Morning Sermon, Anchorage Grace Church, 8.17.08

It is good to be with you this morning. I am very much enjoying coming up here in August and having the same kind of weather I'm accustomed to in December. Since I live in Phoenix, right now it is very unpleasant there.

This is the time of year for us that is your January. In the sense that if it weren't for August, we would be larger than the fifth largest city in the United States. I don't know where we would put anybody.

But Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the U .S. We cram millions of people into the Valley of the Sun. And this time of year, we get humidity. In fact, I did a bicycle ride. I know I don't look like a bicyclist.

But I did a ride a week ago on Saturday, I believe, about 43 miles. And when I came back, I got online and the dew point in Phoenix was five degrees above New Orleans. I've never been to New Orleans. You know, it's a pretty humid place.

And so it can get very, very difficult to do much during August outside. Just like for you, it's because you freeze to death. During January, for us, it's more along the lines of roasting to death. We do have some mornings in Phoenix.

Back in 2003, I remember riding one morning. The low temperature before sunrise was 96 degrees. So you might want to stay here. I don't know. I'd rather put a... There's nothing you can do about the heat.

You can put a jacket on in the cold. I do teach there. I run Alpha Omega Ministries. Rob mentioned our work in doing apologetics, a defense of the faith. As Peter said, we're ready to give a defense, an answer for the hope that lies within us, yet with gentleness and meekness.

And so that has given me the opportunity of engaging in a wide number of debates on a wide number of subjects, most of them theological. But I've also engaged other people like John Shelby Spong and Barry Lynn on the subject of homosexuality.

Those were interesting debates, especially when Barry Lynn tried to sue us to suppress the distribution of the videotapes. That didn't go really well on his particular part. And we've also engaged people like John Dominick Crossan, the co-founder of the Jesus Seminar.

Debates up in Salt Lake City on Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses. And over the past number of years, the Lord has really turned my attention toward the subject of Islam. And so between now and the end of November, I'll be doing seven debates with Islamic apologists.

Four of those debates in the United States, three in California, one at Duke and the other side of the continent, and then three in London, England. And one of those will be televised live. We'll be taking calls and so on and so forth in the London area, which will be quite interesting.

So those are some of the opportunities that I have had. And I know that that study of Islam has certainly impressed upon me the necessity of praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters. We have the freedom this morning to engage in worship without fear of the authorities, without fear of those coming through the doors to take us away, separate us from our loved ones.

But this day, many of our brothers and sisters have met in other lands, and they have done so in secret. They have done so without members of their family there because they are in prison, and we need to remember them.

We need to remember the command in Hebrews 13 .3 that we are to think about, we are to remember those who are in chains as if we were in chains with them. And so I would encourage you to join with me in obeying that biblical command to remember that we are united with those who are suffering by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We would greatly appreciate their prayers, and they certainly greatly appreciate ours. In our world today, there are many sources of persecution. We, of course, have those lands, the communist lands, where Christianity is persecuted.

We also have even Hindus who persecute Christians in the Far East. But surely, the greatest source of Christian persecution today in the world are the Islamic states, and we need to remember those who suffer under that kind of persecution and pray for them.

Turn with me, please, your Bibles to Paul's epistle to the Romans, Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, in the brief time that we have together this morning, I would like to look at a text that is very, very familiar, I think, to all of us.

Many of you here probably haven't memorized, but there's a little bit of a danger sometimes in very familiar texts. They are so familiar to us that we no longer hear them. We know the words, and so we think we know the meaning, but we need to recognize that we have to contemplate upon the truths of the Word of God.

It's very difficult in our society to do that. I think especially the younger generation is very uncomfortable with silence, very uncomfortable with contemplation. And yet, it is something that is very necessary for us to do.

I think that the Lord would have us to do today. We come to the 12th chapter of Romans, and just for a moment, if we look back to give a context to this, we recognize that the Apostle began all the way through the middle of the third chapter in presenting the bad news, the news of God's holiness and man's sinfulness.

And the fact that sinfulness is universal, sinfulness is all pervasive, it touches every aspect of the heart of man. And though we live in an age of great humanism, an age that greatly exalts the capacities of man, the biblical presentation is that while we are indeed created in the image of God, and while that is a great privilege and we need to proclaim that truth, that that image has become deeply marred by the experience of sin, that man is a rebel.

Romans 1, Paul says that man holds down the knowledge of God, suppresses the knowledge of God. It's something that he's actively doing. Men know that the true God exists, and yet they engage in all sorts of activities, both religious and non-religious, to suppress that knowledge.

And so, the sinfulness of sin has been revealed in that section. If you ever wonder about whether man is truly sinful, read Romans 3, 10 -18, and see the searching light that is cast upon the souls of men.

And it is only then, after establishing the universal sinfulness of man, and the just righteousness of God in condemning that sinfulness, that we have the good news presented. So often we err in offering to people a savior before they know their need of a savior.

The apostle does not do this. He begins with the state of man. He begins with the wrath of God. And then, once he introduces the person who stands before the judgment bar of God, no longer wagging his tongue, no longer making excuses, but instead stands before the judgment bar of God, head down, mouth closed, recognizing the authority of God in his own just condemnation, then and only then do we hear about a savior who bears the sins of God's people.

There we read about a savior who saves perfectly. And so then, having introduced what it means to be justified, to be declared righteous by faith, and faith alone, the apostle begins to make application.

He begins to answer objections that are the commonplace objections that he himself had to answer all the time. He knew that there would be those who would say, well, if that's the case, then we should just go out and sin if God is going to save us freely.

But he says, how shall we continue in sin? You may say we should continue in sin, the grace might increase, but how can we continue in sin? Because we've died to sin. And he begins to make application of these great truths.

And I need to emphasize the fact that we need to understand the nature of the gospel. Christian people should spend much time contemplating the doctrinal truths of the gospel. It is that teaching that the New Testament directs us to.

And when you woke up this morning, as a believer, if you did not fear the wrath of God, I ask you the question, why? Why did you not fear the wrath of God? You should be able to explain that. You should be able to do what Paul did and explain how it is that Jesus Christ has died in the place of sinners.

That the punishment of God's wrath fell upon him and his righteousness is imputed to us. And that this is the sole standing we have before God. We should know these things. We should revel in these things.

Because that's how you can awake in the morning and not fear the wrath of God. Not in a presumptuous fashion. But because you know the wrath of God has already been spent in perfection upon the substitute in your place.

That's the basis of your peace with God. And if you have not bowed the knee to Jesus Christ in repentance of your sins and embraced him as Lord, that wrath abides upon you. And that is the Christian message.

And so Paul makes application of these things. And he explains these things and how they impact all of our life. And then finally in the 11th chapter he's reached this crescendo where finally he says in the last words of the 11th chapter.

For from him and through him and unto him are all things. To him be the glory forever and ever. He's looked at the whole scope of salvation. And it's all of God. It's all to his glory. And so instead of just simply saying amen and closing the book.

Now beginning with chapter 12. There comes the practical application. God has not done, you know, God could have just saved us and then transported us out of the world. As soon as anybody got saved, poof, they're gone.

But he doesn't do that. He has a purpose in our living in this world. He has a purpose in our being conformed to the image of Christ as Romans 8 told us. And so now he takes these great truths. And he applies them to the Christian life.

How then shall we live? And the wonderful thing about the Christian scriptures. And my studies of Islam have really emphasized this. One of the toughest things I'm doing. My brother Rob and I were talking about this.

He says pray for me as I study Chinese. I'll pray for you as you study Arabic. I'm learning the Arabic language. My seventh language. And it was easy back in the 20s. You get into your mid 40s and man things just don't work the way they used to.

Including your brain. And so I'm studying Arabic. Because the only way to really deal with Islam is to know the Quran and its original languages. And to be able to read the Hadith and things like that.

And so I'm studying Arabic. And as I study the Quran, I am struck by the massive difference between this work and that of the scriptures. Because as we look at Romans chapter 12 verses 1 through 2 today.

We are going to hear exhortations that apply to every Christian no matter what culture they live in. But these exhortations would not cause you to cease being whatever it is you are. These apply to Greeks.

These apply to Italians. To Germans. Scandinavians. Americans. Brazilians. Chinese. Japanese. It doesn't matter. The message of the word of God applies to every culture. Unlike the message of the Quran.

Which in essence brings its culture with it. And in essence requires us to establish a 7th century Arabic culture. To truly be able to try to follow its precepts. It's a wonderful thing to see how the gospel is not limited by language and geography.

And cultural boundaries. But it is timeless. Because it is God's message. And He is the one who created us. We are created in His image. And He knows how to reveal to us a message. That will always be applicable to us.

Wherever we are. In whatever context we are in. And so Paul now shifts into the practical application. He says, therefore, in light of all this that has come before. Of the great glory of God's accomplishment in the gospel.

I exhort you brethren. By the compassions. The mercies of God. To present. And this is a word used. Come straddle the Old Testament. This is what the Old Testament priest would do. In presenting the sacrifice on the altar.

Now we are the holy priesthood. All believers. And so we are to present our bodies. A living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing. Or acceptable to God. Which is our spiritual service of worship. And in so doing.

We are not to be conformed to this age. To this age. But rather than being conformed. We are to be transformed. Through a particular means. Through the renewing of our minds. And he who is renewed in this way.

Is then able to demonstrate. To prove. To document. The will of God. That which is good. And acceptable or pleasing. And perfect. This is how Paul begins. His exhortation to the Romans. This is what it means to live out.

The gospel. He exhorts us. By the very mercy of God. That has been seen in the gospel. To present our bodies. As living sacrifices. What is a living sacrifice? That's an oxymoron. And it's purposely expressed that way.

Because. Our life is an unusual life. The Christian message is a radical message. We proclaim that the very creator himself. Who made all things in heaven and earth. This world invisible. Has entered into his own creation.

To redeem a peculiar people unto himself. That's a radical message. There are many people in the world that don't believe it. They think it's silly. They think it's inane. It's a radical message. And it's just as radical a message.

As to how we are to live. Remember what the apostle Paul said in Galatians 2. He said I have been crucified with Christ. You didn't know your word Paul. Oh yes I was. I was crucified with Christ. Well but Paul you're still living.

Yes but the life which I now live. I do not live unto myself. I live by faith in the son of God. Who loved me and gave himself for me. We as believers have died. To this world. We have died with Christ.

His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. We have been raised to walk in newness of life. And so we are to view ourselves as living sacrifices. Once something was given as a sacrifice.

Once something was dedicated to that role. That was it. That was the end of the road. No more personal dreams. No more me taking control. I am a living sacrifice. I have died. I now follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that means it is his will for me. And that's all. Radical message. A radical idea. A living sacrifice. But the sacrifice that was given. There are all these rules and regulations. Contained in the Old Testament.

Defined exactly what that sacrifice was to be. You got to admit. Sometime in the past Lord willing you've read through the Bible. I remember the first. You know how I got to read through the Bible the first time?

It was a Jack Chick trap. Now Jack Chick does not like me. Jack Chick thinks I'm a false teacher. Because I don't just use the King James Version of the Bible. But it was a Jack Chick trap that caused me to read through the Bible the first time.

And he told in cartoon story the idea. How would you like to get to heaven? And run into Habakkuk. And Habakkuk says. So. How would you like my book? Some of you are going. There's a book called Habakkuk in the Bible?

I didn't know that. Yes. So that night I read Habakkuk. I wasn't exactly sure what Habakkuk was talking about. But at least I knew if I read Habakkuk the next day in heaven. I'd be able to tell him I read his book.

And so as a 16 year old as I recall. I was very dedicated that year to getting through it for the first time. And when we read through the entirety of the Word of God. We read in those sections in the old testament about all the sacrifices and the rules.

What's an acceptable sacrifice? What isn't? And sometimes it's tough for folks to get through that part. Or skip over a few things. There's a reason why they're there. You see the sacrifice has to be pure and holy and acceptable.

And yes they all point to Jesus Christ. But here's another fulfillment. Because you see if we're a living sacrifice. Notice it says we are to be holy. And we are to be acceptable and pleasing to God. When was the last time you considered the meaning of the word holy?

And the fact that yes we sing it. Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty. Remember Peter says you are to be holy. As I am holy. Here we are to be holy and pleasing to God. That which was holy was that which was set apart to God's service.

You as a believer have been set apart to God's service. Are we holy? Or are we constantly taking control of our lives back and going other directions. Fulfilling our own lusts, our own desires. Rebelling against God's purposes in our lives.

Are we pleasing to God? That's a tough one. I'm preaching to myself this morning as well. As a parent we understand what pleasing means. We know how our children can do things that are pleasing to us.

Or sometimes how they refuse to do so. The word of God has very clearly revealed to us what is pleasing to Him. And the question that we need to ask of ourselves. And we need to take spiritual stock of our lives.

Is am I pleasing to Him? Am I pleasing to Him? Do I have His priorities in mind? Do I look to His word and ask God. What do you want me to be? So that I might reflect Jesus Christ. In all aspects of my life.

Not just Sunday morning. Not just Sunday night. If what we do in this room on Sunday morning does not impact us on Tuesday night. On Thursday morning. Then we are missing the whole point. Because you see God is about conforming us to the image of Christ.

He's about making us like Christ. And that means renewing our minds. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what he says here. He says this offering of ourselves. Is our spiritual service of worship.

The term that is used here is of the highest form of worship. That was given to God at the temple. Here he's drawing from those Old Testament examples. And he's saying this is how we are to live. We have a duty for God to worship Him.

And that worship is not for just a few minutes on Sunday morning. You worship God by the way you treat your husband or your wife. Young people you worship God by the way that you treat your parents. And whether you only give them external obedience.

Or whether you give them obedience in the heart. God knows. And when you give them true obedience. You're worshiping God. Believe it or not you're worshiping God. When you serve Christ at the workplace.

Not as men pleasers. But serving Christ in that place. You actually do your job to His honor and His glory. Even when other people do much less than they need to do. You worship God in the way you respond to tragedies in the world.

In the way you think about what happens in this world. There is a tremendous need in the church today. For every believer to develop purposefully a meaningful Christian world view. To understand what the Bible says about who God is.

And what His purposes are. And who man is. And what our purposes are. So that we can respond to what's going on in our world. In a way that glorifies God. And shows that every aspect of our life. Yes even the way we think.

Is to be under the Lordship of Christ. Now I don't know if you've noticed it. But we're in the middle of a political season. You might have missed it. To me it seems like the longest political season I've ever gone through.

Way too long. And there are all sorts of issues that are being raised. And we as Christians should respond to these issues. In a way that demonstrates we have a truly developed Christian world view. There are certain moral and ethical issues the Bible speaks with clarity to.

And we as believers need to understand why it is that God can say. This is acceptable behavior for human beings and that is not. That's not an opinion. That's because God is our creator. He wrote the rule book.

And when you go against His will you destroy life. Isn't it amazing. I didn't mention this in the previous service. But let me just mention this in passing. Isn't it amazing how many millions and millions and millions of dollars have been spent.

On the subject of smoking. Now I can't stand smoking. I was a department fellow in anatomy and physiology in college. I was a double major in Bible and biology. Minor in Greek. And I got to demonstrate the cadavers.

We had cadavers at our school. Remember Quincy. Maybe you're old enough to remember Quincy. He pulls back the thing and people fall over and stuff like that. We had cadavers. And I actually pulled back the thing and I did this for high school students.

I lost one. But everybody else thought it was very interesting. Anyway. One of the cadavers had died from smoking. Everywhere you cut in that man's lungs was pitch black. It was horrible. I wish I still had Polaroids.

I'd pull them out of restaurants. Someone just lights up. Like that. But I wouldn't. Someone else doesn't like their cheeseburger to smell like a Marlboro. But anyway. How many millions of dollars have been spent?

And we look at smoking and we go, Look, it can lower your life expectancy by a number of years. Do you know what the average lifespan for the married heterosexual man is in the United States? What it is right now is 74.

74. Do you know what the average lifespan for the average homosexual male is in the United States? 53. Do the math. 21 years. Smoking, maybe 2. Homosexuality, 21. It sucks the life out of people. But we can't talk about it.

We can't say a word about it. In fact, if we're not careful in the not-too-distant future, I could be sued or jailed for saying what I just said. Amazing. Oh, we're all concerned about life. Well, then let's talk about life.

Let's talk about the fact that God has created us in a certain way, and when we rebel against the way he's created us, we destroy ourselves. God's word is true. God knows us far better than we know ourselves.

So Paul exhorts us, do not be conformed to this age. Your translation might say world, but it's the literal word for age. It's the age in which we live. It describes this present evil age in comparison with the future age to come.

And this age is an age of rebellion against God. It is an age where man promotes himself, where man exalts himself, places himself in the center of all knowledge. God goes out here. That's not the Christian way.

The Christian way of thinking is God's here. Every fact that is a fact is a fact because God made it that way. And we are to submit to him, to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Do not be conformed to this age.

The term refers to that being pressed down upon something else and taking on its form, its image. And the world is constantly pressing on you, brothers and sisters. From the moment you walk out of this room, the world is going to be trying to press its image upon you.

Through the media, through print, the internet, music, film. The world will seek to make you in its image and turn you into a completely ineffective Christian as a result. And I want to ask you a question.

How much time do you voluntarily give the world in comparison to how much time you voluntarily give God to renew your mind? In comparison to the amount of time that we hear the word of God preached, in comparison to the amount of time that we ourselves are in the word of God, that we ourselves are contemplating the world of God, how much time does the world wear?

If our soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan today were to treat their duties the way we treat the Christian faith, what would our casualties be like? How many of our soldiers going out, going door to door in dangerous places in Iraq spend 30 seconds, 2 minutes in the morning preparing and then just run out the door?

Unarmed, no armor, no plan. And yet, isn't that how so many of us live the Christian life? We don't start out our day thinking about God. Here's some of the challenges I'm going to face today. Here's some of the temptations I'm going to face today.

How can I be a better servant of yours in being prepared for the onslaught of the world? Ever thought of it that way? That's why the Bible uses warfare language in regards to what we're experiencing. And you see, we recognize that if we just sort of start looking like the world, conforming to its image, the attacks get less and less, don't they?

Because there's no reason for the enemy of our souls to attack us in that situation he's already got us. We become pleasing to the world and ourselves rather than to our Lord and Master. Do not be conformed.

Well, what are we supposed to do? All this pressure upon us. Well, the opposite of being conformed is transformed through the renewing of your mind. Renewing. I mentioned that I do some bike riding. And just a few weeks ago, the greatest bike race in the world took place.

Once again, it's called the Tour de France. For three weeks, these men with about three rest days, grand total, ride over 2 ,100 miles through the Alps and the Pyrenees at speeds that I might be able to get to at a full sprint.

And those are their average speeds. You see them at the beginning, you see them three weeks later, and they look like walking skeletons. There's not an ounce of fat left on them. They have to eat 6 ,000, 7 ,000 calories a day just to stay alive.

They have to be renewed. They have to rest. They can't be going out partying each night. They have to be renewed, or they will die. The world, as it's constantly putting pressure upon you, requires that your mind be renewed, your way of thinking be renewed.

You be reminded of old truths. You may have heard these things many times before, but we need to be reminded. I've walked with the Lord for many decades now. The Lord saved me as a young man, and I'm very thankful for that.

I'm a very young person. But one thing I've learned over that time period is that I will learn a lesson from God. I'll think I've got it down just, wow, that was a terrible thing I went through, but I've learned about God's faithfulness.

I've learned this about myself. And then six months later, a year later, guess what? I'm back in the middle of it again. It's amazing how we can remember the things of the world, and the things of God, just right out of the mind.

Discipline. Discipline. Look at how disciplined the Lord Jesus was. In the midst of the busiest schedules, He's in prayer. He knows the Word of God. He was disciplined. It's not a popular word today, unfortunately.

We live in a very indulgent society. I don't believe the Word of God points us toward undisciplined as the means of finding our way of being pleasing to Him. We are to renew our minds. We are to be exposed to the work of the Spirit of God.

We are to be exposed to the Word of God, which changes the way that we think. We should react to tragedies in the world. We should react to things in a way that demonstrates that first and foremost, our minds are being conformed to the image of Christ.

Remember that situation when someone came up to Jesus and they said, Remember the tower fell on those men? That must mean they were really sinful. Jesus' response wasn't, Oh yeah, wasn't that just a terrible tragedy?

Just unfair that those guys got crushed by that tower. What was Jesus' response? Unless you repent, you shall likewise perish. I mean, Jesus made reference to the wrath of God? Yes, He did. All the New Testament writers do.

All the prophets do. But that will make us look a lot different from the world of God. It sure will. It sure will. But God uses His truth to save His people. Be renewed in your mind. And what happens when you're renewed in your mind?

How many times? I can actually remember back to being a young person, believe it or not. And I can remember back to, what was the big thing at the end of your teen years? You're starting to think about marriage and a career.

I need to find God's will. What is God's will? You had people plopping their Bible open, sticking their finger down. What is God's will? And there's all sorts of books out there and all that kind of stuff.

You notice there's God's will right here in verse 2. You can prove what God's will is. But you do so only in and through His working in you. And renewing your mind as you live as a holy, pleasing, living sacrifice to Him.

That's the person who will know God's will. That's the pathway. As your will is conformed to His will, then you find His will. But as we are conformed to the image of the world, that moves us farther and farther away from a knowledge of what His will truly is.

And you see, I'm so thankful that over the years, the church I'm in, I've known some great saints of God. The two elders that preceded me in the eldership in our church have both gone on to be with the Lord.

And both those elderly men had hearts so full of love for Christ. What a light they were to me. What an example they were to me in their lives. And see, they knew what it meant to be a living sacrifice.

They had given their lives in service to Christ. And as a result, they knew what the will of God was. And they could testify from experience that that will of God is good. It is pleasing. It is perfect.

It is complete. But the only person who can say that from their heart, the only person who can say that and really mean it and know it from experience, is that person who is daily being renewed in mind, who is not being conformed to the image of this age.

The person who is walking as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before God. That is the pathway to Christian peace. And so my message to you as believers, you are not immune from the pressures of this age here in Anchorage.

Oh, you may be a long airline flight away from L .A. and Hollywood or all those other places. But the pressures of the world are just as much present here as anywhere else. And the world wants to press you into the form of the ineffective Christian.

The Christian who looks just like everybody else in this age. You will never experience true and lasting peace. The abiding joy of which the scriptures speak. When you give in to those pressures of the world rather than seeking to be renewed in your mind.

The path to true peace as a believer is a path of battle. A constant battle against sin and self with an eye to the glory of God. But if you are here this morning and you have not bowed the knee before Jesus Christ, almost everything I have said this morning has not made any sense to you at all.

The idea of giving up your life in service to someone else. Why on earth should I do that? Well, because of the fact that the wrath of God abides upon sin. And you can make all the excuses you want, but you know in your heart of hearts that you have broken God's law.

God isn't that smiling grandfather in the sky who just simply says, Ah, don't worry about it all as well. He has proven both his wrath and his love upon the cross of Calvary. That over there on the wall is not just a Christian symbol.

If you look at that, you will see the full spectrum of God's attributes. And I say this to Christians as well. If you look at that and all you see is the love of God, you have missed it. What you see on the cross is God's holiness that demands a sacrifice.

What you see on that cross is God's wrath against sin. And against that backdrop, then you can see the tremendous grace and love of God. Because the one who hung upon it was the eternal second person of the Trinity made flesh.

He is the one who provides the sacrifice. Until God by his Spirit brings true conviction into your heart of your sin, my words will be empty to you. But when God by his Spirit brings true conviction to your heart, there is only one place you'll be able to free.

Only one place you'll be able to go to find satisfaction. And that is in a perfect Savior. I call on you today.