I invite you to open your Bibles or to look up ahead on the screen to Romans chapter 11 and 12. We will be reading Romans 11 beginning at verse 33 and reading to verse 13 of chapter 12. Our focus will be on the last part of chapter 11 and the first eight verses of chapter 12. Our sermon title is You Belong to One Another. We will in a few moments participate in the Lord's Supper together. We aim to make some applications from this passage to the Lord's Supper as well. We have been blessed by the work of the Service and Mission Committee that has worked to produce the Time and Talent Survey, which came out a couple months ago. And merely I was intending to preach on spiritual gifts when it came out at the beginning of December, but my spot was taken by John van Eyck when he came to visit. we are going to examine somewhat of the theme of the spiritual gifts and we're thankful for the response from the congregation so far in the returning of that time and talent survey and if you haven't done it yet there's still opportunity to do so and it's an incredible help to the church leadership as we seek to honor and fulfill God's command to use the gifts that he's given to us as the body of Christ to serve the body. That through love we might serve one another. And may the Lord bless that work as we seek to be the hands and the feet of Jesus Christ to each other and also to our world. And so in light of that, let's read from Romans chapter 11, beginning at verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor, or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid. For from him, and through him, and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, you ought not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness, Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Congregation, loved by our Lord and by our Savior, Jesus Christ, we are about to partake of the Lord's Supper, which we also call Holy Communion, communion. And boys and girls, what word, another word, is very, very, very similar to communion. What word do you see? And if I could ask it this way, if you change the last two, the last two letters in communion to a T and a Y, what do you have? Community. community. We are a church community and we show our unity in community by taking communion together. We show our unity in community by taking communion together. Now how does this work? Or why does it work? How does what Jesus Christ has done for us in the gospel, bind us together in such an extraordinary way that as we partake of holy communion, we are experiencing our union in our communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ himself, and also at the same time are experiencing our union and communion with each other. We have union and communion with Jesus Christ, and we also have union and communion with each other because of our mutual unity in Jesus. Or to ask it another way, or to say it another way, what it says in Romans 12 verse five, and this is really, we're gonna zero in on as we look at this whole passage. Verse five says, so we though many are one body in Christ, and we are individually members of one another. We are one together in Christ, as the body of Christ, and as the body of Christ, we, have a claim on each other. We are together in this. We are one body. So there's a profound unity in community. Church is a body. That's the word picture that the Bible uses. And a local congregation such as ours has many members. from the youngest to the oldest, a great amount of diversity in our members. We're not all the same. We're not all uniform. But we have a certain unity in diversity. So there's many members, but one body. And each member is vital to the body. so vital that the Bible says we are members of one another. Not only do we work together side by side, shoulder to shoulder for the cause of Christ and his kingdom, but we are together in Christ and therefore we share in each other's graces and gifts and we are members of one another together in Christ. What does that mean? How does this encourage us? in light of what the church is. Our theme this morning is this, in uniting us to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit unites us together so that we belong to each other. In uniting us to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit unites us together so that we actually belong to each other. And we'll work through this passage in six points quickly. First of all, adoration, verses 33 to 36 of chapter 11. Consecration, the first verse of chapter 12. Transformation, the second verse of chapter 12. Evaluation, chapter 12, verse 3. participation, verses four and five, and then utilization, verses six to eight. So adoration, consecration, transformation, evaluation, participation, and then utilization. Well, first of all, adoration. And our text, or Romans 12, begins with the words, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, So, as mentioned often from this pulpit, whenever you see the word therefore in the Bible, you have to ask the question, what is the therefore therefore? Chapter 12 is a bridging the thought made between really chapters 1 to 11 and the rest of the book. It's kind of a hinge verse. And what Paul has been articulating and celebrating and singing about in the first 11 chapters of Romans is the extravagant mercy, the indelible love, the amazing grace of our God that comes in the gospel. In chapters one to three, it's a diatribe on our sin, that we all have sinned and we have fallen short of the glory of God. And because our God is a just judge, a just judge who just judges justly, we all should have the book thrown at us. What we deserve because of our sin is everlasting condemnation because of God's justice. but not only is our God a God of justice, he's also a God of mercy. And so in the gospel, the Lord has found a way to uphold his justice while also extending mercy because he's the just and the justifier of the ungodly. And so from chapters three to 11, we have this unfolding by the Apostle Paul of the mystery and of the mercy of God. And so this all comes together in this final doxology at the end of chapter 11. And one translation puts verse 33 this way, oh how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge. How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and ways. All glory be to God forever. With that, Final doxology, the apostle then says, I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, this is how you are to live. As you have received mercy, you are to live lives of mercy, give out mercy. As you breathe in God's grace, you're called to breathe out God's grace. As you are loved by the Father, you are called to love others. So what is the Christian life therefore look like? Well, it begins with consecration, our second point. He says, I urge you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Your spiritual worship. Consecration, that's a big word. What does consecration mean? It's derived from the Old Testament sacrificial system, actually. And the translation here is very good. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Remember, boys and girls, in the Old Testament sacrificial system, in order for God to pass over the sins of his people, God's people had to present an animal, lamb, goat, or a bull for a sacrifice. Sometimes it was a lamb, the perfect lamb, lamb without blemish. And they had to offer these sacrifices to the Lord. And in these sacrifices, which would become a pleasing aroma as they were burnt on the altar, there'd be a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The sacrifice would be entirely consumed due to the fire. Apostle Paul picks up from this analogy and he says, you are these new sacrifices, but you're not dead sacrifices. Those animals were dead. You're a living sacrifice. We don't have dead sacrifices because Jesus as the Lamb of God, he died, but he rose again. So now we have living sacrifices. And this image then of how the burnt offering would be completely consumed and needed to be completely given, you couldn't like sort of half give the animal, you completely had to give your lamb to the Lord. It's understood as you give your sacrifice wholly and completely Without reservation, you surrender it all to the Lord. And what is that? It's you. You are the living sacrifice. So consecration is devoting yourself completely, entirely, exclusively, ultimately to the Lord. And as we're gonna sing in a couple moments, the hymn puts it so well. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord. to thee. Take my life, let it be completely devoted, entirely yours to you, Lord. Why? Because I belong to you. You've bought me. I've been redeemed by your precious blood. I don't even belong to myself. And you are a good master, Lord. You're the best master, so I freely, happily, joyfully give everything, my will, my desires, my affections, my dreams, everything to you for your service because you are my Lord, you are my master. And that's what it means. In a thousand million ways of dedication each and every day, we're called to surrender everything to the Lord. Now this is a command, but also a promise. Because this is what we were made for, for God, his glory, to enjoy him. And so you will be the happiest, you will be the most fulfilled, you will find your true identity when you give yourself away to the Lord and for his kingdom. And as this happens, you become a new person. That's our third point, transformation. Paul also says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing, you might discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. There's a distinct way to live. See, there's only two ways to live in this world. One is the way of the world, and the other way is the way of the word. He's saying don't be conformed, don't be molded. Boys and girls, maybe your mom makes chocolates once in a while and you have a particular mold in which the hot chocolate in liquid form is put into that mold and after it dries and settles, it's conformed to that mold. The apostle's saying, don't be squished and squashed and squeezed into the mold of this world, of how it thinks, of how it lives, but rather be renewed by your mind and transform, be transformed by the renewal of your mind. And the word transformed is the word metamorphosis, which is what we use when we talk about a caterpillar being turned into a butterfly. There's this change state. You're a new creation in Christ. You're a new person. And so don't be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Have the mind of Christ, which looks, the mind of Christ, as Paul says in Philippians 2, which look not for his own interests, but for the interests of others. And so if you want to be transformed, your mind has to be changed, to have the mind of Christ, the mind of the Word, The world and the word are in conflict, and it's called to have the mind of the word. And therefore, how we think about ourselves is very different than the world. Because the world says, you're number one, put yourself first. Get to the top. But the word says, no, the last will be first. Pursue humility. Take the last place. Forget about yourself as you serve God and serve others. And so verse three, the third point says, evaluation, for by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Paraphrase it, don't get a big head. By the mercy of God. So each person who puts their faith in Jesus is converted by the Holy Spirit, has been converted, the Holy Spirit goes into our minds which are darkened by sin, rewires our minds so that the light bulb goes on so that we see God in Jesus Christ, converts us, regenerates, And then he's doing this project of remolding us, remaking us, refabricating us more and more into the image of Christ. And what the Holy Spirit does is that he gives each Christian spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts from Christ himself, the Ascended King, to be the hands and the feet of Christ to this broken and hurting world. And to serve other members in the body of Christ, it's a profound thing. And Paul is saying, as you have received spiritual gifts, which he will list in just a moment, don't get a big head if you've been given a number of gifts that are prominent. because they're gifts. It's by sheer mercy. You didn't do anything to get them. So don't be swaggering around thinking that you're like the, you know, God's greatest gift to the kingdom of God next to Jesus because of how spiritually gifted you are. That's not what the gifts are about. He's saying evaluate yourself in humility Seeking to understand how you can serve others, serve Christ, serve this world by the gifts that the Lord God in his wisdom has particularly and uniquely given to you. So be humble as you serve. But don't underdo it either. Have sober judgment. The Lord has given you gifts. If you're in Christ, the Lord has uniquely bestowed you with an ability to serve others in a way that no one else can because of the particular context that he providentially has put you in. We are all as unique as a snowflake by God's design. So don't brag about your gifts, but don't belittle them others. But belittle them either. Have sober judgment. Evaluate, but also participate. Fifth point. For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body and individually members of one another. So here Paul uses the metaphor of the human body. And it's such a perfect analogy of what the church of Jesus Christ, what it really is. And unless we really understand what Jesus has done in the gospel and what the church really is, we won't even really comprehend the majesty and the mystery of it because Jesus Christ unites us We're united to Jesus Christ, who's in the heavenlies, but we are also united to one another by the Spirit. And so, you know, you can have other community groups. You can have your local gym, YMCA running group, but the church is different. You know, you can be a member of a gym, drop out, and no one's really gonna notice. You might get some email, you know, sign up again, but you can easily drop out. But not in the church. Why? Because the church is a living organism. It's a living body. And that's why this is such a brilliant wise metaphor. Because you think about the human body, you need all your body parts. for your body to work properly. You need all of them. Your body just can't be a nose, right? That's funny to think about. No. A nose has a function, but it's not your whole body. And every body part is important for the rest of the body. Like vitally important. Because it's living. You know, there's other things that a lot of parts need to work together, you think about your car or you think about your computer, there's a whole lot, you know, one thing goes wrong and, you know, your car won't start or your computer's, you know, not going to boot up. But your mechanic can say, well, I'll just, you know, you got a bad radiator, I'll swap your radiator. No problem. You don't think about your old radiator. I'm gonna change the hard drive. Yeah, yeah, do it. Whatever you got to do. You're not like emotionally attached to your hard drive. But you can't do that with a body. Your hand's not working. Let me just take your hand off and you can borrow my hand. No, it doesn't work. We have medical technology in which you can have heart transplants. They didn't have this in the ancient world. But it's not like a swap-a-roo thing to do, right? A lot of care, a lot of precision, skill, expertise. Why? Because it's your body. The blood is flowing. It's all working together in this amazing, amazing masterpiece of creativity and of engineering innovation the Lord God has done in our body. Which just means, congregation, Each one in the body is vital and intricately woven together with the other members of the body. You belong to one another. We belong to one another. When one member is suffering, the others suffer. When one member rejoices, the other rejoices. What a beautiful reality. And that's it, it's a reality. Because the Bible says the church, doesn't say the church is like a body. It is metaphorical. But it says the church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head. The church is the body. So there's this real, organic, live connection between the body and Jesus who is the head. And Jesus himself wrapped himself in a human body. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. He really had a body like ours. And as he sits at the Father's right hand, he is in an exalted body, flesh and blood today. The body matters. There is this real connection, nourishment, energy, life. between the church as the body and Jesus, the head of the body, and also the members of the body as they live in vital, organic, living community with one another. We belong to one other. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, all saints that are united to Jesus Christ are united together in love, and they have communion with each other's gifts and graces. We have communion with each other's gifts and graces. So what's the call then? Well, it's to utilize our last point, verse six. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching. the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. You've got gifts? You do. Paul says, use them. That's the command, use them. What's the opposite of using them? Not using them, right? He says, use them. because the church, your body, needs your gifts. There's actually a type of theft, stealing not only from the Lord, but also from your brothers and sisters when you are stagnant, apathetic, to the ministry of the church and the kingdom by refraining from using your gifts and talents for the work of the church. There's actually something being held back by you from your brothers and sisters and also from Christ. And so that's why Paul is so earnest about the use of the spiritual gifts and how important they are. Because if the fruit of the Spirit, which is the Spirit conforming us more to the image of Christ, is being like Christ, the gifts of the Spirit are doing like Christ. We are Christ's ambassadors in this world and to each other, to be Christ-like, to serve one another. for the glory of Christ. Martin Luther would say, we are a little Christ to one another. And as Jesus said to his disciples before he would go to heaven, he said, I'm going to send the Helper. And with the Helper, the Holy Spirit, you will do even greater works than I have done. Disciples are like, what? How are we going to do greater works than you, Jesus? But this is it. The church is now the body of Christ, the hands and the feet of Christ to this world, doing Christ's work. So congregation, as we will participate in the Lord's Supper, we can't underappreciate what happens. Because as we partake of the elements, the bread and the wine, We truly are fed with Christ as the Holy Spirit brings us up into the heavenlies. We are so connected to Jesus as our own limbs and feet and hands are connected to the rest of our body. And so may the Lord give us strength as we get Jesus, as we are provided with nourishment and strength from the life-giving Christ himself. And so we thank the Lord for the church, the body of Christ, and may we live in Christ together. Amen, let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for this instruction from Romans chapter 11 and 12. That we belong to one another. That we are intricately woven together in this tapestry of Christian fellowship and friendship. And so, Lord, help us to honor these commands, to use our gifts in proportion to our faith for the service of others, that we would be little Christ to one another. And so, our Father, we thank you for this different way to live, different in the world, and so help us, O Lord, as we live out our unity and community in you. In Jesus' name, amen.