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00:05:04
I don't think that'd be very good, brother Bill.
Chapter 12.
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Whereas we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office.
Though we being made our one body in Christ and everyone members one of another.
Having them give differing according to the grace which that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith on ministries, let us wait on our ministering. Or he that teacheth on teaching, Or he that exhorteth on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, neither ruleth with diligence, He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness.
Let mouse be just without dim dissimulation.
Accord that which is evil please to that which is good be kindly affection 1 To another with brotherly love and honor, preferring one another.
Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patience and tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.
Distributing to the necessity of Saints given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you less and purse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one toward another Mind not hide things, but condescend to men of low estates. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man, evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men, if it be possible, as much as life in you with peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written.
Benjamin's mind I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore thine enemy hunger feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt keep coals of fire on his head.
Do not overcome of evil, but overcome evil good.
Bill. Well.
First thing that came to mind is uh.
Beginning of the second verse.
Be not conformed to this world.
In other words.
Go.
Let people think we're part of the world, because we're not. We're ambassadors here.
A hole is in heaven.
The world would like us to go their way.
This is the result, you might say what the world would think if we don't conform to it.
First Peter Four and verse 4.
Where and they think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excess of wire speaking evil of them because they think there's something wrong with you. We don't go on with the things that they're going on with.
Yes, we know that this chapter begins what we might call the.
00:10:01
Practical side of the book of Romans, doesn't it?
Uh, the 1St 8 chapters are the development of the gospel because Paul, at least at this time, had never visited Rome, and yet as the apostle for the Gentiles, he felt her responsibility to them. And so he goes over the gospel right from, as we would say from A-Z in the 1St 8 chapters of Romans. And we're very thankful for the Spirit of God's having.
Preserved that to us because it's the.
Uh, exposition of the gospel right from the beginning. And, uh, it brings before us everything concerning the purposes of God in Christ, the, uh, total depravity of man, and then all the blessed results of the gospel.
Uh, forgiveness from the penalty of our sins, deliverance from the power of sin.
Right up to Romans 8 that culminates in the blessed position into which we're brought.
Then, of course, the 9th, 10th and 11Th chapters are kind of a parenthesis, taking up the whole question of Israel.
In the past, the present and the future. But now we could read this chapter if we wanted to. Following on right on from the 8th chapter. And it's the practical side of it, isn't it? In our Christian lives, based on all of the truth that has been presented in the 1St 8 chapters of Romans.
I've read where the this, uh, 12Th chapter is really uh.
Uh, believers walk as in relation to our fellow believers.
It's how we should, uh, box as a sample to and treat one another.
Uh, chapter 13 has more to do with our walk outwardly to governments and towards uh, have some management. We don't have faith. The 13th chapter, it looks like we have a lot of instructions and remote chapter as how to treat one another as believers.
Yes, that's very good, Enos. Then you're right, it's uh, the main thrust of this 12Th chapter is our relationship with one another.
And then in the 13th chapter, then we get more of our conduct in relationship to the outside world.
Very, very important.
And so the beginning of the chapter here.
Uses the word, therefore.
That is, it's based on a wonderful position into which we've been brought in the 8th chapter.
No condemnation In the 8th chapter, we've been brought into a place where there's no condemnation.
And then finally, at the end of the chapter, no separation.
And.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not?
With him also freely give us all things.
Well then, if God has given us all things and brought us into a position.
Then what is our privilege and responsibility?
And so, as a brother used to remind us every.
Exhortation of Scripture is based on what we all ready possess.
And that is totally different from every false religion. Every false religion says work hard, strive hard.
And maybe you'll gain a position after a long time. And of course they have weird and wonderful theories about reincarnation and so on, that if you're good enough you'll get somewhere.
But God in Christ puts us into the highest position into which we could be brought, and then says, now I want you to live.
According to the place you've been brought in, I want you to live and act in keeping.
With all that you now have in Christ.
00:15:05
I'd like to connect the uh, the whole theme of the book with uh, the window partial opens the book in the first chapter and the 16th verse. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God.
Under salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jews 1St, and also to the Greek.
Brevarian is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written to just shall live by faith.
I think that the Scripture, the book in the book of Romans particularly, has been brought out in the first eight chapters. We have the righteousness of God revealed.
And the righteousness of God to me is just in, if I can put it simply, as this God has found a way in which man could be brought back to him in all the all the perfection of his own Son.
And that was done at the Cross of Calgary.
And anyone by faith there is the righteousness of God from faith to faith.
And by taking that first step of faith.
Why we're brought into the family of God.
And so it's been brought out in the first eight chapters. We have the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.
And anyone here who has accepted Christ's Savior?
Has received that righteousness that God found when he when he put his Son to death, if I can put it that way, at the cross of Calvary for your sins and mine.
I love to think of this as a practical righteousness.
In this chapter and as we get from here to the end.
And as you said, Bill, every expectation in Scripture is based on what we possess.
God has given this to us. What do we owe to Him? We owe everything to Him and there is a way for us as believers to walk through the glory of God.
In this Christ rejecting world and it's increasing, brethren, we feel it, don't we? More and more you can feel the darkness of, of, uh, of, uh, the various spiritual effects, uh, evil effects that are happening in this world. But we need to take Curry Bill, you mentioned at the start there Bill Roche in connection with, with, uh, verse 2, be not conformed to the wo this world.
And let us go on in the verse, but be transformed. God would not have us live in a vacuum.
We have to, umm, he's given us minds and hearts to be occupied with, umm, uh, with something. We have to be the mind of a child, the mind of young people, the mind of older ones. And there is a path, there is a way that we can walk but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.
And so it's by it's by feeding on him and he gives guidance for it, doesn't it? And so we're brought into the family of God in here, particularly the thought of members of the body. And I like the way that it is put in that fifth verse, the very last of the verse.
Everyone members one of a numb another. We're not only members of the body of Christ.
In which he is the head in heaven, but we're members one of another and you know it's A to me encouraging when you hear of various ones who seek to help another member of the body of Christ. Someone is sick. Someone needs a little encouragement one way or another.
It's, it's brethren, it's, it's our privilege to be able to, to, uh, just give a phone call or just to, umm, make a meal or something like that to help one another.
Umm, in some sense, when you think about it, this chapter deals with the Lordship of Christ.
Our acceptance of the Lordship of Christ.
Many of us have been saved and we see this in some lives, how people have been saved and they accept their salvation in Christ, but they have a struggle accepting the lordship of Christ, making him the Lord of their lives. Uh, some of us, we struggle even amongst ourselves and even nowadays with making him learn to realize because maybe there's little sections of our lives, we don't want him to be lured up. We want the freedom to enjoy or, or, uh, those things. And, and as I read this, I think of that word, sacrifice, the living sacrifice.
00:20:13
Often there's been many comments as to what that means, but in a sense, umm, I would told this many years ago that if you think about it, every one of us or most of us own a home or live in a home. And in that home we have many things. Some things that we have that we bought that are useful in themselves, but some things we have that we treasure because of their memories and people have given them to us and they have a value that cannot be replaced, but they have. The host was destroyed, but in the sense of this sacrifice, the thought is that.
To turn that house and all its contents over.
To the Lord, everything that's in it, whether it's something that we bought, that is a function, it's useful and we really don't care if it gets lost, but there's something, even memories and those things that we hold near and dear to our heart, we have to turn over to the Lord. And by doing that by in that sacrifice, that's when the Lord, as they've said, comes in and takes the place of those things or replaces them with a much greater value to us as we go in to serve and learn more about him as he presents himself to us in a in a new and different way.
And that's the way that we, uh, as we read his word, he, he fills us with himself and he takes over those spots of our lives that we give to him. But once again, he's such a gracious Lord to us that he will not take over what we will not give. So you can see that in our lives as we struggle through our lives, the, the problem that we face is, are we willing to be that, make that sacrifice and give those things over to him and allow him to be the actual Lord of our lives?
I see at the end of this first verse where it speaks a reasonable service.
A true meeting there should be that our service could be something that expected of them. We're in the position we're in.
But uh, reasonable sounds like, oh, let me do it or not, but I believe it was daughter. But because of the position they were in and what was it done for us?
Followers is a minor service that we're expecting to do.
I saw years ago on a cafe.
Sign and it said.
He died for us.
Can't we live for him?
Well, as we contemplate the sacrifice that He has made on our behalf, anything that we do for the Lord is minuscule.
And it certainly is expected. It's reasonable that we should.
Offer our bodies a living sacrifice.
Now there's other sacrifices. Uh, Hebrews.
13 tells us about, uh, the sacrifice of praise.
Let us offer.
The sacrifices and praise that God continually, that is the fruit of our lives, giving thanks to His name. God appreciates that.
When we find a delight in appreciating His goodness.
And contemplating who he is and that he is indeed the Father of life, and that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father if he comes up to offer his sacrifice a praise. And that's just on Thursday morning. I believe it's that which should characterize our lives continually.
That's what David said. He said I prayed shall continually be in my mouth.
But then we go to the next.
And it said, but to do good and to communicate, forget not.
Or with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.
And I believe you were speaking about seeking to help out a brother.
Ministry health in one way or another. Maybe it's financially, but uh, maybe otherwise that's a sacrifice too, is he? And we're not for looked at, but here it's the sacrifice.
Of our bodies present your bodies of living sacrifice. Now we live in a world where I believe.
What, uh, predominates is the love of stuff.
And gratification.
Of self gratification of the body.
It's large and I'd rather feel you were referring over there to 1St, uh, Eater. And I think that's a good portion because we got reference to exactly what's going on today in the world. If I could just back up to the verse before what you read.
00:25:13
The first Peter four and verse.
12 The the first part of the whole chat is the first part of the chapter is is for as much then in verse one as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh.
Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For He had suffered in the flesh, had ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh.
Then I could have will of God.
When the time passed, if our lives may suffice us to have brought the will of the gym house when we walked in vitiousness.
Lots excess of wine, raveling, banqueting, abominable idolatry.
Well, I believe this describes what we see about us today. Pick up the newspapers, find exactly what we have here.
And, uh, you know, John speaks about it too.
It speaks about the, uh, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh.
Rest of the eye and the side of life. These things are of the world.
And out of the Father, and the world passes away with the lust stirrup.
But I believe.
That's it.
The word of God is that which.
And I look around this room here today.
And I know there are many and I'd like to think.
Everyone who places importance on the word.
The word of God to see what you feel, to stop, uh.
Jeremiah says he found his word, the word of God. He ate it.
He made it good in his own soul, and it becomes a delight, the joy and rejoicing of his heart so.
Word for world.
There's one letter difference between the two.
What letter is it?
L and I think that the L is referring to, not.
That's what characterizes the world. It's luck. But what do we have here?
I believe the will of God. Where do we find it in the word of God?
And it's our privilege today to be gathered here. We just let the court open and.
But it involves being in the world to know what this will be.
But as far as the sacrifice, you know, that's, uh, we call suffering.
Because we like to gratify the flesh, but we noticed in first year it says there see that suffered in the flesh, that peace from sleep.
So if we're going to cease from sin, we have to.
Decide to suffer. Suffer with a threat.
That's what the majority is, and that's what our example is.
What is the renewing of the mind?
After but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Well, I would suggest, Dave, that it is.
Uh, primarily a reference to what controls my mind.
The natural man, his mind is ultimately controlled as Wally has been saved by his lust and Satan manipulates the mind by means of the lust.
And so you get it if we, uh, turn to Ephesians one, just for a moment.
00:30:06
We see it there.
Uh, Ephesians 2. I should say Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 3.
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh.
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
So the mind is taken captive by that old sinful self and turned to everything that is contrary to God. And that's why it tells us that the natural mind is at enmity with God.
But then when you and I are saved, what happens? We have a new life in Christ. We have new desires and being indwelt with the Spirit of God.
The mind is controlled or should be controlled in a different way and so you find for example that.
The demand that was, uh, in the tombs. The man that was demon possessed.
After the demons were cast out, he was sitting at the feet of Jesus, and he was in his right mind.
Well, it's the same thought there, as it was a mind that was now under different control, no longer under the control of statement, but under the control of the Lord Jesus.
So you and I are indwelt with the Spirit of God, and if the Spirit of God is controlling our mind, it will resort to the right things.
No, I don't want to be misunderstood. The mind can be used and ought to be used in secular things in the right way. And so if I'm studying math, for example, or if I'm studying biology, or if I'm studying.
Uh, computer technology or something. My mind is involved, that's quite in order, but what does my mind go to in moral and spiritual things?
If I am, uh, in flesh, in Adam, my mind goes to everything but God, but under the control of the Spirit of God, my mind is renewed, isn't it?
It's a nice way it's put there in Ephesians chapter 4.
And, uh, concerning.
The fact that we've been talking about the old man.
Verse 22.
A receipt at 4:00. So you sit off concerning the former.
Conversation matter of life with the old man which is corrupt.
According to the deceitful law and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Really, that's allowing the new nature that we have to take control.
And form our frame, our thoughts, so that they're in, uh, harmony with the Word of God.
The new man he likes. He likes the things of God.
If he likes to do, uh, the will of God.
He likes, uh, to please God.
And so.
Our mind could be, uh, I'll be ready.
In, in the, in the things of God to please him. And so if we exercise our minds in that way, because it's, it's mentioned here, the spirit, it's the highest part of that. And so our spirit, if it's, uh, if we allow it to, uh, follow after the old man, which has been, we're told to put in the place of death and we know we still have it until we get the glorious we, we allow the spirit to follow those things. Well, we're gonna please the flesh. We're gonna please ourselves.
We have a, we have a will that that, uh, desires to do everything that God just likes. But we also have a nature that desires and pleased by.
And it's not.
Sometimes it's thankful, you know, we're, we're asked to renew ourselves and it's, uh, fixing up the old man. It's not the old man has been dealt with, the price and the trust been put in the place of death. We're erected. Done.
It's gone, and so we have a new nature given to us by God, and that new nature is what we should be allowing to rule in our lives. It's a new nature. I believe that's why including the region here. Spirit.
00:35:13
Spirit of our mind.
It's the highest part.
It might be uh, good to remember. Also in the book of Romans the chapter 12 Comes after chapter 8.
In reality, a little place in between where it falls intercedes with his love for the his people of Israel is sort of, uh, an interjection in between these two chapters. So what this is brought up in chapter 8 becomes very clear. And then that takes us into chapter 12, which talks about the mind and the body, but only after the spirit comes out with first.
Their Ascension chapter 2 as well that.
It's not just the head knowledge of these things, but it's an actual practical experience that allows us renewing of our mind that we may improve what is good and acceptable. You know, practically speaking, when I was in school or at work and I could get a head knowledge of a theory, but until I actually applied it.
And worked it through myself. I couldn't walk in it or understand it. And I think of King David when he was going out to meet Goliath and Saul gave him his armor that David wouldn't put it on. He hadn't proved it. He hadn't lived in it and experienced what, uh, what it would do for him. I just think that we look at this verse two, we should renew our mind through the word. We can understand things with the head knowledge, but until we prove them and walk with them in a kind of a practical exercise day-to-day that we can really show what's good and acceptable to the world.
Good. I was thinking that for the young people and the children here, transforming is a big word. But I think a lot of the children here have Transformers and homeless. I know I've seen them around here around and for the older ones.
For the older ones, it's it's like taking a monster truck model and transform or changing it into an airplane or a superhero. So Transformers.
Trans is along with this word here, but I was thinking of a scientific, uh, more nature way, and that's the butterfly. The butterfly as you know.
Caterpillar. But as a Caterpillar that has a racial racist appetite to eat and eat and eat and does a lot of damage, what it feeds on it, it can damage a lot of plants. But something happens to that little Caterpillar. It's transformed through metamorphosis and it becomes a butterfly. And all of a sudden it starts. It doesn't want to eat my skin anymore and destroy them, but it wants to feed on the nectar and do good. And for children here, that's what we should do too. We shouldn't feed on the garbage of the world. We should.
Think about the good things, what God wants us to think about, and one of the important things is the word of God to feed on that, and that will help us grow. Read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll grow, grow, grow. Be like the butterfly. Don't be like the Caterpillar. That does a lot of damage and you might say repeat damage yourself too by what we feed on the world. You know what's bad, children? You know that Well, at least you should. Your parents should help you find out what's bad. But too much TV, too much Nintendo. I'm speaking to myself. There's too many games and things like that or things that you shouldn't be looking at. That's the things you should avoid.
And the good things might be studying through school, you know that. Have a test tomorrow, or you have an assignment.
Do the good things, you know what the good things are, and your parents will help you steer you in the right direction and you'll grow. And like the butterfly, you won't be damaging others and you won't be damaging yourself. You'll be helping others.
I was just thinking of umm uh, Second Corinthians in chapter 3.
And umm, you know, we all umm.
Well, every believer has that old nature and, uh.
Uh, something goes wrong or whatever.
Uh, you have a feeling? Well, I gotta get even that's that's the old, old makers and umm, it still is deceitful.
As it ever was. And, uh, but now we have a battle. Umm.
Before we were saved, we never had that bad, but we didn't did those things was natural, whether it was revenge or whatever, you know, Oh, I'll get that guy back thing, you know, but we'll think that now the spirit of God checks us and umm, and and then we turn away from those sides and just acknowledge we're already and, uh.
Say a little prayer in our hearts to, to the Lord and acknowledge that that's not the way you, you think now. But anyway, in umm, verse 17, umm, now the Lord is that spirit within and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liv liberty. And I was just thinking we have liberty, liberty. We enjoy all the things of the Lord, whether it be a picnic or, uh.
00:40:05
That are earthly, but umm, they could be godly things in the sense that.
Well, we give thanks to the Lord for everything.
Let's be able to go for a hike or, umm, a swim or whatever it may be, but umm, especially the word of God, umm, in those things we don't, uh, we're not transformed, umm.
In their mind according, you know, as as the Lord is, but uh, verse 18 but we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.
Are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Or, uh.
The Lord, the Spirit. And so our whole lives are.
Sometimes you go through some mighty battles, you know, in our minds, and the flesh wants to have its own way.
And and umm, sometimes it can be a real battle.
And we might hang on to it like a bulldog for a while and then, umm, sometimes maybe even years, we might hold on to something, you know. And we're, we're not happy and, uh, we're only happy when we surrender to the Lord. And then the tears come if it's something grievous to him, you know, And uh, never more like him afterwards.
If you're turning away from it and umm.
As I say, we naturally want to do those things that do not please the Lord.
But what a what a rejoicing we have when we turn to him and talk to him and.
We love him because, uh, who he is, what he is done.
And what he's going to do? Yeah, We have a home in heaven. We're already in heaven.
Umm, spiritually.
We had these bowel bodies still in Missouri, bodies of corruption and umm.
Belong to the Lord everything.
The unsearchable riches of Christ.
Later on in the Second Corinthians, uh, the apostle speaks about the weapons of a warfare. They're not. We were talking about that word transformation. And actually just looking here at 2nd Corinthians 3 and verse 18.
Uh, the word there, uh, when it says, uh, but we all with an open face, beholding is in the glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into that same image. The word there changed apparently is the same word that we have in our chapter Romans 12.
Uh, verse 2 and it says, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So here we have, uh, almost like two ways that we can be transformed. Uh, one is, is beholding, uh, the Lord and the other here is by the renewing of our minds, uh, Romans 12 And it's kind of neat to think too that actually the 3rd place or the same word is used is in, uh, Mark Chapter 9 when it talks about.
Jesus being transfigured before. I think it was Peter, James and John.
Uh, but the difference between our, uh, our, umm, effort to be transformed into the image of Jesus, into Christ's image is that, uh, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to be transformed into the image of Christ and that's what he's doing enough. But with Jesus, when he was transfigured, it's almost like he, he was going the other direction. He was already Christ, he was God, but he was being transformed into the image, into a servant. Basically, he took upon himself the form of the servant and.
Descended in that way, so.
It's, it's neat to see how we're being transformed to be like Christ through those two means, uh, by the renewing of her mind and by beholding him. And Jesus was transfigured or he would he be took upon himself, the, the form of the siblings that way. And, and I might say too, I was just thinking the same, uh, the same word, uh, transform.
Transfiguration, but umm, I was thinking too. Also umm.
Read the word and meditate on it and it goes from the head to the heart.
Umm.
We don't, we can't see ourselves being changed since, uh, unless we look back and uh, we uh, we can see it will remove and uh, where we transform.
00:45:14
You know, uh, goes back ten years ago and, uh, looking at himself and I hope I can see where I've grown in the, in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord and umm, but we don't.
Umm, I guess we don't surprise, I guess it just happens because we, we meditate, we're not aware of the pilots. Umm, it it's something that just happens, you know?
And that's a supernatural progress in the soul.
We do receive that new light, uh, from, from God. It does change it. And uh, I'm just looking at, uh, Romans Capital 6.
So they're in verse 20.
For when you were the service of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Where you were before or intervened in our lives, we didn't know. Righteousness, true righteousness, the word of God.
He said what fruit for work had you then, and these things were off here now, ashamed.
For into those things in depth.
Yeah, I continued on. You know that where that would have led and led to death and after death we guys went to sleep. It says what fruit had your nose saying we're not, you know, a shame at the end of those things is death, but now being made free from sin and become the service to God. You have your fruit or works on the holiness.
In the end of relaxing life, there's a transformation.
God has made the transformation He has given to its life. We were lost and undone.
You had no hope in herself. God came in and gave us life the way they say. Well, yeah, that's OK. I I know. I believe in God. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has died on the cross and Scripture tells me that I've everlasting life. I'm a Christian.
But uh, what does God want me to do? What, what would God have me to do? What should I do? I'm a Christian, where do I get my instructions what to do? Well, we know God has given to us his word to give us instruction how to live our lives, restrictions. And uh, by reading his word, we grow in grace and knowledge of Him and we know what to set aside.
And what to what is good and what it what isn't? By reading God's word, because we'll receive light from God, it tells us we're like an infant. We're just we're reborn, but we're in infancy and we're the desire to sincere help of the word that we might grow thereby.
And so we're instancing when we're we're more reborn, we need to grow and we have the food of God's word to help us grow. But then the chapter that we're in.
We have here laid out for us what God's will is for us. They say. Well, what's God's will? Of course, here it tells us plainly.
In these first few, uh, verses of our chapter, what the will of God is for us as Christians, as we walk through this name couldn't be any more clearer than he put, than he played for us. That's God. Well, for us, Miss Williams.
It's not to belabor the point, but in Colossians chapter one, verse 13, it says this and this when we're talking about transforming who has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom's dear son that were translated. There is a resemblance to the word that Sean was.
Illustrating to us, but it's so interesting and what Enos just said, God has given us everything to be who we are and who he wants us to be. And there's that little word called responsibility. And that's not what I think we're dealing with in this chapter 12. It's our responsibility as the children of God to live up or to do as innocent the things that he wants us to do. Now we know what they are, but it's interesting that the word responsibility starts with the word response.
And that's the power that he gives us to do what he wants us to do. Our response? What's our response to what he's given us?
You know, why do we love because he loved us. Why do we do the things we do? Because he's done it for us. Why do we sacrifice? Why is the word sacrifice? Because he made the sacrifice for us. These are perfect examples. And in being the example that he is, he's the epitome of what we should be. And he also gives us the power and strength to do that was great. So that's what I believe we're, we're heading to in this, in this chapter is as uh, Enus brought out. It's, it's basically we can, if we had one word for it, I would say the responsibility.
00:50:13
As Christians to do, uh, to deal with this traffic. And you know, Brian, I was just thinking too, uh, as you mentioned that, umm, I was thinking before you, you mentioned the darkness, you know, and umm, my own life, umm, I, I think in my life, each one of those, especially if we, we could save them more older, umm.
We, we looked ahead and we couldn't comprehend the light. We couldn't, we, we couldn't see it. And umm, before we're saved, but after we're saved, umm.
We can't comprehend the great darkness that he has taken us over. It's just incomprehensible.
So there are really, I believe, two reasons why.
The exhortation is given in this chapter, both very important. One of them is found right in the beginning of the book of Romans, and let's just read it together because it's often missed, if I may say so.
And I speak to my own heart. Turn right back to the first chapter.
It's there in verse one.
All a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the Gospel of God.
And then verse 3 concerning what concerning fallen man and his need of a Savior.
That's not the first thing.
Concerning his son.
Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.
Paul always begins his gospel with the purposes of God in Christ and that.
Cover. Excuse me, that color.
Everything that Paul said.
The purposes of God in Christ and so.
As a man in a prison in the United States said to a fellow prisoner, both were believers, he said.
It's not about us.
And that is where sometimes and very often, we go wrong in our Christian lives. And if I can say it with all kindness and not pointing the finger, because we can be guilty of it too.
But in much of Christendom today, the emphasis is on the US.
Now God does do much for us, He has done much for us, but God thoughts primarily are the honor and glory of Christ.
So this exhortation is based on that, but then it's based on another thing it's based here on.
The mercy of God and if I live to please the Lord, the strongest force.
In my life will not be the fact that I ought to do it, but rather the fact that look at all that Christ has done for me. And if my heart is taken back to Calvary's cross, if I realize the sufferings of Christ and all that he went through for me, all that he is for me.
All that he has brought me into, not merely, as we might say, a fire escaped from hell, That would have been wonderful.
But were brought into that wonderful position of being heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, as we get in Romans 8.
We're in dwelt with the Spirit of God, we're brought into the highest position that you say it reverently God could have given us.
Now we don't get Ephesian truth in Romans. We're not in the heavenly places. We're still men on the earth, but nevertheless we're brought into the position of sonship with Christ, joint heirs with him.
Alpha says on that basis.
What about your lifestyle here? Whom are you going to live for? How are you going to conduct yourself?
00:55:03
And on that basis, God appeals to you and me, even in these last days.
Where more and more the whole current of everything is against this.
Word that Brian said about responsibility kind of fits into there doesn't go because with the word response and I was thinking as Brian was mentioning that we can't do these things at our own strength and the Spirit of God is the power of the new life, isn't it to he's given us the desire and also the strength to do it. Amen.
And there is responsibility, yes, but as you say, it is a response to all that.
God is doing in Christ, and all that Christ is done for us. And so it is. There is a responsibility and we ought to feel it but.
What uh, the point I was making is the opt two in my soul will never keep me going.
All as we might say, I'll run out of steam after a while. If it's merely a sense of what I ought to be doing. This I'll get tired.
If my heart is right, then.
My affections will be engaged and that's what makes the difference, isn't it? Is?
Brother Hayhoe, Harry Hayhoe used to say it's not the believer that knows the most that walks the best. It's the believer that loves the most. It's not what I know.
That Anna makes my life, it's what I enjoy in my heart and soul and so I need to know it in the 1St place. But we need to walk and live in the good of it and our affections will then be drawn out to Christ.
The Lord never ever added to anything but what He gives us the ability to do it. You know, His commandments always come with this enabled and you get that in Philippians.
Where the apostle says it's God that works in you both to will and to do.
Of your pleasure.
And so if the Lord wants you to do something, He'll put in your heart and desire to do it.
But it doesn't stop it.
I think it's recognizing the Spirit of God what you're saying there.
The power.
The Holy Spirit is God.
And I'm that way rather Wally. We're never told in scripture to try to do something.
Because if we're told to try to do something, there's always the implication, Well, you may be able to do it, but you might not. But do your best try.
Now we do fail, and we know that.
But God never asks us to do something without giving us everything to enable us to do it for Him. And so we're never told to try to do something. We're told to do it. Now do we fail? I don't think there's any one of us here that would stand up and say, well, yes. And whenever I set out to do something for the Lord, it's always done, no.
There was only one who at the end of his pathway could say, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Even Paul, who perhaps was the greatest servant the Lord ever had, had to say I thought a good fight, I have finished my course and couldn't say I finished the work. And so none of us finishes the work the Lord gives us to do.
But let's not be discouraged in the pathway of faith in these last days. It's not easy. And my heart goes out to some of you young people that are facing challenges and difficulties that most of us in our generation never had to face. And you're not gonna have an easy time of it, But God will give you everything you need to be able to honor Him in your Christian facility, even in the dark days in which we live.
01:00:11
You know, just take a little thing, if I may call it a little thing. Quite frankly, to me, it's a melting sometimes. Suppose you have a friend.
That you haven't spoken to about the Lord and they don't know that you're a Christmas, but you want to tell.
And you're really finding it difficult to do. I know this person's experience.
I really feel that I, I, I just find it necessary to say, Lord, please open the door for me, make it easy for me somehow to cross that line with that person. Hmm, You know, these are practical things that, that, umm, that help us in, we need the Lord's help in our Christian lives to do these little things.
Well, I was just thinking in that regard. Umm.
Romans chapter 8 and verse 16.
And, umm.
I meant to say that much in the first, uh, welcome my Christian life and, uh, also verse 26.
Here we have the Spirit of God working in us and uh, I want, uh, I want threat. When I first read it, it says that the Spirit itself.
And umm, I know the new translation says capital R itself, but umm.
I just asked her one day, what is this and, and the response I got back when, umm, the work of the spirit itself. So he's working in US and uh, and umm.
So, umm, aspirin, it's the work in the spirit to stop of it really. That way, I suppose, uh, bears witness of our spirit that we are the children of God. And then you have the verse 26 if he's working before us, uh, in heaven and so.
It's a two fold working of the Spirit of God.
I guess our time's up. 234 and 234. We're not of the world which made it away. We're not right. But children of days, 234.
Make my dream.
All I'm dreaming. Yeah, that's right.
01:05:02
In the world.
183 S almost down.