WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.899 Romans 12, verse number 1. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:30.640 Perfect. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:33.359 And so on. 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:44.719 So from this passage, we want to continue to look at what the Bible has to say to us about being healthy people, a healthy Christian, and being a healthy church. 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:51.359 And we have looked at various passages from 2 Timothy to John 15 and 1 Peter. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:01:01.679 And the last time we took up the study, we looked at Ephesians chapter number 3, and we saw Paul's prayer for personal development. 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:14.719 And focusing on that chapter, we focused especially on God giving us an increased capacity in our hearts for the presence of the Spirit of Christ and for Christ himself. 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:18.060 It was focused very much on our hearts. 00:01:18.060 --> 00:01:26.480 I want us to think this evening as something that focuses more upon our minds and our intellect rather than our hearts. 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:33.980 And having said that, I know the Bible, when it speaks about the heart, it includes all of the faculties of the soul. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:37.800 That is, our minds, our will, and our affections. 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:45.280 But before we begin, I do want to say something about the faculties of the soul. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.260 And I want us to think about them in this way as we look at this passage. 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:52.359 That we do have the mind and the will and the affections. 00:01:53.159 --> 00:02:01.099 And the mind is the faculty that receives information and makes a judgment on the information received. 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:06.960 That the will makes a choice based on the judgment of the mind. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:12.959 And that once the will makes a choice, our affections are fixed on the choice that the will makes. 00:02:14.079 --> 00:02:24.099 And that may sound a bit mechanical, but if we actually take that on board, that is simply and profoundly the way we work in our souls. 00:02:24.299 --> 00:02:25.359 We receive information. 00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:27.659 We make judgment on that information. 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.479 We make then a choice based on that judgment. 00:02:31.099 --> 00:02:35.759 And then our affections and our hearts go after whatever the will has chosen. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:39.439 And we look into the beginning of this chapter. 00:02:40.019 --> 00:02:45.780 And we see that it begins with an appeal from Paul that is based on what has gone before. 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:52.800 So when we read, I appeal to you, therefore, brother, he is referring to everything that has gone before. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:03:10.380 In other words, all the great things that he has said about their salvation, about redemption in Christ, about them being indwelt by the spirit of God, about them having the spirit of adoption, crying, Abba, Father, the great privileges that are now theirs. 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:14.420 They are in possession of the grace of salvation. 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:21.199 And having possession of it, they now have a responsibility to be the people of God. 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:26.119 And we ourselves are here this evening because we trust in the grace of God. 00:03:26.739 --> 00:03:28.279 God has made us what we are. 00:03:28.859 --> 00:03:35.379 And therefore, God requires us to follow a certain path and to a particular kind of lifestyle. 00:03:36.019 --> 00:03:42.060 And so tonight I want us to think of the Christian and a life of total dedication to God. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:52.620 I want us to think, first of all, of the duty of consistency, to have a life that's consistent with the word of God. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.000 And that's what Paul requires of them. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:03.240 By the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:10.159 They are to present themselves or place themselves at the disposal of God. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:22.379 And when he wants to draw attention to their need to be consistent with the word of God, he is drawing on an image from the Old Testament where the priest would come with a sacrifice to the temple. 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:28.560 And of course, the sacrifice was killed, the blood was shed and was presented to the Lord. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:39.899 He is using that process and giving it a new sense of direction and a new meaning by applying it to the experience of the disciple, of the Christian. 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:47.819 And I think the process is this, that he is thinking of sacrifice and the temple and the tabernacle. 00:04:48.659 --> 00:04:53.099 And now he's thinking of the Christian and Christ as the temple and them coming to him. 00:04:53.100 --> 00:05:06.540 So that as the priests come with a sacrifice to the temple of Solomon, that they now come to the temple which is, who is Jesus Christ himself. 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:20.040 And that's the way in which Jesus himself sets himself up in John chapter 2, when he says to the Jews around him, destroy this temple and I will raise it up at the last day. 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:22.040 Jesus is the temple. 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:28.379 We take a sacrifice to the temple of Solomon, dedicating that to God at the temple. 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:41.659 But when I take our own lives and we dedicate them to the service, to following the Lord Jesus, we place our hearts, our lives at the disposal of the Lord Jesus. 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:48.719 And of course, that kind of sacrifice is living, it's holy and it's acceptable. 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:53.199 We are alive because of a union with Christ. 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:57.019 We are alive because we are brought from the dead by the Spirit of God. 00:05:57.019 --> 00:06:08.519 And as living people who have the life of God in our soul, we come to present ourselves as holy and acceptable. 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:16.839 And both of these things, of course, go together, but it sets before us the need for consistency with the Word of God, 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:26.819 that we are holy as those who are set apart by God, and that we are also walking and living the kind of life that is acceptable to God. 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:41.639 That God looks down upon us and sees the direction of our lives, the life that we are living, sees us set apart for himself, and he takes delight in us. 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:43.959 He is pleased with what he sees. 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:52.399 He says to the Lord Jesus at the time of baptism, you are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:04.719 And when God looks down at his children, living the life that's consistent with the Word of God, set apart by himself, then God is well pleased. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:16.460 And instead of thinking of placing our lives on an altar in commitment to God, we are placing our lives at the disposal of God. 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:20.900 We are God's possession, and we are giving our lives to him daily. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:27.900 And Paul goes on to say that this is your spiritual worship. 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:33.639 In other words, he is making the whole of life an act of worship. 00:07:34.539 --> 00:07:42.679 So that wherever we go in life, we come from the worship of God, as we are called together to the public worship of God with the people of God. 00:07:43.419 --> 00:07:49.620 We will go and live our lives in our workplace, in our home, in our school, wherever we spend our lives. 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:54.300 Because the whole of life is worship, it is the service of God. 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:56.980 And we all have our individual callings. 00:07:57.780 --> 00:08:03.740 And God expects us and calls us to serve him wherever he has sent us in our daily lives. 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:08.720 And that is your spiritual worship. 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:17.740 And here is one place where the King James Version is a much better translation. 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:24.240 Because it should read, I think, that this is your reasonable service. 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:31.780 The word that's translated spiritual, it's not a word in the original that is connected to the Holy Spirit at all. 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:36.480 It's a word that's connected to the Logos or to the mind or to a reason. 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:41.279 So what he is saying to them, this is your reasonable worship. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:48.720 You're coming to present yourselves at the disposal of God, to serve God. 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:51.899 And you've done that in a reasonable way. 00:08:52.819 --> 00:08:54.199 It's not something you do blindly. 00:08:55.659 --> 00:08:58.299 Your intellect, your mind is working. 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:12.659 And you're going through this act of worship, every step that you take, because there's a process in your mind that arises from the word of God, by the spirit of God, which leads you to direct your life in a particular way. 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:15.120 That's the consistency. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:28.700 And as the children of God, as those who, like them, by the mercies of God, who are saved by the grace of God, there is that intellectual process, as well as the movement of their affections after the Lord Jesus. 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:39.899 There is that intellectual process which leads us more and more to give ourselves to the Lord Jesus in the service of his name. 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:46.740 The need, the duty for consistency. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:58.439 It's a challenge for us all to see how we measure up with the standard that Paul is calling them to reach here in the church in Rome. 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:10.960 But when we analyse what he is saying in the light of the way in which the grace of God works, then it's a kind of thing that should be natural for the children of God. 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:27.440 Natural to give ourselves, to place ourselves at the disposal of the Lord in his service and to do so because his word and his spirit working in our minds, persuading us daily that this is what we must surely do. 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:33.200 There is the duty for consistency. 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:40.620 Secondly, there is the danger of compromise. 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:45.980 And that's how we begin the second verse, the danger of compromise. 00:10:46.880 --> 00:10:51.820 Do not be conformed to this world. 00:10:52.760 --> 00:10:54.260 Don't take the outward form. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:55.440 Don't take the shape. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:58.420 Don't match the norms of the world in which you live. 00:10:58.780 --> 00:11:02.060 Don't comply with the society in which you are living. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:09.800 It's a sense of losing our identity because we're compromising with the society around us. 00:11:10.060 --> 00:11:17.940 And we become more like the society around us than we are like the Christ who has called us to follow him. 00:11:17.940 --> 00:11:20.700 It's compromising. 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:31.460 And there are many ways in which in every generation there is the pressure to compromise and the pressure to comply with what's happening in the world around us. 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:52.360 And in many ways we see that in our own society, in our own culture, in our own day, the pressure to simply go with the flow of the direction of society, to compromise our convictions, to compromise the way that we live our lives, to compromise our values and our beliefs. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:12:05.360 There is that pressure presented on our beliefs, to compromise our beliefs, to compromise our beliefs, to compromise our beliefs, to compromise our beliefs. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.360 And Paul here refers to this world. 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:14.039 And perhaps it will be better to say, do not be conformed to this age. 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:27.000 Because Paul is referring to this age and the experience of this world, the world that is in darkness, that is separate from Christ, that is alienated from God. 00:12:27.339 --> 00:12:36.480 This age in comparison to the age that is to come, that is the eternity to which God will gather people and the glory that is to follow. 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:42.659 It's the danger of compromising with this age. 00:12:42.659 --> 00:12:57.480 And the way in which there is that pressure on our thinking, on our lives day by day, that ultimately dulls the reality of God in our own lives. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.679 And I'm sure we're all at different times in life aware of that. 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:10.139 That there is that dumbing down, that dulling of our experience of God, of our sense of God in our lives. 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:14.819 And it happens because of everything that takes place around us. 00:13:15.459 --> 00:13:21.779 We are squeezed into the mold of the world in such a way that God is squeezed out of our lives. 00:13:21.779 --> 00:13:27.279 And we struggle to live the life of consistency that Paul requires of them. 00:13:28.199 --> 00:13:33.539 Interestingly, Paul, in writing to the Corinthians in chapter number 11, he says this to them. 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:44.539 As the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, he's afraid that your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:46.179 It's subtle. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:51.059 We cannot say tonight that the world out there doesn't affect us. 00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:55.919 We cannot say tonight that we're immune from the influence of the world. 00:13:56.739 --> 00:14:02.659 By being in the world, it's impossible to be immune to everything that takes place around us. 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:11.659 And there's the sense here of deception, of being led away quietly and being led into a trap without us realizing it. 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:16.100 The danger of compromising. 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:24.899 How much we need to be on guard from the evil of this age that wants to rob us of our peace in Christ, 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:30.299 to rob us of the life that is pleasing to God and to make us like itself, 00:14:31.459 --> 00:14:38.679 molded into thinking and living the way that this age, this world wants us to. 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:42.360 The danger of compromising. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:48.620 How we need to be on guard against that danger and that temptation. 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:55.179 And thirdly, there is the demand for concentration. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:06.700 And as we read many of the letters of Paul, there is a sense in which this is one of the great failings, 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:13.000 that we cease or slow down at a concentration. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:17.139 And there is the challenge in that verse 2. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:25.379 Instead of being conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewal of your mind. 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:31.240 Instead of being conformed to the world, instead of being placed in the mold of the world, 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:38.620 there is the sense of being remodeled and reshaped to take on a different form. 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:44.480 And it's a form that arises out of what we are in our hearts as the children of God. 00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:52.759 The same word that's used of the transformation of the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in places like Matthew 17. 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:55.779 He was transfigured before them. 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:58.200 His face shone like sun. 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:00.639 His clothes became white. 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:04.720 And the disciples were eyewitnesses of his glory. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:34.700 His face shone like sun. 00:16:34.700 --> 00:17:04.700 His face is away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away away 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:07.660 He is using the passive of this verb here. 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:12.059 In other words, this is a work that is taking place 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:16.100 by someone outside of themselves upon their lives. 00:17:17.100 --> 00:17:20.880 It is, allow yourself to be transformed. 00:17:22.080 --> 00:17:24.600 In other words, there is the possibility 00:17:24.600 --> 00:17:27.500 that there is a resistance in place 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:30.539 that stands in the way of this transformation. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.340 If I have resistance in an electric circuit, 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:35.860 then I've got problems. 00:17:35.860 --> 00:17:39.880 If there's resistance in any kind of plumbing operation, 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:41.259 then there's problems. 00:17:42.080 --> 00:17:43.539 Whatever there is a resistance, 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:46.120 the mechanism, whatever it is, 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.140 it's not able to perform the way that it should. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.220 The electricity will not produce, 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:54.039 the heating of it will not produce, 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:58.920 it will not perform what it is in place for. 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:03.100 And there is the suggestion here at least 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:07.259 that there may be resistance in their lives 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:11.959 to this transformation which God brings about in their lives 00:18:11.959 --> 00:18:14.579 by his own Holy Spirit. 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:18.139 And we can ask ourselves, 00:18:18.139 --> 00:18:19.359 and I can ask myself, 00:18:20.439 --> 00:18:24.139 where, what kind of possible resistance 00:18:24.139 --> 00:18:26.879 is there in my life or in your life 00:18:26.879 --> 00:18:33.179 that lessens the impact of this transformation in our lives? 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:36.840 Can we examine ourselves 00:18:36.840 --> 00:18:39.120 and find a blockage, 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:40.720 a loose connection, 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:43.920 anything that places resistance, 00:18:44.060 --> 00:18:45.799 that stands in the way? 00:18:47.100 --> 00:18:49.259 The transformation that we read of 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:50.680 in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.060 and that's the point that Paul is getting to, 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:57.700 that they were there with unveiled faces. 00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:00.440 The veil is taken away as we turn to the Lord, 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.440 and with unveiled faces, 00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:06.299 beholding as in a glass or in a mirror, 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:07.620 the glory of the Lord, 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:11.600 are being transformed into the same image 00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:14.039 from one degree of glory to another 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.840 by the Lord who is the Spirit. 00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:21.059 The transformation takes place 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.459 as we live the consistent life 00:19:23.459 --> 00:19:25.619 that looks to Jesus in his word, 00:19:26.159 --> 00:19:28.480 and in that moment of looking to him 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:30.579 and in a life spent looking to him, 00:19:31.179 --> 00:19:33.119 the transformation takes place. 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:36.339 It's not something that we do ourselves, 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:39.779 but in an exposure to the glory of Christ 00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:40.459 in his word, 00:19:40.959 --> 00:19:42.759 and the work of the Spirit of God, 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:44.279 through that exposure, 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:47.099 the transformation takes place. 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:51.639 And of course that means that we ourselves 00:19:51.639 --> 00:19:53.359 have to keep in step with the Spirit, 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:55.379 but it emphasizes the fact 00:19:55.379 --> 00:19:57.980 that in our progress, 00:19:58.119 --> 00:19:59.220 in our transformation, 00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:01.740 in our sanctification, 00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:05.000 that God is the agent. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:10.099 He is the person who drives the process forward. 00:20:10.899 --> 00:20:12.779 And that's where we are tonight. 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:15.799 We are where we are on our journey with God, 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:18.420 following the Lord Jesus 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:20.420 with a measure of consistency. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.599 We are not compromising with the world, 00:20:24.379 --> 00:20:26.740 but God is, by his Spirit, 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:30.399 he is bringing his work forward in our lives 00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:33.420 by his Spirit as we behold 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:36.139 the glory of Christ in his word. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:40.100 And it reminds us of the way in which 00:20:40.100 --> 00:20:44.320 our lives need to be always Christ-centered 00:20:44.320 --> 00:20:46.580 and need to be always focused 00:20:46.580 --> 00:20:48.640 upon the word of God, 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:51.880 where we see the revelation of the glory of God 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.720 in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:20:55.560 --> 00:21:00.460 It's letting God bring his work forward. 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:02.840 Paul, and it's writing to the Thessalonians, 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:04.960 says to them in chapter number four, 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:07.100 this is the will of God, 00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:08.920 your salvation. 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:09.799 That's the plan. 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:11.920 He wants to make you and to me 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:13.799 more and more Christ-like, 00:21:13.900 --> 00:21:15.340 every step that we take in life. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.660 And he does that by the Spirit of God. 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:20.100 And Paul in that same letter speaks 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:22.740 about grieving the Spirit of God. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:24.599 There is a process. 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:26.859 It's a process of transformation. 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:29.459 It's the work of the Spirit of God 00:21:29.459 --> 00:21:34.559 changing us into the likeness of Christ. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:41.839 Be transformed by the renewal of your minds. 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:45.619 And we're back now to thinking of 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:47.259 what I said at the very outset, 00:21:47.259 --> 00:21:50.940 that this whole process is dependent 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:53.119 on our intellect and on our mind 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.400 and our receiving information. 00:21:56.660 --> 00:21:59.539 It's applying our minds to learning 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:00.640 the word of God, 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:02.859 to understanding the word of God, 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:05.200 to hearing the preaching of the word of God, 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:07.460 so that we become more and more 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:09.039 immersed in the word of God 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:10.879 and that our minds are more and more 00:22:10.879 --> 00:22:13.079 filled with that word of God. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.160 It's the renewal of the mind. 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:20.099 It's something that's ongoing once more. 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.519 It's something that God does. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:22.460 He renews our minds. 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:24.859 But this is how it takes place. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.279 If Paul was praying in Ephesians 3 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:30.579 for them to have an increased capacity 00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:31.799 for God in their hearts, 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.680 here Paul is looking at them 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:36.940 having an increased capacity 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:39.859 for the understanding of God and of Christ, 00:22:40.379 --> 00:22:42.240 having the mind of Christ 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.759 in the sense of knowing 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.539 and of learning and of understanding. 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:50.380 And it places upon us 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:52.220 that responsibility 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:55.759 to use our minds, 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:56.960 our intellect, 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:58.920 to use it in the study 00:22:58.920 --> 00:22:59.960 of the word of God 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:03.240 and learning about the work of grace 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:04.420 and the work of salvation 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:06.759 as we have that in Christ Jesus. 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:09.200 And as we do so, 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:11.140 that's the mechanism. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:12.779 That's the way in which God 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:14.220 brings his work forward. 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:16.240 It's through our minds. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:21.819 We may feel a lot of things 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:23.599 and a lot of good things 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.079 as we hear the gospel 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:27.819 and learn about God's love. 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:30.940 But what leaves us 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:33.359 the greatest sanctifying mark 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:33.960 in our lives 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:36.200 is when we understand 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.299 and when we learn more, 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:40.359 when our minds are opened. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.279 We saw in 2 Corinthians 3 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:43.839 the way in which 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.500 the veil is taken away 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:46.959 as we turn to the Lord. 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:48.939 The veil is on the Jews 00:23:48.939 --> 00:23:51.839 when they read the book of Moses still. 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:54.899 But we have an enlightened mind. 00:23:55.859 --> 00:23:57.359 And it's that enlightened mind 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:00.199 that we bring to the word of God 00:24:00.199 --> 00:24:02.139 to learn more and more 00:24:02.139 --> 00:24:04.059 of what God is saying to us. 00:24:07.199 --> 00:24:08.500 With the outcome that 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:10.940 by testing you may discern 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:12.559 what is the will of God, 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:14.359 what is good and acceptable 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:16.539 and perfect. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:20.440 It's not testing in the sense of 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:22.779 proving if it's right or wrong. 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:24.920 But it's testing 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:27.960 and proving the genuineness 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:28.839 of the word of God. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:31.059 The riches of the word of God. 00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:33.119 It's coming to the word of God 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:34.900 and discovering intellectually 00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:35.539 more and more 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:37.440 of what the word of God means. 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:40.480 And that then has its own impact 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:41.740 upon our lives, 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:43.180 upon our relationship with God 00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:44.819 and upon our relationships 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:45.819 with each other. 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:47.019 What are you doing 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:47.880 through the rest of the chapter 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:49.420 and we see the way in which 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:51.599 Paul expands on this whole, 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:54.099 on all these principles 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:55.039 that he's setting out here 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:56.259 by applying them 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:57.519 to our relationships 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.279 with each other, 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:00.319 to our humility, 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:02.400 to our Christ-likeness, 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:03.799 to our relationships 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:04.519 with one another, 00:25:04.660 --> 00:25:05.720 that we are to love one another. 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.120 God, it all flows out 00:25:08.120 --> 00:25:09.259 from this process 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:10.819 of transformation 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:14.940 by the renewal of our minds. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:17.720 And tonight, God wants us 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:19.680 to reflect on that. 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:23.240 Our health as the children of God, 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:24.500 as the disciples 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:26.059 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:27.700 To reflect on 00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:30.440 how consistent our lives is, 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:31.740 that we have a duty 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:33.079 to be consistent 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:34.079 with the word of God. 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:36.440 To reflect on 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:38.759 the danger of compromising 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:39.319 with the world 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:42.880 and to reflect upon 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.359 the demand of God himself 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.700 on our concentration 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:49.279 on what his word says, 00:25:49.779 --> 00:25:51.039 so that we may learn 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.380 and grow. 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:54.480 As one of the commentaries 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.160 said as we close, 00:25:55.859 --> 00:25:58.740 dedication leads to discernment 00:25:58.740 --> 00:26:00.700 and discernment leads 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:02.700 to delight in God's will. 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:04.380 That sums up 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:05.359 the Christian life. 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:06.740 If we're walking 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:07.380 the way that God 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:08.259 wants us to do 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:09.579 in his paths, 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:11.779 that's what we will find. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.559 Dedication leads to discernment. 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:16.660 Our minds are working, 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:17.359 understanding, 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:18.819 and discernment leads 00:26:18.819 --> 00:26:20.519 to delight in God's will. 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:21.720 And ultimately, 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:23.000 as the children of God, 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:24.440 we come to the place 00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:26.160 where we delight in God. 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:27.599 We delight in God's salvation. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:30.119 We delight in God's salvation 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:30.699 in Christ. 00:26:31.419 --> 00:26:32.639 And we are more and more 00:26:32.639 --> 00:26:33.659 drawn by him, 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:34.899 captivated, 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:36.099 motivated by all 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:37.139 that he has done for us 00:26:37.139 --> 00:26:39.139 as we present our lives, 00:26:39.679 --> 00:26:40.279 give ourselves 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.259 into his possession, 00:26:43.459 --> 00:26:44.459 at his disposal, 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:45.959 as he calls us, 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:46.759 to serve him 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:48.339 wherever he has done so 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:49.480 in our lives. 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:51.719 May God bless these thoughts to us. 00:26:53.199 --> 00:26:54.939 So we're now going to conclude 00:26:54.939 --> 00:26:56.839 by singing in Psalm 143 00:26:56.839 --> 00:26:57.899 in the Scottish Psalter, 00:26:59.059 --> 00:27:00.480 in the second version of the Psalm, 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:01.000 and a version of the Psalm.