Transformed Relationships

August 24, 2014 Romans 12:1-8 Year A 11th Sunday After Pentecost “Transformed Relationships” Romans first sinful, now what it means to live in Christ Today I thought that we needed to hang out in Romans for one more Sunday. We have been dealing with chapters 9-11 as Paul talks about what it means be sinful. No matter how good we may think our relationship with God is, we are still sinful. As a matter of fact believing that you are a child of God, but that nothing is required of you, is a sin. Paul says that God brought sin upon all humans. We are all sinners,we are all in need of God’s grace in our lives. No matter who we are, we all are capable of being saved. We all need to accept Christ, we all need to live inside of Christ. We should be dead to our sinful nature and alive in Christ. The first words of chapter 12 – I appeal to you brothers and sisters, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Being born dead I went to see Get on Up, the James Brown movie. It really was a powerful movie. One scene that stood out to me, James Brown was a little boy, sick in bed very discouraged. His aunt tells him that he was born dead. Literally when he was born he would not take a breath. The midwife spanked and spanked him but he would not take a breath. He started to turn blue and they started to give up on him. And then suddenly he let out a scream that could be heard in the next county. The aunt said that she knew then that he would be special. Being born dead is an oxymoran – you cant be alive and dead at the same time. Presenting yourself as a living sacrifice is also an oxymoron. Remember, a sacrifice is something that you kill as a gift to God. A sacrifice was put on an altar to God, they are born to die. If you sinned, you gave God a sacrifice, if you are thankful you give God the sacrifice. Your life should be a sacrifice to God. God is no longer interested in cows, goats or chickens, God wants you – your life. Being a living sacrifice means that you are dead to sin and alive to Christ. You are dead to what got you in trouble, but alive to salvation of Christ. Transform your mind Paul says to transform your mind. The head is the head of the body. The body does not think for itself, it does what the head tells it. If you transform your thoughts, then the body follows. Forgiveness requires repentance, repentance requires transformation. Then Paul tells us to learn to discern the will of God. Then Live according to God’s will. In order to live God’s will, you have to know it and then live it. Verses 9-21 is God’s will for us. It says…. Marks of the True Christian 9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[b] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Living God’s will We have to remember that God’s will for our lives is a commandement not a suggestions. God knows what is best for us better than we do. If you know God’s will you have to live God’s will. We can only know what God reveals to us. God is incomprehensible. There is no way that we can know everything about God’s will. But God did reveal the important stuff to us in the life of Jesus Christ. In order to know what we need about God, we have to read the word to see what Jesus reveals about God and God’s will for us. The rest of Romans teaches us how to live in God’s will. How to live inside of Christ. What to do and how to think. In Christ there are sinners and there are saints. A saint is a sinner who gave their life to Christ. We are all sinnners. As a matter of fact, it is the ones who brag about being a saint who are the biggest sinners. Paul says that we should never think of ourselves higher then we really are. Our biggest sin is our pride. Screwtape letters That reminds me of a book that I read in seminary – the Screwtape letters. C.S. Lewis wrote this book in the 40’s. It is a series of letters written by a senior devil to a junior devil. Screwtape is a devil who is in the hierarchy of hell. He writes letters to his nephew on earth, who is a young devil trying to tempt his first Christian. The patient has just become a Christian, and wormwood has the task of tempting him to become a sinner. Sin is an slow slope Screwtape’s most important advice is not to spend time on the big temptations, but to concentrate on the little things. He says not to lead the patient into evil places, but to stand along side of him in ordinary life. Our descent into sin is not an obvious turn, but a slow, gradual desent into sin. Screwtape says the best way to get a Christian is not so much to put evil thoughts into his head - but to keep him away from the things that keep him grounded. Give him excuses not to come to church, not to read the bible, not to do the right thing. And eventually you will find that person as a perfect vessel for the devil. “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters Romans says that faith that is not lived in your life is not faith. In order to live it, you have to believe it, in order to believe it you have to hear it. Romans very clearly spells out what it means to live in God’s will. If you make a point to live it you will be okay. Muddy the truth Screwtape tells wormwood not to spend so much time telling a Christian lies. The truth is very clear. And if we know that truth we are good at following the truth. Screwtape says not to lie, just muddy the waters. Tell the Christian that there are alternative truths. There is more than one way to getto heaven. Just because we read it in scripture, there are other waysto understand God. The devil does not have to confuse us, because we are Christians can confuse ourselves, Romans says that God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect. If we live and Christ and we read the word- then we have all that we need to live in God’s will. Distract from prayer and church The Screwtape letters are considered to be fiction, but they give truths about human nature. For instance in letter 4 Wormwood asks his uncle how to stop a Christians from praying – Screwtape tells him that if keeping a Christian from praying does not work, then lure them into thinking that they are an expert on prayer, so God always gives them what they want, just because they prayed- they wont know what to do when God challenges them. In the second letter wormwood asks about how to keep them from attending church, screwtape encourages him to get the Christian to see everyone and everything through there eyes and not God’s eyes. They will get so caught up in judging people, that they forget how to forgive and trust in others. War a spiritual matter on love can win Eventually the patient falls in love, he joins the army and he is killed in war. At the end of his life, he never gave up faith. Wormwood has failed at his task. Screwtape reminds him war is not about the body, it is about the spirit. The war is about who holds the heart of man. God always wins the war. Perhaps that is why Paul says to present your body as a living sacrifice to God. The body is the temple of God. If you are dead to sin, and alive to Christ, you can overcome the temptations of the devil. What you do in bodily form, directly affects what you do in the spirit. Wormwood learns the hard way- that love is the key to the heart of man. And temptation is not match for true love. As long as love is present in the heart ofman, in the heart of God in the heart ofChrist,all that the devil can do is stand with you and watch. Love one another, forgive one another, do not repay evil for God. Shame the devil, and serve God in all places, in all times for all people. Let us pray… Amen. Children’s Sermon SUCH A WASTE! Passage: Romans 12:1-8 • Lectionary: Proper 16 Item 1 of 8 | Back to Results Object: a drinking glass, a pitcher of water, and a pan to set it into. Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you this morning? It is certainly a pleasant day in God's House. How I love to come to the church on Sunday morning and know that I am going to greet you in the name of Jesus. It must be fun to get up and think about being with your friends on the Lord's Day. On the other hand, it is good to get up any morning and think about friends. When we think about each other, we don't think so much about ourselves, and that is good. Did you know that St. Paul wrote to the people in Rome and told them not to think too much about themselves and especially not to think too highly about themselves. It's easy to think about yourself. If we don't watch out, the first thing that we know we are saying to ourselves, "I sure am pretty," or "I sure am smarter than anybody else." That is what Paul means about thinking too highly about ourselves. There is another way, of course, to show you what I mean. Suppose, for instance, that my good friend Glenda Glass came to my house and asked for a glass of water. Now, I know that you may not know my friend Glenda, but she is one of those people who think a lot of themselves. Oh, my, when you start talking to Glenda, the only thing that she really ever seems to think about is herself. Let me tell you what I mean. Glenda came over to my house and she asked for a drink of water. Well, there isn't anything wrong with that, so I went into the kitchen to get her filled up, but she said to me, "Get a big pitcher full of water." I started to pour a little bit into her. "Pour it all in," she said. Glenda thought so much of herself that she believed she could take the whole big pitcher of water into herself. I tried to talk her out of it, but it just wouldn't work. She wanted it all. [Take the pitcher and pour it all out into the glass.] Well, as you might have guessed, the pitcher of water was just too much for Glenda. Now that is what I mean about somebody thinking too much of herself. It is such a waste. God doesn't want us to think too much about ourselves because, if we do, then we not only cause a lot of waste, but there is so little time left over for others. From now on I don't want anybody spending his time thinking about himself when he could be helping others. Just remember Glenda and you know what I mean. She was just another glass, she was never a big pitther. You are one of God's people, but you are not all of God's people. Don't think too highly There is another way, of course, to show you what I mean. Suppose, for instance, that my good friend Glenda Glass came to my house and asked for a glass of water. Now, I know that you may not know my friend Glenda, but she is one of those people who think a lot of themselves. Oh, my, when you start talking to Glenda, the only thing that she really ever seems to think about is herself. Let me tell you what I mean. Glenda came over to my house and she asked for a drink of water. Well, there isn't anything wrong with that, so I went into the kitchen to get her filled up, but she said to me, "Get a big pitcher full of water." I started to pour a little bit into her. "Pour it all in," she said. Glenda thought so much of herself that she believed she could take the whole big pitcher of water into herself. I tried to talk her out of it, but it just wouldn't work. She wanted it all. [Take the pitcher and pour it all out into the glass.] Well, as you might have guessed, the pitcher of water was just too much for Glenda. Now that is what I mean about somebody thinking too much of herself. It is such a waste. God doesn't want us to think too much about ourselves because, if we do, then we not only cause a lot of waste, but there is so little time left over for others. From now on I don't want anybody spending his time thinking about himself when he could be helping others. Just remember Glenda and you know what I mean. She was just another glass, she was never a big pitther. You are one of God's people, but you are not all of God's people. Don't think too highly of yourself and God will be pleased with you. 0-89536-053-5 Back to Results | Item 1 of 8