Pastor Ralph Douglas West - What A Wonderful Change in My Life | Romans 12:1-2

0:05 Well, this is the day the Lord has made. We rejoice and we are glad in it. What a joy. Thank you, choir, for blessing us this morning and encouraging us and reminding us of who we are in the person of Jesus Christ. While you're standing, take God's word Over the last weeks We've been hearing God speak to us about our relationship with him And our relationship with others Primarily in the life of the church I love the church I hope you love the church I love it since Jesus founded it and gave his life for it. I think we ought to love what he loves.

1:01 Right. Romans 12. verses 1 and 2. What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought Since Jesus came into my heart That's what I'm tagging the text That's the longest title I've ever had In 35 years next Sunday The choir actually is going to preach along with me at the end of the sermon and then you are going to join in if you are in fact in this text. Now if I speak this morning over the next 29 minutes and 13 seconds and you say this does not relate to me I'm going to use a phrase when I say the door of the church is open and then I want you to come forward and then I'm going to show you how verses one and two can be your verses also.

2:18 Now don't shy away from that. Every person here in one way or another has had to respond to that invitation. So what a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came in my heart. Look at verses 1 and 2. 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.

3:11 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and prove what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. This is the word of God. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. The Christian life balances between duty and doctrine. You probably have picked up on your own when you're reading through the letters of the New Testament written primarily by Paul. you see that emphasis on one hand it always begins with doctrine teaching and then ends his writing with duty or practices doctrine and duty duty and doctrine are always together they're never separate And so the Christian faith is determined by those two teachings or emphasis, doctrine and duty, and how we will live that out in the community called the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

4:45 It's individual on one hand, it's communal and corporal on the other hand. You've probably already recognized that much of what we do as Christians involves so many other people and so many other things. Well, in verses one and two, and I'll rest my emphasis today on verse two, and for those of you that say, but I want to know more about verse one, then I preached a whole sermon on it and you can go over and ask Natasha for the teaching of Romans 12 verse 1.

5:24 Verse 1 and 2, here's the word to remember, relationship. That's a big word. It's the theology of relationship. God's talk about relationship. how we relate upward to God, outward to man. So it's an eternal external expression of relationship.

5:52 Listen how Paul describes it. We've read it together, but I want you to hear it now. And you may want to take your Bible and follow along so that you can make notations and hear what the scripture is saying to us. Therefore. Now, you know what therefore is therefore. But therefore, in the writing of Paul, actually reaches back not to just something to say, oh, grammatically, what went before. when Paul says therefore in verse 1 of chapter 12, he's going back to chapter 3 where he speaks about therefore and then he talks about condemnation.

6:48 Therefore, chapter 5, 1, Romans, when he talks to us about justification. Therefore Romans 8 1 as he speaks to us about our redemption or our or should we say not to be condemned No let there be no condemnation And here chapter 12 1 therefore for our presentation we are to present ourselves our bodies I'm talking about like you who's sitting in that seat Before the presence of God Your whole self And so when we do that We have a right relationship Look at this now Relationship with God When it's right Then relationships with others Will be right You'll never have a right relationship with others until you have first a right relationship with God.

7:58 It's just created that way. And it may fare ever so well, but there's always something meaningful and purposeful that's missing out of it. So that's verse one in summation. So now that I have a right relationship with God based on 11 chapters that Paul has written, You say, how do I know that? It's in chapter 1, verse 17, because in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. Right living is revealed in what we read. Now that I've gotten that right and I've presented myself, there's some words that are coming to me. Verse two. And the first word is a word of mandate. And then in that same mandate is the word of meaning.

8:56 The word of mandate is be not. You looking, but you're supposed to be reading this in the scripture. This is why so many people leave churches talking about I didn't learn anything. You learn by using your Bible So let me do it again Be not Conformed That's one fourth of us So you got those gadgets Download the app And go to Romans 12 and 2 Because if you hear this this morning This will so change your life That you'll never walk through the door of this church Ever the same if you get this teaching tucked in your heart. I see you don't believe it yet.

9:52 You'll see in a few minutes. So the mandate is, is be not conformed. The prefix con is with. And so Paul is saying, don't be with. Don't get with. Don't be with. And so this is the mandate, do not conform. Don't conform J.B. Phillips writes the finest translation of this And Williams also And this is what it says Hear this Don't let the world Squeeze you Into its mold So be not conformed to the patterns. This is the meaning of the mandate of this world.

10:49 So we're not to be conformed, get within the squeeze of the pattern of the world, the fashions of the world. I'm not talking about fashion now in terms of what you wear, what threads you got on. But the fashions of idea, the fashions of philosophy, the fashions of ideology, the fashions of the world. because if you have verse one presented your body in a particular way, then people should see in your presentation that is something so different that they never mistake you to be part of the pattern of the world.

11:37 And so another way that Paul would say this, don't be no chameleon. because millions of fascinating little animals, little lizards. There are over 202 species of them. You can find them all over the place. And they know how to adapt by hue depending on their environment.

12:03 Sometimes they're crimson red because of the backdrop maybe of some flower. Or they turn emerald green because of the forest that they're in. Or they look like wood because they attach themselves to the bark of the branch of a tree. And you're never able to distinguish the chameleon because the chameleon blends in with the environment. So when the Christian does not present himself or herself to God as a living sacrifice, no one is able to identify you because whatever pattern comes along, you just adopt by hue and brightness and color to that environment.

13:02 I've always wondered what would happen if you put a chameleon on a piece of plaid. It'll probably just blow up. Well, I'll say this, our culture is like a plaid and a lot of believers are so indistinguishable, they're just blowing up right before our eyes. So be not conformed to the pattern of this world. don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. It's the picture of a sculpture. You've seen a piece of fine art, it doesn't just pop out anywhere, it begins with the imagination of the artist. The artist makes sketches. Some years ago, I was in Italy Italy and had gone over to see Radon's The Thinker, the poet, the philosopher, The Thinker.

14:05 And I was arrested by how many sketches he sketched before he started drawing The Thinker out. literally thousands of sketches and little models where he had cast pliable raw material inside a factured mold so that the material would take the shape of what he wanted to project.

14:40 I'll never forget standing there looking at that thinking of the size of the mold that it would take an amount of raw material to put that huge statue in to get what he got. But more than that, I said, my goodness, that is a picture of exactly what the scripture says. Don't let the world squeeze you in its mold that it has a mold that has been cast that puts you in that if you're not careful, You can call yourself Christian And people not be able to identify One characteristic about you That says that you are Christian I don't know, they used to sing a song when we were growing up, they would know that you're Christian by your love.

15:36 So the first thing is, is the mandate, be not what? Conformed. To the patterns of the world. West translation, don't be no chameleon. Don't do that. Now let's go a little further now because of what's about to take place. So that if you're not conformed, something needs to be happening beneath the skin.

16:08 Underneath the skin, where God is doing his work. So be not conformed to the patterns of the world But be transformed There you go, get involved in it Transform, you feel better already just saying it yourself You nudge and not saying I knew that's what was coming next And they say how do you know? You say, because it's right here in the text. but be transformed. Now that's the mandate. So if con is with, then trans is across. So when you take your oceanic voyage cross, transatlantic, trans-Pacific, you're going across.

17:14 So there's something that is so different from where you're going compared to what you are leaving. I'm leaving a life that was antithetical to God that kept me out of a right relationship with him and thus a right relationship with others. And now that I've done that, it's because I'm not conformed, but I'm being transformed. I heard what you said. I saw it on your lips. You said, that sounds just like the word in Matthew 17. And you're right.

18:04 Transfiguration or transfigure. You know the word metamorphosis. It is something that changes. And it really changes. Science shows us that. Children know it. Tadpole frog. Caterpillar Butterfly If God can transform A bug How much more can he change A believer So but be transformed, metamorphosed. And the disciples saw that that day on the peak of Mount Tabor when Jesus was standing there looking like a human light show.

19:10 Brilliantly dazzling on top of a mountain where it looked like his robe had been bleached white. Peter got so happy he said I ain't leaving here and Jesus says you can't stay here the work is in the field transfiguration but you've seen that word in another place when Moses had gone up to talk to God 40 days 40 nights in prayer and when he came back he was dazzling so that when the people looked at him, the residue of his relationship with God started falling on them. I like when church gets like that, that people see you and they say, you must have been to church.

20:02 And you say, how do you know? You say, they say, because church is all over you. One more place. chapters 7 and 8 Stephen and Stephen is a deacon testifying of who Jesus is Paul is on the threshold of conversion and when Stephen was stoned to death and died, it says, the scripture says, he was full of the Holy Spirit and his face shined like an angel. Same word, transfigured.

20:56 And I give you a clue when you're reading Paul. notice how many times in all of Paul's writing he's always talking about some light some revelation some illumination because remember in chapter 9 of Acts when he's converted and the light knocks him down and he said my lord my god he's not saying oh what a great light he puts a name to it oh lord my god he recognized in that moment that was the same light that was shining in stephen and for the rest of his ministry he's always talking about the light that shined in the face of jesus christ he's always talking about the comparisons of the world of darkness compared to the world of light because he knew that that light had a name and that was the resurrected name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

21:55 And so in the transfiguration, the transformation, the metamorphosis, there is a change that takes place in us. And that's when we start saying, oh, what a wonderful change has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart. I can show it to you. There are things that you thought in your life, habits that you could never break. There were things that you never thought you could live without. And one day you wake up and look in the rear view mirror and you said, I can't even remember the last time I even thought about that. It's because when God begins to change you underneath the skin, it shows up on the outside. For those of you that are new in Christ and new in the scripture, I'm making the references so that you'll be able to read them.

22:56 Jesus is preaching a sermon. It's called the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is chapters 5, 6, and 7 in the Gospel of Matthew. And the biggest section of the Sermon on the Mount has to do with anxiety. worry don't worry and in that Jesus uses this illustration he says consider the lily of the field how they grow he said they just grow he says Solomon who was the king son of David in all of his splendor robe regalia does not compare to the glory of that little Lily Now this is not a pampered Hot house lily This is just a lily that grows On the side of the road Let me say it one more time Stay with me now I'm trying to help you He says Solomon in all of his Glory Do you know how much they valued About 20 years ago If you could rebuild Solomon's temple Do you know the value that was attached to it?

24:23 80 billion dollars. How you like that Jerry? 80 billion. So the people knew what Jesus was exaggerating when he said it. It was a hyperbole. He says now Solomon in all his glory. Horses, chariots, kingdom. Doesn't compare to this lily. What he was saying is. Solomon is registered and measured. By what you see.

25:01 His glory. You go to the closet and put it on. But that flower. It grows underneath the soil. And he says and when God transforms you. You don't have to be like other people have the most expensive this and the most expensive that. You can just walk out as you are because what's on the inside of you is greater than that on the outside of you. I'm almost done now. So be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Because we live in a world where the enemy's goal is to capture your mind. He understands how it all works.

25:58 What you believe affects how you behave. Actions are determined by attitude. And so if he can get the mind, he got the control center of your life. and that's the reason why we want to make sure that when it's time to surrender we surrender to the one who ought to be in control of our life by the renewing of your mind and people see the expression on your life

26:34 Abraham Lincoln was asked to elevate a person in his cabinet. And his response was to the request, I don't like the way he looked.

26:56 And the people that was asking him to, you know, make the elevation said, that's no fault of his own. He can't help that. And Lincoln said any man over 40 is responsible for how he look. See you looking on the surface Lincoln had it right on that one That is it comes a time That you need to know where to put the emphasis Of your life It ain't what you pull out the closet It's what's inside the cloak of your heart transform that people ought to look and say you look different when I was growing up in the church, that were great traditions.

27:52 I regret that so many things have happened to move us away from great traditions of the church. Things that you knew, this ain't got nothing to do with old school, new school. I hear that foolishness. Makes me almost want to throw up when I hear it. I heard some clown talking about, this is a old school gospel for a new school church. I said, what kind of stupidity is that? And this ain't got nothing to do with me being old and mean in my old age. Truth is just truth But growing up You had saints Now saints didn't mean they had wings Usually somebody of a certain age And they could look at you and they'll say You look like you got the mark on you That always scared me I almost said what it scared out of me But it always scared me I lived long enough to get an idea Of what they were getting to It didn't mean you had a halo over your head You can sense In people's conversation That is their lifestyle When they have been With God That's what it says That's what he meant when he says Be transformed by the renewing of your mind When you go to the Alamo The next time you go out one of the exits Look for John Butler Boehm's name.

29:26 He hangs on the wall. It's a beautiful portrait of John Butler Boehm. And then under it says this is not a portrait of Major John Butler Boehm. This is his nephew. Because we couldn't find a picture of the major. But we wanted to hang the nephew because he has such a family resemblance that when you see him, you have an idea of what the major looks like. we don't have no picture Jesus but you ought to look so much like him that when they see you they got an idea of what he looks like I gotta wrap it up I got one minute and ten seconds left how then do I change my mind how does my mind change I'm glad you asked.

30:29 Same author, different letter, Philippians 4. Just one verse. Paul says, now you want your mind to change that things that you need to think on. For instance, when you get to Colossians 3, the scripture says, set your affections on things above and not on things on earth. Okay, come on with me now. Because I'm trying to help you now, right now. You can have all of the relationships with people you want. Jobs and money. But if you don't get your relationship with God right, all other relationships are in jeopardy. I'm in the same place I started.

31:27 So how do I transform my mind? Just one line that Paul uses. In Philippians 4, you there? Verse 8, you want to read it together? Let's just read verse 8 together. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, how about this? What do you do? Think about these things. And so as you think of high things, it begins to reshape your thinking. You remember the old IBM computers? When I did my doctoral study, I was laughing about this. I used floppy disk.

32:26 That wasn't that long ago You were around during that time Floppy disk And I remember at the same time It changed to a zip drive We thought that was the greatest thing in the world Now if somebody Mention either one of them It's all in the clouds now I know that much But in those floppy disk days that was a term that they used that they didn't want garbage in the computer. They said, oh, garbage in, garbage out. Garbage in, garbage out. Now if IBM knew what garbage in could do to the brain of a computer, how much more should we be cautious of what we put in the spirit of our own life?

33:26 And so now our goal is to say there's a whole lot of garbage that's come with the pattern of the world. A lot of garbage that have come but on today I ain't taking no garbage out with me. Garbage in, garbage out. If you confess your sins he is faithful and just to get the garbage out and cleanse you under all unrighteousness. I'm done now. My time is up. But can I do one last thing? One last thing. I've said my emphasis has been on verse two and it has. But allow me now, I told them at eight o'clock, I just love this, when the preacher used to say this. These are these beautiful idioms that I wish we could return to.

34:25 Because I have to explain it to you, but growing up, we knew what it meant. The preacher did all that preaching, and they said, now, let me back up into this text. Because notice the last words, and I'm done with this, in verse two. He says, then you'll be able to test and to prove what God's will is so that you will experience God's perfect will. And I already hear what some of you said because I used to be dumb like that too. That I had willpower to overcome certain things. I used to lay it out eloquently And the church would stand up Because they identified and said There are some things I'm just not going to do Now that I live longer I put everything on the table I don't care how you look upside my head And try to smirk at me I'm trying to help you with something The day that you get so arrogant That you think that you have power enough to overcome sin that is in front of you is the day that the enemy has already gotten control of you.

35:52 And that's why Paul says when you present yourself to God, don't present part of yourself, three-fourths of yourself, the self that you think you got under control. He said, climb up on that altar and lay out on that altar and present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Let me close now. Let me close. Am I going too long? I'm not wondering because I saw people getting up leaving. I said, my God, what's more important than this this morning?

36:37 Here the last thing. His will. And how we get it. Now I'm backing up in the verse one, living sacrifice. Two things and I'm done. Number one, Isaac is commanded, or Moses, or rather God tells Abraham, take Isaac, your son, Genesis 22, and put him on the altar. The first mistake people make in reading that, because all of the pictures we saw, we just assume that Isaac is 10, 11, 12 years old. Isaac was a grown 17, 18, 19 up to 21 years old So he knows what's going on Which makes the statement More profound Dad I'm the answer to your prayer Mama was buried God opened mama's womb When y'all was old And wasn't supposed to have no children Now that I am the gift we going up to the mountain to make a sacrifice and I know how this works because you taught me how sacrificial systems work.

37:57 You can't sacrifice without having an offering. So I see the knife and I see the rope and I see the wood and I see what it takes to make a fire up but where is the lamb? and Abraham says, Ike the Lord will provide. And when it's time to offer up, Isaac climbs up on the altar as a living sacrifice.