WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.740 Good morning again. Welcome to Church of the Advent. 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:14.580 Chances are, if you were to go out on the street or ask most people, 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:20.780 how does change happen in the Christian life or in life in general? 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:26.719 How do you know that somebody has authentically and truly changed, and where does that begin? 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.879 Most people would probably say, well, real change has to begin within. 00:00:30.599 --> 00:00:33.500 It has to begin in your heart. It has to begin in your mind. 00:00:34.579 --> 00:00:42.000 The thinking is that as we think differently, we will feel differently, and then we will begin to live differently. 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:45.840 We live in the age of authenticity, as has been dubbed by many. 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:55.820 And in an age like ours, authenticity, authentic behavior, is really defined as behavior that is motivated by what is within us. 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:00.980 You know, you have to feel it before you do it, and if you do it without feeling it, you're inauthentic, 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.700 which is something that no one in our day and age wants to be. 00:01:05.659 --> 00:01:09.040 I think that there is definitely some truth to this. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:18.099 The counseling world is really, large parts of the counseling world are really built on the idea that you have to change people's thinking 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:20.439 in order to change how they feel and live. 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:25.060 And I do think that there's a lot of truth to this, which makes it all the more interesting 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:31.280 when we look at the passage that we're going to look at this morning, Romans chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. 00:01:31.759 --> 00:01:37.039 This is one of the most famous and well-known passages about spiritual growth in the Bible, 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:39.319 about spiritual transformation. 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:48.339 And to our surprise, Paul says here that if we want to experience spiritual renewal, 00:01:48.539 --> 00:01:53.019 if we want to be transformed, that that begins with our bodies, 00:01:53.639 --> 00:01:59.179 that our bodies are ground zero for spiritual change. 00:02:00.199 --> 00:02:05.339 And, you know, we've been in a series the past few weeks talking about our physical bodies, 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.159 the role they play and who we are and who we're becoming. 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.280 And so far we've said a few things. 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:13.479 We said our body is a gift. 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:15.800 It's a handmade gift from the Lord. 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:20.819 The next week we said that your body bears God's image and likeness. 00:02:21.579 --> 00:02:23.560 And we talked a little bit about what that means. 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:27.800 And the last week we said that your body is you. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.699 It's not a container that holds you. 00:02:31.219 --> 00:02:32.419 It is you. 00:02:32.419 --> 00:02:37.979 That body is a combination of matter and spirit as one. 00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:42.419 And so this week we're going to continue in this theme and we're going to see that our bodies 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:48.240 are actually the key to change and growth in the Christian life. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:49.719 I'll put it another way. 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:56.599 Unless we appreciate the role of our bodies in determining who we are and who we're becoming, 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:02.079 chances are at some point our growth as Christians will be stunted. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:04.880 So we're going to look at three questions this morning. 00:03:05.420 --> 00:03:06.700 What does this mean? 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:11.320 What does it mean for our bodies to be ground zero for spiritual change? 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:13.060 How does it work? 00:03:13.640 --> 00:03:16.020 And then finally, how do we know it's working? 00:03:16.600 --> 00:03:18.160 How do we know that change is happening? 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:19.140 What's the evidence for that? 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:22.479 Let's pray and then we'll open God's word. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:27.359 Lord, we thank you for your word and we thank you particularly for this passage, which is 00:03:27.359 --> 00:03:29.500 just, it's one that I've come back to again and again. 00:03:30.359 --> 00:03:33.899 One that many people have memorized, Lord. 00:03:34.019 --> 00:03:38.279 And one that because of that it might be easy to pass over without really understanding the 00:03:38.279 --> 00:03:41.560 depth and the mystery that is captured here. 00:03:41.619 --> 00:03:46.099 And so I pray that you would open this word up to us this morning in ways that we need to hear. 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:51.859 And I pray that those of us who are here complacent would be discomforted, that we would be challenged, 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:55.000 that we would be catalyzed in some way. 00:03:55.159 --> 00:04:00.479 And I pray that those who are here in great distress would be comforted, that they would 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:01.639 find peace in these words. 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:04.379 And we pray all of this in your son's holy name. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:04.840 Amen. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:08.019 So first of all, what does this mean? 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:11.579 The role of our bodies in our growth and change. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.060 What are we talking about here? 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:18.000 Well, Paul has just spent the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans essentially laying out 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:18.480 the gospel. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.540 11 chapter description of the gospel. 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:28.180 The good news of Jesus Christ who has come to save and to transform and to renew us in 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:29.160 all of creation. 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:35.180 And then after all of this, beginning in chapter 12, we finally get to the therefore. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.779 11 chapters of gospel and now therefore. 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:41.379 Here's what we do in response to this. 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:47.719 In light of the gospel, how should we then live? 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.920 And Paul says, I appeal to you, therefore. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:53.920 You know, I entreat you. 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:55.219 I implore you. 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:56.959 Brothers. 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.519 He's talking to Jews and Greeks. 00:05:00.219 --> 00:05:00.540 Right? 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:01.899 They're no longer Jew or Greek. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:02.740 They're all one. 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:08.659 They're a new people formed in the Holy Spirit to be all brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:11.439 I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God. 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:12.960 That's the only reason I'm saying this. 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:16.520 Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. 00:05:17.900 --> 00:05:21.840 Now, we just need to stop and recognize how odd that would have been. 00:05:21.900 --> 00:05:22.880 It sounds odd to us. 00:05:22.900 --> 00:05:26.480 It would have sounded every bit as odd to Paul's first hearers. 00:05:26.520 --> 00:05:27.400 It would have been shocking. 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:33.600 Because the Greeks and the Romans tended to have a pretty low view of the body. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:35.560 We talked about this last week. 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:40.720 They believed that spiritual things were inherently superior to physical things. 00:05:40.900 --> 00:05:45.480 So the last thing that they're expecting Paul to say is, here's how you respond to the gospel. 00:05:45.760 --> 00:05:47.680 Present your body as a living sacrifice. 00:05:49.080 --> 00:05:51.980 And I think that we still see that tendency in the church today. 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:53.160 You hear people all the time. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:57.360 You know, it's a classic evangelical phrase to say, give your heart to Jesus. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.439 But you don't often hear people say, give your body to Jesus. 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:04.980 We talk about giving your heart to Jesus, giving your mind to Jesus. 00:06:05.520 --> 00:06:07.120 You don't hear body very often. 00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:09.699 But Paul says, give your body to him. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:11.819 And he uses the word soma. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.060 So if we want to think, well, maybe it's kind of a metaphor. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.259 No, he uses a word that implies he's really actually talking about your body. 00:06:19.020 --> 00:06:21.220 Now, he's not only talking about your body. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:23.139 Because let me ask you this. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:27.319 Is there anything that you can do right now sitting there that doesn't involve your body in some way? 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:33.620 No, like all of our thinking, all of our feeling, it all requires a physiological hardware. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:34.480 You know? 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:37.900 So your body does encompass all of you. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:39.620 It's all of you. 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:45.400 But Paul wants us to be focusing on our physicality, your body itself, your physical self. 00:06:47.020 --> 00:06:50.360 And we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:56.480 You know, the word present is a technical word that brings to mind the Old Testament priesthood. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:59.379 And the sacrificial system in the temple. 00:06:59.580 --> 00:07:03.240 That's clearly what Paul wants us to think about, but with some key differences. 00:07:04.140 --> 00:07:07.620 A few differences between Old Testament sacrifices and what he's talking about here. 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.100 Number one, this is not a way that we are called to deal with sin. 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:16.759 Paul's not saying, if you sin, present your body as a living sacrifice and you'll be forgiven. 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:23.519 He's just spent 11 chapters laying out the fact that Jesus has done what no other sacrifice can do. 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:26.180 And that is to atone for sin once and for all. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.000 So he's made that absolutely clear. 00:07:29.599 --> 00:07:33.860 So what he's talking about here is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:38.319 A sacrifice of gratitude for what God has done through Jesus. 00:07:38.659 --> 00:07:39.420 So that's the first difference. 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:40.780 Second difference is this. 00:07:41.420 --> 00:07:47.379 Unlike Old Testament sacrifices, we're meant to be a living sacrifice. 00:07:48.080 --> 00:07:49.180 A living sacrifice. 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:57.700 You know, I once heard someone say, the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep trying to crawl off the altar. 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:00.819 They keep trying to crawl off the altar. 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:02.379 Grain stays on the altar. 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:05.060 A dead animal stays on the altar. 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:08.180 But a living sacrifice does not want to be on the altar. 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:12.959 And it keeps trying to crawl off every chance it gets. 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:20.319 And what that essentially means is, this is something that Paul is saying, we have to do every moment of every day. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:23.319 Every moment of every day. 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:25.160 You're putting yourself on the altar. 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:27.519 And then the next moment you're trying to crawl off. 00:08:27.939 --> 00:08:29.600 And then you're putting yourself on the altar. 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:31.720 And the next moment you're trying to crawl off. 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.340 It's every moment of every day. 00:08:35.059 --> 00:08:36.919 It's a continual sacrifice. 00:08:37.739 --> 00:08:44.739 So over the course of our daily lives, in essence, every choice we make, every choice you make that may seem like a tiny little choice. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:48.619 Totally inconsequential choice. 00:08:48.959 --> 00:08:53.599 Every choice can really be distilled down to the same choice that we make again and again and again. 00:08:53.959 --> 00:08:57.919 In this decision, am I in some way presenting myself as an offering to God? 00:08:58.699 --> 00:09:00.339 Or am I trying to crawl off the altar? 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:01.340 Or am I trying to crawl off the altar? 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:02.340 Or am I trying to crawl off the altar? 00:09:02.340 --> 00:09:03.340 Or am I trying to crawl off the altar? 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:07.780 And finally, since this is a living sacrifice, the third difference is this. 00:09:08.540 --> 00:09:11.920 This kind of sacrifice doesn't involve a physical death, thankfully. 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:13.920 Or maybe not thankfully. 00:09:14.780 --> 00:09:16.980 That might be good news, but it might not be good news. 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:19.800 Because it's still a sacrifice. 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:23.600 And a sacrifice, by definition, means that something has to die. 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:30.620 So if this kind of sacrifice doesn't involve our physical death, then what has to die? 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:33.740 Where is the blood? 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:40.980 And the thing that we realize as we sort of reflect on this and what Paul really means is, 00:09:41.060 --> 00:09:46.360 the thing that has to die, that we have to choose to put on the altar and to put to death again and again and again, 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:50.600 is our freedom to live and do as we please. 00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:56.220 Our sense that our lives belong to us. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:06.800 We have to put to death the control that we want over ourselves, our lives, our future. 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:11.639 We have to put to death our whole sense of right and wrong. 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:13.840 That has to go on the altar. 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:16.460 Whole sense of right and wrong. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:22.700 The whole way we think our life should look, that has to be put to death. 00:10:22.700 --> 00:10:30.840 And you know, I think many of us get stuck and stop growing spiritually because we think that we have given ourselves fully to God. 00:10:30.920 --> 00:10:32.600 We think that we're on the altar. 00:10:33.660 --> 00:10:38.200 But what we've actually done is try to negotiate a quid pro quo relationship with God. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:48.060 What we've really done is to say, well, I'll do this and that and the other for you as long as you do this and that and the other for me. 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:54.059 I will sacrifice for you, but I will only do it if you give me what I want in return. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.399 I'll worship you if you give me the life that I really want. 00:10:58.359 --> 00:11:00.559 I'll worship you if you give me the things I want. 00:11:00.659 --> 00:11:03.339 I worship you if you give me the spouse that I want. 00:11:03.579 --> 00:11:06.579 I worship you if you'll give me the kids that I want. 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:17.320 And the way you know that your relationship with God is quid pro quo is how you respond when you don't get what you want. 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.240 And you become enraged at God. 00:11:20.680 --> 00:11:22.420 And you say, how dare you, God? 00:11:22.800 --> 00:11:24.259 I did my part. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.820 I did everything that I was supposed to do. 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:27.720 I prayed. 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:29.000 I trusted in you. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:30.080 Right? 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:30.940 I was faithful. 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:31.840 I obeyed you. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:37.280 I could have done all of these things and been unfaithful, but I was faithful to you and I waited for you. 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:40.379 And still, God, after all of that, you didn't come through. 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:41.860 How dare you? 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:48.160 And what we need to understand is that's not sacrifice. 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:52.139 That's the barter system. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:59.660 A living sacrifice means putting your life on the altar. 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:05.699 With no expectation that God owes you anything. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.219 A sacrifice doesn't get to negotiate with God. 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:12.079 Doesn't get to set the terms. 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.579 A sacrifice is something being put to death. 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:19.399 So I come back to this. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.980 Is it good news or not that this is a physical death? 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.980 In some ways, a physical death would be easier. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:29.039 It's easier in the Old Testament to come and to kill your unblemished lamb. 00:12:29.620 --> 00:12:32.259 And then to go home and live as you please. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.860 And if you mess up, come back and kill another unblemished animal. 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:42.960 But every moment of every day, putting to death the idea that you have any control over your life. 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:45.159 That you have any say in what happens to you. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.580 That you have any say in what your future looks like. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:48.980 That you have any say in anything. 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:50.620 Giving that up. 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:52.700 That's, I think, in some ways, far more painful. 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:58.420 And when things don't go your way, realizing I don't have a right to shake my fist and to say, 00:12:58.660 --> 00:13:00.720 How dare you not do that thing for me? 00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:02.460 Because God doesn't owe me anything. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:04.140 I'm the sacrifice. 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:09.160 Arguable as to which is harder. 00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:16.379 A physical death or the kind of death to self that Paul calls us to. 00:13:17.660 --> 00:13:19.220 So how do we do this? 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:21.580 So kind of our second question here. 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:29.379 Because we can't just functionally, practically speaking, sit there every minute of every day and think constantly, 00:13:29.660 --> 00:13:31.300 I'm giving myself to you, Lord. 00:13:31.420 --> 00:13:32.680 I'm giving myself to you, Lord. 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:36.900 So how do we actually do this in day-to-day life? 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:41.640 Because being a living sacrifice means you're offering yourself to God continually. 00:13:41.800 --> 00:13:42.600 So how do we do that? 00:13:43.160 --> 00:13:44.140 So Paul goes on. 00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:47.300 Do not be conformed to this world. 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:53.799 And the NIV actually says, this is one of the few places where I like the NIV better because it's a little clearer. 00:13:54.479 --> 00:13:56.740 Do not conform to the pattern of this world. 00:13:57.479 --> 00:13:58.120 The pattern. 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:06.279 That's because the word conform implies a pattern, being conformed by a process or a pattern. 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:12.639 And this is really important because this is telling us something about human nature and how we work. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:20.779 The idea behind that word, that we are conformed by something, is the truth that we are actually creatures of habit. 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:29.339 You know, we like to think that we're spontaneous and everything we do is totally unique, you know, kind of unique butterfly in the world and nobody's ever been like us. 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.919 We're actually creatures of habit and we're highly predictable. 00:14:33.699 --> 00:14:43.220 And we know that because there are more and more sophisticated algorithms being developed right now that can actually predict everything you're going to think and love and do and buy, right? 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:47.659 We're very predictable creatures because we're creatures of habit. 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:52.000 And so this takes that into account. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:59.039 And it's basically saying you're being conformed by something to something at every moment of every day. 00:14:59.819 --> 00:15:04.120 And Paul says, no longer be conformed to this world. 00:15:05.579 --> 00:15:12.179 Over time, our routines shape and mold who we are and they shape and mold what we care about. 00:15:12.459 --> 00:15:13.839 You know, this is not news. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.019 Aristotle wrote, we are what we repeatedly do. 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.899 You know, just think about your life and what you repeatedly do. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:23.300 That's shaping who you are. 00:15:23.420 --> 00:15:24.440 It's shaping what you're becoming. 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:27.980 So we are the product of our own habits. 00:15:28.680 --> 00:15:31.500 Therefore, and here's where we connect into this passage. 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:37.200 If you want to change yourself, you have to change more than your beliefs. 00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:40.220 You have to change more than your beliefs. 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.879 And this is something that Christians, I think, have lost sight of for generations. 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:50.080 We sort of operate with this idea that if I change what I believe, I will automatically change as a person. 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:53.039 No, what you'll just be is disconnected. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:59.459 You'll believe all of this stuff and you'll live in all of these ways and there will be no connection. 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:01.219 And it turns out we don't care. 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.059 We're totally fine to be disconnected. 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:04.899 Right? 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:06.019 It doesn't bother most of us. 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:07.339 It certainly doesn't bother me. 00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:15.399 But this is saying, no, if you want to change and grow, you have to change more than your beliefs. 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:17.560 You have to change the habits that shape you. 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.519 You know, Jamie Smith, who's written a lot on this, says, 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:28.100 Our ultimate love, our ultimate desire is shaped by practices, not ideas that are merely communicated to us. 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:30.700 We are actually shaped by practices. 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:38.400 Thus, he says, discipleship is fundamentally a matter of retraining our desires through thick Christian practices, 00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:40.940 especially the practice of Christian worship. 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:44.960 You can believe all kinds of things. 00:16:45.040 --> 00:16:49.920 If you want that to translate into your life, your body has to be engaged. 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:56.379 And this is, again, where we see the centrality of our bodies and why they matter so much. 00:16:56.379 --> 00:17:03.559 The primary currency of discipleship is not beliefs but practices, embodied practices. 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:06.980 So people say, well, I believe in Jesus, but I just don't feel it. 00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:09.299 Where are your feelings coming from? 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:14.799 What are the habits and rituals and patterns and liturgies that are shaping your heart? 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:24.599 Chances are, if you begin to look at that, you'll begin to see pretty quickly why you don't feel the truths that you believe. 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:33.319 So when Paul says, do not be conformed to the world, world here means a worldview that denies God's existence. 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:37.379 This isn't saying that the world is bad or that everything outside the church is bad. 00:17:37.439 --> 00:17:43.759 It's saying that the world here refers to a mentality that is a functionally atheistic mentality. 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:50.399 I'm living and being conformed by patterns that reject the idea that God even exists. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:53.719 It's a functional atheism in my daily life. 00:17:53.720 --> 00:18:02.299 So people may say they believe in Jesus and yet the habits and patterns and routines that make up their lives are functionally atheistic. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.480 You know, so you may have a Christian who's gone to church their entire life. 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:17.700 And yet, if they habitually read polarizing tweets and political news articles, they're not going to naturally find rest in the peace of Christ. 00:18:18.360 --> 00:18:24.380 They're going to spend most of their waking hours angry and tense and suspicious. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:26.220 Why? 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:28.000 Because of their habits. 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:33.120 You can have a Christian who habitually eats to deal with negative emotions. 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.199 They're not going to naturally turn to the Lord in prayer under stress. 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:39.959 Why not? 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:44.279 Don't they know to pray to Jesus and deal with their anxiety by bringing it to the Lord? 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:45.679 Absolutely, they know that. 00:18:46.419 --> 00:18:48.459 But their body says, no, no, no. 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:49.519 Here's what I've learned. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:55.039 I've learned that when I'm stressed and I go to the kitchen and I binge on junk food, I feel momentarily better. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:02.460 I've learned that when I'm stressed and I check out by spending an hour on Pinterest or Instagram, that dopamine makes me feel better. 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:05.399 So your body says, beliefs, that's really nice. 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:06.220 That's really sentimental. 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:06.740 That's cute. 00:19:06.899 --> 00:19:07.879 I'm going to do this. 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:10.759 Because I've been trained to do it for years. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.339 Over hours and hours and hours. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:16.779 So these rhythms matter. 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:20.980 You know, you can have Bible verses on every wall of your house. 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:23.279 Over every door of your house. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:24.799 Yes, Bible verses everywhere. 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:33.420 But the real question you need to be asking is not what's on your wall, but what are the habits that are setting the tone in your home? 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.700 Are you habitually overspending and overconsuming? 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.099 Are you habitually staying up late working every single night? 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:48.259 Is the rhythm, is the sense of rhythm in your home restful or is it frantic? 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:50.500 Are you always late for something? 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:52.279 Are people always coming and going? 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:55.519 Now, I mean, that's my house. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:56.960 That's the way mine. 00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.559 So this is not, that's how my house feels. 00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:06.879 And we have to ask ourselves, are these rhythms orienting us toward God and what is true about God? 00:20:07.299 --> 00:20:07.680 No. 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:15.539 These are rhythms that I think are driven more by the consumerist myths of production and consumption than they are the gospel. 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:22.599 And I think, I think when I look at these rhythms, they are reinforcing self-centeredness rather than sacrifice. 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:31.000 So I can say Romans 12, I want to be a living sacrifice and then everything I'm doing in the rhythms of my life are telling me you matter most. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.380 You're the most important one in the room. 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:36.180 That's not how sacrifice thinks. 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:51.900 So the only possible way to offer your body as a living sacrifice to God is through embodied practices that reorient and recalibrate your heart toward the love of God and everything that is true about God. 00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:54.820 So this is why we have weekly worship. 00:20:55.320 --> 00:20:57.780 I come here and we get, we get recalibrated here. 00:20:58.300 --> 00:21:05.740 You know, this is why we have the liturgical calendar and why we have daily practices such as the advent calendar or the wreath. 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:09.720 You know, you look at this and you're like, well, this is an odd, if you didn't grow up doing this, it's kind of odd. 00:21:09.800 --> 00:21:10.400 Why do we do this? 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:17.360 Because in every way we can, we are trying to create embodied practices where we are physically doing something to remind us of what is true about God. 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:19.140 Because guess what? 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:25.019 If you don't have this odd practice in your life, you're going to have a whole lot of other odd practices like staring at a screen for hours. 00:21:25.100 --> 00:21:25.960 That's pretty odd. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.000 And at the end of the day, what's going to have a better impact on your heart? 00:21:31.560 --> 00:21:33.140 Probably lighting a cheesy candle. 00:21:34.840 --> 00:21:35.680 I'm serious. 00:21:36.820 --> 00:21:38.160 So we have the prayer book. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.160 We have the liturgies for prayer throughout the day. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:42.519 We have the lectionary with daily readings in scripture. 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:54.380 We have weekly Sabbath, which I do believe is beneficial to God's people to observe a weekly full day of Sabbath rest. 00:21:55.300 --> 00:22:04.560 So the point is, as we offer ourselves to God through these embodied practices over time, things will begin to change and shift. 00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:07.320 Things will begin to grow in you. 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.779 Things will begin to adjust and give way in you. 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:13.659 And you'll realize that it's all connected. 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:20.399 You can't sacrifice this part of your life without having to sacrifice this part of your life and this part of your life and this part of your life. 00:22:20.439 --> 00:22:22.059 So everything will begin to shift around. 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:30.059 And we see in this passage a few ways that we will begin to notice, okay, this is evidence that I'm actually growing. 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:37.799 Number one, we will grow not only in our knowledge of God's will, but in our love of God's will. 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:40.339 That's the first piece of evidence. 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:42.460 If you want to know, am I growing in my faith as a Christian? 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:52.799 Paul says, be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:58.200 In other words, growth isn't just understanding and knowing in your brain what God's will is. 00:22:59.579 --> 00:23:00.899 It's loving it. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:03.000 It's loving it. 00:23:03.659 --> 00:23:05.240 It's delighting in it. 00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:09.559 It's seeing it as good and acceptable and perfect. 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.339 Other translations say good and pleasing and perfect. 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:15.819 That's really the key. 00:23:15.819 --> 00:23:25.599 You know, the great theologian Jonathan Edwards used to say that the real test of genuine faith and spiritual revival was not only that people knew God's word, but that they loved it. 00:23:25.659 --> 00:23:26.639 They delighted in it. 00:23:28.099 --> 00:23:30.179 You know, the Psalms are filled with that kind of language. 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:31.519 I will delight in your word. 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:32.619 I delight in your law. 00:23:32.699 --> 00:23:33.939 I delight in your ways. 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:36.899 That's true spiritual growth. 00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:43.960 The second thing we see, another way that you know you're growing is you're going to grow in humility and self-awareness. 00:23:44.860 --> 00:23:52.220 All of these practices that we do are orienting your heart toward greater humility and greater self-awareness. 00:23:52.380 --> 00:24:02.500 You can't go to your knees every day or every week and confess the confessions that we use and not have to face some really hard truth about yourself. 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:08.579 I suppose you could, but over time, I think it'll wear down even the hardest heart. 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:10.859 There's not a week that has gone by. 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:17.420 I've been doing these confessions regularly much of my Christian life, you know, since I started doing this in seminary. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:30.519 And there's not a time that I confess when I am not keenly aware of something that I'm confessing very specifically through the language of the confession that we use. 00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:38.819 When I say sins of commission or omission, right, I'm thinking about very specific things that I've said or done or not said or not done. 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:43.440 So you grow in humility and self-awareness. 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:47.619 You say, verse 3, he says this, 00:24:47.619 --> 00:25:00.239 And what he's saying is you gain a right-sized view of yourself. 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:02.279 Some of us think way too highly of ourselves. 00:25:02.379 --> 00:25:03.379 No offense, but it's true. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:04.819 Everybody around you knows it. 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:08.239 And some of us think very lowly of ourselves. 00:25:08.399 --> 00:25:10.239 And probably people around you know that too. 00:25:10.679 --> 00:25:14.359 Some people tend to be very, very sort of blind to their faults. 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:17.839 Because many of us tend to be very hyper-aware of our faults. 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.279 And the gospel corrects both. 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:24.559 The gospel says you need to have a right-sized view of yourself. 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:28.399 And all of these practices are meant to give you a right-sized view of yourself. 00:25:29.459 --> 00:25:31.639 Yes, it's true that I'm incredibly sinful. 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.259 Yes, it's true that I have a really hard time trusting the Lord. 00:25:34.679 --> 00:25:35.699 But guess what's also true? 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:39.179 God loves me and delights in me more than I can possibly fathom. 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:43.840 And when those two things come together, I am more sinful than I ever dared admit. 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:47.560 And God's love and grace are greater than I ever dared imagine. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:51.259 When those come together, that will melt your heart. 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:58.519 And all of these practices, all of these embodied practices are designed to bring those two truths together in your heart. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:01.000 A right-sized view of yourself. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:07.220 Evidence of spiritual growth is that you begin to love yourself not for your own sake but for God's sake. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:09.500 And to see yourself as he sees you. 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:13.980 Number three, the third bit of evidence that we are growing through these embodied practices 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:17.259 is that we begin to grow in our love for other people. 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:19.859 In our prioritization of other people. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:21.440 Verse four, 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:35.900 He's using the word body again, but in a different sense. 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:37.100 And you know that's deliberate. 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:40.960 You offer your body as a living sacrifice and guess what? 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:44.620 God takes you and then joins you to an even greater body. 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:46.740 The body of Christ. 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:50.120 The church is the body of Christ. 00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:53.659 So when you give yourself as a living sacrifice to God, 00:26:53.939 --> 00:26:55.599 He then gives you to His church. 00:26:56.379 --> 00:26:57.199 The body. 00:26:58.579 --> 00:27:03.319 And He gives you gifts through the Holy Spirit to serve as a part of that body. 00:27:03.399 --> 00:27:06.539 As a necessary, vital, essential part of that body. 00:27:07.099 --> 00:27:08.859 And Paul gives a few examples here. 00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:13.559 You know, prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation. 00:27:14.059 --> 00:27:15.279 Not extortion. 00:27:16.199 --> 00:27:16.719 Exhortation. 00:27:17.679 --> 00:27:18.159 Giving. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:18.959 Just kidding. 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:19.779 Leadership. 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:20.899 Mercy. 00:27:20.899 --> 00:27:21.139 Mercy. 00:27:21.139 --> 00:27:23.139 But there are many, many, many more. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:24.579 Many more gifts. 00:27:25.679 --> 00:27:26.839 And the point is this. 00:27:26.939 --> 00:27:29.719 Christianity is not something that can be practiced alone. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:34.539 By design, it's not something that can be practiced alone. 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.919 So a way of saying it is, you know, when you give yourself to God, 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:41.339 you are at that moment giving yourself to God's people. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.559 And you can't really give yourself to God without giving yourself to God's people. 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:49.779 And there are needs in this community. 00:27:50.179 --> 00:27:53.659 Maybe only you can meet. 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:58.099 You know, there are hands in this community that maybe only you can hold. 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:03.039 You know, there are particular kinds of lonely, secret, hidden suffering. 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:07.059 And maybe you're the only other person in the room who knows what that feels like. 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:09.059 Maybe you're the only one who's been there. 00:28:09.379 --> 00:28:11.019 And maybe that's why you're here. 00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:19.200 Maybe like you thought you just kind of found the church online or kind of, you know, got invited by a friend or kind of walked in the door one day because you were curious. 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:21.139 Maybe you thought that's why you were here. 00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:28.000 But maybe the real reason you're here is because God said, I need this part of the body right here for these reasons. 00:28:28.360 --> 00:28:33.200 Because there's this need and this person needs to be here because I want to meet this need. 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:34.660 And the way I do it is through this person. 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:37.560 And maybe that's the real reason you're sitting here. 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:46.940 And there are, you know, there are ministries and outreach opportunities that exist only because people have started them. 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:53.700 And there are many ministries and outreach opportunities and missions that don't exist because nobody has yet started them. 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:56.159 That's why they don't exist. 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.319 You know, the refugee ministry, you're going to hear a little bit more about that later in the service. 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.419 That exists only because Juliet gave herself as a living sacrifice. 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:06.220 And said, I'm going to give myself to the Lord. 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:07.259 I'm going to give myself to the church. 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:08.319 And this is the way I'm going to serve. 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:11.200 You know, we have the Antioch ministry. 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:14.259 That exists only because Ellen gave herself as a living sacrifice. 00:29:14.359 --> 00:29:15.559 Said, I'm going to give myself to this. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:16.680 I'm going to give myself to the church. 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:18.480 I'm going to give myself to starting this ministry. 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:21.140 Because this is where I feel like God is calling me to serve. 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:22.740 You know, we have core groups. 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:25.019 We have Sunday school classes. 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:25.940 We have a tech team. 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:29.019 We have greeters and ushers and people who are setting up and cleaning up. 00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:31.700 And an altar guild and a parish council and a healing prayer ministry. 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:36.400 And many others that exist because men and women are saying, I'm going to be a living sacrifice. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:38.660 I'm going to give myself to God. 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:39.920 I'm going to give myself to God's people. 00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:43.080 I'm going to give myself in the ways that God has gifted me to serve. 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:48.060 Because I understand the call of my life is to be a living sacrifice. 00:29:48.059 --> 00:29:54.519 So as we said at the beginning, just kind of pull all this together. 00:29:56.399 --> 00:30:02.019 If you're a Christian and you're desiring to grow in your faith, your body is the key. 00:30:03.179 --> 00:30:04.419 Your body is the key. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:08.279 Our faith cannot remain purely intellectual. 00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:11.879 And it cannot remain purely emotional. 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:22.160 Our faith cannot remain disconnected from our bodies and the habits and the patterns and the rituals and the liturgies that shape our hearts. 00:30:23.800 --> 00:30:25.400 You have to engage your body. 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:30.700 You have to adopt these habits and patterns and rituals that conform you to the gospel rather than the world. 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:33.160 So the invitation this morning is really an invitation. 00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:41.560 Offer your body as a living sacrifice through embodied practices that reorient your heart toward God and toward God's people. 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:43.420 That's what Paul's saying. 00:30:43.620 --> 00:30:50.019 And if you're not a Christian and you're hearing all of this and you're thinking this is bizarre, why would someone ever do this? 00:30:50.019 --> 00:30:58.839 The key to this passage is when Paul says, on behalf of the mercy of God. 00:30:59.639 --> 00:31:03.400 It's a response to the mercy of God. 00:31:03.879 --> 00:31:08.720 In other words, the reason that we would do this is because this is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:19.700 The reason that we want to offer our bodies to Jesus as living sacrifices is because he first offered his body to us as a sacrifice. 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:34.000 And a God who loves us enough to offer his body on the cross the way he did is the kind of God that you can trust with your body, with your heart, with your life, 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:42.400 to put yourself on the altar and let go of your future and let go of control and let go of expectations and let go of entitlement and to say, 00:31:42.639 --> 00:31:43.339 Here I am, Lord. 00:31:43.460 --> 00:31:44.859 I belong to you now. 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:46.900 Let's pray. 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:56.080 Lord, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the joy of being here this morning. 00:31:56.180 --> 00:32:00.440 Again, I pray that your spirit would continue working in us to do what we can't do for ourselves. 00:32:01.100 --> 00:32:04.360 This is not an invitation that we can respond to in our own strength. 00:32:04.460 --> 00:32:07.860 It's something that you have to do in us, Lord. 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:15.779 And so I pray that you would, as we even later come forward to receive these elements, Lord, which is your sacrifice, 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:24.619 I pray that we would come and bring our offerings to you, not just in the form of money or whatever else we might offer, but ourselves. 00:32:25.179 --> 00:32:28.299 Because we know that that's the real and true offering that you're after, Lord. 00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:37.079 And we pray that as we come to you, we would bring ourselves wholeheartedly, not reservedly, but fully, Lord, holding nothing back. 00:32:37.659 --> 00:32:39.859 And pray this for your glory and for our good. 00:32:40.299 --> 00:32:41.559 In your son's name. 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:41.960 Amen. 00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:42.059 Amen. 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:43.960 Amen. 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:44.960 Amen. 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:45.960 Amen. 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.960 Amen. 00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:47.960 Amen. 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:48.960 Amen. 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:49.960 Amen. 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:50.960 Amen. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:51.960 Amen. 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:53.960 Amen. 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:54.960 Amen. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:55.960 Amen.