Transcript for:
Romans 12:1,2 -The Living Sacrifice- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2023-09-24

Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Father we thank you. We're in awe of you Lord, we're humbled to be here this morning, we're humbled to be standing before you with the Word of God and to see as we read Romans 12 1 and 2 Lord that Paul is exhorting us, encouraging us to apply the gospel to our lives, to apply these truths to our lives and Lord we pray that we would be those living sacrifices, that we would surrender our hearts and our lives, we'd surrender control of our life over to you every single day, every single moment that God we see you living and working in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit Lord we want our lives to matter, we want our lives to bring glory and honor unto you to bear much fruit for your kingdom and glory and we thank you for this text and we ask that you'd be our teacher that you would equip us and help us to live the Christian life in such a way Lord that you're glorified in Jesus name we pray amen would you please be seated. So Paul's explained the doctrinal principles of the gospel in chapters 1 through 11. You remember his theme Romans 1 16 and 17 I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes to the Jew first and also unto the Greek for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith and then in this doctrinal section Paul is letting us know doctrinally just what Jesus has purchased for us just what it means to be saved and all as a result of responding you know to the gospel and all. In the book of Ephesians Paul uses the first three chapters as doctrine. Doctrine is important when Rick Warren started his you know his purpose-driven baloney several years ago and everybody got it all caught up in it his emphasis was it's deeds not creeds so basically what he did is he convinced a bunch of brand-new Protestant churches people in the Protestant churches to become like Catholics to be do-gooders and doctrine isn't important that you can go to mass every week and they can do the communion they can speak in Latin they can tell you what you're to do not to do but you grow up in a Catholic Church not even know knowing what it means to be born again so now you're in these purpose-driven churches and the emphasis upon social justice and so you have people that are in nursery school still they've been in these churches for 20 years 30 years they haven't learned the scriptures they haven't been in the Word of God it's emotionalism it's sensual it appealed to the senses to feelings to things that you know within the society that's kind of the buzzword the you know talking points or whatever and and so on then another case would be you know there's another side of it where some would hold to be an intellectual to be in nothing wrong with being intellectual but an appeal to the soul the center of the mind the will the emotion and without the spirit so the the emphasis here is that live the life of the Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit so doctrines important Jesus said if you continue in my word and John 8 31 then are you my disciples indeed and you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free people are kept in bondage they're kept in an arrested state of development they're kept as nursery school professing believers because they haven't been taught the Word of God there's a famine in the land for the Word of God only 2% of churches teach prophecy 2% you're in the 2% one-third of the Bible is prophecy and here we are at the end of the age and the pastors don't want to teach the book of Revelation they don't want to teach you know first and second Thessalonians they don't want to teach you know through the scriptures and so it's just mind-boggling to me just my how do they come up with their sermons each week what are they what are they going to teach on this week did any of you doubt what I was going to teach on this morning any doubt is there any doubt next week we're gonna go through the Bible okay and when we're in the book of Jeremiah it's 23 tomorrow next week if we get through tomorrow before the rapture it'll be 24 all right no no mystery I'm not I haven't come up with a new idea a new way a new program you know nothing new under the Sun but God will speak to us as we go through his his word from Genesis to Revelation some of you say to me a lot of people over the years you know you you teach on on Romans 12 1 & 2 but I think we studied the whole Bible this morning yeah we do we we use the Bible to teach the Bible okay so we're gonna go all through the Bibles that the Bible will speak to us rather than my thoughts my ideas you know whatever so Rick Warren he's like brilliant guy so he's got some new ideas for you and then 450,000 pastors go to his pastors comm website to get his new ideas and it's a social justice how to bring about a three-legged stool a one world where that where the church is joining forces to make the world good by by bringing forth and Peter Drucker is the one that came up with this three-legged stool where you emerge business with the government with the church the professing you know church out there it can be Hindus Buddhists whoever the spiritual leaders and all and and the emphasis is upon a globalism you know make the world a better place build back better all those things so interestingly all these themes that he dealt with what he introduced and using the message Bible and twisting the scriptures you know has come forth with being you know it's not creeds creeds is teaching creeds is doctrine it's deeds you got to do good deeds you know and good deeds will get you into heaven we'll make the earth a better place and then you got the kingdom now theology all these people in their eschatology they're acting like they're gonna make the world a better place and then Jesus will come back well how's that working for your world how's that working for you church you're not making it a better place the salt has lost its savor it's good for nothing to be trodden under the foot of men there's an apostasy taking place where the church has rebelled and is falling away from the Word of God from doctrine from teaching because the Bible isn't taught in churches in America very very few churches in America teach the Bible so it's it's so exciting it's so fun to have people that let me teach through the Bible just your students of God's Word Jesus said go and make not converts he said go and make disciples disciples a learner and we always ask the Holy Spirit we ask the Father we ask we ask God to be our teacher and we want ears to hear we want to hear what the Spirit's saying and so doctrine is important and so from chapters 1 to 11 the Apostle Paul established the theme which is the gospel the power of the gospel in 11 chapters he dealt with Israel in chapter 9 of its past election its present rejection in chapter 10 its future restoration chapter 11 so then we come to the understanding that the Church Age the gospel Gentiles and Jews responding to Jesus since Pentecost doesn't mean that God's replaced Israel that's important Paul was answering questions that people may be scratching their head over was God done with Israel no blindness in part has happened under Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in now in chapter 12 he says I beseech you therefore the therefore grammatically points back to all that he's taught you so it's one thing to learn something but are you going to do it are you going to be a doer of the word or only here only when he's teaching in Ephesians the first three chapters is doctrine and then he says I beseech you therefore as the prisoner of the Lord that you walk worthy of the vocation for which you've been called you're part of the church the church was a mystery once hid now revealed they didn't even know the Apostle Paul in the early disciples they didn't even know there was going to be a church it was surprising to him so it was what a mystery that was once hid now revealed the church made up of both you and Gentile barbarian Scythian bonder free male female you know and so that's where we're at we're in the church age and it's so exciting but I love doctrine I love studying the Bible don't you and the Bible that Paul tells us in talking to a young Timothy a pastor and the pastors have no excuse there's no excuse for not knowing doctrine especially if you're a pastor if you don't know doctrine if you're not a student of God's Word you don't belong in the pulpit okay I'm not gonna fly a jet and just say I feel like going at 200 feet right now you know and violate all the laws of aeronautics simply because I feel it you know and we'll sing a song we crashed the plane no I want somebody that hasn't been jabbed that has their faculties that's gone to school that understands you know aeronautics you know I don't want to I don't want to be a part of a crashing plane and nor do I want to be a pastor that's that's really called to be a worship leader maybe and what a blessing it is to be called a worship leader Lucifer was called to be a worship leader look what happened to him but um but why be an emotional worship leader and not have doctrine not be a teacher of God's Word we're all teachers but there's an office and that office is he gave some pastors teachers I want to sit under a pastor teacher that's a student of God's Word and has the gift of taking God's Word and and teaching God's Word that's where I want to be I want to spend my time in a church that teaches God's Word I want to evaluate a church based upon doctrine based upon food the food that Christians eat Jesus said to Peter do you love me feed my sheep he didn't ask them to give Greek philosophy or Roman theory the Epicurean philosophers and all Mars Hill is my word whatsoever things I've commanded you teach what I've taught you over this last three and a half years that I've been with you you know and and I'm gonna give you more and so that's part of the problem is we have a whole lot of people imposters and we'll see that tomorrow night when we study Jeremiah 23 so-called shepherds who don't feed the sheep who don't feed the flock they feed themselves they fleece the flock it's a it's it's a gig you know it's a it's a calling until things get tough and then they're the hireling in John 10 they'll leave they'll quit because it's difficult so it's it's incumbent upon us to be students of God's Word Paul told Timothy study to show yourself approved unto God you don't want to be disapproved you don't be disqualified study to show yourself approved unto God a workman that need not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth and so we we start out as babes and then as we as we feast upon the milk of the word and the veggies and the meat we continue to grow none of us have arrived we all continue to learn and learn and learn and learn but doctrine is important now knowledge puffs up love edifies so I can get all this head knowledge all this information in my head flooding in my head and I can throw the scriptures around but without love I'm nothing and so it needs to be applicable so if I'm looking at the gifts of the Spirit in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 and and 14 sandwiched in between there is a doctrine of love a teaching on love if you're exercising all these gifts in chapter 12 and then in chapter 14 and there's no love it's meaningless it's a tanging gong and a symbol you know Paul says if I give my body to be burned you're so dedicated doing good I give my body to be burned and have not love it's nothing means nothing so although we're students of God's Word we want the Word of God to permeate our hearts and minds and to transform and change us that we live like Jesus that we're Christ like in character that our character is being changed and this is what we'll discover here in these first two verses of chapter 12 here so it begins with an exhortation for us to become a living sacrifice what is a living sacrifice notice first of all the motive why should I be a living sacrifice why can't I just live for myself isn't Christianity all about me and me getting what I want aren't I a prize aren't a great prize it's God up there with the angels and with everybody else just just hooting and hollering because hey we finally got that Rick Beaudry Wow I was sweating it I didn't know if we'd get him or not boy what a great day this is you know how are we going to keep him well I guess the only way we can keep him is given everything he wants oh yeah yeah that works right I'm gonna have my best life now and many people approach Christianity in that way that I want to be a part of the bless me club Lord give me all the blessings you know and we negate worshipping the bless or we become more and more spoiled as spoiled little brats and when we don't get our way you know hey I didn't sign up for this man and we're watching a ton of people fall away from the the faith in that they profess that they know God as Christianity was presented to them over the last couple couple decades as a means of being a part of the prosperity you know gospel you're gonna be prosperous and these churches are flooded they're full because it's what the people want to hear they don't want to suffer they don't want to die to self they don't want to be no sacrifice that's there's no way they want that he says I beseech you it's imploring exhorting it's not an order it's not a command it's respond this is what God's done for you and you and I need to study doctrine to understand what God's done for us and then the ball is in our court how are you gonna respond what are you gonna do you're gonna go bury it you're gonna take that investment that God's made in your life and just go bury it and just say well I've got the I've got the fire insurance I'm gonna be saved when Jesus comes but I'm gonna live for myself the rest of my Christian experience here on earth and he's gonna come to you and he's gonna say what'd you do with that investment I buried it didn't didn't go reinvest in the lives of others no I didn't have time for that I was living for self was living for me I'm so thankful for people that reinvested in my life they spent the time to explain the scriptures to me and teach me the scriptures and minister to me and that continue to do he says I beseech you therefore grammatically pointing back brethren by the mercies of God mercy is not getting what we deserve but in light of God's mercies that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto him which is your reasonable service that word beseech means to call near to invite to pray it's not a command it's not an order but a pleading and appeal to the will so we bring forth the Word of God and many today are what we call selective here's selective hearing in that that's not for me I don't need to live in submission to him he's a jerk well I don't need to lay my life down for her she's she isn't worth it you know so then your marriage becomes a struggle a battle of wills who's gonna win the chicken or the egg you know what came first who's gonna who's gonna initiate who's gonna respond and so it's just amazing our will our selfishness is the root cause our selfishness and marriage our selfishness and relationships is the root cause of failure it's when we die to self and we allow Christ to live through us that we have the capacity to love the way that God's commanded us to love our spouse and so an appeal to the will I decide I choose every day whether or not I'm gonna love you whether I'm gonna love God whether I'm gonna love my family or not there's days where we don't we don't feel like loving we don't feel like we love that person and you know there's times where you'll come to Kathy and she'll say you know do you really love Rick well if I knew karate I'd have broke his neck you know and have you ever thought about divorce no not divorce but murder murder yeah I thought of murder you know there's days where she just can't even stand me you know but that doesn't mean she chooses to walk away and to quit or whatever loves a choice it's not always there emotionally she's not relying on the emotions that come and go you know I mean I just walk in the room she falls apart no that's not true she bristles she bristles oh I can't stand you your breath stinks and oh and I said oh well you speak us to the foolish women speak you know so we go at it right but loves a choice it's a choice that we have we got God's not forcing me to love him he's not putting a 45 to my head and say now you sing that song with your whole heart right now it means nothing right he didn't make us robots he made us as a free moral agents you know we have a free moral agency the power of choice to choose whether we're gonna love him or not Satan's come along and say hey they're just mercenaries they don't love you for you take away all the stuff and they'll curse you to your face give them make them sick and they'll curse you to your face and Job comes through that's naked came into the world naked I'm gonna go the Lord give the Lord take it away blessed be the name of the Lord is his response I'm gonna still worship the Lord you know Lord Job sin not with his lips what a great example you know what a great example we have with so many that have gone before us and the depth of character the character in that we love God for who he is not what he gives or what he takes away and and we defer a lot we know that the best life is in eternity it's not in this temporal experience in a fallen world we got to expect difficulty we got to expect tribulation Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation right not the tribulation but pressure a lot of pressure anxiety power powerful of darkness you know pressing against us and all but we find that place of rest we find that place of peace we we keep our minds stayed on him we have that place of perfect peace and so the quality of life the life of the Spirit and so God's not forcing me he's an appeal to my will and so he won't force me into service he's not forcing me to be a pastor he's not forcing me to live in Bremerton I have desires I have dreams I have things from my childhood that I dreamt of and and a lot of it didn't happen God gave me something better much much better if I want to live for self I'd live at the beach I live where it's sunny but I'd be miserable living for self so if I'm willing to offer myself as a living sacrifice and trust the Lord day by day and give him control of my life he gives me something way better than Rick's fleshly dreams and desires of living at the beach I could be a shallow shallow shallow Christian and just live for myself or I can say Lord except the corn of wheat fall to the ground and dies it abides alone but if I die Lord you're gonna cause me to bear much fruit so Lord where here my Lord send me you know where do you want me to go what do you want me to do and I have the privilege and the blessing of being a Bible teacher a pastor teacher here in Bremerton for 28 years now and I considered a huge privilege huge huge huge every day in my function within the body it's miserable not operating not functioning not serving the Lord in the capacity that he's ordained for you to to serve him with all of us are called to serve God and as we I've said the last few weeks the greatest area of services for you as a mom as a dad as a grandma grandpa there's no greater calling than you teaching your children and modeling the Christian life to a generation that needs to see Jesus no greater calling you can't bypass that and say oh wow I'm a great man on the pulpit I'm a great man at the bank or a great man whatever some other function a great athlete or whatever I'm gonna be a star you're gonna neglect your kids you want your kids to go to hell really these kids that God's entrusted to you it's your responsibility to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord I heard today where a guy said that most people only make it to church once or twice a month now in America you're dropping the ball you're dropping the ball big-time get those kids into church have a home Bible study have a devotion time be in God's Word their minds are impressionable they need your example so I beseech it's a it's it's a an appeal to the will that you would love he motivates us by simply asking you to respond to his love he made and he paid for you and I he made us he paid for us he dwells within you he wants to work through you so you come to the knowledge of the gospel that God loves you that he sent his son to the cross to die for you that he's elected you he's predestined you and all these things and what you're gonna just drop the ball you got the love letter the 66 books by 40 different authors over thousands a year period of time with one central theme one central theme the volume of the book is written of Jesus and his love for you that's why he went to the cross that's why he came and what you're gonna treat the cross as non-essential it's not essential churches aren't essential places of gathering stay home watch on TV watch on whatever I understand you know we we get sick you're sick stay at home no problem but if you're feeling good come to church the body of Christ needs you we're a body we're not just one head or hand or foot it's the body Christ is the head and we all minister to one another I mean what could be more important than being with God's people to be with the Saints you know outside that door when you go back to work or school or wherever it's you're going you know you're gonna be with some people filled with demons well why not gather with the wheat and the tares here you know and you know allow the Lord to use your life to minister to folks that they go away from here encouraged and it's not a it's not necessarily a duty although we do have a duty it's it's more of an appeal to the will that you want to God loves a cheerful giver that you cheerfully would offer your life as a living sacrifice unto him and so he says I beseech you therefore which points back to all that proceeded by the mercies of God in light of God's mercies because of his love that we would respond to doctrine that we'd respond to the teaching and again it's not just a head knowledge it's an intimate knowledge that you get to know him the best way to get to know Jesus is the study of his word with the help of the Holy Spirit what did Paul narrow down his entire life to Philippians 3 10 that I might know him that I might know Jesus spent a lot of his life not knowing Jesus spent a lot of his life thinking he was serving God zealous for God as a Pharisee and he's on the road to Damascus and he's gonna go incarcerate Christians and the Lord Jesus appears to him at 12 noon in a light shining brighter this is a kind of glory of God much brighter than the sun the desert sun Saul Saul why are you persecuting me who art thou Lord Paul Paul Saul doesn't even know the Lord doesn't even know him so later as he gets to know him as the Lord apprehended him revealed himself to him Paul spent three years in the desert of Arabia just studying the gospel the Lord teaching him the gospel and then he goes out to serve the Lord and as he's describing the gist of his life the motivation of his life what makes him tick that I might know him and the power of his resurrection the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable unto his death that when I'm dead it's Christ living through me that Christ would live through me that I'd get to know him in the time of suffering that I'd experience the power of the resurrection that I'd experience the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ living through me and what's he asking me to do offer myself as a living sacrifice daily each and every day so respond respond unto him Romans 2 verse 4 the goodness of God leads thee to repentance we hear the word repentance and people don't want to include it in their sermons or to the church nothing to repent of I've heard politicians say I got nothing to repent of oh man you're out to lunch dude I got things to repent of before I walk off the stage here you know there's things happening right now that I need to repent of right constantly repenting constantly turning and changing my mind and try to come to conformity of God's will right moment by moment confessing agreeing with the Holy Spirit well Rick what you said was technically correct but you didn't say it in a loving way happens all the time I know you guys are never like that but you can be a know-it-all Bible know-it-all and use it as a as a bludgeon tool you know beat him over the head or or you can live it out love on him smile encourage him patience God's so patient with me so it's the goodness of God that leads me to repentance it's his love his love constrains me the love of Christ constrains me there isn't anybody else I'd rather please than him and if I live a life that's pleasing unto him I don't care what anybody else thinks but if I'm living a life to try and please everybody to be a politician and he's not pleased I've blown it there's only one person we need to please and when we're pleasing him everything else will fall into place seek first the kingdom of God his right says all these other things be added unto you and so his goodness and dying for me do you remember how he found you what a prize you were I still remember I remember the day the night the whole season never forgotten this doing remembrance of me I'm always reminded of his love for me and saving me those forgiven much they love much so I was a great sinner well where sin does abound grace does much more abound I discovered that when you sin till you're 20 you might think you're a big sinner but when you go and you meet your friends after 40 years they spent another 40 years sinning they're far greater sinners than you they're far better sinners right people don't get better they just get better at sinning right and the consequences of sin and such so I'm thankful that he arrested me and stopped me at the age of 20 and my sin amount is far less than it used to be you know that I have good days I have good moments when I don't sin you know every once in a while I get it right and I'm so thankful for his help I'm so thankful that he he's the glue that holds my marriage together in spite of my weakness in spite of my selfishness God's able to break me God's able to humble me God's able to get through my thick head and help me to live the Christian life in response to his love for me the gospel provides eight things here the gospel provides justification you remember the theme the just shall live by faith Romans 1 verse 17 what's justification just as if I've never sinned it speaks of a pardon removal of sins from us becoming the righteousness of God that's number one you've experienced justification because you respond to the gospel the father poured out his wrath upon his son and in the ledger in the accounting there's no more debits there's no more sin there there's a righteousness to tell us I paid in full your sins have been paid for just as if you've never sinned so that means there's no condemnation that means the devil can't condemn me that means nobody condemn me nobody can use the Greek word Crano and condemn me to hell right we all make judgments we all judge don't let them say in the name of love nobody can judge well I'm not judging you the Word of God's judging you the Word of God saying your adulterous practices are sin your homosexuality or woke ism your transgender ism your line your thieving your covetous the Bible convicts you of sin that's why we teach the Word of God that's why we study the Word of God absolute truth trumps the existential age in which we're living of feelings make it up as you go until they're offended right and so this truth of God's Word there's now therefore no condemnation of those are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit so I walk in that newness of life that freedom no condemnation no guilt I may get convicted the Lord may convict me but he's pointing me to the cross he's not pointing me to hell and we don't give in to the conformity of the world as we're going to see in verse 2 we don't give in to the world we stand against the world we stand against their ideas as a man thinketh in his heart so is he the communists understand how important indoctrination is they understand how important it is the brainwashed children at an early age and get them to think a certain way to bend them in a certain direction that's why they're threatened by the Bible that's why the communists satanic Luciferian government of people in the colleges and schools are threatened by the Word of God well if it's not true then why are you threatened by it why don't you care about all the other religious books why is it the Christians book the Bible that so makes you angry not only justification but identification I'm in Christ I'm not in Adam anymore I have a new identity the old Rick is dead I'm in Christ Jesus I'm in the ark I'm saved he saved me justification identification and then grace not law grace speaks of unmerited favor we don't deserve heaven we can't earn it we can't be good enough to get there it's a free gift the grace of God and then sanctification being set apart being made holy this salvation God delivering me healing me from the past penalty of sin the present power of sin the future very presence of sin there's a work of sanctification a process there's a positional and that I'm already righteous there's a working out of my salvation a process of being changed from glory to glory in the image of Christ I'm being set apart from the world being made holy that's why I'm a saint J Vernon McGee would say you're there a saint you're an ain't there's no in-betweeners there's no Pontius Pilate washing his hands saying he's neutral of Jesus if you're not gathering with Jesus you're scattering abroad if you're not for him you're against them it's real simple there's only one way that leads to heaven is through Jesus exclusivity not inclusive not in the name of love inclusive all the religious leaders all the belief systems all the thoughts and ideas inclusive accept everything and everyone know exclusivity of his word he's Almighty God he proved above being crucified buried raised from the dead he's the incarnate Word of God he's the one in authority what he thinks matters what he's revealed unto us matters he's the creator and if you suppress the truth of creation he and Romans one's going to give you over to your base desires to judge you if you're going to get into idolatry and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator if you suppress the obvious truth of creation you can see it all around you if you come up with your with your bold face climate lies and try to force them on everybody else you're setting yourself up for the Lord to judge you in shaming you before the rest of the world as it's men with men and women with women and adults with children pedophilia and transgenderism the whole chaotic things a result of rejecting the truth of God the creator and your responsibility to honor and glorify him you're without excuse then he takes it a step further he's not only God of creation he's the God of redemption God sent his son he took on the form of a man not an angel he's the babe of Bethlehem he's the son of man 81 times in the New Testament he's describing himself as a son of man he wants to identify with you he's the last Adam our first federal head Adam blew it and we're all sinners in Adam in our old Adamic fallen nature but now I can identify with Jesus the last Adam I can identify with him and enjoy fellowship with him and that he sanctified me set me apart from the world and then we have fifthly election I didn't choose him Jesus said you didn't choose me but I chose you and I ordain that you bring forth fruit and your fruit remain that once you have asked the Father in my name he may give it you I thought I chose him that night I thought when I raised my hand and I went forward I received cry I thought it was me choosing him well there's two truths there there is the the responsibility we have to respond but he initiated and later when I walked down that iron side hallway I see the iron side door and over the door it says whosoever will let him come and that was me it was whosoever well there's an invitation to whosoever will and Jesus said all that the Father sent me shall come to me and him that comes to me all no wise cast out no man can come on to me except the Father was sent me draw him and I'll raise them up at the last day election and free moral agency then I go through that door the doorknobs on the outside and I go through that door and I get inside that room a fellowship with him and up above the door on the inside it says predestined before the foundation of the earth Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth you're not an accident your faith is not an accident your faith is a gift from God your faith is an ongoing gift from God he's not gonna let you fall he's not gonna let your faith fail when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth if we deny him he remains faithful he cannot deny himself he's gonna get you through he's gonna stimulate your faith and help you get through those doubts and help you as you get into his word and as you pray as you surrender he's gonna flood your heart and mind with renewed faith faiths like a muscle faith that grows that grows as it's challenged as you face uncertainty as you face obstacles as you see the Giants in the land you have a choice to be like Caleb and Joshua and rely upon the Word of God and focus upon him get your eyes off the Giants eyes off the wind and the waves Peter and you'll walk on water you'll be a giant slayer like David the battle belongs to the Lord and then glorification he desires to glorify me he makes us shine he says church you're the light of the world you're a city that's set on a hill let your life so shine before men that they'd see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven yeah works the works of the fruit thereof of the doctrine as a man think of in his heart so is he it doesn't mean that I don't do good things right it just means I don't do good things in the place of doctrine and obedience under the Lord in my walking relationship with the Lord I can't do enough good deeds to get to heaven no I respond to Jesus he said it is finished at Alistair paid in full but there's a desire in my heart to be used of him to alleviate suffering to alleviate pain to provide and care for and and minister to those who are hurting to provide the hope of the cross the hope of the gospel so a justification identification grace sanctification election glorification seventhly an inseparable love nothing can ever separate me from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus no man's gonna ever be able to pluck me out of his hand I'm secure I have security in him I don't lose my salvation one day and regain it you know I'm saved completely saved nothing will ever separate me from him there's no such thing as divorce with Jesus I'm the bride of Christ and he plays for keeps and he's given me his Holy Spirit as an earnest down payment he sealed me with the spirit he's marked me out that I belong to him he lives and dwells within me he's given me his Holy Spirit to live and dwell within me an inseparable love I've never been loved this way I've never experienced this kind of love this agape love this love of the Spirit as the deer pants after the water books so pants my soul after the O God the world cannot fill that void that emptiness in my life only a love relationship with Jesus as he's flood my heart and mind my whole being with his love reminding me over and over and over again that I'm not an accident that it's not an accident that I'm saved that he's planned this all along that he chose me that I have a unique relationship with him unlike anybody else on the planet my relationships unique and inseparable love and ain't Lee faithfulness he keeps his promises to Israel and therefore he's gonna keep his promises to me his promises are yay and amen God is faithful I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God so respond to his love by here we go that you present your bodies a living sacrifice that word present means once and for all once and for all you present your body unto him for better for worse for richer or poorer and sickness and the health no matter what circumstances come your way you've presented yourself to him in response to his love he initiates you respond and it's not a fickleness it's not back and forth it's not a wishy-washy the double minded man is unstable in all of his ways you presented your body to him how can you respond to so great a love what do you have that you can give God what does he want of you he wants you he doesn't want your money he wants you he purchased you he wants your love is what he wants he wants you to reciprocate he wants you to respond to his love as he initiates he simply wants you to love him to worship him to adore him to get to know him once and for all until he takes us home stay yielded even in the heat even in the heat offer yourselves as a living sacrifice well if you're laying on the altar and there's a fire beneath it it can get kind of hot right J. Verner McGee said the only problem with a living sacrifice is when the heat gets too hot the sacrifice decides to get off the altar and walk away so you present yourself once and for all recognizing knowing ahead of time why are you surprised when it gets hot when it gets difficult it's a part of the calling the fire works for us in that the fire burns off the dross burns off the impurities as you're purified going through these fiery trials but you remain there you're like Isaac where you remain there you could have grabbed dad and said dad no I think we're gonna sacrifice you I've been at the gym I'm much stronger than you dad you're an old feeble little guy right but in complete obedience like Jesus to his father Isaac dad we have the wood dad we have the knife dad we have the fire but where's the lamb for the sacrifice and Abram says God will provide himself a lamb for the sacrifice and then Isaac is tied up and he's placed upon that that altar and Abraham a type of God the father and Isaac a type of God the son Abraham he's already had this out with God he's already tried to negotiate with God all that Ishmael might live before you and God saying no it's not through Ishmael it's through Isaac through Isaac shall thy seed be called through Isaac the Messiah is going to come forth but if I bring this knife down in Hebrews 11 if I bring this knife down right now you're gonna have to raise him from the dead and that's the faith that Abraham and Sarah had that we see the Holy Spirit reminding us of in Hebrews 11 that he was willing to in obedience even though it doesn't make sense I'm gonna bring it down because God said to and God stops him and there's a ram caught in the thicket and in sacrifices the the lamb in the place of Isaac but the submission of Isaac as J Vernon said it it's hot the whole lot of people are are walking away from the faith even as we speak he says your bodies why your body God's temple his dwelling place Paul said to the church of Corinth know you not that your body is the temple the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own and so he's purchased us he chooses that he lives and dwells within us where the temple the Holy Spirit so offer your bodies unto him and so our bodies can be involved in all sorts of base ademic appetites and sinful things that we do that's contrary to the life of the Spirit and so we need to walk circumspectly we need to walk wisely we don't want to engage in things that defile and make us filthy before the Lord he wants fellowship with us he wants to live and dwell within us and so we're to offer ourselves Lord hear my as Isaiah said in Isaiah 6 hear my Lord use me Paul said in Philippians 1 verse 20 Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death that I be a witness that I be a martyr Jesus didn't be my witnesses and so we we look at the appeal of the world and the world tries to get people to come to the altar cut people come to church from a sensual perspective and appeal to the senses appeal to good food or smells or sounds or you know the sensory apparatus it feels good oh it sounds good oh it smells good what feels oh yeah addicted to the sensory apparatus and then there's the appeal of the intellect well I go to church with the guys a doctor dr. Rick Beaudry he's got four degrees man you can't even call him Rick you got to call him dr. Rick you know and I love I love I love education I could go online and I could get some degrees if that would impress you easy thing to do but why not really who I am right so I'm more like the fisherman that that he takes that he fills and uses who have by the way a very powerful very strong working knowledge of the scriptures I love the Apostle Paul he's a doctor he's an intellect an intellect of all intellects now I'm becoming a genius because everyone's getting so stupid out there but but I didn't start that way okay I'm feeling like I'm a doctor just with common sense you know but but you know Stephen Stephen blew away the experts Stephen blew away the doctors the doctors of theology in Acts chapter 6 and 7 they couldn't contend with him he just he had such a powerful working knowledge of the scripture the Holy Spirit coming through him and that's really all we all we need dr. Luke that helped the Apostle Paul from a medical standpoint and and also as an intellect as a as a someone that would record for us and provide the gospel of Luke and interview people and comprise the book of Acts also so we we we love intellect but knowledge puffs up love edifies so you can be a part of a church that is the appeal is the mind the appeal is I want to be smart I want to learn all these things and have degrees and all but it lacks the Holy Spirit so a sterile cold kind of a an approach the balance is what we want right we want the worship that makes us cry we want the teaching that motivates us and causes us to fall more in love with Jesus and we want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ you know we can't exhaust the Bible every day that you study you can learn more and more and more you can learn about science you can learn if you're a flat earther you can learn that the earth is a sphere okay from the Bible you can learn about beetle geese and planets that are out there that Job talks about all sorts of things that you can never ever ever exhaust in your intellect as you delve in and look at the human body as you look at the eyes you look at creation you're never going to be able to exhaust the cell always always always you can continue to learn and be mesmerized by the God of creation the God of the Word and so I beseech you you present your bodies that enough for each of us a living sacrifice and so as we said we've got I Isaac as one example we have Jesus as the second example the primary example the offering of Jesus he's crucified he's buried he raises himself from the dead he still has the scars and he's seated at the right hand of the father and complete submission father if you're willing if you're willing to remove this cup from me what cup the cup of wrath the wrath that's going to come out the wrath that I see in Psalm 22 my God my God why is thou forsaken me why are thou so far from my roaring for all eternity I've enjoyed the splendor and the fellowship between me and the Father and the Spirit the triunity of the Godhead and now I'm going to be separated now I'm going to be cut off and Daniel 9 25 through 27 Messiah would be cut off that I'd be crucified that my beard would be pulled out that my back they put deep furrows in my back with the cat of nine tails that it be beat beyond the recognition of a man in Isaiah 53 his visage his face was so marred more than any man more than the sons of men that it be crucified between two thieves that they pull my beard out they spit in my face they beat me with rods they'd leave me for dead and I was dead the centurion spear would pierce the pericardium the blood and the water would come out identifying for every skeptic out there that yes he died it wasn't the swoon theory he wasn't just resuscitated he was dead and he raised himself from the dead three days later he's the conqueror he's the resurrection he's the life we need look no nowhere else there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved he's the only way and he proved it destroy this temple in three days I'll raise it up a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign the only sign you're getting the sign of the prophet Jonah as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and he did it the rejoicing the celebration he's conquered death Oh death where's I sting Oh grave where's I victory it's been swallowed up by Jesus he's the first fruits of the resurrection and you and I have the hope of the resurrection to be asked of the body is to be present with the Lord we don't fear death anymore that's why we can offer ourselves as a living sacrifice Paul says I'm crucified in Galatians 220 I'm crucified with Christ he pictures himself on the cross with Christ that when Christ died I died I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me in the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me it's no longer me living but Christ living through me he says I died daily Jesus said if any man come after me let him deny himself take up his cross daily you can choose to get off the altar you can choose that it's too hot it's too hard I quit this marriage I'm out of here I didn't sign up for this well didn't you take vows of marriage till death do us part I have to put a little grace in there marriage is not a prison sentence if you're a guy and you mistreating your gal don't think it's a prison sentence don't abuse her not psychologically or physically or in any way because she has the freedom to move along to start over start again how binding is marriage well it's either divorce or murder you choose one or the other so many people victimize so many people and on the one hand my mom married seven times it's easy divorce in and out of them you know you're looking for the commitment on the other hand you have daughters and they're mistreated they're abused they're hurt by men and it's like I'm not gonna tell her to stay in there no way that's insanity you're gonna lose her if you don't love her you gotta love her God made her to be with the greatest needs to be loved supremely and commit adultery and other sorts of things as a means of negating that marital bond for the Christian divorce is a result of unrepentant unrepentant sin if your spouse confesses their sin you to forgive them of their sin and as they quit practicing sin you're able to forgive them of their sin and allow God to heal and restore your marriage but unrepentant unbridled sin will destroy any marriage including a Christian marriage what kind of sacrifice sometimes the children of Israel they'd be like the farmer that raised three pigs and one pig he said it's gonna go into the freezer the bacon the other one he's gonna sell and the third one belongs to God and so let's raise these little piglets and then later they find out that you know there's one that's really growing really doing really well the second one is doing okay but not quite as well that's the one I'll sell the third one is the runt and it's blind that's the one God gets the blind little runt right we give God the blind the lame we give God what's left over and that's what the children of Israel are doing and he says to Malachi try that with the governor try taking the lame the blind and giving that to the governor to pay your taxes watch what the governor does with that God say no you give me the best you give me the first you give me the first moments of your morning when you wake up you give me your best moments right you don't sit there look at your phone at church and let it go off half the service and and walk out of here talking on it you know I mean shut them off give God your attention give him your best right same at home same with we're in the restaurant you're with your kids nowadays none of us can look each other in the eye and give our best just give our undivided attention to one another they might have something they want to say that's meaningful that they've been wanting to talk about I listen real good with what in front of me the ribeye yeah that's it so holy he wants us to be a holy present yourself holy I can't present myself holy in me that is in my flesh dwells no good thing it's like the idea that hey I'll go to church you know once I'm good enough to go to know you're never gonna be good enough you're never gonna clean your life up to be good enough to go to church all have sinned and come short of the glory of God you come in with all your wretchedness all your warts everything and you allow God to clean you up because in me that is my flesh dwells no good thing so how am I gonna get holy he's gonna make me holy let him start the process let him make you holy in Mark's gospel chapter 1 verse 40 there was a leper now lepers they had to be a hundred feet from people and shout out leper leper they couldn't be around anybody they had to stay away I saw Ben her I saw it that's how it is you stay away you go to the leper colony lest somebody else get leprosy from you right so the island of Molokai was a leper colony right and why and so this leper comes to Jesus and he beseeches him in Mark chapter 1 verse 40 he beseech you I beseech you Lord have mercy on me you can you can heal me of this leprosy you can cleanse me you can make me holy I'm at a little bit there and Jesus had compassion on him and said I will and Jesus touched him Jesus not afraid to touch a leper and you and I are those lepers you and I are those defiled those unholy people we can't make ourselves holy there's no cure for leprosy in the day and then Jesus told him go to the priest and show yourself as a witness as a testimony none of them could heal you nobody around here could deliver you of the leprosy only Jesus could do that right he'd make the blind to see the lame to walk the deaf to hear demons cast out and they're still wondering who is he how's he do this through the power of Beelzebub well how can he do it through Beelzebub that's blasphemy house divided against itself can't stand if you don't believe me for my doctrine for my word's sake believe me for my very work's sake the body of my work so they go to the priest and according to Leviticus 14 there's a series of offerings offer let this offering be made offer yourself as a living sacrifice and allow God to cleanse you allow God to make you holy isn't it amazing when he sees you and I he's cast our sins from the east to the west and he remembers them no more there's no record of wrong you've been made righteous God sees you wholly already and the devil wants to seize upon our weaknesses and condemn us the accuser of the brethren sends people along to remind us of our faults to mind us of our failures to use words to condemn to belittle to control a living sacrifice holy and then he says acceptable that word acceptable means well-pleasing God is pleased as we come in faith the leper came in faith you can heal me he came in faith knowing you can heal me you can make me clean and that's how Jesus wants us to come he wants us to come in faith not negotiating you do this for me I'll do this for you know just come as you are come with all your warts come with all your alcohol your drugs all your adulteries all your covetous all your sins all your murders yeah there's some murderers in heaven Jesus said if you angry with your brother you're already a murder the law judges your heart if you look upon a man or a woman with lust in your heart you're already an adulterer we're all guilty all have sinned and come short of the glory of God there's none righteous no not one only Jesus that's the gospel message so you come as you are just as you are and he'll transform and change you acceptable well-pleasing God's pleased as we come in faith without faith it's impossible to please God for they that come to must believe that he is and he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him and then he says it's reasonable present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable on him which is your reasonable which means intelligent it's logical it makes sense that I would dedicate myself rather than betray him rather being different toward him it's reasonable in Isaiah 1 verse 18 the children of Israel are sinning against God and he says come now and let us reason together the Christian faith is an intelligent faith God's not asking you to come in a blind faith God gives you the scriptures he gives you prophecy the more sure word of prophecy one-third of the Bible 27% is prophecy he's proven to you that he's God because he's telling you what's gonna happen before it happens you can bank on it you can bank on the fact that in Revelation 13 16 through 18 there's going to be a one-world system an economic system every man receiving a mark on his right hand or his forehead thousands of years ago that may seem preposterous today with a universal ID they're trying to bring for every soul upon the planet it affects the voting affects health it affects the economy in every way shape and form a digitization a digital ID is what's coming the central bank digital currency all your health records digitized everything you do a social credit score based upon a digital identification of your every move everything you buy everywhere you go and the Bible prophesied this a one-world government system a one-world economic system a one-world religious system wars and rumors of wars apocalyptic events in the last days pointing to the beast system pointing to the 77 of Daniel Israel in the land May 14 1948 Ezekiel 36 and 37 fulfilled with the Z with the nation of Israel being reborn we have an intelligent faith based upon facts fact-check this Jack God said it he did it right he told us in Micah 5 verse 2 that 500 years before Jesus is born that he'd be born in Bethlehem fact-check that he told us in Genesis 3 15 that he'd be born of a virgin the seed of the woman check that out medically what do you mean the seed of a woman it's a virgin born no fertilization of that and so the seed singular in your seed God told Abraham all nations of the earth would be blessed there be 12 tribes there be Jews in the Abrahamic Covenant and what tribe the tribe of Judah the line of the tribe of Judah a kingly line the Davidic Covenant you make a covenant with David that in David I'll bring a dynasty forth from you the Messiah is going to come from your loins in the tribe of Judah the kingly tribe he's going to be crucified he's going to be cut off in Daniel 9 25 through 27 he's gonna be cut off he's gonna come in 483 years from their command to go and restore Jerusalem to the coming the Messiah the Prince on March 14 445 BC art exerts these larger meanings gave the command to Nehemiah and Ezra to go and restore the walls of Jerusalem in April 632 AD on this thy very day Jesus said if you don't know on the day of your visitation on this thy very day that was prophesied he rolled into Jerusalem according to Zechariah on the foal of a donkey do you know what Kathy did this week she found a passage in Peter 2nd Peter and she sent me a picture and she said Rick this is biblical this is biblical Rick when I send you this picture and I put underneath it the heading you dumbass that's biblical you're a dumbass Rick I mean the girl knows her Bible and she proved it she sent me and she's you know what a student of the word I mean wow I still haven't got her to the place where she'll call me Lord she just won't call me Lord Rick Sarah called Abraham Lord I don't get it I'm the dumbass dumbass she's so funny that made her day little word study little word study there in the King James it says dumbass Rick I was trying to change that ass word to donkey because maybe some kids get offended that word or whatever but Kathy's like hey it's biblical man I can say it but come now let us reason together though your sins be a scarlet they shall be white as snow though they be red like crimson they'll be as wool and Isaiah 118 God wants to reason with you all your righteousness is as filthy rags he says don't try to do it on your own let's reason together I'll wash you in the blood of my son and you'd be white as snow you'd be you'd be like whitewashed wool you know no blemish which is your reasonable service the word service is the word in the Greek that we get our word for worship it's reasonable that you would serve the Lord you'd respond in an act of worship God's made us as worshipers in Revelation 4 the foreign 20 elders are there they're laying their crowns down before the Lord Jesus and they're crying out worthy are out thou you know O Lord receive glory honor and power for thou has created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created we are created for his pleasure for some reason God derives pleasure from you and he loves it when we worship him to worship is ascribing worth when we adore his attributes his love for me his forgiveness for me as mercy for me his steadfastness his faithfulness when we worship the Lord in that way we don't we don't need to sing these songs and treat Jesus as my boyfriend and girlfriend whatever we worship him it's Almighty God there may be expressions of in there different ways but you don't bring the cross out you don't bring the blood out you don't bring redemption these great themes of the Bible that described as tremendous love towards us worthy an act of worship ascribing worth to him so we humbly offer ourselves to him to him who created all things and for his pleasure they are and were created the living sacrifice now Kathy said Rick there's only two verses are you sure I'm sure this passage is pregnant this passage is pregnant with truth that we need to hide in our heart sink down deep we got 11 chapters of doctrine we need to respond here in the application and really understand what it is the Lord is calling us unto and so the living sacrifice the motive notice secondly the metamorphosis that's a big word right it's not that drag queen at the library that's not a metamorphosis that's a perversion the caterpillar to the butterfly is the metamorphosis we come as a worm some 22 Jesus said I'm a worm and no man my God my God why is that forsaken me he's separated from fellowship with the Father first time in all of eternity as the sins of the whole world are placed upon him and he's submissive into that under that and yet here there's a metamorphosis a change that takes place anybody that claims to be a Christian there should be a change there should be fruit that's evident Jesus said you'll know them by their fruit the number one change is love and not the Barack Hussein Obama love of lighten up the White House into the gay flag and by the way it's our flag Noah's flag we were over getting donuts after the ballgame over in Seattle and there was a LBGT flag there my grandson's are pointing out going look at that flag public flag and I said what's our flag it's the rainbow it's a rainbow man maybe they had a couple colors whatever but the concept the truth is ours it's ours Satan's a counterfeit you know it's promising us he's not going to destroy the earth again by a flood boys now we may get eight months of rain here starting today may feel like he's not keeping that promise but I'm sure yeah the Sun is coming back all right hate to be such a killjoy a lot of you love the rain you got your wood-burning stoves ready right your best books you love to read you're ready for a season of rain you don't like when it's hot oh well he says where's to be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind now somebody told me last week when I heard the phones going off like crazy there was a phone beep and beep beep beep beep beep beep okay they told me that you did that because it was 12 o'clock and it was an alarm letting me know it's over church is over that's not very nice because it's so funny I thought that was kind of funny but it hurt my feelings all right so be not conformed to this world but be transformed and you know who you are be transformed and I got it on film I'll find out okay and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind this word conforming to be fashioned or patterned after JB Phillips his commentary says don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold what do you think kovat was it wasn't about the flu although over 17 million people I read this morning have died from the vaccine the the kovat was designed to bring people under the vaccine a population reduction an experiment of changing the gene experiment of identification all sorts of experiments conducted by the World Economic Forum World Health Organization which none of them are government agencies but the main issue was that of conformity to see how far they could go to use fears Joseph Goebbels said you get them afraid you can get them to do anything to see how far they could get the people to go to conform to all of the mandates all of the different things that they lied over and over and over and over again on the news all over the world the same talking points synchronized event 201 that happened in 2019 in November of 2019 or October before the kovat the warp speed jab came out there's an event with the Gates Foundation and Johnson & Johnson and all these pharmaceutical companies and they're talking about the release of this kovat they even have little kovat stuffed animals right which you shouldn't send to Maui okay don't send those all right and they're mocking and yet an enormous success in convincing the world lying to the world the people upon the planet that without their help we're all gonna die everybody's got to conform lock everything down remove all small businesses consolidate power consolidate business consolidate every aspect of central control and every facet of society no more freedom and it's amazing how effective it was and you and I were saying no no it was simple no there may be some areas of conformity that you had to in some respects but by and large in a larger sphere you didn't buy into you didn't give in to it you're not going to give in to kovat 2.0 or whatever else they bring you're not going to give into it you're not you're not they're not going to take and steal your freedom they're not going to fill you with fear if they if they say hey you guys can't meet for church anymore what are you gonna do you can't worship anymore you can't sing anymore you can't partake a communion anymore you're not going to give in to that you're not going to conform to that no matter how people say it's a loving thing to do I'm gonna love my neighbor I'm gonna give into this because my neighbor might get sick well your neighbor can stay home in their bedroom with their door shut okay and hopefully somebody will bring us some food but I'm gonna live like I've always lived you're not gonna steal my freedom from here you're not gonna overwhelm me with fear and steal my faith from me and steal my my desire to worship the true and living God based upon lies and so the conformity to the world the world speaks of the Greek word aeon a-i-o-n the age the age in which we're living which is the age of Antichrist the spirit of Antichrist that's ramping up that's aggressively increasing the darkness is increasing kids God's getting ready to send his son back Jesus is coming and the Antichrist system the beast system that the Bible foretold is going to be the 77 of Daniel the time of Jacob's trouble the nation of Israel is going to go through the tribulation period you and I are looking up for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ we know that he's going to rapture us he's going to catch us away he's going to harp out our pods OS before the signing of the peace treaty which inaugurates which starts the seven-year tribulation period this Antichrist in place of Jesus Christ's gonna sign a peace treaty so I'm well aware of the age in which I'm living and my my worldview is a biblical worldview not a secular worldview because I'm not going to allow the secularist to change the way that I think I'm not going to conform to their thinking I'm not going to degrade or demoralize or begin to to change the definition of marriage change the definitions of what is a man and what is a woman what is a child what is acceptable in sexual union is between one man one woman in marriage for a lifetime it's irresponsible it's evil to engage in sex with children you're not going to normalize pedophilia around me and get a pat on the back and change it to maps what's maps mean the acronym minor attracted persons they don't even want the stigma of being called pedophiles anymore the normalization of homosexuality all these things is a social engineering rebellion against God trying to bring conformity and sadly many who claim to be Christians and many from the pulpits the Andy Stanley's and such give into that conformity and they call it love and then you and I are trying to wrestle with people and explain to people that's not biblical love that's praying upon people that's abusing and seducing people so you need to be equipped to be able to give an answer the hope that lies within you need to be able to stand against evil to preserve that which is good to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them that's not marriage that's not a girl right there that's not a boy you weren't created as a little kitten cat kitty cat or whatever and you just don't give in to it you just indoctrinally I mean they're the homeland security is going to be paying people to come into the churches and to snitch on me well good luck with that I'm still not going to back down they're making it hate speech if we don't go along with their climate lies their transgender lies all of the different lies the demonic lies that are being forced upon everybody else if you're a Hollywood actor a baseball player any kind of celebrity if you don't go along with their whole agenda you're blackballed you lose your career you're ostracized you're sent away so much so that the the social development goals for the agenda 2030 you've got Blackrock and State Street and Vanguard you have these bankers trillions of dollars they control and they control it by will dump your stock will make your stock worth nothing so you watch these corporations begin to parade these fairies and transgender Queens and their commercials and such and they wind up losing tons of business from evangelicals and all but they don't care because if they don't comply if they don't give in the social development goals are going to be such that they're going to be ostracized by Blackrock by the bankers and they'll go out of business so they're using Larry Fink is saying we're going to use the clout we're going to use the leverage we have as bankers when we get to a digital currency to change behavior we're going to make it hurt if people don't comply so you and I have some real soul searching right some real prayer we need to as Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach did they had to evaluate where they were the times they were in and determine in their heart what they would do if Nebby raises up a 90-foot tall image of himself and commands everyone to bow down and worship that image every time the music plays or to eat the King's food even are you gonna eat bugs are you gonna eat crickets crickets are you gonna let Bill Gates I was told by Rob that Bill Gates now supplies all of the potatoes for McDonald's why is he in the potato business if it's not to poison me to put that mRNA vaccine into everybody how come these criminals don't get arrested none of them get arrested and you're supposed to comply and so Henry Kissinger said you control oil you control nations so whoever controls the oil controls nations you starve Venezuela even though they're they're producing tons of oil you can starve them if they don't go along with the woke ism and all that by by economically you can starve them people aren't gonna buy their oil but you can control people like Stalin did in Ukraine where he killed 20 million of his own people by starving him control food and you control the people so what's happening to our food supply processing of foods and all these things it's a means of influence it's a means of leverage it's a means of forcing behavior and again what really bothers me is we ain't seen nothing yet and yet people are conforming already just a little tiny threats like they're not gonna like you oh I better I better conform you know it's just oh they kicked me off Facebook well I got kicked off at YouTube I got terminated I use the word ivermectin what's wrong with ivermectin crazy people so the new world order nothing new about it man's desire for a world without God no compromise in 1st John 2 15 love not the world neither the things that are in the world for the love of the if you love the world the love of the Father is not in you all that's in the world the lust the flesh lust the I the pride of life is not of the father of the world and the world perishes and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abides forever friendship with the world means you're an enemy of God you do not love this age you do not Christian eyes the world do not market Jesus by Christian eyes in the music the church it's not a business it's a living organism you allow Jesus to have the preeminence and everything you do you don't degrade or lower the standard to gain more people and make people like you because you're gonna have a worldly perspective so what do I mean by that any gay lesbian anybody's welcome here anybody but you better have your big boy boots on because I'm gonna pick on you the same way I pick on adulterers fornicators thieves and covetous you have no special privilege of trying to get everybody to adopt or accept your aberrant filthy lifestyle end of story but we'll take you to first Corinthians 6 and we'll show you where Paul says knowing not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you and then he has a big list right he says neither idolaters nor fornicators nor the effeminate or the abuser in themselves with mankind nor thieves nor liars shall inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you you used to be in that effeminate lifestyle used to be a whore monger used to be an adulterer and we're not just picking on you there's a whole lot of other things there's covetousness there's thieves there's liars there's drunkards it's in the list we're all categorized by unrighteousness so we're not trying to Christian eyes I'm a Christian drunk I'm a Christian murderer you gotta accept me no there's a change that takes place there's a transformation there's a metamorphosis I used to be that way but God saved me God changed my heart he changed me from within that's the beauty of the gospel that's the power of the gospel to transform and change lives we don't water down the gospel and say hey your sins no different than my sin all sins the same let's just love one another and that's not the definition of love if I love God I'm gonna do the things he says and first John if you say you love God and keep not his commandments you're a liar and the truth isn't in you go to first John to prove those that continue or practice sin are not saved there's repentance there's a transformation there's a change that takes place does it mean I don't sin no I do sin if I say I don't sin I'm a liar in first John 1 but if I confess my sin he's faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me of all unrighteousness but I don't practice in chapter 3 I don't continue in it as a lifestyle of being the person I was before I came to Christ there's a transformation there's a change your family members people around you say what is different about you what happened used to be a meth head used to be fentanyl drugs heroin adultery unfaithful in your first marriage why are you so faithful now you're working hard you're not a con man anymore what is it Jesus I hit rock bottom and Jesus rescued me he's put my life back together he's transformed and changing he's given me a new heart that's a metamorphosis I was a worm of a man now I'm a butterfly I can fly I can soar not a man that they put into a drag ferry you know blowing butterfly kisses not that kind of a guy men in tights just doesn't inspire anybody not gonna work a world without God its philosophy what's the world's philosophy man's account of all things but always changing no certainty that's what psychology is it's a it's a it's the philosophy the rudimentary study of human behavior and why are we here and where we're going and all that the lovers of wisdom it's always changing years ago it was codependency was your problem what's it today I don't love myself enough I have low self-esteem well the Bible says no man ever yet hated himself you're radically in love with yourself that's what your problem is self it's the opposite of what the psychiatrists are telling you the Bible advocates death to self but you want to exalt self it's science the world science ever seeking to eliminate the supernatural it's government exaltation of man it's amusement designed to blot out reality from our mind no substance it's religion to soothe man's conscience and subdue fears of judgment that's the world worldly churches worldly Christians the lay of the sea in church the spirit of this age is absolute selfishness as contrasted with true divine love its objective is the gratification of self rather than doing God's will that's the world that's the worldly church that's the Joel Osteen churches your best life now if you and I as Christians it's no longer us living the Christ living through us we're crucified with Christ Galatians 1 verse 4 Jesus gave himself to deliver us from this present evil world in Ephesians 2 verse 2 in our past in my past we walked according to the course of this world according to the prince the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience we were in darkness we were in bondage we were captives of the wicked one we didn't know better ignorance was bliss there's happiness and sin for a season the devil's marketing sin it's gotta look like fun but then it comes back to bite you now you're an alcoholic now you're a drug addict now you've got sexually transmitted diseases now you've got AIDS it was fun at first in my 20s or in high school but now it's come back to bite me because why because I'm going against God's laws he's a God of order when I go against the God of order the God of creation there's consequences there's physical consequences emotional consequences the guilt and such and their spiritual consequences God's not mocked whatsoever man sows that shall he also reap and so God comes with the beautiful light of the gospel and he transforms me he says be transformed it speaks of a metamorphosis a transformation a radical change the same word is used in Matthew 7 verse 2 where Jesus was transfigured on the mount of transfiguration it's also used a second time in 2nd Corinthians 3 verse 8 write that down 2nd Corinthians 3 18 write it down this is a verse that you want to go back to and read he says we all with an open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed there's your word metamorphosis a transfiguration we are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord so there's a positional righteousness there's a positional holiness but there's an outworking of sanctification a practical outworking of sanctification whereas I yield to the Holy Spirit as I come through the trial the test and I yield to him and I surrender there's a transformation and a change that takes place inside of me and that change is changing me from glory to glory as I get victory into the image of Christ so what it means is growth there's maturity in the life of the believer as we simply yield to the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to change not the outside of the cup but the inside of the cup the heart that's why I don't get hung up on people with tattoos or cool long hair or you know I don't get caught up on the external because it's the internal it's it's the heart man looks on the outward God looks on the heart I need to my heart needs to be changed Lord change my heart change me Lord Lord she's really messing up she's calling me a jackass Lord make her say she's sorry and Kathy will say what are you a wussy you're a wussy no sympathy are you a wussy call for your mommy so Lord she hurt my feelings you got to change her Lord you got to change her I can't stand this anymore and he says how about I change you how about I change you how about you change how about you be the first to change how about you be the first to die how about you be the first to submit unto me how about you allow me to transform and change your heart and you leave her to me she's mine she don't belong to you you quit criticizing her you leave her to me you guys aren't there to change your wife your wives aren't there to change your husband God's the only one that can bring that change leave her alone I've been waiting so long though home man so metamorphosis the transformation God makes of the living sacrifice how notice it says by the renewing of our mind the Greek word is anachrono it speaks of to grow up anew afresh it speaks of spring flowers okay don't you just love that don't you just love it when God sets a captive free when God brings new spring flowers and there's just such joy and blessing a home a life a person that had no hope that's just being ripped off by the devil being destroyed by the devil and you as a parent a grandparent you see such potential such potential that you prayed and labored and and and prayed over them when they're in their room and all and there's such a dark struggle going after their soul and you're praying you're interceding you're you're seeking the mind of the Lord and God brings forth a change a transformation the light bulb goes on they get it they get saved and they're walking with the Lord and you look back and you think man Lord you're the only one that could do that you're the only one Lord and you and I are a part of it through the sharing of the gospel the living the gospel and the intercessory prayer of pleading with God to come against the principalities and the powers that are blinding their eyes Lord open their eyes set the captives free Lord deliver them and then as God begins to do that work it's just an amazing thing when I went to Calvary Costa Mesa they didn't have on the wall ten things I couldn't do ten things I should do they didn't sign me up make me a member and send me all these appeals for money and all that sort of stuff they didn't ever represent God is being broken I was the one gonna pay the bills no they loved on me taught me God's Word and the Holy Spirit begin to transform and change me from within nobody had to tell me anything was wrong I knew in here and I knew here the conscience he gave me in the heart and the Word of God when I would do right when I do wrong the Holy Spirit was convicting me saying that's wrong but they're doing it it's wrong for you and that was another distinction it wasn't just the general right and wrong it came down to the unique individual right and wrong man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God so on the written word I may not be sinning against him but the word that he's speaking to my heart is such that I'm sinning against him a sin of omission and that I won't obey him I don't want to do that I don't want to go there I don't want to do that I'm not going to do that and then you're miserable and then you come to the conformity you come to the surrender you come to submission unto him and then your heart's just flooded with joy the blessings of being in fellowship with the Lord being in his will and so it's a mind game the renewing of the mind the mind of man must come under the spirits control 2nd Corinthians 10 verse 5 casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ it's a thought process every thought has to be filtered through the Word of God the devil's a liar all the information the information war all the stuff all the lies that they're disseminated that they're bringing into this culture every thought every word has to come through the authority of God's Word every imagination and every high thing that exalts itself so it's Noah you all Harari talking or Klaus Schwab whoever trying to talk and convince anybody of anything all of that has to be filtered through the Word of God and we go with the authority of God's Word of what he has to say bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ Jesus prayed John 17 17 sanctify them through thy truth the word sanctify means to be made holy sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth right and so we we recognize the lies that come we recognize at times we want to yield to the world and give in it's easier hate self-gratification make me happy whatever but none of us like to be deceived none of us like to be pawns that lack discernment and look back later and say what happened well we didn't take every thought captive we didn't bring it to the Word of God we didn't live according to the authority of God's Word so within my home in my life I'm not the authority Jesus is in his words the authority if Kathy sees me live in a life contrary to God's Word she knows that I'm out of fellowship with the Lord she's not going to submit to me in that she's in submission to Jesus so she can be in submission to me as I'm in submission to Jesus but she's not gonna give in to a jackass that isn't in submission to Jesus yeah you didn't know she's like that did you Matthew 15 19 out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornication thefts false witness and blasphemies Jesus said in the time of Noah every imagination and the thoughts of the hearts of men were only evil continually Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah it's a time we're living in only evil continually the thoughts and the imaginations of men's hearts and so we need to be different pastor Chuck talked of a his mom teaching him that a you know the it's gonna start to rain here and right down there at the stream and all the salmon are going to come in and the dead salmon you know go with the flow with the world flow of the world the salmon that are alive the Christian salmon swim against the current you're swimming against the current it's gonna be harder but far more rewarding far far more rewarding far more productive far more fruitful living a life in conformity to Christ rather than that of the world and so he says that you may we are so we're transformed by allowing God's Word to renew our mind the Word of God's living and powerful and sharpen any to its sword dividing center soul and spirit joint marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart so the living sacrifice the motive the metamorphosis and thirdly and finally the measure the second part of verse 2 how do you know if you are lit a living sacrifice notice he says that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God the word prove means to find out by experience Adam knew Eve intimately he didn't knew know her from afar so the intimacy of your walk in relationship with the Lord as you're in fellowship with the Lord a man shall not live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God the Lord speaking to you he's speaking to your heart the Rhema the Rhema God's to us in our hearts the Lord begins to direct us distinctly of what is walking relationship now if I'm a new believer and I say well I want to live with my girlfriend and we're both going to church we're in love well I'd look at the Bible and I'd have one of you come up to me and say the Bible says to be on be not unequally yoked together with an unbeliever as a matter of some is so you're not to be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever what's light haven't come with darkness so you number one shouldn't be dating a girl that's an unbeliever number two you shouldn't be living together because that's committing fornication so you got two strikes against you the Word of God is real clear about what God's will is now it's incumbent upon you what are you going to do you can listen to the world and the world say well hey we're in love we're in love in God's eyes we're married in God's eyes you know we're committed to each other well wait a minute you're twisting the scripture you're twisting the clear teaching of God's Word and you're gambling you're gambling in such a way like if your heart gets hardened and your ears get obtuse you're going to go down a path where you're not going to be able to hear from the Lord because of mark for the light that he gives the revelation that he gives this morning if you're faithful that revelation that illumination he'll give you more but if you blow it off and a selective here well I'm gonna do what I want to do now your ears are closing off your hearts closing off and you're having a difficult time discerning and hearing the leading guiding that God would have for you so now as a woman you enter into a relationship with a guy that's a raging alcoholic you're pregnant two kids three kids and now you don't know what to do you know you were tricked shouldn't have gone that route shouldn't gone there should have waited till the he was proven as being a believer a lot of guys will trick love girls will trick people so Adam knew we've not just intellectually but intimately so God has a plan for each of our lives delight thyself in the Lord to give you the desires of your heart that sounds good I could sell a book on that let me have what's ever in my heart but I've got to deny myself take my cross up and follow him if I'm dead to self if I'm dead to self then he's gonna put his desires within me so Paul says church of Philippi work out your own salvation sounds like salvation's working a work out the outworking of your salvation work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you putting in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure so as you have taken your cross up daily following him no longer I live in the Christ living through me he's putting his desires within my heart as I pray I'm in communication and cooperation with the Holy Spirit and now God is unfolding his plan as purposes for my life that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God a living sacrifice a man or a woman that's in God's will you're in God's will can you say you're in God's will do you know with a certainty that you today are not in rebellion to God you're not one with God fight with God that you are functioning in the body of Christ in the place that God has ordained that he's called you unto and if you are then rejoice just don't try to be somebody else rejoice in your calling rejoice in in your living the life as a living sacrifice to hear the Lord say one day well done now good and faithful servant you've been faithful over a few things I'm gonna make you ruler over much enter into the joy of the Lord that's what I want to hear the Lord say for each of us that we faithfully served him maybe you're single you hate being single God says this is my calling for you I want you to be married to me I don't want you to whine I don't want you to complain I don't want you to be all bummed out I want you to be filled with joy filled with the goodness of God I want you to be thankful I want you to exhibit I want you to display the joy of being in love with me being married to me well Lord I I don't like it I didn't like going to the cross but for the joy that was set before me I endured the cross despising the shame and seated down the right hand of the Father except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die it abides alone but if it dies it bears much fruit die to sell be crucified with Christ I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless I live you honor I but Christ lives in me in the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me well Lord I'm sick you gotta heal me before I can be filled with joy Lord I'm poor you got to give me a bunch of money before I can really serve you and really enjoy it no you're right in my will you're in my perfect will you're right where I want you I'm your portion forever fall more in love with me seek me trust in me more spend time with me offer yourself to me Paul said I die daily if any man come after me Jesus said let him deny himself take up his cross daily in Luke 9 and follow me the living sacrifice Paul exhorts us to be the person person Jesus purposed us to be the person Jesus purchased us to be are we going to respond I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present yourselves as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto him which is your reasonable service it's reasonable and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God are you a living sacrifice let's pray father thank you thank you for your love Lord thank you that your love that's drawn us it's your love that's keeping us it's your love that gives us hope Lord of your coming kingdom and Lord we don't have it all figured out but we thank you Lord that you're a teacher and that you're looming in our heart you're speaking to our heart you're speaking right where we're at Lord and and Lord all we need need do is yield just simply cooperate just simply yield cooperate surrender our heart and life unto you and allow you to live out your plans and purposes in and through us Lord Lord let our lives bear much fruit for your kingdom and glory allow us Lord to experience the power of the resurrection as we seek to know you and the fellowship of your sufferings Lord being made conformable unto your death that as people see the suffering we go through they'd be reminded of the cross that we'd fill up the sufferings of the cross that people be reminded of your tremendous love and your sacrifice greater love is no man than this than a man laid down his life for his friends and you call us friends so father let us be examples thank you for the privilege of saying with Isaiah here my Lord send me send me to my my kids my grandkids send me Lord to Kathy send me to family and friends and people in the community here my Lord use me not Donald Trump not Joe Biden not some Christian celebrity Lord here my Lord use me use each one of us as your instruments of love as people that you fill and use to transform and change this world to shine bright Lord to usher in your kingdom to to proclaim the good news of your coming kingdom that Jesus is coming again soon very soon while your heads are bowed your eyes are closed if you don't know Jesus Christ if you don't have a relationship with him we want to pause for a moment and give you a chance give you that invitation give you the opportunity to surrender unto Christ just as many of us here in this room did at one point we knew that God was tugging on our heart we knew he was revealing himself unto us and it was incumbent upon us to exercise our free will and response we could respond by saying yes or we could respond by saying no maybe today's your day of salvation just lift your hand up we want to lead you in prayer if you need Christ if you don't know Jesus if he's tugging on your heart just open the door of your heart and allow Christ in this morning become that living sacrifice anyone here this morning father thank you once again for the fellowship the joy of knowing you the joy of collectively coming together as the body of Christ the temple the Holy Spirit in the plural and each of us individually the temple the Holy Spirit also and Lord together Lord the iron sharpening iron learning more and more of who you are and what you what you're calling us unto Lord thank you for the book of Romans pray that you continue to help us apply these truths Lord of the gospel pour out your Holy Spirit upon us use us for your kingdom and glory this week we ask in Jesus name Amen