Specifically, Paul is talking about the mercy of God as spelled out in the 11 preceding chapters.

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Pearl Hopkins
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1 1 Romans 12:1-2 Eternal perspective faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. Seeing things the way God sees them. Romans 12:1 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. 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. A call to commitment clearly and powerfully! The logic is compelling! May it go straight to our hearts! PRAY Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, I beseech one commentator states In several of his Epistles Paul gently but earnestly uses the phrase, I beseech you. This is the way God talks to us. He doesn t say, I demand this! Rather, He speaks to us quite tenderly. I beseech you therefore, brethren. therefore always refers to a prior thought and links the present statement with it. This therefore takes us back to the comments on the love, mercy, and grace of God which have provided our election, calling, justification, and glorification. Specifically, Paul is talking about the mercy of God as spelled out in the 11 preceding chapters. The greater our comprehension of what God has done for us, the greater our commitment should be. Immense vision will bring immense commitment. My daughter in light of the fact that you have cost me $300,000 to raise, your mother endured 10 hours of excruciating pain in birthing you, we have stayed awake countless nights wondering if you are ok we have given the last

2 2 17 years of our lives to thinking of you first in light of all this I beseech you clean your room. This is what Issac Watts had in mind when he wrote: LOVE SO AMAZING, SO DIVINE DEMANDS MY SOUL, MY LIFE, MY ALL! Continuing verse 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God 2 cor. 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him., which is your reasonable service. 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. RWP BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE. In contrast with the Levitical sacrifices of slain animals. Not a cover my sins sacrifice, but one of praise. Acceptable "Well-pleasing." Brought alive to the altar and stays alive at the altar. The Old Testament sacrifice was a butchered carcass, but God no longer likes His sacrifices well done. Today, He orders them rare. He wants a sacrifice that s still alive He wants the bell still ringing! GOD IS NOW INTO LIVING SACRIFICES. The call is twofold Total: To offer Greek translation is simply the ritual presentation of a sacrifice. your bodies more than skin and bones, everything you are! Reasonable or logical: Halfway commitment is illogical and irrational. In light of eternity and what God has given us our only logical response is full surrender and complete sacrifice. Because we re loved, elected, justified, called and will someday be glorified Paul urges, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is

3 3 your reasonable service. one commentator said, God has made a claim on your body, and He wants you to yield it to Him so that it s under the control of His Spirit. Also, you must not be conformed to this dead world, but be transformed in your mind to the world of the Spirit. When you present your body as an instrument in God s hand, you become a nonconformist to this world of sin and you re transformed by His Spirit. Then you find God s will for your life. I believe that God reveals His will to me daily. I get up in the morning and say, God, today my life is Yours. My body is available for You to use as You see fit. Lead me, guide me, and work out Your perfect will in my life. God reveals His will to me, because I ve asked Him and trust Him to do just that. Bottom line Church this is an obligation! Consider what He has done and make your commitment accordingly. The best ability God uses AVAILABILITY! Psalm 39:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 47 times this idea of eternal life and eternity is conveyed in God s glorious word. Scripture is constantly contrasting the length of eternity verses the shortness of life faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. SAND One of my favorite descriptions God uses to describe eternity is through the analogy of sand Psalm 139:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand.

4 4 Your life 70 give or take years is one grain of sand. Eternity is all the beaches of the world. One life will soon be past and only what is done for Christ will last The best way to spend your life is doing things that will outlast it Parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. Not just the cost of discipleship and the cost of full surrender but the JOY of discipleship and the JOY of full surrender David Livingstone born in a small town in Scotland. Small town where he grew up there is a museum. In the museum resides his diary which speaks of his devastating and painful loneliness after wife died. What kept him in Africa when he could live a comfortable life in Scotland HE ANSWERS, speaking at University in Glasgow. One arm useless because of a Lion s attack 27 bouts with Jungle fever (body racked with suffering) The students knew this was no ordinary man. Shall I tell you what sustained me amidst the trials and hardships and loneliness of my exiled life? It was a promise, the promise of a gentleman of the most sacred honor; it was this promise, Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. At Livingstone s death, they found his body bent in prayer as he knelt by his bed, beside him a small, well-worn N.T. opened to Matt. 28, in the margin beside verse 20 was this notation; The word of a gentleman Did Livingstone feel, though, that he had made a great sacrifice? Not in the least. He answered that very issue by saying, People talk of the sacrifice I have made spending so much time in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paying back a small part of a great debt owing to our God which we can never repay? (Reasonable service). Is that a sacrifice which brings its own best reward in healthful activity, the consciousness

5 5 of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought, It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say, rather it is a privilege. Livingstone s life motto was, I will place no value on anything I have or possess, except in its relationship to the Kingdom of God. He lived it!!! PERSPECTIVE Visible scene, one extending to a distance. the faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. Robert Ingersol, an agnostic was once asked, why he had never become a Christian. He said he would consider it if he saw more people who looked like they had been redeemed. Brother Lawrence in 1666 Monastery in Paris assigned KITCHEN DUTY believed the most mundane and worldly task can be done in love for God and doing it for the great King give the most humble task a spiritual purpose. In his Book, Practice the presence of God he is quoted, We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. Colossians 3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, Whatever you do digging holes, pushing papers, making burgers at in-and-out, representing Christ in our military or working in the kitchen. Romans 12:1 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. Hannah Whitall Smith Born Feb 7, 1832 one of the books she wrote, The Christian s secret of a happy life Single parent after husband left and flaunted his infidelity 7 children 4 died at young ages remaining 3 mocked God with their words and life The

6 6 Christian s secret of a happy life Her life was a living sacrifice Carl Henry was right when he observed, The real heroes of our time are those who in a faithless age hold, live and share their faith in God Joseph Damien In 1873 left for MOLOKAI to spend 12 seemingly fruitless years attempting to reach the lepers. HE GAVE UP, I gave it my all and my best 12 years no fruit Dennis Cone writes, while standing on the pier about to board the ship that would take him back to Belgium, he looked down at his hands. The white spots he saw could mean only one thing. He had contracted leprosy. So instead of going home, he returned to his work in the leper colony Word spread fast, He is one of us The next Sunday the chapel that for 12 years was empty was now overflowing. faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. John Wesley traveled 250,000 miles in 40 years, preached 40,000 sermons, produced 400 books, knew 10 languages. At 83 he was annoyed that he could not write more than 15 hours a day without hurting his eyes, and at 86 he was ashamed that he could not preach more than twice a day. He complained in his diary that here was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning. faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. THE SAND God has given us this eternity to enjoy Him (All the beaches of the world) Can we not give Him this one grain of sand to serve Him? This is reasonable, this is logical! Who is getting the deal here? God or us? After the first 100 years we just started. after the first million years we just started, Eternity How do you wrap your mind around that? All the beaches of the world

7 7 faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. God has given us eternity to enjoy Him. No more tears... No more pain... No more cancer...no more loneliness Undisturbed worship (No sin) Many people thought it was a tragic waste of a life when Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries died trying to contact the unreached Aucas. A missions statistic that profoundly challenged Jim was, There is one Christian worker for every 50,000 people in foreign lands, while there is one to every 500 in the United States. Early in 1952, Jim Elliot sailed for Ecuador. The Aucas were a violent and murderous tribe and had never had any contact with the outside world. Jim wanted to bring the gospel there so he started a plan which was called Operation Auca. Besides him and his wife, his team consisted of five more missionary couples. One morning, after numerous songs of praise and considerable prayer, the men radioed their wives saying that they were going to go into the village and would radio them again later. Operation Auca was under way. The next day, a group of twenty or thirty Aucas went to Palm Beach. Guys, the Aucas are coming! As soon as the others heard that, they flew into action straightening up their camp. Little did these five men know that this would be their last few hours of life. The last radio contact they made was Jim calling his wife saying, We ll call you back in three hours. Jim Elliot s body was found downstream with three others. Their bodies had been brutally pierced with spears and hacked by machetes. After Jim s death, Elisabeth, her daughter and another of the missionaries sister, Rachel, moved to work with the Auca Indians. The love of Christ shown through their forgiveness allowed them to have amazing success with the once murderous Indians. Jim s life was not a waste, in fact, God used his death to bring life through salvation to many Aucas and encouragement and inspiration to thousands of believers worldwide. faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life.

8 8 NOT A LONG LIFE, BUT A FULL ONE As Jim Elliot s famous words should ring in all of our ears, He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. What is it going to matter in a thousand years All that will last forever Word of God and souls of men. Billy Graham had often said, The first thing I am going to do when I get to Heaven is to ask, Why me, Lord? Why did you choose a farm boy from North Carolina to preach to so many people? He had eternal perspective He was a living sacrifice. Our only reasonable response to God s word is to offer our bodies a living sacrifice R Kent Hughes states, Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people. Leo Tolstroy observed Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself. Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort. Our only reasonable response to God s word is to offer our lives as a living sacrifice. Pastor Mike I am afraid. He is the only One worthy of being in control of your life. He has earned the right to rule. Ernest Hemingway once said, courage is fear that has prayed Take my life Lord let it be faculty (ability) to see all that matters in life. The Gospel the only story where the hero dies for the villain

WHAT GOD WANTS! Romans 12:1-2

Cornerstone Church September 25/26, 2010 Illustration from Exodus WHAT GOD WANTS! Romans 12:1-2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free,