Living as a Sacrifice: Embracing God's Call to Transformation

Well, we're going to talk today about transition, changing, transformation.

The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 that there is something to be said about the truth of God in our lives.

The truth of God that transforms us, that changes us into something else.

You know, I had an opportunity and a blessing to be a Christian school teacher for six years in Florida.

It was an opportunity, blessing and challenge to teach all grades from 7th through 12th grade about a lot of different things.

And one of the things that was always my goal when I would go into the classroom was I hope that they're understanding this.

I hope that there's something that they can take with them.

I hope that there's something here that can change their life, that can transform them into something else.

Hopefully the goal would be that they would become young adults, that they would eventually become people who would love God and honor Him.

And I have a blessing in my life to look back and see some of the students that I had over the years, they, they are growing up and starting to make me feel a lot older.

Some of you that have been teachers for a long time, really it can be in perspective for you when you see your students grow up and have children and begin to do things, it's like, wow, it's a mind blowing thing in my own life to see that that happens and people grow up.

But the truth is, is that In Romans chapter 12, we see the Bible telling us very clearly here that God and his message to us, the Gospel changes us, it transforms us.

If you've been with us in this study In Romans chapter one, all the way through Romans chapter 11, what we've been seeing is that God extends the gift of the Gospel to us.

What is the gospel?

The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ.

The fact that he lived a perfect life, he came to this earth, he died on the cross for our sins, that he rose again on the third day, and that he offers that gift of grace for all for forgiveness and salvation.

And so Romans chapter one through chapter eleven tell us the Gospel to us what we can know about God, how we can know his characteristics, how we can understand his love for us, how we can understand his sacrifice, how we can understand our role in that and our need for a Savior.

If you remember, the Bible tells us here in Romans chapter three that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

The Bible tells us In Romans chapter 6, for the wages or the payment of sin is death.

But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

What is that gift?

Well, Romans 5:8 tells us that it's a gift demonstrated to us that when we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And so that's the good news to us.

But now we find ourselves in Romans chapter 12.

And from Romans chapter 12 all the way to the end of the book, it's the gospel through us, meaning when we understand the truth of the gospel, when we trust in what God says about his salvation, it changes us and it allows us to live the gospel out in our daily walk.

So the hope that God gives us in our salvation gives us hope to live differently in this world.

So you could think about it this way.

It's the gospel to us.

And now the gospel through us, or the gospel Learned in Romans 1:11.

And now in Romans chapter 12, the gospel lived.

Because the Bible speaks of practical application, right?

As, as teachers, all of us teachers who are here, we want our students to understand what we're teaching, but we also want them to understand the application thereof.

And so what Paul is saying here In Romans chapter 12 is this.

You understand what to believe about God, what to.

But how does that change you?

How does that transform you?

How do you go from what the Bible says before is an enemy of God?

Ephesians chapter 2 says, before that we came to the mercy of God, we were sinners and we were lost and we were broken.

And it even says that we were dead in our sins.

But then it says, but the mercy of God comes into our life and changes us and transforms us.

And so In Romans chapter 12, we see just in these first two verses, Paul's pleading with the believer to live a life that is changed.

And he explains how that works in verse number one, he says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren.

That phrase, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, means this.

He's pleading.

He's essentially begging the believer to understand the truth that is in his or her life.

Now he says, take notice of this.

Wake up to the fact that that God has changed you.

He's changed your heart, he's changed your life, he's changed your thinking, he's changed your everything.

And he tells us how we can see that.

He says, by the mercies of God, everything that we have.

This has been a theme in our study in the Book of Romans.

Everything that we see from God as a gift, as a blessing, is because of his mercy.

It's not because of our works.

I mean, we know a lot of good people.

Maybe you know someone, you're like, man.

That person's a good person.

That person is A good citizen.

And we understand what we mean by that, relatively speaking.

You know, we know that there are good people and bad people.

But the Bible says something in a bigger perspective because we have to understand what's our standard.

The Bible tells us that the standard is God's holiness, and none of us can match God's holiness.

So what does that mean?

That means that even if we offend in one way, though we might be better than somebody else, we are in need of something bigger than us to bring us salvation and forgiveness.

And so he says, everything that you have by the mercies of God.

The mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

What's he saying here?

He's saying this, that when we believe in Jesus Christ and when we trust in him and he changes our heart and he extends salvation to us, that we are to give everything to him, not just our Sunday mornings.

Even though it's great that we get together on Sunday mornings and worship the Lord, he doesn't want just your Sunday morning.

For some of us, we say, well, Pastor, I'm.

I'm more than a Sunday morning person.

I come to church sometimes on Sunday nights.

I come on Wednesday nights.

It's not about that.

He's.

He's not talking about us coming when it's convenient.

He's not even talking about us coming and doing things in service.

He says, I want your everything, your.

Your bodies.

The phrase there in the original Greek is about giving all of yourself over to God, every aspect.

For some of us, it's comfortable for us to say, lord, you can have my Sundays, or you can have my.

My family, but maybe you can't have my work, or maybe you can have my work, but you can't have my family.

You can't have my hobbies.

You can't have my weekends.

You can't have my summertime.

And the challenge for all of us is this.

God gave us everything in his son.

God gave us life, and he gave us forgiveness, and he gave us salvation.

Going to see in this verse that he says the only reasonable thing, the only logical thing to do in the heart of gratitude, is to give everything back over to him.

He says that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Now, what's different about this sacrifice?

Well, the people at the time of this book being written, the book of Romans, they would have understood very clearly what sacrifice was all about.

Whether they were Jew or Gentile, they.

They understood that there was a need to sacrifice.

And they sacrificed animals back then.

You guys are familiar with that.

They Sacrifice animals on altars.

But all of those sacrifices ended in death.

There was some type of finality to those sacrifices.

But then the Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews that there was a once for all sacrifice in Jesus Christ.

So therefore we no longer have to die for a sacrifice.

But it says here that we can live in sacrifice.

This is a type of sacrifice that means that, that God gives us life and newness of life as Romans 6 says.

So he wants us to live for him, not die for Him.

He wants us to live for Him.

And he says a living sacrifice, holy, that's, that's separate, set, set aside special acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable or logical service.

And so he calls us to give a living sacrifice.

Now I would tell you today that many of us are in different steps of our faith.

Maybe some, some of us have just started the journey of faith.

Some of us maybe have been Christians for 50, 60 years maybe.

And some of us, maybe that are in this room today have not even stepped foot in a church before.

Maybe it's coming into a place in our life where we have questions, maybe we have doubts, maybe we have curiosities.

But the Bible says that when we take that step of faith, when we believe in the Lord, when we start that race, as the book of Hebrews says, that now all of us have an opportunity to take a step of faith and trust in him daily, to grow in our sacrifice for Him.

Someone asked me one time, have I done enough for the Lord?

Let me tell you something.

In, in a very theological sense, a very, very intellectual sense, we'll never be able to do enough for God.

I, I, I think that that's a lie that many people teach that.

Well, I've served enough so I can stop and I can rest.

Folks, we're never going to be able to repay back to God what He has done for us.

Think of the immeasurable sacrifice that he gave if you believe what the word of God says.

The Bible says that God gave His only begotten Son for us.

John 3:16.

Probably everybody is aware of that verse.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now I'm going to tell you, I've said this before.

I love you guys.

You say you don't love me, you don't know me.

Well, first of all, I know a lot of you and I love you because I know you.

But even if I don't Know you.

God calls me to love you, so I love you.

Okay, that's a statement.

But I don't love you enough to give my only begotten son for you.

First of all, I don't have one and only son.

I have two sons, but either one of them.

I love them so much.

And I can't wrap my mind around the fact that God would love me enough to give his only begotten Son for me, for you.

But that's a truth of the word of God, and we have to believe that.

And that's an immeasurable gift, an endless gift.

Paul talks about the.

The riches being so deep that we cannot mind the depths of all that grace, of all that mercy.

And so he says here, understanding that.

Because, by the way, if you go back to verse number one, we'll have a little bit of a teaching moment here.

He says, I beseech you, therefore, now, anytime you see the word therefore, you want to see what it's there for.

He's referring back to something else.

So he says, therefore.

What's he talking about?

Well, he's Talking about Romans 1 through 11, all of the riches that we find in Christ.

Now, when I say riches, I'm not talking about material riches.

I'm talking about spiritual riches.

And so he says here, all of those blessings of God's grace.

If you haven't read through Romans 1 through 11, read through it.

I mean, read through Romans chapter 8.

It talks about God's unending love for us, that nothing can separate us from the love of God if we are in Christ Jesus.

There's therefore now no condemnation or judgment upon us.

And so Paul says, understanding all of that, understanding all of those riches, understanding all of those blessings, understanding all of that forgiveness, I must present my body, my life, my everything, a living sacrifice to the Lord.

Some people might say, well, what does that look like?

Does that mean I have to come to the church building every single day and kneel at these steps and pray 24 7?

No, that's not what that's talking about.

A living sacrifice is living a life that demonstrates Christ to the world.

By the way that we live, by the way that we work, by the way that we love, by the way that we serve, by the way that we respond in traffic during rush hour, by the way that we deal with the person in our workplace.

But by the way that we do whatever we do, may it point people to Christ.

One of our favorite verses in our home is Matthew 5:16.

Let your light so shine before men that they May see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.

We live a life of light to a dark world so that people can know Jesus, not know me.

You know, we had awards chapel not too long ago with our kids at their school.

And I'm going to tell you as a dad, when your kid wins an award, I get so excited and that, that you guys know that feeling.

Some of you that are parents, you start getting welled up inside, you want to shed a tear.

And the truth is, is that as.

As a parent, sometimes we can look at that and go, wow, I really prepared them well.

And maybe even take credit for ourselves, or if we don't take credit for ourselves, we say, well, look how good this is.

Or look how much they've accomplished.

And they have accomplished great things and we're thankful for that.

But we must go back to the perspective of that.

Everything that we do, no matter if we get an award, no matter if someone compliments us, no matter if we get a great financial blessing, no matter if we get a job or a raise in our job or someone thanks us for something, it.

It's all about the Lord.

It's all about giving him glory.

It's all about what he has done for us.

And so the way that we live our lives should be different.

Displaying the goodness of God.

Paul.

Paul talks about this.

Peter talks about this.

First Peter, chapter three, verse 15.

It says that we should give an answer to those who ask us the hope that's within us, which the assumption would be that as a Christian, we're living differently, with hope that we're different, that that that were joyful, that were strong, that were courageous, that were faithful.

And that when people see the difference, hey, why are you different?

Why don't you join in with this?

Why don't you act this way?

Why don't you be like everybody else?

We don't just say, well, because I'm just trying to be a good person.

We say, no.

We give a reason for the hope that's within us and that's Jesus Christ.

It's because Jesus, I'm different.

It's because Jesus that I didn't do this.

And he says that we are to do it with meekness and fear or gentleness and respect.

It's to do it in a way that's humble and compassionate to others around us.

And so we go back to Romans chapter 12, and he says, to do it by the mercies of God, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

That word Reasonable.

There could also be said as logical.

The Greek word there would be logical.

It means this.

If we really comprehend all that God has done for us, it's only the logical thing to give him everything in our lives.

And so when we offer our bodies, God intends us to be holy.

That's set aside.

That should be the standard.

We should be different, we should be set apart from the world.

We should be unique.

And that's what he addresses in verse number two.

He says, and be not conformed to this world.

I want to give you a picture of what this means.

We were at an event recently and Silas, our youngest, was getting, you know, excited, as two year olds do when they need to be quiet.

That's how it always works.

And one of the people that were there, they said, would your son like to play with some play doh?

And I'm like, as a dad, I'm like, sure, give him something like, we'll, we'll deal with that.

And so we were playing.

Silas and I were playing with the play doh.

And they give you those little molds, right?

You guys have played with play doh before or your kids have, your grandkids have.

And we were pushing that clay into the mold.

And that's what this word here means.

Be not conformed to this world.

It means the world system.

The ways of evil are trying to form us in a certain way.

They're trying to take us as a mold and mold us into something to say, well, that's what everyone's doing.

This is how this is.

This is what we all do.

This is how every husband is, this is how every wife is.

This is how all workers are.

We all do a little bit of bad.

So.

So just be like that.

Conform into the world system.

And so the Bible warns us against that.

Don't be molded by the ways and the thinking of this world.

There's, there's a lot of things out there that we know can be what is considered to be the norm.

But not right, not biblical, not God honoring.

And there's a lot of people that have justified their actions by saying this.

Well, everybody does it or nobody's going to know about this.

No one's hurt by this.

But at the end of the day, the Bible says that it's a very clear line of doing right and wrong.

And when the Bible says that we are not to be conformed to this world, the beauty is, is it doesn't just say, hey, don't be conformed, but it tells us on the other side what we should Be in the Lord.

I don't know if you've ever had a coach or a teacher, and I know that none of the teachers here are like this, but they tell you that you're wrong, but they don't tell you how to get it right.

I used to have a sports coach that would, you know, love all my coaches.

But I would have one coach that would be like, stop doing that.

And I would say, okay, great.

Tell me how not to do that anymore.

Tell me the right way to do things.

And the beauty is, is that the Bible tells us in 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, meaning God spoke it into existence.

It's from God.

So the Bible's a message from God to us.

And it says it's profitable or beneficial for doctrine that's teaching, for reproof, to tell us where we're wrong, for correction, how to fix that, and for instruction in righteousness, how to stay on the right path.

So God says here In Romans, chapter 12, verse 2, don't be conformed to this world.

But what in contrast to being conformed, he says, be ye transformed.

Transformed.

Changed.

Now, the idea here, the Greek word.

By the way, this book of Romans originally was written in Greek.

The Greek word for transformed is the word that we get the English word metamorphosis from.

Now, I don't know if we have any science teachers here, but metamorphosis is in.

In many ways that we would understand it to be when a caterpillar, you know, climbs up on a branch and creates something called a chrysalis.

Right, Micah?

Is that right?

Is that right?

Okay, Mike is my.

My animal guy.

And then.

And then what happens?

Over a certain period of time, that chrysalis breaks open and does the caterpillar come back out?

Well, in some ways it does, but in other ways, it comes out differently, transformed into a butterfly.

And so it comes in a certain way, but leaves differently.

That's what the Bible's talking about here.

When we are experiencing the grace of God and God changes us, we're not to stay the same.

We're to leave, transformed to newness of life.

Now, the idea would be this.

How do I do that?

Because some people would say, well, maybe, yeah, I want to be transformed.

I want to be different.

I want to have a new life.

But how does that look?

Because you know what, Pastor Josh, I don't know you that well.

Or maybe I do know you.

And I wake up in the mornings, and I want to be good.

I want to do Right.

But I get all these thoughts in my mind, and I go to work and someone tests my faith today, and they test my patience, and, you know, I'm just right back into that same cycle.

How do I do that?

Well, he says right here how to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

By the renewing of your mind.

So what is he basically saying here?

He says it's not just about thinking, but it's about having your mind changed.

So.

So it's this, okay?

There's a way that we can think in the morning.

We can wake up and we can start to think.

And most of us have preset thinking patterns that we go into.

So, for example, if I wake up and I immediately assume that everything's gonna be bad that day, okay?

And I'm already ready to be in that negative stance.

My.

My mind is fixed upon that direction.

So he says that we should be renewed in our minds.

How do we renew our minds?

Well, other passages of scripture tell us that we renew our minds by daily going to the Lord, through prayer and through the word of God.

Paul talks about this in Romans, chapter 12.

We see that also.

Even Jesus talks about this with Peter being washed and renewed daily.

So the Bible says here that we should be renewed in our mind.

That means allowing the word of God and the truth of who God is.

Remember the gospel to us, okay?

What we know about God, we allow what we know about God, what we believe about God, to dictate the way that we think and the way that we act.

So let me give you a very practical analogy of this.

I wake up in the morning, and because of whatever reason or whatever feeling I believe, to think that, you know what?

I'm just not a good dad.

I'm just a terrible father.

You know, I never do anything right.

I mess up every single day.

And so I wake up with that attitude.

And why do I think that?

I think that because I feel that.

And I feel that for whatever reason, maybe Satan the enemy is trying to tell me lies, or maybe I made a mistake and I stumbled in certain things the day before.

But anyway, my feeling and my thinking has changed me to actually start living that way.

And what do I do?

Well, I don't just keep going and say, yeah, you know what?

I am a bad dad, so I might as well just keep being a bad dad.

Or maybe I need to try to fix it.

Maybe I need to read about 10 books, and maybe that will change my mind.

No, what we need to do is we need to go back to what the word of God has to say, we need to go back to what God says about us.

And if you want to go back to see what God has to say about you In Romans chapter 8, the Bible says that we are children of God and we can cry out abba, Father, Daddy, God to our heavenly Father and that he is the one who dictate, dictates our identity now.

He is the one who strengthens us.

Because folks, I'm going to tell you, I wake up a lot of times and I don't feel like I'm adequate for what I have before me that day.

Maybe that's just me.

Maybe I'm the only person that thinks I'm not enough sometimes.

But then those days where we wake up and we feel inadequate as a believer, what do we do?

Well, we don't just trust in our own strength.

We don't just trust in, well, I better try harder today.

No, as a Christian, we tap into the truth of God that he is the one who is strengthening us.

He is the one who is changing us.

He is the one who is giving us wisdom, guidance and protection.

I remember the very first day I went to teach.

I was teaching senior level English.

I was 23 years old and there was a student in my class who was 19, okay, so I was 23, they were 19.

I was like four years apart.

I'm like, I went this.

Actually I taught at the same school that I went to.

So here's a little hint.

I went to school with these kids, they remembered me and I'm like, I got to teach them senior level English.

And I'm like, I, I don't know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna fail.

I'm gonna lead these children astray and they're never going to make it into college.

They're gonna, you know, blame me and it's gonna be the end.

And so I get em.

I remember the very first day I got in my, my car, it was a little 4 Ranger truck.

And I'm, I'm weeping.

I've got my books next to me.

I studied all that night before.

I got no sleep.

I'm weeping going, I'm not enough, Lord, I.

And so what did I do?

Thankfully, I renewed my mind by saying, lord, I need you today.

You have to like come in and supernaturally give me the words to say.

Because studying this English literature is Charles Dickens at 8am in the morning is a difficult thing to go through.

And I'm going, okay Lord, help me, help me.

And I remember pleading with the Lord, up to the very moment they walked in the class, and I was just like, lord, help me.

And he got me through the first day.

Amen.

And I'm like, yes, I didn't fail them yet.

And I did that every single day.

But you know what would happen after the first or second year I was doing that?

I didn't.

I felt like I got it.

I was like, you know what?

I got this all under control.

And that's really a dangerous place to be, to think that we're doing it in our own strength.

So the lesson would be, I should have every day been pleading with God for strength and wisdom, because I never knew what was going to happen in that classroom.

I never knew what was going to happen on the way to school or on the way back from school.

Folks, what I'm telling you is this.

All of us, every single day, when we wake up in the morning, we must plead with the Lord to renew our minds, to give us strength to believe in what he says about us and not what we think about ourselves or not what other people say about us.

If I went and believed everything that someone said about me, I'd be a lot different than I am today.

Because there's been people that have said a lot of things about me.

I don't know about you, but there's been people that have told me you can't do what you're trying to do.

And usually when people tell me that, you know what I want to do, I want to just prove them wrong.

I want to do something in spite of that.

But at the end of the day, that's a selfish endeavor.

What we must do is say, lord, I need you to help me not believe what people are saying about me, what the world's saying about me, to be conformed into that image, but be different.

So the Bible actually tells us that we can be different in our faith.

That.

That I can have a godly family, that I can focus on the truth of God, that I don't have to join in with the things of this world.

Folks, the lie of the world is that you have to do it.

You have to fall into the trap.

But, folks, you don't have to fall into the trap because God gives us the sufficiency that the world cannot bring.

I'm going to tell you, God doesn't make our life perfect, but it ultimately, at the end of the day, he gets us through every trial that we need.

He gives us adequate grace on a daily basis.

And there's a lot of people in this world that are seeking that sufficiency in other things.

They're seeking sufficiency in something that will only satisfy for a temporary brief moment, but it will not be everlasting joy.

And what we see In Romans chapter 12 is this.

He says, to find sufficiency and satisfaction is to find your purpose in his plan for you.

He says, by the renewing of your mind, verse two, that ye may prove or demonstrate what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Meaning God has a will for you, God has a plan for you.

And there's a lot of people, I think, I believe, that want the will of God for their life, but they might not know how to get there.

Lord, I want what's best for you, not necessarily what's best for me, because ultimately what's best for God is what's best for us.

But at the end of the day, sometimes there's people that say, I want to know God's will, but I don't know how to find that.

And let me tell you, there's a lot of people that might teach that God's will is out there in the middle of the desert or hiding in the rainforest or up in the stars, and it's really hard to find and we got to jump through hoops to find it.

No, God's will is clearly revealed to us through what?

Through submission to him and to know him more and more.

And therefore he equips us and gives us the tools that we need to do the things that he has called us to do.

Now, we don't have time to go into that all today, but next week what we are going to do is we're going to start verse number three and verse number three on.

For the next foreseeable future, we're going to be looking at what God says is our spiritual gifts.

God gives all believers spiritual gifts not for selfish reasons, but for reasons of sharing with others the truth of the gospel.

And so what I would encourage you to do is you can read ahead.

If you're going to come back next week, you can read ahead and you can look at those spiritual gifts and create in your mind questions and and thoughts about what God has gifted you in.

Because what I'm going to tell you is that there's a lot of Christians today.

There's a lot of people today that don't even know what God has gifted them to do.

They say, you know what?

I want to serve God, but I don't even know where to start.

I don't even know where to Go.

The Bible very clearly tells us that he starts with the gift that he has given us through the Holy Spirit, and then we begin to flourish in those things.

One of the greatest things that I have been able to experience in my life, among many other things, is to see a student flourish in his or her work.

Some of you that are teachers understand that moment.

It's actually kind of addictive to see that light bulb go off.

And you're like, wow, they're getting it.

That's an awesome thing.

And so the truth is, is that all of us as believers have to have that light bulb moment where God reveals to us the way that he has gifted us.

And then we get in that and we begin to serve in that.

That is a beautiful thing to walk in the will of God.

I said this often the safest place to be, the most rewarding place to be, is in the will of God.

And a lot of times people will say this, well, you know what?

To be in the will of God means I have to give up my will.

And therefore I don't feel like that's freedom.

I don't feel like that's going to be satisfying.

I feel like God's going to pull me back from the joy.

Let me tell you, the times in my life where I was the most filled with joy is when I've been following God and knowing that he has equipped me and knowing that I'm working in his strength.

And by the way, that's the most freeing moment.

Sometimes we think freedom is doing what we want to do and just figuring it out.

But actually, that brings bondage, that brings spiritual bondage, that brings emotional bondage, because it's all on us and we are limited.

But then when we say God, you take over.

That's the most freeing feeling because we've got the God of the universe with everything, all of his wisdom, all of his power, all of his strength.

And we say, okay, God, you take over.

And that's freeing because someone else is driving, someone else has got the wheel who can handle it.

And he's the one who has no limitations.

So what does he say here in verse 2?

He says that when you do that, when you renew your mind in that truth, you are able to demonstrate the will of God in your life.

You're able to follow the will of God in your life.

And so we resist conformity to the world and we embrace the transformation that comes in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now, this is going to be impossible unless we have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now, today I know that there's a lot of different people here from a lot of different backgrounds.

What I would like to do with you today is just share with you my experience and many others people's experience.

I'm going to tell you by way of testimony, God changed my life.

I had certain desires before I came to him and then after I came to Him.

I'm not saying those desires completely went away.

But what I will say is that God changed my heart to want the things that he wants in my life.

I want the things that obey and honor him, not myself.

And I'm going to tell you that there's that train that's a transformation moment because none of us naturally want to put others needs before ourselves, right?

The world says, get yours now as much as you can.

You've heard me say this before.

You've heard people say the one who dies with the most toys wins.

But the truth is that's not a biblical teaching.

The biblical teaching is deferring my pleasure for somebody else, ultimately the Lord.

And that's not natural.

That's not normal.

And so what I would tell you here today, and I know many other people would tell you this, is that the transformation that Jesus brings is a true transformation that changes our heart and it changes the way that we love.

I was telling our Bible study class here this morning, I said, you know what?

The Bible has a lot to say about loving my wife.

But what the world tells me is, yeah, you should love your wife so that you can have a better wife, that you can have all the things that you've ever wanted.

The Bible says something completely different.

The Bible doesn't say I love someone so that they love me.

The Bible says I love someone no matter if they love me.

That's what's called agape.

That's a Greek word for a different type of love.

It's a sacrificial love.

It's a love that a mother has to her child.

When a child talks back to a mom and a mom loves that child anyway, that's agape love.

The truth is, is as a Christian this morning, we are all called to have that level of agape love.

Not because we've earned it, but because we've received it.

We've received agape from God, that sacrificial love.

And so here this morning, all of us have to come into some place of reconciliation before God.

Either we have to embrace what God has done for us and stand in what we've already trusted in.

Some might need to trust in that Here today.

Others might reject that, but at least think about that understanding of what God has done for you.

The Bible says that when we were at our lowest, God sent his son.

When we were at our darkest moment, God sent his son.

When we were at that point of no return, when we were at the end of our rope, that's when Jesus comes onto the story.

And there's these two words that we see throughout the scriptures that change our perspective.

And it's this.

But God, you can fill in the blank.

You can say all the things that you were, all the things that you struggle with, all the things that are painful, all the things that are broken, and you can say, yes, that is a truth.

I don't deny that.

I'm not one of these people that say, hey, you know, just look in the pie in the sky mindset and just forget all those things around you.

No, there are real struggles that real people are having today.

I get that.

I understand that.

I know that everybody that came in this room to some degree had to put aside a struggle to walk in these doors today.

The Bible actually talks about it.

This idea of putting a mask on and saying, you know what?

I'm going to try to put my happy face on today, even though I'm struggling, I'm going to try to put my happy face on today when I know that tomorrow doesn't look bright.

And so you can say everything there in that phrase.

I need God.

I. I'm struggling.

But then the two words, but God.

But God, who is rich in mercy, extends forgiveness, grace, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, all those things that the Bible tells us are the fruit of the Spirit.

God brings that into our life and he changes us, doesn't make us perfect.

Paul even talks about that struggle.

He says, the things that I want to do, I don't do, and the things that I don't want to do, I do.

But at the end of the day, it's still something that God has changed in our life, and we still wrestle with that.

But the wrestling is no longer in our own strength.

The wrestling is in the strength of the Lord.

So the first two verses here in Romans, chapter 12 tell us the gospel through us.

If we want to live for God, if we want to serve God, if we want to be different in this world, we must start with understanding what God has done for us.

We must understand what God asks of us, that living sacrifice.

We must understand that that's the reasonable or the logical thing to do in gratitude.

And then verse Two, he tells us that's the first step.

Don't buy into the lies of the world.

Don't be conformed into the image of the world, but be transformed.

By what?

By the renewing of our mind so that we can live a life according to the will of God.

And the will of God again is that place that all Christians should be desiring to be.

And so for every teacher, for every person, we want to see people transformed not into what they want to be, but in what they need to be.

Like, if, if my, my children come up to me, I want to have an open mind.

I, I want to be encouraging them.

But at the same time, there's going to be times in my life as a parent that I need to tell my children the truth.

There's going to be times in my life as a parent where I want to guide them into truth, even if it's not something that they want.

Like, all my kids, they want to eat candy every single day of 24 7.

They want to have candy for dinner, they want to have candy for breakfast, and they want to eat candy right before they go to bed.

And then my dentist bill adds up.

Okay, So I understand that.

So as a dad, I want to bring joy to my children.

Okay?

I, I, people that know me know that I, I want to bring joy to my children.

I want to give them the things that they want.

I want to facilitate everything that is good for them in their life.

But also as a good parent, I have to step in and say, no, that's not where you need to be because I'm going to protect you.

And of course, Dad's the bad guy, right?

Dad, you don't love me.

It's not that I don't love you, son, daughter, I, I, I'm there for you and I want to help you do what's best for you.

That's God's relationship with us as our heavenly Father.

There's gonna be times where he gives us those things that we want.

I wanted, I wanna do this.

And God's gonna say yes.

That's amazing.

That's part of my will.

That's part of the word, do it, go with it, run with it.

And he's gonna be with us through the whole thing.

I remember Micah was like, let's run.

Remember that time we went out running and it started pouring down rain?

It was like, we ran, we ran like a six mile run that night and it was pouring down rain.

I'm like, if anyone sees us out here running, they're going to like report this guy running with this kid in the middle of the pouring down rain.

But we were like four miles away from our house and I was like, micah, you're the one that picked this run.

And now it's raining.

What are we going to do?

But then I'm like, okay, I'm going to support you, son.

I'm going to run with you through this.

And we made it, and we made it back and no one got sick and we, we, we survived.

The beauty is, is that when God embraces us with something that he intends for us to do in our lives, he's with, he's running the race with us, and he's running the race for us, the author and finisher of our faith.

But then there's also times in our life where we want something.

Dad, I want this.

And God says, look, I know you want that, but that's not what's best for you.

My will is for something else and my will is better for you.

My will protects you.

My will sustains you.

And so folks, if God's not giving you what you want today, don't think of it as that.

God hates you if you are in him as a child of the King.

He's given you everything that you need today.

And he's given you the best plan.

Wait on him, be strengthened in him.

I know that some of the teachers that are here today, you guys, some of you are done.

Some of you have a few more weeks.

The Bible says to stay strong, okay?

Don't get weary and well doing.

For in due season we will reap.

If we faint not don't faint.

But Christian today.

Sometimes we don't get a summer break.

But the truth is, is the reality is all of us is we're called to push forward.

Don't get weary and well doing.

We gotta renew our minds.

Think like Christ, think like his word, align yourself to him.

And in so doing you will find that will of God, that purpose for you folks, when you find that purpose in your life, that's when we see that equipping.

And we're gonna look at this next week about all those gifts that God gives us.

And when we can identify those gifts in our life, then we ask him for that strength and comfort.

So the challenge for us Christian today is this.

Renew your mind daily so that you can be transformed and not conformed to the image of this world.

How do you renew your mind?

We'll get into scripture, read the Bible, listen to the Bible, get godly intake into your mind because what you put in is what's going to come out.

Sometimes with me, we'll do things, I'll do things.

And because of whatever reason, not even my fault, my mind will just be bombarded with darkness and evil throughout the week.

And if I don't refresh my mind, that's what's eventually going to spew out.

So I have to renew my mind.

I have to wash my mind daily.

And all of us, as Christians, are washing our minds daily.

But then also we understand that our hearts and our minds are connected.

So it's not just about knowing the right things.

It's about believing the right things and applying those things so that we can apply that to our lives.

The Bible says what we think about is what we love.

What we spend time on is what we love.

And so one part of renewing our minds is setting our hearts and minds upon the things that God loves.

If I said, I love my children, but my.

My kids are like, daddy, come play with me.

I don't want to do that.

Getting down on the ground and playing those toys, that's not what I want to do.

I want to go do something else.

The question would be, is, do I really love my children?

If I love my children, I'm willing to do the things that my children love so that I can have that connection with them.

If, if, if.

My wife's like, honey, we always do the things that you do.

We always go to the places you want to go to.

I want to do something.

Something different now.

I go, no, never.

I'm never going to do anything that you want to do.

There's a problem there with the love.

And so if we say, God, I love you, and God says, okay, I want you to do xyz.

And we go, yeah, but that's not what I want to do.

The true question is not whether or not God loves us.

The really true question is, do I love God enough to do the things that he wants me to do in my life?

And so check your heart, check your minds.

And so the Bible tells us clearly here to live that transformed, renewed life.

I'm going to ask if you're able to just stand with me.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.

We have something here called an invitation.

This is just a time for reflection, a time of response.

Now, the music's going to play here in the next few moments, and what I want you to do is just think about those things that we've talked about today.

There's no pressure, at least not from me.

My.

My heart and my goal is to present the truth of the Gospel to you so that we can understand that gospel, so that we can apply that gospel, so that we can live in the forgiveness that God extends to us and find that purpose and will for our lives.

Remember that verse that we started out with here this morning?

2Nd Timothy 2.

2.

Paul taught Timothy so that Timothy could teach others, so that others could teach others.

Folks, I'm so thankful for people that taught me in my life.

And the way that I believe is that I am responsible now to teach others around me so that they can teach others and so that they can teach others.

And so this process goes on and on and on until the Lord allows us to be done with our job, to finish that race.

And so here this morning, maybe God's speaking to you in one of these areas.

Maybe God's speaking to you on that aspect of presenting your body, a living sacrifice, everything about us given over to Him.

Maybe, secondly, God is challenging you in that aspect of conformity to not conform to this world.

But maybe it is today to trust in God for that transformation process to happen, to be more and more like him on a daily basis.

Maybe it's just this, that maybe God is challenging you on that area of renewing your mind.

Maybe you just need to be refreshed and renewed in the truth of God to think Biblically instead of thinking worldly, to think Christlike instead of thinking like the enemy.

And so the Bible says to think differently, to be transformed in that regard.

And lastly, and but most importantly, maybe there's someone here today who has not taken a step of faith.

Maybe you haven't even started at the starting place of this race.

The Bible says that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.

He is the creator and sustainer.

It starts with Jesus, it ends with Jesus.

And so know this.

Jesus loves you.

Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

Jesus rose again on the third day.

And he extends that gift of grace to us so that we can have everlasting life.

He extended that gift of grace to us so that we can have forgiveness of our sins.

The Bible says in John 14:6 that he is the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes unto the Father, no one comes unto God but through him.

And so this morning, if you need Jesus as your savior, the Bible says to call upon the name of the Lord to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, to believe that he rose again on the third day.

That's what salvation is.

It's not about religion.

It's not about doing and doing and doing.

It's about faith in the work of Jesus Christ.

And that's what changes us.

I can't change you.

A church can't change you, but Jesus can change you.

And so today we think about that.

And if that's something that you want to understand more, we've got people standing up here.

I'll be around after the service, and I would love to talk to you more about that.

Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, Working hearts and lives.

We're thankful for your grace and your mercy.

I pray that you can be with us in this process of being transformed into your image.

So, Lord, I thank you for today.

I thank you for our teachers.

I pray that you'd be in this time of invitation.

In Jesus name, amen.

As.