We are in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. 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. For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. Paul says, for by the grace given to me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. If ever there was a culture that needed desperately to hear that message, it's ours. We have spent tons and tons of tax dollars to fund an education system that has produced very little in the way of people who understand and can effectively communicate in English and very little in the way of people who can do math problems or understand even rudimentary science. But we have produced a nation of people who believe that we are the best and brightest the world has ever seen. We have the most marvelous, high opinion of just how bright we are. When our students are tested academically against other students from around the, shall we say, more prosperous nations, our students rank among the worst academically. But when asked to evaluate how they think they did in comparison to other students from other countries, they put themselves right at the top. Some of the students from other countries who did way better than we did put themselves down toward the bottom in terms of how they think they did because they have grown up in a mindset where basically you haven't done enough, you haven't done enough, you must do more, you've got to work harder. We know that's not good for children. We want everybody everywhere to feel really good. And that's why all of us are above average. Okay? Now, folks, by definition, about half of us must be average or below. Does that make sense? I mean, just by definition, whether we're talking about running a race, we now have a school system nationally in which it is in many, many places considered inappropriate to have any sort of competition where some children might not win. We're all supposed to be winners. You're all winners. I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and say, I am beautiful. Feel good about yourself, okay? That's what matters, is that you feel good about yourself. Well, I would like to submit to you that the Bible gives a different view. Jesus says, after you've done everything that's commanded, you ought to say, I'm an unworthy servant, all I did was what was commanded. And we've got a real problem because we haven't done everything that was commanded. So if somebody who does everything that's commanded is supposed to consider himself an unworthy servant, what are we supposed to think of ourselves? Well, Paul just gently tells us, don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. But instead, think of yourself with sober judgment. Now, there is a pendulum here, and I want to warn you. Some people think in order to be godly, you just need to go around all the time sort of beating your back with a little whip and saying, I am no good, I'm just, I'm ugly, I'm stupid, I just can't do a thing. Well, that's not true either. Well, I mean, maybe it is for some people, Come on, come on, come on. We're not supposed to go around focused on ourselves. Do you understand? We're not supposed to go around focused on ourselves. Life isn't supposed to be all about us. Our focus ought to be on God. And when our focus is on God, it will bring humility to our hearts. When our focus is on Him, His greatness, His holiness, His magnificence, we don't feel so magnificent anymore. And then God awakens us in His mercy to the fact that He actually created us in His likeness and that we are to reflect His glory and we are in Christ more beautiful in a significant way than we ever really imagined. And we not only begin to appreciate the worth that God has invested in us, but the worth that God has invested in others. And yet, in order to appreciate that worth, we don't have to think we're all the fastest runner on the team. That we can all jump higher than everybody else. that we're all smarter than everybody else. Instead, we discover that we are part of a design that God envisioned, whereby each of us has different gifts and different functions, different strengths and different weaknesses. Have you ever tried to smell something with your elbow? Have you ever tried that? I haven't, but I was thinking about it this morning when I was meditating on this text. I don't think I'd be able to really do a very good job smelling stuff with my elbow. And the reason is because elbows aren't designed with olfactory nerves. Your nose has specially designed nerves in it, little receptors that send signals to your brain about how stuff smells, okay? And if your nose is not too stopped up, you can actually recognize the difference between, let's say, minestrone and teriyaki, okay? right? You can tell the difference. A huge part of taste is smell. They're linked. And that's why if you can't smell, food doesn't taste as good. It just doesn't taste as good. You can still pick up some stuff with your tongue because your tongue has special nerves also. And frankly, I love kissing my wife, but I wouldn't want to kiss her with my nose. You understand my lips and my tongue are good for kissing my wife, but my nose wouldn't be so good. If I got a sloppy one from the nose, that'd be gross. Right. And if I tried to see stuff with my ear, it just, I can't, I'm looking, I can't tell if they're smiling or not. I can't see with my ear. I can hear with my ear. I'd have a terrible time trying to hear with my eyes. My eyes aren't designed to hear with. They're designed to see with. And within the body of Christ, as well as in life, we have different gifts and different functions. and we're not supposed to put ourselves down, and we're not supposed to put other people down based on the fact that this person has this gift, that person has that gift, and that person has that gift, and I've only got this gift. Do you ever feel like in the body you're just kind of a fingernail? You know, I want it to be a heart. I want it to be a lung. I want it to be a liver, at least some vital organ, something really important. And I, I seem to just be more of a fingernail. Well, you may feel down on yourself about that, but if you've ever lost your fingernail, you ever lost a fingernail. Bummer. All of a sudden fingernails are important, aren't they? I remember when I was a little kid, I lost a toenail. I didn't know you could do that, but I discovered you can, I was rather distressed and, and the area where the toenail used to be, it turns out is very sensitive. That toenails there for a reason. And so I gained as a preschooler, a new appreciation for my nails. You understand? What if you're just a hair? Oh, I am. I'm just, I'm just a hair. Do you know that your hair serves a function? It really does. There is a purpose to every part of you. And whatever your part within the body of Christ, it's designed by God. Some people don't value their hair. They just shave it right off, but that's okay. It keeps trying to reassert itself. I want you to understand something. Every part of you. And every one of you has value and significance. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. And you need to rejoice in the fact that God's plan for you is good and acceptable and perfect. It's perfect. We already established that in the opening verses. But when he says, for by the grace given to me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Then he starts to talk about the members of the body and says in Christ, we who are many form one body and each member, listen to this, each member belongs to all the others. That means we have a relationship within the body where we belong to each other. We're connected. We can't just work as lone rangers, you know. Oh, I'm really more of a freelance artist within the body of Christ. I don't see myself as really connected anywhere in particular. I'm just kind of a, you know, freelancer. Really? I think we call that a dismembered body. I would be horrified if I was walking across campus and I saw a finger lying on the ground. I wouldn't pick it up and say, wow, that looks like a pretty good finger. I could use this. No, the finger loses its ability to function effectively and do what it's supposed to do if it's not connected to the body. It needs to be in relationship with the rest or it doesn't work right. Hey, I found this liver out there in the parking area. And I was just wondering, anybody here got a use for this? Folks, if it's not in place, if it's not connected, then it's not gonna function the way it's supposed to. And Paul says, we need to recognize that all of us have gifts, all of us have a purpose, and all of us are connected, and we need to function that way. And he describes it in terms of gifts. The word here is connected to the word grace. We have been given a function that we don't deserve within the body. And it's all based on grace. So then he gives a list of some of the gifts in the body, prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, leadership, showing mercy. And he says, whatever your gift is, there are corresponding responsibilities. If your gift is prophesying, then you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If it's serving, then go ahead and serve. If it's teaching, go ahead and teach. If it's encouraging, go ahead and encourage. If it's contributing to the needs of others, give generously. If it's leadership, govern diligently. If it's showing mercy, do it cheerfully. Because wouldn't it be sad if you did your thing within the body, but you didn't do it cheerfully? I mean, this is my job, it's my function. I know this is the gift God's given me, but I really wish I had that gift over there. I'd like to be in leadership instead of showing mercy. I mean, I just, you know, mercy, especially if you're a guy, you know, mercy is just, women ought to have the mercy gift. Men, men ought to be like, you know, leadership. Contributing, I can see giving, giving, that could be a legitimate gift for a man, but showing mercy. Let me tell you, we need, can you think of any male figures in scripture who really in a remarkable way showed mercy? Like maybe Jesus, for example, or God the Father? If God wasn't merciful, where would we be? The chapter begins with, therefore I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. And yet some people, if they, you know, I don't feel very manly, my spiritual gifts test says I'm a mercy guy. It doesn't seem very macho. Whatever your gift is, use it, and use it cheerfully. And then he goes through and he gives a whole list whole list of bullet points that I would submit to you apply to all of us but a fellow who spent a lot of time in the Word suggested that they may each of these little bullet points may in a in a special way relate to the list of gifts he's just given it is an interesting correlation take a look at it with me beginning in verse 9 Let's suppose your gift is prophesying, which is the first thing listed in the list of gifts starting in v. 6. In v. 6, the first thing he lists is prophesying. In v. 9, he says, love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. I can tell you as one who has the gift of prophecy that that is a very important exhortation for those of us with the gift of prophecy. Okay? Because it is very tempting sometimes for those of us with the gift of prophecy to overlook 1 Corinthians 13 and fail to realize that if we don't love with the love of God, we're only resounding gong or clanging cymbal. Okay? I mean, it's just utterly useless. We must love sincerely and we must hate what is evil but cling to what is good. Sometimes prophets hate what is evil and fail to cling to what is good. Then, if it's serving, well, look at verse 10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. That kind of sounds especially like serving, doesn't it? Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Hmm. What about teaching? Teaching is a very valuable gift. Not everybody has the gift of teaching. Not everybody should aspire to teach. But for those who do have the gift of teaching, verse 11, never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Can you see where sometimes those who have the gift of teaching really get excited about research and concepts and might sometimes get a little cool and detached and academic about it all and need to be reminded never to be lacking in zeal but to keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord? What about If it's encouraging, let them encourage verse 12, be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. That that'd be kind of a specially effective word for somebody whose gift is encouraging. Wouldn't it be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. It's a good word for encouragers. What about. Those who have the gift of giving the gift of contributing to the needs of others will look at verse 13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality that seems to be especially relevant to them, doesn't it? And then and then in verse 14. Bless those who persecute you. What in the world could that be tied to? Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Well, if if this pattern really does exist, that would be tied back to leadership. Those who are in leadership are supposed to govern diligently. Why would a person in leadership be told to bless those who persecute you? I don't get it. Well, if you don't get it, you've never been in leadership. Okay? Because if you are in leadership, you are guaranteed to have a whole bunch of people mad at you who will go out of their way to try and make your life miserable. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. If you don't believe it, become a parent. Alright? I'm telling you, there is a kind of interesting correlation here. And then what about the last one? If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Verse 15. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn. That sort of fits, doesn't it? So again, Pastor, what are you saying then that I just need to find my gift and then go over there to verses 9 through 15 and find the one that applies to me? No, they all apply to us. They all apply to us. But some of them are going to be especially applicable based on what our gifting is and therefore what we are most inclined to do and fail to do. Got it? God's Word is rich and multi-layered and the more you study it the more amazing it becomes Verse 16 live in harmony with one another live in harmony with one another Live in harmony with one another I've shared with many of you the illustration of Meryl Dunlop the musician keyboard artist from Oak Park, Illinois who I heard back in the mid 1970s, Merrill sat down at the piano and did his annual thing. Not only played beautifully, but had written a number of songs and he would offer anybody in the congregation could, Suggest a basically a scripture or a line some Statement or whatever and he would on the spot compose a song about it now These generally were not masterpieces, but they were nice. They were credible He had enough music in his soul and enough years of experience in his 80s That he was able to just compose on the spot some Inspirational song built around whatever somebody would say, you know the faithfulness of God and he would I Forgiveness. I mean, it was it was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as what I saw him do one time. I've never seen anybody else do it. I hope someday I will see someone else do this. It was really impressive. Merrill said, I want to play a familiar song for you this morning, and he played what a friend we have in Jesus. Lovely song. Then he said, now that was in the key of whatever it was. And he said, I'd like to play it for you now in a different key. And he played it in a different key, and it was still just as lovely. And he said, now I'm going to play it in this key with my left hand and in this key with my right hand. And he proceeded to play in two keys that did not go together at all. The result was horrible discord. It was taking a lovely song and making it just like fingernails on chalkboard or contemporary Christian music. Oh, I'm joking with you. I love some contemporary Christian music. But it was, I mean, it was horrible, discordant, just painful stuff that the notes clashed with each other. It was just awful. And when he got to the end, he said, now, my left hand didn't miss a note. My right hand didn't miss a note. Both of my hands can say to the other, I did it right. But he said the result was awful. And it didn't make you think of what a friend we have in Jesus. It made you want me to stop. It's not enough to be right. We've got to live in harmony with one another. You understand? He said, now I'm going to play in two different keys that work together. And he played again. What a friend we have in Jesus. Using two different keys, but they harmonized. They blended. Magnificent, beautiful, amazing. I'd never heard it before, I've never heard it since. I don't know how he did it. I don't know how he had the mental discipline and concentration to be able to teach his hands to clash like that and then to blend like that. How amazing. But within the body of Christ, You and I sometimes have our particular points that we are just absolutely certain this is not only true, it is important. It is important. You've got to get this. And somebody else over here is saying, I believe God has shown me this and I can't believe that you're saying that because I believe this and I'm just sure that this is true. And I can't see how I could be right and you could be right. I'm going to try and out shout you. And the result is not harmony because we're not loving each other and we're not serving each other. We're just insisting on our own way. We're thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We're not in love serving one another. We're commanded by God to live in harmony with one another. The difference between harmony and unison is something that a lot of people in the body of Christ don't understand. Unison means we all sing the same note all the time. Have you heard when Andrew and Hannah or Seth and Megan are up here? Mr. Andrew, Mrs. Hannah, Mr. Seth, Mrs. Megan are up here leading us in worship and they're not singing the same note. Who's right? They're both right. They're singing harmony. Now, I would demonstrate that for you like Meryl Dunlop did this morning, but I only have one voice. I can't do harmony. Okay. But I can tell you this. In the body of Christ, we don't have to all sing the same note, but we need to be sensitive to each other, and we need to harmonize with each other, and we need to bless one another, and we need to encourage one another, and we don't all have to have the lead role. Is that clear? So, verse 16, live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud. but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not be conceited. Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought. Don't go around thinking I'm too good for that. I shouldn't be asked to do that. People need to recognize my gifts. I need to be more appreciated. People don't seem to realize just how special I am. Okay? I mean, you don't... You just don't get it. I am so smart. I'm so smart. I know so much stuff. Well, apparently you don't know nearly as much as you think you know. Because if you were really smart, you wouldn't be so impressed with how smart you are. The more you learn, they call it in school, the sophomore mentality. Yeah, last year I was a freshman, I didn't know anything. Now, I really know this stuff. Sophomores have a tendency, historically, to be really impressed with how much they know. Because they've learned so much since freshman year. Okay? And then all of a sudden they become juniors. They realize so stupid sophomores. I remember last year. I thought I knew so much. Wow. Was I wrong? I'm a junior now. The further you go, the more you realize, Oh my word, there is so much. I don't know. There is so much. I don't know. Don't be conceited and be willing to associate with people of low position. Again, who are we supposed to be like? We're supposed to be like Jesus, who didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself and became one of us. God was willing to become a zygote. I don't think I know what a zygote is. What is that? That's one of the earliest stages of development in the life of a human. Yeah, it's like even before they call it a fetus. Yes. God became one of us in the womb. and then a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger because there was no room in the inn. Jesus is God become man. In light of that, how can we possibly say that we want to be his follower, but I can't be assigned to dig ditches or pick up trash or make the drive to the dump or oversee the burn pile, or have to clean up after other folks. I just don't think that's really appropriate. Let me tell you something, folks. If we're going to be followers of Jesus Christ, we can't think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. We need to get our eyes on the Lord, and in light of who He is, be very, very grateful that we're alive. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, as we worship Him we will begin to think rightly about ourselves. I was thinking this morning about Billy Graham who is, as I record this, is in the hospital with, they think, pneumonia. I've had the privilege of knowing some very impressive people in my life, some famous people, some very successful people, some multimillionaires and sports figures and all kinds of folks. I've never known anybody who is as impressive in his accomplishments as Billy Graham. I've never known anyone who was more humble than Billy Graham. And I think the reason that Billy was so humble is because Billy knows God. And when you know God, you are much less tempted to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Let's remember that as we go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your magnificence that you have revealed to us in Jesus Christ. And we thank you for the unfathomable truth that one day we're going to be like you. That you have not just forgiven us, but you have reconciled us to yourself and made us in Christ one spirit with you. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when Christ will appear, we'll be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. So, Lord, we worship You and we praise You and we thank You in Jesus' name. Now help us to use the gifts You've given us to serve others. Amen.