Living Sacrificially

Romans 12:3-8

May 18, 2008

The call of Paul this morning can be summed up in one word: DEDICATION

THE PIG AND THE CHICKEN

“Why don’t we open a restaurant and serve breakfast?”

The pig answered, “Because for you that is a small sacrifice and for me that is a major commitment.”

What Paul was asking for this morning

Was without a doubt, a major commitment.

We are to “present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.”

Well tonight, we move from dedication to service.

It is quite possible, that if all you read was Romans 12:1-2,

You would leave knowing you needed to be more committed,

But confused as to what that might mean for your life.

CAN WE HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT?

That is precisely what Romans 12:3-8 is meant to show you.

Paul is now taking your dedication

And showing you how to put it into practice.

John MacArthur wrote:

“The purpose of offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices is not mystical or monastical but eminently practical. Devotion to the Lord and active, faithful ministry for Him are inseparable. We cannot be truly sacrificed to Him an inactive in His work. And, on the other hand, we cannot be truly successful in His work without being genuinely devoted to Him. Service to God brings honor to Him and blessings for us only when it is the outflow of our worship in offering ourselves as living sacrifices. Such commitment naturally and inevitably produces effective ministry. There is no godly commitment without God-blessed ministry, and no God-blessed ministry without godly commitment.” (Romans commentary, pg. 154)

This evening, Paul reveals to us how to put feet

To the devotion we learned this morning.

And the idea is that we should take our self-sacrificing devotion

And display it through our Christ-honoring service.

As we enter the practical section of the argument,

Paul tells us there are two things we need to do

In order to put feet to our extreme devotion.

#1 THINK BIBLICALLY

Romans 12:3-5

I love the concept of God’s people thinking Biblically.

What a transformation it would have on the church, if we all quit thinking humanistically, or universally, or selfishly, and started thinking Biblically.

Paul actually started this thought back in verse 2.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”

He continues that thought here,

As Biblical thinking is the link between dedication and service.

It doesn’t matter how dedicated you are,

If you are ignorant of what God wants,

There is no possible way you can serve Him correctly.

So it is imperative that we begin to think biblically.

In fact, this was the call of Paul to the Philippian church.

Philippians 1:9-10 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;”

Paul told the same to the Colossians.

Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

And that is precisely what Paul outlines here.

“For through the grace give to me”

PAUL’S APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY

But then he gets to the point.

“I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment”

We call it Christian humility, and it is foundational for the Christian life.

The first beatitude listed by Jesus was, “blessed are the poor in spirit”

We are called to think with “sound judgment”,

That is to think biblically, and that entails humility.

Biblical Humility = seeing yourself as God sees you.

And Paul even outlines that here a little.

“not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think”

Galatians 6:3 “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

1 Corinthians 8:2 “If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;”

God has called you to serve, and as we will see in a moment,

You were divinely fitted for that service,

But do not let that equipping go to your head.

David Allen – “Who is the most important member of your Church?”

Paul wants us to enter this thought with a biblical perspective of humility,

And then he even tells us why.

And so let me show you three things in this first point, to help you understand what it means to have a biblical perspective about your service.

1) UNDERSTAND YOUR SOURCE

“as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

All that you bring to the table did not originate with you,

And God most certainly has the ability to replace you.

1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”

“I keep my resignation letter in my coat pocket…”

“I know this churches budget, you need my giving…”

All that you have came from God,

So don’t get arrogant like you are irreplaceable.

1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

Understand your source.

2) UNDERSTAND YOUR SPECIALITY

(4) “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function”

Now, I know that in itself does not reveal Paul’s complete thought,

But I want you to notice something about that statement.

He is talking about the literally physical body of a human being.

And he says “we have many members”

And then notice what he says.

“and all the members do not have the same function”

Now you know that.

No two members of your body have the exact same function.

(Not even your eyes, ears, or arms…)

If you lost any one part of your body, it would harm you

Because each part has a unique function

That cannot be replaced by another part of the body.

And now that we have spent a little time on humility,

I also want you to realize your specialty.

Psalms 139:14 “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”

God made you absolutely unique and special.

The same can be said for the spiritual gift He placed within you.

1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Did you notice what Peter called your gift?

“special gift”

Now we are going to get into a list of gifts in a moment,

But even in that, they are best seen as basic categories, or colors,

To which God blends special for each individual believer.

Take the gift of prophecy for a moment.

Adrian Rogers – smooth, clear, easy to listen to

John MacArthur – powerful, skilled with the word

Jerry Vines – elegant, dynamic, poetic

Billy Graham – convicting, simple, effective

And the point is that your gift is special.

You may be an ear, and you may see other ears in the body,

But there is not another ear like you in the church,

You were uniquely gifted and purposely placed right here.

AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL SERVICE IS VITALLY IMPORTANT

You see, no one but Jesus ever had all the gifts.

We are all are called in this thing together.

1 Corinthians 12:14-23 “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,”

“all the members do not have the same function”

So don’t get arrogant, understand the source

Don’t get discouraged, understand your specialty

3) UNDERSTAND YOUR SERVICE

(5) “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another,”

What I want you to focus on here is how Paul ends verse 5.

“and individually members one of another.”

DO YOU KNOW WHY GOD GAVE SPIRITUAL GIFTS?

You could say to serve Him…

You could say to glorify Him…

And neither of those answers would be wrong,

For all things given to us are for that purpose.

But there is a more specific answer than that.

THE EDIFICATION OF THE CHURCH

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:24-26 “But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

1 Corinthians 14:26 “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”

Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;”

Now think about that.

Look at the members of your own body.

Who, but you, does your heart serve?

Who, but you, do your lungs serve?

Who is the primary beneficiary of your arms?

Who is the primary beneficiary of your feet?

While they can serve others, the primary purpose is for your body.

And that is the primary purpose of spiritual gifts.

I tell you this so you will understand.

If you take a back seat and fail to use the gifts God has given you,

Then you are crippling the body of Christ.

Furthermore, you are failing “to present your body a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God”

When Paul told you to be a living sacrifice,

His idea was that you would do so by using the gifts God gave you

To edify the body of Christ.

So first think Biblically.

Understand Your Source

Understand Your Specialty

Understand Your Service

Think Biblically

#2 SERVE ACCORDINGLY

Romans 12:6-9

If you understand that you were uniquely gifted for service of the body,

The next step is for you and I to put that knowledge to practice

As a means of worship to God.

This is what Paul had in mind when he told you

To sacrifice your life upon God’s altar.

He intended for you to spend your life doing

What God has divinely and uniquely equipped you to do.

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly;”

Paul is telling you that the way you fulfill that command of verse 1

Is for you to fulfill your divine purpose of service.

And then you will notice that he lists 7 gifts.

BEST SEEN AS CATEGORIES, UNIQUELY DESIGNED FOR YOU.

I can give you an example.

Before God called me to go to Crawford, He had laid a passage of Scripture heavy on my heart.

Ezekiel 3:4-9 “Then He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. "For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. "Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. "Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house."

When they fired me 20 months later, the only charge that was spoken against me was by a deacon who said, “You won’t find a better preacher than Rory Mosley anywhere, he’s just too hard headed.”

And the point is, don’t read this list and try to pick one of the seven

As your gift, for it may not be as simple as that.

You may have a blended form of four of them,

Or a different form of one of them,

The focus here is not on the gift, but in your usage of it.

Remember what he said up in verse 4, “all the members do not have the same function,”

He didn’t say, “all the members do not have the same gift”

That would be true as well,

But the focus here is on how you use what God has given you,

Not on identifying what God has given you.

1) PROPHECY “if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”

The idea here is not of the ability to foretell the future.

Prophecy is simply the act of proclaiming the word of God.

“according to the proportion of [your] faith.”

In other words, God has enlightened you to His word,

He has opened your mind to understand what He said.

SO PREACH WHAT HE SAID.

A person with this gift does not have the luxury

To not say something God has told him,

Or to say something God has not told him.

At Crawford I would say: “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that You’re my God.”

2) SERVICE (7) “if service, in his serving”

The word for “service” is DIAKONIA

It is where we get our word for deacon.

And while a deacon should be the epitome of this gift,

It is not limited to them.

Paul told Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

“ministry” there is the same word.

The idea is that if God has entrusted a place of service to you,

Rather the office of a deacon, or just an occasional opportunity,

Then do it as your act of worship to God.

Being a servant is tough stuff, but that is what it means to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God”

You say, “Well, I don’t know where to serve”

I’ll just say quickly, if your gift is service and you don’t see an opportunity,

Then you are not trying very hard.

My gift is prophecy, and I see opportunities to preach everywhere.

(When I got fired I preached to may dad’s shop hands)

If your gift is service, then worship God by finding a place to serve, and get after it.

3) TEACHING “or he who teaches, in his teaching”

The person who is gifted as a teacher, is gifted by God to understand

And communicate God’s word in an understanding way.

Implies a systematic, and even verse by verse explanation of God’s word.

LET ME ALSO SAY (Your job is teach God’s word, and that may not necessarily be done by following the literature)

That also means, if you are just skating by,

And not studying diligently, and just winging it,

You are revealing that you don’t think much of God.

4) EXHORTATION (8) “or he who exhorts, in his exhortation”

Sometimes translated “encouragement”

It is the same word PARAKALEO that was translated “urge” earlier.

Preachers proclaim God’s word

Teachers explain God’s word

Exhorters call people to obey God’s word

And if this is your gift, and you aren’t doing it,

You are not laying your life upon God’s altar.

5) GIVING “he who gives, with liberality;”

And if that is you, you worship God by giving “with liberality”

It is harder, it is more expensive, but that is your worship of God.

6) LEADERSHIP “he who leads, with diligence”

Sometimes called the gift of administration, but it carries the idea of a person who can cast a vision, and help the church see where it needs to go.

It also implies a person who had better be thick skinned.

America today hates leaders, that is why Paul says that you must do it “with diligence”

You must be committed and convicted.

It won’t be easy, but that is your service to and your worship of God.

7) MERCY “he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Thank God for the people who are gifted with “mercy”

These are the people with bleeding hearts, they can’t help but hurt for other people.

And they are so important to the body.

Whereas prophets can tend to be very black and white in proclaiming God’s truth,

The church desperately also needs merciful people

To help those who are under conviction.

There is a story of great balance here in Acts.

Acts 15:36-39 “After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.”

John Mark needed Paul, but he needed Barnabas too.

Those with mercy.

They are your hospital visitors, and your huggers.

They are the best listeners, and the most compassionate

And if that is you, then do it “with cheerfulness”

WHY?

Because your gift requires that you are going to get dumped on 24/7, and in order to fulfill that role, you are going to have to pick yourself up each morning and prepare to take it for the glory of God.

It is your act of worship, to be a compassionate friend to the one that everyone else has rejected.

You can see, that none of these are easy,

But perhaps you understand what Paul means

By being a living sacrifice.

Think Biblically and Serve Accordingly, this is how to worship God.

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”