Purpose of Mercy

The speaker begins by referencing the wrong verse in the Bible and emphasizes the importance of not relying solely on slides. They then read from Matthew 6:19, discussing the importance of storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth. They pray, thanking God for His blessings and salvation. They then discuss Paul's letter to the Romans, specifically focusing on the command to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. They highlight the importance of recognizing God's mercy and the need to be holy. They explain that being a sacrifice is voluntary and requires a certain quality, being set apart for God's use. They discuss the concept of holiness and how it relates to our devotion to God. They emphasize the need to constantly strive for sanctification and present ourselves as a presentable sacrifice. They conclude by discussing the importance of not conforming to the world and instead following Christ daily. And you can't rely on your slides. I hope that you have your Bible tonight because I put the wrong verse in there. But it's Matthew 6, verse 19. If you have your Bible tonight, open up to Matthew 6, verse 19. And Brother Darby, I'm going to try to run the slides as I'm going through tonight. So you can see how it works. Matthew 6, verse 19. It says, "...lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Let's go to God in prayer. Lord, we come to You now. We just thank You for this day. We thank You for the blessings You give us, Lord. We thank You for Your Word. You've given it that we may know what You have for us. And that we may know Your will. That we may know You, God, and come to know You more. God, I thank You for Jesus' salvation. And the hope is the resurrection. God, You showed us mercy when we needed it by sending Your Son. And Lord, I just praise You for all that You do. I ask that You'll be with me as I'm delivering the message that You've laid on my heart. Lord, that I may be able to say what You once said and nothing less. I pray that You'll just swore nothing more. I pray that You'll work in our hearts with Your Holy Spirit. And that You will guide us to do as You would have us to do in response to Your Word. Thank You, Jesus, for salvation. It's in Your name we pray, Amen. Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Last month, it's been a little bit. I know we've slept a lot since then, but I had opened up the Scripture in Romans 12.1. Romans 12.1. So if you will, go ahead and turn there. And just want to do a little bit of recap. Where Paul says this, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. And then he goes on to what he's getting on to about. What his topic is, that we would present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. But he says that I beseech you by the mercies of God. And I want to kind of reframe and get that back into perspective. Why did Paul beseech the Christian brethren by the mercies of God and why was it so important? Just like the verse that we had just read in Matthew 6, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. There's a focus that Paul wanted to remind the Christian believers about. A focus that he wanted them to have in line, to have in view, and to not forget. Because of the mercies of God, that he would send his Son not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles also to die as a sacrifice on our behalf. God seemingly needed mercy. Expressed mercy for the gift of His Son. And because of what God has done, because of how He humbled Himself, He made Himself lower than the angels, He therefore goes to say that you present your bodies for Him's sacrifice. But isn't that what Christ did as well? God in His mercy in His lowering Himself for our behalf. He put on flesh. He lived like you and I did, but yet without sin. He was obedient to the Father, even unto the cross. And He rose again the third day. Paul says this, you present your body for the living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Do we want to serve God? Do we want to serve Him according to His will? Do we want to honor God in our actions? Do we want to obey Him as He commands here to be that living sacrifice? We must remember two things. First and utmost, God commands us to be holy. God commands it. Be holy as I am holy. Likewise, Paul also brings in this idea, God has commanded us, but also Christ has given more than enough reason to be holy. To live as a sacrifice. Because of the mercy that was shown to us. But recognizing the mercy of God is only the beginning. Upon recognizing the mercy of God, upon accepting salvation, there is much more to that. Maturity. That we may live as that sacrifice. See, to serve God, He desires that we present our bodies as a sacrifice. To deny the form that the world puts on and to accept the form of living that God prescribes to us. To deny the things of the world and to accept what God prescribes to us. What does it mean to be a sacrifice? If we want to serve God, if we want to live for God, God asks that we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. But it's beyond just denying ourselves, but it's more about presenting ourselves to God for His service, for His use, but in a certain way. And the question is, are you a presentable sacrifice? When Paul wrote the book of Romans, or the letter of Romans, he wasn't writing to just Gentile Christians. He was also writing to Jews. And when he had mentioned the sacrifice, they would understand what a sacrifice meant. They would understand the quality of a sacrifice. That it wasn't just any old thing that was put up on the altar. There was a purpose for the sacrifices and there was a way that they were given. They couldn't just be any old thing. And all the sacrifices that you look in the Old Testament, not all of them were exactly the same in this way, but you see common characteristics between all of them. You see that they were the best of the best given. It was willingly given. It was given without blemish. Voluntary. It was fine quality. It was unscathed. And God desires this, that as we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, we can get to that point that we can serve Him. We can be servants to Him. Proving what is that good and successful will of God. To be a sacrifice, it needs to be a voluntary thing. See, God does not make us, when we're convicted by the Holy Spirit, He doesn't make us accept salvation. As some do believe Calvinism that you have seen that says that God convinces us or really pushes us into salvation, God does not do it, but rather it's a voluntary decision. It's a voluntary sacrifice. Likewise, after we're saved, that voluntary way of going, it continues on. Because when we're saved, we're a child of God. God does command that we serve. God does command that we live for Him. God does command that we be holy for Him. But yet, in that commandment, He leaves it up to us to obey or disobey the commandment. It's a voluntary thing. However, that does not say that the disobedience of the commandment does not come without repercussions. Matthew 16, verse 24. If you will turn there. Matthew 16, verse 24 says this, Jesus in a voluntary challenge or offer to them, says, then Jesus said unto His disciples, if any man will come after Me, if any man will make the voluntary choice to come after Me, He says, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. It's a voluntary denying of ourselves, the flesh, the things that are not good to God, and taking up our cross and following Him. We continue on, and we see that in this idea of a living sacrifice, God looks for a certain quality. He's desiring a certain quality as a Christian as we are following Him if we were truly to get to that point to follow Him in such a way to prove what is good and acceptable by our perfect will. He says that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Me. What does holy mean? What does it mean to be holy? Yes, it does mean to be set apart. Holiness is described in the Baker Dictionaries as applied to people or things as a relational concept. They are holy to the Lord. They are set apart for a specific purpose. We are devoted to God. In your lives, in everything you're doing, are you wholly devoted to God? And the things that you're taking up and your treasures that you have in this world, are they wholly devoted to God? See, we are made set apart or holy upon salvation. In a positional sense, we are made holy before God. However, our walk needs to be sanctified and be made holy day by day. As we read in the verse of Scripture before, Christ says that if any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. Hebrews 10. Verse 10 says, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. We are set apart. We are holy. We are sanctified. It goes on in verse 14 and says this, For by one offering He hath perfected them that are sanctified. So the question is, are you a presentable sacrifice? Do you desire to serve the Lord? Well, if you desire to serve the Lord, are you a presentable sacrifice ready to serve the Lord? Or do you still have some cleanup to do? Now, God does desire perfection, but in this idea, I'm not saying get yourself completely perfect and then you can serve the Lord, but I'm saying this, that you set yourself apart for the Lord, dedicated to Him, and wanting to desire His things in your life to walk in the light as He is in the light. And not try to mesh between the light in your heart and walk in the shade and the darkness of the world. See, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, we need to recognize what the Savior did in offering us the mercy that we need. And seeing the commandment that He has given to be holy as He is holy. By doing this, it ought to motivate us to present ourselves holy, acceptable, living sacrifices that we may truly serve the Lord in humility. But Paul does not stop there, but he continues going. He says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy unto God, which is your reasonable service. Now that we have the idea of what we need to do, that we may be ready to serve, that we may do with our reasonable service in presenting our bodies as holy, how do we do that? Paul goes on in verse 2 and explains it. He says, and be not conformed to this world. Be not conformed to this world. To be a living sacrifice, it is a daily walk. Christ says, take up your cross daily and follow Me. The challenge is this, is that though we are saved, though we have accepted the blood of Jesus Christ, though we have accepted that sacrifice, that salvation through Him, and we are holy before Him, we have been sanctified through the blood of Jesus Christ. We still are in the sinful flesh. We are still walking in this world. And we still have that battle. Will we fulfill the will of God? Or will we fulfill the will of the flesh? Will we conform ourselves to the Lord? Transform ourselves to the Lord? Or will we conform ourselves to the world? Jesus said this, you cannot serve two masters. You will love the one or hate the other. Who will you serve? When we get down to the question of it. Where is our focus? Where is your desire? For where your treasure is, there your heart will be often. The word conform is this, is that it's to be similar or identical to. To be in agreement or harmony. I was reminded, and Eli, I tell you, I love singing beside him. I love singing beside Brother Boy too. But one of the things is, Eli, he has a deep bass voice. He has a very deep bass voice. I wish I had it. He has a talent that he can use for God. And as he's singing, and as I'm singing, I'm hearing our pitches not quite right, and then suddenly when they line up right, we are in agreement. We are in harmony. And really, I can't tell my voice apart from his voice. Try that. Get two people sometime. And try to whistle in the same tone. See what happens when you separate out a little bit. You'll see what I'm talking about. The thing though is this, are we walking in such a way as Christians that when somebody looks in our life, it looks just in tune with the world? If they were to listen to us talk, do they sound different? Because it should. Are we walking in the light of the Lord? Or are we walking in the world? In our flesh? What is in the world? And Paul brought this point up. John gives us a good, concise description of what is in the world. If you will, please turn to 1 John 2.15. I do apologize. Pretty small print. But it says this, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. And if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Do you prefer the word, the world, over God? If so, you need a heart check. Verse 16 says, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Three categories that John describes that are in the world. This is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away and the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God abides forever. So now we take and break this world down. What does it mean when Paul's saying be not conformed to this world? We look at the lust of the flesh. What are those? Can you think of some in your mind? Those fleshly desires. Maybe it's an overabundance of food. Maybe it's sensual things that we do that the flesh desires. The lust of the eyes. The shiny things in the world. All the money in the world that can be gathered together. The best clothes out there. Maybe a new car. Something that's appealing to the eyes. Or the pride of life. The prestige of the world. I want to be on top. I want to be the master. I want to have that top position. These are the things that are in the world. Things that fulfill the flesh. Things that fulfill the lust of the eyes. Those shiny things that we look for and the things that fulfill the prestige that the pride of the flesh desires. This conformity is driven by desire. Where is your desire? Where is your treasure? I'd like to read the Scripture again in Matthew 6, verse 19. Matthew 6, verse 19. Where it says this, "...lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth grow up and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth grow up and where thieves do not break through or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Do we want to serve the Lord? Do we want to do it in the best that we can to be servants for the Lord our God? It says, do not conform to this world. And ultimately, do not have a desire for the things of this world. As Jesus says, where our treasures are, there our hearts will be also. Naturally, we will conform to the things of the world if that is where our treasures are. Living in this world is easy with conformity. Attracting the world is easy if we conform to the things of the world. If we desire to serve the Lord, we must not allow ourselves to dive in the mud and the muck of the world. The thing is, and I want to bring this topic up because we see it more and more, especially as our generation seems to be going on, but I think there's more to life being brought to it as this, is that if we desire to be like to serve God and to share the gospel as God desires us to, we cannot pollute it with the things of the world. There are many that would desire to conform to some of the things of Christianity, of God with the world to make it more presentable, more palatable to the world. But we cannot do so. Because if we do so, we lessen the quality that God desires. We continue on. How can we serve to the best of our ability to prove that it's that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God that we may serve Him to the utmost? It says, be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. God desires something more for us than just this world. He desires us to not be conformed, but be transformed to do His will and to serve Him. So what are we getting at by transformed? Transformed means a change in character or a condition. It literally also, it says, converts. It's to be changed completely. There are two different types of transformation or transform that you'll see as you're reading in the Bible. And you can go on back to Romans. That's where we'll be. But there's two different types of transform that we see as we're reading in the Word of God. You see either a false appearance of transformation, or you see a literal change. A false appearance of transformation, or you see a literal change. Okay? Where do we see that? How can we have an example of that? Well, I saw a picture of a cougar the other day. We actually have some around here. The Game Fish Commission has started admitting that over the past several years. But they always say, what do you do when one of those comes at you? Do you run? Do you hide till it? Do you try to get out of there? No, you try to transform your appearance to make yourself appear bigger, stronger, meaner. But yet, you're not really bigger, stronger, meaner. You're still the same tasty meal that he saw from the get-go. But where we see a true transformation in our world today, caterpillars. We used to play with them on the playground growing up as kids all the time. But we'd love to, it was awesome when our teachers would do the little deal where they gathered them up and they pulled, they'd wind up their little cocoon. And when they emerged out, they were completely transformed. They were still the same caterpillar. I don't know if caterpillar's name's Johnny. It's still Johnny. It's just now completely transformed, new, changed into this butterfly. And this is what Christ does with us. Though we're not changed physically in appearance, Christ changes us completely from the inside out. We're not the same. We don't have to act as if we're different. But because of the Holy Spirit that has done the redemptive work within us, we are changed completely. This process of sanctification is the transformation that Paul is referring to here. He says, "...Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 6.15 If you will turn there real quick. Romans 6.15 Verse 15 says this, "...What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace?" Do we have an excuse to sin because Christ has forgiven us and no matter what happens, if we die, we're going to be with God. Yes, your sins are forgiven. Absolutely, you will not die and go to hell, but yet, that does not fulfill the desire of God. Paul responds and says, God forbid. "...Know ye not that to Whom you yield yourselves servants to, to obey His servants you are to Him you obey, whether of sin and to death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God bethink that we were once servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you. Being then made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness." We've been transformed. We've been changed from the inside out. We are no longer the same as what we were. The old has passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now we're no longer slaves to the same sin. Now we don't have to conform to the world. Now we don't have the same desires and God can help take those out, those that still reside because of our flesh. God can help us. And we're not chained to that same pattern. It says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. As we are taking in more of the things of God, as we are serving the Lord more, as we are seeking the treasures that are above instead of the treasures that are here below, we are steadily renewing our minds, chasing the Lord with our lives, that we may present ourselves as a wholly acceptable sacrifice that we may serve the Lord as He desires. And as being a presentable holy sacrifice, we may do that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Do you want to serve God? Are you saved? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? If you have, amen. That's the first step. And then the second step is to keep on walking and following Him in your life. How do we maintain that renewal? Because the thing is though, we know that in the flesh, there are things that come up that tempt us that may not necessarily be of Satan, but it's just our natural flesh. But also, Satan, we know that he does not desire that we serve God, and as we go closer to Him, he's going to want to pull us further away from God. How do we stand and stand firm? We seek the Lord. We continue after Him. Galatians 5, verse 16 says this, This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one to another, so that you cannot do the things that you would. Walk in the Spirit. Seek the Lord. Serve Him day by day. Keep your eyes on Him. Don't take your eyes off. And you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Keep your eyes on Him. And as you're serving Him, He desires that you're a holy sacrifice. He desires that you're accepted before Him. He's going to do all that He can. God will do all that He can to help you that you may be a servant ready for Him. But we must keep our focus on Him. We must keep our treasures placed on what He has for us. And not what this world has to offer. Or else we will falter and fall. And as we do that, we see that there are effects that happen because we are walking renewed and transformed. He says, what? Do you transform by the renewing of your mind? That's the purpose of that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. See, if we're walking in the Spirit, we're living in the Spirit, we're seeking the Holy Spirit leading our lives through the Word of God, because we know that the Holy Spirit will not give us any instruction contrary to the Word of God. I've been so ecstatic about this verse, this memory verse that we've now kind of passed in the Wednesday night classes. Proverbs 3, v. 5-6. I'm sure that all of you know it. We see that it was talked about and it was given in the Old Testament. It's reaffirmed in the practice of the New Testament. And we see in Proverbs 3, v. 5-8, I'm putting in a couple of verses there. It says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not feel the lust of the flesh. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord. Depart from evil, and it will be health to thine able and merit to thy bones. The question is, do you want to serve God well? God desires that you serve. God desires that you lay up treasures in heaven. God desires that you put Him first. But do you want to serve God well? I made the statement at the beginning of the message that this is voluntary. Salvation is voluntary. Service is voluntary. But there are recompenses from serving and the lack of serving. God being a good Father, He's going to lead us. He's going to do what He needs to to bring us into His will that we may serve Him day by day in our daily lives, in our daily devotion. He'll lead us to grow in greater service as we are good in serving the ways and capacities that He has given to us. And as our musicians come forward for the invitation, do you desire to serve well? This is what we must do. Present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable unto God. How do we do that? We do not conform to the world. We do not conform to the world. But we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. How do we become transformed? How do we renew our minds? By walking in the Spirit, seeking God, and He will lead the way. If you can, stand for the invitation. Are you lacking in service? Are you giving excuses? Do you want God to not change it? Do you feel unqualified? God qualifies us for the service. God leads us.