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Bro. Otis Fisher
Romans the 12th chapter and the first verse. We're coming down from the mountaintop and a train's going by. All right, we're going to leave the mountaintop of Romans 11 33 through 36. We're now plunging down to the plane, the plane of duty.
And it is plane duty. This is where we all live. We have our being. The first verse, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.
John, what does the word beseech mean? Literally means to beg. Therefore because you're justified, sanctified, glorified, present unto the Lord to place a person or thing at one's disposal. Bodies. Dennis, give me a description of the body.
All right. That which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself. Then the word living, to be fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful, effective. Sacrifice, a sacrifice offered daily as long as life lasts.
The eye to not look at evil. The tongue to utter nothing evil. The hand work no evil. The ear listen to no evil. Now that's the no side. What is the positive side of the hand, Joy? To give alms. What is the positive side of the tongue, Greg?
All right. Dennis, our ears, the positive side would be what? An eyes to look at God. Then it says reasonable service, rational worship. Now where does this start and where is it expressed? Greg, reasonable service, rational worship which springs from the divine soul.
Verse two, and be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Dennis, give me a definition of conformed.
All right, that's a good example. Is it passive or active? Compressed by the world system. You belong to that which you are conformed. All right, that's the word transformed. The world system, you don't be conformed to the world system but be ye transformed.
Now comes the transforming which is the other side of conforming and the Greek word is metamorphic. Greg, what English word do we get from metamorphic? That's right. Metamorphic, to change into another form, to transfigure.
This change comes from within. When it comes from within, what am I speaking of, David? Yes. And Dennis, where did we have an example of this in the Bible? All right, that's true but we had a physical example someplace in the Bible.
That's right. He was resplendent, flashing, luxurious, breathtaking with divine brightness on the Mount of Transfiguration. Renewing done by the indwelling Holy Spirit as we yield to him, he controls our movement, controls our mental process and then we begin to take on the metamorphi as this happens.
Yes, that's right, you do not stand still. Yes, that's right. Yes, yes, that's right. To who is it being proved? You prove to yourself. You don't have to prove it to God. God knows. Now as we, as all of this happens and it happens slowly, we'll stop doing that which we should not do.
How do we do that, Dennis? All right, in Galatians 5 16, somebody turn over to that. Yes. Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The flesh is always lustful. Sometimes, sometimes you just don't know exactly what to do.
What is it you do know, John? That's true and you know you shouldn't do it, but what is given to you that you do know, Russell? Every day you go tomorrow and you know you shouldn't do that. I told you the answer then.
You know what not to do. It never fails, you know what not to do. Now if you're in a quandary about it and you don't know which way or the other, leave it alone until you do know. So if you stop doing that which you know you shouldn't do, then you'll begin doing that which you should do.
Is that right? And you will, by the process of elimination, begin to do that which you are to do. Just stop doing what you should not do. You're doing something all the time, anyhow. Is that true, David?
You're doing something all the time? Absolutely. I want to stop here a minute since David has arrived and ask Dennis a question left over from last week. You thought you was going to escape. Do you have to repent to be saved, Dennis?
That's not what I ask. That's true. That's true. That's true. No. We're having more fun out here than the rest of the class. You do not have to repent to be saved. That'd be you doing something. You see that?
He's not saved. All right. Next question. Let me ask David this. Does God hear sinners? Does God hear sinners for any reason? That's right. In John 9 31, we know that God hearth not sinners. John 9 31.
We know that God hearth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God and do his will, him he hearth. That's right. That's right. Until you're officially his. That's right. Born from above. Because the devil has done a wonderful job.
Yes. The only way they could rationalize that is, God, I've got them ready. Now you save them. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Stop. No. Our own business. It's hard for us because we think of grow that success of business. So we tend to want to take it that way. Thank you, sir. Mark. People with before I get that out, where is it?
Right? Well, God's offering. We don't have to do anything with a hangry, hangry, well, is kind of quiet. Every time fruit right? But you're thank you. You don't worry about thank you. It was our background.
Oh, or many, many people pray prayers salvation. Even when you see them pray, or if we act like it's a little water. So Steve, they bring that anger. Thank you. Part of it bring up that problem. They do only one thing.
Uh, all right. All right. Here. No, no, you just worry about what kind of.
That's the position they always take. Let me ask you another question. That's we're asking questions this morning. What is the difference between God saying amen. And when we say amen wants to answer that.
That's right. Absolutely right. When God says amen, he launches. Did I see a hand over here? When we say amen, we're in agreement. That's right. Several places. But we're in agreement when with him. When that happens.
One more. And Dennis, I pick on you this morning. Makes no difference where you sit. We, we talk a lot about eternity. When I get to eternity, when does eternity start? It starts now. You stick up a hand.
I keep seeing a hand come up over here. That's right. That's right. It begins as he said. It is as he said. And it will always be. Will there be any end to it, David? That's right. Now, can you understand that?
That hand. That's right. All right. Verse three. For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
You have the faith that you're supposed to have. You have the amount of faith that you're supposed to have. In Ephesians 4 and 7, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Now, for I say through the grace given unto me to every one that is among you not to think of himself more highly than you should, not to think of himself more highly than you should. John, in all of this world, whom do you love the most?
That's the truth. We all love ourselves the most. Now, that doesn't mean that David wouldn't protect Charlotte with his life, but he loves his life the most. Now, let me read it again. For I say through the grace given to me every man that is among you should not think of himself more highly than he ought to think.
You should think of others as much as you do yourself. Now, David, what will that do to your life? Then, if I love someone else as much as I do myself, there's nothing that I will not do for them. Is that right?
For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office now your foot cannot see any more than your eye can walk so we being many are one body in Christ and everyone and every one member one of another.
There are many many bodies in this world many bodies with one soul. Is that true? Yes. There are many, many bodies walking around in this world. There are many bodies with one soul one life. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Picture yourself in Christ you are but a member of his body you're not the whole body you're a member of his body you are to exercise the gift you have as that member now John if you are we'll use the analogy here if you are an eye can you pick up something?
You can try to pick it up but you'll drop it that leads me to say that we must absolutely work within the gift that I have not something you have. Having then gifts different according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecy let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith if I am to please God I must work within the boundaries of the gift and the abilities whatever we have we have received of God not for ourself but for the good of the church body the best and most useful man in the world is no better and no worse than the spirit of God makes him each and every day.
How do we determine the thing that we're better at than any of the others? How do you determine? Let's talk about this a moment. Dennis, how do you determine your gift or have you got a gift? Alright, David, should you should you like to do your gift?
Little by little you will slowly gravitate toward that which you like to do. You like to do it the very best. That's your gift. As you grow older you'll find that you like to do certain things and you'll finally find that you can do a certain thing.
This is your gift. Prophecy is not foretelling. It is the declaring that which cannot be known by natural means. What do I mean by that, David? We'll stop here on verse seven. Be sure and be here next week if you possibly can.
Is there anything anyone would like to add or say? Yes. There's a way to talk about people like Tom and John and the fact that we all have the same spirit. That's true. Everybody has the same. So we all have the whole spirit but everybody has the whole spirit the same and how to use that spirit is important.
So back to Tom and John and the nature of the spirit in a lot of ways. So back to Tom and John. The idea is that maybe it's only logical that what a God has to do is by the nature of the spirit. That's the only way he can do it.
Isn't it? Totally logical. It's like Nancy student in her Monday night class said a long time ago. She is in the Christian church and she is saved but it's not because of her church. And after class was over she was talking to me and she said you know I've always known that God was sovereign but I didn't know how sovereign and I'm discovering more ways every day in which he is sovereign.
Just to say the word sovereign is one thing but to understand it and you only understand it little by little well been another good lesson. Russell dismisses please.