Changing Your Mind
I'll Do It Tomorrow • Sermon • Submitted
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· 8 viewsTheme: Christians Transform Their Thinking to God's way of Doing. Purpose: Take a step towards Christ likeness. Mission: Becoming Disciples. Gospel: God's Way of Life is the Implication of the Gospel.
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Transcript
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Introduction: God is in charge of the Clock
In the midst....(Mike) - Grace Trains us how to live.
But God does want us to change our minds.
21-Christians Don’t Conform.
21-Christians Don’t Conform.
When we look at the passage do we see this in our world? Do we see arrogance,
Message to the Romans.
Jewish folks vs. Gentile folks in the Church.
There are a million things that could divide us....Right now it could be mask wearers and non-mask wearers.
Paul’s goal in Romans is to lay out the Gospel to show first of all that this dispute between the Jews and the Gentiles stems mostly from historical/cultural grounds - ie this world system and this world’s way of thinking, and not the Gospel’s way of thinking.
22-23-Chart on Paul’s idea of the old age and new age.
As Christians - Followers of Jesus we are not called to Conform to this old way of thinking and living.
24-Christians are Transformed.
24-Christians are Transformed.
1. Christian growth is called sanctification. Theologians have described sanctification as “a separation to God, an imputation of Christ as our holiness, purification from moral evil, and conformation to the image of Christ” (Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1979], 287). Sanctification begins when we come to faith in Christ, and God sets us apart as his children (1 Corinthians 6:11). However, God continues to transform the believer from the inside out so they can reflect Christ to the world more and more.
Golf is a game for character development.
Pandemics are a season for Sanctification. When it comes to Disipleship, are you taking an I’ll Do it Tomorrow attitude. - Here are some Discipleship patterns we can work on now.
Primarily to the Gospel Pattern.
Showing up - Incarnation.
Community and Unity because there is one Body.
Notice what he does not list - Sunday morning worship
Worship is the whole of life and it is done with Community.
Early Church met daily in homes, and weekly at the temple.
Moved to being in each others homes, and a special gathering on the Lord’s day.
Is meeting on Sunday for 1 hour what it means to be the Church.
We have moved from daily meeting in homes to - Let’s start a life group - Can we meet only once a month? or I am not going to be a part of a life group. People wonder why there is no connection to church. Simple answer, the church only wants to gather for 1 hour and maybe some refreshments on Sunday.
Serving - Jesus’ Life
Knowing this is The early churches model, and Paul talks about being a living sacrifice,
Really - By being a part of a Missional Community you are doing the first and the second. You are sacrificially giving of your time to be with other disciples and to serve our community.
We are called to use the “Grace” God has given us or the Spiritual Gifts God has given us, not for ourselves but to sacrificially serve the Body of Christ and to serve others.
Sacrificial Love - Jesus’ Dying on the Cross
If we Christians do not serve sacrificially according to their gifts, then the suggestion is we are probably too conformed to the World. We may serve using the gifts God has given us, and we can focus on comfort and being filled up by others, but we aren’t truly transformed by the renewing of our mind if it is not sacrificial.
The things people complain about in church some times - Aye, ya, yai. I step back and wonder. Do they realize what Christ did for them. The brutality of his death, and their focus is on......
The pattern of this world is me and mine first. The pattern of the Gospel is Sacrificial Love towards those not like you.
Full of life - The Resurrection.
Humble - Christ is Head.
Enthusiastic - Filled with the Spirit.
Enthusiasm and Zeal - What I am learning through my pastoral experience, is that I am expected to bring the energy and the zeal for everyone else. Is that fair. The word Enthusiasm literally means “Within God.” We are called individually to foster our spiritual life, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. No one else can do that for you. We are all called to come enthusiastically and hopefully to worship. You are on mission as well to inspire and encourage. It is not a one way street.
1. Sanctification is the lifelong growth of the believer, with all the complexities and messiness that entails. For contemporary Christianity, easy answers are the norm. But sanctification is not easy. It relies on trust, community, and an ongoing work of the Spirit. The Spirit renews and transforms believers from the inside out. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives inside every believer (Romans 8:11). Sanctification is not “behavior management” but a transformation of a person at the core. Instead of changing only the behavior, God changes our thoughts, emotions, and habits. By the power of the Spirit, believers “put to death” sin and unrighteousness (vv. 12–13).
25-Transformed Thinking Leads to God’s way of Doing.
25-Transformed Thinking Leads to God’s way of Doing.
One way Christians can grow in Christ is to cultivate spiritual disciplines. Prayer, service, study, and meditation are just a few of the practices Christians have used for centuries to cultivate spiritual growth. Theologian Richard Foster describes the importance of these disciplines, saying, “Disciplines do not earn us favor with God or measure spiritual success. They are exercises which equip us to live fully and freely in the present reality of God—and God works with us, giving us grace as we learn and grow” (Richard Foster, “Spiritual Disciplines: A Practical Strategy,” Renovaré, https://renovare.org/about/ideas/spiritual-disciplines).
The more we become Disciples of Jesus and foster a transformed pattern of thinking around the Gospel...
The more we will show up.
The more we will serve with our gifts
The more we will be about sacrifice for others, rather than comfort for ourselves.
The more we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit and not rely on others for our enthusiasm.
The more we put our Hope in Christ.
Conclusion:
Are we transforming our way of thinking towards Gospel thinking or are we patterning our life around the world’s thinking?
Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 2, 32, 43, 76, 86-91, 115, 122, 124 Belgic Confession: Articles 24
Canons of Dort: Head I: Article 13, Head V: Articles 7,13