Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/28/15

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/28/15

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Under the Old Testament teaching, God instructed Moses to build the brazen altar where an offering was made for sins.  Whoever brought the offering would put their hands upon the head of the critter that was to be sacrificed and would acknowledge their sin. 

That could never keep them saved, but only cleared their past sins.  It did not change their heart but did acknowledge that they were a sinner and their sins needed to be forgiven.

One day on a hill called Mount Calvary Jesus was crucified on the old rugged cross and paid the price for all the committed and inherited sins of all mankind.  Anyone can come confessing, repenting, and turning from their sins. 

There is a definite day of salvation.  A definite call from God to come and be saved.  There is also a warning in Amos, chapter 4, that if you neglect your soul God will return and say, “You have rejected me, I call you home, and it is too late to repent.”

The blood of Christ was offered.  This verse is just the foundation.  I am going to preach from Romans 12.  We all must begin with an experience of coming alive through Christ by confessing of our sin, being forgiven of our sin, and becoming a new creature. 

It is wonderful to have the Word of God wash us, to have our conscience keen, to be at the laver spiritually and be washed with the pure Word of God.  There is only one way into the place and that is through Jesus Christ our Lord.  He cleanses us, forgives, gives an inheritance, and keeps us.

On the table of show bread there is always fresh food for our soul, this is Jesus, the precious Bread of Life and the Word of God. 

You may be wishing that the pews were full; what are you going to do to get it there?  When it comes to consecration there is a light that comes to direct. 

“I am sick, I am tired, I am old…”  You are not consecrated.  If we are going to rescue the perishing, if God has stirred you in the least bit, I trust you take two steps forward in consecration and dedication, “God I will do what you want me to do.” 

The light of consecration and dedication:  We all have plans.  His light shines on our pathway to lead, guide, and direct us.  We say, “Lord you show the way, I will consecrate and go to the golden altar and present my life as Romans chapter 12 says.” 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

It is a wonderful thing to be convicted by the Spirit of God that we have two steps to go forward.  God has been so good to us.  He has been good to this congregation.  There is no one in this audience that is homeless.  There is no one that is hungry.  God has in His mercy helped us to maintain and be the church of God.  God has helped us to have a building that is paid for. 

“I beseech you that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” The very thought that that sacrifice was offered.  Jesus gave His life that we could be saved. 

There would be no way for me to be saved without Jesus.  I am a Gentile, no Jewish lineage.  I was lost and undone without God.  God sent His Son: holy, undefiled, separate from sinners who offered himself willingly that I could be saved. 

He willingly forgave me.  I did not have a college education.  My father was from West Virginia.  My mother was from Missouri.  He offered Himself to save us.  The one common denominator is that we recognized that we were a sinner.

Where there is sin: the future is not bright at all except an individual be saved from their sin.  After we get saved, we become a part of the Family of God.  We are not a step brother or step sister.  It is not, “We are a little better than you, because…”  Don’t you hate those ugly spirits?  Don’t you love when there is true unity?

We eat of the bread, we enjoy the light, and then we are called. 

The Apostle Paul said under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, “I beg you that by the mercies of God you present your bodies a living sacrifice.”  I know that you all have plans for tomorrow.  I have a plan to put in an air conditioner.  But if Brother Jim needs me in Missoula then we will be hot Monday night. 

We want to have the attitude, “God help me to be a living sacrifice.”  A living sacrifice: “I had hoped… but God if you want me somewhere else.  I will call and ask someone else to take my responsibility if you have something else that you want me to do.”

Present your living sacrifice holy:  “God you saved me, you cleaned up my life, I made all my wrongs right.”  Restitution was tough in my life.  I made it.  I have all my apologies up to date.  I have had to apologize since I got saved. 

Present your living sacrifice acceptable:  can you think of anything that you can give to God that is acceptable.  He doesn’t really want your pickles or the meat in your freezer.  What is acceptable to God is the human being, a living sacrifice. 

Which is your reasonable service.  He is only asking what I can give.  It is more than reasonable.  He doesn’t ask for 25 hours when there is only 24.  He doesn’t ask for what you haven’t received. 

Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed:  every one of us had a personality.  We have things that we could walk by in this world and we wouldn’t care if we had it or not.  If I hadn’t married Karen I could have driven by a quilt store and never knew they existed.  We all had that portion that would take our mind and our heart and squeeze God. 

Be not conformed to the world but be transformed by a renewed mind.  The world would like to influence us how to think.  The Word tells us how to think:  Pure thoughts, things that are true and lovely.

Think soberly.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Stay of a humble mind.  You may be good at your job which is to be appreciated, stay of a humble mind.  We have wonderful singers and teachers in this congregation.  We have good instrument players, but don’t compare anyone with anything.  Think soberly, God has given us His grace that we use everything that He has given us to edify the Body of Christ and to win the lost.

Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

The hand cannot do the work of the eye.  So spiritually, that which God has ordained for you to do, you can only do by you being a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.  It is that living sacrifice that can say, “Even when I hear things that would upset me, I refuse to let it upset me.  I have a job to do for God.”

There are different members and different jobs.

Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Let’s help each other and realize how much help we need from each other.  You might be able to row your own boat, but not spiritually.  We need one another.  We need one another to exhort us.  Before you can exhort anyone, you must be exhorted.  You must have the attitude, “I will be taught, I will listen.” 

You are wrong if when someone is talking to you all the time you are getting ready to tell them, “I know everything.”  You don’t know everything.  God has ordained that we desperately need one another.  We need the gift to listen without your mind coming up with an argument or the attitude, “You are attacking me.”

The proud and haughty are not a part of the Church of God.  I am talking about people that love God with all their heart, mind, and strength.  When someone says, “This will help you in your spiritual life and in your testimony” we want to listen.

Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Prophesying in the New Testament often means teaching.  Brother Jim brought us an understanding on the attributes of clay.  Prophesying is the preaching, the teaching, and the expounding of the scriptures. 

If the Lord will and tonight we study, “Be not overcome of evil.”  This scripture is so valuable that we grasp at this time.  The enemy of our soul would like to vex everyone with an evil spirit to trouble and bother them all the days of their life, something like a mosquito or bee trying to buzz and distract and shoot you with poison to distract your thoughts.

Prophesy is to speak to men with edification, exhortation, and comfort.

Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

What is your ministry?  The ministry of good works, of correspondence.  We have a sister in this congregation that is a song writer.  It is a marvelous song.  One brother has the ministry to be able to build things for crafts. 

What is your ministry?  Ministry of hospitality.  The ministry of making people feel comfortable.  When someone comes into the church of God, they have already heard about us.  When someone comes through that door they need to be greeted and know that they are welcome. 

Have the attitude, “I can.”  If you feel that you don’t have the ability to talk to people, I question that.  If it makes you uncomfortable, there are times that we need to feel uncomfortable.  Ease has ruined many people. 

Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Do we know how to admonish one another?  “It would have been better…” not in a picky way but with the love of God.  Do we know how to take admonishment?  Can someone come and say, “Brother or sister, because I love you…”  You have a ministry where I will never go.  There are places that you can go that I cannot go. 

Thank God for the seed of the Word of God.  I want to thank God for the influence that VBS makes on children and for the influence that I saw the youth revival make on young people.  You and I have a key, “Will we be a living sacrifice?”

To exhort is to support the weak.  We have saints that are going to be weakened when they get done.  It will take all their strength.  There is a place where you can enter in, be in communion with God, and receive the tongue of the learned: words from God that you would have never thought of.

We have those that are carrying heavy burdens that only God can give them strength.  They will not “Just get over it.”  Have you ever had a tooth ache?  The ache goes on.  Except you make the sacrifice you will never get into the Holiest of Holies.

Exhortation means he who comforts the penitent.  That one that is so sorry for their wasted life, that is so broken, “I have failed my children.”  Do we know how to comfort, to say, “Let’s get ahold of God that knows how to make beauty from ashes and redeem the time?”

Do you know how to comfort the penitent?  Do you know how to go to that one that is in a sore trial?  There are those in this audience that will not run up to you and say, “I am in a trial.  I am plowing deep.” 

The enemy is out to wreck souls.  We live in a day when seducing spirits go out to visit.  They start with the pastor.  “Why don’t you let down a little?  Quit being so serious about trying to have a message.  Just get up and ramble.” 

He that exhorts:  right here is where we pay the price first, “I will be exhorted.”  And then, “God I am nothing but if you can use me…”