A Life Set Apart for God

Go ahead and turn over to Romans 12, and we'll read verses 1 and 2.

So how many of you could guess that that's probably where we're going to be at this morning after that opening statement?

It's a really popular one, and we're going to get into some of that here, but I've got to get there too.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

These two verses are some of the most repeated in the Bible.

I always take that as an indicator of how important they are.

These were some of the first verses that the Lord laid on my heart when I began my Christian life.

I believe the reason for this was that I lived surrounded by worldly influences,

and until then, I too was verily worldly.

God used these verses to remind me of the pull of the world,

the influence it has, and that I need to be cautious of letting it change me.

These verses don't just speak to new Christians, though.

We ought to keep them running through our minds, throughout our lives,

because the ways of this world do not go away while we're here.

Turn over to 2 Timothy 3 real quick.

We'll read verses 1 through 5 there.

This note also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,

disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,

trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,

having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

From such, turn away.

These verses speak of the last days.

It speaks of people being lovers of themselves,

proud, unholy, and the list went on and on.

Lovers of pleasures more than God.

These verses in 2 Timothy tell us that the world will not improve.

It will continue to move against God, and it will continue to get worse.

To this we receive the warning.

From such, turn away.

Turn away or take no pardon.

Be not yoked with, be not conformed to.

Satan does not give up on trying to hinder us.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,

walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

We read here in 1 Peter 5.8,

the devil does not rest in his pursuit against the righteous.

We must keep our guard.

We must assess what we're influencing and what's influencing us.

So let's start at the beginning of the chapter here.

Go back over to Romans there.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren.

Chapter 12 is not started with a continuation of the previous verses,

as most other chapters previous were.

Now, the previous chapters were over the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.

They conclude, and a new subject is introduced.

So how do we know a new thought started?

Well, in this instance, it's pretty easy,

because if you look up at chapter 11, verse 36 there,

it reads,

Amen, which signifies to confirm or establish and to mark an end to a declaration.

The previous thought is wrapped up, and we continue now with the next.

So I wanted to stop and take a minute here

and just talk about some of the Bible punctuation, right?

So the Bible tells us to rightly divide the word,

and part of that's understanding our context.

So one of the tools that we can use when doing that is punctuation.

When you read an article, a story, a book, anything,

you're following the punctuation lines,

and that usually shows separation from one part to the next.

If it was just one big, long stream of words,

it'd be pretty monotonous and hard to read, hard to decipher.

So one of the tools we can use is the punctuation.

Now, our Bible is split up into chapters and verses,

and that happened around 1599, as I understand,

and that's also where they introduced a pilcrow.

Now, how many know what a pilcrow is?

A little backwards-looking pea.

Backwards pea.

So if you look through your Bible,

you'll find a little pilcrow every once in a while,

and what that means is that's the start of an indentation of a new section there.

So since we don't have that separation out,

you know, with the indentations in the word there,

they put pilcrows.

But it's also important to understand

that just as the chapters and verse were introduced

by editorial committee,

so were the pilcrows.

There's no, per se, divine influence in the pilcrows themselves.

They were just placed there from the editors of the KJV,

saying this is where we believe that a new separation should start and begin there.

So it's always important to remember that.

But now that we talked about pilcrows a little bit,

I can tell you that they're of no use to us here,

because the last pilcrow that's used is in Acts 20.36 there.

So there's speculation as to why,

but my thought is just that from Acts,

you move into the epistles.

And in the epistles, they're more of a letter,

which is less formal generally.

When you write a letter, you're not following strict guidelines.

They're letters to the churches there,

or they're letters to different people there, right?

So we don't have any pilcrows there,

but we can still use the reasoning of the context of the words.

And we have different indicators in the word here

of where we would end a thought and where we'd begin one.

Right here, we have one,

to whom be the glory forever, amen.

Right?

We stop that there,

and then that thought kind of continues on then

until if we read,

it was the end of verse, or chapter 15.

So we kind of have this section here

that covers on this topic.

So we have the start of a new section,

and immediately we're beseeched.

So what does it mean to be beseeched?

To entreat, to supplicate, to implore,

to ask or pray with urgency.

The matter we're called attentiveness to

is affectionately pressed upon us.

Paul here addresses the brethren.

It shows his affection and relationship

to those he addresses.

This translated word brethren

is used 319 in 319 verses in the New Testament.

Acts contains the highest usage,

with it being used in 56 verses.

And for comparison,

it's used in 31 verses in Matthew

and 35 verses in 1 Corinthians,

which are the two runners-up.

Now, we ought to find that no surprise

because we find so great

in evangelism outreach in Acts.

So if we go turn over to Acts 15.36,

Acts 15.36 tells us,

And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas,

Let us go again and visit our brethren

in every city where we have preached

the word of the Lord and see how they do.

We find here who the brethren are.

They are saved individuals

that they have preached the word of God to.

We see the affection toward them

as they seek to take report of them

to see how they do.

The theme continues.

If you turn, let's see,

a couple pages over there to Acts 21

in verse 7.

That reads,

And when we had finished our course from Tyre,

we came to Ptolemus

and saluted the brethren

and abode with them one day.

And then a little further

in verse 17 there.

That reads,

And when we were come to Jerusalem,

the brethren received us gladly.

And one chapter over in 28,

verse 13.

Or excuse me,

that's a couple chapters over,

isn't it?

Yeah.

So Acts 28.13.

And from thence we fetched a compass

and came to Regim.

And after one day,

the south wind blew,

and we came the next day

to Petoli,

where we found brethren

and were desired to tarry

with themselves,

or with them seven days.

And so we went toward Rome.

All right?

So back in Romans,

we are called upon

as brothers and sisters in Christ,

as friends and fellow laborers,

as family,

to stop and attend

to this most urgent matter.

As we read further into this,

as we remember

that we are preyed upon

with urgencies

as brothers in Christ

on the matter,

we find another depth of urgency

that Paul expands upon.

We are not only called on the matter

as fellow servants with Paul,

but we are called

by the mercies of God.

Now, God is merciful.

We're going to read Psalm 103.8.

That is a good one for here.

And Psalm 103.8 reads,

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger,

and plenteous in mercy.

And also Numbers 14.18.

The Lord is long-suffering

and of great mercy,

forgiving iniquity and transgression,

and by no means clearing the guilty,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers

upon the children

under the third and fourth generation.

So as the crowd of Israelites

murmured against God

and they were ready to return

to the land of the captivity,

they were reminded of his long-suffering

and mercy toward them.

So look at verse 19 here.

Pardon, I beseech thee,

the iniquity of this people

according unto the greatness of thy mercy,

and as thou hast forgiven this people

from Egypt even until now.

That sounds familiar.

I beseech thee,

according unto the greatness of thy mercy.

That sounds like the same urgent call

to listen up.

Here, Moses calls urgently upon the Lord

to pardon the people's iniquity

to his great mercy,

and he responds lovingly and succinctly.

As Psalm 103 read,

oh, excuse me,

I skipped the verse,

that's verse 20,

and the Lord said,

I have pardoned according to thy word.

So as Psalm 103 read,

the Lord is merciful and plenteous in mercy.

The Lord is also merciful toward us.

But God, who is rich in mercy

for his great love

wherewith he loved us,

even when we were dead in sins,

hath quickened us together with Christ.

By grace are you saved.

And that's found in Ephesians 2.

We were dead in sin,

yet he had mercy on us.

Christ died for us.

Romans 5, 8 reads,

but God commendeth his love toward us

and that while we are yet sinners,

Christ died for us.

He is merciful to us

and that he made a way to save us

from an eternal destination in hell.

I'm sure thankful that he is merciful.

Because of this mercy,

I can now look forward to an eternity in heaven

by our Savior's side.

And I hope that each one of you

can look forward to that as well.

It's by these great mercies

that we are called to heed these words.

So what then to these great lengths

are we beseeched to?

That you present your bodies

a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto God.

In the Old Testament,

sacrifice was a common theme.

The first instance we find this concept

is back in Genesis 3, 21.

Unto Adam also and his wife

did the Lord God make coats of skins

and clothe them.

The first recording of a beast being slain.

The first picture of mortality and of death.

Before this point, clothing was unnecessary.

It was because sin entered in

and man understood nakedness

that the slaying of this lamb was necessary.

Another display of God's mercy

and a foreshadow of what was to come.

He closed Adam and Eve

and exposed them to a new world

that they lived in,

an immortal world,

a world he just explained to them

back in verse 19.

In the sweat of thy face

shalt thou eat bread

till thou return unto the ground.

For out of it wast thou taken.

For dust thou art

and unto dust shalt thou return.

We find the idea of sacrifice

being continued over in Genesis 4

in verses 1 through 5.

And Adam and Eve knew his wife

or and Adam knew Eve his wife

and she conceived and bare Cain

and said,

I have gotten a man from the Lord.

And she again bare his brother Abel

and Abel was the keeper of the sheep

but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in process of time

it came to pass

that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground

an offering unto the Lord.

And Abel,

he also brought of the firstlings of his flock

of the fat thereof.

And the Lord had respect unto Abel

and to his offering.

But unto Cain and to his offering

he had no respect.

And Cain was very wroth

and his countenance fell.

We see here that Cain and Abel

were taught to bring sacrifice to the Lord.

Furthermore,

this story tells the sacrifice

that was acceptable,

a blood sacrifice.

And we read later on

in the Old Testament,

we find where God gives

specific instruction on sacrifices.

And you can find that

over there in Leviticus.

But we won't read

all those chapters today.

But if we,

let's see,

focus on Leviticus 1 here

in verses 2 and 3.

That reads,

Speak unto the children of Israel

and say unto them,

If any man of you

bring an offering unto the Lord,

he shall bring your offering

of the cattle,

even of the herd

and of the flock.

If his offering

be a burnt sacrifice

of the herd,

let him offer a male

without blemish.

He shall offer it

of his own voluntary will

at the door of the tabernacle

of the congregation

before the Lord.

We can see that

these sacrifices

were to come from

a living creature.

Also, we should note

the instruction in verse 3

that he should offer it

of his own voluntary will

at the door of the tabernacle

of the congregation

before the Lord.

The sacrifice was to be

voluntarily given.

There should be no reserve

in offering sacrifice.

We ought not to reserve

our own selves

in sacrifice to the Lord.

The sacrifices of the Old Testament

were given fully.

They were brought living

to be given

and only a living sacrifice

would do.

A dead one would not

be accepted.

This shows a picture

of the type of sacrifice

that we ought to offer ourselves.

In Romans 12.1,

it says a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable.

So if we read back

in Leviticus,

it told us that

without blemish,

the choice of the flock

was to be chosen.

So if we read back

to Genesis 4.4,

we find that Abel

brought the first

of his flock,

the best of his flock,

and his offering

was accepted

while Cain's offering

was brought of his own way,

contrary to what

the Lord required

and was not accepted.

So God instructs us

to bring ourselves

a living sacrifice,

meaning we are not

to be brought alive

to be slaughtered,

but that we are

to continually present

ourselves to the Lord

to give our lives

over to him.

Without blemish,

acceptable to him.

As 1 Peter 1.16 reads,

because it is written,

be holy,

for I am holy.

He gives us

the picture of sacrifice

here as an example

to know how we ought

to bring ourselves

to him.

Holy, reserving nothing.

Let's turn over

to 2 Corinthians 8.

We'll read from there.

And down to verse 5,

it reads,

and this they did,

not as we hoped,

but first gave

their own selves

to the Lord

and unto us

by the will of God.

First,

they gave in themselves

to the Lord.

Lastly,

in this verse,

we find that we must

give ourselves reasonably,

which is your reasonable service.

Isaiah 1.18.

Let's read that one.

Come now,

and let us reason together,

saith the Lord.

Though your sins

be as scarlet,

they shall be white as snow.

Though they be red

like crimson,

they shall be as wool.

God is reasonable.

He is a teacher,

a helper.

He does not ask us

to act out of blind devotion.

We must serve Him

in truth and understanding.

The Lord is merciful

and does not ask us,

ask of us the unreasonable.

He wants us to understand.

We cannot offer ourselves

in reasonable service

without understanding.

Psalm 32.8 reads,

I will instruct thee

and teach thee

in the way

which thou shalt go.

I will guide thee

with mine eyes.

So He'll instruct us there.

And then if we turn back

to Psalm 25,

just a couple pages away,

it says,

Good and upright

is the Lord.

Therefore will He teach

sinners in the way.

The meek will He guide

in judgment

and the meek

will He teach

in His way.

And then we have

in Jeremiah 33.3,

another popular verse there.

I've got to go

in the right direction.

Jeremiah 33 reads,

Call unto me

and I will answer thee

and show thee

great and mighty things

which thou knowest not.

So He will show us

great and mighty things

we know not.

2 Timothy 3.16.

It's the last verse

we'll read on this topic here.

And that reads,

All scripture is given

by inspiration of God

and is profitable

for doctrine,

for reproof,

for correction,

for instruction,

and righteousness.

So the whole Bible

is also given there

for our instructions.

So we were just given

a call how we ought

to live out our lives

in complete obedience

to the Lord,

living each and every day

as a sacrifice

to His will,

completely surrendered.

This is the part

where things can get

a little tricky

because we all have

great intentions

and we usually like

to start off pretty strong.

But life happens

and it can wear on us.

If we're not solidly

guarded and grounded,

if we read Romans 12,

1 and 2,

we can see that although

they are separated

by verse and numbers,

they're really just

one statement together.

Because verse 2 begins

with a big and right there.

And it's a coordinating

conjunction that connects

this clause to the previous.

So we are to offer ourselves

a living sacrifice

and we are not to be

conformed to this world.

So what does it mean

to be conformed?

Being conformed means

to fit into a mold,

becoming plastic

and being shaped

by a rigid structure.

As Christians,

we ought to be

a different shape.

We ought not to fit

into the mold

of this world.

So pressure creates cracks.

So the popular term here

is that pressure

creates diamonds.

How many of you

have ever heard that one?

I hear that all the time.

You have to be under

this tremendous amount

of pressure

and out pops

a great shiny diamond.

You know,

that's how it goes, right?

But in my experience,

when I put pressure

on things,

they crack

and they break.

Right?

I don't know

about everybody else.

So I always think back

to when I worked

in the truck shop

and I don't know

if many of you

hear from

like an industrial

background,

but in the shop

we had

a hydraulic press

and I don't know

how many of you

use one of those,

but some of them

they just use

that little hand crank one

where you pump it up

and you can

you know,

put pressure

on something there.

But we had one

of the big fancy ones

and it was air operated.

So all you had to do

is sit back,

push a button

and it did it

all by itself.

So it's kind of dangerous

because now

you're not feeling

the pressure, right?

All you have

is a little gauge

and I don't know

how you guys are,

but we don't usually

pay attention to those.

They just kind of

go by what's,

you know,

oh yeah,

I kind of heard

that second pop.

I think that's getting

pretty close,

you know?

So with these

hydraulic presses,

they have a cover,

right?

They put a little

screen on

and we won't

get into it

but they mostly

are just filled

with dust

because they never

get used.

So anyways,

I remember putting

a tie rod up

on this hydraulic

press, right?

And you sit in there,

you put your little

block down,

you put the press,

the ball joint on there,

you're going to

press that out,

right?

Put the adapter,

hit the button,

starts coming down,

right?

Okay,

you get your pressure,

you look,

everything's squared up,

we're good to go,

right?

Hit that button

a little more,

nothing,

still nothing,

pop,

okay,

well,

we might be

getting somewhere,

you know?

And the problem

is,

you don't get

much indication

but that thing

will just keep going.

You can hit that

button all day long

and that press

is just going

to keep going down

and you have

all that air pressure

behind it

to create that force.

So,

what happens is

I never turned

that tie rod

into a diamond.

I put all that

pressure on,

it kept going,

never turned

it into a diamond.

If it did,

I'd probably

just sell the diamond

and buy a new tie rod

and move on

with my day,

collect the leftover,

you know,

from that.

So,

never did happen.

But what it did do

is it broke it,

right?

Because eventually,

and generally

things go flying.

I understood

the reason

for the gates

in front

but,

you know,

you do the side,

you know,

once you hear

about the second

or third pop,

that's when you

start getting

a little cautious,

step off to the side,

you know,

wouldn't want anybody

to get hurt,

right?

So,

anyways,

pressure creates cracks,

pressure breaks,

right?

So,

the longer we're here

and the longer

that we're exposed

to this force

and the longer

it wears on us,

and the moment

we start to lose

our inhibitions

and become relaxed

is the moment

that the pressure

of this world

gains an inch.

Unfortunately,

this is something

we see all the time.

A Christian once

living their life

for the Lord,

now indistinguishable

from the world

around them,

conformed to the lifestyles

and actions

of the world

they were to be guarded

from,

not living their lives

as a living sacrifice

but living in need

of revival.

We see this also

in churches.

Over time,

they can become

more flexible.

They can focus

on the wrong thing.

It becomes about

more about what

they want

instead of what

the Lord's will

is for them.

They begin to think,

maybe if we make

the word more palatable,

we'll get more members.

Or maybe they decide

it's okay to bend

God's word

if they think

they might get

more professions

of faith.

It's important

to remember

that we are not here

to save anyone.

Our job,

as Mark 16 and 15 says,

is to proclaim

the word.

He said unto them,

go ye into the world

and preach the gospel

to every creature.

It is an honor

for us to speak

of the sacrifice

he made for us

and it should always

be done within

the context

of his word.

We should never

allow our own ambitions

to allow us

to bend our morals

in the name

of sharing the gospel.

So we'll turn over

and read a few verses

in 1 Corinthians here

that go along

with this.

And 1 Corinthians 11

is where we're going

to be at

in verse 17.

We'll start.

Okay, in verse 17

it reads,

Now in this

that I declare unto you,

I praise you not

that you come together

not for the better

but for the worse.

For first of all,

when you come together

in the church,

I hear that there be

divisions among you

and I partly believe it.

For there must also,

there must be also

heresies among you

that they which are approved

may be made manifest

among you.

When you come together

therefore in one place,

this is not to eat

the Lord's supper.

For in eating

everyone taketh

before other

his own supper

and one is hungry

and another is drunken.

What?

Have ye not

houses to eat

and to drink in

or despise ye

the church of God

and shame them

that have not?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you in this?

I praise you not.

The church at Corinth

struggled with being

conformed to this world.

These verses opened

by stating

that it was so bad

that they came together

for the worse

and not the better.

We ought to pray

like something like that

could never be said for us.

They allowed heresy,

divisions,

and gluttony

to enter in amongst them.

They allowed the things

of this world

to infiltrate the church.

We need to be rooted

and to have a solid foundation.

Jeremiah 17

in verse 7 through 8 reads,

Blessed is the man

that trusteth in the Lord

and whose hope the Lord is.

For he shall be as a tree

planted by the waters

and that spreadeth out

her roots by the river

and shall not see

when heat cometh

but her leaf shall be green

and shall not be careful

in the year of drought.

Neither shall cease

from yielding fruit.

This goes back

to the reason

why we see so many

fall to the paths

of conformity.

They weren't rooted

in God's word.

It's popular today

for people to make fun

of the King James Bible.

I don't know

if anybody's been out

and about

but you talk to other Christians

and when it comes up

the Bible

that you have chosen to use

they'll say,

why?

That's outdated.

That's no good.

You are doing something wrong

by choosing that

because none of us do.

It's kind of the part about it.

I even had a friend once.

He did his homework.

He learned about it

and he decided to switch

to reading the King James Bible.

And when he actually

went to the church

that he was at

they made fun of him

and said,

just berated him on it

we'll say.

So it's really sad.

And

so we gotta be strong in that.

Strong in

what you know.

We gotta hold to the truth

that we know there.

So you know

I always wonder about that though.

It's like

you have so many people out

that proclaim

what they call

God's word

and we have so many

preachers around

I always wonder

if you struggle

with the basic fundamental

then

what else do you have

wrong in your teaching?

It's like

that's

to get your word

from something

you have to be sure

that it's correct.

Right?

So

just

you know

something I think about

but

you know

because I remember

when I had to study

and decide what Bible to use

and I'm grateful

that he taught

so much to me about it.

You know

I'm grateful

that he guided

that the Lord guided me

in selecting

the correct translation

to use.

Right?

So

when I first

would say back

before even the truck story there

I remember

I wanted to read the Bible

and I wanted to know God.

I wanted to know

what he had to say.

Right?

So I went down

I think it's like a crossway

or whatever they had

down there in North Carolina

and I look at the shelf

and if you go into

one of those stores

and you look at the shelves

I mean

there's probably five shelves.

There's different

Bible translations

and I remember

there standing

at that moment

I looked at all these books

and I said

well

which one of those

is God's word?

There's

a whole bunch of them.

They're all different.

Which one is God's word?

And

you know

I think at the time

I chose a different one.

My reasoning was

I looked at it

and I said

oh

this sounds like

like a standard version.

That would be

the most

you know

sounds right.

Right?

Standard.

You know

I speak English

it's standard.

And

I mean

that's just

that's Matt reasoning

right?

So

I grabbed that Bible up

and I started going

and I

you know

it was a little later

but like I said

the Lord worked with me

he taught me

we don't know everything

right off the beginning.

You know

we continually learn

we continually learn.

so I learned this

as time went on

and I

and then I finally

you know

once I knew

I made the switch

and

you know

I'm just grateful

that I was allowed

to do that

but

we have to be strong

in that

because

if we go around

to other people

and we're more concerned

about what they have to think

what we read

you know

we're gonna

we're gonna conform to that.

If we're constantly pressured

and we don't have

a solid foundation

in what we believe

you know

that's

that's not gonna end up

well for us.

So I encourage you

to just

do your homework

on the Bibles.

You know

the evidence presents itself

and the Lord will lead you in it

so

and he'll bless you

in that endeavor.

So

so yeah

you must have a solid grounding

in God's word

to be guarded from conformity

and you need the word of God

to be accurate.

You can't

you can't base

all the rest of your foundations

on something

that's not accurate

right?

All right

so that brings us

to the last part

of this verse here.

And be not conformed

to this world

but be transformed

by the renewing

of your mind

that you may prove

what is that good

and acceptable

and perfect will of God.

God here gives us

an instruction

on how we are

able to guard

from being conformed

and how we can be

grounded.

First Corinthians 15

18 reads

therefore

my beloved brethren

be steadfast

unmovable

always abounding

in the work of the Lord

for as much

as you know

that your labor

is not in vain

in the Lord.

Steadfast and unmovable

or good traits

in this context.

Once we know the truth

we ought to sink

our feet into it

and anchor to it.

The Lord tells us

to do this

by the renewing

of our minds

transforming us

to be more Christ-like.

So

how do we

renew our minds?

Let's look at

a few verses here

of what the Bible

tells us.

So over in

Philippians 4

8

it reads

finally brethren

whatsoever things

are true

whatsoever things

are honest

whatsoever things

are just

whatsoever things

are pure

whatsoever things

are lovely

whatsoever things

are of good report

if there be any

virtue

and if there be

any praise

think on these

things.

We ought to focus

our minds

on thinking

on the correct

things.

So over in

Colossians 3

16

it reads

So that is

letting the word

of Christ

dwell in you

and to teach

one another.

Psalms 19

14

Let the words

of my mouth

and the meditation

of my heart

be acceptable

in thy sight

O Lord

my strength

and my redeemer

so gauging our

efforts that they

are acceptable.

We always ought

to look back

make sure what

we're doing

lines up

with what

God wants us

to do.

So we have a

couple in

Psalms here

119 15

in Psalms

I will meditate

in thy precepts

and have respect

unto thy ways

Psalm 104

34 reads

my meditation

of him

shall be sweet

I will be

glad in the

Lord.

Psalm 1

2

But his delight

is in the

law of the

Lord

and in his

law

doth he

meditate

day and

night.

So those

verses in

Psalm

talked about

meditating

on God's

word

continually.

We look

over into

Isaiah

in chapter

26

verse 3

Thou will

keep him

in perfect

peace

whose mind

is stayed

on thee

because he

trusteth

in thee.

And 2

Corinthians 4

14

through 18

knowing that

he which

raised up

the Lord

Jesus

shall raise

up us

also by

Jesus

and shall

present us

with you

for all

things are

for your

sakes

that the

abundant

grace

might through

the thanksgiving

of many

redound to

the glory

of God

for which

cause we

faint not

but though our

outward man

perish

yet the inward

man is renewed

day by day

for our light

affliction

which is but

for a moment

worketh for us

a far more

exceeding and

eternal weight

of glory

while we

look not

at the

things which

are seen

but at the

things which

are not seen

for the

things which

are seen

are temporal

but the

things which

are not seen

are eternal

so that tells

us we ought to

keep our eyes

focused not on

this world

but on the

eternal

so we must

renew our

minds

continually

it should not

be an up

and down

cycle

waiting until

we've fallen

behind before

trying to catch

back up

our efforts

need to be

constant

steadfast

and immovable

this renewing

of our minds

will prove

the perfect

will of God

it will allow

us to guard

from being

conformed to

this world

and allow

us to be

the acceptable

living sacrifice

that we are

called to be

Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:1

verses 1 and 2

tell us

wherefore

seeing we

also are

compassed about

with so great

a cloud of

witnesses

let us

lay aside

every weight

and the sin

which does

so easily

beset us

and let us

run with

patience

the race

that is set

before us

looking unto

Jesus

the author

and finisher

of our faith

who for the joy

that was set

before him

endured the cross

despising the shame

and is set down

at the right hand

of the throne

of God

we are to run

with patience

keeping our eyes

on Jesus

it's through him

that we are able

to overcome

the world

so I want to

encourage you

this morning

we read

Romans 12

1 and 2

and those

are a declaration

it tells us

what we ought

to be doing

but as I

kind of alluded

to earlier

that section

really goes

down

through verse

or through

chapter 15

so I encourage

you to read

through that

because it

really gives

you an outline

of how you

can live your

life as a

living sacrifice

and I

think it's

something you

know we

ought to just

keep in our

minds

because as

you were saying

earlier

the world

is that

pressure

on top of

us

right

and it

has that

force

against us

and if we

try to do

things in our

own power

that force

can overcome

us

it can gain

an inch

on us

but if we

keep our

minds

in the right

place

and focusing

on the right

things

God will

help us

and he's

the one

that's able

to overcome

the world

right

let's go

ahead and pray

and