Podcasts about romans 12:1-2

This Sunday's message, "Worship in all things" by Dawn, was recorded on Sunday, April 06, 2025.This is the sixth message in our new series "Soul Detox".This week's Communion talk by Sally has also been included in this podcast.For more information, reach us at www.westcitychurch.com.au© Westcity Church 2025

Send us a textWe have a special December series for you. Each day a short mind renewal meditation will be released, lasting about five minutes. We hope these encourage you to press in closer to Jesus this year. Today we will personalize Romans 12:1-2.  We will learn to live in holiness by saying no to the flesh and speaking God's thoughts into our hearts. This episode is a call to change our actions by changing our minds, finding joy in a life lived for God, and putting a perpetual smile on His face. Join us in this spiritual journey, and let's worship Him in spirit and truth together.Support the showLearn more about our Revelation Within Community: https://www.revelationwithin.org

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2

Join us this week as Pastor Paul Drader explores the true meaning of worship. Worship isn't just about singing songs at church—it's about living a life of obedience, surrender, and devotion to God in response to who He is. Discover how worship can transform every aspect of your life as we dive into the biblical foundations of worship, the importance of keeping God first, and how to live out true worship daily.

Join us as Kris Vallotton shares a powerful message on the importance of consecration and the journey to the Promised Land. Drawing from the story of the Israelites, he highlights how leaving behind the old life and embracing the new through Jesus brings us into deeper intimacy with God. It's a call to prepare our hearts, step into the fullness of God's promises, and witness the wonders He has for us.

For many, the last few number of years have generated some fairly unfamiliar and even grave uncertainties in societal unrest and economic uncertainties! And that can have substantial impact on personal financial priorities. So, just what is our key certainty and how do we relate to uncertainties that inevitably crop up and impact our financial focus? Join Kevin as we speak to the finance focus emerging from a proper, exciting understanding certainty and uncertainties. // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

The sermon podcast of Redeemer City Church in Tampa, FL

Dr. Thomas White, teaches us how God's mercies demands our tenacious pursuit of Him. We hope you enjoyed this week's sermon and that it challenged you in your faith.

Abraham's life was so groundbreakingly illustrative to the modern believer. That's because God documented key events in his life of faith so well. And from that narrative, we find that every generation chooses. That manifests in either keeping (or avoiding) the ways of previous generations! And is that ever relevant for us as believers…in every facet of our lives. Join Kevin as we peel back the curtain on the topic of every generation chooses!  // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

Southwest Harbor Congregational Church

Preaching from Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:22-24, Pastor Donnie McClurkin delivers an awakening message that hits the core of every man's problem—SIN. As Christians, we are to put off our old sinful lifestyle, put on Christ and set our mind on things above and  live the righteous life that we ought to live—a living, holy, acceptable sacrifice to God.   We stream live every Sunday at 11am ET and every Wednesday at 8 pm ET.   Visit our website: https://perfectingfaithchurch.com    Connect with us on social media!  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PerfectingFaithChurch/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perfectingfaithchurch/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/PFCNY  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@perfectingfaithchurch  

Listen as Pastor Will Faires preaches a sermon called Dedicated to What? from Romans 12:1-2.

How does what Christ has done for us affect our everyday lives?

We are God's living sacrifices, his people who should give Him every part of who we are. Not because of what we get out of it but because of who He is and what He has already done. Orchard Community Church8180 Telephone RdVentura CA 93004www.OrchardVentura.orgContact us at Info@OrchardVentura.orgOrchard's Streaming and Song Select CCLI# 160190

Do you need to overcome your mind battles? Kathy DeGraw is an apostolic and prophetic leader and experienced deliverance minister. On this episode she shows us how to win our mind battles by putting demons in their place. Receive a free trial of our members only podcast that saves lives at Spirit Empowered Living Members Only Podcast. Membership of ‘Spirit Empowered Living with Jared and Rochelle Laskey' starts at $5 a month or a contribution of your choice, helping us rescue sex trafficking victims. Download our free resource, '3 Secrets to Dialoguing with the Holy Spirit.' 

Are you truly consistently joyful, day in and day out? Or is joy elusive or, at best, a “come and go” type of thing? Have you given up on expecting a consistently joyful life? Are your analytical mind and your achieving will robbing you of joy, often manifesting in troubling late nights wrangling with issues? Join Kevin as we look at what seems to be God's recipe for consistent joy, even for analyticals and acheivers! // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

David Gundrum from Church Extensions preaches from Romans while giving an update on the work that Church Extension is doing.

Dare to See by Mark Pekar

Good evening thank you for taking time to check out Reaching Out Radio International, our hope is our programs enrich your walk with God rooting you deeper in Jesus Christ. We want people to be saved, healed, delivered set free! We are a team working in love and unity, in one mind one accord as the body of Christ sharing the love of Jesus and the Gospel into the world.  Tonight on Warrior is A Child, host Evangelist Dustin Fields will be teaching on, "Transformation Into A New Creation." He will discuss how to transform your life and mind, thru the Holy Spirit, worship, reading the word of God, prayer and self inventory. Learning we can not change ourselves, it is  thru the Holy Spirit, God can transform our lives.  Scripture reference Romans 12:1-2  12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Thank you for listening for your continued prayers and support as we share the Gospel into the world, God Bless You!  

My favorite short Bible passage, Romans12:1-2.Want to email us? We'd love to answer your questions!  Click Here!We're also on YouTube!  Click Here!BWDTBS on Instagram:  Click Here!BWDTBS on Gab:  Click Here!Water's Edge Church Links:Water's Wedge Church (WEC)WEC CommunityWEC GivingCoffee Time Q&A At The Water's Edge

We continue our study in the Book of Romans as we begin chapter 12. We have seen what God has done for us, now we will see what we can do for God. Salvation is covered and it is not by works. But what can we offer God for everything He has given us? Does God have a plan for me and how does He want to use me? We call it God's will. In this message, we will look at how to find, pursue and stay in the will of God. Have you made a decision? Are you looking for help? We would love to connect with you at www.solidrockbc.net/connectionlink.Support the show (https://solidrockbc.breezechms.com/give/online)

In this message Brent Shaw encouraged us to think about worship as a whole life activity. God owns all of our lives and we worship Him with all aspects of our lives, not just music.Support the show (https://sanctuarychurchlancaster.churchcenter.com/giving)

When you make decisions, on whose behalf are you working? In other words, who do you really work for every day? When you work for God, how does that really look? Like a Pharisee? Like Daniel? Like Jesus? Join Kevin as he explores the ideas of motives and self-righteousness and witness in our walk with Jesus in the workplace. // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2

Given at St. Anselm's Abbey by Fr. Michael Hall on August 30, 2020

Camp Hill UMC, May 24 2020 Livestream, Stephen Gallaher, The Ongoing Transformation Process, Romans 12:1-2

Expository Sermon by Pastor and Preacher, Samuel Farag. Preached on March 15, 2020, at Richardson East Baptist Church in Richardson, TX.

The thing about living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar! Pastor Chad Johnson takes us to Romans 12 to explain what a living sacrifice is and why we should be one!

Week 1 of "Who You Are"

Romans 12:1-2

Week 2 – Jeff Maness – June 9, 2019 If everything is intended for God’s glory, what’s the best way for me to do that? The greatest way to bring God glory requires the greatest sacrifice I can make. Glory: Sacrifice Romans 11:36 36 For everything comes from him (God) and exists by his power...

A Living SacrificeRomans 12:1-2Leviticus 3:1-6

Sunday Sermon 11:00 Rev. Dr. Shelton Sanford November 25, 2018

Sunday Sermon 11:00 Rev. Dr. Shelton Sanford November 25, 2018

Sunday Sermon 11:00 Rev. Dr. Shelton Sanford November 25, 2018

Sunday Sermon 11:00 Rev. Dr. Shelton Sanford November 25, 2018

The Christian Outlook -- March 17, 2018 Kevin McCullough turns to veteran reporter for the Washington Examiner, Byron York, to sort out the firing of Rex Tillerson and replacement Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State. Gordon Chang discusses the meeting of President Trump with Kim Jun-Un and whether or not it is an opportunity for North Korea to delay, deny, and decieve. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shares his perspective about the recent decision from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a direct impact on religious liberty. Mark Elfstrand invites Jerry Bowyer of Townhall Finance to give us a bit of context and perspective on tariffs. Pastor Phillip DeCoursey of Know the Truth, sits in with Frank Sontag to offer Biblical wisdom on Romans 12:1-2. Eric Metaxes invites Ryan Anderson to share about issues few courageously and truthfully discuss, transgenderism and gender dysphoria. Ryan Anderson's book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, offers even more information on the subject.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Collette Pekar sermon Brain Washed

Romans 12:1-2. Robert Fonseca. Feb 21, 2016Support the show (https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/1701382)

"in Long Beach as it is in Heaven." For more information visit: garden.church

"in Long Beach as it is in Heaven." For more information visit: garden.church

After spending three weeks in Sri Lanka and India with our ministry friends there, my husband and I were reminded of the importance of relationship. In this sermon, I share a little bit about the trip and about how important it is to seek wisdom from God through a close relationship with Him. I am convinced that the only way to discern God's will is to live in a close relationship with God. I was so excited to share a preview of the result of my nine year study about discerning the will of God: four practical ways to discern God's will even through life's most challenging seasons. (Mariners Church Chapel, Irvine, CA)

Brother Garza preaches this morning on Worship. Worship changes things. It provides protection to things in your daily life.

John looks at Romans 12:1-2 and explains that worship is not just about what you think, say, or express. It's about what you do!

So much of how we see the world begins in how we see ourselves. Our world is filled with people who either think too much of themselves or too little of themselves. Romans 12 opens with a call to allow God to initiate and maintain a life-giving view of self.

Brother Hanscom from New Jersey speaks tonight on the touch of Jesus and the miracles He performs in each of our lives.

Conformed or Transformed

Changing Your Mind We're looking this morning for the second week, at two phenomenally important verses in terms of practical application. Romans 12:1-2. And I don't think it's a rare thing for human beings to look at themselves and wish they were different. Amen? Isn't that true? You look at yourself and you wish you were different, you wish you could be a different person. And so we have a kind of a whole makeover culture here in America, right? The great makeover. And some people think maybe surgery is the answer, and I don't think it really is. I think Christians are wise enough to know we don't need a major transformation in our outward appearance. That's not really what we're looking at. You may think your home needs a makeover, and you love those people to come and do it for you, and that would be wonderful. But in terms of yourself, you're thinking, "How can I be a different person?" And it isn't long in the Christian life before you realize it's a heart issue, it's got to do with a change within, change of the mind, and that's what we're getting at this morning. Now, there are a lot of different ways even there that you can have your mind changed. During the Spanish Inquisition, for example, they thought torture was a good way to change the mind. Well, I don't think so, I think all you're going to do is get external conformity through suffering and all that. But they thought there were some successes to battling heresy that way, I would disagree. During the Korean War, they used the techniques of brainwashing, where they would get you broken down, they would get you physically weary, they would get you weak through lack of food, they'd wake you up in the middle of the night and they would be very aggressive and mean to you until you're finally psychologically broken down, and then they would bring in a really nice guy who'd start putting his arm around you, speaking friendly to you and saying, "Look, why don't you become a communist? It really is the better way." These techniques were developed by the Russian communists in the 1930s, and they're very effective in one level. But that's not the kind of transformation we're looking at today, when we study the transformation by the Word of God. If you look at Romans 12:1-2, we're coming to two of the most important verses in terms of the practical daily life of the Christian. We looked at it last two weeks ago, last time, concerning what it is that God wants from us now that He's been so gracious to us in the Gospel. Romans 12:1-2, it says, "Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercies, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship." And Verse 2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will." So here at last, we come to the great battleground of the Christian life, the human mind. And it is a battleground, and there's a lot of pull back and forth going on over your mind. Earlier, a number of years ago, my wife and I visited the great battlefield of Gettysburg, and there's all kinds of monuments and all kinds of history surrounding there. The Gettysburg Address were met on a battlefield, a great battlefield of this struggle. I tell you this, that there is no battlefield as significant and vital as that of the human mind. That's where the battle for life change is fought. And praise be to God, the weapons of God are mighty to the transformation of the human mind. That is how we're going to see our lives changed. That's exactly what Romans 12 is talking about. A Brief History of the Mind Now, I think it would be beneficial for us to look at a brief history of the human mind. It all started a long, long time ago, at creation, when God created man in His image, male and female, He created them. And from the very beginning, God created the human mind as I think the greatest, most complex physical creation He ever made. We know in Psalm 139:14, David the psalmist says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." That is especially true of the human mind. Do you know that your brain has 100 billion neurons? Do you realize that part of your brain is assigned now to remember that fact? So now you have to think, "My brain has 100 billion neurons." But what does that mean? Well, the Amazon rainforest has 100 billion trees. You have the same number of neurons in your brain as the Amazon rainforest has trees. And each neuron has as many interconnections as there are leaves on an average tree. That boggles the mind, doesn't it? The human brain is the most complex physical thing that God ever made. It is the center of memory, of mood, of instinct, of will, of emotion, of decision, of all bodily function, the human brain. It is also the seat of individuality and personal history. You train your brain through every experience you go through in life. Everything you go through creates a memory and those memories have an influence on you, and habits can form as a result. The power of interpretation is centered in the brain, of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste, constantly feeding your mind with information. The human brain was created in the image of God, it was created to enjoy God, to know Him forever. It was created with a Godward focus, and it was created to know the glory of God in physical creation. That's the start. The human brain fearfully and wonderfully made. However, the human brain did not stay pristine and essentially good, the human brain fell in sin. And this thing we've already seen in Romans Chapter 1, a description of the fallen state of the human mind. There it says in Verse 21, "Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him. But their thinking became futile." Did you hear that? Their thinking became futile, "And their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man, and birds, and animals and reptiles." That is the fall of the human mind through sin. The human mind leads the life, and therefore a corrupt mind leads to a corrupt lifestyle. This is made very plain in Ephesians Chapter 4, the Apostle Paul put it this way, "So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding, and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." Do you see? Because of ignorance you're separated from a kind of life that God wants you to live. There's an intimate connection between the way you think and the way you live. And so, it says in Ephesians 4, "We're not to live like those people anymore, whose darkened minds and their darkened understandings are leading to darkened lifestyles." He says, "Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." That is the corrupt life that comes from a corrupt mind or a corrupt way of thinking. As a result of sin, the natural mind, it says in Romans 8, is hostile to God, it does not submit to God's law nor can it do so. Those characterized by that fleshly or hostile mind, it's impossible for them to please God. It also says that those folks who are characterized by a sinful mind, the mind separated from the life of God, cannot understand spiritual things. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from God because they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." And so it is that the beautiful gift, the incredible creation of God, the human mind with all of its complexity, was corrupted as a result of sin. And that's where we begin with the Gospel, we start with a corrupted mind. But thanks be to God, He doesn't leave us there. Isn't that wonderful? That God doesn't leave our corrupted minds corrupted, but rather, thirdly, there is this regenerated mind. The word means a new creation, that God can do and has done, if you're a Christian, within you, a work of new creation, the creation of a regenerated mind. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come." Well, friends, that is especially true in the mind. It's true in the mind because we think differently. At the very beginning of the Christian life, you immediately think differently about Jesus, that's where it all starts. And so, the Spirit of God moves over the darkened, hardened, dead, spiritually dead mind, and creates something new there that wasn't there before. And what is it? It's an appreciation or a value of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 puts it this way, "For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." Friends, that's the very thing an unbeliever does not have, any sense of the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But at the moment you were saved, at the moment you trusted in Christ, it was the Spirit's work of regeneration in you that created a light that will never be extinguished. And John Chapter 1 says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot extinguish it." It's the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That is the regenerated mind. And at that moment, it says in Scripture, that the mind of Christ was given to us. Isn't that marvelous? We have the mind of Christ. I'm just quoting Scripture. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, "But we have the mind of Christ," that is the regenerated mind. However, we are commanded to use it. You may have it and not use it. And therefore, it says in Philippians Chapter 2, "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing," going on to talk about the humility of Christ. But the command there is, you should have this mind in you, which was also in Christ. Now, there's no contradiction here between the Scriptures. Yes, you have the mind of Christ, but you're also commanded to use it. You're to think like Jesus. We have the mind of Christ, but we need to grow in thinking like Christ, and that's where we have this issue now of the renewed mind. The renewed mind. It says in the verse we're looking at today, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." There's an ongoing renewing work that has to happen in your mind, it's a constant commitment. Now, you say, "I don't think in a pure way, Pastor. I don't. I don't think 100% about anything." Well, that's the way we all experience the Christian life, isn't it? There's a battle within us. Galatians Chapter 5 says that the Spirit battles against the flesh, the flesh battles against the Spirit. There's a battle going on, it's going on in the mind. Romans 7 talks about it. It says, "So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin." There's a battle going on, and it starts in the human mind. So therefore, if you want your whole life to be transformed, if you want a genuine makeover, not just a surface makeover, you've got to start with the battle over the mind, you've got to think like Jesus. And that's what Paul is getting at here in Romans 12. For it says in Romans 8:5, "Those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on what the flesh desires. But those who live according to the Spirit, set their minds on what the Spirit desires." So, the whole thing comes down, friends, to mind control. And I know some of you wonder, "Are we heading toward being a cult?" We are not heading toward being a cult. This is a call of God from the Scripture to allow the Spirit of God to control your mind by the Word of God. That's what we're looking at this morning. It's all about mind control. 12:30 AD: Now, where are we heading ultimately? Well, we're heading finally, fifth stage to the glorified mind. There at last, brothers and sisters, there will be no division of mind. It says in Deuteronomy 6, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." And Jesus prays in John 17, "That they may be one, as we are one." We'll be perfectly of one mind with God. We will see everything the way He sees it, we'll think about everything the way He thinks about it, feel about everything the way He feels about it. And what bliss and joy there will be at last. "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I'll put you in charge of many things. Enter now into the joy of your Master." At last, you'll feel God's joy through and through." That's the future of the glorified mind. I was talking to Jeremy, my secretary, and he said, "I just want to skip to number five. Can we do that? Can we go right to the glorified mind?" Well, no. In the will of God, He has left you on this earth for sometime to battle the battle of the mind, and that's what we're looking at today. But friends, be joyful in hope. It says later in Romans 12, "The hope is for the glory of God." Someday, if you're a Christian, someday you will think exactly like God about everything, and you'll be fully at peace and fully at joy at that point. It says in 1 Corinthians 13, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child I thought like a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now, we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face-to-face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." That is the future of the Christian mind. We will know God, we will know Him through and through. "Now, this is eternal life," John 17, "That they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." The Supreme Act of Worship: Romans 12:1-2 Okay, so we've gone through a brief history of the mind, we've looked through. What I wanna say is, why does the mind need to be transformed? And how can it be transformed? That's what we're looking at today. We've already looked in part at why the mind needs to be transformed. Let's dig in and try to find out how it relates to worship. Romans 12:1-2 are two of the most important verses on worship in the Christian life. It says that we are to offer our bodies as spiritual sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your reasonable, rational, logical, or spiritual act of worship. And so we need to understand what worship is. True worship is the essence of true Christianity. This is what the Father seeks. The Father is seeking worshipers, and the Father is seeking worship. You may already be a Christian, He's seeking something from you today, He's seeking worship from you today, He wants you to worship Him. Now this is what it says in John Chapter 4, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "A time is coming and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." What is the context of this issue of worship? We've already seen it. We've got 11 chapters of Christian doctrine, some of the deepest doctrine you'll read anywhere in the Bible, Romans 1-11. And in that, we have a tracing out of the mercies of God as He battles with the issue of sin in our lives and in the world. We've seen the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes the Gospel. We have traced out this doctrinal foundation. And it all culminates in one of the most incredible expressions of worship you'll ever find anywhere, the doxology of Romans 11. "Oh, the depth of the riches, the wisdom, and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever." And so we see Paul's incredible ability, soaring in doctrine, some of the highest, deepest doctrines you'll ever find, Romans 9-11. Soaring in praise with the doxology, he lands squarely on his feet in Romans 12:1-2, talking to us about our bodies, talking to us about our practical life. He never loses sight of the practicalities of the Christian life. This is Paul's usual manner. He gives the doctrinal foundation and he says, "Now based on these truths, how then shall we live?" This is his usual pattern. And in this way, God is honoring the human mind, isn't He? He's honoring the mind. He's not just going to tell you, "Do this, don't do that," a bunch of ethical things. He's going to reason with you, He's going to explain, He's going to give you a worldview out of which you will be able to live your life. He's honoring your mind. Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord." He's reasoning with us for 11 chapters. And now He tells us what to do. And He gives us that fourfold sacrifice. We looked at the first two, two weeks ago. The first is the soul, He wants your soul. What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or, what would you give in exchange for your soul? You gave your soul to Christ when you trusted in Him. This is the mercy of God that He has had mercy on your soul, and you are forgiven, your sins are forgiven if you're a Christian, and you have trusted in Christ, you gave your soul to Christ. But secondly, He asks for your body. This is just review, but He says, "I want you to present your body to Me as a living sacrifice." We talked last time about how the presentation was the same word concerning the angels that came down or would have come down if Jesus had asked them. When Peter wanted to rescue Jesus from the cross, he drew his sword and tried to rescue Him, and Jesus said, "Put your sword away." And then he said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father and He would at once put at My disposal more than 12 legions of angels?" The angels will come and be ready to serve, so also we must put at God's disposal our bodies. Every member, every part of our body, at His disposal, holy and pleasing to Him, a spiritual act of worship, the physical presentation, we saw that last time. God wants your body. Now it's a struggle, isn't it? Because the body is where sin resides, the lusts and the drives of the body, the habits of the body, that's where sin resides. And you look at Romans 7, it says, Paul puts it this way, "So I find this law at work, when I want to do good, evil is right there with me." Did you find that this week? You might have had a good resolution, a desire to do something good, but it's like you're dragging a weight. You can't quite do all the good things you'd like to do. Paul says, "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." He says, in this body of death, there are habit patterns of sin that drag us down. And so he cries out in Romans 7, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." That is the answer. Jesus is in the process of rescuing you from the law of sin at work inside your members. Friends, that is called sanctification. Now, this is not an easy thing to do, is it? It's hard work. Paul says, "I beat my body and make it my slave, lest after I've preached to others, I myself might be disqualified from the prize." He's got to keep his body under subjection, it's not easy, it's a battle. Or what I contend from Romans is that the battle is in the mind, you've got to win the battle for the mind, and there's a pull back and forth, and it's right here in the text. There's the pull of the world, worldliness, the world system, and then there's the pull of God through His word, that's the battle, the struggle back and forth, the world and the Word. For it says, "Do not be conformed to this world." Do not be conformed to this world. Literally it says, "Do not be conformed to this age." J.B Phillips gave a wonderful translation of this, he said, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." It really has to do with a conforming, that you're being forced to conform to the world. Did you know that the world has a mold that it wants to squeeze you in? The world wants to make you think like it does on every topic. The world wants you to think like it does on politics. It's called being politically correct. Alright? And if you violate the rules, they'll let you know. You have not been politically correct, you'll get into trouble. The world has a mold on clothing, it wants you to be in style or trendy. The world has a mold on success, it measures success by money and power and prestige. The world has a mold on everything, and it's very influential on the mind, it wants to pull you in a certain direction. The age, or the world that we're talking about here, one commentator called it the floating mass of thoughts, and opinions, and maxims, and speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, and aspirations, at any time current in the world. It's just this mass of influence and opinion, called the world. And it's been around a long time, friends. It has. Now, different versions, different forms, with every generation there's different flavors, but it's always anti-God, that's what it is. It's been around at least 400 years, because John Bunyan wrote about it in Pilgrim's Progress, when he talked about Vanity Fair. Now, there's a whole magazine now called Vanity Fair, but in Bunyan's work it's not a good thing, it's actually a polluting influence. This is what Bunyan wrote, "Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town is Vanity. And at the town there was a fair kept called Vanity Fair, it is kept all the year-long. At this fair, are all such merchandise sold as houses, trades, lands, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, such as harlots, wives, husbands, children, master, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and whatnot. Moreover, at this fair, there is at all times to be seen jugglings, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, naves and rogues, and that of every kind. Here are to be seen too, and not for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood red color. Now, as I said, the way to the celestial city lies just through this town, where this lusty fair is kept. And he that will go to the city and yet not go through this town, must needs go out of the world." Now, for me, I love Pilgrim's Progress just the way it's written, but I thought it might be helpful to you if I gave you an updated translation, okay? So here is the modern version according to me. You can write your own, but here we go. "Then I saw in my dream, when they came out of the wilderness, they suddenly saw a city before them, and the name of that city was Addictive Worthlessness. And in that city there was a huge mall called Addictive Worthlessness Mall. It is open 24/7, and there you can buy anything the heart could desire, vacation homes, real estate, trophies and awards, human applause, corporate ladder climbing techniques, corner offices, political appointments, travel packages to resort areas, lust, pleasures and delights of all kinds, such as swimsuit editions, pornographic DVDs, computer games, worldly magazines, and all the raw materials for earthly happiness that money can buy. Gold, silver, pearls, oriental silk, fine Corinthian leather, top-end electronic devices such as flat screen plasma TVs and satellite dishes. Here you can see, and for free too, thefts, murders, adulteries, blasphemies and all kinds of sins packaged as entertainment. And as I said, the way to the celestial city lies just through this filthy city where this lusty mall is owned and operated, and he that would go to the celestial city, and not have to go through the mall, has to die." So bottom line is, we have to face it. I'm not saying you have to go to the mall. Actually, I was in a men's group once and I said, "What do you do, just walking through the mall, and there's just temptations everywhere?" And the guy said, "Don't go to the mall." So that was a simple piece of advice. Some of us can't avoid going to the mall. The question is, "Are we going to be polluted by it?" There is so much in Scripture about this, but the warning here is quite clear. The inference in the Greek is, "Stop being conformed to this world." Do you see it? It's not, "Don't start being conformed." The implication is you're already conforming at some level. Stop being conformed to this age. Satan is manipulating the media to saturate your minds with the ways he wants you to think about life and death, about pleasure, about gender, about sexuality, about entertainment, about careers. He wants you to conform, he has a mold he wants to squeeze you in. But God commands you to be transformed, not conformed. And that's the parallel that he gives us here, "But be transformed." Friends, God also has a mold, and He wants to conform you to that, and that is Jesus Christ. He wants to make you like Jesus. He wants every last one of us to think, and reason, and feel, and choose like Jesus would. God has a mold as well. The entire saving work of God is to take sinners like us and transform us to be just like Christ. It's a metamorphosis he has in mind for you. He wants you to be transformed. Similar to when Peter, James, and John went up a high mountain with Jesus, and they saw that Jesus was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as radiant as a light, whiter than any launderer could get them. He was glorious in front of them. And not even with His full glory, because they couldn't survive that, but just that God allowed His Son to show some of His glory, turn it up a few notches so they could see just how glorious is Jesus. And you know what's so incredible? Someday we're going to shine with that glory. Isn't that incredible? We're going to glow with it similar, but far greater than when Moses' face shone when he was in the presence of God. For it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we who with unveiled faces, all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." He wants to make you more and more like Jesus. He wants you to be transformed. And as you gaze into the face of Christ, you will more and more be transformed from within, into Christ-likeness. And what is the ultimate result of this? Well, we've seen that the soul has been given to God, the body must be in an ongoing way, like a living sacrifice, presented to God. Your mind presented to the influence of God, we'll talk more about that in a minute, results in what? The will. You will choose what is good, and pleasing, and perfect, the will of God. It says, "Then you'll be able to test and approve God's will. His good, pleasing, and perfect will." You'll know what God's will is, you won't just know it, you'll want it. You'll yearn for it, you'll approve of His will. Now, a lot of people ask questions about what is the will of God for my life? We're going to talk more about that over the next few weeks, talk more about that. But I tell you this, you will not be able to discern God's will for yourself unless your soul is given to Christ through salvation, you give your soul to Him, you're ongoingly presenting your body to Him as a living sacrifice, and you're in an ongoing sense being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, and only then, will you be able to test and approve God's will. The Renewing of the Mind: How Does it Happen? Alright, now we have talked about why the mind needs to be transformed. The question is, how does it happen? How can my mind be transformed? Well, I want you to notice first and foremost that, I think a good translation will give you the sense of the passive here, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world," should really be translated, "Do not, or stop being conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." I want you to notice that both of these are passive. Both of them are passive, and it basically comes down to this, friends, to what are you presenting your mind so that it can be influenced? What are you handing your mind to? What do you say... When you're presenting your mind, you're saying, "Here, change me. Here, influence me." What are you presenting your mind to? Both of them are passive. You're either going to be conformed to this age, or you're going to be transformed into the image of Christ. To what are you presenting your mind? The issue is, to what are you presenting your mind? And the fundamental concept here very practically is, what is going into your mind, and what is your mind chewing on or meditating on? And I think that's what needs to be controlled. You need to control what goes into your mind, and you need to control by the power of the Spirit, what your mind mulls on, what it meditates on, what it thinks about. Now, Scripture calls on us to allow the Word of God to be both the input and the meditation. Psalm 119:15-16 says, "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes, I will not forget your Word." So, we are to meditate on the Word of God. I guess the simple secret here is just daily saturation in the Word of God as illuminated by the Holy Spirit. When my wife and I and our two older children were missionaries in Japan for two years, we were in the Tokushima area, it's in Shikoku, one of the smallest of the four large islands of Japan. And they had a lot of local culture there, a lot of things that they're really proud of and that were a big part of their culture. So we went one time to a cultural museum, and we saw that they had a big display of indigo dying there, and apparently, that was a major industry in Tokushima in generations past, and they still do some of it. Indigo, of course, is that blue in the blue jeans that we're used to, that blue color. And they showed all of these processes, whereby the cloths were dyed. The bottom line was this, they would take a white cloth and they would dip it into the dye and they would bring it out, and then they would dip it back in and they would bring it out. And the longer it stayed in and the more frequently they dipped it, the deeper it got in color. There were some that were just very light blue, all the way to some that were as dark as midnight blue. That's what it comes down to. What are you immersing your mind in so that it can be affected? "What are you marinating in?", is another analogy What are you taking in, and what are you pondering? Or, what are you thinking about? The more time you spend watching TV, surfing the net, reading worldly magazines, listening to worldly talk shows, hanging around worldly people that only talk about worldly things, watching worldly entertainment, and then the more profound as a result will be the influence of the world on the way you think. You're going to be dipping your mind into that vat and it's going to affect you. Conversely, the more you take in Scripture, the more you meditate on it, the more you think about it, the more you memorize it, the more you're around people that talk to you about the Word of God, the more the Scripture is going to influence the way you think. That's the nature of the battle. And so, what are some simple guidelines? Well, read the Bible. Alright? Yeah, sometimes we say, alright, the things we discuss in this pulpit are very high, and I understand that, because Romans 9-11, all that's very, very complex, there's a lot of deep doctrines. This isn't deep, this is simple, read the Bible. I mean, not right now, but I mean when you get home, read the Bible, read it, read it frequently, read it in a consistent pattern. Read through the Bible, use different strategies. There's all different kinds of ways you can use to read through the Bible. That's what being transformed by the renewing of your mind is about, the saturation of the pure water of the Word just flowing through your mind and cleansing you in a beautiful and a powerful way. Charles Spurgeon said our very blood should be Bibline. In other words, they talk about in a negative way, the blood alcohol level, there should be a Bible level in our blood, alright? We are just saturated with the Scripture. When you talk to the person, you're going to get Scripture back. Because we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture that's going to address any and every topic in the Christian life, isn't it? And so the more we are searching out the Scripture, the more we're going to see the wisdom of God in every situation. Go through the Bible once a year for knowledge and breadth. George Mueller read through it 200 times. Now, you do the math on that, 50 years twice, four times a year, something like that. I mean, that's incredible. You say, "I have trouble getting through it one time in a year." He went through it on an average three to four times a year, that's incredible. David Livingstone once read the Bible four times in succession while he was detained in a jungle town in Africa. He saturated himself in the Word of God. Billy Graham, I was speaking about his medical missionary father-in-law, Nelson Bell, and he said this, "He made it a point to rise every morning at 4:30 and spent two to three hours in Bible reading. He didn't use that time to read commentaries or write, he didn't do his correspondence or any of his other work, he just read the Scriptures every morning. And he was like a walking Bible encyclopedia. People wondered at the holiness and the greatness of his life." Now, I think reading through the Bible gives you knowledge and breadth, a sense of the scope of the redemptive plan of God, and that's so valuable, a world view comes. And as I've said before, Rome wasn't built in a day. You don't get a world view overnight. Little, by little, by little, you start to see things the way God does, and things just get put in place. Breadth, I also believe in knowledge in depth, and that comes through meditation. It's so easy when you're just moving across, so easy to just skip things. We've been reading in the morning as we drive in, Psalm 119. And we got to Psalm 119 this morning, verse 130. "The unfolding of your Word, gives light, it gives understanding to the simple." You have to have the Word of God unpacked for you. You have to open it up like a suitcase with a bunch of good things inside, it's got to be unpacked. If you're reading through quickly, you're not going to see it as much, you've got to pause, and go back after you've done your reading, say, "There's a couple of things that are worth my time, I'm going to meditate on them," and you go and you just think about it. "What does this mean? This noun, this verb, this phrase? Or, what is the significance of this figure in my life? How can I live this out?" It's not enough just to know these things, you have to do them, and so you're asking while you're meditating, "Lord, how can this change my life? How can I be transformed by the Scripture?" The unfolding of the Word gives light. Probably, one of the greatest meditations on this is in Psalm 1, it says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, whose leaf never withers. Whatever he does prospers." And so, knowledge and breadth is reading though the Bible in a year, or something like that. Knowledge and depth is taking passages and memorizing them, meditating on them so you understand them deeply. Summary and Conclusion The Word of God has something to say on every topic you're going to face in your life, so does the world. My question is, who are you going to listen to? For example, the Word of God has things to say about money, and so does the world. The world says that your money is there to make you happy, basically, and that money is the root of all happiness. The more money you have, the more happiness you'll have, that's what the world says. The Word of God says to beware, watch out, because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. So, be careful about it. But money can be used as a tool to advance the kingdom of Christ, and the way you give it by faith can store up treasure for you in Heaven forever and ever. That's what God says about money, among other things. Concerning sex, the world says if it feels good, do it. Anything between consenting adults is fine, and there is no lasting impact on you if you're promiscuous and break the laws of God concerning sex. That's what the world says. God says differently. Marital relations, what I call it, was given for marriage, and it's a good gift from God within those boundaries, a delightful gift. Who are you going to believe, the world or God? Concerning time, the world says time, you'll have as much as you need to do what you want with, it's really like money to make you happy. Do whatever you want with your time, and tomorrow is as guaranteed as today is. Go to this or that city, spend a year, carry on business and make money. James Chapter 4, it's a guaranteed thing. Bible says it isn't guaranteed, it's limited, so you better number your days and gain a heart of wisdom because the days are evil. Therefore, redeem the time and be very careful what you do with it. Who are you going to believe? The world on time or God on time? On every topic in life, the Bible has something to say, and so does the world. The battle is for the mind. The central message of the Bible is, repent and believe in Christ for the salvation of your sins. If you've come here today and you have never done that, you've never repented and trusted in Christ, trust in Him now. Jesus shed His blood on the cross that we might have eternal life. But I wanna speak to you Christians here for a moment, you don't stop repenting the moment you come to faith in Christ, you start. And then what happens is, repentance is literally thinking differently from then on about everything. Live a life then of repentance, guided by the Word. Let the Word of God take you into topic after topic, and think differently, think like God does. That's how your life will be transformed and be pleasing to Him. Close with me in prayer.

Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Romans 12:1-2. The main subject of the sermon is that the human mind is God’s wonderful creation but is naturally corrupted by sin. However, after putting our faith in Christ we can have our minds...

Introduction: The world is full of all kinds of worship We are looking now at Romans 12:1-2. We’re going to spend two weeks on it, this time and the next time that I preach on Romans. The outline is balanced. You see, presenting your soul, presenting your body, presenting your mind, presenting your will. That's what we're looking at, but I'm not really going to be talking much about presenting your mind or your will this time, that'll be next time. We're going to focus on the first, namely presenting our bodies. And as we do, we come again to the question of worship. We did it last week when we looked at the doxology, which is the greatest doxology in the Bible, what an incredible section of Scripture. And how it began with that little word, "Oh" which shows the depth of Paul's emotions. His feeling inside his heart about all the doctrine that God had taught him and through him had given to us. And that's the first part of worship. It's an internal moving within our hearts, a moving of delight, and of passion, and of love, and of faith. We believe what we've heard is true, but that's not all, it moves us, doesn't it? It makes us joyful, it moves us emotionally. That's the inside. But now as we get to Romans 12:1-2, and really Romans 12-16, now we're asking the question, What should we do with our bodies? How can we live? And worship is both of those, isn't it? God has revealed himself to us in the Word, and then there's an internal transformation of joy and faith, and then there's an external pattern of life, and all of that is worship. Now, we live in a world full of worship, don't we? People are naturally going to worship something. We're religious, by nature. I know that there are some that have been trained in the halls of academia and higher education that claim to be atheists, and I think they are just aggressively suppressing the truth and unrighteousness within themselves that there is a great and a powerful spiritual being, God the creator. For the most part, human beings are religious, and around the world, they're going to find some way to express worship. Now these are, for the most part, man-made expressions of worship, aren't they? You look for example at the Hindus that travel as pilgrims to the River Ganges, which is a really foul place, it's been polluted, and yet that has specific religious significance and they're willing to go in and wash in the River Ganges because it's an act of their Hindu faith. Along the way, they're going to be doing little acts of worship and sacrifice called pooja to some of the millions of Hindu deities. They are religious people. The Muslims, for example will, five times a day, pray toward Mecca in a certain pattern, whether standing, kneeling, lying prostrate back up, and patterns of prayer that they learn from an early age. Once in their lifetime, they hope to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. And there, sometimes you've seen pictures of Muslims bowing down in concentric circles around the Kaaba stone, which is a stone that Muslim faith says came down from heaven pure white, but then was turned black through human sin. In the remote jungles of Irian Jaya, there are stone age tribes that worship their multiple deities, along the patterns that they learned from their ancestors, handed down from generation to generation. So, we human beings, we are religious. Even when in Christian circles, there are all different kinds of worship. Orthodox churches are filled with ornate and beautiful paintings, there are icons covered in gold which they say help them to worship. Roman Catholic worship focuses on the mass, the sacrifice of the mass, and the focal point is the taking of the Lord's supper. Lutheran services look somewhat similar to Roman Catholic services but they focus on the preaching of the Word. The Anglican services follow a pattern laid down by the Book of Common Prayer. Pentecostal services, if you've ever been to one, are exciting, stimulating times in which the gifts of the Spirit are being used. So they teach in open ways the speaking of tongues, dancing in the aisles. If you like to do that while I'm preaching, feel free. I don't think... You'd be the first in years here, but that's the kind of worship they do there.There's all different kinds of Christian worship. I'm not going to join you if you do that, but I will watch. Is that alright? But all different kinds of worship and there are different patterns of worship, even within the evangelical movement, there are seeker sensitive churches that use contemporary music and other types of patterns to make the service attractive to unbelievers, all the way to perhaps another extreme of folks that would only sing psalms without musical instruments. All of these within the array of evangelical faith. There are all different kinds of worship, but I say to you that as we look at the doxology last week with the "Oh," that Paul says, the deep passion for God and for doctrine, and the God of the Bible, combined with what we have in Romans 12:1-2, we have here, I believe, the highest expression of Christian worship you will ever find, and everything else pales in comparison with what Paul tells us to do here in Romans 12:1-2, this is worship. Paul says, "I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercies, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will." I. The Application of Christian Doctrine Now we have had 11 chapters of some of the deepest doctrine you will ever hear. Now, Martyn Lloyd-Jones is one of my heroes, he preached 297 sermons in those 11 chapters. I'm less than that. I know some of you don't believe that, but it's true, fewer than that, but still a lot of foundation has been laid. Along the way, as you'll read in Romans 1-11, you will not see a lot of commands. From time to time, there are some commands right in the middle of chapter 6 or some other places, there'll be some commands. But for the most part, Paul has just been laying out what is, what is the truth, what has Christ done, what is the significance of it, who are we in Christ, how are we saved. These are just truths, it's doctrine, it's a foundation. But now we come to that great question that Francis Schaeffer asked so many years ago, How then shall we live? Now as a preacher who has been preaching in Romans, I couldn't wait till chapter 12 to answer that question. So every sermon, I tried to stop and say, "Okay, based on what we've learned, how then shall we live?" Some sections of Romans, it's harder to do than others. Some are just very theological and theoretical and it's hard to know exactly how we're to live. But Romans 12-16 is Paul's application to the Christian message. This is his answer to the question of, "How shall we live?" Now, the beautiful thing here as we look at it, Christianity is not merely a way of thinking, neither is it merely a way of living. It is both, friends. It is both. And the pattern that Paul sets for us is, first, we must understand then we can live. It's not a kind of a cut flower morality or ethical system, which isn't connected or rooted to anything. Like for example, Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack. I love Benjamin Franklin, what an interesting man living in the 18th century. He was a printer by trade and he printed something called Poor Richard's Almanack and in it were little proverbs of practical wisdom. You know probably many of them by heart. "A stitch in time saves nine." In other words, try to address a situation before it gets worse. "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." These are just basic everyday life ethics, but it's not connected to the system of doctrine that Christianity is. He was not a believer in Christ and was not trying to connect his ethical approach to the Christian message. Well, Paul doesn't do that. There's a lot of moralistic systems. Even now, you can listen to business speakers or head coaches that win championships, giving you the top 10 tips on practical daily living, that kind of thing, and people will flock to listen to these folks, and they can command $10,000 or more to tell you how to live your lives. I think we've got it for free here in the Bible, let's just read it. Read 11 chapters of Godly doctrine and then he'll tell you what to do. It's going to get very practical. Romans 12, Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, treat your enemies in this way, do this with government. He's just going to be going through all of these topics. Romans 12-16, He's going to be telling us how we should live, and so therefore, I'm advocating today a balanced Christian life. And by that, what I mean is, we should not be concerned with doctrine apart from application and nor should we be concerned with application apart from the doctrinal base. Let's follow what Paul has done, 11 chapters of basis now gives way to some of the most practical insights you'll ever have on how to live your life everyday. So, here we get where the rubber meets the road. Romans 12:1-2, He's going to be starting the whole thing off with this issue of presentation, presenting yourself, and that's what we're looking at this week and the next time as well. Presenting yourself body, soul, mind, will, everything; presented to Christ, presented to God. In Romans 12:3-8, He's going to be teaching us about spiritual gifts. That's going to be an incredible study. I believe everybody is given a spiritual gift and you've got a role to play in the body of Christ. We'll be talking about that. Romans 12:9-21 is just, as I said, very practical applications on how to live your life, a life of love with others, even with your enemies, how to live with others. Romans 13:1-7, that's going to be the Christian and government. Payment of taxes. What is government ? How do we submit to government? He'll be talking about that. The rest of that chapter is again this issue of love for others, with a special application on personal holiness. Personal holiness. Chapter 14 and on into chapter 15, very important chapter on Christians getting along with each other in the Christian body and not dividing over debatable issues, learning to accept somebody else's servant if he has a different conviction on a debatable issue. Very important in the Christian life. We'll be looking at that in chapter 14 and on into 15. Chapter 15 and the rest of that chapter, He's basically talking about the Jew-Gentile unity issue and how Jews and Gentiles together can be an offering up to God, a sacrifice of praise for him. Chapter 16, a bunch of greetings to people, you probably have never heard of, some of them you have, that is as practical and beautiful as you can imagine, and there's lots of truth there in chapter 16. Friends, this is where the rubber meets the road, and we begin with Romans 12:1-2, the most important of them all. II. You Already Presented Your Souls... Or You Can’t Proceed Now, I want to start from this place. The whole thing is a presentation. If you don't get anything else, get this, God is calling on you to present yourself to Him and He's calling on you to do that everyday. He's calling on you to do that in every way. He's calling on you to present yourself completely to God. That's what He's calling on you to do. Now, I say you must have already presented your soul to Christ or you can't go on. None of the rest of it will matter, you have to have presented your soul to Christ and that is, I believe, in Paul's view when he says, "Therefore brothers," speaking to brothers in Christ, "Therefore brothers, in view of God's mercies," what God has already worked in your life, the central mercy of God, the central mercy of God is salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The central mercy of God is the forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Christ. It says in Romans 9:15-16, he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort but on God's mercy, and it is the mercy of God in saving our souls that I have in mind. Now, Romans 12:1, it doesn't come across in all the translations but it is plural. For example, the ESV says, "I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God." It's not just one mercy, it's a whole rainbow of mercies, a whole array of mercies that God has given us and is giving us. But the central is, that the human soul corrupted by sin, enslaved to sin can actually be forgiven in the sight of Almighty God and restored into a right relationship with Him. We call that justification. We think about what Jesus taught, concerning this matter. In Luke 18, he said the tax collector stood at a distance and he would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "Be merciful to me, a sinner." "And I tell you, [Jesus said] that this man rather than the other went home justified by God." So we were talking about justification by the mercy of God, and in that you presented your soul by faith, and you are in a right relationship with God. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Isn't that beautiful? To just know that God is at peace with you through Jesus Christ, that there's no outstanding debt to be paid, that your sins are forgiven. That is the central mercy of the gospel. Now at that time, you presented your soul to Christ. Jesus said, "What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" You don't want to lose your soul so you entrusted it to the Savior, and he the Savior of your soul took your soul at that moment, it is his. And at that moment, your soul became his possession and that gladly, you were glad to have it because he made it. He's the one that gave it to you. By faith, you were saying, "My soul is your possession forever." Friends, you do this once for all time, there's no need to do this in an ongoing sense you need to be saved. You need to repent and trust in Jesus. You need to present your soul to Christ. And that's once for all time. I think, however, there is an ongoing motivation in the Christian life here as well. All it says is, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God." Here's the thing. I think we have already received mercies from God, haven't we? If we're Christians, we have already received mercies from God. But my question is, is that it? Are there any more mercies yet to come? I would say yes and yes and yes, everyday a display of the mercy of God. One of my favorite verses about this, I just love, is Lamentations 3:22-23. It says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness." And so, I think this is the foundation. We expect to get more mercy. Sometimes we feel like, "God why would you want my body? I'm defiled, I'm sinful." And you need to have confidence that God will, in an ongoing sense, be merciful to you so you can present yourself to him, that there's more mercies yet to come. So yes, look back at the mercies you've already received. Rejoice in them, delight in them, but there's still more mercies yet to come. And I believe God's going to be raining and showering mercy on you as a Christian from now until the day you die, and that mercy is going to get you all the way to heaven. And so in view of God's mercy, confident in God's mercy, he then gives us this command. III. Present Your Body Now what is the command he gives? Well, he tells us that we should present our bodies. "I appeal to you brothers, in view of God's mercies, present your bodies" he says. Now this is amazing! We believe in a spiritual God, He's not made of material stuff. Jesus told us, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. You might think what does this body of mine have to do with worship? Some people are proud of their bodies. A vanishingly small number of people are proud of their bodies. The rest, not so much. And you may think why would God want this thing? Why would he want my body? But God does want your body. Oliver Cromwell who was the Lord Protector of England in the 17th century was sitting for a portrait, and apparently he was not a handsome man. He had pronounced warts, for example, and the painter said, "We can do amazing things with paint, like just not paint certain things." He said, "No, paint it all, warts and all." It's a very famous saying, "Warts and all." So you may say, "Does God really want my body, warts and all?" I say to you, he does. He wants you to present your body to Him, warts and all, everything. Now, Scripture has a remarkable ambivalence about our bodies. By that I mean there are some things very negatively said about the body and some things more positively said. Our bodies were originally created in the image of God, holy and blameless before the fall, but they were corrupted by the fall badly. They are headed for the grave where they will meet corruption head-on. And we know that. Our bodies are programmed by habits of sin, and so we can talk about this body of sin or the body of death, and that's a big problem. Paul says he beats his body and makes it a slave so He's almost suspicious of his body, it's a problem for him to some degree and yet he says in another place, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. And they are the only vehicle we have to serve Christ in this physical world. And so there's an ambivalence about our bodies. There are problems, but then there are these blessings. God wants us to present our bodies to him. Present: To Put at One’s Disposal Now, what does that mean, present? What does it mean to present your body? Romans 6:13-14 already covered this, and just listen to the verses, you can study it another time, but Romans 6:13-14 says, "Do not offer," or "do not present," "the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness, for sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." That's the same teaching, we have here. There's a direct connection between what's taught in Romans 6 and what's being taught here in Romans 12. It's the idea of presenting your body, specifically presenting the members of your body, the parts of your body to God. Now, I think the best picture I've ever found of this, and it's stuck with me ever since the day I learned it, and I hope it'll help you, is the picture we get the night that Jesus was arrested. In Matthew 26, the account is told of Jesus being arrested and they send a detachment of soldiers, that may have been as many as 600 soldiers, to go arrest Jesus with torches, lanterns and weapons. You know that just at the moment that he was about to be arrested, Peter tried to save Jesus's life. What an interesting moment. When I get to Heaven, I'll say, "Peter, what were you thinking?" Of course He's going to say to me that about a thousand times more than I'm going to say it to him, so fair's fair, but I think I'm willing to pay the price to ask him. What were you thinking? And Jesus deals with Peter and you remember he says an array of things, but it culminates in this, he says this. "Do you think I cannot call on my Father," listen, "And he would at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels." That's the exact same Greek word we've got here, 12:1. "Put at my disposal," Jesus said. Now, let me ask a question. With what attitude would the angels come down from heaven, if Jesus had asked for them? Would they not come and say, "Reporting for duty, sir, what do you want?" "See those 600 men over there? They're a problem to me." "No problem to us, Lord, we'll take care of them." Would they question the Lord in any way? They would be ready to do gladly anything Jesus commanded them to do. They are servants, they are ready to serve. And the angels are always like that. It wouldn't have been unusual in the garden in Gethsemane. They are always ready to serve even in the Book of Revelation, when it involves pouring out bowls of wrath and a third of mankind dies. They will do anything God tells them to do because they totally trust Almighty God, and well they should. He is a perfect being, righteous in all he does. And so the angels are ready to obey all the way, right away, with a happy spirit. That's what they do. And they would have come, and been put at Jesus's disposal. In other words, the Father would have said, "Jesus, they are yours to command, whatever you say they will do." That is what Paul is urging us to do with our bodies, present them to Jesus for his command, offer them to him as your personal commanding officer. Now, you might say, "How do I do this?" Well, I think you ought to begin every day in your quiet time, with a simple prayer like this, "Lord Jesus, I am yours. You bought me with the price of your blood. I belong to you, I am under obligation to you. I am yours." And that's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Isn't it beautiful to say to Jesus, "I am yours, you bought me." "I am a bond-servant of Christ," as the Apostle Paul said. You present your whole self and I think you should do it every morning in your quiet time. You offer your whole self to him. But I actually think you ought to go beyond that and you ought to offer the parts of your body to him in prayer as well. I don't think you have to do this every day, but I think it's helpful to say, "Lord, my mouth is yours, I pray that I would speak words that only glorify you, and build the body of Christ up today. Lord, my hands are yours, I pray that they would only do things that I'll be glad they did on Judgement Day. I want my hands to be instruments of righteousness, not of wickedness. I want my feet to carry me in the places where you want me to serve, that's where I want to walk, nowhere else." You're just presenting the parts of your body. And there's nothing strange about this, the Lord made it. Remember what we learned in the doxology, from him and through him and to him are all things. Those parts of your body, they belong to him anyway, you're just offering to him, what's already his. Say, "Lord, I want my ears to be yours today, I want to listen to the Word of God. I want to listen to other people talk so carefully that I can discern what their needs are, and find out how I can minister. I want my ears to be yours, Lord. I want my fingers to be used, I want my stomach only to be used for your glory, I don't want my stomach to be my god, my appetites to be my god, I want everything in my body to be yours for your glory." I think this is exactly what Frances Ridley Havergal did in her hymn Take My Life and Let It Be. She goes through every part of her life and just offers it up to God, as a sacrifice to him. Now, notice that it says "living sacrifices." Have you wondered what that means to offer your body to him as a living sacrifice? Well, we know that sacrificial imagery is powerful throughout the Bible. I mean, right from the very, in my opinion, right from the very beginning when sin entered the world, so did sacrifice, right away. Because God clothed the naked Adam and Eve with animal skins that he got from what I believe is the first sacrifice. Then Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did, it was an animal sacrifice. Noah offered some of those seven clean animals that he took on the ark, and God smelled the fragrant aroma after the flood and swore in his heart, "Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. We know the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they set up altars wherever they went, and they offered up sacrifices. We know that God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, so we understand sacrifice. Now, I've taught before here that the sacrificial system is one of the clearest ways of understanding what Jesus did on the cross. There are lessons of the sacrificial system that lead you right to the cross of Jesus Christ, don't they? All sin deserves the death penalty. The death penalty can be paid by a substitute and the substitute cannot be an animal. We're waiting for Jesus. And then Jesus comes and John the Baptist says, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," all of that points to the cross. But I'm saying to you now that the sacrificial system teaches us also how we live after we've come to faith in Christ. We are to see our lives as a sacrifice, we are to offer a sacrifice to God. A Living Sacrifice Now, what is a living sacrifice? Well, the animals were put on the altar and they were killed once and that was it, you gave them once, they died once and that was it, it was finished. God is actually commanding us to something even higher here, you are to kind of go on being a sacrifice the rest of your life. It's kind of like a constant death and life issue. We're constantly giving ourselves over to death so that we may live with God every moment. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, think about what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, Jesus said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." So there's an ongoing living pattern of, "Not my will but yours be done, Lord. I'm willing to die." He tells you to go witness to somebody and you don't want to do it and He's like, "Oh, it's so tough, you die to yourself, you take up the cross, you're a living sacrifice, you go." He wants you to put a certain pattern of sin to death, it's hard to do, it hurts, it's difficult. He wants you to die to yourself and to do what God calls you to do. He calls on you to fast and pray for some issue. It's hard for you to do. All day long, you feel those hunger pains, but you're dying to yourself, you're a living sacrifice, taking up your cross and following Jesus. Amy Carmichael, the great missionary in India, who worked with young girls that she was helping to rescue from temple prostitution, working with orphans in India did a great work. Her biography was written by Elizabeth Elliot, entitled A Chance to Die. And I think Amy Carmichael and all the missionaries that worked, and she had a rigorous application process. If you wanted go work with Amy Carmichael, you had to go through lots of process to join her in her work. She basically only wanted people there that saw the ministry as exactly that, a chance to die. A chance to die. And what I say is that every morning, God's mercies are new, but so also are the opportunities to die to yourself and live for God. And if you do that, if you will be a living sacrifice, you will find your life, but if on the other hand you refuse, you shrink back, you will lose your life. That's what the Apostle Paul said, that's what Jesus said, that's what we're learning here. A living sacrifice is much more costly than a dead one, isn't it? Well, that's once and you never see that animal again. It might have hurt a little bit, said, it's a sacrifice, like David said, "I will not offer to God a sacrifice that costs me nothing," but even a bull, you just pay it once and it's done. He's asking for an ongoing gift of yourself to him every moment. And he says it must be holy and pleasing to God, without blemish, pure and holy. We have to free our bodies from everything that defiles and contaminates them. It's got to be holy and pleasing to God or we cannot offer them, I think about 2 Corinthians 7:1, it says, "Therefore since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." You got to detoxify yourself. We are surrounded by spiritual and physical toxins, and we are to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. I think it's not long before any of us thinking about this topic knows that we're at least talking in part about sexual purity. We live in a sex-crazed culture. There's internet pornography, there are movies and there are just images around all the time, that pull us toward immorality. We are called on to be holy, holy in our bodies, holy in our minds and that's what he wants, living sacrifice, and he calls it our spiritual act of worship, this act of worship is the basic act of worship that God is calling on you to give. Now, believe me, I am not minimizing what we come to do here on a Sunday morning. Not at all. It is so important what we do, the singing we do, the listening to the Scripture, the prayers, everything, even now, the hearing of the Word, all these things are important. But if you want to ask, "How can I worship God," Romans 12:1-2 is telling you how to do it. Present your body to him, that is worship. Spiritual Act of Worship Now, it says your spiritual act of worship, the Greek word is interesting, it's related to the English word "logic," and sometimes it says "reasonable act of worship" or a "logical act," other times, "spiritual act." Basically, I think the idea is that this is what makes sense in the spiritual realm, this is the sacrifice that makes sense for you as a Christian. That is your spiritual act of worship. Now, behind all of this is a phenomenal concept that has not been well understood for most of the history of the Christian church, but I think the Reformation made a major shift and helped us to understand, and that is this basic idea, this is huge. All of life is sacred. There's not a difference between things that God cares about and things he doesn't. Things that are more holy to God than other things. All of it is sacred. No, don't misunderstand, I'm not saying there's no sin in the world, I'm just saying that there's no forum or no place where you can't be sacred in that forum. All of it is a possibility. Now, in ancient Israel, you know that the 12 tribes entered the Promised Land and each one of those tribes got a physical inheritance, a chunk of land that would be their inheritance, except one. Do you know what tribe did not get a physical inheritance? It was the tribe of Levi, the Levites. What did they get? They got the sacrificial system, that was their inheritance. They got to offer the sacrifices, they got to eat the meat that came with that, they got small parts of land that they could live on, but they didn't get a chunk of inheritance the way everybody else did. And that was considered an honor, that the Levites got the sacrificial system and within them, the line of Aaron, they were the high priests and they got to offer up the sacrifices, but the Levites as a whole, their inheritance was this act of worship, this sacrificial system. But from that, came a bifurcation in Israel between the sacred and the common. And therefore those that were involved in holy pursuits, reading the scriptures, praying, offering sacrifices, they were at a higher plane spiritually than the common folks. You see this attitude in John's Gospel when the Jewish leaders are saying something like this, "This mass of people that knows nothing about the law, there's a curse on them." They looked on themselves as higher and better. In Roman Catholicism, medieval Catholicism, that got embraced. There was the priestly class, you had priests, nuns, monks, and all that. They would separate themselves out from everyday life, and they would live in monasteries or they'd live in cloisters and they would live out their holy lives in that way. The medieval Roman Catholic historian Eusebius said it this way. "Two ways of life were given by law of Christ to his church. The one is above nature and beyond common human living. Wholly and permanently separate from the common customary life of mankind, it devotes itself to the service of God alone. Such then is the perfect form of the Christian life and the other more humble, more human permits men to have minds for farming, for trade and for other more secular interests as well as for religion, and a kind of secondary grade of piety is given to them." Do you see the difference? You got your really holy people, the priests, the nuns, the monks, all the way up to archbishops and the popes and all that, and then you got everybody else, and they're at a lower level in terms of spirituality. That is not in the Bible. If God wants you to present your physical body as a living sacrifice, that means that everything your body is involved in can be worship. All of it. I would argue it must be worship. In those cloisters, the monasteries and all that, they divided up the tasks between the sacred and the profane. There were the sacred tasks, reading the scripture, chanting, prayer, the Lord's supper. The profane tasks, common tasks, were farming, washing the dishes, preparing meals, eating, all of those things were lower. Even worse were those people that spent their whole lives doing those things, they were profane people, common people. The Reformation came along and said, "Enough of that. It's not biblical." Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, they recovered this vision. Look at this, William Tyndale said this, "If we look externally, there is a difference betwixt washing of dishes and preaching of the Word of God, but as touching to please God none at all." That is powerful, that's powerful. Williams Perkins put it this way, "The action of a shepherd in keeping sheep is as good a work before God as is the action of a judge in giving sentence or of a magistrate in ruling or a minister in preaching." That means everything in life can be sacred, everything you do can and should be an act of worship to God. The key verse for this, in my opinion, is 1 Corinthians 10:31. It says there, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God." Now, my friends, I'm going to get as practical as I possibly can get. Can you eat a ham sandwich to the glory of God? Can you do it? Go on, nod or shake, what do you think, yes, or no? Is it possible to eat a ham sandwich to the glory of God? I say it is. As a matter of fact, if you're going to eat a ham sandwich, go ahead and do it to the glory of God, or don't do it at all. Can you wash the dishes to the glory of God? Yes. Does everyone who wash his dishes do so to the glory of God? I myself have washed dishes, not to the glory of God. It can be done, but I have done it the other way, occasionally. Ask my wife, or don't. I mean, she'll tell the truth, sometimes I wash dishes to the glory of God, and sometimes I don't, but I can do it always to the glory of God. I can cut my finger nails to the glory of God. Not right now, but I can do it at other times. I can dust a book shelf to the glory of God, I can make a phone call, I can pay a bill, I can put a vacuum cleaner away to the glory of God, I can get my tires rotated to the glory of God, I can exercise to the glory of God, I can go on a diet to the glory of God, I can eat a Thanksgiving feast to the glory of God. I can do all of these things to the glory of God, because there's not a separation between the sacred and the profane. It doesn't exist. There's just a difference between whether you're doing something to the glory of God or not. You are to be constantly a living sacrifice. Now, what's the key? IV. Present Your Mind The key has to do with the mind and we don't have time today. I decided a while ago we had to do it in two messages. You have to do it by presenting your mind. It's the way you think, it has to do with the way you think, and we're going to talk about that next time. You've got to present your mind to God, and it has to do with what's affecting you. You can either present your mind to the surrounding culture and be polluted by it, or you can present your mind to God through his Word and be transformed by it. But it's the presentation of the mind, and from that comes a presentation of the will. I will choose to do what God wills for me to do. V. Application: Are You Presenting Yourself? Okay, so we come to the application of the sermon, that means we're done. Because I've done nothing but application this whole time. Well, let me ask a basic question, "Are you doing this? Are you presenting your bodies as living sacrifices? Are you presenting every moment of your life, are you presenting your hands, your mouth, your eyes, everything to God as a living sacrifice, are you living this kind of a life? Are you spending your money to the glory of God or not spending it? Are you praying to the glory of God or not? Are you interacting with other people to the glory of God or not?" Everything can be his. There's no such thing as sacred or profane. Offer yourselves to him, as those who have been brought from death to life and offer every part of your body to him as instruments of righteousness, for sin shall not be your master, because you're not under law, but under grace. Close with me in prayer.

Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Romans 12:1-2. The main subject of the sermon is how we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.