Services | Your Body and Mind

Bulletin

Hymn # 461 “I Love to Tell the Stroy”

SCRIPTURE READING – Matthew 28:16 - 20
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate

Praise and Worship
“Only King Forever”
“Living Hope”
“Great I Am”

Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Your Body and Mind”

“The Stand”
“The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)”

Sermon Notes
Romans 12:1 Worship also means presenting your body as a living and holy sacrifice to God
Romans 12:2 We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds
Romans 8:5 – 8 The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, dead and cannot please God
Ephesians 4:17 - 24 Lay aside your old self like a garment and put on a new self by your mind
1Corinthians 2:16 We have the mind of Christ

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Scritpures

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Transcript of Service

Most Christians think that worship comprised of going to church, singing some worship songs, and in some traditions raising your hands while you're singing them. Some who feel even more spiritual sing worship songs while they're at home or in the car. However, the Bible talks more of worship in a broader sense than just praising God with our voices. Come and listen to what the Bible talks about true worship beyond just hymn singing.

We call this a worship service. We don't usually say that it's a church service because we attempt to worship the Lord our God. And you may be mistaken as you look in your bulletin because it talks about the praise and worship and you tend to think, "Well, that's the praise and worship time." And while, for instance, the very last song that we sang in that set, one of my very favorite worship songs, that doesn't conclude worship. And you would think, "Well, I'm super spiritual and so on my way home or to eat I'm going to listen to a Christian station and sing along with worship songs and then I'm going to be super spiritual and Monday through Saturday I'll be at home and sing worship songs and in my car and sing worship songs and I'll continue to worship." And most Christians think that's what worship is. That is just such a small sliver of what worship is. Even in our bulletin at the very stop it says, "God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth." And so in spirit and truth isn't limited to singing songs or making praises. So I want to show you what is a, if you will, for the believer almost a bare minimum of beyond just saying praises or singing worship songs. So if you have your Bibles and you should turn to Romans chapter 12, we're going to look first at verses 1 and 2. "Therefore," because of all what Paul has written previously, he says, "Therefore I urge," the King James I believe says, "besiech." He's pleading, he's making an appeal for us to do this, which I find what he's going to now say interesting. Because he could be saying this throughout his writing to the Romans and throughout the writings to Ephesians and Galatians and all of the books that he's written that he said, "I can make an appeal to you." But now he's particularly saying, "I'm urging you, I'm appealing to you, I'm pleading with you to do you brethren." So he's talking about to my brothers and sisters, to my family, I'm urging, I'm appealing to you my family by the mercies of God. Now we usually blow past this to the next part. I want you to see this, by the mercies of God. He's not saying because if you don't do this you can fear God or God's going to be angry at you or somehow he's going to condemn you or treat you differently. He says, "No, no, think of how God is loving kindness, that his loving kindness is everlasting, that he's merciful to us, that he's generous in his forgiveness." So he's saying that he's urging us by the fact that God is merciful. The appeal is not for fear of God, but the appeal is because God loves us and is merciful to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. So he's saying, "I'm not asking you to get up on the altar and have your body burned as a burnt offering." He says, "No, no, you are to be a living sacrifice. You are to deny yourself while you're alive as an offering to God." Now, sometimes when we go through things it is difficult, but when we have "a reason or a purpose" it makes it more bearable, if you will. Well, one of the things that we can set aside by saying, "I can deny myself because I'm doing so as a sacrifice to God."

That is a living sacrifice, but it is also holy. It is set apart. It is sanctified. So the sacrifice that I do as a living sacrifice is one to be holy, set apart. So I'm making the offering to God, so that you can feel sorry for me, "Oh, woe is me. I have all these problems." No, no, I'm doing this to set apart, to be holy to God. What you think of me doesn't matter, because the sacrifice that I attempt to make and the sacrifice that you attempt to make should be one to God that is a living one and is a holy one, set apart,

acceptable to God or pleasing to God. So it is one that we do that God says,

"I love that. I accept that." It's in the Old Testament, it talks about a fragrant aroma that rises, that God inhales and takes it in as pleasing. That's the kind of the thought, that as we offer this sacrifice that it's living, that it's like an aroma that God says, "It's like frankincense. It's like I enjoy it. It's acceptable. It's pleasing to me." Which is your spiritual or reasonable or rational service of worship?

My translation says spiritual. I believe the King James says reasonable, and the alternate is rational. It is a rational, it is something that is, when you consider what God has done for us

to present our bodies, a living and holy sacrifice is like a no-brainer. Duh. When God has given what He has given to redeem us, then it is only rational, it is only reasonable that we would perform this as a service of worship. Now how many times have you heard that worship is presenting your body as a living and holy sacrifice? No, no, we like to talk about singing praises. We like to talk about giving God praise, but you never hear about people saying, "But I'm going to live my life in this body as worship."

I mean, let's face it, even in church that's a foreign concept.

There were the Gnostics and others who used to say, "Well, what you do in the body doesn't matter. It's separate apart. The body, actually, it's all the special knowledge and all this."

And while the church doesn't teach that, in reality, that's kind of what the people do. We come to worship, we sing praises and worship songs, and we say, "That was a wonderful worship time," and the pastor's message was kind of okay. I kind of fell asleep halfway through it, but that's okay, because I participated in worship, and I even raised my hands.

When the worship service has only just started, it's how we conduct our lives out there. It is our reasonable and rational spiritual form of worship.

Oh, God, you're meddling. But notice why Paul is saying, "That's why I'm begging you."

Because let's face it, it's easy to sing worship songs in church.

People don't even mind if you're off pitch, because you're singing worship songs, at least, and we have the thing, and it's true. Make a joyful noise.

My brother used to say, "Well, when in heaven I get there, I'm going to be excited, because then I'll be able to sing really well to God." And I go, "David,

God seems to have made more people who can't sing than do, so maybe that's what God likes, off-pitch stuff. I don't know. When we get to heaven, we'll figure it out." But there's this sense of singing and praising not being who we are.

But it's not just the body.

"And do not be conformed to this world."

If the world can't beat you, it wants you to be like it. So I said, "Don't be conformed to this world. You are not of this world. This world has no hold on you. You are no longer a citizen of this world. You are a citizen of heaven. So don't be conformed to this world. What the world wants is not what we should want.

What the world desires is not what we should desire.

But be transformed." Now, those of you who are under 30 or 40 should have a picture of when they say, "Don't be transformed," because there are a bunch of movies called the Transformers, when they went from whatever to cars or trucks or whatever. They transformed from one thing to another. They went from what appeared to be like this really big robot to a Camaro.

That's what they did. They transformed. And that's what Paul's saying. "I don't want you to be like the world. I want your mind to be transformed so that it doesn't act like the world. It is different than the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Now, we don't get brain surgery, but it's renewing. You get a new one. It's kind of like the Frankenstein. We ought to be different, renewed of your mind. We think differently.

There was a person who used to say, "When you did what you did, what were you thinking?" "What were you thinking so I could not think that way?" And I think that's a good way, because a lot of people seem to have certain thoughts which leads them to certain directions. So we go, "Wait a minute. I want to be renewed by my mind. So what were you thinking when you went that way so I don't think that way?" We renew our minds so that we think differently, so that you may prove what the will of God is. When we renew our mind, when we think differently, it demonstrates what the will of God is.

We always wonder what the will of God is. Then when we read what the will of God is, we say, "Well, can we do something different? Can I be rich and famous instead of the other part of the doing?" And you say, "No, by renewing your mind, you're going to be able to prove what the will of God is."

That which is good and acceptable and perfect. Now, there will be those people who will tell you that there is a good will of God, there is an acceptable will of God, and there is a perfect will of God, and everybody wants to go, "Well, what is the perfect will of God is?" No, no. The will of God is good and it's acceptable and it's perfect. It's all of those things. It's not some of those things. It's not, "Well, if I become a doctor rather than a lawyer, that's the good will of God, and if I become a banker rather than either of those, that's kind of an acceptable will of God." No, no. Whatever God has called us to do, that is what is good and acceptable and perfect, complete. Now, it doesn't have half measures. It's what is perfect, what is complete. Now, I want to delve deeper into the body and the mind.

So, if you'll turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8 verses 5 through 8. Here's the problem with the flesh. "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit."

Notice, the mind set on the flesh worry about the flesh. That's why we have to renew our minds, because we don't renew our minds that keep thinking about the flesh, and what the fleshly desires are, what's good for me, and what do I want?

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, for the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace."

No wonder the world is filled with anxiety. And no wonder many Christians are anxious

because they haven't renewed their mind. Their mind is still set on the flesh. What's good for me? What's pleasing to me? What makes me feel good? What makes me happy?

They continue having the wrong mindset, and because of that, they're erring on the flesh. "Because the mindset on the flesh is hostile towards God."

You see, there's never neutrality. You're either with God or you're not.

So when you're concentrating on fleshly desires, you're hostile towards God. When your mind is set on spiritual matters, then you're pleasing and acceptable to God. God isn't, "I got, well, I'm Switzerland and I'm neutral." No, no, it's one or the other.

"Because the mindset on the flesh is hostile towards God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." That's why so many people keep trying to turn over a new leaf. It's like me and dieting. I turn over a new leaf for a while, then I fall off the wagon, and then I turn a new leaf in a while, and then I fall off the wagon. Because while my mind has made me discipline for a period of time, it doesn't set itself on discipline. We must set ourselves on the discipline of spiritual matters. Because if you don't, you can't do the non-flesh thing.

And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

It just doesn't matter how much you try in this body, in this flesh, to please God. Unless you make it a living and holy sacrifice, which is pleasing to God. But as long as you're set on pleasing yourself, you will not be able to please God. Then I want you to turn to Ephesians 4.17. "So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord." So he's saying, "I'm saying this, but I'm also quoting something that Jesus said, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk into the futility of their mind." Notice how they keep linking the mind and the flesh.

When you walk one way, you're going to walk consequently in the other. So we are no longer to walk as the Gentiles, as in their own desires. Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their heart. Now let's face it, when we don't follow God's plan, it's because we are hardened in our heart. We want to do what we want to do because we want to do it.

It doesn't make us much different than Pharaoh who hardened his heart. And we love to throw rocks at Pharaoh, but not so much at ourselves when our hearts are hardened. "And they have become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." The Gentiles, part of their worship was sensuality. Part of their worship was doing all these immoral things. That was who they were, but that's not who we are to be.

But you did not learn Christ in this way. You didn't learn Christ by being fleshly.

"If indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the Old Self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit." So Paul is using a metaphor, an example, saying, "What we are to do is to take our Old Self like an old garment. Something's dirty and grimy and has holes and fray. We're to take those clothes off. We're to take that whole concept off.

And that you be renewed in your spirit and your mind and put on the new self. So we're not to be naked. We're to take off the Old Self, but we are then to clothe ourselves with the mind of the Spirit, which is in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Our whole being is different. Our whole concept is the idea of being a child of God. And being a child of God doesn't mean we're just saved. It means that we're like daddy.

Oh, he has his father's eyes. He has his father's nose. Whatever, whatever, maybe we are to look like our father, and instead we tend to be content looking like the other father.

But it's amazing how much the Scriptures talk about the body.

We've just read several portions, but the Scriptures also tell us

that we are not our own, that we've been bought with a price. The Scriptures tell us that we are the temple of God, that God not only dwells in us, but that we are to be like a hill. One of the great things that having gone to Greece and other places is I got to see a bunch of temples. And most of the temples that was the city's founding deity. Now there'd be other temples but if the city like Athens had a primary deity, they would put their temple on a hill.

And there was no doubt what God that city followed because that temple,

like the Parthenon, was on the highest hill. Not only is God dwelling us, but people should be looking at it saying he or she follows Jehovah God, Yahweh, the great I Am. That's who you follow because you are a temple where God dwells, but you are a statement that says I am His and He dwells in me. So we are to put on that new self. We are to be different. We are to worship Him not just with our mouth, which we are supposed to do. The Scriptures tell us not only in the Psalms, but in Hebrews about making praises to God, to making joyful noises, to praise Him. But praising Him is not limited to the mouth. It is to the body as well. And we should be worshiping Him that way. So we are to worship Him in our body. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Renewed how? So if you'll turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 16, it says this, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that He will instruct him?" That reminds me very much of the book of Job that we took that when Job tried to tell God the what for and God goes, "Where were you when I formed the mountain? Did I ask for your advice? Do I need it now? Who is it that instructs God?" Notice while we don't get to instruct God, notice what it says, "But we have the mind of Christ." Notice He doesn't say, "We should have the mind of Christ." He didn't say, "You know, it's a good idea if you have the mind of Christ." He says, "We have the mind of Christ." Well, what is the mind of Christ? That we are willing to submit to God's will, regardless of the consequence. Jesus didn't deserve what He got. And it wasn't a fair exchange. As I say, and I'll continue to say, if every person from Adam until the last person that is alive when He comes again, if all those billions of people

repented and became believers, would not be a fair exchange for the offering that God

was received through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But Jesus didn't say, "Well, I'm innocent." He says, "Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done." Christ always was submissive to the will of the Father. And that is the mind of Christ, that we have a renewed mind like Christ that we might deny ourselves and say, "What is your will? In that will I will follow." We cannot change our clothing, if you will. If we don't have the mind of Christ. Because sooner or later, like my diets,

you won't be disciplined. And even if you were to be able to be disciplined,

you'll be miserable. Because you won't get to do what you want to do. Because I've got to be a good little boy or girl. As opposed to saying, "Father,

my sacrifice is not to be compared to what you have done for me. And I'll rejoice,

because you call me your child. I'll rejoice, because this is not all that there is." So no matter how successful or what a failure I am, I am your child, and I will dwell with you in the house of your building forever and ever and ever. I will see your face.

I will have the opportunity to worship not only with the angels, with all of those of our loved ones and the others who have gone on before.

You want to worship just with the mouth and the bowing down? Wait till you get to heaven.

Until then, let us do what Paul has urged us to do, to present our bodies, a living and holy sacrifice, which is acceptable and pleasing to him,

which is simply our spiritual, reasonable, rational service of worship. Let us renew our minds

to the mind of Christ. And all God's people say.