Romans 12. Paul says, I beseech you. I call you near. I call you near. I urge you. Another word, I appeal to you. But I appeal to you by the mercies
of God. This is a good way to begin a
sermon to believers. Not only a good way, it's the
only way. I appeal to you, I urge you,
I persuade you to do what you do and to be what you are and to
say what you say and to live as you live and to give Not motivated
by fear. So much preaching carries with
it fear. Not motivated by duty, what you
ought to do. Not motivated by reward, what
God will do if you do. or exchange, if you will, God
will. That's not how Paul appeals to
these brethren. That's not how he beseeches them
to do what he's about to talk about. But he said, I appeal
to you by the mercies of God to you. Oh, how merciful. We sing it, don't we? We believe
it. How merciful. We never bow our
heads and give thanks without recalling His many mercies. Blessed
Lord, how merciful thou art to me. God has been so merciful. And so, Paul says, I beseech
you by the mercies of God to you. You be merciful as he's
been merciful. Let's turn to Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6, verse 35. Love your enemies, our Lord said
here in Luke chapter 6, verse 35. Do good and lend, hoping
for nothing again. and your reward shall be great,
and you shall be the children of the highest, for he is kind
to the unthankful and to the evil. So be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful,
as you have received, freely give. I appeal to you by the
mercies of God. Turn to Ephesians 4, and here the Apostle Paul says
to the church at Ephesus, Verse 31, let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you
with all, put away all malice and grudges, ill feeling, and
be kind. Be kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another. On what basis? Duty, reward,
even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. That's how I appeal to you here,
by the mercies of God, that you present, that you yield your
bodies, a living sacrifice. Yield your bodies. He's not just
talking about this flesh, because this body yielded to God. would be of no use if the heart
were not yielded to God. Let me show you this in the scriptures,
Matthew 15. Our Lord said in Matthew 15,
verse 8, condemning this sort of thing, the outward form of
religion. In Matthew chapter 15, verse
8, the Lord says, this people draweth nigh unto me with their and with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me." So when Paul says here, I beseech you,
I appeal to you by the mercies of God to you, that you yield
your heart, your mind, your body, every faculty of your being unto
the Lord. Yield it to him. In Luke chapter
16, he condemns this outward form again. So we're not just
talking about this body. We're talking about that which
motivates this body too, the heart, the mind. In Luke 16,
15, and he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves
before men. God knows your heart. God knows
your heart. God looks on the heart, not on
the outward countenance, on the heart. And that which is highly
esteemed among men is an abomination to God. So brethren, I urge you,
appeal to you, by the mercies of God to you, yield yourselves,
yourselves, your heart, your mind, your soul, your body, your
being to God. And he says to do it as a living
sacrifice. Now back in the Old Testament,
the Old Testament priests brought a sacrifice to God. They never
came to God without a sacrifice, but it was always a dead sacrifice.
A dead lamb with its blood, a lamb slain, a picture of our Lord
Jesus and his sacrifice on Calvary. That's the way the Old Testament
priests came before God, with a dead sacrifice, with a blood
offering. Well, we're priests. That's right. Every believer is a priest. We're
a royal priesthood, and we come before God with sacrifices. But we come before God bringing
a living sacrifice. Christ has died. We need not
bring a lamb. We need not bring blood. But
when we come before God, we come bringing a living sacrifice,
and that is ourselves. hearts. That's what he's saying
here. You present as a living sacrifice
unto God your whole being. That's what Paul says in Romans
1. Listen to this. In Romans 1 verse
1, he says Paul, talking about himself, I'm Paul, a servant,
a servant, a bond slave of Jesus Christ. I've given,
I've yielded, I've presented myself, my whole being, my heart,
my mind, my soul, my body to Him as a living slave, a living
sacrifice. No dead faith here, a living
faith. Where did he get this, a bond
slave? You say, Preacher, that says
servant. Well, that's what it is. It's not a slave who doesn't
want to be a slave. This is a slave who wants to
be a slave. And the only freedom this slave
and servant wants is the freedom to serve his Lord. Where'd it
come from? Well, turn to Exodus, chapter
21. I'll show you where this comes
from, the scripture, where it's found. The bond servant, the
bond slave. And here's what Paul is calling
himself. Now listen. In Exodus 21, now these are the
judgments which thou shalt set before them. Exodus 21. You write somewhere bond slave,
and there where you can look this over again. Now if you buy
a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve you, and in the seventh
he shall go out free. Now here's an unwilling person.
You bought a man to be your slave, your servant. Or he owes money
he can't pay, and a judge makes him your servant, but he's there
because he has to be. You give him orders and tell
him what to do, and he does it. He does it because he has to,
out of fear, out of service, out of a lot of reasons. He's
your slave. Now, seventh year, you've got
to let him go. If he came in by himself, he'll
go out by himself. If he were married, his wife
would go with him. If his master, during those six
years, has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons and
daughters, the master has been good to him, the wife and her
children should be the master. If he goes out, he'll go out
by himself. He's not going to take anything
with him. But, verse 5, if this servant shall plainly say, I
love my master, I'm a willing slave, I'm a loving
slave, I love my master. I found happiness with him. I
love him above anybody outside, anything outside. I love my master. I love my wife. I love the one
he's given me, my children. I love the mercies he's given
me. I'm not going out free. The only freedom I want is to
serve my master, whom I love. Then his master shall bring him
to the judges. And bring him also to the door
unto the doorpost, and his master, that may be the doorpost of his
master's home. And bore his ear through with
an awl, and he'll serve him forever." He's a bondservant. He's a bondservant. He can go out if he wants to,
but he doesn't want to. Where he came from, he can go
back. What he was, he can go back to being. But he's come
here and found a master whom he loved, and all the master's
house and what the master has given him. And he's offered anything. He's offered, like Moses, he
could have had Egypt, but he didn't want Egypt. He wanted
his master. He could have gone out, but he wouldn't. And that's
what he's talking about here. I will speak to you, brethren,
by the mercies of the master. of the love of the Master, that
you present your bodies, heart, soul, mind, everything you are,
as a living servant, a living sacrifice, holy in Christ, acceptable. Thank God in Christ we are acceptable,
aren't we? We're His. And let your heart rejoice in
Christ Jesus. And let our tongues be employed
in prayer and praise and words of kindness to God and others. Let my feet take me to worship. Let my feet take me to the door
of His children, the needy, and other believers to encourage.
Let my arms embrace the children, the weak and the fallen. Let
my hands reach out in a multitude of ways to serve my master, to
serve his people, for inasmuch as you've done it to the least
of these, my brethren, you've done it to me." And the last line in verse 12,
is that not your reasonable service? Isn't that what I ought to do? bought with a price, redeemed
by his blood, made a son of God, the mercies
of God innumerable to me, to you, blessed above all people
upon this earth. What else could I do? I hear
preachers often say, well, Christians ought to pray. I beg to differ
with that. I believe Christians do pray. I hear preachers say, well, Christians
ought to give. Christians do give. I hear them
say, well, Christians sure ought to love one another. I disagree
with that. The way it's said, Christians
do love one another. They love Christ above all. They're
bond servants. That's just right. I beseech
you, I urge you, come near to me. Let me tell you something.
Present, yield your whole being to the Lord God as a living servant,
sacrifice. That's your reasonable service.
And look at the next verse, and be not conformed to this world. Don't let the unbelieving world
be your model. Christ is your model. Don't let the world tell you
how to live. Don't let the world tell you
what to think, what's acceptable and not acceptable. Don't let the world tell you
how to dress. Way back yonder, it used to upset
me and I'd go in a clothing store and I'd look at some and say,
I like that, that's not what they're wearing. That's not what they're wearing.
That's what I'm going to wear then, if it's not what they're
wearing. It's not what they're thinking. Don't let the world tell you
what music you ought to listen to. Listen to that which appeals
to your spiritual soul and heart, that which honors God. Don't
let the world tell you what to believe, customs to observe,
how to worship. Modern religion is worldly religion. It appeals to the world. The
Lord told us to go out and preach the gospel, go into all the world
and preach the gospel. He didn't tell us to bring the
world in here, did he? He said for us to go to where
they are and preach the gospel to them. But preaching the gospel to them
doesn't mean we have to talk like them, and dress like them,
and live like them, and act like them, if we do that, we've got
no gospel to present to them. Be not conformed. Don't let the
world tell you how to live. But be ye transformed. Be different. Be changed, not
just for the sake of being different, but to be like Christ. Walk like
a believer, walk in the Spirit. And you do this by the renewing
of your mind, and that is by regeneration, the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit, the renewing of your mind and your
heart by the gospel. The gospel brings a change in
our attitude, not only in the doctrine we believe, the gospel
It brings a change, not only in the doctrine we believe, but
in the life we live, and the way we talk, and our attitude, and our spirit, and our treatment of others.
See, don't be like the world. Be changed. by the renewing of
your mind, by the regeneration of your heart, by the implantation
of a new principle and a new being and a new person. Something thrilled me this week. Somebody was talking about a
certain couple and their children, a very important person in this
town was talking about a certain man and his wife and children,
what fine people they were, what fine people. This man says, these
are fine people, these are outstanding people, these are special people. And then the person said, well,
they go to our church. And you know what that man said? Boy, that blessed me. That figures. Isn't that what
he said? That figures. The gospel that you all believe
and preach produces this kind of person and family. I've lived on that for several
days. That figures. That figures. Now, that's what I want us to
preach so that it will figure. And that's what I want us to
believe. so that it proves that we figure in that gospel. It will. That you may prove, what is this?
You see, let me tell you something. Somebody wrote this one time.
The worldly person seeks the approval of the world. The believer
seeks the approval of God. that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That's what we're
looking for. We're not looking for the world
to prove for. Whether we live or we die, we
labor that we may be accepted of Him. Whether we live or die,
we labor that we may be accepted of Him. The worldly man cares primarily
for this body. Well, this body is a temporary
dwelling place. The believer cares for his eternal
soul. The worldly man thinks mostly
of himself, self-centered. I read one time a fellow wrapped
up in himself makes an awful small package. The self-made man usually worships
his creator. The worldly man thinks mostly
of himself, the true believer. Oh, he thinks of himself. Of
course he does. His and himself and his. But he thinks also of the welfare
of others. He cares about others. The worldly man looks upon what
is seen, what can be attained right now, the believer looks
for a city whose builder and maker is God. The worldly man
lives for earthly honor, earthly praise. The believer desires
to win Christ and be found in him. Don't be conformed to the world,
but be changed, transformed. by regeneration, by the renewing
of your mind, by the indwelling of God's Spirit, by the implantation
of a new principle, a new person, that you may experience, that
you may prove, that you may show to others, that you may manifest,
that you may give evidence of that which is well-pleasing to
God, acceptable, well-pleasing. Can we please God? What we do
in Christ, of course, I know that. Turn to Ephesians 5. But there is a sense in which
believers please God. They please God. Now listen. Ephesians 5, 6. Let no man deceive
you with vain words. Because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Ephesians 5,
7, Be not ye therefore partakers with them, don't be like the
world. For you were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light
in the Lord. Now walk as children of the light.
Walk as children of the light, for the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness and righteousness with truth, proving, experiencing,
manifesting what is acceptable unto the Lord. This is acceptable. and well-pleasing to God. Time
to show you another one, Philippians 4. Go with me now. Let's look
at this. Philippians chapter 4, verse
18. Paul says in Philippians 4, 18,
But I have all, I have enough, I have received what you sent
And I am bound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the
things which were sent from you. Now you sent me these things,
listen, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing
to God. What you did for me, Paul said,
in my distress, in my prison cell, came up before God as a sweet
smell, well-pleasing. What you do, that's right, in
his name. He said, if you give a cup of
cold water in the name of a disciple, you won't lose your reward. Well-pleasing
to God. Let me show you one more, Hebrews
13. Listen to this, Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13, verse 21, listen.
Now let's read verse 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, 20. Now the God of
peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you perfect, mature in every good work to do His
will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight. Well-pleasing, working this in
you through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory. He gets the glory
forever and ever. But I'm told that there's a tree
which does not shed its old leaves in the fall, some kind of oak
tree, that the leaves just hang on all winter, dead leaves. But when the new life, when spring
comes and new life comes within, inside that tree, just pushes
those old leaves off, pushes them off. And in their place
is the new leaves, green and beautiful and afford shade, fruit
or whatever. And even so, this old flesh bears
so many unpleasant, ugly things. But when the new life of Christ
is put within, it pushes out these pride and ego and self-righteousness
and these things, self-centeredness, and pushes them off, and the
new leaves come out, life of Christ. And that's what he's
saying here. Don't be conformed to the world.
Don't be what you were. But by the renewing of your spirit
and the new life within, you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and well-pleasing under God, perfect will of God. And I say, now here's verse 3,
let's listen to this. I say I'm going to finish this
tonight, so don't get upset and think we're going through this
whole thing this morning. But let's listen to these. See, it's
got so much here that we need it this morning and this evening.
I say through the grace given unto me to every man among you,
every man among you, don't think of yourself more
highly than you ought to think. Now, here's the crowning grace.
Here's the crowning grace. This has got to be here before
this other is here. This is the crowning grace, humility. The Lord's going to save the
humble. He's going to save the humble. The man that's been stripped
and humbled and broken, the woman, been brought down from that lofty
perch on which we put ourselves, been brought down. He's going
to save those people. The Lord never exalts a man unless
he humbles him. Let me show you some Scripture.
I'll just turn and read it, if you'd rather not turn. I'll turn.
Psalm 34, now listen to this. Psalm 34, verse 18. The Lord
is known to them that are of a broken heart, and he saith it, such as be of
a contrite, a contrite spirit, a humble spirit. That's the person
God saved. Psalm 51, verse 17, the sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit, not a proud spirit, not a haughty, haughty,
proud look, but a broken spirit, broken and a contrite heart.
Oh God, thou wilt not despise, but He does despise pride. Proverbs says seven things God
hates, God hates, God despises. Seven things God hates. Number
one is a proud look. A proud, arrogant, haughty spirit. God hates it. And He hates the
person that has it. That's right. God dwells with the humble. Let
me ask you to turn to these scriptures. Isaiah 57. Peter said, God resisteth the
proud. He gives grace to the humble.
In Isaiah 57-15, I want you to turn to this, and I want you
to put a circle around it. When I read this, I just put
a circle around it. God help me. Isaiah 57-15, For
thus saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite
and a humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, to
revive the heart of the contrite one. Tell you, he said, where
I dwell, as high as you can imagine, that's where I dwell, and with
the person that's lowly. and humble. Isaiah 61, 66. Turn to Isaiah
66. Listen to this. Thus saith the Lord, the heaven
is my throne, the earth is my footstool. Where is the house
you build unto me? Where is the place of my rest?
Are you going to build a place for me in which I shall dwell. All these things, all those things
hath my own hand made, and all those things have been, saith
the Lord. But to this man will I look, O God, if we can say
this, to this man will I look, in compassion and mercy, even
to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembling So I beseech you, brethren, I
urge you, father, by the mercies of God, that don't think of yourself
more highly than you ought to think. And look at verse 3 again.
I notice here, I say through the grace given to me. Here's
a man that was proud. There wasn't a prouder, more
arrogant, religious, self-righteous man
on earth, and this man writing this at one time. I know, he
said, I know whereof I speak. I say through the grace of God
given me. I was a rich, educated, self-righteous
fool. And the Lord God slew me. The
law came and I died. God brought me down. And I say
I'm not worthy to be an apostle. I'm less than the least of all
the saints. I'm the chief of sinners. And I say this to all
of you, don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to
think. Don't think of yourself above others. Don't have a high
opinion of your importance. God can replace all of us quickly,
easily, effortlessly. with a high opinion of yourself,
but think soberly in regard to our gifts and our knowledge and
our place. It's all by the grace of God.
Who maketh thee to differ? What do you have you didn't receive?
And listen, not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to
think, but think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man. What's this? The measure of faith. No perfect faith. No perfect
gift. The degree of faith. What's he
saying, preacher? He's saying every member of Christ
receives grace and gifts and faith from Him. He's dealt to
us. Like playing a game of cards. I'm dealing. You'll get what
I give you. You'll get exactly what I give
you. And no more, and no less. You
ever played cards and said, you didn't give me a very good hand?
I gave you what I gave you. And I've watched them when they're
playing, you know, and some guy got a good hand, he gets a look
on his face, you know, real smug, like, hurry up! I've got a good
one here. You got what I gave you." That's
just a simple illustration of what you are, what you know,
what you have. He dealt it to you. Be happy
with it. Naomi came back and said, don't
call me Naomi, call me Mara, bitter. The Lord has dealt bitterly with you. But he dealt
it. Whatever I have, gifts, grace,
materialistic, spiritually, whatever, it's according to his will, it's
by his grace. And though our gifts and grace
differ, and our measure of faith differs, we're going to see tonight
they're all useful. Everyone remembers one another.
There's no room for pride, no room for envy, no room for boasting
among us. We're one body, one Lord, one
faith, one baptism. And what He gave us, He's dealt
to us, every man, the degree of faith, the measure of faith. Now that'll make us think soberly,
won't it? God hath dealt to me the measure of faith. what I
have, who I am, and where I fit into
His grand and glorious purpose. That gives me happiness and comfort.
I'm not supposed to be more than I am. I'm not supposed to do
more than I can. Isn't that right? It's no unimportant part of God's
family or body or church, each one has dealt the measure of
faith according to his will. Think soberly. Oh, may God give
us humility and grace. All right, we'll pick up there
tonight, the Lord willing, and I hope you'll look over those
verses that lie ahead and God give us the grace to prop it
by.