Embracing Mercy: The Call to Living Sacrifice
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His resurrection steals life from death and makes it possible for those who trust in him to become a sacrifice and yet live. Hallelujah! But how do we live? We do not live as before, not like we were before we came to know him. That's not the way we want to live, wrapping ourselves in the world and its bankrupt values. We live in constant renewal and transformation of our minds with and by the Holy Spirit. Can I get an amen? Now that leads us into verse 2. How do we flesh out or live out this calling to be a sacred offering that brings him pleasure? What is the calling on our life to present a reasonable essential worship? What is this spiritual act of worship? And verse 2 holds the key. [00:18:43] (65 seconds)
See, sometimes, listen to me for a minute, and I'm not discrediting anything. Sometimes we call and give us the power of God. God, we want the fire. We want the earthquake. We want the wind. Problem is, God wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake or the fire. But what was he in? And then there was a still, small voice. A quiet whisper. Ready? As living sacrifices, we enter into a relationship with the Holy Spirit where God promises that he will guide us into all truth. truth, comfort us, and guide us. As we draw near to God and He draws near to us, His voice becomes much more clear. In the beginning, it's a gentle whisper that we have to really listen to hear. But as we test and approve God's will, as we worship and praise Him with our whole life, as we get to know Him better, the whisper becomes a clear, recognizable voice. [00:22:47] (73 seconds)
That's our calling, to bring hope to the world, to the downcast, to say, man, there's hope, buddy. Things are going to get better. Jesus is coming. The kingdom is going to come. His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This won't last forever. Because listen to what Paul said to the Colossians, 127. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery. Say mystery. What's the mystery? Christ in you, the hope of glory. You thought you weren't the hope of the world? Well, you are. It says right there, it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Our hope of glory is hope of glory for the whole world. That's why we're ambassadors. That's why we're reconcilers. We're ministers. [00:37:17] (65 seconds)
See, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control create a pretty awesome individual, wouldn't you say? And notice that the Bible never calls it the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It says the fruit, singular. It's all one. When you got the Holy Ghost, you get all nine fruits. They start growing in you. And when they grow in you, it enables you to be more of a living sacrifice because then you can enter into the ministry of reconciliation. You can be an ambassador for the kingdom of God. You can be part of the church of the firstborn, the body of Christ. But without the fruit, you might go, I think about times when I've lost my temper. Have you ever lost your temper? And then you did not act merciful, but you gave them just what they deserved. [00:34:58] (63 seconds)
Do not allow this world to mold you into its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. And as a result, you will be able to discern what God's will, what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing and complete. That's pretty awesome. Don't you want to do that? But is it easy? So how do we get it done? You say, pastor, well, how do we do it? Well, God doesn't leave us alone in the wilderness. He tells us how. He does many, many times. Can any of you take a guess on what, how we do it? Well, let me give you John 16, verses 12 and 13. I have much more to say to you, this is Jesus, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [00:19:55] (77 seconds)
What is he saying? He's telling us that he told these disciples on the road to Emmaus that the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering were just dead and inefficient. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was something that was alive and then killed and offered up to God and many times burnt. And then it had to be done again and again. But he was saying that was never my intention. That was never my father's intention. My father's intention that I would come and these offerings all point to me, to Calvary, to my sacrifice on the cross. My living sacrifice. He's the actual sacrifice for our sins. He's the first living sacrifice. He explains from Moses and the prophets to him walking on that road to Emmaus what God means when he says sacrifice. The whole meaning. The Old Testament sacrifice system, the temple sacrifice system, all pointed to Jesus, our living sacrifice. [00:14:18] (71 seconds)
See, because the Holy Spirit teaches us. He guides us. He empowers us. He revives us. He strengthens us. He intercedes for us. He reveals things to us. He unites us to one another. And He comforts us. The Bible says He's the comforter. You can't have comfort. You can't have a comforter unless you're discomforted. So you've got to be in discomfort before the comforter can come. Now, how about discomfort, sacrifice? Is it comfortable to sacrifice? It's not comfortable most of the time. And God said, you sleep, you just love to sleep till 10 o 'clock. And you just can't wait to get that last four hours. And God said, Ron, I want you to get up at 6 o 'clock. Oh, man, that's going to hurt, Jack. I don't get up till 10 o 'clock. I mean, that's just a little thing. But you see what I'm saying? You, you know, you can be suffering a little bit. Sacrifice is uncomfortable. [00:24:39] (79 seconds)
The voice says, love others well and don't hide behind a mask. Love authentically. Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 1 .22 when he says, now that you've been purified by obeying the truth, remember the Holy Spirit's the truth giver, so that you have sincere love for your brothers. And I used to always do this when I was younger. We used to always greet one another and you'd hit your chest. It was sub, bro. So when I sang this, I thought about this. It says, love one another deeply from the heart. Listen to these words. Listen to these words. These words have volume. They have height, width, and depth that's beyond anything our minds can even comprehend. He says, love others well. Don't hide behind a mask. Love authentically. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Men don't hide. Don't apologize for loving. [00:40:06] (60 seconds)
You see, it's not just essential for God. That's sometimes we think God wants our worship. But giving him the worship is just as essential for us. It's built into us. We have a desire to find God. It's put in us. Who's our creator? And to honor him, to worship him. So worship isn't just for God. It's for us. It's reasonable. And it's essential. Now listen to what the voice says. I have a note called C20. I think it does a great job of summing up what I just said. It said, Paul urges those who... read and hear his letter to respond to the good news of offering their bodies, their eyes, their ears, their mouths, their hands, their feet to God as a living sacrifice. Paul knows well enough that sacrifices end in death, not life. But the sacrifice of Jesus changes everything. [00:17:39] (63 seconds)
Hope is just around the corner. Every time I've never been disappointed, the most deepest place I've ever been in. Suddenly, in a moment, hope appears. My heart rejoices. And I'm full. Over and over again, 50, 50, let me see, 73, 52 years. And I have not been disappointed. And I have not been disappointed. See, they think old folks ain't got nothing to say. Boy, I've got 52 years of stuff to tell you if you've got a minute. Ain't that right, Jesse? Ain't that right, Jesse? Ain't that right, Jesse? And devote yourselves to prayer. Share what you have with the saints so they lack nothing. Take everything, every opportunity to open your life and your home to others. [00:42:48] (71 seconds)
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See, sometimes, listen to me for a minute, and I'm not discrediting anything. Sometimes we call and give us the power of God. God, we want the fire. We want the earthquake. We want the wind. Problem is, God wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake or the fire. But what was he in? And then there was a still, small voice. A quiet whisper. Ready? As living sacrifices, we enter into a relationship with the Holy Spirit where God promises that he will guide us into all truth. truth, comfort us, and guide us. As we draw near to God and He draws near to us, His voice becomes much more clear. In the beginning, it's a gentle whisper that we have to really listen to hear. But as we test and approve God's will, as we worship and praise Him with our whole life, as we get to know Him better, the whisper becomes a clear, recognizable voice. [00:22:47] (73 seconds)
That's our calling, to bring hope to the world, to the downcast, to say, man, there's hope, buddy. Things are going to get better. Jesus is coming. The kingdom is going to come. His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This won't last forever. Because listen to what Paul said to the Colossians, 127. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery. Say mystery. What's the mystery? Christ in you, the hope of glory. You thought you weren't the hope of the world? Well, you are. It says right there, it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Our hope of glory is hope of glory for the whole world. That's why we're ambassadors. That's why we're reconcilers. We're ministers. [00:37:17] (65 seconds)
See, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control create a pretty awesome individual, wouldn't you say? And notice that the Bible never calls it the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It says the fruit, singular. It's all one. When you got the Holy Ghost, you get all nine fruits. They start growing in you. And when they grow in you, it enables you to be more of a living sacrifice because then you can enter into the ministry of reconciliation. You can be an ambassador for the kingdom of God. You can be part of the church of the firstborn, the body of Christ. But without the fruit, you might go, I think about times when I've lost my temper. Have you ever lost your temper? And then you did not act merciful, but you gave them just what they deserved. [00:34:58] (63 seconds)
Do not allow this world to mold you into its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. And as a result, you will be able to discern what God's will, what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing and complete. That's pretty awesome. Don't you want to do that? But is it easy? So how do we get it done? You say, pastor, well, how do we do it? Well, God doesn't leave us alone in the wilderness. He tells us how. He does many, many times. Can any of you take a guess on what, how we do it? Well, let me give you John 16, verses 12 and 13. I have much more to say to you, this is Jesus, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [00:19:55] (77 seconds)
What is he saying? He's telling us that he told these disciples on the road to Emmaus that the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering were just dead and inefficient. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was something that was alive and then killed and offered up to God and many times burnt. And then it had to be done again and again. But he was saying that was never my intention. That was never my father's intention. My father's intention that I would come and these offerings all point to me, to Calvary, to my sacrifice on the cross. My living sacrifice. He's the actual sacrifice for our sins. He's the first living sacrifice. He explains from Moses and the prophets to him walking on that road to Emmaus what God means when he says sacrifice. The whole meaning. The Old Testament sacrifice system, the temple sacrifice system, all pointed to Jesus, our living sacrifice. [00:14:18] (71 seconds)
See, because the Holy Spirit teaches us. He guides us. He empowers us. He revives us. He strengthens us. He intercedes for us. He reveals things to us. He unites us to one another. And He comforts us. The Bible says He's the comforter. You can't have comfort. You can't have a comforter unless you're discomforted. So you've got to be in discomfort before the comforter can come. Now, how about discomfort, sacrifice? Is it comfortable to sacrifice? It's not comfortable most of the time. And God said, you sleep, you just love to sleep till 10 o 'clock. And you just can't wait to get that last four hours. And God said, Ron, I want you to get up at 6 o 'clock. Oh, man, that's going to hurt, Jack. I don't get up till 10 o 'clock. I mean, that's just a little thing. But you see what I'm saying? You, you know, you can be suffering a little bit. Sacrifice is uncomfortable. [00:24:39] (79 seconds)
The voice says, love others well and don't hide behind a mask. Love authentically. Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 1 .22 when he says, now that you've been purified by obeying the truth, remember the Holy Spirit's the truth giver, so that you have sincere love for your brothers. And I used to always do this when I was younger. We used to always greet one another and you'd hit your chest. It was sub, bro. So when I sang this, I thought about this. It says, love one another deeply from the heart. Listen to these words. Listen to these words. These words have volume. They have height, width, and depth that's beyond anything our minds can even comprehend. He says, love others well. Don't hide behind a mask. Love authentically. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Men don't hide. Don't apologize for loving. [00:40:06] (60 seconds)
You see, it's not just essential for God. That's sometimes we think God wants our worship. But giving him the worship is just as essential for us. It's built into us. We have a desire to find God. It's put in us. Who's our creator? And to honor him, to worship him. So worship isn't just for God. It's for us. It's reasonable. And it's essential. Now listen to what the voice says. I have a note called C20. I think it does a great job of summing up what I just said. It said, Paul urges those who... read and hear his letter to respond to the good news of offering their bodies, their eyes, their ears, their mouths, their hands, their feet to God as a living sacrifice. Paul knows well enough that sacrifices end in death, not life. But the sacrifice of Jesus changes everything. [00:17:39] (63 seconds)
Hope is just around the corner. Every time I've never been disappointed, the most deepest place I've ever been in. Suddenly, in a moment, hope appears. My heart rejoices. And I'm full. Over and over again, 50, 50, let me see, 73, 52 years. And I have not been disappointed. And I have not been disappointed. See, they think old folks ain't got nothing to say. Boy, I've got 52 years of stuff to tell you if you've got a minute. Ain't that right, Jesse? Ain't that right, Jesse? Ain't that right, Jesse? And devote yourselves to prayer. Share what you have with the saints so they lack nothing. Take everything, every opportunity to open your life and your home to others. [00:42:48] (71 seconds)
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