A Word about Serving God from Romans 12:1-21

Today I want to share a word about serving God as I comment on Romans 12:1-21.

A basic fact of life is that none of us will live forever.  Thus, comes the question:  who will replace us in our places of service for God? Who will replace Billy Graham?  Who will replace James Dobson? The long-serving pastor of your local church? 

We need not worry about the replacements for these people.  God has already picked them out.  The only question is will they answer the call?  The same question is there for us today as we consider who can serve God.

FIRST, GOD USES PEOPLE OF UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER:

 

In verses 1 and 3, Paul said:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship . . .  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

What is unconditional surrender?  Like skydiving, it is throwing yourself totally into a thing. Like the old joke says, “If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you”  

The early Spanish explorer to America Cortes burned his ships so that his crew would know that there was no going back. 

We need to do this because we can't add anything to God's plan. Like a drowning man should stop fighting and let the lifeguard save him, so should we throw ourselves into God’s arms and surrender to Him.

What areas do we need to surrender to God? 

We need to surrender our bodies: do right. 

We need to surrender our minds: think right. 

We need to surrender our will: decide right.

Our relationship to God is not a buffet line, but a banquet meal. Everything is on our plate in our relationship with God.

NEXT, GOD USES PEOPLE WILLING TO BE CORRECTED:

In verses 2 and 9-10 Paul taught,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect . . .  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

We must be willing to have our attitudes corrected: Arrogance is a distasteful and defeating trait. We all know arrogant people like the fellow who said, “I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.” Paul taught that such people are of little use to God.

We also must be willing to have our world view corrected: The Classic view says that the Creator is truth. The Modern view says that the Creation is truth. The Post-Modern view says that the Creature is truth.

A good illustration of these world views is found in the story of three baseball umpires. 

The first umpire said, “There are balls and strikes and I call them as they are.”

The second umpire said, “There are balls and strikes and I call them as I see them.”

The third umpire said, “There are balls and strikes but they are nothing until I call them.”

 

We need to know that truth is found only in God's revelation to us! God is the truth that we need to find and to cherish. True wisdom is seeing the world through God’s point of view.

Finally, we must be willing to have our relationships corrected:  Our arrogance and our wrong world view damage relationships. Once we get our own spiritual condition sorted out, we can then correct our relationships. We can't do it before we are corrected by God, but must do it after.

Paul tells us what this looks like in verses 9-18,

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK:   

In verse 11 Paul said this,

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Too often we look for the easy way out, like the fellow who said, “Work fascinates me; I can sit and look at it for hours.” And while God empowers us with His Spirit, He also clearly expects us to work. In addition, the word translated as “Serve'” here implies that as we work, we are also honoring and worshipping God.

God expects us to use what He has given us. We may be a “one talent Christian,” but He expects us to employ that talent for His glory and honor and for the blessing of His bride the church

Truth be told, most of the work which is done in the Kingdom isn't spectacular. Little of it is heroic, and the vast majority is more like when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet than when He cleansed the temple. 

Done properly and with the proper attitude, however, our work has two equal characteristics: 

It is diligent, earnest, and well done. It is also fun and rewarding. What's not to like?

FINALLY, GOD USES PEOPLE WHO MINISTER IN HIS NAME:  

In verses 20-21, Paul urges us to love people the way that God does:  

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If we bow our will to God, He will transform us into powerful people. He will make the weak strong and He will make the strong person into an appealing person.

Once God transforms us, then He can use us. We can go in His name and power to serve everyone, even our enemies. We go out with the good in our hearts and lives to overcome evil.

IN CONCLUSION, CONSIDER SOME  PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE THAT SERVED GOD:  

• Moses was a stuttering murderer, who was working as a shepherd on the back side of the desert. 
• Rahab was a harlot. 
• David was a humble shepherd boy.
• Mary was an insignificant, teenage, single mother. 
• Peter was a rough, untutored fisherman. 
• Matthew was a traitorous tax collector. 
• Paul was a bitter, legalistic Pharisee.  

God used all of these, and more. He will use us as well, if we only let Him! 

Thanks for watching. I will be back soon with more words we can consider together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt