I don't know if I got the name of it. Something trues. It escaped my mind. We're going to be on Romans chapter 12 verse 1. Transforming trues. We'll have a PowerPoint on the screen next week. Just getting started, I just didn't quite have it set up yet. But chapter 12, verse 1, it says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And last week we read over the last few verses of chapter 11, And because it tells us that we do this by the mercies of God, but actually chapter 1 through chapter 11 prepares us for chapter 12. And all through that we learn how that we can present ourselves a living sacrifice for our Savior. And we got to last week, The motivation of being a living sacrifice, and we started with what our motivation is not, and we talked about that we are already accepted in his sight. We don't work to be accepted. We're accepted because we believed on the death, burial, and resurrection. So God loves us, and no matter how good we are, he's not gonna love us anymore. That's not why we present ourselves a living sacrifice. And we went through Romans 8, 35, 38, 39, how that we shall not be separated from the love of Christ. So once we're saved, we're saved. Our motivation is also not because of obligation. He never asked us to pay Him back for the debt of saving us. He paid that debt, and the debt is settled. We don't owe God. We could never pay it. If we owe it, we'd be in trouble because we could never pay Him back for it. Luke 7, 47, wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Her sins were forgiven, your sins, my sins are forgiven if we've accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. Our motivation to serve Christ comes from our relationship and gratitude, not by our religion or our list of rules or by our guilt. Yes, he did a marvelous thing for us, but we're not to try to pay it back. We're not to hold on to that guilt because he took that guilt away. So why is it even though Even though they know they'll still get to heaven without doing anything great for God, some Christians still devote their entire life to God. They don't have to. But Russell, you don't have to go to Mexico. You didn't have to go down there to start with. But you did out of your gratitude for God because you love Him and He loves you first. And you do that because of your love for Him. But we don't have to do that. We don't have to do anything. But we do so because of our love for our Savior. When we truly understand what Christ has done for us, we are motivated to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. So be what our motivation is. One of the biggest criticisms some people have of Christianity is that we do not have to earn our way to heaven. And one reason it's so widely criticized is because every other religion says you do have to earn it. You may have experienced some strong criticism over this. I think one area that strong criticism comes from is not really because you didn't do anything to earn yours. It's because they believe that they have to do something to earn their way into heaven And you say you're going, and you didn't do anything, darn it. So because of their guilt, they want to place that guilt on you, and you're as bad as they are, so you're not going either. But that's just because they've never received the grace of God. They never understood that Christ died for them, and they don't have to do anything except believe on Him. We must always be vigilant not to represent ourselves as going to heaven because we are a good Christian. Never let it look that way, that you think you're good enough, because people are going to think it about you. The devil's going to put that in their mind. Human nature's going to put that in their mind. Something does have to be done for you to get to heaven, but it's already been done. Christ performed it on the cross when he died on the cross for our sins. Sometimes we may be asked by our friends, family, co-workers, as a Christian, do you really believe that you can do anything you want to and still go to heaven? Well, the answer is yes. They say they can't comprehend that because they don't know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. But the thing is, we don't want to do those things anymore because Christ has changed us because Christ is in us. Romans 6, 17 and 18. But God bethink that ye were all the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." As Christians, we believe that we were previously in a hopeless battle against sin, trying to fight it in our own strength. But we believe now that We saw that we couldn't win that battle, but we saw what Christ did for us on the cross, and we trusted in that as salvation. Jesus, who being righteous, took our punishment by dying on the cross for us. He settled a debt that we could never pay because of his selfless love for us. This is our motivation to be in a living sacrifice. Christ finished work on the cross. Yes, as Christians, we can do what we want, but knowing what Christ has done for us causes us to want to please him. Romans 6, 1 and 2. What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? We don't sin and sin more and sin more so that we can show how great God's grace is. That's not grace, that's narcissism. That's saying I can do what I want to and I'm special and God's going to take care of me, I can do what I want. No, that's not grace. God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? You see, when we sin and we sin and we sin, we're showing that we're still living in sin, that we're not dead to sin. Colossians 121 and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he Reconciled you see he took away all that shame and all that guilt and he's paid for it. We don't have it anymore. I Mean if somebody paid a great debt for you So something unfortunate happened to you and you was about to lose your home or lose your car and somebody come by and said, I'll pay that. I'll pay your home off. Might be $100,000. But you had no way to pay it and you were going to lose it. You would feel gratitude toward that person. Imagine your house caught on fire. And you were trying to put it out, of course, and you fell down, were knocked unconscious. Your neighbor comes in, and he sees what's happened. He gets you out, and on the way of getting you out, he cuts himself and falls down, and smoke inhalation gets him. And after he's got you out, and he has to go to the hospital, has to spend some time in the hospital, but you're okay. You would always feel gratitude toward that neighbor for helping you like that. That's the way it is with Christ. It's because of the gratitude of what he done for us that nobody else could do for us. That he died for our sins and paid for our sins. What is our motivation to be a living sacrifice, Paul tells us clearly in the text, by the mercies of God. In other words, when we realize the incredible mercy God has shown to us, we feel compelled to offer our lives to him as a living sacrifice. It is the only reasonable response to the great mercies of God. Ephesians 2, 4, and 5, but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened together with Christ. By grace, you're saved. See, it wasn't that we had to get to a certain point. You know, sometimes if we help somebody and there's different people we can help, and we may look at them, humanly speaking, and say, well, this person's trying, so that's the one I want to help. This person over here, they're just getting worse and worse and worse, and they're a hopeless cause, and I don't want to spend my time on them. But that's not the way God looked at it. He looked at the whole world. And there were some pretty good people. And there were some really, really, really bad people, but he died for all of us. And no matter which one we were, now we are saved by grace and we should feel a gratitude toward God and we should present our bodies a living sacrifice. 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now, in that verse, it tells us that we are chosen. You are chosen. You are made royal. There's nothing you could do to get into the family of God, but God made you royal. He made you part of the family. You were made holy. There's no way in this world, if you could become a part of God's family, there's no way you could make yourself holy, but God made you holy. And then it says that you are a peculiar people. That means you were purchased or chosen for a particular task. So if somebody ever calls you, you know you're a peculiar person, and they're speaking about your Christianity, you ought to shake their hand, thank them, and say, your biblical knowledge is very good, because that's exactly what you are. The Bible says you are a peculiar person. And when he purchased us, he paid for us to do something for him, and that was to be a living sacrifice to show forth the praises of God. And verse 10, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Before you were saved, you could not perform the task of showing forth the praises of God, but now you can because of his mercy. So how can we present our bodies and living sacrifices by the mercy of God? Now number three, the method of being a living sacrifice. So how exactly do we present our bodies as a living sacrifice? Doing so basically means that you surrender your life to the Lord. What are the implications of surrendering your life? What's the difference between this surrender and trusting in Christ for salvation? It's two different things. Now, I know we say that we're a Christian and we live for God, but being a Christian, being saved doesn't necessarily mean that you're living for God. The Greek word for present is what's called an aores participle, participle. I can't believe I got the first word out, not the second one. I'm not a great scholar. I'm reading this. This is what the lesson says. This tense implies you do something only once, but causes numerous lasting results over a long period of time. So for example, think of a man proposing marriage to a woman. I said a man to a woman. And the woman accepts the proposal. The word accept is an AORS participle. She only accepts once, but it causes numerous lasting results over a long period of time. She only accepts once. By accepting, she sets in motion many things to come, a marriage, a family, a life of taking care of one another, and you could go on and on and on, the duties of being a wife, or being a husband, or being married. She doesn't accept the marriage proposal again at each stage in their lives. So she doesn't say, yes, I'll get married. And then they decide to have children, and she said, I accept you again. And then when she's taking care of them every day or doing her duties, I accept. No, she accepted him way back when. So she accepted him as her husband one time. The important thing is that she did accept once. There was a definite time when she said yes. The same is true with accepting our Savior as our Lord. He's our Savior first. He's gotta be our Savior first. We gotta be saved. But have we ever made Him Lord? Have we ever become a living sacrifice? Once you have presented your body as a living sacrifice, there are lasting results. One, it is a specific event. And I really wish somebody, when I got saved, I got saved, and over the next five years, something like that, five, six years, I went to church two times, because nobody was taking me to church. I was 13, so I couldn't get to church. Nobody sat down and said, now you're saved, and this is what you need to do. When we first got married, My wife was the spiritual leader of the house, because I didn't know nothing. She had to be. She had to show no opinion at all if she wasn't the spiritual leader, because I had nothing to show. I didn't know anything except that I was saved. There are many people who don't understand that being saved is a one-time event that changes your whole life. Now, we understand that if you're here today and you're saved, and as far as I know, we all claim to be saved. You could be here or not, but if you're saved, you know that there was a moment in your life where you were lost, and then you were saved. And you accepted Christ as your Savior. There was no leading up to it, no working for it. You understood it, and when you believed, you were saved. That's a specific moment. Now we're getting to where we need to be. Presenting our bodies, a living sacrifice is a specific event separate from the specific event of being saved. Now there are some, you take a child raised in church and especially and they've been taught the word of God and they understand they need to be saved and immediately they accept him as Lord too. It's the same time. But there are those like me that went years with knowing nothing. Or maybe they didn't know, but still they didn't present themselves a living sacrifice. So take a moment and consider this. Can you point to a specific time when you trusted Christ as your Savior? As I said, this will have to come first. We have to know that we're saved. that we believe on the shed blood of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins, we believe that he was buried and rose again, and we trust in him and trust in his power to save us and forgive us of our sins. Now, do you know, or have you ever, can you point to a specific time that you surrendered your life to Christ as a living sacrifice? And say, I was never taught that. I'll be honest with you, I've never heard this taught, but it's true. And you may have to take some time and think back. And two, it is a significant event. Obviously, the greatest day in your life, if you're a Christian, is the day you got saved. There's nothing can top that. Nothing's better than that. But right behind it comes the day you decided to present your body as a living sacrifice. As an illustration, an 18-year-old man goes to Parris Island, South Carolina. He will submit himself to a drill instructor. He will do everything that drill instructor says. He will sit when he says sit. He'll eat when he says eat. He'll go to bed when he says go to bed. He'll get up when he says get up. He'll run when he says run. Everything he says, he's going to do everything. He's presenting himself a living sacrifice to that drill instructor, or more broadly, to the military. When Satan tries to distract you or tempt you, you can go back to that day when you surrendered your life to the Lord. Now think about, you know that sometimes, if you've been saved any length of time, there's been a time in your life where the devil will tell you you ain't saved anymore. But you can go back to that day, go back to the Holy Spirit dealing with your heart, showing you that you were lost, and you can remember the day. I didn't say you can remember the date, but you can remember the day, you can remember the time That's you accepting Christ as Savior. Now imagine if you haven't done so, and you're doing something for the Lord, and Satan says, you're just doing too much. You don't have to do that. You can go back to that day. But I told God I would. I thought, God, I was going to live for him. I don't want to live for me anymore. I don't want to live for this flesh anymore. I just want to live for God. And you can keep on going on. Here's a few promises you can claim after you surrender your life to the Lord. The Lord will be with you the whole time. Deuteronomy 31 to six. Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the Lord thy God, he it is that goeth with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13, five. Let not your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. For he has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. A lot of problems with Christians presenting themselves as a living sacrifice is they're not content with the physical things that they have. They always want more physically. Brother Eddie, would you trade your salvation for a million dollars? Well, you know, sometimes that jackpot gets up about 1.4 billion, and if I had the winning ticket in my pocket, and I said, you could have it for your salvation, No trade, right? No way. No way. You wouldn't trade it. Because what you have is better than that. So why aren't we content with the things we have? We just said our salvation is worth at least 1.4 billion. We got up that high, didn't we? So why aren't we content with what we have? The devil will flee if you resist him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Somebody heard me say this before. Resisting the devil, this is not resisting the devil. He puts in your mind some thought and you say, don't put that in there. He puts it in there and here you go. No, it's resisting. They don't, I've said it before, they don't arrest somebody for resisting arresting because they say, I really don't want to go. No, they're fighting, they're pushing, they're trying to get away. And sometimes it takes effort. We have to put some effort behind our resisting the devil. The Lord will always provide a way for you to be victorious over your temptation. There hath no temptation taken you but such as common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. By presenting your body a living sacrifice, you are surrendering your life to Christ. Now this doesn't mean that you're going to be a missionary, that you're going to be a pastor, you're going to be full-time ministry. It just says that you're presenting your body a living sacrifice. So what God wants you to do, that's what you're going to do. It may be that you have to work a 40-hour week job and that you just witness on your job, you witness where you go, you live for Him, and you read your Bible, and you study, and when God impresses on you to do something, then you do it. Now, something I want you to do for me. Brother Eddie and Brother John is going to hand out a piece of paper, and on there, It's going to ask you to give just a sentence or so about when you were saved. You don't have to know the date. You can put the date if you want to. I didn't bring one. Brother Eddie, give me one of them so I can read it. Didn't keep one of them. You resisted. Now, don't put your name on here. because I want you to turn them back in. I didn't know your name. So I got saved when, now, if you need a, raise your hand if you need a pen. Anybody need a pen? Anybody need a pen? Looks like we got pens. All right. I got saved when, it might be as broad as, I got saved when I was a young teenager. Maybe as close as you know. That's fine. And it says, I knew I needed to be saved because. Think about it a minute. Something calls you to know you need to be saved. One sentence, anything you can put on there. And then down below that, I surrendered my life to the Lord when. Now, I suspect that there are some that can't say there has been a specific time when I surrendered my life to the Lord. but there needs to be a specific time when you surrendered your life to the Lord. I remember several years ago, and here again, I can't put a date on it, I could probably go back and get to the year that we had been visiting churches, and one in particular, and we would go there most Sunday mornings, but there'd come a time I was saved, and the Lord dealt with my heart, and said, you need to get serious about this thing. He said, and of course I knew, really the only reason I knew this is because of my wife that I need to be a member of a church somewhere. I said, all right, Lord, I'll join that church we've been going to. He said, no, you'll join this church. Not this one, but another one. And that's what I did. And ever since that time, I've just tried to do what God wanted me to do. I began studying my Bible more, reading, praying, and just trying to do. But I can remember, nobody taught me that, but I remember there was a time when I did that. And you may be the same way. Nobody taught you that, but you know there was a time when you decided to do that. You may not be able to put that down. There may have never been a time where you did that. Now you could do that today. You may even want to come and pray about it. Now then, if for anything that's on there, and you want somebody that you want to talk with me about, or you want to talk to the pastor about, or anything like that, you put that on there, but you will have to put your name on there then, because I can't guess that. But unless you want to talk to somebody specifically about it, you don't need to put your name on there. I just want to read through these things and it'd be an inspiration for me to understand and know what happened in your life or how God brought you to be, to present yourself a living sacrifice, how God did in your life to show you that you needed to be saved. But I think it's good for you now to go back and to write it down. And maybe you've never thought about it, but you can go back now and think about, well, at this point right here is when I did it. And nobody taught me that, but this is when I decided to present myself a living sacrifice for the Lord. Because that's what we are to be, is a living sacrifice for our Savior. I'm going to give you a couple minutes to write this down. I appreciate what I'm seeing. I'm seeing people with their heads down writing. I really appreciate that. Now, when you get done, you take it and close the writing in and fold it in half like this, and there's a blue box on that little table back there, and you can just lay it in that blue box. This is not for everybody to see. Like I said, I think it does us good sometimes to go back and to think about what God has done for us. We don't have to wait until the devil persecutes us and remind him why we're doing it. Sometimes we just remind ourselves why we're living for God, why we're doing what God wants us to do. Keep writing. You have a few more minutes before we have to open the class up. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy except for one to God, which is your reasonable service. You see, the people that Paul was talking to here were saved people. And he was going to say to people that they now need to present their bodies a living sacrifice. Some people were raised in church and taught right and knew they needed to do that right away. Some weren't. And I was one that weren't. But it's never too late to start. Again, I appreciate y'all writing this stuff down. Give me something to do this weekend. Y'all can go ahead and put those in there if you're done. A couple more people still riding. That way you won't have to be crossing traffic with people coming in the door once we open the door. Hand them to somebody, somebody take them up. However you wanna do it. All right, I think most of you are done. Go ahead and open up those doors. Once you're done going out, you can go ahead and open the doors.