Everything for Christ

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. 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. If it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching,

let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of

others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy,

let him do it cheerfully. This is the word of the Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you have come amongst us as a man, the creator God of the universe,

and we thank you that you have laid down your life for our sins, and we thank you that in power your

Father has raised you to life, never to die again. And we pray, Lord, that as we come to your word now,

that we would sit under your lordship, that we would marvel at who you are, that we would be in

submission to you, and that each one of us, Lord, that you would be leading us in your truth and

growing us in Christ from the place where we are. Meet us in your word now, speak to us powerfully by

your spirit, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Some of you will have seen Peter Jensen, our Archbishop on Q&A on the ABC last Monday night. You can see it

online if you missed it. He engaged in a very difficult debate with one woman in particular who

unashamedly declared herself atheist. And it was an intimidating struggle between outspoken unbelief and

unapologetic faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it wasn't merely a battle of intellect and reason, it was a

spiritual battle that required considerable grace and wisdom in seeking a hearing on issues where people were

not eager to listen. Sam preached on Romans 1 a few weeks ago, and he showed us that when we reject God, we choose a

miserable path which is deathly. So Romans chapter 128 says,

furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a

depraved mind to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed,

and depravity. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,

insolent, arrogant, boastful. And they invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. They're senseless,

faithless, heartless, heartless, ruthless. And although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such

things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also to approve of those who

practice them. And it defies reason. People will choose death over life. And in this bizarre manifestation of

evil, that people actually get comfort of taking other people to death with them.

We've had a great time in Romans. It explains God's gospel in the most magnificent way, and it's God's

response to our deathly situation. The first eight chapters address many issues, God's anger with people,

with men and women, why his judgment is just, why trying to keep the Ten Commandments and the rest of

the Old Testament law can't make us good enough for God. It tells us why faith pleases God and how true

peace and joy come through faith in Jesus Christ. Helps us to make sense of our ongoing struggle with sin.

And then in chapter 8, verse 1, this magnificent expression of God's mercy, that there is now no

condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And at the end of chapter 8, verse 39, that nothing,

nothing at all in the entire universe is able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus.

And so in Christ, we have received extraordinary mercy from God.

Chapters 9 to 11, they're a bit different, they're really substantial, but they're like an excursus or an

excursion into the place of the Jews in God's plan of salvation. But chapter 12 brings us to where I'm

preaching today and it begins with these words. And I'm not going to get past these two verses.

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, and then you will be able to

test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. I heard the great

British Bible teacher, John Stott, preach on this passage. In my early days of being a believer,

he spoke to an Easter service at the University of New South Wales just before the Billy Graham

crusade in 1979. And he explained that the therefore is a terribly important little word,

it's a turning point in the letter, it is a hinge. Everything that's gone before in Romans links now to

what follows. It's where the rubber hits the road. We move from theory to practice, from what the good

news is to how the good news transforms the lives of people who believe the gospel.

God's action brings transformation. And so he says,

therefore I urge you, brethren, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. That's the NIV.

God's disposition towards us, God's disposition towards people is one of mercy. And it's a particular

type of mercy, it's gut-wrenching pity and compassion. God knows the predicament that we're in,

he knows our predicament better than we see it for ourselves and he responds to it with his gut-wrenching

pity and compassion. I actually think chapter 12 verse 1 picks up from Romans 8, 38, 39.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present

nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation will be able

to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So the first eight chapters

of Romans reach this crescendo in the unquenchable love of God which is shown to his people.

And it's the most amazing thing that God loves his creation and his heart goes out in pity

and compassion to his people. And then he says to us, in view of God's love, in view of God's mercy,

in view of God's compassion, offer yourselves, offer your bodies as living sacrifices.

Now the people he's writing to are very familiar with animal sacrifices. They wouldn't have been

shocked by some of the animal videos on our television when animals are slaughtered in Indonesia

and other places. Whether it was the temple in Jerusalem or the meat markets in Rome, animals

were slaughtered ritually and in the name of their God all the time. People saw animals killed,

they saw where their food came from. And people were also used to the idea of substitution,

an animal sacrificed in place of you. Not a bad deal. Not such a great life to be a sacrificial

animal. You don't choose to be a sacrifice. Someone chooses you. Your body is put on the line

for others. Your throat is cut and your body is burnt. The animal dies a death representative

of the death that we deserve. Romans chapter 5 and 8 speak about Jesus' death as a sacrifice.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

In chapter 8 verse 3 it says,

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did

by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.

And Romans 12 verse 1 tells us that the only appropriate response to what God has done

Romans 12:1

is to become a sacrifice. Fortunately for us it's a living sacrifice. It's a whole of life commitment.

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.

When I became a believer I was 18, about to turn 19.

And I was already attending church.

And within a few months of coming to Christ I joined a group that met in a friend's house.

two-bedroom cottage, fibro cottage.

Hardly a small group.

And we worked through Luke's gospel verse by verse for a year.

The groove was quite a contrast to church.

We had a loving pastor

dressed in black, just like Brian was this morning.

See Brian this morning?

Full collar, boy.

And

he smoked a pipe

He was known as Puffing Billy.

But he was absolutely committed to seeing people saved.

And at the same time he was very stern.

He was formal.

He was a pretty lousy preacher.

We had a sung robed choir.

Members walked in every Sunday night at 7.15

wearing their academic hoods.

We had boring sermons.

Chanted responses.

I liked going

but I grew

and was nurtured in the house church.

The leaders loved Jesus

and his word.

And they were

really careful to try to teach it truthfully.

and they worked hard at submitting

to what they were learning.

And so for me

in the same place

two very different

experiences of Christians

gathering to worship.

In the house church

we began to study

this passage in Romans.

This is year two.

Year one was Luke.

Year two was Romans.

Took us all year.

And we got to chapter 12

verse 1

Therefore I urge you brethren

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.

And it was really difficult for me

because I had been taught

that worship was what you did on Sunday

and you might have been taught that too.

Some of our younger people

may well just think

that worship is singing

because it's used like that as well.

But this passage

that we are in this morning

talks about the whole of life

as worship.

Everything that we do

whether we're here in church

this morning

or outside somewhere

through the week

everything that we do

is a response

to who God is.

And I remember

going to the rector

to talk about it

because I was confused

and it threw it up for me

and he said to me

don't worry about it my boy

church on Sunday

is true worship.

All these other groups

well they're

then things

they're okay

but they're not true worship.

Church on Sunday

is where you need to be.

Well of course you need to be

at church on Sunday

it's a great place

to gather with God's people

and encourage one another.

And I've spent a lot of time

wrestling with that

over the years.

I gave you verbatim

of what he said.

I loved him

and he's with the Lord now

but I think he was wrong

and I think he was wrong

in two ways.

Both those gatherings

of Christ's church

were true

and valid expressions

of devotion

to Jesus.

One of them

was very formal

and the other

was very informal.

Both involved

believers

coming together

to encourage

each other

in Christ

and learn from his word

both involved

worship

or service.

And the second error

is to define

worship narrowly

as merely

coming to church

on Sunday.

and a group

or two

through the week.

Romans chapter 12

Romans 12:1

verse 1

says it is

a whole of life

commitment

a whole of life

response to Christ

a whole of life

response to the gospel.

And listen to the force

of these words

I urge you

I implore you

the great apostle

pushes his point

to the max

in view of God's mercy

in view of God's gospel

in view of Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

to Romans chapter 11

Romans 11 · chapter mention

in view of what God

has done

we must respond.

He has brought us

from death to life

if we have put

our faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ

he has forgiven

everything.

He's wiped away

sexual indiscretion

he's taken our lies

he's taken our

unfaithfulness

he's dealt with

our dishonest

dealings

he's working

on our hate

everything that

gets in the way

of us relating

to him

Christ has dealt

with at the cross

and you see

that this

mercy of God

is just enormous

and so in Christ

we have a new

beginning

this is God's

momentous news

and it's great news

for anybody

who is humble

enough to listen

and to respond

absolutely liberating

God deals with

our sins

he sets us free.

Twelve chapters

of Romans

is summarised

by three verses

in Ephesians

so if you want

to learn

Romans chapter

Romans 1 · chapter mention

1 to 12

off by heart

go to Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

8 to 10

for it is by

grace you have

been saved

through faith

and this not

from yourselves

it is the gift

of God

not by works

so that no one

can boast

for we are

God's workmanship

created in Christ

Jesus to do

good works

which God

prepared in advance

for us to do

so God saved

us

and now there is

much that we can

do for him

we enter

into the

king's service

we are his

Romans chapter

Romans 6 · chapter mention

6 describes

this as becoming

a slave

to a new

master

we're all

slaves

the issue

is who

is your

master

and so

our spiritual

act of worship

that's the

NIV again

or service

is total

it's whole

of life

it's nothing

more

it's nothing

less

it's not

about bottoms

on seats

on Sunday

it's about

living for

Jesus

choosing to

live Jesus

way

making conscious

decisions

day by day

moment by

moment

to do and

respond to

what Jesus

wants and not

what we are

naturally inclined

to do

we will have

all carry

different burdens

and struggles

to this

morning

how do we

honour Christ

in the midst

of those

struggles

what does it

mean to

trust him

what does it

mean to be

faithful to

him

therefore I

urge you

brothers and

sisters

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

and I want

to come back

to that

I want to

say to you

that spiritual

act of

service

which is

what the

NIV has

is a very

unhelpful

translation

because it

actually says

this is your

logical act

of worship

this is your

reasonable act

of worship

it is the

most reasonable

it is the

most rational

thing to do

and it's

really interesting

because I

think we

ought to be

about feelings

and emotions

it ought to be

part of our

worship and

who we are

in Christ

but it is

really clear

that this is

much more than

feeling good

about the

gospel

Paul has

taken pages

and pages

and chapters

and chapters

to explain

his gospel

and now in

one verse he

calls us to

good thinking

God does not

ask us to

throw away our

minds to

believe in him

we are to

use our minds

and to see

that the

most logical

response to

what God

has done

is to give

ourselves to

him

he's proved

his love

respond to

it it defies

logic not to

atheism works

furiously to

deny God

and do you

know what

they have to

because if

God is as

good as the

scriptures say

he is

then we are

absolute fools

to reject

him

the other

part of this

passage says

do not

conform any

longer to the

pattern of

this world

but be

transformed by

the renewing

of your

mind

and then you

will be able

to test and

approve what

God's will is

his good

perfect and

pleasing will

see the minds

are still in

action in the

second verse as

well

conformed or

transformed

the words

presume that

the usual

ways conformity

to be pressed

or moulded into

the ways of the

world

the word is

age it's not

world

conformed to

the ways of

this age

there's a

contrast between

this age in

which we live

in the age

which is yet

to come

when Christ

will be seen

as king

and the

bible's very

clear that we

live in an

age which is

coming to an

end it is

temporary we

become resident

aliens with

visitor permits

old christian song

is right when

it says that

this world is

not our home

we are only

visiting this

planet

we are temporary

residents of

this age

and we are

heirs of the

age to come

we still live

with the

pressure of

life here

we see the

same media

we're subject

to the same

temptations as

everybody else

is subject

to

I think it's

foolish to

pretend that

we're not

drawn by

sin and

affected by

sin

it's better to

be honest than

not to hide our

struggles

and too many

christians get

caught out saying

one thing and

living completely

differently

it's hypocrisy

which brings

shame on the

name of the

lord jesus

so the gospel

calls us to

break with our

past to

reject conformity

to be

transformed in

our minds to

be transformed in

our thinking to

think differently

the ongoing

transformation is

envisaged it's

not like we just

arrived we don't

have to do

anything anymore

this is ongoing

the work of

christy spirit in

our lives

the christian life

is a journey where

we are constantly

learning how to

think differently

romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

talks about

mindset

verse 5

those who live

according to the

sinful nature have

their minds set

on what that

nature desires

but those who

live in accordance

with the spirit

have their minds

set on what the

spirit desires

transformed is a

wonderful word in

the original language

it's the word that

we get metamorphosis

from

so to be

transformed is to

be metamorphosed

the caterpillar spins

its cocoon

goes to sleep

and it goes through

the process of

metamorphosis

it changes

it emerges from

the cocoon

transformed

into the most

magnificent moths

and butterflies

it's changed from

a creature

that crawls on

its belly to a

creature that

flies

it goes through

radical regeneration

same word is used

of the lord jesus

when he's

transfigured in

his heavenly

form

the disciples

get a glimpse

of his heavenly

glory

when we become

christians

the change

begins

it begins

in our minds

it begins

with a change

in thought

a change

in thinking

a change

in attitude

towards god

and towards

his son

the lord

jesus christ

but it moves

beyond that

and paul

urges us

to allow

our minds

to dwell

in good

places

so philippians

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

finally brothers

and sisters

whatever is

true

whatever is

noble

whatever is

right

whatever is

pure

whatever is

lovely

whatever is

admirable

if anything

is excellent

or praiseworthy

think about

such things

our minds

are renewed

as we let

them dwell

in healthy

places

and as our

minds

change

we too

change

from people

crawling

through the

mud of life

into beautiful

new creatures

beginning to

learn to

fly

I experienced

distorted

thinking yesterday

probably in

a fairly

insubstantial way

but it was just

on my mind

in terms of the

message for this

morning

but we had a

wonderful day

here yesterday

with community

group leader

training

we were here

a lot of the

morning

the afternoon

and I went

home

after what felt

like a big day

and it felt like

a really good

day

and a God

blessed day

and I thought

I'll watch a movie

and relax for a

while

you've earned a

break

but the movie

affected my

mood

and my thinking

in a really

unhelpful way

and it wasn't

sex or drugs

or alcohol

or anything

awful

it was just

awful

and by the

time I finished

watching

which was a

mistake

you know

my feelings

were affected

by what

I'd given

my mind

to

in a way

that made

the whole

day feel

terrible

still don't

understand

it

I'll tell you

afterwards

what it was

so you don't

watch it

probably

probably if I

tell you what

it was

you all

sit there

nodding

yeah

did that

to me

too

tell you

later

really dear

brother

challenged me

the other

day from

his own

life

and he

said he's

been

recognizing

similar

things in

himself

he's actually

been recognizing

that when he

thinks in

particular ways

it has an

impact on

relationships

around him

and his

whole disposition

and this is

not just about

positive thinking

stuff

this is about

trying to be

and live in

submission to

Christ

and so he is

consciously working

to recognize that

when he starts to

think negatively

especially in his

marriage and with

issues towards his

wife

he prays in that

moment that God

would take it from

him

he prays that God

would take it from

him

and in Christ

he is striving to

think differently and

it is helping his

relationships

another friend once

said to me think

the best about

someone before you

presume the worst

I think I know it

for myself and you

will too

you know you can

actually go into a

brain spiral can't

you can think

something terrible

like just take your

spouse or your kids

or something and

you go all negative

on it and it goes

down and down and

down and by the time

you're finished you

are in a real mess

and the way that

you got yourself

into that mess was

by the way you

thought

your thoughts took

you there

your mind affected

your whole body's

disposition

those who live in

accordance with the

spirit have their

mind set on what

the spirit desires

be transformed by

the renewing of

your mind and

then you will be

able to test and

approve what God's

will is his good

pleasing and perfect

will

so coming to

Christ is the

beginning but now

that we are his

and I hope that

that's many of us

sitting here in

church this morning

the change continues

as we are prepared

for life in the

age to come

and much of the

change and the

transformation begins

with our minds what

we think

heard a lovely little

story about a little

girl I still don't

know if this is true

or not but church

service one Sunday

the collection plate

went around and it

came to the little

girl and she took

it in her hand she

put it on the floor

and she stood in

it and when the

sides person said

what's she doing

she said well in

Sunday school I

learned that I was

supposed to give

myself to God

got the point of

the passage

applied it maybe a

little too concretely

but got the point

therefore I urge you

brothers and

sisters in view of

God's mercy to

offer your bodies

as living sacrifices

holy and pleasing to

God this is your

logical act of

worship do not

conform any longer

to the pattern of

this world but be

transformed by the

renewing of your

mind and then you

will be able to test

and approve what

God's will is his

good pleasing and

perfect will

God's will is his

God's will is his

God's will is his

God's will is his

God's will is his

services that where

John and Leslie

Hicks live down the

road and a few

others and I think

there's a huge link

between what we've

been doing in Romans

8 1 and what we've

been looking at this

morning in Romans 12

1 because in Romans

8 1 and then at the

end the gospel declares

there is therefore now

no condemnation for

those who are in

Christ Jesus and what

that means is we stand

under the mercy of God

the judge of all the

earth has taken

condemnation right away

from us and we have

this magnificent

experience of his

mercy and we are told

that nothing can

separate us from the

love of Christ which is

in Christ Jesus our

Lord we are

recipients of

phenomenal mercy

mercy and so you get

the 12 one in view of

this mercy in view of

God's mercy live for

Christ your whole life

everywhere you go

everything you do

everything you think

and we applied it the

other day and we

thought you know renewed

minds leads to renewed

relationships and one of

the greatest things that

we've received is this

experience of mercy from

God's hand towards

ourselves and he has

put in our hands the

ability to extend

undeserved mercy in all

sorts of relationships that

we find ourselves in and

I want to say let's begin

at home

in the relationships which

are closest to us but

move out from there

because we know that in

our families sometimes we

carry deep hurt and

wounds whether it be our

immediate family or

families which are a bit

further out God has

given us in Christ the

tools to be full of

mercy to one another just

as we have received it for

ourselves in Christ

let's pray Lord Jesus we

pray that you would help

help us to see our whole

life as yours and we do

struggle with sin in this

age with weakness and

failure and sometimes grave

error in our own lives but we

experience it Lord in the hope

of the enormous mercy that you

have shown us in Christ and we

pray that just as you are

transforming us that we would

be transformed in the way that

we relate to those around us

especially to those who are near

us in Christ even within our own

families please transform us Lord

Jesus individually and corporately

as the people of God that your

name would be glorified in

everything we do and we pray

this in Jesus precious name

Amen