We are spending May renewing our vision. What is it we are trying to accomplish as a missional community in Littleton. We started by looking at Paul's directive to forget what is behind and press on toward the goal from Colossians. Then we turned to 2 Corinthians and asked "What motivates us?" We discovered that we have two motives - the Fear of God and the Love of God.
This week we ask "How?" What does the daily life of a Christian look like? What does a healthy church look like? How does it operate? To find our answers we turn to Romans 12.
Romans 12:1-7
Today's lesson is a meditation on the first seven verses of Romans. A passage writing by Paul to Christians living in Rome, to both explain his doctrine, and to apply those teachings in practical ways. This chpt. is where the practical teaching begins.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
This verse has all kinds of thougths wrapped up in it. What is worship? What is its relationship to sacrifice? What is the connection between God's mercy and our worship? What kind of worship is acceptable?
What is worship - it is recognizing the "worth" of something. That is valuable to me!
All worship involved sacrifice. Choosing to allocate resources that might be used somewhere else to the object of worship. If you worship golf, you play a lot of golf. You spend time, money, and energy. If you worship God, you consciously focus your time and energy pursuing God. You spend money. You give it to a church, you spend it at bookstores. You attend conferences. You turn on your radio. You turn off your television. You read the Bible. You pray. All of this costs something.
"In view of God's mercy" means that all of this is done not to earn God's mercy, but because that mercy has already been freely given, thus you are free to pursue God.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Again a phrase loaded with meaning. How are we to relate to the world? How do we discover God's will in this world? Answers: we are to look different than the world. We renew our mind, and are thus transformed so that are able to test various options and discover the road that God wants us to travel. The good, pleasing and perfect road.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
This is where I want us to spend the majority of our time today. Humble service in the Body of Christ is the subheading in my Bible. The first few verses are remarkably practical. Do not be proud. Rather recognizing that God gave you all the talents and abilities you have, use your gift where it may best be applied.
If you are a prophet - do prophet things. If you are a server - then serve. If you are a teacher - then teach. If you are an encourager - encourage people. If you are a giver - then give generously. If you are a leader - lead well. If you are a mercy giver - cheerfully give.
That is one wonderful description of a healthy church. Everyone is doing there thing.
It reminds me of a strong local economy. Do you remember on Seaseme Street when they would sing about the people that you met each day. Each person was cheerfully doing their job.
It really is that simple. And yet, there are days when it seems impossible. And I gotta ask, why? Why is it so hard to find your niche and settle into it. I have a few reasons that come to mind.
1) Jealousy. I want your gift. I want to be you. It is the age old grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
God has given each of us a gift, and all are equally important.
2) Fear. I don't want to really jump into a situation where others are counting on me, because I may let them down.
Don't bury your gift under a tree
3) Arrogance. I don't need your gifts, I can do this all by myself.
Hear the words of this passage. Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought.
Conclusion: Shape class is a class designed to help you find your place in ministry. We are going to go through the class again soon. Please sign up and come spend some time seeking out what God's good and pleasing and perfect place of service is for you.
Mark Kraakevik
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