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GE. 3-4 (1/4) |
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"THE FIRST RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS"(1/4) |
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NEW THIS WEEK |
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"THE FIRST RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS"(1/4) |
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THE CHURCH ON HIGHER GROUND |
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HOMEPAGE |
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OTHER STUDIES |
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SERMON NETS short messages |
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PATHLIGHT Light for our Pathway |
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Homepage |
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Gen. 4:1-11 (2/2) |
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A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE |
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Josh. 1:5-9 (5/5) |
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THE PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE |
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Ps. 1:1-6 (6/6) |
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THE BLESSED AND THE UNGODLY |
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Jn. 21:1-17 (4/4 & 2/2) |
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DO YOU LOVE ME?... PERFECT LOVE |
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Ro. 12:1-2 (1-4/15) |
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#1-4...NOT CONFORMED, BUT TRANSFORMED |
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Ro. 12:1-2 (5-8/15) |
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#5-8...NOT CONFORMED, BUT TRANSFORMED |
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Ro. 12:1-2 (9-12/15) |
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#9-12...NOT CONFORMED, BUT TRANSFORMED |
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Ro. 12:1-2 (13-15/15) |
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#13-15...NOT CONFORMED, BUT TRANSFORMED |
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Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2 (5-8/15)
ON THIS PAGE...LESSONS 5-8 OF 15 #1 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/Present Yourselves (5/15) #2 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/present your Bodies (6/15) #3 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/A Living Sacrifice (7/15) #4 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/HOLY (8/15) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> #1 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/Present Yourselves (5/15) "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you PRESENT your bodies..." In order for us to reach our full potential as Christians we must do something. I know that it is popular today to say that we humans have nothing to do with our salvation, but if that is true, the Bible is full of errors. However, the Bible is true and it clearly teaches that we have a responsibility before God. We do not save ourselves, but if we neglect* or reject* His offer of salvation, He will not force His will on us, rather, we will harden our hearts and stiffen our necks in rebellion. Just as a person must put his faith in Jesus*, and he must repent of his sins*, and he must confess his sins to Jesus* and confess his faith in Jesus* in order to be saved*, so we must act in order to receive God's cleansing and empowering fulness. Paul tells us in this passage that we must "PRESENT" our bodies. The use of the Greek word which is translated as "Present" in other portions of the New Testament helps us see the importance of our PRESENTING oursleves to God in total commitment. As an infant, Jesus was PRESENTED in the temple [God required parents to bring thier children, as God requires us to bring ourselves] (Lk.2:22); Paul tells the believers NOT to PRESENT themselves to unrighteousness but rather PRESENT themselves to righteousness [we will either PRESENT ourselves to sin or to God] (Ro.6:13,19); and because Jesus died to sanctify the church, He will PRESENT the church to Himself without spot or wrinkle or blemish or any such thing [the cost of a pure church was the death of Jesus] (Eph.5:27); and ministers of the Gospel are responsible to PRESENT every man perfect in Christ [this is the reason I give these lessons, to PRESENT each one perfect in Christ] (Col.1:28). But in this passage, we are supposed to PRESENT ourselves. Jesus told the disciples that they should be perfect in love as the Father is perfect in love*. Paul said that we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus*. Peter said that we are to be holy even as God is holy*. John said that we are to be pure even as Christ is pure and that we are to be righteous even as He is righteous*. There is much more in the Scriptures which calls us to total commitment, but this is sufficient to see that most Christians are not living on the spiritual level to which God has called them. Paul tells us to Present ourselves to God. Just as the burnt offering was PRESENTED to the Lord as the sacrificial offering, we need to PRESENT ourselves as a sacrificial offering. Not holding back anything from God. Letting the fire consume all that there is. Not keeping part for self but giving all for Him. There are two great hindrances to total commitment. One great hindrance is the love of this world and the things in it and the other is the fear of man. Concerning love of this world, John said, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (IJn.2:15). When we sell out completely to God and hold no claim for ourselves, He fills us to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. With the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives comes the fullness of love, "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Ro.5:5). The fear of what men may say or think or do often proves to be a major barrier to total commitment. But God is our deliverer even in these things. Concerning fear of man, Hebrews says, "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (He.13:6). We must deliberately trust God for this deliverance by trusting Him wholly, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;" (IPe.3:14). <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> #2 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/present your Bodies (6/15) "...present your BODIES..." God has called us to a real relationship with Him and that includes our entire self. The "entire self" includes BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT. God made us as a "psycho-physical totality", "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Ge.2:7); and He saves us as a "psycho-physical totality", "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (ITh.5:23). A salvation that does not save completely from sin [from sin's penalty, power and pollution], is not a Bible salvation; and a salvation that does not save us completely from sin [in our body, soul and spirit] is not a Bible salvation. By saving us in our body I simply mean a salvation which changes the way we live our lives outwardly, physically. We are saved so that we may be forgiven and sanctified in this life and glorified in the life to come, therefore all sickness and physical infirmity is done away with in the resurrection body, not in this temporal body in which we live now (IICo.1-8.) Salvation begins in us "here and now" [deliverance from sin] and is completed in the resurrection [our new bodies.] Paul is calling us to present our bodies here and now to God as a living sacrifice. There are false doctrines which teach that salvation forgives us of our sins, but does not change the way we live. Paul knew of no such salvation. In Roman 6 Paul cried out against a sinning salvation (1-2). Paul said being baptized meant being buried with Christ and raised to WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE (4); he said we should not serve sin [that is in the body] (6), because we are dead to sin with Christ and alive to God (7-11) we should not let sin reign IN OUR MORTAL BODIES by obeying it's lust (12), nor are we to yield our bodily MEMBERS AS INSTRUMENT OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS TO SIN but we are to yield ourselves to God and our bodily MEMBERS AS INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO GOD (13). I encourage you to re-read Romans 6 since there is much more there which deals with serving God with our bodies. Remember also, Paul said, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (ICo.6:19.) He goes on to say that we were bought with a price and that we should glorify God in our BODY AND SPIRIT, WHICH ARE GOD'S (ICo.6:20). He further declares in the next chapter that we ought to maintain our bodies in holiness when it comes to sexual matters. All of our physical self is to be surrendered to God, sacrificed to God. Our eyes, our ears, our hands, our mouths, our noses, our feet. Do you remember the little song, "Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little mouth what you say, be careful little hands what you do, be careful little feet where you go, for the Father up above, is looking down in love, so be careful little ones what you do."? God expects us to present our BODIES as living sacrifices. In "The Holy War", John Bunyan wrote about Eye-gate, Ear-gate, Mouth-gate, Nose-gate and Feel-gate, the only entries to the city of Man-Soul. God wants to occupy and possess our whole being, but we must surrender control of our "Gates" to God. It is only through these gates that satan has access to our soul, but they are part of our physical self which must be presented to God as a living sacrifice. We must give control of our bodies to God. We must only look..., must only listen..., we must only say..., we must only do... and we must only go... as Jesus wants us to look, listen, say, do and go. We have no right to pollute the temple of the Holy Spirit. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> #3 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/A Living Sacrifice (7/15) This passage is based on the concept of the "whole burnt offering" of the Old Testament. God used various methods of communicating His truths to His people. God's Word and ways are past finding out. He has hidden glorious truth in plain view. God foreshadowed His Son and His salvation to us through FIGURES in the Old Testament. As I have pointed out elsewhere, "The New is in the Old concealed and the Old is in the New revealed." In these FIGURES we learn about Jesus and salvation. God calls us to present ourselves as a "living sacrifice." In the sacrifice of the "whole burnt offering" of Leviticus, we see a picture of both Jesus' death and our commitment. The purpose of this lesson is not to examine His sacrifice, but ours, therefore this lesson does not cover all of the meaning of the "burnt offering." Basically all offerings were burned, but the burnt offering was burned completely. Other than the hide of the bull, which was given to the priest, none of it was kept either by the offerer or the priest for their own consumption, as it was with some other sacrifices. The burnt sacrifice was dedicated totally to the Lord. * The sacrificial animal was to be brought to the altar while alive. The animal must be slain in sacrifice. So too, we must bring our best to God as a "living sacrifice." Though there may come a time in our relationship with God which will require us to die for our faith, our real need is to LIVE FOR HIM. Few people live the life of Christ in this world because they have not made the sacrifice and resented themselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord. * The offering was to be a free will offering. It should be made from love and desire rather than from obligation. God wants us to come to a point in our Christian experience where we WANT to please Him rather than we are obligated to obey Him. * The burnt offering could be taken from the herd, flock or from the fowl categories [and sometimes it could be made with grain in extreme cases.] The use of different animals accommodated the economic condition of the offerer. The bull, heifer or calf was for the wealthier, the sheep or goat for the middle income, the fowl for the poorer Israelite and the grain for the extremely poor. All of us can make a total commitment. There is no class or economic advantage here. God wants our all, regardless of what that may include. * Notice too, the sacrifice was to come from the list of CLEAN animals, those animals which God had designated as holy. God does not accept the offering of the unclean. The Christian can make an acceptable sacrifice to God, an unbeliever cannot. Abel brought an acceptable sacrifice which was pleasing to God while Cain brought a sacrifice for which God had no respect. We can either follow in the steps of Abel or Cain. We cannot drift toward complete surrender, but rather we must drive toward it with a burning passion for the One we love. * The offerer was to place his hand upon the head of the sacrifice. This IDENTIFIED the worshipper with the sacrificial animal, then the offerer was to cut the animal into pieces, collect it's blood, remove it's head, wash it's entrails and legs and give it all to the priest for the offering. The dedicating of ourselves is an intense and demanding act. Nothing may be witheld and the interior life must be cleansed completely. God wants our BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT to be surrendered to His will. * Though the offerer himself made the sacrifice, he then PRESENTED it to the priest. God wants us to make the sacrifice as a personal commitment of the free will, then we must PRESENT ourselves to Jesus, our High Priest. Only He makes it acceptable to God. Have you come to the point of total surrender? total commitment? total dedication? If not, now is the accepted time. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> #4 Not Conformed, But Transformed/Ro.12:1-2/HOLY (8/15) The sacrifice we make to God needs to be a HOLY sacrifice. The word "Holy" means set apart. This is not talking about the "so-called holiness" associated with the "holy men" of Hinduism or any other profane and vulgar pagan religious system. Nor is it refering to the "holiness" that attends the religious rituals of cultic faiths whichrefer to their human leaders as "Holy Father" or "His Holiness." Paul was saying that the sacrificing of ourselves should be the "setting ourselves apart" for the purpose of Knowing Jesus, Loving Jesus and Serving Jesus. As a woman sets herself apart for her bridegroom, we ought to set ouselves apart for Jesus. As a bride sets herself apart from all others to be dedicated to her bridegroom we need to be set apart from all others who would demand our affections which rightly belong to Him alone. Though we have legitimate relationships which are not only acceptable to God, but relationships which are ordained by God, our relationships should always be pleasing and glorifying to Him. Setting apart has a negative and a positive aspect. Negative and Positive are not to be confused with a Good and a Bad aspect. Rather, Negative should be seen as a "minus sign" and Positive should be seen as a "plus sign" in our lives. Negative means, "set apart from" and Positive means "set apart to." The NEGATIVE SIDE OF HOLINESS is that we are to be set apart from the things that are displeasing to God. Since God is Holy, we should be set apart from anything that is not Holy. Unholy conversation, conduct, habits, recreations, relationships, desires and attitudes. If it is not like Jesus and if it is contrary to the nature and will of God, we should set ourselves apart from it. If this seems like a lifestyle which we would not enjoy, then we need to let God adjust our "enjoyer" or as I heard another person say once, "we need to have our WANTER changed." If we want the things which are displeasing to Jesus, we need to have our "wanter" changed. If we do not want the things that are pleasing to Jesus, we need to have our "wanter" changed. The POSITIVE SIDE OF HOLINESS is that we are to be set apart to the things that are pleasing to God. Since God is Holy, we should be set apart to anything that is Holy. We need to find out what it is that pleases God and then do all we can to make that part of our daily lives. We cannot be holy if we do not spend time reading and meditating on His word. We cannot be holy if we do not spend time with Him in prayer. We cannot be holy if we do not share our faith in Him with others. We cannot be holy if we do not share our love for Him with others. We cannot be holy if we do not serve others. We cannot be holy if we do not spend time fellowshipping with His family, the Church. And we cannot be holy if we do not take time to worship Him. Again, these are not to be seen as rules and regulations, but as basic principles of life. Remember, it is not a "have to" but a "want to" relationship He wants to have with us. We should not "do" and "not do" things because they are rules, but rather because we "delight to do His will." If we observe the "do's" and "don'ts" strictly as religious guidelines, we may live a better quality of life, but we are not saved. However, if we do not have the desire to do God's will fully, then we need to discipline ourselves to walk in His steps and be holy in all of our behavior until He changes our "wanter." The life of total commitment is not the life lived by our own will and power, it is the life lived by surrendering to the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. |
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