How are you doing brothers? God bless each one of you. We're here once again to look at the Word of God. After hearing what God is doing with the Church, God is doing something very beautiful with Trinity. We're not just here preaching the word of God. But we are doing what the church is called to do. And it has been a blessing to see that God is pleased to use Trinity. We pray all the time, one for another. So that God would continue to use the pastors and leaders who are going to leave. We should be joyful because the church is doing what the Word of God says that we should do. We're going to open our Bibles to Romans 12. We're just going to read Romans 12, 1. You will stand with me in reverence to the word of God. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, for this is your spiritual worship. Gracias porque un día más estamos aquí congregados en tu nombre, Padre. Para escuchar más de tu palabra, aprender más de ti. Ayúdanos, Padre Santo. Ilumina nuestro entendimiento para que podamos comprender con claridad tu palabra, Señor. Para que tu nombre sea honrado, tu nombre sea glorificado entre tu pueblo. You can take a seat. I was struggling a little bit more with the title of this theme. Some people ask about the title or the theme of the message, and I'm not really thinking about the title here. So I've titled this the thankfulness as a response to the mercy of God. I think we're going to look at a verse tonight that's very well known for everyone in the church. But have patience with me and the Lord will help us. The Dexology at the end of chapter 11 The doxology at the end of chapter 11, before this chapter, and the natural verse of the way that it starts in verse 12, indicates a new exposition of Paul here in the letter of Romans. This word that we see here, therefore, I'm going to explain some words in this text. We can say Therefore or next as the one translation refers to it. So with this word he's referring to knowing what I've just explained to you. After explaining all of the previous verses, now you know what I have shown you. So he says, therefore, or in continuation, or on the continuation. He says, I beg you or I appeal to you. He says, I appeal to you or beg you or plead with you by the mercies of God. This word to appeal. It means that, from the Greek, to put on by oneself, to help out, to go alongside someone. Paul as like a counselor of the brothers in Christ. He's like a counselor to the ones reading. But his counsel has all apostolic authority. Paul, as one specially called by God and with a ministry given to him by God, when he says, I appeal to you, I beg you, this isn't a word that he uses very much in other books or other letters. What he's saying is I'm putting myself to make this appeal beside you. But not forgetting the authority that God had given to Paul. Like an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like in chapter 1 verse 1. He says I beg you or appeal to you therefore by the mercies of God. Paul gives an exposition about the salvific work of God. That there's an answer that the grace of God should provoke in a believer. From here to the end of this letter, they show he's going to focus on the conduct and the growth of the Christian. So the first 11 chapters shown in the book of Romans, we see the great doctrines of grace. In the doctrines of grace, It's including love, the love, grace, justice, and the gift of faith. If we look over what Paul has exposed in chapter 1 through 11 in Romans, we see how marvelous and profound this letter is. It's something that everyone who loves the Lord Jesus should know. About God and his work. What God has done. By Christ. So, as I'm studying this, I go back some. When God, by His mercy, He taught me the doctrines of grace. God opened my understanding. So I could understand something about these great doctrines. I had another concept about these doctrines that was in error. It was something superficial and according to doctrine. We know that we don't know everything. Paul said we look obscurely through a glass. As he says in chapter 11, the word of God is so profound and the work of God is so profound. We haven't arrived where we should be. But we have the hope that when God presents himself, we will know all things that's promised by God. One day when we see him face to face, we will know what we don't know. But God reveals to his children what he wants them to know. And to the church he has revealed the doctrines of grace. So we should know and have a desire to know more and more about God. We cannot worship God in a correct way if we do not know this God of the Bible. If we've not read the scriptures, we're not worshiping as God has demanded that we worship. I remember in the first times when I was studying the doctrines of grace, this had a huge impact on my life. Even though on this journey, I've had many problems. Some resistance in accepting these doctrines. Not necessarily on my part, because I had received them with great joy. But in my brothers in this time. They were ready to fight against these doctrines. They would always say, how is it possible that God has elected some people? They would say, how can it be possible that God would bring some? God can't bring anybody forcing them. We're not robots so that God would do these type of things. All of these resistance I saw when I wanted to explain these things. I remember one time I was asked to come to a dinner. I was prepared. But to eat. But what there was there wasn't just a food to eat. Someone wanted to fight against the doctrines. There was more than five or six people against. Preparado para refutar todas las doctrinas de la gracia. Prepared to refute all the doctrines of grace. In question marks. Ellos contradecían todas esas partes de la Biblia. They would contradict all of these parts of the Bible. Todo lo que Pablo ha expuesto en Romanos 1-11. Everything that Paul had explained in Romans 1-11. It was something hard for me. But it brought greater conviction to my life. It brought directly more conviction to my life. Let's look back a little bit because we can't separate one thing from another. I told you that we saw in these chapters 1 through 11 the love, grace, justice, and faith, the gift of faith of God. We cannot separate one from another in the verses that we're going to read. I want us to look about the love of God. I'm going to read a few verses here. But God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5, 8. We see the love of God. Romans 8, 35 through 38. tribulations, anguish, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, sword. As it is written, because of you we are dead all the time. We are counted as slaughter sheep. Before all these things we are more than winners because of the one who loved us, for whom I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor the angels, nor the princes, Romans 8, 35 through 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor debt, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We see another here, the grace. Romans 3, 24. being justified for free by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 5, 20 and 21. Now the law came to increase the trespass but where sin increased grace abound all the more so that as in as sin reigned in death grace also might reign through the righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We look at the justice of God. Romanos 1, 17. Romans 1, 17. For the righteousness of God is revealed from faith and for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith, the just shall live by faith. Romanos 4, 5. Romans 4, 5. Now to the one who works his wages are sorry and to the one who does not work But believes in him who justifies the ungodly his faith is counted. It's righteous. I'm also lafayette We see the faith Romano Diaz de Siete Romans 10 17. I So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. I know that you know the book of Romans and we're just giving a short exposition. And you're saying, brother, you're skipping a lot of verses here. Not the purpose to read all of Romans tonight. Even though I wish we could read it every day. I just wanted to bring a few texts out so we could explain what we wanted to explain. When we read this letter, we cannot leave these verses behind. What these texts are talking about. In the first chapters we see, From Romans 1.1 to 3.20, Paul writes about sin and the misery of man. In Romans 3.21 to 11.36, we see the way of salvation. In Romans 12, 12.1 to 16.27, we see the rescued believer. So, studying the book of Romans, we can see this division. So Paul presents to us this way the Word of God. So, leaving everything that God has done, after Paul has exposed all the work of Christ on Calvary's cross, Showing the sin and misery of man. Showing the salvation of God. And now Paul in this text, in 12, he wants to see how we respond to the work of God. It's what Paul says here, therefore, brothers, knowing the work of Jesus Christ, how are we gonna respond to this great work that Jesus has done in our lives? That's what Paul's saying here when he says, therefore, brothers, So therefore, brothers, I beg you, or I plead with you, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. In the old covenant, the sacrifices of animals were acceptable. They were acceptable. But because of the sacrifice in the new covenant, these old sacrifices of animals are no longer acceptable. They don't have any value. Not for a Jew or a Gentile that belong to the people of God. For that Jesus has given the ultimate sacrifice of blood, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So I don't want another sacrifice. I don't want another sacrifice of blood. So the only sacrifice we see in this text is an answer to the mercy and grace of God that's been exposed in the first 11 chapters We have a word here that is your body. It says here that we are to present our body. It means all of the person. Or an individual of flesh and blood. John Calvin, speaking of this word, body, he speaks of the body like this. It doesn't just mean our body and bones. flesh and bones, but everything that makes us human. The Apostle Paul adopted. He adopted this word to design or to show us. To show us everything that we are. That the members of our body are instruments. That we use to work out our purpose. So when Paul speaks about the body here, he's referring of all of our being. For Christ, the only acceptable act of worship is to offer all of you completely under the control of God. And this makes us refer quickly to what Paul says in Galatians 2.20. I know you know the text. He says, I don't... I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Now, the acts I live in the flesh, I live in him that gave himself for me. And he said, with Christ, I am completely crucified. That is giving all of ourselves, our body and spirit and mind, everything we are, to Christ. That is the thankfulness that every regenerate heart should have. Committing ourselves to the Lord. That is the acceptable worship that Paul is talking about here. These sacrifices that are pleasing to God. Giving of ourselves for what Christ has done. Another option of translating this is your rational service. The word rational in the Greek is where we get the word logic. This is a distinguishing factor between the old covenant and the new covenant. that we're not um we don't have an obstacle in our worship because our worship is realized by the holy spirit so like romans 3 15 and through 16 says To show the ministry of which he's been called, he presents himself as an offering to God. Romans 3.15.16 says, Sorry, I think I'm wrong in the reference here. Romans 15, 16. Ministrando el evangelio de Dios para los gentiles, sea ofrenda agradable santificada por el Espiritu Santo. It says in Romans 15, 16, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Pero el sacrificio también debe de ser vivo, según Pablo está explicando. But the sacrifice should be alive as Paul is sharing it. What we should present to God is a living sacrifice. What does he mean that he says we should offer a living sacrifice? He's talking about the regenerative work of the Spirit that has brought us from death into life. So when he refers to a living sacrifice, he's referring to the life we have in Christ that we are now alive. Remember the word of God says we have passed from death to life. So because of the work of the spirit that he has brought us from death to life, God expects that we give that life to him in service. And the rational way or logical way in which we do so is not to do these sacrifices that don't have any value. but to committing your own self to him. We should commit ourselves to him in a reaction to what he's done to us. We cannot live a different life. It's impossible to say someone's been born again and not see the new that this work has brought. It's impossible that we can live without a desire for the Word of God. Without serving God. To be indifferent to the things of God. So knowing the doctrine of God. So Paul, in a great hope of looking at the mercy of God, hopes that we present ourselves as an offering to God because of what He's done for us. This is the rational worship. We could say this is the worship as a response to what God has done. In the doctrines of grace, we've known that we haven't done anything to make ourselves saved. What we've seen is how miserable we are in sin. We've seen the salvation that God has given us by Jesus Christ. What is your response knowing that your life is written in the book of life? So your response, knowing that you were elected before the foundations of the world, your life should react in thankfulness at the word of the text is saying. It is sufficient what Christ has done. He has shown his love. We've read some text that says he loves us in a marvelous way. There's nothing created in this world that can separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus. Because it's not something you and I have accomplished. We are justified by Christ, by His blood. Now, what is my reaction now that I know this? This is what Paul is asking. What is your thankfulness knowing the grace of God in you? We know that we maybe sometime shortly we've known these doctrines and that we don't know them completely. I don't know if you've asked yourself this question. Why is your name written in the book of life? Why did God choose you amongst many? So many in hell who weren't elected. Before you were born, God knew your name. What Paul is saying to the Romans. After he's shown us, he's saying, I want to see the gratefulness in your heart. He doesn't want you to live as everyone else lives in this world. But he wants you to know through the knowledge of the scripture that you have in your mind, you'd be transformed. That's what he's saying in the next verse. We're going to read it. It says this. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the rule of your mind, that by the testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. So Paul is saying don't adapt yourself to the style of life that the world offers. You should be transformed from the word that God has taught you. We cannot say that we've know the Word of God and we know the grace of God and we haven't seen any change in our life. The Word of God has to cause this transformation by means of the Spirit in our life. So we can't be more like the world, but we should leave the world. And the Bible teaches us how to live clearly under this word. Not conforming us to this world. Remember that we're living in this world. This isn't the city God's promised us. This isn't what God's promised us. We are waiting for the city that's promised by God. That's what this promise of God is. And in this promise lives every Christian as they're transformed every day by the Word of God. When it says, do not be conformed to this world, it could be to this time, to this world. what the world uses, the language of the world, the actions of the world, and all of these things that exist in the world. We should be different of the world in thankfulness of what God's done. We just read in Romans 4, 5. The one who works doesn't count as righteousness. But righteousness has only come by faith in Jesus Christ. It's not five works. But the word of God says we're to live in these new works that God has done. And the thankfulness of each one of us should be to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Not conforming ourselves to this world. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15.33 That the bad conversations break good traditions. We can talk about what the world offers outside. But Paul says, present your life as a living sacrifice. This is a complete giving of your life. And we know that everything that Paul has exposed here, he has explained all the work of God. In chapter 11, 33-36, he says that everything he's done, the knowledge of God, the wisdom of God, We haven't done anything to receive something from God. And this text says that everything's been done for the glory of God. We've been saved for the glory of God. For the glory of Christ, each one of us. I don't know if you've noticed this, but we've talked about three concepts here. The misery of man, the salvation, and the thankfulness. And so I want to look really quick at Psalm 50 verse 15 to finish here. So we see the misery, the salvation, and the gratitude. So Paul presented in the letters to Romans. in psalm 50 verse 15 now and call upon me in the day of trouble and i will deliver you and you shall glorify me In the day of misery, that we were without Christ, we were in terror and God freed us. Now we need to honor the work of Christ. That's what Paul is saying in this text. So only in one text what Paul is saying here. We could continue to speak about all this stuff that's written here. But Paul, in the rest of this text, he's writing about how the believers should continue to walk. It's what Paul is showing in chapter 12 and following. This is the rational worship. Or this is the logical worship that we should offer. To present ourselves to Jesus Christ. To give ourselves all to Christ. And that's what the word of God is telling us. Brothers, I pray that the Lord has brought more light to your life. I know it was a little short. It wasn't so extense. But we need to put in practice his word. That we need to live out the things of God. That we don't fall into being discouraged. Every day we look to the face of God. And every day we strengthen ourselves for what God has done in each one of our lives. And that is our prayer. So look for the Lord more and more. Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you. We give you, Lord. Thank you for your word. Thank you, Holy Father, because you are good. Help us, Lord, to always be firm. What you have done in our lives, Lord, is incomparable. It has no price. Father, forgive us. We have not received that with a great request. Help us, Holy Father, to separate each day from the world. And in gratitude for your work, for our favor and for your glory, may we be able to respond with all, Lord, Let us not have a value before you about the things of this world, but let us see all things as lost for the love of your name. No matter what we live, what the world offers us, there is nothing greater than you, Father. There is nothing more worth than what you have done in our lives. Help us to make an effort every day in our lives, Father. To force them to be every day, Father, praising you and glorifying you. That where the Church gathers, we would like to be there, to long to be there. Put that desire in our hearts. We know that your word says that you put love like steel in our hearts. As the psalmist said, give me back the joy of salvation. Ego cegoso y esa alegría, Padre Santo, que debe estar siempre constante en nuestra vida. Pero por causa, Padre Santo, del pecado en el mundo que vivimos, que ha sido predominado por Satanás, muchas veces caemos en desanimo. Nos olvidamos de honrarte, Señor. Pedimos perdón en el nombre de Jesús. Amén. Amen. Muchas gracias, hermano. Thank you very much, brother. I appreciate it. Psalm 50 and verse 23. Psalm 50 and verse 23. The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. to one who orders his way rightly, I will show the way of salvation." So we glorify God by offering up a sacrifice of thanksgiving. That's exactly what Brother Sammy just preached. That's exactly what Brother Sammy just preached. Amen.