"Living Sacrifices - Romans 12:1-2" - sermon excerpt from 10/27/24

Romans 12:1-2: (NKJV)

'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be 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.'

Besides mercy, the key factor in Romans 12:1-2 is our response to that mercy.  God's mercy is constant and reliable, but how we respond to His mercy is such a vital component to our spiritual walk with the Lord that it actually measures where we’re going in our relationship with God.  In other words, our response to God’s mercy will set the trajectory of our spiritual success.

The Apostle Paul implores us to take action in response to God's mercy in the opening verses of Romans 12. In view of God’s mercy, we are urged to actively step into a priestly role of offering up ourselves, our whole embodied selves, who we are in every way to God as a sacrifice that is living and breathing. And not only do we offer ourselves to God, but we come to Him on His terms through His Son, through holiness (being set apart for Him) and we do it because it is our reasonable service…it is the most reasonable, logical thing we could do to worship Him. It is the outworking of an inner faith that now takes Christ the Victor, the Risen One into every place at all times and we are this constantly flaming, burning representation of God’s very Presence everywhere we step foot; and what we are, who we are, the choices we make, who we keep company with, what we make priority – all of those things are on a perpetual altar because we are on a perpetual altar as a living, breathing, sweet-smelling aroma of Christ Jesus to God – that’s what we are, called to be living sacrifices.

Paul takes this language of sacrifice which was completely understood by his Jewish audience who was used to actual sacrificial worship and offering physical offerings to Yahweh and he draws the parallel over to us all, so even though you may not be going into the Temple to offer a sacrifice, you are no less asked to offer a proper sacrifice to God which now takes the form of your own body- and for the Jewish contingent of the church in Rome this language would bring them into an expanded understanding of just how integrated everything would now be through Jesus the Messiah.

The dividing wall that still existed in certain places such as the Temple in Jerusalem and still existed during Paul and the other apostles’ time/early church, that wall would now come down and all people IN CHRIST (in Messiah) would step into this priestly, sacrificial opportunity to bring everything from the inside, out:

From the inside of the Temple of God, out into the world

From the inside of Jewish understanding only, out into the Greek/Gentile world as well

From the internal part of what it means to follow Jesus, out into the external where people who don’t know Jesus’ love yet, see us as a template for a different way to live.

I hope by now you are getting excited about the amazing opportunity we have as believers and followers of Jesus to stand and present ourselves to God on a daily basis and in all places as a living sacrifice to Him.  Someone may say but how do I do that?  He answers that in verse 2: 'And do not be 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.'

You do not conform, you transform by getting your mind renewed, constant mind renewal looks like us staying so deep in God’s Word that our thought life is getting constantly washed by the Word of God, we pray so that we are in contact with the One who makes us new one day at a time, and we obey so that what we are learning and hearing becomes kinetic. We cooperate with God as He transforms us into someone new by changing the way we think!

What happens when we are daily presenting ourselves to God as His living sacrifices?  We start learning to know God’s will for our lives, we start living in the good, the pleasing, the perfect (complete) things of the Lord and the steps He is leading us in. That can happen when we start listening to the Word of God and reading the Word of God. It's important that we are getting into the actual Word of God and not only listening to sermons. As good as a sermon may be, nothing can replace our own personal interactions with the biblical text itself and most importantly, the Spirit of God speaking to us through His Word! Watch as the Word takes root, the seed of God’s Word will implant in your heart and it will start popping out of your mouth and your life when you least expect it and when you need it the most!

As priests unto God, let's present Him His daily offering of ourselves, our bodies, our lives lived out in beautiful surrender and watch what He will do!!!

God bless you and we love you!

Pastor Danielle

November 2024 Calendar:

Sunday services are every week & begin every Sunday at 11:00 AM. 

(Childcare is available for ages newborn to 5 years old during Wednesday and Sunday services. Children 6 and up will have activity packets made available while they sit with their parent.)

November 3rd - 9th:

• Wednesday, 11/6, Bible Study + Youth Alpha Study - 6:30 PM

• Saturday, 11/9, EVG Men's Fellowship Breakfast + Optional Fishing Outing - 8:30 AM Breakfast at Chick-Fil-A (3101 Cap. Cir NE, near the church space) + Fishing Outing to follow, everyone invited, fishing license needed!

• Saturday, 11/9, Youth Night!!! - 6:00 PM

November 10th - 16th:

• Sunday, 11/10, Last Day to bring/drop off Clothing & Shoes for the Clothing Drive to benefit Friendship Chapel Church of God, Steinhatchee.

• Monday, 11/11, FSU Ladies' Small Group - 1st Meeting, 7 PM @ Pastor Danielle's Home

• Wednesday, 11/13, Prayer Service - 6:30 PM

• Friday, 11/15, EVG Women's Fellowship - "Girls' Night In" Food + Hang - 6:00 PM @ Linda Oakley's home - text/email Pastor Danielle for the address

  (bring a side or app to share + come for a time of friendship & fun/please make childcare arrangements as there will not be onsite childcare)

November 17th - 23rd:

• Monday, 11/18, FSU Ladies' Small Group - 7 PM @ Pastor Danielle's Home

• Wednesday, 11/20, Bible Study + Youth Alpha Study - 6:30 PM

  
  

November 24th - 30th:

• Monday, 11/25, NO FSU Small Group - Thanksgiving Break

• Wednesday, 11/27, NO SERVICE - Day before Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Events to Note:

• Sunday, 12/1 - Advent Begins!

• Sunday, 12/8 - EVG Christmas Potluck Lunch after church - Chilis + Soups, with cornbread/crackers/etc.