A Living Sacrifice To God
Part 1
Scriptures: Romans 12:1-2; Luke 2:22
This message is part one of my series “A Living Sacrifice to God.” In my last series on the Ten Commandments I ended that series with a message on holiness. I shared with you that we are holy, not because we act holy but because that is who we are through Jesus Christ. When we recognize who we are we have a better chance of living that life when forces come against us in an attempt to persuade us that we are not who God renewed us to be. Do you remember the counsel that Paul gave to Timothy when Timothy was experiencing some discouragement? He told Timothy, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:5-7) When Timothy was discouraged, Paul reminded him of who he was. He reminded Timothy of the faith of his mother and grand-mother which he believed was also in him. Then he told Timothy to kindle afresh his gift, to stir it up, to awake out of his slumber.
All of us struggle at times keeping the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within our hearts. If you have ever watched a wood fire burn in a fireplace, you have seen what happens over a period of time when the fires starts to die. It gives off less heat as the wood is consumed. It is during these times that we stir up the coals to get it burning again as we add more wood. We do this because we do not want the fire to go completely out. This is what Timothy was experiencing spiritually as he was giving out of himself and the fire within him needed stirring up. The words “stir up” comes from Greek word “anadzoopureoo.” This is a compound word that combines three different words. The first word ana carries the idea of repeating an earlier action or doing something again. The second word zoo comes from the Greek word zao which means to be enthusiastic, to be fervent, and to be passionate and vigorous. The third word is pure and it is the Greek word for fire. This word was used in matters related to the divine and supernatural. Paul was encouraging Timothy that due to what he was dealing with in his ministry the fire within him had died down and was in need of being stirred up. Paul told the younger Timothy to passionately and rigorously begin again to stroke and stir up the gift of God in his life, just as one would stroke the embers of a fire in a fireplace. Paul was not kindly asking Timothy to take action, he was commanding it! By reminding Timothy of the gift within him and commanding him to stir it up, Paul enable Timothy to change his focus. Timothy was surrounded by confusion resulting from the intense persecution that was taking place and it is possible that he was exhausted and his own fire was beginning to diminish. Paul understood this and told him to take action before his fire went out.
I share this story with you because through the series on the Ten Commandments I showed you why we cannot live in two worlds. We cannot live in sin and then claim our holiness. We all desire to walk in the gifts and power of God that has been afforded us, but we have to prepare ourselves. The series on the Ten Commandments was the first step as it demonstrated what our past relationship with sin should be. Understanding our relationship to sin is the first step we take in understanding who we are now in Jesus Christ. Having completed that series and understanding that sin has no place in our lives because we are to be holy, this series will focus on the power within us. In this series on being a living sacrifice, we will examine Romans chapter twelve and see what Paul shared with the Church in Rome. In this chapter Paul calls for each Christian to live for God as living sacrifices, following through on executing their service to Him through serving others. Does this sound familiar? It should as it speaks directly to our mission statement. Turn with me to Romans chapter twelve and this morning we will focus on verses one and two. Romans 12:1-2 says;
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
Do you recall what Mary and Joseph did after Jesus was born? Luke 2:22 records the following: “And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.” Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem with the express purpose to “present” Him to God. To make this journey required planning, finances and the desire to fulfill the requirements of the Law pertaining to male children. This was no casual vacation, it was a serious event. Such an event was planned well in advance and was done with great reverence toward God. The word “present” in this verse comes from the Greek word peristome, which means to “place beside; to place at one’s disposal; to surrender; to offer; as to offer a sacrifice to God; or to present, as to present a special offering to God.” This word undoubtedly tells us that Mary and Joseph went to the Temple on that day to intentionally place their newborn son in God’s close care. They were dedicating and entrusting Him into God’s protection. They were surrendering Him to God’s supervision and making a pledge that this new baby boy was God’s possession and that God could therefore use Him however He wished.
The Greek word peristome (present) is the same word that Paul used in Romans 12:1 when he said, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Now the fact that Paul used this exact same word sheds some light on Romans 12:1. The word “urge” in verse one signifies Paul compelling his listeners to come alongside of him; to get as close to him as possible in joining him in service to God. He was literally begging them to do this on his behalf. He was begging them to take an intentional act! One Greek scholar says that it is almost as if the apostle Paul dropped to his knees in verse one and began to prayerfully plead for his Roman readers to hear his petition. His heartfelt request was that they would present their bodies a living sacrifice to God. One additional point about the word “urge” in this verse. During this time before a military commander would send their troops into battle, they would summon all of the troops together and beseech or exhort them as he warned them of the realities of the battle they were about to enter. The commander would describe in detail what they were going to face in their battle; then he’d urge them to keep on fighting bravely until the victory was won. This is what the word urge (or beseech) captures in Romans 12:1.
In this very first verse Paul was urging the believers to dedicate their bodies to God. However, Paul knew that when a believer makes that decision to dedicate his body to God that the carnal nature may respond by going to war against the spirit. The flesh just doesn’t want to submit to the law of God or to do what God wishes. So when Paul asked his readers to yield their bodies to God, he was also warning them that such an action might stir up a battle in the flesh. Our carnal nature has long been the driving force for what is done with the body; therefore, it will most likely rebel when it is told to submit to God’s control. This is why anyone who decides to present and dedicate their bodies to God must be ready and willing to fight the battle with the flesh until victory is achieved.
In verse one Paul used the same word that was used in Luke 2:22 when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. Just as Jesus dedication was no casual, accidental, unplanned event, neither is it for us. When we choose to present our bodies to God this is a serious occurrence in our lives. Many people never make this choice choosing to believe that giving in to the lusts of the flesh is covered by grace so sin is no big deal. But I want you to see something in verse two. Paul says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
As Nikki and I were cleaning out the house after everything was packed, one of our neighbors stopped by to say goodbye. During the conversation we talked about health and wellness. He said something that stuck with me. This man was not born in the U.S. so our backgrounds were different. When he talked about exercise and eating right, he said people needed to be right in their minds. He said people needed to think right in order to do right. When talking about people living detrimental lifestyles he said it was because they were not right in their minds. When you think about what Paul says in verse two, he is saying the same thing. How we think will become evident in how we live. According to my neighbor, any person living a lifestyle that is not healthy for them or their relationship with God is not thinking right in their heads and they need to change.
First we make the decision to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Paul begs the people make this decision. The decision is made internally first before it is acted on. He asks the people to present their bodies as a living sacrifice and then he tells them how to do it. To live as a sacrifice to God you must do two things: not be conformed to this world and transform yourself by renewing your minds. In other words we cannot think or act like the world. We cannot play in the world’s playground and expect not to get a little dirty. No when you begin to renew your minds, there are things that you stop doing. Let me give you this example. When I was growing up we had play clothes, school clothes and church clothes. Each type of clothes was to be worn for their specific function. School clothes were only to be worn when dressing for school. Play clothes were only supposed to be worn when playing outside. If you followed these guidelines you stayed out of trouble, but you know kids. Kids do not think this way so clothes where just clothes to them. Our presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice means that there are certain things we will not allow our bodies to participate in. Our bodies can only be used for those things approved of by God. To reach this state of dedication, we have to stop thinking like the world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other word our minds shift from being natural to spiritual.
The word translated “conformed” comes from the Greek word suschematizo which means “to conform to another’s example. This is the same word that Peter used when he told the people “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.” (1 Peter 1:14) Paul was telling the Roman Christians not to follow the examples of the world, but to be different. He begged that they would not pattern their lives according to the age of the times. The word translated “transformed” comes from a Greek word that means to be transfigured by a supernatural change. In other words, this change takes place supernaturally when we yield. Consider these Scriptures:
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”
(2 Corinthians 4:16)
“And have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” (Colossians 3:10)
“And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23)
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)
These Scriptures confirm the central truth that as Christians we are being renewed supernaturally by the Holy Spirit. If you have been trying to do it under your own power that I why you have failed. God is already doing it, we just have to receive the renewing and not resist it. Now why is this so important? Why do we need to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice and transform our thinking by renewing our minds? He tells us in verse two. He says, “so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If we do not change how we are thinking, we can never prove what the will of God is! How we live as Christians will either prove or disprove God’s will in the eyes of others. We must remember that God’s will does not change because we act foolish, but our foolishness carries a consequence.
While I am not going to conclude this message as we have a lot more in this chapter to cover, this morning I want to leave you with a thought. What would happen if you told God you were all in? If you told Him whatever He needed from you, you were all in? What would happen if you started believing that your body was the temple of God and that you were a living sacrifice to Him? Therefore there were certain things that you will not allow your body to participate in because of Whom you belonged to? What would change in your prayer life when you knelt before God as His living sacrifice? What would change in your work life when you yielded to the renewing of your mind and you started thinking differently? What if God spoke to you audibly and told you it’s your time? I want you to think on these things for next week as we move into verse three.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
