see, friends, you’re looking for a life worth living.

[49:31] And God has shown us that that life [49:34] is only available in Jesus.

[49:40] Give yourself to Him [49:44] and He will give you life. [49:47] As the band comes up, [49:48] if you’re in here this morning,

[49:54] the thing that I want you to grasp [49:56] through all of the Scriptures, [49:58] through all of Romans,

[50:02] is that God desires for you to live a life [50:07] worshiping Him [50:08] and He has done everything that needs to be done [50:12] to remove any barrier [50:15] that might exist in your life [50:17] that’s preventing that from happening.

[50:19] That you need to trust Jesus [50:22] and He will save you. [50:26] He promises to. [50:28] So if you’re in here this morning [50:30] and maybe you’ve been struggling [50:32] these past few weeks with your faith,

[50:35] maybe you’ve had doubts about your faith [50:37] and you’re saying, [50:38] I think I need to believe. [50:40] I don’t think I’ve ever worshiped. [50:43] I don’t think that anything you’re saying about joy [50:46] has ever been true of me.

[50:47] I need to trust Jesus. [50:50] I want you to know that right here today [50:53] He will save you.

[50:57] Turn from your sin. [50:59] Trust in Jesus. [51:01] And He promised that He will give you His life forever.

[51:09] If that’s you this morning, [51:11] there are people in the foyer that would love to talk to you, [51:14] that would love to pray for you, [51:16] would love to answer any questions that you might have.

[51:21] But if you’re in here and [51:23] you want to do that during communion time, [51:26] just slip out there.

[51:29] But if you’re in here and you do trust in Jesus, [51:33] for maybe your faith has been lacking recently, [51:36] maybe your life has been mediocre, [51:38] maybe you’re sitting there and you’re saying, [51:39] I don’t think I’m offering myself over to God. [51:42] I’m certainly not offering all of myself to God.

[51:44] Remember, this ongoing life of sacrifice [51:47] needs to start today. [51:50] So what I want to do is, [51:51] I want to reflect on the Lord’s Supper. [51:54] The bread represents the broken body of Jesus. [51:56] The cup represents His shed blood.

[51:58] And if you trust in Jesus, [52:01] if you’re one of His followers, [52:02] the tables all over this room are open for you. [52:04] But as you eat and as you drink, [52:06] I want your prayer to be, [52:08] God, use more of me today than you used yesterday.

[52:12] Create in me a living sacrifice for you. [52:16] And He will give you life. [52:19] He promises to. [52:21] When you’re ready, come.