PRESENTING OURSELVES For SERVICE-III—Romans 12:1-2
Attention:
We began this series two Sundays ago with MEMORIAL DAY.
Soldiers personally go thru a great deal in order to leave civilian life behind & become soldiers. Hair, hygiene, clothes, relationships, purpose all revolve around the military.
I personally have a great deal of respect for those who present themselves for the service of this country in maintaining the freedoms of its civilians, such as myself.
As our soldiers give their very lives in the service of their country, so, believers must Present Themselves for the Service of their God.
Need:
Paul informed the Roman Christians of their need to properly live out God’s will.
We must properly offer our bodies for God’s service.
How are we to best offer/present ourselves for God’s service?
8 considerations effecting our usefulness to God.
We have previously discovered that Those used of God habitually...
1. Consider GOD’s MANIFOLD MERCIES(:1a)
2. Consider The COST(:1a)
3. Consider HOLINESS(:1c)
4. Consider GOD’s SATISFACTION(:1d)
5. Consider RATIONAL APPLICATIONS(:1e)
6—Those used of God habitually...
Consider TRANSFORMATION(:2a)
Explanation: (:2a)
:2—“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Mat. 17:1-2—“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, & John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; & He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, & His clothes became as white as the light.”
“Conformed”—suschmatizw—Present Passive Imperative—1) To conform one’s self(i.e. one’s mind & character) to another’s pattern, (fashion one’s self according to). To shape one thing like another & describes what is transitory, changeable, & unstable. Strong—To fashion alike, i.e. Conform to the same pattern (figuratively). Used 2X.
From—sun—a primary preposition denoting union; With or together—&—schma—A figure(as a mode or circumstance), i.e. by implication--External condition.
“World”—aiwn—1) For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; 2) The worlds, universe; 3) Period of time, age. Aiwn is usually better expressed by age, it is the world at a given time, a particular period in the world’s history. Strong—properly--An age; by extension--Perpetuity(also past); by implication--The world; specially(Jewish)--A Messianic period(present or future).
“Transformed”—metamorfow—Present Passive imperative—1) To change into another form, to transform, to transfigure. Refers to the permanent state to which a change takes place. Strong—To transform(literally or figuratively, "metamorphose"). Used 4X.
Argumentation:
1Pet. 1:13-14—“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming[suschmatizw] yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;”
2Cor. 3:18—“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
1Cor. 15:51-54—“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, & the dead will be raised incorruptible, & we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, & this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, & this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””
If these things are so in death then shouldn’t they be so in life as well? Did Christ die & was He raised from the dead just the future eternal life?
Jn. 10:10—““....I have come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly.”
Jn. 12:24—““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground & dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
Gal. 5:19-23—“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
1Jn. 2:1—“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1Jn. 5:17-19—“All unrighteousness is sin, & there is sin not leading to death. We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, & the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, & the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
1Jn. 3:7-10—“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; & he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God & the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”
Illustration:
As a kid I remember finding a praying mantis egg case attached to a stick/ I took it home put it in a jar with holes in the lid & put it on the shelfin our finished basement/Nothing happened for quite a while(the eggs are supposed to weather the winter) & I forgot about it/One day after school, I saw that the eggs had hatched!/Hundreds of babies had crawled thru the holes & were all over the basement/The egg case had undergone a transformation/Consider TRANSFORMATION
From dull & lifeless to life.
Application:
?You habitually Consider TRANSFORMATION in asking God to use you?
?How do you present yourself for God’s use?
7—Those used of God habitually...
Consider INTEGRATING(Employing) The MIND(:2b)
Explanation: (:2b)
:2—“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Lest one might suppose that the surrender of our flesh is somehow detached from the “mind,”(particularly a Greek philosophical strain called ?) we must realize that engagement of the “mind” itself is integral to the whole of proper sacrifice. In fact, the believer is “transformed” because of it.
Such needed “transformation” occurs by means of “the renewing of one’s mind.” The mind’s “renewal” affords one the ability to unhesitatingly recognize(“prove”) God’s “will.”
Why? Because we measure/assess(determine the value of) all things both with the heart, mentally—with the mind/understanding—& the Spirit.
“Renewing”—anakainwsiv—N. f.—1) A renewal, renovation, complete change for the better. Anakainowsiv is renewal or renovation, denoting a continuous process through which man becomes more fully Christ-like, in which process he is a worker together with God. Strong—Renovation. Used 2X.
“Mind”(See :11:34)—nouv—) The mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving & understanding & those of feeling, judging, determining. 2) A particular mode of thinking & judging, i.e Thoughts, feelings, purposes, desires. Nouv is distinctly the reflective consciousness, “the organ of moral thinking & knowing, the intellectual organ of moral sentiment”(Cremer). Strong—The intellect, i.e. Mind(divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by implication--Meaning.
Argumentation:
Mat. 6:21-23—““For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
1Cor 14:20—“Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
1Cor. 14:12-15—“Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding[nouv] is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, & I will also pray with the understanding[nouv]. I will sing with the spirit, & I will also sing with the understanding[nouv].”
Paul’s implication is that if we do anything without engaging our mind, then we are being unfruitful for God!
Eph. 1:15-23—“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus & your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, & what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead & seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality & power & might & dominion, & every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, & gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Eph. 4:17-19—“This I say, therefore, & testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
2Cor. 10:3-6—“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments & every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, & being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
Illustration:
This is why I shy away from emotional preachers & side with rational ones/Emotions can lead us to erroneous conclusions/This is not to say that the Gospel does not get us excited, but rather that our excitement-emotion is driven by the Gospel of Christ!/INTEGRATING(Employing) The MIND
Application:
?You habitually Consider INTEGRATING The MIND in asking God to use you?
?How do you present yourself for God’s use?
8—Those used of God habitually...
Consider SCRUTINY Of WILL(:2c)
Explanation: (:2c) Test
:2—“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
God’s will is always, “good & acceptable & perfect.” These qualities of God’s “will” are to be used as a standard for measure—not so much in the sense of amount, distance or extent but in the sense of appropriateness, applicable-ness, relevance or fitness—As are the unique pieces of a puzzle.
Therefore our “minds” must somehow(by “renewal”) comprehend &/or be apprehended by & surrendered to God’s will, which embodies & is limited by those qualities.
“Prove”—dokimazw—V.—1) To test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals; 2) To recognize as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy. Strong—To test (literally or figuratively); by implication--To approve.
“Good”—agayov—Adj.—1) Of good constitution or nature; 2) Useful, salutary; 3) Good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; 4) Excellent, distinguished; 5) Upright, honorable. Strong—a primary word; “Good” (in any sense, often as noun).
“Acceptable”(See 12:1)—euarestov—Adj.—1) Well pleasing, acceptable. Strong—Fully agreeable. Used 9X.
From—eu—neuter of a primary euv(Good); adverbially--Well—&— arestov—Agreeable; by implication, fit.
“Perfect”—teleiov—1) Brought to its end, finished; 2) Wanting nothing necessary to completeness; 3) Perfect; 4) That which is perfect. Strong—Complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental & moral character, etc.); neuter(as noun, with o) Completeness.
Argumentation:
Titus 2:9-10—“Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”
Ex. 23:13—““And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect & make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.”
Mic. 6:7-8—“Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”
Eph. 5:5-16—“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ & God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, & truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Js. 1:23-27—“For if anyone is a hearer of the word & not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, & immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty & continues in it, & is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, & does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure & undefiled religion before God & the Father is this: to visit orphans & widows in their trouble, & to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
1Jn. 2:15-17—“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, & the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, & the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Eph. 4:17-24—“This I say, therefore, & testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him & have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, & be renewed in the spirit of your mind, & that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness & holiness.”
2Cor. 13:5—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.”
Illustration:
Father’s are cautioned to not provoke their children to wrath, but rather to bring them up in the training & admonition of the Lord(Eph. 6:4)/A godly father desires that his children Consider SCRUTINY Of WILL/What is it their father wants? & Are they wiling to freely comply?/Consider SCRUTINY Of WILL
We, as God’s children, must also consider the validity of God’s authority & will. We must continually Scrutinize our compliance & our obedience to Him.
Application:
?You habitually Consider SCRUTINY Of WILL in asking God to use you?
?How do you present yourself for God’s use?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Those used of God habitually...
6. Consider TRANSFORMATION(:2a)
7. Consider INTEGRATING The MIND(:2b)
8. Consider SCRUTINY Of WILL(:2c)
1. Consider GOD’s MANIFOLD MERCIES(:1a)
2. Consider The COST(:1a)
3. Consider HOLINESS(:1c)
4. Consider GOD’s SATISFACTION(:1d)
5. Consider RATIONAL APPLICATIONS(:1e)
Presented 06/09/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
