WEBVTT 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:05.700 Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2 are the focus 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:09.140 of our attention these weeks as we come to this 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:12.740 practical section of the book of Romans. The 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:15.119 application of the doctrine we've been studying 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:17.899 in verses, or chapters rather, 1 through 11. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:24.859 If I were to ask you this morning how many of 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.199 you would like to be debt -free, would you lift 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.719 your hands? Yes. Many of us would like that. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.119 But in order for us to make that a commitment 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.679 and to keep it, we have to follow up by doing 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:42.060 some things. We would first have to stop charging, 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:45.280 and then we'd have to go to work and pay off 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.619 the debts we have. It's not enough just to make 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:52.100 a commitment. We have to follow up then so that 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:55.359 that commitment will mean something. In verse 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:57.560 1 of our text, we have seen that the commitment 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:01.840 that God... is urging of us indeed commanding 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:05.400 of us is that we present our bodies to him as 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:09.859 a living and holy sacrifice but if that commitment 00:01:09.859 --> 00:01:13.180 is going to be kept if it's going to mean something 00:01:13.180 --> 00:01:16.439 then we have to follow up with what verse 2 says 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:20.900 i urge you therefore brethren by the mercies 00:01:20.900 --> 00:01:23.920 of god to present your bodies a living and holy 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:30.620 sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:35.519 service of worship. And do not be conformed to 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.439 this world, but be transformed by the renewing 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:42.599 of your mind, that you may prove what the will 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.760 of God is, that which is good and acceptable 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:54.079 and perfect. Essentially what he tells us is 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:58.829 this. If we are going to keep the commitment 00:01:58.829 --> 00:02:02.590 of presenting our total beings to God as a sacrifice, 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:07.150 it means we must follow up with two responses. 00:02:07.730 --> 00:02:11.629 One of them is negative. The second is positive. 00:02:13.250 --> 00:02:18.629 The negative response is essentially, don't allow 00:02:18.629 --> 00:02:24.539 the peer pressure of our unregenerate society, 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:28.659 to make you live the way it wants you to live. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:34.319 That is inconsistent with what you are as a child 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:39.840 of God, an object of his mercy. In other words, 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:44.780 do not be conformed to the world, to this age. 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:49.419 We talked about that last week. Today we want 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:52.000 to move into the positive side and talk about 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:54.939 the second. of the responses that we should make 00:02:54.939 --> 00:03:00.879 to the Lord. And that is, continue being transformed. 00:03:02.139 --> 00:03:05.479 That is in the present tense. It is something 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.120 that is to be continuous. We are to ever be transformed. 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.419 Now if that's something that we're supposed to 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:16.319 do, then we need to ask some questions to get 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:19.419 to the understanding of it. First, what does 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:25.750 it mean? And then how is it done? And finally, 00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:31.210 why? Why should I do it? First of all, what does 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:38.090 it mean to continually be transformed? W .H. 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:41.289 Griffith Thomas, a commentator and a Bible teacher 00:03:41.289 --> 00:03:46.150 of another generation, reminds us in his writings 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:49.370 that this is not growth, but transformation. 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.860 He goes on to say, growth suggests progress, 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:59.379 but transformation indicates change. Our Lord 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:02.659 grew, but he never needed to be transformed because 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:05.680 there was nothing in his character that needed 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:09.699 to be altered. With the Christian, it is different. 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:14.159 He requires not only growth, but transformation. 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:21.009 To be transformed means to be changed. into another 00:04:21.009 --> 00:04:25.589 form. If we were to take this Greek word and 00:04:25.589 --> 00:04:28.509 put it into the English language letter for letter, 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:33.670 we would have the English word metamorphosis. 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:38.129 We're familiar with that word, especially with 00:04:38.129 --> 00:04:42.829 regards to biology. A caterpillar, for example, 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:48.810 crawls into its cocoon. And after a period of 00:04:48.810 --> 00:04:54.529 time, it burst out changed. It has gone through 00:04:54.529 --> 00:04:57.930 a process of metamorphosis, so it becomes a butterfly, 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:03.009 though it was a caterpillar. The same change 00:05:03.009 --> 00:05:06.769 is seen in a tadpole that eventually becomes 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:12.269 a frog. It is the same creature, but it has been 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:17.319 changed into another form. That is the idea in 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:20.980 this word here, that we are to be continually 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:25.639 changed. The word also is translated in the New 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.660 Testament as transfigured. Now when I say that 00:05:29.660 --> 00:05:32.759 word, you probably immediately think of the Lord 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.160 Jesus Christ when he went up to the top of that 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:40.740 mountain along with Peter, James, and John. And 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:44.759 it says in Matthew and in Mark, That while they 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:49.920 were there, he was transfigured. The very same 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:56.259 word as Romans 12, 2. Matthew says that his face 00:05:56.259 --> 00:06:01.060 shone. Mark includes his clothing, which he says 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:06.000 was as bright as light. When Luke records it, 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:08.540 he says it differently. He doesn't use this word, 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:15.910 but he says that he was made different. All of 00:06:15.910 --> 00:06:18.769 them combined tell us of that time when Jesus 00:06:18.769 --> 00:06:27.050 Christ's glory was manifested. He who was a man 00:06:27.050 --> 00:06:32.189 of humility and in appearance the man of sorrows 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:36.389 who was acquainted with grief was on that occasion 00:06:36.389 --> 00:06:45.850 transfigured. His deity was evidenced. which 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:49.129 had been veiled in flesh at the incarnation. 00:06:50.649 --> 00:06:54.050 One of the eyewitnesses on that occasion, Peter, 00:06:54.209 --> 00:06:58.870 writes a few years later in the second epistle 00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:02.170 that bears his name, and he says, the Father 00:07:02.170 --> 00:07:08.230 gave him glory. What happened on that day? Jesus 00:07:08.230 --> 00:07:12.850 was changed. His countenance was changed. He 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:17.519 was made different. He was altered. He was transfigured. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.379 He was transformed. So that what he was on the 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:28.279 inside, God, affected even the appearance of 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:33.600 his humanity, that which was outward. That is 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:37.860 the thrust, folks, behind this word here. The 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:42.899 apostle is saying to you and to me, that we are 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:48.959 to continually be changed outwardly so that what 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:53.019 we are on the inside is made apparent in the 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:58.000 way that we conduct ourselves. We're not talking 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:01.160 about pressure from the outside that coerces 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:07.139 us. We're talking about power from inside that 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:14.050 changes us. We're talking about a change in conduct, 00:08:14.389 --> 00:08:23.129 a change in lifestyle, a transformation of aims 00:08:23.129 --> 00:08:27.350 and standards and the manner in which one lives. 00:08:28.990 --> 00:08:33.970 All of this to reflect that new man that you 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:38.350 are as one united with Jesus Christ. Really what 00:08:38.350 --> 00:08:42.269 we're talking about... in this idea of transformation, 00:08:42.429 --> 00:08:48.870 is the life of Jesus Christ himself being evidenced 00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:53.269 and reflected in you. The beauty of his character 00:08:53.269 --> 00:09:02.370 being seen, his gentleness, his humility, his 00:09:02.370 --> 00:09:08.509 patience, and self -control, and love, and joy. 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:12.419 and all the other aspects of the fruit of the 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:15.279 Spirit, for that is the life of Jesus Christ. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.879 It means having the beauty of His character reflected 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:25.580 in your words, in your attitudes, and in your 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:33.980 actions. By the way, how is that process of transformation 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:41.289 taking place in your life? How much of what you 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.929 say and the way you think and the way you conduct 00:09:43.929 --> 00:09:52.269 yourself really reflects Jesus himself? To some 00:09:52.269 --> 00:09:59.090 degree, all of us fail in this. Some of us, perhaps, 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:03.850 tragically. And that is why the apostle says 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:09.600 to us in such strong language, Stop! being conformed 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:15.679 to this age but continually ever be transformed 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:25.419 so that Jesus Christ is seen through you I remember 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:31.100 the words of a small boy to his mother regarding 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:36.100 the pastor of his church when he said to his 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:42.110 mother He reminds me of Jesus. No greater compliment 00:10:42.110 --> 00:10:45.750 could have been paid to that man. And my friend, 00:10:45.789 --> 00:10:48.110 no greater compliment can be paid to you or to 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:52.669 me by someone else than to have them say, you 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:57.870 remind me of Jesus. For when Jesus is seen in 00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:01.230 us, this work of transformation is taking place. 00:11:02.809 --> 00:11:09.039 That's what it means. But how is it done? He 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:13.419 explains to us right in the verse. Continually 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:19.299 be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:24.720 That is how it is done. By the renewing of your 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:30.419 mind. The word renew means to renovate. It's 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:34.120 talking here about the restoration of your mental 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:41.340 capacities. The transformation is done by new 00:11:41.340 --> 00:11:43.960 thought patterns being laid down in your life. 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:50.200 By God's renovating of your attitudes and the 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:56.440 ideals that you have. By God purifying your imaginations. 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:05.960 By God healing your memory. By God changing the 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:13.559 way that you think. Understand and judge. That's 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:15.919 what the renewing of the mind refers to, but 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:19.879 it's more. I think it has to do as well with 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:25.200 emotions. The restoration of one's emotions. 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:29.740 There are some people, when they are saved, who 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:34.500 are in such a state that their emotions are all 00:12:34.500 --> 00:12:39.419 messed up. Some so much so that they laugh when 00:12:39.419 --> 00:12:41.279 they should cry and they cry when they should 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:46.899 laugh. The part of the renewal work that we're 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.759 talking about is the fixing of the emotions. 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:53.600 There are some people who are so hardened when 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.659 they are saved, they do not have the capacity 00:12:56.659 --> 00:13:01.940 to cry about anything. Yet the Spirit of God 00:13:01.940 --> 00:13:05.240 is able to soften the heart to restore the emotions. 00:13:06.730 --> 00:13:13.289 I believe it includes an invigorated will. A 00:13:13.289 --> 00:13:16.230 will that is able to say to certain things, no, 00:13:16.409 --> 00:13:22.029 I will no longer do this. There's a man who is 00:13:22.029 --> 00:13:24.690 attending our church who has been saved a matter 00:13:24.690 --> 00:13:30.529 of a few months and has had for years the habit 00:13:30.529 --> 00:13:35.049 of smoking. And ever since he got saved, He felt 00:13:35.049 --> 00:13:38.710 convicted about that. He knew it was wrong, but 00:13:38.710 --> 00:13:42.450 he went ahead and did it. But there came a time 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:47.830 a few weeks ago when he realized if he kept doing 00:13:47.830 --> 00:13:51.570 that, he was sinning against God. And he numbered 00:13:51.570 --> 00:13:54.029 his cigarettes that he had in the last pack. 00:13:54.970 --> 00:13:58.730 Five, four, three, two, one. And when he got 00:13:58.730 --> 00:14:01.169 down to the one, he finished that one. He said, 00:14:01.169 --> 00:14:06.509 that's it. And he stopped. Just like that. He 00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:09.429 didn't go out and buy any pills. He didn't go 00:14:09.429 --> 00:14:13.929 get hypnotized. He stopped. Now, not everyone 00:14:13.929 --> 00:14:16.769 has it quite that easy, but I can tell you this, 00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:21.169 that as God works in this renewing, renovating 00:14:21.169 --> 00:14:26.730 process, He invigorates the will so that once 00:14:26.730 --> 00:14:36.720 again we can say no or yes. Dr. Thayer says regarding 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:41.779 this word, renew, that it means to grow up afresh, 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:46.960 like spring foliage. I like that, especially 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.480 at this time of year when we're moving into the 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:52.159 fall and everything's dying. I like to think 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:55.100 of the freshness of spring, the newness of life. 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:59.220 That's pictured here. What is your mind like? 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:03.179 There are some people whose minds are like a 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:07.700 field. that has gone to weeds. It's overgrown 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:14.100 with brush and wild growth. It needs to be weeded, 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:19.220 pruned, cleaned out. There are some people's 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:24.379 minds which are like a fetid swamp, smelling 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:30.240 of putrid waste and impurity and death. It needs 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:35.419 to be drained, renewed. There are some people 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:39.539 who have a mind which is like a garden. Well 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:46.039 kept, cultivated, lush with freshness and with 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.860 the fragrance of sweetness and beauty about it. 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:57.279 What is your mind like today? What is your mind 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:02.279 like? I can't look into your mind and see it. 00:16:03.629 --> 00:16:05.850 But you know what it's like, and God knows what 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:11.549 it's like. Is it being renewed? Well, you say, 00:16:11.610 --> 00:16:14.190 yes, I'm a Christian, and I want to emphasize 00:16:14.190 --> 00:16:16.610 something. What we're talking about here is not 00:16:16.610 --> 00:16:21.289 the reformation of an unsaved person. We're not 00:16:21.289 --> 00:16:23.669 talking about a person who's unsaved turning 00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:27.029 over a new leaf and trying harder to clean up 00:16:27.029 --> 00:16:31.649 his act. A person who does not know Jesus Christ 00:16:31.649 --> 00:16:33.889 cannot enter into what we're talking about here. 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:36.269 If you've never trusted Jesus Christ, your need 00:16:36.269 --> 00:16:39.049 today is to repent of your sin and to invite 00:16:39.049 --> 00:16:42.950 him into your life as your Lord and Savior. And 00:16:42.950 --> 00:16:45.470 once he's there, he brings in the power for this 00:16:45.470 --> 00:16:47.490 kind of renovation that we're talking about. 00:16:51.250 --> 00:16:56.169 How does it take place? How does this renewing 00:16:56.169 --> 00:17:01.269 take place in your mind, Christian? I think we 00:17:01.269 --> 00:17:04.089 find an answer to that by looking at the only 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:06.769 other place in the New Testament where this noun 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:12.150 is used. It's in Titus, the third chapter. Would 00:17:12.150 --> 00:17:16.309 you turn there with me? I believe here we gain 00:17:16.309 --> 00:17:19.569 some insight as to how our minds are renewed. 00:17:26.190 --> 00:17:34.950 We're going to begin reading in verse 3. For 00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:40.990 we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, 00:17:40.990 --> 00:17:45.809 deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:50.349 spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, 00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:52.910 hating one another. That's what we were like 00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:58.170 once, before salvation. But, and here there's 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:01.549 a pivot, there's a new train of thought. This 00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:05.470 is after salvation. When the kindness of God 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:08.390 our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:12.970 He saved us. Not on the basis of deeds which 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:15.849 we have done in righteousness. Of course, there 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:21.589 weren't any. But according to His mercy, by the 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:25.369 washing of regeneration and renewing of or by 00:18:25.369 --> 00:18:28.789 the Holy Spirit. There are two things mentioned 00:18:28.789 --> 00:18:32.180 there regarding salvation. He talks about the 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:35.980 washing of regeneration. That's the cleansing 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:39.920 that the new life brings. But then he immediately 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.940 ties with that what he calls the renewing of 00:18:42.940 --> 00:18:47.140 the Holy Spirit. I believe that includes more 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:49.819 than the idea that the Holy Spirit causes that 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:54.420 new life to take place, which is true. He brings 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:57.289 new life, but there's more there than that. At 00:18:57.289 --> 00:18:59.809 the moment that we are saved, the Holy Spirit 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:05.630 begins to renew us. It is a work that takes place 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:10.769 all the way through this life. I believe that 00:19:10.769 --> 00:19:14.210 because of where this verb is used in the New 00:19:14.210 --> 00:19:16.210 Testament. Two other places where it's used. 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:19.750 You need not look them up. But one place in 2 00:19:19.750 --> 00:19:23.390 Corinthians it says, Our inner man is being renewed 00:19:23.390 --> 00:19:29.410 day by day. A very closely related word. It's 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:31.569 the verb form of the same word that we're looking 00:19:31.569 --> 00:19:35.369 at, renewing. And he says, our inner man, day 00:19:35.369 --> 00:19:39.410 by day, is being renewed. And then it's used 00:19:39.410 --> 00:19:42.869 once more in Colossians 3 .10 where it says, 00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:47.869 put on the new self who is being renewed to a 00:19:47.869 --> 00:19:49.890 true knowledge according to the image of the 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:54.089 one who created him. And so I believe putting 00:19:54.089 --> 00:19:57.599 these passages together we see that the renewing 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:01.400 of the mind is the work of the Holy Spirit. You 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.400 cannot renew your mind, and I cannot renew my 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:10.400 mind. Like salvation, this is the work of God. 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:19.680 But, I hasten to add, we must cooperate with 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:22.960 the Holy Spirit if this work is to be done by 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:28.640 Him. What are we to do? What is our part then 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.920 so that the Holy Spirit can renew our minds? 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:37.579 I think the answer is found in a very significant 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:41.960 passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. I want you 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:51.819 to turn there with me. 2 Corinthians chapter 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:59.059 3 verse 18. And here you're going to see again 00:20:59.059 --> 00:21:05.240 the same word transform or transfigured. But 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:09.160 we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:14.519 the glory of the Lord are being transformed into 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:19.059 the same image from glory to glory just as from 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:23.339 the Lord the Spirit. Now what is the Lord saying 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:27.279 to us in this verse? He is saying that as you 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:32.839 and I are in communion with Jesus Christ, beholding 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:38.539 Him as in a mirror, in the Word, that the Holy 00:21:38.539 --> 00:21:42.680 Spirit transfigures us. He changes us on the 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:47.900 inside. He renews our minds so that we go from 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:51.680 one level of glory to another, to another, to 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:55.880 another. A tadpole doesn't become a frog overnight. 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:00.220 A caterpillar doesn't become a butterfly in an 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:05.240 instant. There is a process to go through. There 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:10.019 are stages of metamorphosis. And so it is with 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:14.259 you and me. As you and I commune with Jesus Christ 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:19.779 in his word, and I emphasize in his word, The 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:23.400 Holy Spirit is free on the inside to change us 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.359 into that image of Christ that we see. How do 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.799 I know what Jesus is like? How do I know what 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:33.720 He thinks? How do I know what He would do? I 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:38.099 see it in the Word of God. And as I see Him in 00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:41.240 the Word, I see the image of Him there. The Holy 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:44.920 Spirit changes me on the inside so that more 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.140 and more gradually from glory to glory. I become 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:54.339 like the one with whom I am communing. That's 00:22:54.339 --> 00:22:57.619 a little mystical, isn't it? But I emphasize 00:22:57.619 --> 00:23:04.519 that this communion is in the Word. It is the 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:08.680 written Word which reveals to us the living Word. 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:17.579 My commitment needs to be to this book. Not as 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:21.900 an end in itself, but as a means to come to know 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:29.000 the living God. I believe there are five levels 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:34.920 of commitment to this book. And every person 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:40.019 here today is on one of these levels. Level one 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:46.779 is listening. It's passive. It's what you do 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:49.779 when you come to church or sit in Sunday school 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:53.599 or small church. It's what you do when you sit 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:55.579 down and put a tape in the cassette machine. 00:23:55.700 --> 00:23:57.519 It's what you do when you turn on the radio. 00:23:57.579 --> 00:24:09.440 It's listening. Level two is reading. That's 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:12.279 when I open my own Bible and I begin to read 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:16.039 the words. It's active. I go from passive to 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:21.039 active, from stage one to stage two here. I begin 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:26.700 to read the Word. Level number three is when 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:32.200 I study it. It is the level of studying. When 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:34.859 I compare Scripture with Scripture, I get my 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:37.759 concordance out, I trace the Word. I take my 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.619 topical Bible, I trace that thought through the 00:24:40.619 --> 00:24:47.960 Word. It is a studying of the Word of God. Level 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:53.279 number four is memorizing. Often we have the 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.799 idea that only children in Awana or in Sunday 00:24:55.799 --> 00:25:00.220 school memorize Scripture, don't we? And yet 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:03.180 the hiding away of God's Word is vital for all 00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:09.740 of us. Memorizing Scripture. And then we come 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:14.319 to level five. And I believe that it is only 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:19.740 when we get to this level, level five, that the 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:22.740 Holy Spirit is really free to renew our minds 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:29.339 and transform us. Only when you and I get to 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:34.460 level five is he really free to renew our thought 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:39.500 patterns, to lay down new tracks for us to walk 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:42.579 in in our thinking. Only when we get to level 00:25:42.579 --> 00:25:45.920 five does he begin to purify and cleanse the 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.799 imaginations and get them under control. Only 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:52.140 when we get to level five does he begin to plug 00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:56.000 in our emotions the way they ought to be. Now 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:59.059 he may do a little bit on the previous levels, 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:03.259 but it's level five that really gets the work 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:10.430 done. And level five is meditating. You say, 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:13.009 I thought that was the Oriental religions that 00:26:13.009 --> 00:26:16.089 meditated. Well, they have a form of meditation, 00:26:16.349 --> 00:26:19.869 and their idea is basically, in many cases, to 00:26:19.869 --> 00:26:23.150 empty the mind of everything except a single 00:26:23.150 --> 00:26:26.950 word or a phrase, and just to meditate on that. 00:26:28.150 --> 00:26:30.769 I'm not talking about emptying your mind. I'm 00:26:30.769 --> 00:26:37.259 talking about filling it up. Meditation is to 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:41.480 the spirit what digestion is to the body. That's 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:45.619 how to understand it. In the process of digestion, 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:52.539 my body takes food that I have eaten and breaks 00:26:52.539 --> 00:27:00.339 it down, takes out the nourishment, the minerals, 00:27:00.420 --> 00:27:04.140 the vitamins, etc. so that my body can go on 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:09.019 and be strengthened. That's what digestion is 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:13.079 all about. A person becomes very ill if his body, 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:16.579 for some reason, loses the ability to digest 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:23.140 the food. It is no less important spiritually, 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:27.519 dear people, that we allow the Word of God, which 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:31.960 we have heard, and read, and studied, and memorized 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:36.920 to then be digested into our spirits. How do 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:41.160 we do it? Well, it begins with reading it, and 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:43.640 interpreting it, and applying it to our lives. 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:49.799 But those are the mechanics. Observation, interpretation, 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:53.839 application. Those are the three big words. But 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.319 as I say, those are only the mechanics. For after 00:27:57.319 --> 00:28:00.730 we have done that, Then throughout the process 00:28:00.730 --> 00:28:03.509 of the day, we need to bring that word up again 00:28:03.509 --> 00:28:06.630 in our lives and talk to the Lord about it and 00:28:06.630 --> 00:28:08.869 think about it and let him give us new insights, 00:28:08.950 --> 00:28:12.349 new applications, a new understanding. That's 00:28:12.349 --> 00:28:19.349 meditation. The idea is also compared to rumination. 00:28:21.069 --> 00:28:24.309 There are certain animals that ruminate, right? 00:28:25.490 --> 00:28:28.740 They eat their food. and then at a convenient 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:32.500 point during the day, they bring it up again 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:36.880 and chew it all over again. That's why cows have 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:40.440 a couple of stomachs. Sheep have a couple of 00:28:40.440 --> 00:28:43.880 stomachs because they swallow it initially as 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:47.380 they are foraging, and then they sit down someplace 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:52.420 and they chew it again and put it in the second 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:55.240 stomach, and that's how the food is digested. 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:58.920 As you and I forage in the reading and the studying 00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:02.319 of God's Word, we are, as it were, putting it 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:06.119 into the first stomach. And sometime during the 00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:09.799 day, indeed many times perhaps during the day, 00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.960 we can bring something back to our minds that 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:17.059 we have studied, that we have read, and we can 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:20.420 say, Lord, how does this apply to me? What is 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:23.119 the meaning here? How should I understand this? 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:27.279 and we begin to commune with Him, and as we commune 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:30.619 with Him in the Word, we meditate, then that 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:33.960 Word is used by the Holy Spirit to renew our 00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:39.759 minds and effect a transformation in us. That's 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:46.039 how it's done. How's it doing in your life? Which 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:48.819 level of commitment do you have to the Word of 00:29:48.819 --> 00:29:53.460 God? Now you say, why is that so important after 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:58.420 all? Because of how he finishes the verse. He 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.500 says, continually be transformed by the renewing 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:06.440 of your mind that, here's the reason now, that 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:12.980 you may prove what the will of God is, that which 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:15.940 is good, acceptable, and perfect. Here's the 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:20.369 point, I think. Throughout the day, Every day, 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:22.809 you and I are confronted with a variety of circumstances. 00:30:24.529 --> 00:30:27.069 Sometimes they are minor, sometimes they are 00:30:27.069 --> 00:30:32.069 humongous. And we say, Lord, what am I supposed 00:30:32.069 --> 00:30:36.349 to do with this? Why has this come into my life? 00:30:37.089 --> 00:30:40.569 What is your purpose here? How should I react 00:30:40.569 --> 00:30:45.970 to this? And you and I will only have the answer. 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:54.099 As we have renewed minds. Because only then will 00:30:54.099 --> 00:30:56.680 we have the mind of Christ so that we can see 00:30:56.680 --> 00:31:00.579 what God is doing in our lives. There is a very 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:03.700 significant verse in Psalm 103 that I think illustrates 00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:06.259 this. I want you to look at it just as we come 00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:16.609 to a close. Psalm 103. We often quote the first 00:31:16.609 --> 00:31:19.809 few verses, but down in verse 7, it says, He 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:25.170 made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the 00:31:25.170 --> 00:31:29.450 sons of Israel. Two words are used there, and 00:31:29.450 --> 00:31:31.690 I recognize that this is Hebrew poetry, it's 00:31:31.690 --> 00:31:34.769 parallelism, but there are two different words 00:31:34.769 --> 00:31:39.549 used. He says he made known his ways to Moses, 00:31:39.650 --> 00:31:44.150 his acts to the children of Israel. The Hebrew 00:31:44.150 --> 00:31:48.990 word for acts here means exploits. It is a severe 00:31:48.990 --> 00:31:54.569 word. It means harsh deeds. What it's saying 00:31:54.569 --> 00:31:57.170 is that the Israelites, all of them, saw the 00:31:57.170 --> 00:32:00.089 exploits of God. They saw the deeds of God. They 00:32:00.089 --> 00:32:03.869 saw what he did in Egypt. They saw what he did 00:32:03.869 --> 00:32:07.390 in delivering them from bondage. They all saw 00:32:07.390 --> 00:32:16.279 the acts. But Moses, understood God's ways and 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:20.799 that's something else. For the word ways is related 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:25.900 to the verb for treading or walking. In other 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:30.779 words, Moses saw beyond the event to see where 00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:35.960 God was going. Why? Because he was walking with 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:41.220 God. Your need and my need is to see beyond the 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:44.359 circumstances, people. To what God is doing. 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:50.160 To look beyond the event of the day and to see 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:53.079 what direction God is moving in and keep moving 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:56.359 with Him in that direction. How is it that we 00:32:56.359 --> 00:33:00.079 can test the will of God and prove it as good, 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:03.519 acceptable, and perfect? It is by looking at 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:06.980 the events that come to us with a renewed mind. 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:14.829 With His mind. And as we do that, we will see 00:33:14.829 --> 00:33:18.410 that whatever happens, happens for our benefit. 00:33:18.670 --> 00:33:21.609 We will accept whatever God brings into our lives 00:33:21.609 --> 00:33:27.670 as part of his gracious dealing with us. Is that 00:33:27.670 --> 00:33:30.589 the way you look at it now? I don't know what 00:33:30.589 --> 00:33:33.410 you're faced with today. I don't know what you're 00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:36.410 struggling with in your home, in your family, 00:33:36.569 --> 00:33:41.529 at work, or in your dorm room, or in your school. 00:33:42.569 --> 00:33:47.849 I don't know what it may be. But are you looking 00:33:47.849 --> 00:33:50.089 at that, whatever it is, with a renewed mind? 00:33:52.269 --> 00:33:59.210 If you do, then you will see the way of the Lord 00:33:59.210 --> 00:34:05.990 as well as the act of the Lord. I want to encourage 00:34:05.990 --> 00:34:08.469 you to accept what God is bringing into your 00:34:08.469 --> 00:34:13.050 life. And to stop your complaining and your whining 00:34:13.050 --> 00:34:19.250 about it, perhaps. And to say, Lord, I thank 00:34:19.250 --> 00:34:22.309 you, and whatever it is that you are trying to 00:34:22.309 --> 00:34:25.710 say to me, I want to know it and I yield to it. 00:34:27.510 --> 00:34:35.590 Will you do that today? Let's back up one point. 00:34:35.670 --> 00:34:40.260 What's your commitment to the Word? Are you studying 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:42.360 it? You say, sure, I'm a student in Bible college. 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:45.360 Wonderful. But I'm talking about a different 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:50.760 kind of study. I'm talking about a personal Bible 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:54.260 study. Are you memorizing the Word? Are you meditating 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:57.079 in the Word? Are you willing to kick up your 00:34:57.079 --> 00:35:04.280 commitment to the Word to the next level? Are 00:35:04.280 --> 00:35:07.920 you being conformed by the peers around you? 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:11.860 Are you being squeezed into the mold of this 00:35:11.860 --> 00:35:16.679 age? Then you need to recognize it and repent 00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:22.199 of it and say, Lord, I want to stop this, and 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:26.079 I ask that you will begin that transforming work 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:29.900 in me. I yield to you, renew my mind, and here 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:34.400 is my commitment to your word so that you can 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:39.260 do that work of changing me. into the image of 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:45.119 Jesus Christ. Will you become in your conduct 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:50.860 what you are on the inside? If you're going to 00:35:50.860 --> 00:35:52.579 be a living sacrifice, you're going to have to 00:35:52.579 --> 00:35:55.340 do that. Otherwise, the commitment of being a 00:35:55.340 --> 00:35:59.760 living sacrifice is a sham. It is a shell. It's 00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:03.559 meaningless. If you are saying to God, I present 00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:06.559 myself as a living sacrifice, then stop being 00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:10.699 conformed to this age and continually ever be 00:36:10.699 --> 00:36:16.219 transformed by the renewing of your mind. Heavenly 00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:21.260 Father, I pray that you will cause your word 00:36:21.260 --> 00:36:28.559 to strike us right where it needs to so that 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:33.650 it can accomplish in us the will of God. Father, 00:36:33.690 --> 00:36:35.769 there are some of us today who need to make some 00:36:35.769 --> 00:36:41.090 commitments. Perhaps we haven't liked to face 00:36:41.090 --> 00:36:47.030 them. Perhaps we have only superficially made 00:36:47.030 --> 00:36:49.130 them in the past. But today, Lord, I believe 00:36:49.130 --> 00:36:52.929 you're laying in our hearts some definite, deep 00:36:52.929 --> 00:36:57.449 commitments. And I pray whatever that commitment 00:36:57.449 --> 00:36:59.590 may be in each life, that you'll have your way 00:36:59.590 --> 00:37:03.579 in my life. in the life of every person listening 00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:07.079 to me right now. With our heads bowed and our 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:10.019 eyes closed, I wonder how many of you would say, 00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:14.480 Pastor, by the uplifted hand, I am confessing 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:17.960 before God, I am committing to him that I am 00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:21.179 going to deepen my commitment to his word so 00:37:21.179 --> 00:37:25.619 that my mind can be renewed. My commitment has 00:37:25.619 --> 00:37:27.960 not been where it should be, but I am deepening 00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:31.199 my commitment today. By the uplifted hand, I 00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:34.260 am indicating that. Will you put your hand up 00:37:34.260 --> 00:37:42.719 right now? Oh, praise God, many. Thank you. How 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:46.480 many of you would say by the uplifted hand, I 00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:51.000 have only seen the deeds, the circumstances of 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:55.539 my situation. I have not seen the Lord working 00:37:55.539 --> 00:37:58.800 in them. But today I am willing to say. God, 00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:04.920 have your way. The circumstances are tough, but 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:07.500 you're willing to say, Lord, show me what you're 00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:13.400 up to. I yield to you in advance. If you have 00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:15.820 that surrendered spirit, that yieldedness, would 00:38:15.820 --> 00:38:22.500 you lift your hand? Praise the Lord. Yes. Father, 00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:26.320 I thank you for these commitments. And I pray 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:28.219 that if there are some here who are so troubled 00:38:28.219 --> 00:38:30.400 or burdened that they need prayer with someone 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:33.880 else, or if you're leading someone today to trust 00:38:33.880 --> 00:38:38.159 the Lord Jesus, or if one of your children here 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:41.980 needs to come in a rededication of life, having 00:38:41.980 --> 00:38:45.539 been away from the Lord, that you'll give courage 00:38:45.539 --> 00:38:48.219 to make those commitments public. In Jesus' name, 00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:49.000 amen.