Romans 12:1 - Living Sacrifices in Worship

Romans 12:1 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.

Message: Living Sacrifices in Worship

Time: Paul route to Rome, the city has never visited, from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57. The rights to a church that he believes needed to hear basic Gospel doctrine. The city was a hotbed of sexual immorality and idolatry. 

What the Lord is Saying:

One of the interesting subjects of the Bible is tying together the idea of sacrifices in the Old Testament to Jesus our eternal and permanent sacrifice in the New Testament. The idea has been mentioned before that the Old Testament in looking to Christ and now we are looking back. Yet, sacrifices were present and a part of worship, going to the temple, and atoning for sins. My brother recently in his Bible Study Fellowship lesson summarized the covenants for me. He said:

• The Abrahamic Covenant was unilateral and unconditional meaning God is going to bless no matter what. 
• Genesis 12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 
• The Moses covenant is bilateral and conditional says, You do this and God will do that.
• Deuteronomy 4:1 - "Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you." 
• The Davidic Covenant is unilateral and unconditional which means God is going to bless no matter what. 
• 2 Samuel 7:12,16 -- "When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."
• The New Covenant is unilateral and unconditional which means God is going to bless no matter what. 
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
• What these covenants show: 
• God desires to bring blessing. 
• People can't perfectly keep covenants. 
• God always keeps covenants. 
• Messiah Jesus fulfills covenants.

Though we do know sacrifices ceased under the New Covenant, there still is a little bit of mystery as to why the story was set up like it was - starting with Old Covenant sacrifices leading up to New Testament Jesus as the permanent sacrifice, once for all. It is a little hard for me to put together, the raising of animals, the killing of animals. It is probably harder to recognize today given the way we have been trained to treat animals and many of us still eat meat today and so sacrificing animals for our pallet continues today. 

But that idea also makes today's passage even more meaningful. In an animal sacrifice, the life of the animal is taken and removed and given completely to God. In the verse today it is mentioned - "to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice." This seems to take on the same idea as Galatians 5:24 -- "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." We remain living but we put to death our flesh, our bodies. The principle seems clear. The application seems a little difficult. Maybe I get caught up in how to do this completely. It is a surrender of myself and a surrender of to God to trust in what He provides. "All to Jesus I surrender" is the hymn. 

Leviticus 1:3 reminds me that the offering offered was without defect -- "If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord."

Here is a great quote from St. Chrysostom (347-407) -- 

“How is the body to become a sacrifice? Let thine eye look upon no evil thing, and it hath become a sacrifice; let thy tongue speak nothing filthy, and it hath become an offering; let thy hand do no lawless deed, and it hath become a whole burnt offering. But this is not enough, we must do good works also; let the hand do alms, the mouth bless them that despitefully use us, and the ear find leisure evermore for the hearing of Scripture. For sacrifice can be made only of that which is clean; sacrifice is a first fruit of other actions. Let us, then, from our hands, and feet, and mouth, and all our other members, yield a first fruit unto God”

I love that quote because it puts the sacrifice to action. It changes our course and means that I make sure at all times my words and deeds glorify God.  

Summary: A living sacrifice in worship is to give God all of me, to give him my best and this means I turn from doing those things that don't honor him in any way. 

Promise: We must seek Him half-heartedly. Instead we are to give Him the very best of ourselves, not to atone for our sin or to merit our forgiveness but to thank Him for saving us, for giving us a purpose, and for calling us into service. 

Prayer: O God, I want to surrender to you today and give you all of me. Lord, make me clean to start so that as I go forward the slate is clean and I can be brand new in glorifying You and doing Your will. 

Esther 9:20-22 - Thanksgiving in Worship

Esther 9:20-22 

20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

Message: Thanksgiving in Worship

Time: Unknown author and book named after the start of the story, a young Jewish girl named Hadassah taken from her guardian, Mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. As an unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant she became queen of Persia and was renamed Esther, meaning "star." The events in the book of Esther occurred from 483 BC to 473 BC, during the first half of the reign of King Xerxes, who chose Esther as his queen. It is the only book in the Bible not to mention the name of God, however it is one of the most skillfully written books of the Bible, but God's sovereignty permeates the book. Its focus is the feast of Purim. This book reminds us of how God weaves out our lives and all of its events for His glory. 

What the Lord is Saying: Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman. Haman was king Ahasuerus evil second-in-command. He cast the lot, called "pur" in order to determine the days the Jews would be executed (Esther 3:7-9).  Esther and Mordecai though would foil the plan. Esther, the wife of Ahasuerus and thus, the queen of Persia. 

Mordecai discovers a plot to kill Ahasuerus. Haman is appointed as second in command but refuses to bow to Mordecai, then discovers he is a Jew and casts lot to then determine a time to execute all Jews. In response Mordecai and other Jews enter a time of intense mourning and lamenting and fasting. Esther discovers what has happened and begins an exchange of conversation with Mordecai. Her husband does not yet know she is a young Jewish girl. After back and forth deciding and delays she finally reveals to her husband she is Jewish and the plan to exterminate all Jewish people. Ahasuerus instead has Haman hanged on the gallows he had set up for Mordecai. A decree is then given that allows enemies of the Jews to be killed and this results in 75,000 killed. Mordecai becomes second in command and institutes the annual commemoration of this saving of the Jewish people - known as the Purim and is celebrated today as a joyous time, with maybe a carnival, exchanging of gifts and donations to the poor.

It is interesting that at the time there was another example of fasting after the people heard of the difficulty that would be coming their way. Again mourning and lamenting and fasting here are also going hand in hand.  And even in the church today there can be special times of thanksgiving to commemorate different events or special milestones including Thanksgiving holiday, paying off mortgage, or staff anniversaries. 

And yet thanksgiving is also a part of normal worship. I was taught the acronym ACTS to pray which stands for Adoration-Confession-Thanksgiving-Supplication. It reminds me that there are many things to do when we pray before asking. And giving thanks is part of this. I see churches do this in thanking God for his forgiveness of their sins and also there is a thankful spirit of all that God has done. Yesterday, we sang the hymn "When we All get to heaven" and that song gives an attitude of the joy and thankfulness we will have when we enter a new life in Christ. 

I miss this at times. But, I am very thankful for the wife God has given me and the children he has given me and the parents. Even though my dad doesn't have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ he has always supported me in my faith. I am thankful for all of the little things my mom did to encourage me in my faith. I pray I can be a fraction of this towards my wife and children and now grandchildren. And a thankful heart needs to continue to be a part of me. My favorite chapter of Romans 1 marks that the first thing I see that goes in unregenerate man is not having a thankful heart. Romans 1:21 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

Summary: Giving thanks is a part of our prayers that we make thanking God for all that He has done. It can be part of special occasions and it can also be a part of our weekly coming together time on Sunday morning. 

Promise: Cultivating thankful hearts will help us remember who God is and why He is worthy of our praise.

Prayer: God, how quickly at times I forget to give things and get out of this practice and instead get in the practice of wanting more and more and dissatisfied with the way things are going and want a better way. This is all consuming me at times and takes over my body. Lord, there is so much you have provided to me that I can be thankful for and I am indeed grateful to You. Thank you for giving me salvation and sending Your Son to live a better life for me to emulate but also to be my sacrifice and the perfect sacrifice for all. Thank you Jesus for rising again and perfectly redeeming me so that I would live forever in heaven with you. Keep that thankful attitude in my life continually and forgive me when I get off center from this. 

Joel 2:12 - Fasting in Worship

Joel 2:12

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

Message: Fasting in Worship

Time: Little is known of the prophet Joel. He identified himself as the son of Pethuel, preached to the people of Judah, and expressed a great deal of interest in Jerusalem. A date of approximately 835 BC or soon after is what can be pieced together. Joel gives no indication of the time period.

What the Lord is Saying: Fasting is the lesson today. Corporate and individual. Lately, whenever I think of fasting, I think of my brothers and sisters in Africa and how fasting is a normal part of their lives - a common occurrence. My friend Daniel and new convert Akeem in Nigeria have been fasting for 30 days now. A friend in Tororo, Uganda mentions that he and his church fast frequently, dedicating their time together to pray for all of the various needs of their community and beyond. In contrast, fasting is something in the United States that is not mentioned much or I don't hear of people fasting very much or at all. 

And in this lesson today, the writers of Tabletalk mention that fasting is not necessarily only an individual practice by people but something groups of people will do or the church even corporately. 

Today's passage from Joel 2 is an interesting call by the priests of that day to warn people of the consequence of sin. In this passage is a description of the impending judgments - the Day of the Lord is coming (Joel 2:1) - and then its description follows. There is meant to be an alarm going off before the people of the intensity and wide effects of this judgment (darkness, never been like it nor again, nothing escapes it, people are trying to flee with all of their power because of what is coming, people in anguish, faces pale, who can endure it?). It affects everyone and this description seems to take up the first 11 verses of the chapter. 

And so then the response from the people is a response now to return to God with all of our hearts. "All" to me points to everything. It is consecrating everything to Him. It is complete surrender. It is to align ourselves only with the way of Jesus Christ. It is to stare at everything in our life that is potentially an idol and turn from it. The word "return" is used. "Return to Me." It is the realization that we have gone astray, that I do go astray, that I get myself off track often and aligned in other realms and other dimensions of my life and so I need to return to God. And so in this recognition, this turning from our sin - is it just to be different? Yes. But the response begins first with a time of "fasting, weeping and mourning." 

To start new is to wipe out everything that was there before. And for us as believers in Christ, it starts with fasting. Everything is silenced for a moment (food, TV, screens, worldly ways), for a time to get things right with God and this includes weeping and mourning over getting off track in my life -- so that when I start anew I start right with him, then introducing things into my life that are correct. It is pulling back and seeing that the going through of the motions of life is moving me away from Him. It is complete surrender and complete turning away from sin to embrace completely Christ and His righteousness. 

In some ways this is what happens anytime I come before God. It is right now as I read and discover this passage and spend time alone with God as I start my day. It is when I gather together with other Christians and re-root myself as we discuss our lives and how they have gotten off-centered and Christ needs to be at the center. It happens when I go to church and sing songs and lift up the name of Jesus in song and praise. I return to Him, to center myself, to align myself with him, setting aside all that has happened maybe in the week prior of getting my focus off of Him. And in that there is worship through fasting, through weeping over my sin and what I did, mourning over my sin and the consequences that resulted from that. 

And then what follows is verse 18 and beyond is God's deliverance. See the problem - turn - God will save. This the extent of the gospel -- 1) see your sin; 2) turn from your sin and 3) God saves us. 

In this seeing sin is seeing that judgment is real and is coming. This is a reminder I need, because in my selfish interests continually of getting things I want I forget about this future judgment actually taking place. It is true I made a point decision in life in 1982 to turn from sin to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this turning needs to be daily because the temptation to follow idols is present each day. And so because of this, shouldn't my actions be fasting, weeping and mourning - over the fact that I trade truth for a lie continually. 

Summary: I need to realize that judgment is a reality. I have wandered from him and still do. Judgement is coming. So stop. Return to God. With All of My Heart. Start with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 

Promise: When we fast, we are driven to more urgent prayer and to remember our creaturely dependence. If you have not fasted before, consider whether you should fast and pray this week.

  

Prayer: O God, wow. Your word is so alive. Even in this moment, you remind me that judgment is coming and from that I can see more clearly now that I still get side tracked and away from you and aligned with other priorities of my days and get off track. I refuge in entertainment, selfish ways. Yes, I work hard, but I don't actively and intentionally bring you up and show others that what I am doing is for your glory. God, I return to You. With all of my heart. I consecrate all of me to You. You are Holy Forever. I can then start afresh with Fasting, while in those moments I weep and mourn for my past sin of replacing You. O God, thank you that you are there waiting to deliver me and set me right always. You are the God who saves. You are Holy Forever.