Note: This is a bit lengthy of a post, but if you click “read the rest of this entry” and scroll to the bottom, there is an audio version of it that you can listen to. ;)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1 and 2
It’s all well and good to be transformed, no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but how does this transformation of the mind happen? How do we get from here to there? I mean, I want to be at that place where I can test and approve what God’s will is. The good, pleasing, and perfect will that is talked about here in Romans. It’d be really useful in daily life to know exactly what is required of me by God.
What job should I take?
Should I marry her?
Should I start my own business?
Should I….
The big life questions. Oh, if I had God’s knowledge about what will be if I take a certain road…. then it would be easy. No, it won’t. Let me give you an example.
Maybe God does want you to start a business. Maybe he wants that business to fail and you to realize a calling to go to Nigeria and be a part of an orphanage there. Asked about it years later, you will say, “the failure of my business was the best thing that could of ever happened to me!”
Happiness isn’t in knowing the final outcome. It’s in obedience to the will of God. But knowing that requires this transformation to occur. My favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11 that says:
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.
I’d rather have God’s future than the one I’d pick for myself anyday. I mean it’s God. The one who created me. He knows where I’d be happiest, where I’d fit best into His plan, this world He created.
Our Body is a Temple.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
I Corinthians 6:19-20
There’s an old movie called “Field of Dreams” and the line that almost everyone knows from that movie is this. ”Build it and they will come”. This temple of our body is here. It’s always been a temple. Have you ever been in someone’s home and they make that statement where you never really know what to make of it?
“Make yourself at home.”
I usually am a little more tense after that statement, because then I don’t know the limitations or what exactly is expected of me. If I were to take it literally, I start looking over their bookshelves trying to find something to read. My dad would probably head out to the garage and try to find something to tinker with. I am telling you, there are some people you should never give one of those reciprocating saws, the ones that cut thought almost everything, as a Christmas gift.
But when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, most of us tend to make that statement. ”Make yourself at home” and then direct him where to sit in our lives. Like a nice shirt that you only wear when the occasion warrants it… like on Sundays or if you are going to a wedding or funeral, and if it’s not raining or not to cold.
The temple needs not to just be a place where the Holy Spirit is a house guest. It needs to be His home. You are the house guest. I Corinthians says “You are not your own” It’s not even ours to do with as we want. When Solomon dedicated God’s temple in 2 Choronicles 7:13-16 we find this passage:
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Notice that God isn’t the one who is taking the first step. He is ready and willing already. It’s only after the action that first happens on the part of the people that God moves. Humble themselves. Pray. Seek my face. Turn from their wicked ways. Then… I will hear from heaven. Action is required on our part. Our truest power as part of God’s creation is our free will. When we willfully humble ourselves and submit to God’s authority, this is our power. Give over the keys. Admit you are not the owner of your own body. Then we talk with God. We have His ear. It’s not a magic formula. Often what God wants isn’t really easy for us to accept. But when we embrace it, miracles can happen. Sins can be forgiven. Healing can happen. God will be attentive. Our hearts can be changed.
When our Heart Changes, our mind Changes Too… and everything else.
Jesus heals a demon-possessed man in Matthew chapter 12 and some of the people called, Pharisees (or teachers of the law) began accusing Jesus of being demon-possessed himself. Jesus makes this statement to them:
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12: 33-37
If we’ve taken that first step and invited Jesus into our heart, many people stop right there. Okay, now I am saved. Good for me. I have avoided hell. Then they go through life without the rest of the blessing that could be theirs. Namely the Fruit of the Spirit and The Gifts of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galations 5: 22-25
Now this transformation is beginning to look a bit different. When you begin to love people you’ve never loved before, when you have joy you never knew before and you’ve become patient when you used be anxious… kindness has now replaced apathy… good has overcome, and faith is no longer just the name of something you wish you had. Gentle. Self-controlled.
An example. I have a dog named Dugal. I would love to be able to walk outside and never have to put him on a leash. He’s a great dog, but he gets distracted easily. He sees someone and he runs to them. He loves everyone, but often if he is distracted with someone or something he wants, he won’t even hear my voice to call him back. For this reason I have to keep him on a leash at all times. In the house, he almost always listens and does exactly what I say. But I can only give him freedom within bounds. If he proves himself, he gets more freedom. My other dog, Rogin. He hasn’t even proved he can make it through the night without peeing in the house somewhere so he is confined to his kennel during the night. Dugal has free reign of the house because he can control his bladder. God gives us what we are able to master.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
I Corinthians 10:13
So the fruit of the spirit is helpful for what? For becoming the person God wants you to become. More like Him.
The gifts of the spirit are something entirely different. First, they come after the fruit of the spirit is active in one’s life. You can’t have the gifts without the fruit. I Corinthians 12: 1-10 has something to say here:
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same
God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Paul isn’t spelling out exactly what these gifts are. He is giving an example of some of the gifts He personally knows and has been witness to. The gifts are not all given one and the same to all believers. We don’t all get to speak in tongues. We all don’t get the gift of healing. I love this example from the old testament of someone getting a gift of the Holy Spirit in Exodus 31: 1-5
Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
The gifts of the Spirit are for accomplishing the will of God. In this, they are often miraculous not because they are amazing gifts, but because it is the Holy Spirit working in someone for a purpose beyond themselves.
Only when we have laid down our own will and humbled ourselves and seek God’s face, can He act in amazing ways and not just transform us, but truly Glorify Himself through us in amazing and incredible ways. We will find ourselves doing things we never thought we’d do. We may accomplish things we never thought possible. You will find the once crack addict sitting with the dying and holding their hand. You will find the ambitious young business man working in an orphanage in Nigeria. You will find.
Matthew 7:7-8 says:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
And then…
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Listen to the audio version of this message: What Does God Want from Me?
