Learning to Serve in the Church — Stephen Kaung

The Five Responsibilities of New Believers

There are five things that he must do immediately after he become to know the Lord. First, he must see a vision. What is the will of God. Second, he must learn to live a new life. To know something about this life that he possess now.

That his life can grow in the spirit. He also have to have a share in the gospel. And he must know God's word. And there is one more matter that we would like to share this afternoon. He must learn to serve in the church.

Reading Romans 12 Together

So shall we now turn to Romans 12. And we will read the entire chapter. We are so thankful that in Chinese Bibles we have one version. Even though there is a revised version, but most of us we share, we use the same version.

So you can read together. But in English we have some difficulty. Because we have many versions. So we cannot read together. So if you read in English, you read it silently to yourself. We will read the Chinese together.

We don't read too fast or too slow. We read as one. Romans 12, we will read from the first verse. So brothers, I advise you with the compassion of God.

To put your body on the line as a living sacrifice. It is holy, it is the joy of God. It is reasonable for you to do so. Do not laugh at this world. As long as you listen to the words of God. I ask you to check what is the pure and holy will of God.

The grace of God. I say to you personally. Do not look at yourself as too high. You have to look at the size of the heart that God has given to you. Just as we have many things in our lives Things are not all the same.

We have many people who have become friends in the Christian life. It is the same with each other. What we have received will be different. I say to you, just as to the degree of faith. I say to you, what I teach is professional.

What I teach is professional. I say to you, what I advise is professional. What I say is honest. What I say is reasonable. Young people. Loving people can not be false. Love brothers must force each other to retreat.

Married people must force each other to retreat. The reason is not to be lazy. You have to keep your heart warm. You have to live a long life. You have to rejoice in death. You have to endure the difficulties.

You have to help those who have fallen. You have to help those who are in need. You have to be always generous. I say to you, you have to bless those who can not be helped. You have to be with those who are happy and sad.

You have to be with each other. You have to reach your goal. You have to help those who are in need. You have to be smart. You have to be a good person. You have to do your best to help others. You have to be kind to others.

You have to listen to people. You have to be kind to others. So you will succeed. You have to be in a good mood. You have to be kind to everyone.

You have to cherish your life. We are thanking you.

We can gather in your presence.

We thank you that we can read your word, and now we ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your word. We pray that you will speak your word to our heart, and your work in our lives may be accomplished. We trust your word.

We trust your Holy Spirit, and we want you to glorify yourself in the name of Jesus. After one who came to know the Lord, immediately he must learn to serve in the church. If after one who is saved, if he fails to serve in the church immediately, if he will serve later, he will have some difficulty.

Redemption's Purpose Is Service to God

And more than that, he has already wasted some very precious time. So we hope every young person, after you come to know the Lord, you must learn to serve immediately in your church. When the Lord sent Moses to Egypt, and Moses said to Pharaoh, God said, let my people go, that they may serve me.

So we know when God delivered Israelites, set them free, not that after they were liberated they can do as they wish. Formerly in Egypt they were slaves, and now they are liberated. And now they can live their own lives.

No. God said, let my people go, that they might serve me. So we know after we have obtained grace, the purpose of redemption is so that we may serve our God. The aim of one's life on this earth is to serve God and to worship Him.

So when the Lord's people were brought to Mount Sinai, and God revealed to them the purpose of their redemption. God told them, He said, if you obey my commandments, and if you will keep my covenant, and among the people you will be in my sole possession.

All the whole earth is mine. And to me you will be a kingdom of priests. So we know, after we have been redeemed, that we may turn ourselves to God, and to His peculiar people, and to be a kingdom of priests to Him.

What is priest? Now I am sure we all know. Priests are those who have been set apart. They were set apart for the purpose of serving God. So all of us who have been saved, we have been set apart by God.

And we are all set apart for the purpose of serving the living God. When we come to the book of Romans, we know from Romans 1 to 11, we can see the multitude of God's mercy and grace. And in Romans 1, Paul told us, Romans 12 verse 1, he said, I urge you therefore brethren, by the mercy of God I urge you.

What are God's mercy? The mercy He referred to, referred to chapter 1 through 11. And we saw how previously we were in sin. But because the blood of Lord Jesus, He washed away sins all our sins. No matter how much we have sinned, no matter how deep our sin is, the blood of Jesus washes all our sins.

Not only He washed our sins, even this person, the sinner, and He took this sinner to the cross and crucified with him there. Not only He removed the old man, but He also has given us His very new life.

And also He has given us the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit bears in our witness that we are the children of God. He not only justified us, He also sanctified us. And He also wants to glorify us. Previously we were all Gentiles.

We are the outcasts. By the sovereign arrangement of God. And He brought the nation, the Gentiles and the Jews together. In Christ. In Christ they become one. They are neither Jew or Gentile. So today we will say it is the sovereign choosing of God.

Before creation. In Christ Jesus, He has already chosen us.

Before even World War. And before our parents were born. Even before our ancestors were born. Even before Adam.

Even before the creation of heaven and earth. But before the creation. In His beloved Son. He has already chosen us. This is a mystery. This is a glorious mystery. Because He is God. Back in time. And when the Gospel comes to us.

And then we can believe this Gospel. When we believe with our heart. We can test them out. Then we become a good person and praise God. So we can see the way of God is most marvelous. All things are of Him.

All things are through Him.

And all things are unto Him. And He is forever to be praised. This is Romans 1 to 11.

This is what we see from Romans 1 to Romans 11. These are the manifold mercies of God. And all of us, we are the recipients of these manifold mercies of God. And after we receive such mercy. And what should be our response?

It tells us here. Therefore brethren. I urge you by the mercies of God. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. It is acceptable. It is holy. It is pleasing to God. And if you offer such a sacrifice.

Consecration as a Living Sacrifice

It is acceptable to God as a living. It is a service of worship. When I newly believed in the Lord. At that time I attended a retreat. I want to be saved. And I was seeking and hoping to be saved. And I wonder why the other people seems to be.

They get saved so easily. But I have such a difficult time. Because I was brought up in a Christian home. My father is a minister. And in our family in the evening we have our family altar. So I am quite familiar with the Bible.

I know some truth. But I was not a saved person. So I went to this summer retreat. The purpose for going is that I want to be saved. But when I was at the meeting. There is a meeting in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening.

I attended all the meetings. So day after day I was still not saved. Praise God. When I come to an end of myself. It is at that very afternoon. God show His mercy to me. At the last day of this retreat.

According to the custom in those days. Most likely they are still doing the same thing. And the minister was preaching. And now you are saved. Now you have to consecrate yourself. You must offer yourself.

To preach. So at the platform there is a big map of China. Hang there. And the minister said if you really love the Lord. You must give yourself. You must offer yourself to be a minister. You can choose where you want to go.

You come to the platform. And put your finger. Wherever you put your finger. At that time I was only 15 years old. I was newly saved. After seeking so many years. Now I am saved. I am so happy. And I was very young.

So I was thinking. I want to go to the furthest point. Show that I love the Lord. So I went to the platform. So I put my finger on Mongolia. Because in the Chinese concept. Mongolia is the furthest part of China.

I want to offer myself. And go to Mongolia to preach. Now today you are laughing at me. But that day I was very serious. Indeed I offered myself. I determined to go to Mongolia. Since that day I spent one whole year.

I gathered all the books about Mongolia. Because I want to go there. After I graduated from high school. I don't want to go to college. So if I go to college for a whole year. It is just wasting of my time.

I want to go to Mongolia to preach. So I choose a Bible school. I want to go to Bible school. Then I can go and there and preach. After this day I have never been to Mongolia. Because God's way is higher than man's way.

God's way is higher than man's way. But at that moment there was one major overlook mistake. Because the minister he was preaching wrong. And I heard it wrong. I assume to constitute yourself is to preach.

So if you don't want to be a preacher. You don't need consecration. So if you don't want to be a minister. You can live for yourself. But you cannot live for yourself. If you become a preacher. That is a wrong conception.

The Bible says. Therefore brethren. Therefore apostles. Therefore apostles. You have to offer your body as a living sacrifice. So all the prophets. You must offer your body as a sacrifice. So all those who preach the gospel.

You offer your body as a sacrifice. All the teachers and pastors. You must offer your body as a living sacrifice. But the Bible says brethren. Therefore who are the brethren? All those who are saved by grace.

They are brethren. I said it before. They are female brethren. And they are male brethren. Because the life we have is the life of the son. One time brother me told another brother. He told the brethren.

And that brother answered. You want me to go and tell the female brethren or male brethren? But he knows what he means by brethren. It includes brothers and sisters. So brothers and sisters. You cannot get away from it.

You must also offer your body as a living sacrifice.

Everyone who are saved. Who are saved by grace.

Those who have obtained mercies from God. We must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Why it puts here the body? Because this body represents our whole life. My whole life. It represents our whole life on this earth.

It represents all faces, aspects of one's life. In other words. After we obtain God's mercy. Then we cannot hold ourselves back. Because the love of Christ will restrain, constrain us. And when we think about when one dies for all men.

And all have died. So those who are alive we cannot live no longer for ourselves. We must live for the one who died for us. This is what it means by offering the body. In the old testament. When one is moved within.

He offers a goat or a sheep. If he is poor he will offer a pigeon. And he brought this animal before the altar. And slaughtered. And put it on top of the altar. And the whole offering is totally consumed.

And the whole offering was consumed until it becomes ashes. This is the food of God. This is the offering of praising. But in the new testament. Praise God. God does not want us to offer a lamb or a cow.

Or a pigeon or a sparrow. God wants us to give of ourselves. Offer ourselves up to him. He wants us to put ourselves on the altar. And to be a living sacrifice. God does not want to kill us. He wants us to be a living sacrifice.

It means. From this moment on. When I live. I no longer live for myself. Now I live. I live for you. Today we thought of a gift or consecration. Is to do something for God. But the most fundamental principle of sacrifice.

Is simply giving of yourself. To allow God to do the work he wants to do in you. Since he has done a work in you. And therefore you can serve him. And there will be a service unto him. Consecration means you give yourself to him.

Put yourself in his hands. And allow him to. Manage you. Allow him to control you. And to give him the opportunity to do the work he wants to do in you. So that you may serve his will. So the bible says.

So you must offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Everyone who believes in the law. The moment we say we believe in the law. We must consecrate ourselves to the law. None of us can hold ourselves back from God.

Because you do not belong to yourself. Because the law has purchased you. With a price. So we say. So we say consecration is the first spiritual experience of a believer. If you have not had the experience of consecration.

You have not began your spiritual life. So there are many Christians as we look at them today. They are merely just believing in the law. There is not a going on. There is no growth. And the key to this problem is that they have not consecrated themselves.

But some may say. I have consecrated myself. But your consecration is not thorough. Because you did not present your body as a living sacrifice. Or you consecrate a part of you. It is not your whole person.

There is a story this way. If a person believes in the law. And after you say you will be baptized. So when the person. When he was being baptized. Now when he baptized he put the whole person into the water.

So when they were putting him into the water. He stick his hand out. He refused to have his hand go under the water. Why? Because he wants to do something with his own hand. He will not allow to be immersed.

So sometimes our consecration is just like that. Yes. In the same way you are consecrating yourself. But it is not a total consecration. It is not a consecration of all of you. Like Mrs. Pin Lewis. And when he consecrated herself.

How did she put it? She said. I take everything that belongs to me. And what I am. And also what I will be. I offer everything up to you. This is really what we mean by offering the body as a living sacrifice.

Baba says. This is holy. Are we seeking holiness? This is holy. This is acceptable in his life. Are we all seeking to be acceptable to him? Don't we know what is acceptable to him? How can we be acceptable in his life?

The point is very simple. When you offer yourself as a living sacrifice. That is acceptable to God. And this is a reasonable service. So in the original it has two ways of putting it. So one conversion says this is reasonable.

That is rational. Reasonable is. Reasonable service. This is a reasonable service. The other translation is spiritual worship. Spiritual worship. So we cannot separate spiritual service and spiritual worship.

So when we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Then it begins our spiritual worship. So we offer our body as a living sacrifice. Then our reasonable service begins. Another words. If a person here is not a concentrated person.

He has not began the life of worship. And he has not began a life of service.

So here we see.

We must allow all God's mercy. Allow the mercy to urge us to offer ourselves up to him. It is our response to all God's mercy. This is consecration. We offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice. This is the beginning of our service.

Renewal of the Mind and Knowing God's Will

Why? Because. Even though after we have been saved. We have a new life within. But strangely enough. But our mind is still an old mind. What does it mean to be born again? Born again is a story that is taking place in our inner spirit.

The Bible says we were dead and sinned and tested. Our spirit was dead. It is separated from God. So after we believe in our Jesus. And the Holy Spirit quickens our dead spirit. And given us a new spirit.

And the spirit dwells in our spirit. So in our spirit we have a new life. But according to the Scriptures.

After we have been saved. Our thought or mind. Have not been renewed.

True. It is true. Repentance is the change of mind. But this change of mind is one. It is not a continuous thing. So after we believe in the Lord. We often see. A Christian. He has a new life. But he still has an old mind.

The way he looks at things. The way he evaluates things. It is still using his old mind. Before he was saved. What he considered as important. Maybe still important to him. Before he was saved. The way he looks at things.

And the way he looks at things is still the same. You know when we live on this earth. How we think. Determines our conduct. Our thought life. Determines our behavior. Even after we are saved. So we often find Christians.

Very much like the people of the world. Even though inwardly he has the life of Christ. And a saved person. He does not have the life of Christ. But apart from that. There is no difference. And he was still conforming to the world.

And he still out worldly. What the world likes he likes.

And what the world is seeking he seeks. In the original. In the word.

And do not conform to this world. And in that word. This world is thy mold. You put yourself. You do not have to squeeze yourself into that mold. You do not squeeze yourself into that mold. If you put yourself into that mold.

You come out that mold. The Lord has delivered us out of the world. We are bigger in the world. And allow yourself to be squeezed into the mold of the world. Put it more in a plain way. Do not be fashionable.

Do not conform to the world. This world means the age. Do not follow the current of the world. The world has a current. Have you seen a rain? A fish. If the fish is alive. And the fish will swim upstream.

Then what was the flow with the current? Only fish will follow with the current. So what does this mean? The people of the world have found the current of the other streams. Because there is no life in them.

But we who believe. We have life. And we can swim against the current. This is the grace God has given to us. But. Because our minds have not been renewed. What the world seems important is important to us.

So we are still very fashionable. And we still squeeze into this mold of the world. So often time we tell young people. Now after you believe in the Lord. You cannot conform to the world. What the people of the world do you cannot do.

What the people of the world love you cannot love. So what is the world? They put it in the theater. Give an illustration. And the people of the world they go to theater. So you go to theater. There is no separation.

I can share my own experience. Before I was saved I liked to go to theater. If it is not by the Lord's mercy. I may become even a star. A movie star. So whenever the newspaper comes. I always look at the theaters.

They ask about the movie theater. I am a minister's son. On the Lord's day I dare not go to movie house. And I did it once. But on Lord's day I dare not go to theater. So Saturday I go to the movie theater.

I like to see movies. But after I was saved. I was told that after you have saved a Christian you should not go to theater. I will not listen. Bad movies don't go. But there are good movies you can go.

So I still want to go. Yes I go. Somehow there is a easiness within. But I bow my head and I go to the theater. I have a desire within me. I still want to go. So later I feel very uneasy. It is not appropriate to a Christian's conduct.

So I determined myself. I will not go. But I dare not to say it. So if I say it. If I go later. I will be in trouble. So for several months I did not go to the movie theater. So I feel very lucky. I was victorious.

But unfortunately. There is a religious film in town. And also I was given free ticket. So there is a conflict within me. It is a shame to sacrifice this ticket. This is a religious movie. Why cannot I go?

So I went. I was sitting there for two hours. I was not looking at the movies. Inside. I had a conflict. I wish that movie would come to an end. When it comes to an end. I can get away. From that day onward.

I never went back. Yes. I went back to theater. To preach the gospel. We used the facility for gospel preaching. But I never go to the theater. To see a movie. Because there is no love within. There is no desire.

The Lord removed that desire from me. I remember my aunt told me. You are young. Why don't you go to some of the amusement park? I will give you money. You go. I will go. I will give you money. So I don't know how to reply.

But my heart. You don't know. Inside of me. More joy in my heart. After our minds have been renewed. Dear brothers and sisters. Do not conform to this world. But be transformed by renewing of your thoughts.

But you may prove what the will of God is. And what is good, acceptable and perfect.

Here are two things.

One is the world. And the other is God's will. We who believe. We must obey God's will. We should not conform to this world. We who believe. Yes, we must live a life doing God's will. We must not live a life that is fashionable, conforming to the world.

But young people have difficulty. Because there is a desire within. Because their minds have not been renewed. So if this way, you cannot force it from without. I remember one time in Albuquerque. In a brother's home.

And we were sitting there and have our conversation. And on the table there is a bowl of candy. And there was a little child. And he was circling around the room. And as he circled, the circle gets smaller and smaller.

And he circled to that table there. And he put the candy and put it in his mouth. And he was so cold the other way. And he came back and circled again. And a couple of times. So we were all looking at the child.

And he was a bit embarrassed. So that when he turned around and when he came to the table. And he put a piece of candy. And he put it in his mouth and he said it to the boy. He said, I know I should not eat it.

But I want to eat it. Today we treat our young brothers and sisters. We say now you should not conform to this world. You cannot do this. You cannot do that. And we give them many rules and regulations.

And we impose from the outside. Because the mind has not been renewed. That is not Christianity. That is Judaism. That is not grace. That is law. But thank God. But thank God our mind can be renewed. How can our mind be renewed and be transformed?

It is based on your consecration. When you consecrate yourself to the Lord. And then the Holy Spirit will do the work of transforming and renewing your mind. You cannot change your mind or renew your mind.

But the Holy Spirit can do this work. But he was waiting until you are fully consecrated to him. And then the Holy Spirit will begin the work of renewing. What you loved before you no longer love. What you previously despised and now you value.

Before Paul came to know the law. He looked to his own achievements and accomplishments. He looked at his birth. His education was important to him. And his law was important to him. Those are his... He boasts on those things.

So his whole life was in that direction. He was more advanced than his contemporaries. That was his goal. That was his life. But when he came to know the law. And when the law has renewed and transformed his mind.

He said, I think these things will be destroyed. He used to look down on Jesus. Before he despised the law. And he thought the masochist needs to be crucified. But now he knows the logic is everything to Jesus.

So you see, his whole life changed direction. He got up and served his God. And he is serving the one who saved and died for him. For the sisters. So you can see, consecration is so important to a person.

It can renew and transform your mind. And you can prove what is the will of God. That good and perfect acceptable will of God. Here we have the will of God. This will of God recorded here is singular.

We know God has many wills. God's will for your life. God's will for my life. God's will for me today. God's will for me for tomorrow. God has countless wills. But in all these wills of God. There is only one will.

This will here is singular. So that what is good, acceptable, perfect will of God. This is acceptable will. It is acceptable will. It is perfect. So what is this will? For our sisters. This will has vital relationship with our service to God.

Today we want to serve God. What does it mean by serving the Lord? Serving the Lord is serving his God's will. We cannot say we are serving the Lord. And we serve the Lord with our own will. If we use our own will to serve God.

In fact we are serving ourselves. But today we discuss many service of this type. I want to serve God according to my own will. Like in the early days. I want to serve God my way. I want to go to Mongolia.

Whether God will send me or not, I don't care. Because I choose it myself. So you see that many servants today don't know God's will. I am talking about God's will.

God's Eternal Will and the Body of Christ

God's eternal will. Dear brothers and sisters.

Before creation.

In his delight. He had a will there.

All God's works. All his deeds. They are all related or according to that will. Until one day. Until that will is fully accomplished. That eternal will of God. Dear brothers and sisters. Do we know this will?

Who can this will be revealed to? One who is not consecrated. He cannot prove what is God's will. He will never know. But one who is consecrated. God delights to reveal his will to the one who is consecrated.

What is this will?

This will we discover in verse 5. So we who are many are one body in Christ. And individually members one of another. In the book of Romans. That good, that acceptable, that perfect will of God. Is that for his beloved son.

He wants to give him a body. Because God's will is centered in his son. Because God considers him to be alone. Is not good. And so God wants for him to have a company. And to help him. And so you will see what is God's good and acceptable will.

That is the body of Christ. God wants to give him, to allow him to have a body. This body is not the body that Mary gave to the Lord Jesus when he was born. This body is because of his penance work on the cross.

And because through his death he has a young son. And this people, the people that he gathered to himself, they become his body. And this group of people, they are members one of another. This is the good and acceptable, perfect will of God.

This matter of concentrating your body as a living sacrifice. In the original language, the body is plural, bodies. Because brethren, they have many bodies. Because each of us, we have a body. So everyone of us, we must offer our body as a sacrifice.

I cannot offer your body. You cannot offer my body. The parents cannot offer the body to their children. And the children cannot offer the body to the parents. But all these bodies must offer as a living sacrifice.

And when all these bodies offer as a living sacrifice, and then the body of Christ will manifest. Because you normally live for yourself. Because we all live for Christ. He is our head.

We are his body.

We carry out his command. We carry out his instruction. This is the body. So brothers and sisters, today our service is within this body. In the body, we serve our God. And when we serve together, when we serve each other, we are serving the Lord.

So the moment we are saved, we must serve in the church. Our service is not only for the building up of the church, the Lord loves the church. He gave his life for the church. And those who are saved by the Lord, we must love what he loves.

So we must serve. So our service is for the church to be built up. The body may grow and mature. Full of the statue of Christ. So it can meet, can be public to Christ. And church is also the sphere of our service.

We serve within the body. You can see that all the members of my body they are all functioning within my body. So that the body may grow. For instance, so you see our service is in the church. Our service is for the church to be established.

Serving Within God's Appointed Church

In the ancient, in the olden days, the priests and the Levites they were set apart by God for service. Their service is vitally related to the temple. The moment their service is unrelated, not connected with the temple, then they have problems with their service.

You remember, in the book of Judges, there is such a story. Because in those days, there was no king. And everybody do as they wish. There was one, Micah. And he took away his mother's money. And then the mother, the money was gone, so she cursed.

Then Micah said, the money, I took it. Then the mother said, how to undo the curse? And he took part of the money and make him to an idol. So this is our God. We worship. And at that moment there was a Levite.

And formerly he was from Bethany of Judah. He ought to go to Jerusalem and serve at the temple. But he left Bethany. And he was drifting and find a place that he can settle down. And he came to this very home.

Then Micah said, I have an idol image here. But we have no priest. Since you are Levite, you can be the priest in our home. I give you ten shekels. And I give you clothing. And I give you food to eat.

And then this Levite settled there. He become a priest. He became a priest for this family. And the tribe of Dan, they were looking for a territory. And they came to this place. And they saw this thing.

I will not go into detail. And they said to this Levite, Do you want to be a priest to a family or do you want to be a priest to a tribe? If you want to be a priest to a tribe, you go with us. So he stole the image and went with the tribe of Dan.

So he became the priest for the tribe of Dan. How did the Bible put it? The tribe of Dan was in shallow. The time of the tribe of Dan was in shallow. The time for this image in the tribe of Dan is also the same time duration.

In other words, in the nation history, there is a counterfeit. Who was this Levite? This Levite was Moses' grandson. The grandson of Moses. So for instance, you see, the Mormon, the one who serves in the house, left the house.