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God’s Will in Motion (Romans 12:1-8)
21 Plays18 days ago
As high school seniors prepare for graduation, they often become stressed over what they should do next. Should they enroll in college? If so, which college should they choose? Even if they attend college, at some point they will have to choose a major, but which field of study is best for them? Should they live on campus or off campus? Where should they worship, study and fellowship to continue growing in Christ? What will life be like without their friends?
So many decisions are packed within the life of each person! One popular interest among young adults is knowing God’s will. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that we each are the workmanship of Christ and that the Lord has designed our life for a unique purpose.
Romans 12:1-8 answers many questions for anyone of any age who is interested in staying on track with God’s will. His will is constantly in motion, adapting to our wise and foolish decisions. He knows how to keep us in proper alignment with His plans and can always “recalculate” how to get us back up on the best road to fulfillment and influence. Romans 12:1-8 tells us where to start.
Motivation toward God’s Will, 12:1
Presentation for God’s Will, 12:1
Transformation in God’s Will, 12:2
Realization of God’s Will, 12:2
Participation in God’s Will, 12:3-8
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Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Welcome
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
00:00:22
Speaker
If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
Challenges for High School Seniors
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace. Hey, I am so excited about graduation. I love this time of the year when our high school seniors are preparing. They're preparing for graduation. And I've noticed across the years that often they become, well, stressed out.
00:01:00
Speaker
They're stressed over what they should do next. Should they enroll in college? If so, which college should they choose? Even if they attend college, at some point, they'll have to choose a major.
00:01:14
Speaker
But which field of study is best for them? Should they live on campus or off campus? Where should they worship, study, and fellowship to continue growing Christ?
00:01:25
Speaker
What will life be like without their high school friends around them? So many decisions are packed within the life of each and every person.
Understanding God's Will and Purpose
00:01:37
Speaker
One popular interest among young adults is knowing God's will. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2, verse 10, that we each are the workmanship of Christ and that the Lord has already designed our life with a very unique purpose that is special for each one of us.
00:02:00
Speaker
Now, Romans chapter 12, verses 1 through 8, I believe, answers many questions for anyone of any age who's interested in staying on track with God's will.
00:02:14
Speaker
His will is constantly in motion, adapting to our wise or foolish decisions. He knows how to keep us in proper alignment with His plans and can always Recalculate how to get us back up on the best road to fulfillment and influence.
Staying Aligned with God's Will
00:02:35
Speaker
Romans 12 verses one through eight tells us where to start. Why don't we look at that passage together? Here's what it says. I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
00:02:58
Speaker
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed. by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
00:03:15
Speaker
For by the grace given to me, i say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Lessons from Romans and Paul's Journey
00:03:33
Speaker
For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.
00:03:55
Speaker
if prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. I love that passage of scripture. I love the whole book of Romans. You know, Romans will answer a lot of questions. If you have questions that,
00:04:25
Speaker
Regarding the principles of the gospel, just hang out anywhere from Romans chapter 1 through chapter 8. If you have questions about, let's say, problems for the gospel, you could read chapters 9 and 10 and 11. If you want to know how to practice the gospel, how to put it into daily life, all you got to do is start right here.
00:04:49
Speaker
Romans 12 to the end of the book, Romans 16. Lots in there. But I think the man who wrote it, here's something that he faced in his life on the road to Damascus.
00:05:02
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His name was Paul, at that time known as Saul. But it says in Acts 9, verse 6, so he tremblinged. And astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do.
00:05:18
Speaker
Is that where you are? It could be that some of those who are in the upcoming graduating class are thinking the same exact
Journey and Obedience in God's Will
00:05:27
Speaker
thing. What does the Lord want me to do?
00:05:30
Speaker
Well, you know, in his case, Saul was told, you must go into the city and you will be told what you must do. You see, I believe sometimes God's will is like in motion. And when we go to point a then we've obeyed the first step, but then he's gonna take us to point B, and so we've obeyed the second step. But in order to get to point C, we're gonna have to be at point b But sometimes we don't go to point b and so he's gotta have another way to reroute us in the direction of his will.
00:06:05
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So what am I trying to say?
Worship through Living Sacrifice
00:06:07
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All I'm trying to say is, God is a God of grace, he's a God of mercy, And at any time, if you feel like, uh-oh, I've messed up.
00:06:16
Speaker
I don't think this was in God's will. Just go to Him in repentance. Go to Him in surrender and say, Lord, I've really messed up. I've gotten off track. I don't feel I'm in the center of your will. Would you please redirect me so that I can follow you and get in on what you want? That's what I think Romans 12, verses one through eight. These are some general principles.
00:06:42
Speaker
But you do these things. And I believe God's gonna guide you. I believe God will let you know that you're moving in the right direction. So why don't we just dig in and let me give you at least five principles, no matter what he calls you to do, no matter what line of work, where he wants you to live, who he wants you to marry, all of those kinds things. If you'll do these five things, you will already, let's say, ah using a metaphor, an analogy of a sailboat,
00:07:13
Speaker
You've already hoisted your sails and the wind of the Holy Spirit is gonna move you in God's direction because you are doing the right things just to know His will, just to be in the right place for His will. So let's talk about this together. The first thing you're gonna need is motivation.
00:07:34
Speaker
Why should you even want to go in the direction of God's will? Well, here he says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God.
00:07:46
Speaker
There's two things that I think are involved just in the first part of verse one. These things will help you to be motivated to say, you know what? more than anything else in the world, I would just like to do what God has created me to do, to find that purpose for my existence.
00:08:06
Speaker
Well, here's why you should say that. He says, I appeal to you, therefore, that therefore refers back to chapter 11, where we did not read. But if you look at chapter 11, you know what you will discover?
00:08:20
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You will discover that the reason Paul wanted to move in the direction of God's will was because of the majesty. The majesty of God motivated him in the direction of God's will.
00:08:35
Speaker
It says in Romans 11, verses 33 to 36, oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways.
00:08:50
Speaker
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has been a gift to him that he might be repaid?
00:09:01
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For from him and through him and to him See what saying? He's saying, be glory forever amen i appealed to you therefore brothers see what he's saying he said based on the majesty of god who controls all the circumstances of life I want to surrender to him. I want his will because he, unlike me, he knows what he's doing.
00:09:30
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Wouldn't that be a great incentive? How about another motivation? How about that word mercies? Did you catch it? It's in the plural. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies, plural, of God.
00:09:44
Speaker
You know, if you're like me, when I was graduating from high school, I'd already made quite a few mistakes in my life. In my first year of college, I even added to the list. I made even more mistakes. But it was during my first year at university at the University of Memphis that I realized, you know what? I am really destroying my life all by myself with my own hands. And so God had mercy upon me.
00:10:11
Speaker
And I thought, wow, the people who receive mercy are called in this verse, brothers. But I think the same could be said of sisters. And when he's talking about born-again believers who've placed their trust, and if we've surrendered to the Lord and trusted Him, then you can count on the mercies, plural, of God coming your way.
00:10:37
Speaker
And so we all make mistakes. We all blow it. And that's what I'm trying to tell you is just because I had blown it several times in my high school days, going into my college days with college being no different.
00:10:50
Speaker
I realized right then I need to move in a different direction and thank the Lord. He broke through and said, walk toward me, walk toward me.
00:11:01
Speaker
because I've got a great plan for your life, Victor. But you know what? Put your name in there. He's got a great plan for you. And the motivation that'll take you in his direction is when you realize how great he is, but also how gracious he is.
00:11:19
Speaker
Will you walk in God's direction? If you're gonna walk in his direction, how do you get started?
Transformation and Mind Renewal
00:11:25
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I think it's the second principle, not only the motivation toward God's will, but the presentation of your life for God's will.
00:11:36
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that you present yourselves to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
00:11:48
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Now, that's quite a few things coming at you all at the same time. So let me break it down and tell you what is involved in each of us presenting our lives to the Lord.
00:11:59
Speaker
Hey, this is going to be way easier than any of the ACT tests or any of those tests for college entrance exams. Here's the first thing. You just need to surrender.
00:12:11
Speaker
Just surrender your life as an offering. That's what he's saying, to present yourself as a living sacrifice. Have you done that yet? I think that's a great place to start. Say, Lord, I don't know what I'm supposed to do next.
00:12:26
Speaker
Well, if you don't know, then just surrender and say, God, I don't know. So here's my life. And you know, I think that's what God is looking for. God's not looking for some great sacrifice from you. He just wants to have you. He says right here, a living sacrifice.
00:12:45
Speaker
You know, back in the Old Testament days, They would kill the sacrifices, right? So when they offered some kind of calf or goat or a sheep, something like that on the altar, it was dead.
00:12:57
Speaker
But God's not looking for that from you or from me. What he wants is, I want somebody who's alive. who would say to me, Lord, help me not crawl off of this altar. Help me to stay up here because I am in a surrendered position as a sacrifice for you. And I want, thirdly, this to be a sacred offering.
00:13:18
Speaker
He does say that we should be holy. Are you growing in holiness? I think if we're compromising, if we're impure and we're off track, that's one place we can control things and say, God, I'm sorry for making my life so full of dirty things.
00:13:36
Speaker
Would you cleanse me? and help me to move more in the direction of holiness, personal holiness. If you'll do those things, surrendering your life, realizing that you can offer to God a the sacrifice of a living, a living sacrifice, and then saying, help me grow in holiness, you know what?
00:13:57
Speaker
I believe God's gonna be satisfied because he said acceptable, acceptable to God. That is acceptable to God. when he sees someone just starting out in life who simply says, Lord, i lay it all down for you.
00:14:13
Speaker
I want to be used of you, which is the last thing, the fifth principle here under the presentation for God's will. He says it's a ah spiritual worship whenever we say, God, not just going to church on Sunday.
00:14:29
Speaker
Every day, I want to present myself to you for your service, for your will, whatever it is that you want. So that's the presentation for God's will. We already looked at the motivation toward God's will, but there is something that's going to begin to happen. And I think verse 2 makes it clear what that something is.
00:14:50
Speaker
transformation, transformation because before God's going to use you or me or any of us, He's going to have to make some changes. And so there's this transformation that happens on the way to doing God's will. And that's why you don't have to get stressed about it.
00:15:10
Speaker
You just have to kind of relax in it and say, okay, God, I want you to win the battle in my life. And so transformation takes two parts.
00:15:20
Speaker
So make sure you've got both of these cylinders, that both things are pumping, okay? The first one is this, resistance to the mold of this world.
00:15:33
Speaker
Resistance to the mold of this world. He says, do not be conformed to this world. It doesn't matter what the other students at college are going to do. You're saying, God, I want to resist the mold that everybody else wants to press me into. and instead, i want to renew my mind through the word of God. He says, but be transformed. How?
00:16:01
Speaker
By the renewal of your mind. that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. So in other words, I think we ought to say, God, please renew my mind as I have my Bible study.
00:16:16
Speaker
And that word transformed there, it actually is the word that we come up with metamorphosis from. It's like when a caterpillar caterpillar is turned into a butterfly.
00:16:28
Speaker
There's this transform transformation that takes place in our lives where we're becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. So I just wanna ask you, is that what you're doing? Are you growing more and more in Christ-likeness?
00:16:44
Speaker
That's what God's goal is. That's the transformation that he's looking at ah in your life.
God's Will as a Perfect Fit
00:16:50
Speaker
So let's say, okay, Lord, I'm motivated to move forward I'm presenting my life as I move forward. As I'm presenting my life, you're changing me.
00:17:00
Speaker
you're You're taking out some of the things I've learned to do that was more worldly than it's the's what I find in God's word. And so now I'm ready to actually see the realization of God's will, the realization of God's will.
00:17:17
Speaker
You know, he does say proving it, you know, testing it, making sure. That's what he says here, that by testing. So it takes time, you know. Sometimes we wouldn't we wouldn't choose the route that God uses to get us ready for his will. You take, for example, Joseph.
00:17:36
Speaker
You know, Joseph was able to say in Genesis 50, 20, God meant it for good, but you guys meant it for evil. So even if you've had to face some hard times in your life,
00:17:46
Speaker
That's okay, because God is going to prepare you to do his will. But what is his will? If I were to give you a profile of God's will, I could think of nothing better than what we have right here. Here's what you're going to see actually happen in your life down the road.
00:18:05
Speaker
You're going to prove What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? that's It's a perfect fit for you if you could only realize how much God loves you, how he's created you for a special plan. And that's what I think is meant by the will of God it's that It's his eternal plan. And so he's already planned it.
00:18:30
Speaker
So you just have to say, okay, Lord, whatever you have in mind for me, when you created me, whatever that was, that's what I want. I want to see that take place in my life.
00:18:43
Speaker
That's the realization of God's will.
Engaging with Gratitude and Community
00:18:46
Speaker
But why don't we finish up with the participation, or you could use the word cooperation, the cooperation in God's will.
00:18:55
Speaker
Are you willing to cooperate? Do you wanna participate in what God has for you? Well, the first way I see is to be grateful for the grace that God has already given to you.
00:19:08
Speaker
You know, verse three kind of reminds us of that, doesn't it? He says here, "'For by the grace given to me, "'I say to everyone among you "'not to think of himself more highly.'" than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. You see, so to say, God, i just want to humble myself and say, I am so grateful for how good you have been to me. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but your mercy, your grace, your blood has forgiven me of all of those things. And so I just want you to know that's the first way to start is to say, I want to participate. I want to cooperate, but on my way in,
00:19:49
Speaker
I'm coming in with gratitude, Lord. I'm coming in with humility, Lord, because you have been so gracious and so forgiving to me. But I'm also wanting to say, i need other people.
00:20:02
Speaker
So let's go to the second thing related to cooperating. The first one is to come in with the right attitude. Lord, I'm going to participate because I'm grateful for the grace I've received. But the second reason that I'm going to participate is I need other brothers and sisters in Christ. I can't live the Christian life. I can't walk the road of discipleship all by myself.
00:20:28
Speaker
And so what I need is I need to cooperate with a local body of believers. And that's where he gets at this, you know, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned him.
00:20:40
Speaker
For as in one body, we have many members and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually individually. You see the connection there?
00:20:55
Speaker
You see, God wants us to to count on other people. God wants us to listen to other people, to learn from others. But there may be something that we're going to be able to pass along to other people.
00:21:09
Speaker
I mean, what's the purpose of listening to podcasts? What's the purpose of going to a college if you're not gonna learn from anyone else? We should say, Lord, there's still things I don't know in my life.
00:21:21
Speaker
You've taught me a lot. I have a lot to offer, but I also have a lot that I still need to learn. I need to grow, i need to develop, and I need to mature. And you know what?
00:21:32
Speaker
When you go to a local church, God's gonna surround you with people who will help you to reach those goals, They're going to develop you in ways that you would never be able to develop by yourself. I got to thinking in our church, for example, we're just a small church, but in our church, we have 40 different people who help make Sunday mornings happen. It's incredible how many people are a part of it and it constantly is growing. So I just wanna ask you, are you plugging in to a local church? If you're on your way to a college town, let's say you've been involved in a church in your hometown, but now you're moving and you're gonna go and live somewhere else and go to college. I just encourage you with all my being, find a local church that that you feel you can grow there. it It matches who you are. Churches have personalities and so forth. So find one that kind of matches you and who you are. And the Lord is going to help you grow as you're connected, as you participate in his great movements, because let's face it,
00:22:39
Speaker
I mean, even including a pastor like myself, I'm the senior pastor. But you know what? God's activity, what he's doing in this world, it's not limited to me. It's not even about me. It's about him. So as you're growing and moving forward in God's will, why don't you just accept that and say, God, I'm so glad that you're going to put people around me who need me.
00:23:06
Speaker
But you're also going to put people around me who I need in order to reach that next stage of growth and development and
Spiritual Gifts and Community Service
00:23:16
Speaker
service. And so find a way, plug in. You know, if you like working with kids, if you like working with music, if you like working with technology, if you like teaching, whatever it is that's your thing,
00:23:29
Speaker
If you like service projects and using your hands, there's so many different ways to serve the Lord in a local church. And don't just find a place that's all about young people that's your age.
00:23:42
Speaker
Find a place that has young people, but find a place where there's others that are sprinkled all up and down the age spectrum because we need the maturity and the wisdom of those who are further down the road. You'll spare yourself, you'll save yourself a lot of heartache if you'll just hang around people who will hold you accountable, people who encourage you, who would just absolutely love on you.
00:24:08
Speaker
You know, during my college days, there were people who loved me, who cared about me. I remember one man invited me over. He said, you're welcome at our table anytime to have dinner with our family. And it was just such a blessing to me. I learned a lot from just observing them.
00:24:25
Speaker
And so I just encourage you, please, you know, participate in God's will by being glued to the group, a local church, but also by being grateful for the grace.
00:24:36
Speaker
But let me give you one more thing. If you want to really cooperate and participate in God's will, there's one more thing. Go with the gifts. Go with the gift or the gifts that God has given to you.
00:24:51
Speaker
You know, he lists seven spiritual gifts. And what we need to say is, maybe I don't have that gift, but I need somebody in my life. Who's got that gift? And so that goes back to the other thing of being involved in a local church. But when I get involved in a church, when I get involved in a camp ministry, whatever it is God's called me to do, help me, Lord, to use the gifts that you've given to me.
00:25:18
Speaker
What gifts are those? You know, some gifts help expound the word. Other gifts help expand the work. When I looked at this list, I thought, well, I definitely see gifts that are related to expounding, explaining the Word of God.
00:25:35
Speaker
You've got prophecy, where there's illumination of truth. You've got service, where there is the incarnation of truth. You've got teaching or instruction, where there's the interpretation of truth.
00:25:47
Speaker
You've got somebody that is exhortation. That's like the instigation with truth. You know, that's actually the gift I feel that God's given to me. I don't have to work at it to encourage other people, to exhort them. It's just natural. It just is the way God's wired me. I don't like to come down on people.
00:26:08
Speaker
I would much rather exar exhort them, to encourage them, to challenge them, to equip them. And so find what fits for you. What is it that God has? God called you to use the word in some some of those four ways.
00:26:24
Speaker
Look at this passage again and again, and maybe one of those gifts will sort of come off the page and and be a perfect fit for you. But maybe you would say, well, in some ways, but I think in other ways, God's called me to not expound the word, but to expand the work.
00:26:43
Speaker
So how about these gifts of giving or leading or mercy and so forth. Well, giving would relate to, of course, giving, but not just monetary gifts. Sometimes it's giving time, sharing the talents that you have and saying, you know what? It just is in me. God's placed it within me to give every talent, every bit of time that I have possible to help expand his kingdom.
00:27:11
Speaker
But then for others, we need people who are used to leading, He says, you know, right here quite clearly, you know, to ah lead, the one who leads with zeal. Some translations say with diligence, but we need people who know how to organize. Are you good with organization, administration? Are you good with leading? you Are you a visionary?
00:27:34
Speaker
Man, I just encourage you to say, I wanna be a part of guiding people, guiding churches, guiding ministries, guiding disciples into the right direction.
00:27:44
Speaker
You may be gifted with leadership. How about mercy? You know, my wife has this gift. And what what she she says to me is sometimes she says, did you notice that so-and-so seemed down?
00:27:57
Speaker
And I'll say, no, I didn't notice that. And boy, that that gets me where I want to go and encourage them. But she notices it. I think someone with the gift of mercy, their heart is tender. They're perceptive of body language, of the expression on someone's face.
00:28:14
Speaker
And so they're always watching. Who's sitting alone? Maybe there's a reason they're by themselves. Who's sick? Who's afflicted? Who's going through hard times? You're like a good Samaritan that God has placed on this earth to care, to go, to say, Lord, I think we need to minister to these kinds of people. So just be involved in what God is doing.
Conclusion and Prayer for Seniors
00:28:38
Speaker
God's will is always on the move. Why don't you say, God, I wanna hook my car to your engine. Pull me forward, Lord, in what you're doing. Why don't we pray together as we wrap this message up about God's will in motion.
00:28:55
Speaker
Lord, I thank you. I thank you that your will was set in motion when you sent your son to this earth so that you could redeem us and forgive us so that you could guide us and empower us. And so Lord, help these young people who are graduating. Lord, they have learned a lot during their school years at high school and junior high and elementary, but now they're going to a whole nother level.
00:29:20
Speaker
So God, Lord, I pray you would guide them. Lord, empower them. Lord, and ah comfort them if they've been hurt and encourage them. Help them to find where your Holy Spirit is wanting them to go.
00:29:34
Speaker
So lead them and guide them. And may they walk in your direction. May they see where your will is moving in each of their lives. Thank you for them. We love our high school seniors. We pray for them as they head out into those new areas.
00:29:52
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.