The Gospel Applied: A Church Shaped by the Gospel

12.1.

Okay, that's in page 1139.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,

to offer you a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not comfort any longer to the partner 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 would,

but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,

in accordance with the measure of faith in God has given you,

just like each of you has one body with many members,

and these members do not all have the same function.

So in Christ, we who are many from 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 protected,

let him use in the 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.

Thank you.

Thanks very much, Alveda, for reading.

So we start into a new series.

The Gospel Applied is the title for the whole series,

which will take us through from Romans 12 through to 16.

And this morning we look at a church that is shaped by the gospel,

and in particular, how a church is shaped by God's mercy.

So let's pray and let us ask for God's help

as we look at this together.

Father, we ask that you would pour out your mercy upon us even now.

In your goodness and in your kindness,

would you help us to concentrate with our minds

that we may hear clearly what your word is saying to us.

And we pray that by the power of your Holy Spirit,

it would change our hearts,

it would change our lives on the inside,

and that it would shape us

into being the kind of people and the kind of church

that you call us to be.

We pray that through our time this morning

and through our hearing of your word,

that we would leave this morning amazed,

thrilled, encouraged

by what you have done.

And may it motivate us

to live lives of service

for you.

So we ask for your help to us all.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

If you were to choose a theme song

for the church,

what would it be?

I asked Kirsty this during the week.

She said,

who let the dogs out?

Don't think that was the right answer.

What song would you choose?

Theme songs are important

because they shape and define

who we are.

They create pride.

They stir up passion within us.

So when Ireland play their rugby matches

or their soccer matches,

the crowd in unison,

the stadium will all stand together

and they will sing

That's as far as my Irish goes.

Soldiers are we

whose lives are pledged to Ireland.

And as the song goes on,

in Aaron's cause come woe or weal,

mid cannons roar and rifles peal,

will chant a soldier's song.

Now when we hear a song like that

in unison with everybody together,

it puts fire in your belly.

They're songs that define our cause

and they shape the kind of people that we are.

So what is the theme song of the church?

Well in Romans 12,

we start into a new section

and it's all about the church.

It's all about the gospel being applied to the church.

But before we see what the church should be like,

we've got to know what our theme song is.

Because this song defines our cause

and it will shape the kind of people we will be.

It's a song that will stir up passion

to pledge ourselves to the gospel.

It's a song that will motivate us

to give ourselves in sacrifice to God

and in service to others.

So what is the song that we are to sing?

Well look at chapter 12, verse 1.

Therefore, I urge you,

I beg of you,

I plead with you, my people,

brothers and sisters,

in view of God's mercy.

So our theme song is to be a song about mercy.

Together we are called in verse 1

as a church to come together

to look back and remember

God's amazing kindness towards us.

We are to stand and view

the beauty and brilliance of God's mercy

to people like you and me.

For 11 chapters,

he's been telling us all about God's mercy.

And it all comes to a climax

in chapters 9 through to 11.

So go back to chapter 9.

He's talking here about the salvation

that we have received,

the new life in Christ that we have.

So in chapter 9, verse 15,

this is what it says.

For he, that's God,

says to Moses,

and it applies to us,

I will have mercy

on whom I have mercy

and I will have compassion

on whom I have compassion.

It does not,

that means our salvation,

does not therefore depend

on man's desire or effort.

It doesn't depend on anything we do,

but on God's mercy.

God in his compassion

has looked down on people

like you and me

who fail and fall all the time,

who deserve God's just judgment,

but yet when he looks upon us,

he responds in mercy.

I read an article recently

in the newspaper

about a public hanging in Iran.

The headline went like this,

Woman Spares Son's Killer

from Hanging.

A young man had murdered

a mother's 18-year-old son,

and the law in that country

states that as an act of justice,

the victim,

in this case the mother,

can kick the chair away

on which the criminal is standing

to cause his death.

So with this huge crowd

of people watching,

the mother climbed the steps,

and instead of kicking the chair away,

she removed the noose

from around the man's neck,

and she forgave him.

It was an incredible act of mercy.

Now we are told

to look back and view God's mercy.

We are to picture in our minds

not a gallows,

but a cross.

And there we are to see

the Lord Jesus Christ

who takes the nails

for you and for me.

Because it's us

who are guilty.

It's us who deserve to die.

But in an incredible act of mercy,

it's as if God takes the noose

from around our neck

and he places it

around his own son,

the God-man Jesus Christ.

So Jesus is the one

who dies in our place.

Jesus is the one

who takes my sin

on himself.

He takes the judgment

that is mine.

The wrath of God

falls on him.

That is mercy.

But that's not all.

Imagine with me,

if you would,

that the woman

in that illustration

not only spared

the criminal from death,

but imagine now

that she takes that man,

that murderer,

and she takes him

into her home.

That she adopts him

into her family.

That she gives him

his own room

and provides for him,

giving him food

and shelter

and care

and protection.

She now treats

this criminal

as she loved

her own son

who had died.

Imagine.

Well, the woman

never did that.

But that is exactly

what God has done

for us.

Look in chapter 9,

verse 25.

Again, this is talking

about the big picture

of God's mercy.

Romans 9,

Romans 9:25

verse 25.

As God says

in Hosea,

I will call them

my people

who are not

my people.

And I will call

her my loved one

who is not

my loved one.

And it will happen

that in the very place

where it was said

to them,

you are not

my people,

they will be called

sons of the living God.

That's the beauty

and the brilliance

of God's mercy.

This is the compassion

and goodness

of God's kindness

towards people

like you and me.

He forgives us.

But not only

does he forgive us,

but he now welcomes us in.

He takes us as people

who weren't in his family

and he says,

now you are

in my family.

You are my loved ones.

You are my people.

You are my children.

And so this is

our theme song.

This is the song

that is always

to be playing

in the background

of our lives.

Never tire

from looking back

to the cross.

As we sang earlier,

beneath the cross

of Jesus,

this is where

we are to stand

and to see

unending mercy

flow to us.

never tire

of looking back

to Christ

and seeing

how you are

eternally loved

and treasured.

That you have become

brothers and sisters

of the Lord Jesus

and that you

by faith

belong

to the family

of God.

So this is

our theme song.

A song

of mercy.

Now as we

remember

God's mercy,

we will see

that it begins

to shape us

and define

who we are

as a church.

So look at

chapter 12

verse 1.

Therefore,

I urge you

brothers and sisters

in view

of God's mercy,

offer your bodies

as living sacrifices.

Verse 6.

We have been

given 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.

In other words,

what he's saying

to us here,

because of

everything God

has done

for us,

in view

of God's

mercy,

this is how

you are to live.

You have been

filled

with God's

mercy

and now

because you

have been

filled,

your lives

will overflow

in sacrifice

and in

service.

Now,

before we look

at these things

in detail,

let's get this

right.

We do these

things,

we sacrifice

and we serve,

not to earn

God's mercy,

but because we

have already

received his

mercy.

Our sacrifice

and our service

is not a duty

to perform

to try and get

God's attention

or to earn

his favour.

It's an expression

of our love

and a way

to say,

thank you,

thank you,

Father,

for your

amazing mercy

to me.

So,

we are to be

a church

that is shaped

and driven

by mercy.

mercy.

First,

a church

shaped by

mercy

will mean

we offer

ourselves

in sacrifice

to God.

A church

that is shaped

by mercy

will mean

we offer

ourselves

in sacrifice

to God.

Let's read

verse 1 again.

Therefore,

I urge you,

I plead

with 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.

Offer your

body

as a

living

sacrifice.

Well,

what does that

mean?

What does that

look like?

Well,

go back to

chapter 6.

Go back

to chapter 6,

verse 13.

Here in

chapter 6,

he's been

talking about

all that

Christ has

done for us,

how we are

united with

him in his

death and

resurrection

and the new

life that we

have,

and in

response to

that,

look at

what we do,

verse 13.

Do not

offer the

parts of

your body

to sin

as instruments

of wickedness,

but rather

offer yourselves

to God

as those

who have

been brought

from death

to life

and offer

the parts

of your

body to

him as

instruments

of righteousness.

Because of

God's

mercy in

our lives,

we have

been brought

from death

into

life.

life.

And so

in response,

in celebration

of this

new life

that we

have been

given,

we now

give our

bodies to

God,

physically,

mentally,

emotionally,

spiritually.

In other words,

we give our

whole self to

God.

We hold

nothing back.

It is total

and it is

complete.

complete.

Go back

to chapter

12.

Do you

see what

it says

in chapter

12,

verse 1?

Offer

your bodies

as living

sacrifices.

We are

not dead

people,

we are

living,

it requires

action,

holy and

pleasing to

God.

To be

holy,

to be a

holy person

is not to

kind of wander

around with

some kind

of flowing

robe and

do all

kinds of

funny chants.

Holy means

to be set

apart.

It means

to give

yourselves

exclusively

to God.

Here I

am.

I am an

instrument

in your

hands for

you to

use as

you would

choose.

This,

verse 1,

is your

spiritual

act of

worship.

worship.

This is

the right

kind of

response

to God.

This is

how we

worship God

in response

to his

mercy.

We give

ourselves

to him.

We

worship

him.

Worship

is not

singing songs

for 20

minutes.

It includes

singing,

and it's

good to

sing,

and that's

why we

sing,

but true

worship is

about giving

your whole

life,

24-7,

to God.

Worship

really starts

when we

head out

that door

and we

go to

work tomorrow

morning,

or we

study for

our exams,

or we

care for

our children.

This is

where we

live in

response to

God's

mercy.

It's

living for

God

exclusively

in the

context of

our day-to-day

lives.

Now,

if you're

anything like

me,

you'll find

that really,

really hard.

It's hard

to give

ourselves in

sacrifice,

because the

message that

we get blaring

in our ears

every day is,

look after

self,

don't

sacrifice.

Look after

yourself,

you're number

one.

Every day

there's a

battle inside

of us about

every decision

and every

choice that

we make.

It's all

about self,

not sacrifice.

Live for

yourself,

don't live

for God.

That's the

battle inside

of us.

So how

can we

overcome

this battle?

Well,

look at

verse 2.

He says,

do not

conform any

longer to

the pattern

of this

world,

but be

transformed by

the renewing

of your

mind.

you see,

the pattern

of this

world is

to live

for self.

The voice

of this

world is

saying to

us every

single day,

live for

yourself.

Rather,

he is saying,

let the

voice of

God,

let that

begin to

transform and

shape your

mind.

In other

words, I

think it's

coming back

to the

beginning of

verse 1.

it's about

singing the

song of

mercy to

each other.

It's

reminding

ourselves of

God's

mercy and

letting that

transform and

renew your

mind.

It's looking

back to view

it and see

how God

gave his

life to

sacrifice his

life for

you, who

held nothing

back but

gave his

all for

you so

that you

could have

life.

And when we

look at that

mercy, let it

shape you,

let it change

you, let it

get deep

inside of

your life so

that in the

heat of the

battle when

you're questioning

about will it

be self or

will it be

sacrifice, you

will be amazed

at the mercy

of God and

in response you

will sacrifice

your life for

him.

So as a

church that

is shaped by

mercy, we

will offer

ourselves in

sacrifice to

God.

second, a

church shaped

by mercy

means we

will be

offering

ourselves in

service to

others, we

will offer

ourselves in

service to

others.

Look at

verse 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,

others.

Now this is

the beginning

of a section

which is all

about a

call to

serve others

and how we

serve others

will all

depend how

we think of

ourselves.

So how do

you think about

yourself?

What's your

opinion of

yourself?

If you have

too high of

you, if you

think too

highly of

yourself, you

will think

that everybody

is there to

serve you.

if you

have too

low a view

of yourself,

you will

think, well

I'm not

good enough

to serve

anybody.

If I'm

too high of

you, everybody

should serve

me.

If I have

too low a view

of myself,

then I'm not

able to serve

anyone.

But look what

it says in

verse 3.

He says we

are to think

of ourselves

with sober

judgment.

judgment.

We don't

have too

high a view

and we

don't have

too low

of you.

In fact, we

are to think

of ourselves

as God

sees us

and as God

treats us.

Look at the

rest of verse

3.

He says,

think of

yourself

with sober

judgment.

Here's the

phrase, in

accordance with

the measure

of faith

God has

given you.

So the

measure of

faith that

has been

given to

us is

not in

terms of

quantity,

but quality.

The faith

that he has

given to

us is not

quantity,

but it's

quality.

It's not

that some

people have

been given

a greater

measure,

that we

have more

faith than

other people.

No, it

means we've

been given

the same

kind of

faith,

the same

measure,

the same

standard of

faith,

the faith

that God

has given

to you,

is the

same

faith that's

given to

me,

it's the

same

standard.

In other

words, it's

coming back

again to

God's

mercy.

God in

his mercy

has given

us the

gift of

faith which

we can't

earn and

we don't

deserve,

and the

only reason

that I

am who

I am,

that I

am a

child of

God,

is because

of God's

mercy.

So I

now look

at myself

through the

eyes of

God,

I look

at myself

through

mercy.

And that

changes

everything.

So I

no longer

see myself

as superior

to other

people,

I no longer

think of

myself as

inferior to

anybody else,

in fact,

because of

God's mercy

to me in

my life,

I will see

myself as

a valued,

treasured

member of

God's

church,

his family.

Look at

verse 4.

just as

each of

us has

one body,

so I

was talking

about the

physical

body,

with many

members,

so we've

got head,

arms,

legs,

eyes,

ears,

nose,

and all

those sorts

of things,

even though

we've got

many members,

these members

do not all

have the same

function,

so our

head doesn't

do what our

hands do,

and our

hands don't

do what our

legs do.

Okay,

they've all

got different

parts.

Now,

verse 5,

so in

Christ,

we who

are many

form one

body,

and each

member belongs

to all

the others.

There's no

inferiority,

there's no

superiority,

nobody in

the church

family should

be saying,

you should

serve me,

or no one

should be

saying,

I can't

serve you.

We are

all by

God's

mercy,

valued,

and treasured

people,

we are

all vital

parts of

the body.

We belong

to Christ,

we belong

to the

church.

Now,

while we

all have

the same

gift of

faith,

and while

God has

treated us

in exactly

the same

way by

mercy,

we have

all been

given

different

gifts

to serve.

So,

look at

verse 6.

Look at

verse 6,

we have

different

gifts,

gifts,

according

to the

grace

given

us.

God

has given

to us,

each one

of us,

a different

kind of

gift.

So,

in verses

7 to

8,

we've got

this example

of the

kinds of

gifts that

there are,

whether it's

prophesying,

whether it's

serving,

whether it's

teaching,

whether it's

encouraging,

whether it's

contributing,

whether it's

giving generously,

whether it's

leadership,

whether it's

showing mercy.

This isn't a

complete list.

Rather,

it's saying

these are the

kinds of

gifts that

he gives to

his people

within the

body of

the church.

And the

point is,

they're all

different.

None of us

all have the

same kinds

of gifts

in the same

kind of

way.

So,

that means

we need

each other.

that means

the church

family can't

operate,

the church

can't function

without each

other.

Look what it

says at the

end of verse

five.

Each member,

each person

belongs to

all the others.

I belong to

you and you

belong to me

and we all

belong to

each other.

So,

if I decide

and wake up

one morning,

I don't think

I'll serve

today,

I don't feel

like it.

it's actually

not just

affecting me,

it's affecting

everyone

because we

belong to

everyone.

So,

we've been

given gifts

through God's

mercy to us

so that we

can begin to

serve and

give to one

another.

Now,

again,

as we look

at that,

that's really

hard because

there's days,

in fact,

for me,

it's most

days where

I don't

really want

to serve.

I wish

everybody would

serve me.

Do you want

to get out

of bed in

the mornings?

Who likes

getting out

of bed?

What John

does.

I don't like

getting out

of bed.

I'd love

if everybody

would just

come and

serve me.

Now,

if we all

thought like

that,

what kind

of church

would we

be?

A church

of self-service

rather than

serving others.

So,

what do we

do when we

just don't

feel like

serving?

When we

don't feel

like getting

up or we

don't feel

like going

to something

or doing

something?

What am I

going to do

in that

moment?

Well,

we need to

go back

to verse

one.

We need

to go back

to our

song.

Look at it,

verse 12,

or chapter 12,

verse 1,

therefore I

urge you,

brothers and

sisters,

in view of

God's mercy,

look back

and view

the mercy

of God.

See how

the creator

God came

to serve

you and

give his

life for

you.

He came

to serve,

not to be

served.

So,

when I

don't feel

like serving,

I need to

sing the

song of

mercy.

I need

to let it

shape my

heart.

I need

to let it

grab me

and take

a hold

of me

and let

me see

all that

Christ

has done

and I

will serve

in love

in response

to that.

I have

an issue

not just

about getting

out of bed

but about

putting petrol

in my car.

Even when

the little

orange light

comes on

and it's

telling me

that it's

way down

into the

red,

I just

have this

notion

that I

can keep

on driving

without

putting

more petrol

in.

And on

more than

one occasion

I've been

caught

out.

And the

simple

lesson is

this,

without

petrol

the car

doesn't

work.

In fact,

it will

damage the

car.

Now,

none of

us can

live a

life of

sacrifice

and service

on

empty.

mercy.

We can't

serve,

we can't

give,

we can't

function as

we are

meant to

function

on empty.

In other

words,

we need

to be

filled up

each day

with the

mercy of

God,

in view

of God's

mercy.

Look at

the beauty

of Christ

every day

who sacrificed

his life

for you

and for

me.

Look at

the brilliance

of Christ

who came

to serve

you and

me and

who continues

to serve

us every

day.

And

together as

we sing

this song

of mercy

to our

hearts,

we'll be

changed,

changed on

the inside

because the

message of

the gospel

is this,

not that

you must

sacrifice

more or

that you

must serve

better.

The message

of the

gospel is

simply

God's

mercy.

God's

mercy.

Not

do

better,

not

do

more,

and then

when we

are filled

with God's

mercy,

so our

lives will

overflow

in sacrifice

and service

to God.

Let's pray

together.

Our

Father God,

we thank you

so much

for your

incredible

mercy to

us.

We pray

that you

would fill

our lives

afresh with

its wonder

and with

its beauty

and that it

would motivate

us again

to be people

who live

lives of

service,

not thinking

about what

we have to

do to get

your favour,

not thinking

about what

we have to

do to earn

your love,

but simply

seeing how

we are

loved and

looking at

what you

have done

for us

and in

response

living for

you.

So Father,

we thank

you for

your amazing

mercy to

us.

In Jesus'

name,

Amen.