“The Perfect Will of God”
Romans 12;1-2
What is the will of God for your life? It's a serious, and a popular question: I Googled it and got 32M hits!)
1.
Typical responses
a.
“I don't know and I don’t care.” (new believer,
lukewarm Christian)
b.
“I don’t know, and it’s too overwhelming for me
to try to know.” (the uninformed
Christian)
c.
"I don't want to know Gods will, He might
send me to Africa." (the earful Christian)
d.
“There is a specific, perfect will for me, I
just haven’t figure it our yet.” (the
theory Christian)
e.
“I think I know God’s will for my life, I’m just
not there yet, I'm still preparing.” (the “I’m almost there Christian, that
never gets there)
f.
“I know God’s will, and I’m doing it today.” (the
mature, informed, fearless, willing Christian)
2.
Quest: Which one are you?
3.
FACT: God’s
will for our life is not a mystery, it’s not hidden, its actually quite simple,
as we’ll see today.
Our Relationship to
God
12 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.
4.
Unpack, what does Paul mean by
"mercies?" So far Paul has taught us that we:
a.
We’ve been saved from the guilt and penalty of
sin
b.
We’ve been adoption into the family of God, and
are now identified with Christ
c.
We’re now under grace, not law
d.
We now have the Holy Spirit living within us
e.
We have the promise of help in our affliction
f.
We have assurance of standing with God
g.
We have confidence of the coming glory
h.
We have confidence that we’ll never be separated
from the love of God
i.
We have confidence in God's continued
faithfulness towards us
5.
Look at all of this, it seems that our
relationship with God is pretty one-sided, God is doing most of the giving!
a.
That is the beauty of our relationship, in that
God gives to us FIRST,
b.
which makes it to where our contribution to the
relationship is always in response to what He has already done for us!
6.
In other words, given all that God has done for
us, there SHOULD be a response towards God, and here Paul helps us to see what
that response should be...
1 Yield Your Body
…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonable service
7.
Two aspects:
a.
Yielding our body to be instruments of
righteousness (Rom 6:13), not instruments of sin.
b.
Yielding our body to His service
c.
This is why Paul uses this terminology, a
"Living Sacrifice"
8.
What does Paul mean?
a.
The OT sacrifice paid the price for sin, and
once that animal was sacrificed, it was dead. There was no further use for that
animal.
b.
But the NT sacrifice: the Perfect Lamb of God, Jesus, died, but He
rose again, meaning He is now a “living sacrifice,” which means He has a
purpose and a future:
i. (Jesus
the living sacrifice) In heaven, making intercession for us, our advocate (Rom
8:34)
ii. In
the Millennial kingdom, as King of Kings (Luke 1:32-33)
iii. Living
in us through the Holy Spirit, empowering us (Phil 2:13)
iv. Bringing
eternal life to the world (John 17:3)
9.
As we have learned, when we accepted Christ,
what was Christ’s became ours, in other words there is a parallel:
a.
When we accepted Christ we too died (Rom 6:6),
and are now “alive to God” (Rom 6:11), a living sacrifice and with a purpose
and a future:
i. (The
Christian a living sacrifice) In heaven with Christ (2 Cor 5:8)
ii. In
the Millennial Kingdom where we’ll “rule and reign” with Christ (Rev 5:10)
iii. And
here on earth, where we serve Christ as He works in and through us (Phil 2:13)
iv. A
sacrifice that is living, bringing life to everything around us. (2 Cor 2:16)
10. So
what we see is that being a living sacrifice is only possible through Christ.
Holy &
Acceptable
11. Get
this, Paul says we are "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God:" Now if you’ve been tracking
with us in this study, you’ll remember that we’ve established that as fallen
humans, we’re NOT Holy!
a.
So how is it that Paul would say this?
12. Remember,
because of our faith in Christ, the righteousness of God is now upon us
…the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus
Christ, to all and on all who believe. Rom 3:22
a.
Therefore, because of His righteousness in me, I
am now holy and acceptable to God.
13. Christian
you NEED to understand this, not because I say it, but because God says it!
a.
I believe many Christians are paralyzed from
serving God, as they have the erroneous belief that because some part of their
life isn’t perfect, God won't use them.
b.
Look, God works through imperfect people, if He
didn’t, NO ONE could serve God! None of us would qualify!
14. Now
you might say “wait pastor, what about the pastor that has an affair, hasn’t he
disqualified himself from serving the Lord?
a.
Yes, that sin would disqualify him from being a
pastor in the church, but NOT from serving God.
b.
Ex:
Pastor David Hocking. 1992 was Sr Pastor of CC Santa Anna when exposed
having a affair. Removed from pastorate,
but he confessed, reconciled with his wife, later became very well regarded
teacher on Israel and the end times. (His commentaries are on Blue letter
bible)
c.
So yes sin can affect our service, but sin does
not permanently ban us from being a living sacrifice.
15. Point
- give God permission to work through you...It is your reasonable service –
2 Yield Your Mind
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind.
16. When
Paul talks about the mind, he presents us with a dichotomy, a comparison of two
opposing things, in this case the world and the word.
a.
See, there are two things that can influence our
mind: The world, or the Word.
17. The
world says, “Be like us” (people
drinking pepsi)
a.
Think about it, every commercial, every
billboard, every magazine/internet ad has a common theme:
b.
The ad presents a person that is having fun,
they’re dressed well, they have beautiful companions, and the message is “you
want to be that person.”
18. The
Word says, “Be like God.” (man holding bible) The word presents the truths, the
principles, the character and nature of God as an example of how we can be.
19. Note:
There is a distinct difference in how the two things operate:
a.
The world conforms you from the outside by its
allure
b.
The word transforms you from the inside by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Conform = thermometer
20. Thermometer
reacts to the prevailing temperature; whenever the environment changes, the
thermometer changes.
a.
Same with being conformed by the world; You’re
always changing to keep up with what’s “in.”
21. I
remember as a teen I lived that reality: In sixth grade denim hats became
“cool,” so I had to have a denim hat.
a.
My friends wore army jackets, so I had to have
an army jacket, on and on.
b.
There was always something you had to emulate to
be cool, but once you emulate it, it wasn't cool anymore.
22. And
many Christians fall into this trap, trying to fit in with what the world says
is cool and hip.
a.
the problem is that once you figure out what’s
cool, the world changes, and it’s not cool anymore (its no longer cool because
you’re doing it now!).
b.
You get stuck in this cycle of trying to emulate
the world, and it keeps you preoccupied from the things of God.
23. Paul
is saying “don’t be conformed, be transformed!”
Transform = Thermostat, a thermostat changes the environment.
24. We
do this every day, when it gets a little hot, we adjust the thermostat!
a.
"I've been trained"
25. “Transform”
is “metamorphoó” where we get the word metamorphosis, means literally to
“change form, to be transformed from one thing to another”.
a.
It speaks of what happens when we have the Holy
Spirit living in us, in conjunction with the Word of God, the two work together
to transform us.
b.
So instead of being influenced by the
environment surrounding us, we are being changed by the power of God from
within.
26. And
here are two very cool aspects about being transformed by God:
a.
#1 – You’re not aiming at a moving target; The character and nature of God are
unchanging and eternal (Heb 3:18 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and forever)
b.
#2 – You become an influencer; Just like a
thermometer changes the environment, the more like Christ you become, the more
you change the environment that you’re in.
27. You
may have experienced this: When you
first became a Christian, your friends at work still cursed and told racy
jokes, but as you grew to be more like Christ, they started watching their
language!
a.
You've become a thermostat!
28. So
we yield our body, allow our mind to be transformed, and next is the will…
3 - Your Will
…that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.
29. Some
commentators present this verse as meaning “we should submit our will to God,”
and I agree that we should submit our will to God,
a.
However, I believe Paul is making a declarative
statement here…
b.
In that when we are yielding our body to God,
and we are allowing our mind to be transformed, the RESULT will be the “good
and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Conforming Will
30. Think
about this: It’s easier to change your
mind than your will, but if you will change your mind, your “will” will
eventually follow.
a.
Ex: When
I first became a Christian, I knew in my mind that there were some things that
would need to change, but my will still gravitated towards those sinful things.
b.
My old “sin nature” was affecting my will, and I
sinned.
c.
How did it happen? It began in my mind....
31. Guys,
the real battle starts in the mind, what we allow our mind to dwell on.
a.
I used to have this notion that I couldn’t help
myself, I was a victim of my sin.
b.
But I began to recognize a pattern; every time I
went back to my sinful ways, it always started out with a single thought; I
would think about that sin, reminisce on how great it was, how fun it was, etc
c.
Next, I would give myself permission to sin.
d.
It might be weeks later before I actually
sinned, but once the opportunity arose, I sinned,
e.
but the decision had been made long before I actually
sinned!
f.
The results were never good (nothing worse thing
than having the Holy Spirit, and going back to your sinful ways – it’s
miserable! The Holy Spirit really messes
up your sin life!)
32. So
after several failures, I began to realize that I couldn’t allow my mind to
dwell on my old sinful ways, so I started to change my mind
a.
I started dwelling on God, His love, His word,
and guess what – MY WILL FOLLOWED, and my body didn’t participate!
b.
In other words, I changed my mind, and my will
followed!
The Good and
Perfect Will of God
33. So
back to our opening question “What is God’s will for my life? Am I supposed to
be a missionary in Africa? Should I
start a ministry to the poor, go to seminary…”
a.
So regardless of where you are: you don’t know, don’t want to know, feel you
can’t know, are afraid to know, the reality is this: YOU CAN KNOW THE WILL OF GOD
34. Guys
it's really very simple:
a.
#1 “by the mercies of God” - Remember the rich
mercy of God towards you - past, present, and future
b.
#2 “present your bodies a living sacrifice” - As
an act of worship, decide to yield your entire self to Him, I'm going to serve
Him, get involved in His kingdom work.
c.
#3 “do not be conformed” – Don’t allow yourself
to be conformed to the philosophies of this world.
d.
#4 “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
– Through God’s word, and His Holy Spirit
e.
Then - Your life will prove what is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God.
35. See
the question should not be “what is God’s will for my future,” but “What is
God’s will for me right now?”
a.
If I'm not walking in His will now, I certainly
won't walk in His will in the future.
b.
If I'm not walking in His will now, I won't be
prepared for His will in the future.
c.
If I'm not walking in His will now, God can't
trust me with His will in the future.
d.
The future isn’t what I should be focused
on: Walking in His will NOW is what will
lead me to His will in the FUTURE.
Copyright © 2014 Clay Ritter.
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