It’s Time for a Change of Mind (Romans 12:1-2)
January 5, 2025
People in the early days of the church witnessed the transforming power of Christ.
- Love, growth and transformation should still happen in the church
- Love is how the world should recognizes us
- Love is the first fruit of the spirit
- Love bound the disciples and the people of the church together
- Loving each other is a command given to us by Jesus
- The church is meant to be a unified community based on love, joy, and righteousness
- When we love each other we encourage and nurture one another to grow together in Christ
- The church sometimes falls short
- Sometimes there is no evidence of grace
We should continually examine our own hearts and ask:
- Am I walking in love?
- Am I growing in Christ with my sisters and brothers
Elevating my state of mind means:
- Self-evaluation of the way we think
- Elevating our mental capacity
- Renewing my mind
- Look at how we relate to God an one another
- Determine what drives our choices and actions
- Living in God’s righteousness not our self-righteousness
- The world sees righteousness as a hard hearted person
- Dull, angry, judgmental wants own way
- Living in the reality of the Word taught by Jesus’ example
- Bring people to Christ while outside of the church
The book of Romans
- Chapters 1-11 are written about the God’s mercy
- Chapters 12-16 are explain that in view of Gods mercy it is reasonable for us to sacrifice ourselves to Jesus
- How we should respond?
- Love god and our neighbor
- Give up our personal preferences for the church
- Our motivation to behave this way is because it I the only thing that we can give God to tell him that we are thankful for His underserved mercy
Practical instructions for building the community that God desires
- Live our faith in ways that show the Grace we have already received
- Surrender to God
- Give God our obedience and sacrifice
- Saul lost his kingdom in 24 months because he would not surrender to God
- Give God our obedience and sacrifice
Righteous living is unmistakable evidence of a Godly life
- It examines how much a person truly knows God
- You cannot know God and act any way we want without conviction
- Our lives should be an outward manifestation of the inward work of God’s grace
- When God works on the inside there is a manifestation on the outside
- The fruit that you bear shows how what is in your heart
- Our fruit should be abundant and enduring
- It is a tangible reality
- It should be a life dedicated to him and to service
- Holy living is not an option
- Purpose for which we have been redeemed
Paul’s instructions on how to go from where we are to the righteousness of God
- Romans Chapter 11 ends with God looking at us and labeling all humans disobedient
- This disobedience determines that each of us needs mercy that only God has the ability to give
- Mercy and pity are God’s response to the plight of humanity
Paul pleads for our response to be to offer ourselves to God
- I can give my body to God as a living sacrifice
- I must renew my mind so that I can change my behaviors and attitudes from this point forward
- I cannot kill a new animal each time I need to make a sacrifice.
- I only have one body so I must strive to constantly keep it holy so that God finds it pleasing
- I present it to God one time only as my reasonable service and my spiritual worship
- New Testament sacrifices are living sacrifices
- God can use me if I am still alive
- Isaac and Jesus were the two living sacrifices
- Isaac and Jesus were both willing sacrifices
- We allow our will to die when we become living sacrifices to God
- This is the only way that we can stop making false promises to God about our sinful thoughts and behaviors
- This is the best thing we can do we can do to live in the will of God
God asks us to sacrifice ourselves to Him
- Not our talents, gifts, time or anything else we have
- They are not ours, they are His
- I can only dedicate my right to myself (my willingness to serve Him with what He has given me)
- We should yield our body and everything else he gave us for his glory in the building of His kingdom
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind
- You will learn to know what’s good for you
- A changed mind ushers in transformation that reveals the purpose for our lives
- The transformation that God gives me takes place on the inside which leads to an outward expression of my elevated thinking
- The devil tries to change you with external pressure
- Don’t be shaped or molded by the philosophies, the thinking, the practice or the habits of this era
- Satan rules this world
- Every choice that I make from minute to minute proves and strengthens my transformation
We need transformation:
- So we can help others transform
- So we won’t be stuck in the trappings of religion
- So our transformation will be evident in our relationships with each other and God
- To ensure that we want to thrive and not just survive
- So we can respond to the world differently
- Strengthen and continue to build the Kingdom
- Because we only get one chance to live
God's will for my life guarantees
- My life is good
- My life is perfect
- My life is pleasing to God
