Well, now we come to God's word. We had a long passage in the first service. We'll have a very short one in this second. Romans chapter 12, verse one, verse one. And we read God's word together saying, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Very easy. Very hard to do. give yourself as a sacrifice." Well, brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, God declared that all of life must be lived for the glory of Jesus Christ, for of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. That's the last verse of chapter 11. God declared this based on what he did for man. Man was guilty and God gave him grace. And he says, now you live a life of gratitude. But God didn't stop there with the broad demand saying, live your life for the glory of God. He gave details. He declared that the best way for man to live for the glory of Jesus is to live a sacrificial life. Well, hear about this today. Our headings are the ground of your sacrifice, and then second, the nature of your sacrifice. And our goals are that you will learn to totally dedicate your life to please the Lord, knowing all that he has done for you. First, we look at the ground of your sacrifice. Well, the Apostle Paul pleaded for Christians to live for Christ's glory based on what Christ did for them. That's chapters 1 through 11. They were guilty, they were condemned, but he showed them mercy through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was that free sacrifice who fully and totally died in the place of sinners so the sinner could be recreated, renewed in his soul. This means the sinner has no merit before God. He couldn't go and say, I need to be saved because I'm pretty good. We have nothing remarkable for salvation. In short, and this is the way to remember it, God punished Jesus for man's sin, so man received mercy. Mercy means you're not punished the way you deserve to be punished. And then God provided Jesus' works, his life of obedience and his sacrificial death, so man received grace, which is giving man what he did not earn or deserve. So that's the distinction between mercy and grace. Not punished as you should, mercy, given what you shouldn't, you didn't deserve, grace. And this is why the Apostle Paul used the word, therefore. Therefore, the big word is an inferential participle. In other words, it explains why. I beseech you, therefore. before God. So why the Christian must live for the glory of Jesus and be a sacrifice for Him. He was saved, therefore, he must serve as a sacrifice. Now, Apostle Paul said that serving as a sacrifice is a Christian's rational or reasonable service. man's service to God is rational or reasonable because of who Christ is and what he has done for him. And this is similar, right? You go and join the army. you are trained to be a soldier, you're equipped to be a soldier, you're paid to be a soldier, then you're expected to be a soldier. It's only reasonable. It's only rational. It's only logical. And that's this word, logikos, is the Greek word. It means it's your logical service based on what God did for you that you would give yourself as a sacrifice to Him. The Apostle Paul then said that the man who gives himself must give himself as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God. And it was possible for man to be a holy and acceptable sacrifice. Sin and shame did not stop man from being acceptable to God because the sins were put on Jesus. Look at your notes now. 1 Peter 2, verse 5, together. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So, through Jesus Christ, you can be that holy sacrifice of yourselves. You know, none of us is holy. In fact, the things we don't want to do, the things we do. We know the struggle. Second, to be holy and acceptable sacrifice, man had to give up living for himself. And the more he gave up living for himself, the more useful he is to God. We talked about that recently. Love is a self-sacrifice. That's why love cannot be directed to yourself. So when you serve God, you have to set aside what you want to do and do what God wants you to do. Look at the sermon notes again. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9, together. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. We have to please Him because He's our Savior. It's only logical. Hebrews 13, verse 16, together. but do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." What is the sacrifice? We see here the good you do. For with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. Also note that only God determined what is good. So man had to do or had to go to God's word to learn what is good. Being good is not intrinsic to man. Man naturally, if you want to help somebody, you think, well, what can they give me back? Well, how would that benefit me? Whereas when God says what is good, you're thinking, what does God want that person to do? And it changes our approach. So what can we learn from this first point? The ground of our sacrifice is that we were saved by Jesus, even though we were such sinners. Or the other expression, we were guilty before him, he showed us amazing grace. First thing is to consider your personal mercies you have received from God. You were not punished as you ought to. Instead of being punished, you were justified of all your sins. You were given this new covering, so your sin and shame were covered up. Then you were identified with Christ, not with Adam, but with the second Adam, Jesus Christ. You were called a Christian, an image bearer of our prophet, priest, and king. You are now under grace. You're protected under grace. Our new passage to memorize, John 3, 16 through 18. If you believe in him, you have already have eternal life. While you remain in the world, he cleans you out. You talk about blessings. You have his Holy Spirit that you don't need to be afraid. He emboldens you. He gives you right words to speak. He encourages you. Sometimes he has to say, stop it. He works and tells you when you're going to do wrong, he makes you feel guilty. What a good person to have with you always. You are secured forever. You can never, ever not have eternal life. Eternal life can never end. You believe in Jesus, you have everlasting life. You have troubles, He's there to help you. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. My spirit will be with you to the end of the age. So you can have confidence in God's faithfulness to you. So you have many reasons to serve the Lord. Your sacrifice of yourself to him is logical. On the other hand, blind devotion, which has ignorance for its mother, is fit to be paid only to dunghill deities. They don't do anything for you. You're not to worship them. Those are God of the garbage dump. Think of what God does for you. Even our Muslim friends, they're afraid of God. They don't have a father-child relationship. Even saying that to them is a great sin. But now your God loves you. He cares for you. He embraces you. Number three, you should also glorify God just for who he is. Now we're told here all that God has done for us, but you should just be glorifying God simply because he is your creator. You belong to him for Because we should glorify God just for him being our creator, this means even non-believers are obligated to glorify God and it's to their judgment if they don't. So how do you fix this? Your duty is to see that they do. That means tell non-believers of the one, true, glorious God who reached down to us through Jesus Christ, showed us our guilt, and gave us his grace. And now we can live because of that for the glory of God. Lesson five, only God has the right to tell you how you should be a sacrifice to him. This is the means This means rather you offer what he decides. And now we get into that second part, the nature of that sacrifice. We see the ground of it. You were guilty. But now the nature, what kind of sacrifice ought you to be? First of all, let's look at a similar verse to fill in this passage and make it a little bit richer. And it's from Romans 6, verse 13. Earlier, the Apostle Paul said to the Roman Christians together, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Now, why did Apostle Paul use such a term that man must be a sacrifice? Why not say, you know, you ought to be really nice people or nice, obedient children? or happy children? Well, he said this because he wanted to remind them of the work of Jesus by which they were saved. Jesus was that whole burnt offering, that sacrifice that was given wholly to God on man's behalf. Let me read for you about this burnt offering from Leviticus chapter one. Follow along if you have your notes handy. If his offering, that's a man coming to God, is a burnt offering of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. Sounds right? That's Jesus. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, picturing the transference of guilt on it, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement, satisfying God's anger against man for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord and the priest Aaron's son shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. and he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it in its pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priest, shall put fire on the altar and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priest, Aaron's son, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. And now you see more, but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to God. Everything had to be done. The animal could not be eaten. It had to be burnt, killed and burnt before God. So Christ, the whole burnt offering, was an offering of love. And he had to be totally consumed. He had to die on the cross to bring salvation for sinners. And that's what he was calling you to do. Christians are being called to be a sacrifice that is totally given over to the Lord. Now look how this is spoken to us in the New Testament, the same picture. Now let's read together, Ephesians 5, verse 2. Begin, and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. See the name? Jesus there is our sweet-smelling. In other words, God is pleased with it. Galatians 1, 3, and 4 together. Grace to you and peace from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present age according to the will of our God and Father. The wickedness was all around in the evil age, but there it is. He gave himself for our sins and we have peace with God. Hebrews 9.26, together. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And yet Christ was more. He did not give an impoverished animal like in the Old Testament. He gave himself in all his richness and in all his greatness. And that was what made it possible, not just for one person, but his sacrifice was so that millions could become rich. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8 9 together, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, through his poverty, might become rich. Let's see how he builds his lesson. Why did Apostle Paul say you must be a sacrifice, not just a sacrifice, but you must be a living sacrifice? Well, you're not to present the dead legal offerings that the Jews did in the Old Testament. Jesus is your offering. What happened to him when he died? He rose again and he had life. And because he lives, you can live. You are to be a living sacrifice. Romans chapter six, verse eight says together, now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. See the difference? You're a sacrifice, but you're a living sacrifice. 1 Peter 2, verse 5. Very familiar verse. Together. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Galatians 2.20. Together. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." You see the difference? We receive from Christ, and we now live that way. He died, we died. He lived, we live. And we are now able to live as sacrifices to him. Now, next question. Why did the Apostle Paul say you must present your bodies as a holy sacrifice to God? because God is the one who was offended by sin. He demands holiness. The Levitical sacrifices, when they were offered, had to be without blemish. We just saw that in Leviticus. But look also in Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 21, together. but if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. He doesn't want then the believer's life to be marked by unholiness, mixed motives. It's unacceptable to him He wants you to be truly holy sacrifice. So you must be a sacrifice. You must be a living sacrifice. You must be a holy sacrifice before God. He wants holy lives. But why did the Apostle Paul say you must present your bodies as this living, holy sacrifice? Why body? Apostle Paul here is not referring to your physical body. He's using this term in a general way. Sometimes in the scriptures, God uses part to refer to the whole. He would say, Ephraim, you listen to me, what he meant there, Ephraim represented all of Israel. Or if you hear the airport tower calling to the plane and they will say, how many souls do you have on board? Well, they're not just concerned about the souls, they mean the body of the person, the mind of the person, the soul of the person. And so when the Apostle Paul says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, he's referring to the whole person in which the soul dwells. Some people see this and they think, oh, present your bodies and live with sacrifice, and they say, this means you must eat properly and eat organic foods and stop eating all that sugar. Now, that may be true. You shouldn't do some of those things, and some things you should do. But that's not what this is talking about. Take care of your body. Your body belongs to God. You've heard sermons about that. But this is saying you present your whole self, your lips, your limbs, Everything must reflect what the soul desires. And look how this is taught in the scriptures. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15. Together, therefore by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. You see what it's saying here? The fruit of your lips. Where does that flow from? from your heart, from your soul. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, together. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Things done in the body. That's the acts of obedience that flow from the heart. So it isn't referring to the physical body that is the sacrifice, but things done in the body that is the sacrifice. What can we learn? First of all, remember the Lord Jesus was totally consumed in his death, like the burnt offerings of the Old Testament were totally consumed for you. That is amazing love. Would you go and allow yourself to be burned and die for someone else? That's difficult, isn't it? And he did it, and he did it for sinners. Second, this means you must then be as He did, be at His disposal to do His Father's holy will all the time, sacrificing yourself to do so. That's what Jesus called us to do. Matthew chapter 16, verse 24 says together, Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. What a difference, deny yourself. Our professors in university tell us, love yourself. And the Bible says, no, love others, love God, deny yourself. Sometimes you have to go without food. Sometimes you're tired. You still do what is necessary. I know the young ones with the babies. You know those babies don't seem to appreciate a good night's rest. And they make a scream in the middle of the night. Maybe they're hurt. Maybe they need changing. Maybe they're hungry. And the parents do what? Forget it. I need my eight hours. When I wake up, I'll tend to you. You don't do that. You sacrifice yourself. That's what true love is. That's what God expects. You deny yourself because you now belong to your Lord and Savior. That's 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20. Let's read together. for you were bought at the price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are the Lord's." They belong to the Lord. Third, you must personally be involved in being a sacrifice. You may not substitute another Just as Christ didn't say, look, me, why would I go there? They'll spit on me. They'll beat me. They'll put a crown of thorns on me and make my back like furrows in a garden with the hooks that'll stick in me. They'll spit in my face, taunt me. Well, he had to do that as a sacrifice for you. And similarly, you may not delegate and say, let somebody else do it. You know, it's easy in Western culture. Have you ever heard that song, please don't send me to Africa? I don't think I've got what it takes. I'm just a man. I'm not a Tarzan. I don't like gorillas or snakes. I'm living here in suburbia in my comfortable middle class life. Please don't send me out into the bush where the natives are restless at nights. What's the whole goal there? And the end of the song says, look, I'll give you 11%. Just don't send me there. Well, no, we all have to be involved. You can't delegate the raising of your children to somebody else. Fathers, you have to teach your children. That's how you're a sacrifice, right? You sacrifice your time to serve others. We may not delegate. Otherwise, hey, we put up a screen here and watch somebody else's service. We have to do it ourselves. You have to take the time to be personally involved in being a sacrifice. Somebody needs someone to talk to. Now, there are times when some things are difficult and you need additional help. But sometimes people just want someone to talk to. And you can sacrifice your time for that person. Maybe you have something else to do, but yeah, maybe you'll survive. You can wait a few minutes to eat. You can wait a few minutes to sleep. That's what he expects. Everyone has that job of living and sharing the gospel. That's what it means to be the sacrifice. It's not just worship. It's all of your life. And finally, let Christ make your heart holy. so you can live and speak for Him and be that holy, acceptable, living sacrifice to God. He must work in you. The more you're reminded of Christ's love, the more you will work for Him. Let's conclude. You must be that holy sacrifice, that living sacrifice, doing sacrificial work for the Lord Jesus based on what He's done for you. He was your all-consumed sacrifice, and you must be one for Him. He gave His body and soul for you, and you must give your body and soul for Him. This is your only rational response. You were saved, and now you are to serve. So, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, while it is reasonable to sacrificially serve Christ, who was a sacrifice for you, yet serving the Lord, being that constant living holy sacrifice, is rewarding. He rewards you for doing what you should logically do just because of who he is and what he's done for you, just because he was your creator and recreator. Yet there's a reward for doing so. What a blessing, what a deal. Second, God does not want occasional service or half-hearted service. He wants wholehearted service in your life, in the way you behave, in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you dress, in the way you treat others. So here's the challenge. Make a judgment today in your own heart of the way you have served the Lord. Out of 10, where do you stand? Then think of where you want to be, because none of us will be a 10. I guarantee you that. If you do, you've got other problems. Where do you want to be? Then pray that God will move you to be closer to that 10, where you give yourself wholly to his service in body and soul. And finally, you cannot serve God unless you know and receive his mercy. And he said, by the mercies of God, he knew what he was talking about. You need to have someone die for you so you are not punished that way. If you accept His offer of mercy and it's offered to you today, He will save you, and then you can truly serve Him, something you are bound to do. Let us pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you've given us your Word again to reflect on. You've given us that call to be a true, living, holy sacrifice, reminding us of all the wealth of what you have accomplished for us. Teach us then, Lord, to be that type of sacrifice, giving up sometimes our time, even our money, our efforts, our gifts, so that we can serve others. We know, Lord, we are sometimes lazy and careless. We take for granted all the riches we have in Jesus Christ. We think it should end with us, but Lord, that's not how you expect us to live. Teach us to be wholly committed, giving our all to the one who gave his life for us. We pray in Jesus' name.