Address—C.E. Lunden
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When you turn with me to Romans, the 12Th chapter, please. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies or compassions of God.
She presents your bodies a living sacrifice, holy.
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 you may prove.
What is that good?
And acceptable and perfect.
Will of God.
Just a comment or two, beloved.
About the compassions of God.
If you'll turn back to the 8th chapter.
We will have mentioned here.
That which has to do with the compassions of God.
In our first hymn, we were singing about the Father's house.
About all that lies ahead for faith.
The tendency of our hearts, beloved, is to settle down in this world. But the prophet said it's polluted. Arise. This is not your arrest.
And so we have the Apostle Paul here, after setting before us these very precious truths.
Of all that's been provided through the work of our blessed Savior.
Deep heart of God.
I beseech thee, by the compassions of God.
Is this something beloved that you and I should pay attention to? Surely?
What are they?
29th verse of the 8th chapter.
For whom he did foreknow. Oh, how precious that truth is.
Whom he did foreknow. Everyone of you who are saved come under this classification.
He also did predestinate.
That is, He elected beforehand you for a particular destiny.
That's a part of the compassions of God.
Now this was even before Christ came and took that place. Savior.
Long ago, before this world was made.
Predestinate.
To be conformed, Think of it to be conformed.
We've had patterns before us this afternoon.
Her brother mentioned the last, the one great pattern, the Lord Jesus. But here we have to be conformed.
To the image of his son.
God's Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.
Now that word first born suggests to us title.
Not generation, but title.
He has the 1St place and isn't that wonderful that the Lord has the 1St place?
But the question we have here in this exhortation is, does He have the 1St place daily in our lives?
Man is made-up of spirit, soul and body. Spirit is the highest part that contacts God. Soul is the seed of the desires and the body gives expression.
To that which is, which is learned.
The result of our spirit contacting God.
And deciding from the Word of God what the mind of God is for my pathway.
And so we have the body mentioned in this chapter.
And there we give expression to what?
To our own natural wills, God forbid.
The Apostle Paul has to say, and I'm thinking of this expression here, Holy, holy.
00:05:00
In this 6th chapter, First Corinthians, the body is not for fornication.
But for the Lord.
Oh, you're saying? Why would you bring that into a lovely meeting like this? I'll tell you why, beloved, Because the.
Verse that says Is it true that the enemy would reach even into Jerusalem?
He does.
That enemy has reached right in among the people of God.
And we're to be warned, but not only warned. The Spirit of God is beseeching.
On a basis here that should call our attention.
To these marvelous things, the compassions of God is it in keeping for a Son of God that is, I'm speaking now those who've been made sons through grace.
To allow ourselves to drop to the level of this world.
To allow our bodies to be used the way the world uses their bodies.
I beseech you, by the mercies or compassions of God.
Now the next point is.
Whom he did predestinate them he also called, and whom he called them he also justified.
We stand before God in a position beloved.
Without one sin attaching to us because we are in Christ.
No one can lay anything to our charge. We learn in this chapter we are in Christ.
Oh what a place to be in the compassions of God.
Those that he justified, them he also glorified.
He's taking us up, isn't he, to our full portion?
And I know our time is up and I'm not going to keep you.
But what is our full portion?
Is it so that we're going to have a lots of knowledge?
Well, we will know, as we are known.
But what is our portion for eternity? What is the spring of God's activity? Love.
That's the spring of it.
All the activity that's been manifested that is recorded here in the word.
The spring of it.
Is love.
And when faith and hope shall cease, love will abide alone.
And also eternity.
We will be taken up with that.
Which surpasses knowledge.
Surpasses knowledge. Can you think of something that would surpass knowledge? Yes.
Love now beloved, what is the response from my heart?
Do I need someone to hammer in my conscience?
I beseech you, by the compassions of God.
The compassions of God.
Where were you a few years ago before you were saved? You're on their way to a lost eternity. Hell, blackness of darkness, forever eternal torment. Where are you now?
You belong to Christ, you're on your way to glory, and we may be there tonight. I trust so.
But in the meantime, present your bodies a living sacrifice.
A reasonable service. An intelligent service.
And don't be conformed to this world.
The words are playing here, beloved.
Very plain. No need for me to try to open them up, they're just as plain as can be.
The compassions of God.
Our lives a living sacrifice.
Or you say, well, that may be a little harder than dying for Christ. It might be.
A living sacrifice.
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Glorified. What shall we say then say to these things? If God before us, who can be against us, and he that spared not his own Son?
I shall be not with him also freely.
Give us all things.
All beloved, in the face of love like that, are you going on and am I going on?
In a wayward path.
Some of us may be this afternoon here.
Are we going on in a wayward path?
I beseech you, by the compassion of God.