12.1.
Okay, that's in page 1139.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
to offer you a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
This is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not comfort any longer to the partner of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is,
his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you,
do not think of yourself more highly than you would,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure of faith in God has given you,
just like each of you has one body with many members,
and these members do not all have the same function.
So in Christ, we who are many from one body,
and each member belongs to all the others,
we have different gifts according to the grace given us.
If a man's gift is protected,
let him use in the proportion to his faith.
If it is serving, let him serve.
If it is teaching, let him teach.
If it is encouraging, let him encourage.
If it is contributing to the needs of others,
let him give generously.
If it is leadership, let him govern diligently.
If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Thank you.
Thanks very much, Alveda, for reading.
So we start into a new series.
The Gospel Applied is the title for the whole series,
which will take us through from Romans 12 through to 16.
And this morning we look at a church that is shaped by the gospel,
and in particular, how a church is shaped by God's mercy.
So let's pray and let us ask for God's help
as we look at this together.
Father, we ask that you would pour out your mercy upon us even now.
In your goodness and in your kindness,
would you help us to concentrate with our minds
that we may hear clearly what your word is saying to us.
And we pray that by the power of your Holy Spirit,
it would change our hearts,
it would change our lives on the inside,
and that it would shape us
into being the kind of people and the kind of church
that you call us to be.
We pray that through our time this morning
and through our hearing of your word,
that we would leave this morning amazed,
thrilled, encouraged
by what you have done.
And may it motivate us
to live lives of service
for you.
So we ask for your help to us all.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
If you were to choose a theme song
for the church,
what would it be?
I asked Kirsty this during the week.
She said,
who let the dogs out?
Don't think that was the right answer.
What song would you choose?
Theme songs are important
because they shape and define
who we are.
They create pride.
They stir up passion within us.
So when Ireland play their rugby matches
or their soccer matches,
the crowd in unison,
the stadium will all stand together
and they will sing
That's as far as my Irish goes.
Soldiers are we
whose lives are pledged to Ireland.
And as the song goes on,
in Aaron's cause come woe or weal,
mid cannons roar and rifles peal,
will chant a soldier's song.
Now when we hear a song like that
in unison with everybody together,
it puts fire in your belly.
They're songs that define our cause
and they shape the kind of people that we are.
So what is the theme song of the church?
Well in Romans 12,
we start into a new section
and it's all about the church.
It's all about the gospel being applied to the church.
But before we see what the church should be like,
we've got to know what our theme song is.
Because this song defines our cause
and it will shape the kind of people we will be.
It's a song that will stir up passion
to pledge ourselves to the gospel.
It's a song that will motivate us
to give ourselves in sacrifice to God
and in service to others.
So what is the song that we are to sing?
Well look at chapter 12, verse 1.
Therefore, I urge you,
I beg of you,
I plead with you, my people,
brothers and sisters,
in view of God's mercy.
So our theme song is to be a song about mercy.
Together we are called in verse 1
as a church to come together
to look back and remember
God's amazing kindness towards us.
We are to stand and view
the beauty and brilliance of God's mercy
to people like you and me.
For 11 chapters,
he's been telling us all about God's mercy.
And it all comes to a climax
in chapters 9 through to 11.
So go back to chapter 9.
He's talking here about the salvation
that we have received,
the new life in Christ that we have.
So in chapter 9, verse 15,
this is what it says.
For he, that's God,
says to Moses,
and it applies to us,
I will have mercy
on whom I have mercy
and I will have compassion
on whom I have compassion.
It does not,
that means our salvation,
does not therefore depend
on man's desire or effort.
It doesn't depend on anything we do,
but on God's mercy.
God in his compassion
has looked down on people
like you and me
who fail and fall all the time,
who deserve God's just judgment,
but yet when he looks upon us,
he responds in mercy.
I read an article recently
in the newspaper
about a public hanging in Iran.
The headline went like this,
Woman Spares Son's Killer
from Hanging.
A young man had murdered
a mother's 18-year-old son,
and the law in that country
states that as an act of justice,
the victim,
in this case the mother,
can kick the chair away
on which the criminal is standing
to cause his death.
So with this huge crowd
of people watching,
the mother climbed the steps,
and instead of kicking the chair away,
she removed the noose
from around the man's neck,
and she forgave him.
It was an incredible act of mercy.
Now we are told
to look back and view God's mercy.
We are to picture in our minds
not a gallows,
but a cross.
And there we are to see
the Lord Jesus Christ
who takes the nails
for you and for me.
Because it's us
who are guilty.
It's us who deserve to die.
But in an incredible act of mercy,
it's as if God takes the noose
from around our neck
and he places it
around his own son,
the God-man Jesus Christ.
So Jesus is the one
who dies in our place.
Jesus is the one
who takes my sin
on himself.
He takes the judgment
that is mine.
The wrath of God
falls on him.
That is mercy.
But that's not all.
Imagine with me,
if you would,
that the woman
in that illustration
not only spared
the criminal from death,
but imagine now
that she takes that man,
that murderer,
and she takes him
into her home.
That she adopts him
into her family.
That she gives him
his own room
and provides for him,
giving him food
and shelter
and care
and protection.
She now treats
this criminal
as she loved
her own son
who had died.
Imagine.
Well, the woman
never did that.
But that is exactly
what God has done
for us.
Look in chapter 9,
verse 25.
Again, this is talking
about the big picture
of God's mercy.
Romans 9,
verse 25.
As God says
in Hosea,
I will call them
my people
who are not
my people.
And I will call
her my loved one
who is not
my loved one.
And it will happen
that in the very place
where it was said
to them,
you are not
my people,
they will be called
sons of the living God.
That's the beauty
and the brilliance
of God's mercy.
This is the compassion
and goodness
of God's kindness
towards people
like you and me.
He forgives us.
But not only
does he forgive us,
but he now welcomes us in.
He takes us as people
who weren't in his family
and he says,
now you are
in my family.
You are my loved ones.
You are my people.
You are my children.
And so this is
our theme song.
This is the song
that is always
to be playing
in the background
of our lives.
Never tire
from looking back
to the cross.
As we sang earlier,
beneath the cross
of Jesus,
this is where
we are to stand
and to see
unending mercy
flow to us.
never tire
of looking back
to Christ
and seeing
how you are
eternally loved
and treasured.
That you have become
brothers and sisters
of the Lord Jesus
and that you
by faith
belong
to the family
of God.
So this is
our theme song.
A song
of mercy.
Now as we
remember
God's mercy,
we will see
that it begins
to shape us
and define
who we are
as a church.
So look at
chapter 12
verse 1.
Therefore,
I urge you
brothers and sisters
in view
of God's mercy,
offer your bodies
as living sacrifices.
Verse 6.
We have been
given different
gifts according
to the grace
given us.
If a man's
gift is
prophesying,
let him use
it in proportion
to his faith.
If it is
serving,
let him serve.
In other words,
what he's saying
to us here,
because of
everything God
has done
for us,
in view
of God's
mercy,
this is how
you are to live.
You have been
filled
with God's
mercy
and now
because you
have been
filled,
your lives
will overflow
in sacrifice
and in
service.
Now,
before we look
at these things
in detail,
let's get this
right.
We do these
things,
we sacrifice
and we serve,
not to earn
God's mercy,
but because we
have already
received his
mercy.
Our sacrifice
and our service
is not a duty
to perform
to try and get
God's attention
or to earn
his favour.
It's an expression
of our love
and a way
to say,
thank you,
Father,
for your
amazing mercy
to me.
So,
we are to be
a church
that is shaped
and driven
by mercy.
mercy.
First,
a church
shaped by
mercy
will mean
we offer
ourselves
in sacrifice
to God.
A church
that is shaped
by mercy
will mean
we offer
ourselves
in sacrifice
to God.
Let's read
verse 1 again.
Therefore,
I urge you,
I plead
with you,
brothers and
sisters,
in view
of God's
mercy,
to offer
your bodies
as living
sacrifices,
holy and
pleasing to
God.
This is your
spiritual act
of worship.
Offer your
body
as a
living
sacrifice.
Well,
what does that
mean?
What does that
look like?
Well,
go back to
chapter 6.
Go back
to chapter 6,
verse 13.
Here in
chapter 6,
he's been
talking about
all that
Christ has
done for us,
how we are
united with
him in his
death and
resurrection
and the new
life that we
have,
and in
response to
that,
look at
what we do,
verse 13.
Do not
offer the
parts of
your body
to sin
as instruments
of wickedness,
but rather
offer yourselves
to God
as those
who have
been brought
from death
to life
and offer
the parts
of your
body to
him as
instruments
of righteousness.
Because of
God's
mercy in
our lives,
we have
been brought
from death
into
life.
And so
in response,
in celebration
of this
new life
that we
have been
given,
we now
give our
bodies to
God,
physically,
mentally,
emotionally,
spiritually.
In other words,
we give our
whole self to
God.
We hold
nothing back.
It is total
and it is
complete.
Go back
to chapter
12.
Do you
see what
it says
in chapter
12,
verse 1?
Offer
your bodies
as living
sacrifices.
We are
not dead
people,
we are
living,
it requires
action,
holy and
pleasing to
God.
To be
holy,
to be a
holy person
is not to
kind of wander
around with
some kind
of flowing
robe and
do all
kinds of
funny chants.
Holy means
to be set
apart.
It means
to give
yourselves
exclusively
to God.
Here I
am.
I am an
instrument
in your
hands for
you to
use as
you would
choose.
This,
verse 1,
is your
spiritual
act of
worship.
This is
the right
kind of
response
to God.
This is
how we
worship God
in response
to his
mercy.
We give
ourselves
to him.
We
worship
him.
Worship
is not
singing songs
for 20
minutes.
It includes
singing,
and it's
good to
sing,
and that's
why we
sing,
but true
worship is
about giving
your whole
life,
24-7,
to God.
Worship
really starts
when we
head out
that door
and we
go to
work tomorrow
morning,
or we
study for
our exams,
or we
care for
our children.
This is
where we
live in
response to
God's
mercy.
It's
living for
God
exclusively
in the
context of
our day-to-day
lives.
Now,
if you're
anything like
me,
you'll find
that really,
really hard.
It's hard
to give
ourselves in
sacrifice,
because the
message that
we get blaring
in our ears
every day is,
look after
self,
don't
sacrifice.
Look after
yourself,
you're number
one.
Every day
there's a
battle inside
of us about
every decision
and every
choice that
we make.
It's all
about self,
not sacrifice.
Live for
yourself,
don't live
for God.
That's the
battle inside
of us.
So how
can we
overcome
this battle?
Well,
look at
verse 2.
He says,
do not
conform any
longer to
the pattern
of this
world,
but be
transformed by
the renewing
of your
mind.
you see,
the pattern
of this
world is
to live
for self.
The voice
of this
world is
saying to
us every
single day,
live for
yourself.
Rather,
he is saying,
let the
voice of
God,
let that
begin to
transform and
shape your
mind.
In other
words, I
think it's
coming back
to the
beginning of
verse 1.
it's about
singing the
song of
mercy to
each other.
It's
reminding
ourselves of
God's
mercy and
letting that
transform and
renew your
mind.
It's looking
back to view
it and see
how God
gave his
life to
sacrifice his
life for
you, who
held nothing
back but
gave his
all for
you so
that you
could have
life.
And when we
look at that
mercy, let it
shape you,
let it change
you, let it
get deep
inside of
your life so
that in the
heat of the
battle when
you're questioning
about will it
be self or
will it be
sacrifice, you
will be amazed
at the mercy
of God and
in response you
will sacrifice
your life for
him.
So as a
church that
is shaped by
mercy, we
will offer
ourselves in
sacrifice to
God.
second, a
church shaped
by mercy
means we
will be
offering
ourselves in
service to
others, we
will offer
ourselves in
service to
others.
Look at
verse 3,
for by the
grace given
me, I
say to
every one
of you, do
not think of
yourself more
highly than
you ought,
but rather
think of
yourself with
sober judgment,
others.
Now this is
the beginning
of a section
which is all
about a
call to
serve others
and how we
serve others
will all
depend how
we think of
ourselves.
So how do
you think about
yourself?
What's your
opinion of
yourself?
If you have
too high of
you, if you
think too
highly of
yourself, you
will think
that everybody
is there to
serve you.
if you
have too
low a view
of yourself,
you will
think, well
I'm not
good enough
to serve
anybody.
If I'm
too high of
you, everybody
should serve
me.
If I have
too low a view
of myself,
then I'm not
able to serve
anyone.
But look what
it says in
verse 3.
He says we
are to think
of ourselves
with sober
judgment.
We don't
have too
high a view
and we
don't have
too low
of you.
In fact, we
are to think
of ourselves
as God
sees us
and as God
treats us.
Look at the
rest of verse
3.
He says,
think of
yourself
with sober
judgment.
Here's the
phrase, in
accordance with
the measure
of faith
God has
given you.
So the
measure of
faith that
has been
given to
us is
not in
terms of
quantity,
but quality.
The faith
that he has
given to
us is not
quantity,
but it's
quality.
It's not
that some
people have
been given
a greater
measure,
that we
have more
faith than
other people.
No, it
means we've
been given
the same
kind of
faith,
the same
measure,
the same
standard of
faith,
the faith
that God
has given
to you,
is the
same
faith that's
given to
me,
it's the
same
standard.
In other
words, it's
coming back
again to
God's
mercy.
God in
his mercy
has given
us the
gift of
faith which
we can't
earn and
we don't
deserve,
and the
only reason
that I
am who
I am,
that I
am a
child of
God,
is because
of God's
mercy.
So I
now look
at myself
through the
eyes of
God,
I look
at myself
through
mercy.
And that
changes
everything.
So I
no longer
see myself
as superior
to other
people,
I no longer
think of
myself as
inferior to
anybody else,
in fact,
because of
God's mercy
to me in
my life,
I will see
myself as
a valued,
treasured
member of
God's
church,
his family.
Look at
verse 4.
just as
each of
us has
one body,
so I
was talking
about the
physical
body,
with many
members,
so we've
got head,
arms,
legs,
eyes,
ears,
nose,
and all
those sorts
of things,
even though
we've got
many members,
these members
do not all
have the same
function,
so our
head doesn't
do what our
hands do,
and our
hands don't
do what our
legs do.
Okay,
they've all
got different
parts.
Now,
verse 5,
so in
Christ,
we who
are many
form one
body,
and each
member belongs
to all
the others.
There's no
inferiority,
there's no
superiority,
nobody in
the church
family should
be saying,
you should
serve me,
or no one
should be
saying,
I can't
serve you.
We are
all by
God's
mercy,
valued,
and treasured
people,
we are
all vital
parts of
the body.
We belong
to Christ,
we belong
to the
church.
Now,
while we
all have
the same
gift of
faith,
and while
God has
treated us
in exactly
the same
way by
mercy,
we have
all been
given
different
gifts
to serve.
So,
look at
verse 6.
Look at
verse 6,
we have
different
gifts,
according
to the
grace
given
us.
God
has given
to us,
each one
of us,
a different
kind of
gift.
So,
in verses
7 to
8,
we've got
this example
of the
kinds of
gifts that
there are,
whether it's
prophesying,
whether it's
serving,
whether it's
teaching,
whether it's
encouraging,
whether it's
contributing,
whether it's
giving generously,
whether it's
leadership,
whether it's
showing mercy.
This isn't a
complete list.
Rather,
it's saying
these are the
kinds of
gifts that
he gives to
his people
within the
body of
the church.
And the
point is,
they're all
different.
None of us
all have the
same kinds
of gifts
in the same
kind of
way.
So,
that means
we need
each other.
that means
the church
family can't
operate,
the church
can't function
without each
other.
Look what it
says at the
end of verse
five.
Each member,
each person
belongs to
all the others.
I belong to
you and you
belong to me
and we all
belong to
each other.
So,
if I decide
and wake up
one morning,
I don't think
I'll serve
today,
I don't feel
like it.
it's actually
not just
affecting me,
it's affecting
everyone
because we
belong to
everyone.
So,
we've been
given gifts
through God's
mercy to us
so that we
can begin to
serve and
give to one
another.
Now,
again,
as we look
at that,
that's really
hard because
there's days,
in fact,
for me,
it's most
days where
I don't
really want
to serve.
I wish
everybody would
serve me.
Do you want
to get out
of bed in
the mornings?
Who likes
getting out
of bed?
What John
does.
I don't like
getting out
of bed.
I'd love
if everybody
would just
come and
serve me.
Now,
if we all
thought like
that,
what kind
of church
would we
be?
A church
of self-service
rather than
serving others.
So,
what do we
do when we
just don't
feel like
serving?
When we
don't feel
like getting
up or we
don't feel
like going
to something
or doing
something?
What am I
going to do
in that
moment?
Well,
we need to
go back
to verse
one.
We need
to go back
to our
song.
Look at it,
verse 12,
or chapter 12,
verse 1,
therefore I
urge you,
brothers and
sisters,
in view of
God's mercy,
look back
and view
the mercy
of God.
See how
the creator
God came
to serve
you and
give his
life for
you.
He came
to serve,
not to be
served.
So,
when I
don't feel
like serving,
I need to
sing the
song of
mercy.
I need
to let it
shape my
heart.
I need
to let it
grab me
and take
a hold
of me
and let
me see
all that
Christ
has done
and I
will serve
in love
in response
to that.
I have
an issue
not just
about getting
out of bed
but about
putting petrol
in my car.
Even when
the little
orange light
comes on
and it's
telling me
that it's
way down
into the
red,
I just
have this
notion
that I
can keep
on driving
without
putting
more petrol
in.
And on
more than
one occasion
I've been
caught
out.
And the
simple
lesson is
this,
without
petrol
the car
doesn't
work.
In fact,
it will
damage the
car.
Now,
none of
us can
live a
life of
sacrifice
and service
on
empty.
mercy.
We can't
serve,
we can't
give,
we can't
function as
we are
meant to
function
on empty.
In other
words,
we need
to be
filled up
each day
with the
mercy of
God,
in view
of God's
mercy.
Look at
the beauty
of Christ
every day
who sacrificed
his life
for you
and for
me.
Look at
the brilliance
of Christ
who came
to serve
you and
me and
who continues
to serve
us every
day.
And
together as
we sing
this song
of mercy
to our
hearts,
we'll be
changed,
changed on
the inside
because the
message of
the gospel
is this,
not that
you must
sacrifice
more or
that you
must serve
better.
The message
of the
gospel is
simply
God's
mercy.
God's
mercy.
Not
do
better,
not
do
more,
and then
when we
are filled
with God's
mercy,
so our
lives will
overflow
in sacrifice
and service
to God.
Let's pray
together.
Our
Father God,
we thank you
so much
for your
incredible
mercy to
us.
We pray
that you
would fill
our lives
afresh with
its wonder
and with
its beauty
and that it
would motivate
us again
to be people
who live
lives of
service,
not thinking
about what
we have to
do to get
your favour,
not thinking
about what
we have to
do to earn
your love,
but simply
seeing how
we are
loved and
looking at
what you
have done
for us
and in
response
living for
you.
So Father,
we thank
you for
your amazing
mercy to
us.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.