Transformed
Ro 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer (AV- present)your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship (AV - reasonable service).
Ro 12:2 Do not conform (AV - be not conformed) 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.
Present your body a living sacrifice
1 Co 6:13 "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food" --but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Pe 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Ro 6:13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Ro 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
1 Co 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
1 Co 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
What you do with your body, whether it be immorality or obesity or neglect or poor hygiene, becomes a spiritual matter because the body belongs to God.
I have seen young military personnel get into trouble for body piercings and other such matters because their bodies belong to the government as long as they are enlisted. What you do with your body matters.
2. Give total ownership to God
2 Co 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Ro 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
You are to be a living sacrifice. A sacrifice goes onto the altar and never gets up again. Rather, it goes up in smoke. It ceases to exist. It becomes a sweet smelling fragrance to God.
Understand that when you offer yourself to God there is no turning back. To turn back is to return to a rotting carcass. There is nothing to turn back to but death.
3. A living sacrifice
A living sacrifice is unique because if remains alive.
When Jephthah, in the 11th chapter of Judges, was rejoicing over a victory God gave him, he made a hasty promise.
Jud 11:31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
Well, when he got home, his daughter came out to meet him. She had to be his sacrifice, as he had promised. But he didn't kill her or burn her, because God does not require human sacrifices. He never has except in the case of Jesus.
Jephthah's daughter had to remain an unmarried virgin all of her life. She could not be given to another man because she belonged to God. She was a living sacrifice.
1 Co 6:19-20 … You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.
In this particular instance, I want to emphasize the meaning of the word "holy". It means 'to be separate'. To be holy is to be 'set apart' for God's purpose.
Holiness has nothing to do with following rules or 'do's and don'ts'. It has to do with serving God. You are a servant - a willing servant, but a servant nonetheless.
To be holy is to belong to God fully and completely. To be holy is to do what pleases Him.
God has made us acceptable. Again this has nothing to do with rules, but with acceptance.
Eph 1:6 … wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
You become acceptable to God when you receive Christ. He becomes your righteousness, and you need not seek your own. We are acceptable for God, not because of anything we may do, but by what He has already done.
This is not an extreme request or condition. It is as natural as breathing. Just as man was created to breathe air, man was created to serve God. Man was made for the Lord, not for himself.
Since you are dedicated to God - set aside for His purpose - you must not conform to the world.
To 'conform' is to be fitted into a mold. Just as jello takes on the form of what dish or container you put it into, the human spirit tends to do the same.
If you 'pour yourself' into the world, you will become like the world. If you 'pour yourself out' for the Lord, you will become like Him.
Being a Christian is not a matter of trying to be good or trying to prove anything or being anything other than what you are. No, it is a matter of what you conform to.
To 'transform' means to 'change'. You can conform to the world or be transformed by God into something else.
We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. That is, we have a new way of thinking. We think through God's filter instead of the world's filter.
Our minds need to be washed in the Word of God. That was they are clean and are conformed to Him. We must conform to God's way of thinking.
The most positive form of peer pressure in the world is the pressure to be God-like. If you're going to conform to anyone, let it be God. If you're going to get anyone's opinion, let it be God's.
Ps 1:1 ¶ Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Ps 1:2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Conclusion
Now here's the point - you can change.
Jesus changed the water to wine - something ordinary to something extraordinary.
He changed Peter from a pebble to a rock. From an impetuous double-minded man into a powerful church leader.
And He can change you. You do not have to stay down.
Some people are content to come to Jesus, get forgiven, and just stay the way they are. It's time to stop thinking like that. You can change. You should change. All things are new. You are not bound or limited by this world any more.
You don't have to stay broke … or homeless … or jobless … or grouchy … or mean … or whiny … or ability challenged … or stingy … or uneducated … or ill-mannered .. or wounded … or on welfare.
I recently received this email:
"We, the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid any more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great- grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal, bedwetters. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a Bill of No Rights.
ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone - not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.
ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.
ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.
ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.
ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.
ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you
still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE VIII: You don't have the right to demand that our children risk their lives in foreign wars to soothe your aching conscience. We hate oppressive governments and won't lift a finger to stop you from going to fight if you'd like. However, we do not enjoy parenting the entire world and do not want to spend so much of our time battling each and every little tyrant with a military uniform and a funny hat.
ARTICLE IX: You don't have the right to a job. All of us
sure want all of you to have one, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.
ARTICLE X: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to pursue happiness - which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights."
I want you to realize today that you are free. You are free to change. You are free from every kind of bondage. You are free from being trapped in some stereotype or some socio-economic prison. You are free from being trapped in some lifestyle that someone else chose for you , or even from one you chose for yourself, but is not right. You are free to become a better person - a more productive person. You are free to become a giver instead of a taker.
You can change. Some people come in "just as I am" and go out the same way. Jesus came to give you something better. He came to give you life abundantly.