Romans 12:1-5

Romans 12:1-5 Go and be a true living sacrifice! 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform 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. 3 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 faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. At times I share with you the things that happened to me during the week. On Friday night we stopped worship and went into prayer so that our hearts would be in a condition to offer worship to God that He could accept. The first week of every month I pray for our service. Today I had a very difficult time praying. I thought that I had prepared myself for worship. I am not sure how you feel about it. Even now I am having difficulty speaking and it feels as if my throat is closing. I am asking you to open your hearts and to pray as you worship. Without doing so it will be difficult for both you and I. This service is being recorded but I felt the need to share this with you. Open your hearts in prayer awaken your spirit and listen intently to this sermon. Today's passage is from Paul to the church and it is still relevant to us today. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. If we are to offer our lives that's true and proper worship does that mean to come once a week on Sunday and to worship God? Or is it true worship in the life that we live? ...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. If my life has been offered to God as a living sacrifice that my life is no longer mine. Then for 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year my life does not belong to me. It has been given to God. Are we living our lives in this manner? In the hymn we sang today we say that we will draw closer to Him and tell Him that we want to be held in His arms and to receive the eternal blessings. In order to receive eternal blessings I must forsake the things of this world. If I am unable to forsake the things of this world will I be able to receive eternal blessings? I ask the question but you must answer these things for yourself. We sing to Him to do as he wills in our lives, we sing that we offer our lives and our souls to Him and we tell Him to do as he pleases with our lives. We have sung this hymn to Him. What do you think about the lyrics? It is good. It explains the life of a Christian. We sing to Him and ask Him to do what He desires in our lives. In my life. We have sung that our bodies and our souls are his. We sing that either in joy or in sadness that we ask Him to do His will in our lives. We have confessed this to H im. And we finish by saying amen. Are we singing that only during the length of the song that God do what He wills in our lives? And then after we say amen we go and do whatever we want in our lives? We are deceiving God. Is this not so? When we raise our children and there is a little child before us, when we want the child to come to us we put something in front of them and try to tempt them to come and get it. I did that once a long time ago and was scolded harshly by an adult. Why? I was scolded for teaching a child how to lie and deceive. The little child used incredible effort to come get that was which was before him but when he got close, I removed it. I was imprinting in that child how to lie and deceive. I learned a lesson that I must never do that to any other child. We sing to God and ask Him to do His will in our lives. We confess to Him that in joy or in sadness that we will follow Him as He guides us. But the moment something goes our way we fall back into the world. When something becomes difficult we complain. When things are good we do what we want when things are bad we blame God. We confess to Him to do as He would will in our lives but when we do things our way we are deceiving God. We are lying to God. Yet when we bow before Him and ask Him for our blessings do you think that He will be deceived by us? If I truly trust in God and follow him should there be anything that I worry about in my life? There should be none. But if there is always a problem between God and I it is because I do not believe in him. We have lived our lives not thinking like this. We have grown up thinking that to worry is natural and we accept it. But if we are to live the lives that we confess then we must see that we are failing to live to receive the blessings. But if God is still good and he still answers our prayers then we must quickly acknowledge him and change our lives. But the fact that we still refuse to change our lives is because we refuse to let go of our stubbornness. If today I offer my life to him as a sacrifice, and the moment I leave worship I come back to life, then did I really give my life to God as a sacrifice? Yet because we say we offered our lives as a sacrifice during worship, we demand that he gives us the blessings we seek. We demand he loves us. Is this not how we act towards God? We have deceived God, so how could the blessings that we ask of him be true blessings? If this is how we are receiving the blessings of this world, then we must remember that the ruler of this world also has great power. The blessings that we seek from God, comes from the discipline of following in His Word and changing our lives. But the blessings of this world can be gotten easily without any suffering and discipline. If we are seeking the blessings without any suffering and discipline, then we must examine what it is that we are seeking. If I have confessed to God that I am offering my life as a living sacrifice to him, thenI must daily for the rest of my life practice dying to myself so that what I confessed may be true. For the youth today there is much excitement with the iPad the Internet and YouTube. They get lost in these things. I tell the youth that rather than being someone who plays games or uses these things to be the one who creates the games or the programs so that they can become leaders. To be the one who uses what someone else has created, you are only a follower. To always follow somebody else in today's term we can call them a loser. If you are always following somebody you can never become a leader. 2. Do not conform 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. We try to use the things of this world and mold it into what we think God desires. We sit in church and offer worship and then the moment we leave we go and follow the ways of this world. We tried to change the things of God and therefore cannot receive his blessings nor attain things of this world. We make our lives difficult. When it says do not conform to the pattern of this world does not mean do not use the iPad. Does not mean to not use the computer. When you use the iPad and your computer there are great sites that you can visit there are many good things that you can study and many good news that you can share with others. But rather do than doing these things you use it for your own pleasure and to follow the ways of this world. Then when we come out and worship God, our worship is in vain. 3 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 faith God has distributed to each of you. He says each according to the faith that God has distributed to each of you. In the home there is faith that is given to the father and to the mother and also to each of the children. Each has been given a specific purpose and a specific task and they are all different. When I look and see that someone is receiving more recognition and I stop what I do to go do the same thing that is where our problem lies. We do not teach our children to develop the talent that they have been given. Rather we send them for extra study because other parents are sending their children. Because other parents are teaching their children piano and martial arts we force our children to do the same things. At the loss of the children and the parents and time, and ending up where they should be they end up somewhere far from where God has purposed them to be. How often do we see this happen? We see the world is this way. What about those who have been called by God? If you ask 1000 pastors all of them want to have churches with 10,000 members. They all want to have churches in big cities like Seoul and Gang Nam. But it is not this way. There is a place that is designated where each are called to stand and care for. There are some called to be the head and neck, feet, and hands. Everyone is different. They're also the things unseen like the blood vessels and the nerves. All these things are necessary to make one body. Is this not the same with each of us? I have said this many times before, as the head of the household, as the father, if you do not do your part in that household then your house has crumbled. If in this church, as the pastor, if I do not do my part then there is no reason for this church to stand. If I am only here to fulfill the role of the pastor and to stand one day a week and to give a sermon than the spirit of this church is already dead. As the head of your household and as a spiritual leader if you do not decide to take the responsibility to lead the house, then the house is spiritually sick. It is the same in your workplace. What happens to an owner who has no goal and no purpose but opens up a business because he has money? There will be no growth in that business. Without any goals or purpose all the employees below him will end up taking the money. The business will fail. The leader must fulfill his role as a leader. You cannot shift the blame and the responsibility to someone else. At work you cannot shift responsibility to the owner. At church you cannot shift the responsibility to the pastor. The leader of the household is to do his part. The wife is to do her part. Everyone is to do their part. You cannot tell someone to go figure it out when you do not do your part. How are they supposed to figure it out? As the head of the household as the husband my job is to live as an example of Christ Jesus. This has been given to me in accordance to my faith. Pastors are not the only ones who have been given a calling. If you do not do your part as an individual, then this church cannot function properly nor can your families function properly. It is the same in your workplace. It does not matter how great the ideas of the business owner are if all the people in that company from those on the board to those who clean the building do not do their jobs. If people do not do their jobs we know that the business will fail. Then there are those who say that as individuals they are great. But the moment they are put together with someone else they blame the other person. They never take responsibility. When they are alone they do well, but when they are put together with someone else there is a problem. When there are two they should be even more productive. The fact that they are less productive means that they are less efficient. They are lazy. They are not taking responsibility for all their actions. Is the same in the family and in the workplace. It is also the same in the church. In order for God's kingdom to be established here on earth each of us are supposed to take responsibility. We are to do our job individually as a cell. But nobody wants to do their job as a cell but each wants to move up and be the head. As I was doing gardening this week and moving the cabbage plants, I put my hand in the dirt. There was an ant colony. My eyes do not see well. But I had been bitten. My hands became swollen and because of the incredible itch I was woken up many times during the night. Am I sharing this story with you about the ant bites and the swelling, the itch and the sleepless nights? Compared to my body these small ant bites seem like nothing. But the poison from the bite affected my entire body to the point that it bothered me so much that I could not sleep. Examine your life with this story. If one little mistake I made gave me many nights of sleeplessness then what about the one misspoken word or the act that you committed against someone that you thought was harmless? Have you thought about the person that it has affected? Just like the harmless ant bite the things that you have said to your wife or your children? Do you know of heart and feelings of your wife and children after the poison that you have spread into them? You do not know. But when I am bitten I know. We think it is okay for us to say what we want to our spouses but when our spouses say the same thing to us we get angry. We never think about how the other person feels. We complain that we are not recognized at our place of work. We fail to see that it may be our faults that we are not recognized for what we do. In the life that we have been given, as we live our lives of faith, as we offer our lives as a living sacrifice, if we truly follow Christ everything could be well. In the church in our homes in our places of work, everywhere we go we could be recognized, but the reason that we are not is because of our individual actions. The poison that I spread eventually comes back to me. In my place at work I am unable to move up in position. I must realize that when I am not being asked to partake and share in good with others that I have behaved in the manner that has caused me to be shunned by them. It does no good to get angry because you are not being acknowledged. What does it mean to live according to the faith that God has given to you? It is to realize your place. If you are the neck then to be the neck. If you are the hand to be the hand. There is a difference between the right hand and the left hand. As I was buttoning my shirt today there is a difference between what my left hand and right hand are capable of doing even though they may seem the same. Though I am right-handed and I use my right hand for most things what would happen if my left hand felt neglected and decided to fall off? Though my left hand may seem weak without it I would be disabled. It does not matter how strong and capable my right hand is, without my left hand what has happened to me? Though nobody recognizes me for what I do it today, but I gave God my best in service, what is the result? It does not matter that nobody gives you recognition. It is over. God has seen you. God has put you there and though no one sees you God will receive the glory. This is the life we are to live. If we are chasing fame and recognition from others then we must re-examine ourselves. When Paul spoke these things to the churches in Rome was it the only time these things were said? John records what Jesus said in chapter 4 verses 23 and 24 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." He is seeking those who worship in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit means to live a life of worship. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. Paul is saying what Jesus has taught us. We may try to study the Bible in a way that is easier and pleasing to us. But everything can be traced back to the teachings of Jesus. Our Lord tells us that in the end His Word will be the standard for which we are judged. We are to live our lives according to His Word which is the standard. If we ignore this our life of faith will reap no reward. In one of Oswald Chambers' devotional My Utmost for His Highest it reads ... The victorious saint is one who stands in complete allegiance to God no matter the circumstance. What is a saint? In today's church is a saint and the believer the same? As a believer if I am not victorious in Jesus Christ it is because I am yet to be a saint. What will be the result of my life if I am unable to be in complete allegiance to God as a saint? What if I am not acknowledged by God? You know the answer. The life of a believer should be the life of a saint. I must be victorious. If I am unable to live as a saint then I will be unable to be victorious. When we compare our lives to the lives of those who have gone before us in the Bible there should be no difference. Oswald Chambers also wrote... Christian fellowship is not about meeting people with similar interests, but meeting fellow believers in the Holy Spirit which is true fellowship. In large churches there are large many deacons, elders, doctors, lawyers and many other groups of people. When they gather together, what is there purpose in doing so? They gather according to jobs, likes, interests. But Oswald says that believers are not to gather according to their interests but are to gather in the Holy Spirit. If in the church, if we do not gather in the Holy Spirit, but gather for other reasons, then can we call it true fellowship? We do not see it this way. In the name of doing something for God we separate rather than unite. We divide ourselves in the church. Then it is no longer the work of the Spirit but the work of man. Will this fruit be pleasing to God? It may be pleasing to the eyes of people. But there is also a possibility that it may not be pleasing to God. During the summer when the fruits ripen they may all look the same. But do they all taste the same? They taste different, they smell different and at times they may be inedible. Just like a fruit may look good and be costly the works of man may look good to others but how does God see the works? Who is the judge? Am I not the one who purchases the fruit to to eat? If it is inedible, do you think that God will keep those? If not then you must abandon the old way of life. You must live a life that truly bears the fruit of Christ. In life we get married because we love our spouses. They were pleasing to us and satisfied us. But what happens after marriage? Mostly men but some women also no longer think about the other and do whatever it is that pleases themselves. This happens a lot does it not? When we come before God are we the bride or the groom? We are the bride. Then we being the bride would we want Jesus to have us property? Or should we try to own Jesus as property? Do you understand the question I am asking? If Jesus is the groom then I am the bride. Is Jesus, like me, decides to do as he pleases with me as I do with my wife? Do I have the right to get mad at him? What will I say to Him when He behaves to me the way I do to my wife? Will I tell him that He is unable to behave in that manner to me because He is Lord? No we cannot. We are taught many things. When I look and find someone I decide to marry do I not have to consider how to find favor in their eyes? I have already found them favorable to me. Is that not so? I have found them favorable but now I must find a way for them to like me. What if they do not notice me? What must I do? Yesterday someone shared the story about how she had grown up with someone since they were children at a church and never really took notice of him. One day she noticed that he was the one that she wanted to marry. But because she was shy she did not know how to express herself. So she decided to find out what it is that the man liked and change herself into that image. She continued to pray and transform herself until one day that man noticed her. They eventually got married and continue to do the Lord's work. I am not telling you about how to date but I am sharing with you how to receive the love of someone. You must find a way to find favor in their eyes. I must realize that I must find favor in the eyes of Jesus to receive his love. Let us say that we are all the same. Who would he love? As a parent which child do you love the most? Is it not the child that comes and spends a little bit more time with you? Is it not the child who is far away but continues to call you, rather than the child who stays at home but has nothing to do with you? Is this not obvious? Do we search daily for Jesus in prayer, and praise and worship in our daily lives seeking him? If we do not do these things but say that we love him how will you answer when he asks us to show Him our love for Him? Do you think He will accept our love? He will ask us do you think that our actions are worthy of his attention? He will tell us there are countless believers who adore Him and seek His attention. Why should He give you His attention when you are acting like a bratty child? Let us think about this. What is the life of worship that we are to offer to God? Let us think whether we are able to confess to Him that we will follow Him no matter where he will guide us. Should we not be examining ourselves as we live our lives? Should we be living our lives meeting and gathering amongst ourselves and thinking God is satisfied because we are satisfied? Or are we to gather the educated to the uneducated to form one body to serve one God and to live a life that pleases Him? Last week we talked about the salt that lost its saltiness. It is the one who did whatever they wanted acted according to their feelings and their satisfaction. If we are not to act according to our own selfish desires then we must consider what it is to give God our lives and to make right that which is wrong. Paul writes in first Corinthians chapter 3 verse 16 and 17 16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. Are we living a clean life? If you are not then what does it say that God will do? God will destroy that person. It says that if I am unable to live a life in the spirit that God will destroy that person but we do not think about this. We think that we are doing enough. In first Peter chapter 1 verses 14 through 16 it says 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." The life of the spirit the life of obedience the life of holiness. Is this the easy life? We dislike this life. That means that we refuse to accept the Spirit. We refuse to believe in Jesus.. But yet we say that we are believers. We think we will go to heaven on our own merit, even though it says that God will destroy those who refuse the Spirit. If we are stubborn thinking that we will go to heaven on our own, will we truly enter into heaven? If we look at the Bible it says that we will not. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 48 it says 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. This is the last verse in chapter 5. This is the summary of the entire chapter from verse one through 47. If I accept this teaching as the way to go to the Father then should I not be perfect? This is a command. We are told to be like God. Jesus tells us that He does what He has seen God do. He does what His father has done. If He is telling us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, and He is teaching us to follow Him and to be His disciple and He is giving us the requirements that we must live our lives according to these teachings. But we stop only with knowledge. We must live the lives that we confess with our mouths. We must do as we have spoken so that we do not become liars. Should your lives not be a reflection of what you have promised to God? To give our lives and spiritual worship is not only about this moment and this service, it is about living that life until the day that our Lord calls us. You must decide to live this life. May you live according to the faith that you have been given in the place that you have been put by God, and when God calls you and guides you, may you follow in obedience and give Him the glory so that when you stand before him you will be acknowledged and rewarded. Sermon by Pastor Howard Park Translation by Miguel Park