Romans

Romans chapter 12 starting from verse 1. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to god. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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 the for by the grace given me, I say to every 1 of you, do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought. But rather think of yourselves with sober judgment in accordance with the faith god has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has 1 body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function. So in Christ, we, though many form 1 body, and each member belongs to all the others.

We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If it is to encourage, then give encouragement.

If it if it is giving, then give generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently. If it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good, be devoted to 1 another in love, honor 1 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 the lord'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 1 another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceded. Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge my dear 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 heat burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Pete. Well, good morning.

My name's Pete Woodcock. I'm pastor of the church. Lovely to to have you with us, particularly if you're visiting. Some of us were out last night celebrating, Mcclung and Youngchel's birthdays and other people's birthdays as well, and we ate so much food I don't even know how I'm standing up here. So if you see some of those, I mean, Anne thoroughgood and Heather, if they start falling asleep, Are you awake, Anne?

No need for breakfast this morning. I can tell you. So it's lovely to have you with us. Let me read those verses again in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to god, which is your true and proper worship.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you'll be able to test and approve what god's will is. His good and pleasing and perfect will. Father help us now, please, to take these words by your spirit, apply them to our minds and our hearts and our actions. Oh, man.

Now in the in the story of the wonderful wizard of Oz, which I guess a lot of you will know, there's a really classic scene. I don't particularly like the film or the book myself, but I love this scene. And it's the scene about, the Tin Woodman, and he's talking to the scarecrow. They're on their way to the wizard, if you don't know the story, to, solve their problems and to give them what they desire in life, a Tinwoodman, and a scarecrow, and there are others as well. The scarecrow falls into a hole, and this is how the conversation goes.

Why didn't you walk around the hole? Asked a Tim, Tim Woodman. I don't know enough, replied to scarecrow cheerfully. My head is stuffed with straw, you know, And that is why I'm going to Oz to ask him for some brains. Oh, I see, said the Tin Woodman.

But after all, brains are not the best thing in the world. Have you any inquired the scarecrow? No. My head is quite empty, answered the Woodman, but once I had brains and a heart also. So having tried them both, I should rather have a heart.

All of the same said the scarecrow. I shall ask for brains instead of a heart for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had 1. I shall take the heart, return the Tin Woodman. For brains do not make 1 happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world. I reckon Many of us in in our country would come to the same conclusion as a Tin Woodman.

I reckon we'd go for heart because it might mean happiness, I reckon. But I wanna say that is totally and utterly wrong. Okay? And I know you know it's wrong, but we don't sort of feel it's wrong, do we? We we sort of want the heart because it it could go with happiness.

But I think it's wrong the scarecrow is absolutely right. The scarecrow that said for a fool would not know what to do with the heart if he had 1. The Bible has a lot to say about the mind. The brain, if you like, is the physical house of the mind. You could sort of call it that.

The brain has 12 to 14000000000 cells in it. At least that's what we've counted so far. And each cell has 10000 connectors connecting it up with the other cells. It's extraordinary. Is it his extraordinary piece of technology, the brain?

And the Bible has a lot to say about the mind. The brain is the physical house of the mind. The mind thinking so easily is the gate way to what you are. What you've been. What you will be.

Our habits, our attitudes, our values, our actions, the way we use our body largely stem from how we think. How we use our mind. Our minds determine the people that we are. That's that's the whole nature of brainwashing, isn't it? If if if if if someone can get hold of your brain and just infiltrate you constantly and tell you how to think like this, think like this, think like this, think like this, you're brainwashed.

The person that can't command their thoughts is the person that will soon lose command of their actions, their physical behavior. Proverbs says this in the in the Bible. Proverbs 23 verse 7 says as a man or as a person thinks in their heart, so they are. They think in their heart. Thinking makes the heart.

Now we're going through this, letter from the apostle Paul to the church at Rome. We've reached chapter 12. Obviously, that's why we've read it. Paul has spent 11 chapters, and we've done quite a few sermons on those chapters about the mercies of God that God is so wonderfully merciful. He is the god of love that sent the lord Jesus Christ to come and die for you.

It's not about what you do. It's about what he's done. It's his mercy, not your cleverness. It's it's absolutely wonderful. The wonderful mercies of God.

And Paul has so painted those pictures of the mercies of God that he wants us to respond to them and you get that in verse 1 of chapter 12. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters merging you. We've we've already done a sermon on that. In view of god's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.

Our true and proper worship of God is to offer our physical living bodies to god. And he says, let me tell you how you do that. You do that by the mind, by the mind. Get your mind right, and you'll be able to encourage your body to behave as a living sacrifice. That's the way around, he's saying.

Don't be conformed, be transformed. The connection between the mind and the body is massive. It's very, very strong. And you you get it here. If you want to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, you have to get your mind right.

In fact, he actually sandwiches the body between 2 thinkings on the mind. So look look what he says in view of god's mercy. So when he says in view of god's mercy, he wants you to think about it, the knowledge of god's mercy. It's a mind thing. What you know about what I've spent 11 chapters trying to bang home into your brain, about the mercies of God.

What you know in the light of what your mind knows, the knowledge you have of the mercies of god. So there's the mind. And then he goes on and says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So there's the mind. There's the 2 slices of bread.

And the meat in the middle is the body as a living sacrifice. The way the body will be a living sacrifice, the way you use your body has got to do with the mind. That's what he's saying. So it's really important. So that's where we are.

We're thinking about the mind today. A fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had 1. But if you have your mind right, you'll know what to do with your heart. We are living, let's be honest, in foolish days, I think. In in really mindless days, where people can't connect what is happening in our world with the worldview that's been indoctrinated into our into our minds.

They can't do it. And it's tragic, which what's what's happening to young people. The sins of the fathers are coming onto the onto the children of the fathers. So, you know, 3 students take their lives in in Bristol universities this week. 3 And no 1 can really connect.

No 1 connects. It's just a plaster over that. It's just that, oh, these students have so much stress. Do they have any more stress than any other students of any other age? No 1 connects.

And so we're living in mindless days that doesn't seem to connect We're living in mindless days, days where millions of people just drift through life manipulated by mass media, hardly knowing they're being manipulated by mass media. This is what 1 commentator, Morticire Richler, said about our culture. I mean, just listen to this. This is quite something. He says, what scares me about this generation is the extent to which ignorance is their armor.

If no nothingness goes on much longer, someone will emerge from a a commune having discovered the wheel. It's tragic. No nothingness. So use your mind. It's a big important thing, set patterns in your thinking before actually it's quite hard to change.

Someone else said that the older you get, there are 2 predictable things that happen to your mind. The first is you become forgetful. The second is we worry a lot about our bodies and getting our bodies fit and having fit bodies, and we talk about people being fit, but it's all to do with the body. What about getting our minds in shape? Let's not leave the 14000000000 brain cells, unguarded, unthinking, undisciplined.

So let's have a look at this passage. The first thing he says is be a nonconformist. I I love I love the idea of being a non conformist. I saw a t shirt saying non conformist on, I wanted to buy 1. Except they were they were only size eight's or whatever they are.

I couldn't get into it. I suppose that would be a nonconformist with all with all the fat oozing out and a tiny little, you know, t shirt, but be a nonconformist. Look look at and the fact is normal is is because of that meal last I was on a diet. And now I've put on another 15 stones. There we go, which is beautiful.

Be a nonconformist. Look at verse 2. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The word transform there means identify with. So he's saying, don't be conformed.

Don't identify with the thinking of the world. Don't identify with it. Yeah. It means having outward shape. Don't have an outward shape of the thinking, the world view, the preaching that goes on of the world.

It means assuming a similar outward form or expression. Don't have the don't assume the similar outward form of the world's teaching and preaching. It means being fashioned, wearing the fashion. Don't it's not talking about clothing. But but don't wear the fashion that comes with the thinking, the mindset, the worldview that is being preached to us.

You know, the thing is, It's amazing when when when you you talk to, sometimes non Christians they say, oh, I wouldn't come to church. I hate being preached at. The world is constantly preaching. There are tens and tens of thousands of people right now. Thinking about how to manipulate you into their philosophy, thinking about what button, what buzz what word would get your attention on your mobile phone?

They are working right now. To do that, And Paul is saying, be a nonconformist. Yeah? He's saying never be fashioned by the world's thinking. Do not put on the outward appearance that belongs to the world's philosophy.

The word pattern there comes from the what we get the word scheme. So don't be conformed to the schemes, the patterns. The word world there means age. And when you look that up in the Bible, you'll see that it often deals with this passing age. It's only here for a little while.

It's always changing and and it will pass, but also it's the word that is used for satan's ruling this age. You've got all of that there, the dominant liar of this age. So see what he's saying. Don't be conformed. Don't put out on the outward living of satan's schemes of this parting age.

Don't live like that. When as a Christian, we live in this world in that manner, we are like actors We are masquerading. We're not living what we really are. Our outward is denying our inward. That's what it's saying.

We're a contradiction. He's saying that the nature that you are in the lord Jesus Christ, you're bought by the blood of the lord Jesus Christ. You are transformed into living living family of god. But you're putting a mask on. Don't be transformed outwardly.

It's an outward word. Don't be transformed any longer by the philosophies of the world. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world. We are not meant to be for momentous. Thermometers tell you how hot it is in here.

You look at the thermometer, you knock it, and it will tell you how hot it is in here. We're not meant to be thermometers with thermostats. Thermostats control the heating around. They're in control. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, be a non conformist to the philosophies the world views, the preaching, the thinking of the world.

Paul says this in ephesians 4. Just turn over to it. Actually, 2 passages to turn over to. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17. If you can find it, someone can shout out the page number.

It'd be even more helpful. Fhesians 4 verse 17. 1 1 7 5. 1 1 7 5. Thank you.

Here's Paul writing to another church this time. And in ephesians 4 verse 17, he says, so I tell you this and insist on it in the lord. That you must no longer live as the gentiles do. That's the non believers. Listen to how he puts it though.

In the futility of their thinking mind. They are darkened in their understanding and separate from the life of god because of their ignorance. That is in them due to their hardening of their heart. So you see his see how he's working out. They have hard hearts, therefore they're ignorant.

Yeah. Therefore, they don't understand the life the real life of god, therefore they they live futile lives in their thinking. God isn't central in their lives, God's word isn't recreating them. God isn't, big in their thinking. They don't understand the love of god in the lord Jesus Christ.

They dismissed that. Therefore, they're darkened in their understanding, they're ignorant, don't live under that philosophy, he says. Don't live like that. It's preaching at you. Futile things.

Live for this. Do this. Be self contained. And that will bring a futile life and pauses. Don't live like that.

Don't don't put that outward thinking into practice. You're not that. You're bigger than that. Or turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4. Don't be like an unbeliever, he's saying.

This world's thinking is satanically influenced. It's for your ruin It's to keep you futile. And look what he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, they're blind. They can't see the beauty of the lord Jesus Christ.

So that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image. Don't live like that. Don't live as a blind person when you've been given sight and you can see how wonderful the lord Jesus Christ is. You'll never exalt Christ if you're conformed to the blind lies of a scheming world that wants you to live a futile life. You see it?

Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices wholly and pleasing to This is your true and proper worship. That's only gonna happen if you don't conform to the pattern, the schemes of this world. If you like, If you wanna sort of help on this, the opposite to this, and sometimes opposites help us understand the, you know, the the the real side. The opposite is Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve in the garden.

You know the story in the in the Bible, Adam and Eve. The the real thing that happened with Adam and Eve was that Satan went for their thinking. The action, the body of taking the fruit, only happened because Satan changed their thinking. Is god a good god? Is he generous?

Did god really say? And when their thinking changed, then their bodily behavior changed, and they went for the for the fruit, the schemes of Satan. Don't be conformed. Don't be like Adam and Eve. Put themselves at the center and not god, and then bodily they they do things that are not worshiping god.

In your mind, if your mind is unguarded, if your mind is undisciplined, if those 14000000000 cells are unguarded, then you'll fall for the preaching of this world because it's constantly preaching at you. That's the first thing. Be an unconformist. We'll apply all this in a minute. Be a nonconformist.

Second, be transformed. Did you see that? Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So we're not just to be, non conformists, were to be transformists. Yeah.

It it's not just outward behavior that we change. Yeah. That's you've gotta get that. The Christianity isn't just a change of outward behavior. It's not just that you have, a different set of morals to live by.

It's he's not saying, don't live a immoral life now start living a list of morals. He's saying that the inner transformation is so powerful that the spirit will be in you and you'll start to produce love, joy, peace, patience kindness gentleness faithfulness self control. You'll start to produce the fruits of the spirit, love, and joy, and peace, and patience that you're transformed inside, and those fruit will start blubbling out. What's the word to end bursting out? That's the word.

Not blubbering. But maybe but they burst out bursting fruit plant the seeds of the spirit in you be transformed in side, and suddenly there's the, you know, branches growing out of you with wonderful fruit on, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, and 1 of the others that I've missed. Isn't that amazing? So it's this transformation of the inside that changes you on the outside. See, I was in Indonesia, and I was in a group of churches that basically thought to be a Christian meant that you just changed certain outward behavior.

Here, and you conformed, really, to this weird Christian view of these 3 things. 1, you mustn't smoke, say that in the Bible. In fact, it says you ought to be on fire for god. 1, you mustn't smoke, 2, you mustn't drink alcohol. And 3, you gotta listen to really bad slushy Christian music.

And if you had those 3 outward forms, you were a Christian. I mean, I was a couple of weeks there, and I only heard this slushy Christian music. I was so annoyed by it because it was basically god is my boyfriend's stuff. I I actually when I got to Singapore Airport, I went into a record that you could listen to records and I listened to punk music for half an hour just to cleanse myself. And not be conformed to this outward weird Christianity that people had.

And, anyway, the the probably wasn't a great great illustration, but, but, you know, it's not just outward rituals. There's this inward Godworking. Word, it's the u the word transformed is is metamorphosis. It's the word that is used for Jesus when he goes on the mount of transfiguration, and his glory, that which is within, bursts into the outward. Don't be conformed by the world's thinking outwardly, be transformed by what you are, the new nature, be bursting out with the fruit of the spirit.

That's what he's saying. Now how does this work? How does that process of change happen by being renewed in your mind? Look at verse 2. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.

How? How? How can that powerful nature of the spirit burst out by the renewing of your mind. You see it? So that's my third point.

Don't be, you know, be a non conformist. Be transformed, be renewed. You wanna know how to change. You wanna know to how to use your body as a living precise, the key is the mind. The key is the mind.

The word renew means complete the process. Complete the process. In other words, you don't sit back. It's not just, well, now I'm renewed. I'll just leave it.

No, that there's There's a process. Keep renew the process that god has started in you. Keep renewing renewing your mind. So if you long to break loose from conformity to this world, if you long to get rid of the false patterns of thinking that you have, if you long to be transformed and be renewed from the inside out, If you long to offer your bodies as living sacrifices so that your whole life belongs to god and it's pleasing And it's your proper worship to god, then you need to read new your mind, your mind. If you long for a day where life, your life, your bodily life, displays the worth of the lord Jesus Christ and not the glories of a false message of this world.

You need renewal of the mind. The key to transformation is a renewed mind. You see, this is not what what Paul doesn't say? Paul doesn't say you're transformed by listening to Christian music or some emotional experience. He doesn't say that.

And we're not against we love Christian music. Well, decent stuff, and we love, emotion. But that's not how you change. He doesn't say that. I was reading Doctor Martin Lloyd Jones.

Have a it's quite a long quote, so please, you know, ask the law to help you apply your mind here. Let me read this. I thought this is brilliant. This is a sermon from from, Lloyd Jones, who was a preacher from the last century, back in the sixties, this sermon was, and in 19 sixties, and, it's on Romans chapter 12. This is what he says.

People come to me over a particular temptation that they have been fighting and say, what can I do about it? I inevitably tell them, forget all about that particular sin and temptation at first. And they're amazed at that, but it's based on this teaching. In the Christian life, you do not start with the particular problem You start with the whole Christian life. This is the whole secret of sanctification becoming more like Jesus.

People think that if only they can deal with a particular temptation and get rid of that particular sin, then all will be well, but it will not. They're starting in the wrong way and at the wrong end. Now listen to him. You start then by dealing with your mind. So if a man comes to me and says, I keep falling into the same self sin.

What can I do? I never talk to him about that sin. Although he wants me to do that, I talk to him about himself. I talk to him about his mind and his whole outlook. That is the only way in which Christianity gives us victory.

If you get your mind fixed on particular problems, the devil will fix it still more, and you will always partly be defeated. Because you're thinking so much about that particular sin. You must get right away from it and start in a different manner. Now listen to him. Listen.

This is a great illustration. Think of these problems as hurdles. Think of these problems as hurdles. How do you jump over a hurdle? You do not walk over it up to the hurdle and try to elevate yourself over it.

You can it cannot be done. If you want to get over the hurdle, you must turn your back on it, walk away from it as if you've forgotten all about the problem. And then when you've got a great distance, and the higher the hurdle, the higher the problem, the longer you need to walk away from it, You then turn and run for all your worth and vault over it. It's a brilliant illustration. A brilliant illustration.

You get your mind sorted. You think about the mercies of god. So let me illustrate the illustration. Can you see a white rabbit sitting upright with a carrot in its hand. Can you see that?

Lauren, can you see that? In your mind. Well, if you can't let's help you out. Close your eyes. Yeah?

Close your eyes. Don't go to sleep. Oh, she's gone, and she's a mother. There's a white rabbit with a carrot, a white rabbit with an orange carrot. Yeah.

Now stop thinking about that. Stop it. Stop thinking about the white rabbit with a carrot. Stop it. Now you stop that now.

Right? Stop it. Stop thinking about the white rabbit. Are you thinking about the white rabbit with a carrot? Stop it.

You see, the more you think about it, the more Satan settles it into our mind. And he's saying but you get your mind clear, the bigger issues, the mercies of God. Walk away from the problem. Walk away from the right rap white rabbit. And start thinking about god and be taken up with his mercies and how the lord Jesus Christ came from heaven to die on the cross for you that he's he's your lover, he's your savior, he's your treasure.

He's the greatest treasure in all the world that you're a blood bought child of the living god that you're a holy spirit filled person of the work of the of of of of a child of the living god that the fruit of the spirit is love and joy and peace Start thinking as you're walking away, then you can turn around, and then you'll hurtle the rabbit, or whatever the problem is. Renewing your mind with the mercies of god transforms you. Think about these truths, meditate on them, ponder them, remind yourself of them. This is why we we preach We don't just preach because it's something to do and it's a job. We preach the word because we want you to we emphasize that because we want you to get your mind into the very word of god.

This is why we have fight club and sisters act. We want to encourage you to go deeper and keep your mind and renewing your mind, don't be an anti intellectual person, but just wants a feeling. The feelings come when you understand the mercies of god for you. Spiritual warfare is waged in the mind, know the mercies of god, know who god is. How can you actually worship god that you don't know?

Yeah? You worship god that you know, and the more you know, the more you worship. Renew your mind. Now how do you do that then? How do you renew your mind?

Well, you get your mind into the very word of god, the life giving, beautiful refreshing, word of god, so it leads me to my fourth point. Preach to yourself. The word of god. Preach to yourself, the word of god. Don't let yourself preach to you.

Can I say that several times? Preach to yourself the word of god. Don't let yourself preach to you. You let yourself preach to you, and you'll be in trouble. You let the word of god.

You preach the word of god to yourself, and you'll be renewed. Just go this is the last passage to look at. Just go to Psalm 42. Someone can find the page number. This is so important.

Please, will you be awake at this moment, you know, whatever. And is Anna awake? Is that yep. Yep. She's there.

She's got the right page. She's there. You see? All that Chinese food is giving her energy to her mind so that her arms can get there before you. What page number is it?

5 6 7. 5 6 7. It's Psalm 42. Just look at how the Psalm writer, this is a song. Just look how he does it.

Verse 5. Look at verse 5. Why? He's talking to his soul. Why my soul are you downcast?

What's up with you? What's going on here? Why are you downcast my soul? Why so disturbed within me? What's going on here?

See, his soul is preaching to him. And he's downcast. So he's now preaching to his soul. What hey, what what's going on here? Wake up in the morning.

Ugh. Why? What's going on? Why? Get the sermon now.

Why are you so downcast? Why are you just so disturbed? Put your hope in god. See him preaching to himself? Put your hope in god.

Yeah? For I will let yet praise him, my savior and my god. I'm gonna praise him. I don't want to. I'm downcast.

But he's my savior, and he's my god. See what he's done? Look, look where he goes. My soul is downcast within me. Therefore, I will remember, mind, think.

Remember you. And I remember some of the things that god has done. Look at verse 11. Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed in me?

It's the same verse again is almost. Put your hope in god. Put your hope in god. Yeah. For I will yet praise him, my savior and my god.

You see what he does? He's downcast, He sees the hurdle. He turns his back on the hurdle. He walks away looking at the how good god is, he turns that he runs. That is so important that you preach to yourself and don't let yourself preach to you.

So for instance, some of you, let's let's take some examples. There are so many. I've got lots written down. We won't get through all, but Some of you say, I'm I'm do you know what? I'm just you just don't know what I'm like, Pete.

I am too sinful to even be a Christian. I don't I don't think I turn from that. That's wrong. I'm too sinful to be a Christian. Here's the word of god.

Jesus answered them. It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come. To call the righteous, but sinners to repent. I'm too sinful to be what?

Jesus says, I've come for sinners. You're a sinner? Yeah? You're really sinful. Absolutely.

You don't know what I've done. Jesus does, and he's not come for those of people who think they're alright. He's come for you. Or I've been a Christian for some time, but you know what? I think I've blown it.

I just do so much wrong. I just don't think I I just, I don't think I could follow-up. Well, preach to yourself. Here's a verse. 1 John chapter 1 verse 9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness, but you don't know what I've done. No, I don't, but he does. Confess, preach the word of god. Or here I am. I've got nothing to offer.

You don't know. Just nothing. I'm no nothing special. I haven't got anything. I've got no gifts.

So what does the Bible say? You're a member of the body of Christ. You're a member. You have something to offer. Believe in the mercies of god.

When god says Don't steal. That is the best way to live. He's not being nasty. That's just a that's life. So you believe in the mercies of god in telling you that.

When god says, don't forsake meeting together, When he says that you should come together as brothers and sisters, you are not just an individual Christian. We are brothers and sisters. We're gonna see that in chapter 12. We are a body. We are meant to meet together.

When the Bible says, don't forsake, meeting together, don't give up on that. Then that's for your good. Preach that to yourself, even though you don't want to meet up. Or let's think about some other people. There are people here who have massive anxiety.

We were looking at this on, on the away day. We were looking at this book. We did a whole overview of this book, down, but not out, depression and anxiety, and the difference Jesus makes. It's an excellent little book. Some of you ordered it, It's 5 pounds instead of 8 pounds, and Jackie's got your copy so go and pay her.

And she's got some more if you want. This is an excellent little book about depression and anxiety, an excellent book. I recommend it. 5 quid. And some have suffered from anxiety.

There are people here that find it really hard to come into a place like this. I mean, this isn't our building. We didn't design we if we're designing a new building, we'd never design it like this. You have to go through weird sort of doors and be cleansed between another set of doors, and then you've got a horrible corridor, and you've got toilets that don't have lock on them and and the toilet is a million miles away. So if you are going to the toilet, you can't put your foot on the door unless you're a very tall.

And then you walk, you have to walk through here. We even have it so that everybody's singing and you have to come through here and, you know, like this. There are people that find a lot of us don't care about that, but some find that it's like it's like the jaws theme music going constantly in their minds and they're scared and they're nervous. And we, who don't have that anxiety, need to love our brothers and us and think about saving a a chair for them or caring for them or meeting them at the door or whatever they need. But those of you with those anxiety problems don't be conformed to your anxiety.

Stop defining yourself as an anxious person. Stop that. That's yourself preaching to you. And see, your bodily actions will will not be living sacrifices because you'll give in to that message. Whatever you do, those of you who are depressed, and I've noticed that often depressed and anxious people, I'm not even going.

I'm just saying that often anxious and depressed people press people say, phrases like this. Never say a phrase like this because it's utterly and completely wrong. You don't understand. How do you know that? There are many people that go through the same problems, You see, what that does is to put you into an exclusive group and take you where you shouldn't be.

Which is on your own, and the only 1 that understands. Be aware of those stuff. That's preachy. That's that's your That's your anxious soul preaching to you. Why are you downcast?

Preach to your soul. Think about how you can put steps in so that you can meet with god's people and hear god's word because it's what you need to for a renewed mind. Or let's go completely different. What about those who have mobile phone ticks? Your body is constantly ticking itching, isn't it?

It's it's gotta feel. I feel. It's constantly you know, what a ticket? Oh, where's where's my mobile phone? Where's my mobile phone?

Where's my mobile phone? And you can't live without it. Well, gotta look. Gotta look. And there's a bing or a bong or a buzz or a movement of some kind.

What is it? What's what's is it? What's next thing? Oh. 0, Meghan Merkel is getting married.

I really needed to know that. She's getting married. I've done on the nineteenth. Oh, in Windsor. Yeah.

In Windsor. That's where Pete came from. Pizza preacher. Pete said preach the word to myself. Let's put that away and preach the word and not worry about Angela Merkel or whoever is who is who is marrying at him.

Don't be conformed. So if your body is on the tick of the mobile phone, then don't be conformed to what those thousands of people are wanting you to be conformed to. Think bigger visions of your life than just the little gossip. Think about Christ and his mercies, and maybe Think about leaving the phone altogether several days a week so that your body could be a living sacrifice. You see, what I'm trying to show you is that our mind actually moves our bodies.

Those of you that are lazy, you're lazy people, you're lazy. Don't use your bodies well. You're just lazy. Well, don't be conformed to your laziness. See what God says about serving and loving and using your hands to serve get a bigger vision.

Let the mind see a bigger vision than just your selfish slobbish laziness. Don't be conform, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Those of the you that acquire and shy, You come to the church. You don't know what to do. You're very quiet.

You're naturally very shy, or don't be conformed to that shyness. Think about how you might actually be able to talk to someone else, work on it. See that it's a bigger vision than just you feeling so shy that actually you could really bless someone, and it would be such a blessing to you to bless someone if you just ask them how they are. Do you see how what I'm trying to do is just chuck out a whole load of things, how the renewing of your mind affects the body action? So that you become a living sacrifice.

There are many, many areas. So if you are taught that you are nothing more than an evolved animal, your body will behave like a evolved animal, won't it? We teach our young people from the first day at school to the last day at university that they're nothing but an evolved animal. And then we have to put loads of laws in to stop them acting like an animal. If you think that you are nothing, that you are totally unimportant because you've been treated like that by other people, that will affect your behavior.

You're either fight to prove that you are something, or you'll go and hide. Thinking affects your bodily actions. If you're taught that you are to fulfill your dreams, then your actions will follow in trying to fulfill your dreams. Although always remember that if you're dreaming, you're asleep. If you're taught that you must be beautiful, then you'll be anxious every time you look in the mirror because you're not.

If you're taught that you must be better or you must better yourself by education or job or children, or even religion, then you'll be a workaholic. And your actions come from your thinking. But if you think, if you meditate, if your mind is on what the lord Jesus Christ has done for you. That the god and creator of this universe used his hands as a sacrifice for you. That he bled and died.

He loves you, that god loves you so much that god loves you so much. He sent his own darling son. And that he died for our wrongs to cleanse us. If you know that, if you know the mercies of God, that he rose again bodily rose again, and that my body will rise again, and I'll be in glory with him in a new creation where I'll be all that I can be. Well, all my potential will be fulfilled because I'm with the lord, the the lord of life.

When when I get that, when I meditate on that, When that goes into my brain, into my thinking, then my actions are, that I'll serve, that I'll live, that I'll be a living sacrifice. You see that? Depends on our thinking. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.

Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you'll be able to test and approve what god's will is. His good and pleasing and perfect will. We'll follow that on for next week. Father god help us preach these things to ourselves in Jesus' name. Oh, man.