HABITS OF A FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE - ROMANS 12:1-2
HABITS OF A FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE • Sermon • Submitted
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"The unexamined life is not worth living"
"The unexamined life is not worth living"
The essence of this series is to help to shape your thinking about life in such a way that you do not see success as something apart from God nor do you see the pursuit of success as something that is ungodly. Like greatness, it needs to be Christ-focused
Whatever God put in you, you passion, you are doing one of two things with it
o Using it for your own glory
o Using it for the glory of God
§ Those are the only two option and they are mutually exclusive which means you cannot do both at the same time
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
God has made you for His pleasure and for His purposes in this world. The aim of every believer must be to live a life such that the Lord is honored and demonstrated as our supreme worth.
This series is about the extraordinary in the ordinary. It is about seeing the extradinary work of the Lord in your life and all that makes it up: family, work, leisure etc.
You don’t have to be in full time ministry, nor do you need to possess a certain spiritual gift.
All you need to be is both OPEN and OBEDIENT
- YOU NEED TO BE OPEN TO THE LORD BEING AT WORK IN YOU AND EMPOWERING YOUR EFFORTS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
- BUT YOU ALSO MUST BE OBEDIENT; NOTHING HAPPENS OF SIGNIFICANCE WITHOUT BEING OBEDIENT: ACTIVELY WORKING TO DEMONSTRATE THE PICTURE OF JESUS IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIFE
SERMON TODAY:
“LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP”
“LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP”
DESCRIBE WHAT MISCONCEPTIONS OF WORSHIP ARE
WORSHIP IS: WORTH-SHIP
WORSHIP IS: WORTH-SHIP
ASCRIBING TO THE LORD
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
ASCRIBING: to give Him what He alone deserves
WE ASCRIBE LIFE AND LIPS
ASCRIBE GLORY TO GOD BY OUR PRAISE AND PROCLAMATION
ASCRIBE GLORY TO GOD BY OUR PRACTICE
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP?
I. TO LIVE OUR LIFE IN CHRIST
I. TO LIVE OUR LIFE IN CHRIST
THIS REPRESENTS: The Position of Our Worship - Union with Christ
THIS REPRESENTS: The Position of Our Worship - Union with Christ
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
APPEAL - SPEAKING TO THEIR MINDS; THIS IS NOT EMOTIONALISM
MERCIES OF GOD
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
AND YET THERE IS MORE...
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
ALL OF THIS BEING TRUE - HERE IS WHAT WAS THE END OF US
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
BUT
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
THIS IS WHY THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION....
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
THESE MERCIES ARE THE MYRIAD OF WAYS IN WHICH GOD HAS FORGIVEN ALL OF OUR SINS- NOT BECAUSE WE ARE, BY FAITH, IN CHRIST
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
ALL OF THIS TEACHES US THAT WORSHIP IS LIVING IN OUR IDENTITY WITH CHRIST
ALL OF THIS TEACHES US THAT WORSHIP IS LIVING IN OUR IDENTITY WITH CHRIST
WORSHIP, IS THEREFORE, WAR
WORSHIP, IS THEREFORE, WAR
THINK ABOUT THE MERCIES IN YOUR LIFE
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A LIFE OF WORSHIP?
II. TO LIVE OUR LIFE WITH CHRIST
II. TO LIVE OUR LIFE WITH CHRIST
THIS REPRESENTS: The Practice of Our Worship - Worthship
THIS REPRESENTS: The Practice of Our Worship - Worthship
Worship is a LIFESTYLE:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
THE CALL TO PRESENT OUR BODIES: This is an intentional and willing act based on the reality of the Lord’s mercies in and over our lives
THE CALL TO PRESENT OUR BODIES: This is an intentional and willing act based on the reality of the Lord’s mercies in and over our lives
THIS IS NOT EMOTIONALISM: PAUL SAYS, WHEN ONE REFLECTS UPON THE MERCIES OF GOD IN THEIR LIFE - IT IS REASONALE - LOGICAL - THAT THEY WOULD RESPOND IN AN ACT OF OFFERTING THE WHOLE OF THEMSELVES FOR THE USE AND GLORY OF THE LORD
LIVING SACRIFICE: THIS IS A contrast between the old system of sacrifice and what the Lord requires in the NT
OT: DEAD SACRIFICE
NT LIVING SACRIFICE (LIFE)
OT: THEY WERE CALLED TO MAKE A SACRIFICE
NT: WE ARE CALLED TO “BE” A SACRIFICE
SO HOW DO WE PRACTICE OUR WORSHIP?
SO HOW DO WE PRACTICE OUR WORSHIP?
A. WE SET OUR DAY APART FOR THE LORD BY VERBALLY OFFERING OURSELVES TO THE LORD
A. WE SET OUR DAY APART FOR THE LORD BY VERBALLY OFFERING OURSELVES TO THE LORD
PRESENT YOUR DAY TO THE LORD, EVERY MORNING, ASKING HIM TO LEAD AND GUIDE YOU SO THAT YOU MIGHT BE A USEFUL AND HONORABLE WITNESS FOR HIS GLORY
WORSHIP IS THE ACT OF DAILY RECOMMITTING AND SURRENDERING THE WHOLE OF WHO WE ARE FOR THE USE AND GOOD OF THE LORD
B. WE SET OUR LIFE APART BY CONSCIOUSLY LIVING OUR LIFE FOR HIS HONOR DAILY
B. WE SET OUR LIFE APART BY CONSCIOUSLY LIVING OUR LIFE FOR HIS HONOR DAILY
THIS IS WHAT PAUL MEANS WHEN HE SAYS: “HOLY AND ACCEPTABLE TO GOD”
Romans 12:1 (ESV)
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
IT MEANS THE CONSCIOUS REJECTION OF ACTIONS THAT BRING SHAME TO HIM AND THE EMBRACING OF THOSE ACTIONS THAT HONOR HIM.
PAUL PUTS IT LIKE THIS:
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
C. WE EXERCISE OUR GOD GIVEN MEASURE OF FAITH BY USING OUR GOD GIVEN GIFT IN THE CHURCH, FOR THE CHURCH AND THROUGH THE CHURCH
C. WE EXERCISE OUR GOD GIVEN MEASURE OF FAITH BY USING OUR GOD GIVEN GIFT IN THE CHURCH, FOR THE CHURCH AND THROUGH THE CHURCH
WHY IS USING YOUR GIFT WORSHIP?
WHY IS USING YOUR GIFT WORSHIP?
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
- IT IS THE WAY THE LORD HAS DESIGNED YOU
- IT IS THE WAY THE LORD HAS DESIGNED YOU
TO DEMONSTRATE HIS GLORY IN AND THROUGH YOU
TO DEMONSTRATE HIS GLORY IN AND THROUGH YOU
TO GROW IN HIM
TO GROW IN HIM
TO BE USEFUL TO OTHERS
TO BE USEFUL TO OTHERS
III. TO LIVE OUR LIFE RESISTING THE INTELLECTUAL SEDUCTION OF WORLDLINESS
III. TO LIVE OUR LIFE RESISTING THE INTELLECTUAL SEDUCTION OF WORLDLINESS
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
- DO NOT BE CONFORMED
SHAPED - MOLDED - TO A WAY OF LIFE THAT IS CONTRARY TO THE LORD
- WORLD
Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)
Age” carries with it a sense of the beliefs, the philosophies, the methodologies, and the strategies of the fallen world in which we live. It is not just the world and its people in their fallen state. It is the worldviews and practices that derive from the fallen state that define the age in which humans live at any time in history.
TRANSFORMED…RENEWING..MIND
CONTINUAL RENEWAL THAT TAKES PLACE WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR MIND TO THE MIND OF GOD - THE WORD OF GOD
J. B. Phillips put it in his widely-known translation of this verse, “Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mold.”
“Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mold” - J.B Phillips
“Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mold” - J.B Phillips
DO NOT LET YOUR MIND BE SEDUCED BY THE WAYS AND THE WORLDVIEWS OF THIS WORLD
PAUL SPEAKS OF THIS SEDUCTION IN 2 COR 11-
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
READING A BOOK:
“BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE: THE JOY OF CONVICTION IN A CULTURE OF COMPROMISE”
“BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE: THE JOY OF CONVICTION IN A CULTURE OF COMPROMISE”
I LOVE THAT PHRASE: BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE
THAT IS WHAT WORSHIP IS IN ONE SENSE, THIS SIDE OF GLORY:
WORSHIP IS A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE
WORSHIP IS A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE
WHEN WE RESIST THIS WORLD BY RESTING IN OUR WORSHIP OF THE LORD WE CAN “
TEST EVERY THING - DISCERN WHAT IS RIGHT
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
THE FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE BEGINS WITH LIVING A LIFE OF DEVOTION (WORSHIP) TO THE LORD.
THERE IS NOT SPIRITUAL FRUIT
THERE IS NO BUSINESS FRUIT
THERE IS NO MARITAL FRUIT
THERE IS NOT RELATIONAL FRUIT
UNTIL THERE IS THE SEED OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD
TWO VERSES IN ACTS I WAS READING LAST NIGHT SPEAKS TO THUS DYNAMIC
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
Acts 2:46–47 (ESV)
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.