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GTM - Living Sacrifices - By Lyall Johnston - February 3, 2024
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GTM - Living Sacrifices - By Lyall Johnston - February 3, 2024
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GTM - Living Sacrifices - By Lyall Johnston - February 3, 2024
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In this message, Mr. Lyall Johnston gives us encouragement despite the evil happening in the world. Lyall wants us to explore what it means to be a living sacrifice to God, with the need for repentance, obedience, and joy in the Christian life. He then refers to 2 Peter 3 to discuss what a living sacrifice is not and the warnings given by God. The speaker highlights the importance of humility and avoiding vanity. Lyall also mentions that the day of the Lord will come, and everything will be destroyed, urging the audience to live holy lives. He then acknowledges that the audience may be familiar with the scriptures being discussed but emphasizes the need to strive to be living sacrifices continually. Well, greetings to all the saints of God, wherever you might be on this great planet Earth that God has created and formed for His joy, for His purpose. And what He wants us to do is rejoice. I love the words of Paul, he said, I say rejoice, and I say again, rejoice. You know, as God's people, He wants us to rejoice regardless of what is happening in the world around us. And what's happening now, we certainly see that as being evil. We see that as being terrible, but it's just the beginning. And so the subject today, living sacrifice, with two question marks, because we want to find out what a sacrifice, first of all, is not. And then what we want to find out is what a sacrifice, a living sacrifice, that God the Father through Jesus Christ is. And that's where the two exclamation points come, because that's the point that we want to reach. We want to be fully living sacrifices to God our Father through Jesus Christ, through His precious blood, which Jesus Himself says in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 5, that He, of course, along with the Father, washes us in His own blood, 24-7, as we live a life of repentance, a life of obedience, a life of happiness and joy, regardless of what's going on in the world around us. So let's begin reading in 2 Peter 3. First let's find out what a living sacrifice is not. And what we want to address here is people who are actually in the body of Christ who have yet to learn the lesson of what a living sacrifice is, because some, few, are posing themselves as their own worst enemies. Now we know in Deuteronomy 28 what God does for us, and He sets the background for Scripture. He sets the background for His message, and that message is, I set before you two choices. Either you can obey me and receive all these blessings, these countless blessings, and on the other hand, if you choose to disobey me and walk in the opposite direction, then this is what you're going to bring on your own heads. Yes, we bring our problems upon ourselves, but some sadly—and we've seen the history of this in the Church, right back even to the days of the New Testament, and going right back into the history of the Church of Israel and the problems that they had with their false prophets and teachers. So let's have a look here at 2 Peter, and let's start in the third chapter, and then I want to come back to the second chapter. And again, this is the negative, but it's instruction from the Father and Christ themselves for us. Yes, the Christian life is one of happiness and joy, but also trials and troubles. And God wants us to understand and to know. So along with the wonderful things that God has in store for us, God also has warnings. And why does He warn us? Because He loves us, and He doesn't want to see us taking the wrong steps, as we'll see here shortly—2 Peter, the third chapter. Now beloved, I'm writing this epistle to you both—the second epistle that He had already written once—and in doing so, He said, I'm stirring up your pure minds by causing you to remember, in order for you to be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by us, the apostles. And we have no record of any apostles since that day, except the enduring apostleship of Jesus Christ, the head of the church, the one and only apostle living at this point in time. As far as we know, as far as we understand, if there is to be another apostle, which we have no indication of in Scripture, then God, through His Spirit, will identify. We know there are many today claiming to be apostles, but when you listen to them, their fruits become very clear that they are not an apostle of Jesus Christ. And the question is, are they even a minister of Jesus Christ, or are they servant of Satan, the devil? Verse 3, knowing this, that in the last days—are we living in the last days? Well, God's people have always been living in the last days as far as the physical life is concerned, you know, 60, 70, 80, 90 years or more, and then we go to sleep. Yes, it's death, but we go to sleep. The death has been overcome, because in God's mind, in God's knowledge, in God's Word to us, that we are just simply asleep, waiting to hear the voice of Christ, and then we'll be raised from the grave. So the last days will come markers. Have we seen those? Yes, we have. What are they doing? They're walking according to their own personal lusts, as John says, talking about the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes. And just as important, the pretentious pride of the physical life, because, you see, that is in opposition to what God wants to see in us as living sacrifices. Verse 4, and asking—this is what these people are doing—where's the promise of His coming? Which gives you an indication of why they're living the lifestyle that they are, for ever since the forefathers died, everything has remained the same, as from the beginning of creation. So they've lost sight of the fact that God has a plan, that God has a timetable. Why? Well, they're following the lusts of the flesh, and they don't really want to recognize God's plan. But this fact is hidden from them. Okay, what's hidden from them? They themselves, choosing to ignore it, tells you something about their mindset. Oh yes, they claim to be following the Father, they claim to be walking in Christ's footsteps, but by their actions, by their fruits, they're denying it. Everything's remained the same as from the beginning of creation. But again, as verse 5, this fact is hidden from them. They themselves, choosing to ignore it, that by the word of God the heavens existed of old and that the earth came forth out of the water and amid water. It had been destroyed, first because of Satan's rebellion, secondly because of the rebellion of all human beings, and God destroyed the earth, and he promised never to do it again. And I was just reminded of that, and I called my wife to have a look through the window. Here was this beautiful, brilliant rainbow. It was only more like, I guess they call a sun dog. It wasn't completely perfect, it sort of faded as it rose up, but right at the bottom near the ground, it was absolutely gorgeous with all the colors, as they say, of the rainbow. Just a beauty. Behold, God's promise that he would never again flood the earth or destroy it in that fashion. However, we'll see here in a moment that something else is going to happen. Okay, verse 6, by which the world at that time, having been deluded with water, had itself been destroyed. But the present heavens and earth are being held in store by his Word, the Word of God. It says in Jeremiah 23, how that God has created the whole heavens as well as the earth, which means that his power is there upholding everything that exists. And the earth is just one infinitesimal part of that, and yet it is so important in God's plan. And that's why you and I have been placed on it, because God, through us, the saints, the ones who are striving to be living sacrifices before God, have been put here, and God tells us how we can do that, how we can accomplish it. Because of the very, very—what seems to us when we compare the earth to the heavens is almost insignificant, but you see, God works through the plan of humility. The mind of God is humility in all things. God himself has the most humble of all minds, along with Jesus Christ and the entirety of the universe. So he wants us to have that mind so that we can avoid vanity and that we can become the living sacrifices that he has called us to be. Verse 10, so in spite of these individuals caring about their works of evil—and when we get to the second chapter, we'll see what some of those works are—however, in the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heavens or the heaven itself shall disappear with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away. And it's interesting, what Peter does here, he's really talking about the day of the Lord, but what that is, is from the time of Christ's return right through to the new heavens and the new earth. It's concertinaed into just a very short verse or two, and we understand that. So we have to go to other places in the scripture which fill in what Peter doesn't say, because he's making a point. The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heavens itself shall disappear with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away, burning with intense heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up. Now, verse 11, take careful note of this. Since all these things are going to be destroyed, you know, everything about us, everything that we've had, that we've owned, we've possessed, if we've had silver and gold, it's all going to melt up. The homes that we live in, and you know, you read Isaiah, the 24th chapter, it just shows you, and other scriptures, God is just going to totally level the earth before all this final destruction takes place, or the renewing of the heavens and the earth. The city's going to be laid waste. You think of all the tall buildings. They're all going to be demolished, destroyed, virtually back to dust from which they came. So it's quite a thought for us, since all these things, all these things, not only the physical, but also all the evil works and deeds of men, they're going to be destroyed. What kind of persons ought you to be? And what should I be in holy conduct and goodness? We're on the path. We're working towards becoming those totally living, or total living sacrifices. And we're going to continue, and we're going to strive for that right to the end. And for those, for the godless, destruction is coming. What kind of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Now, we think of these things often, but, you know, the scriptures we're going to be turning to today, you know them. You've been over them at least once, and some of you will be over them hundreds of times. But we need to have them repeated. You need to have them repeated. I need to have them repeated. So that the more we hear them, the more they become a part of our thinking, and the more they become a part of our hearts, and our expressions, and who we are. So let's read that verse again before we go on. Since all these things are going to be destroyed, what kind of person—here's the question for each one of us—what kind of persons ought you to be? Now you say, well, I'm already there. I don't need to do this. We all do. There's not one human being that does not need these words because they're inspired by the very Spirit of God. And as Jesus says in John 6, the Spirit is what's important. The flesh profits nothing. We'll get to that one if we have the time or the opportunity. Okay, so here's what Petey goes on to say. Looking forward to—what manner of persons ought we to be looking forward to and striving for the coming of the day of God during which the heavens, being on fire, shall be destroyed and the elements burning with intense heat shall melt, that according to his promise we look forward to what? A new heavens—singular—a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And part of our pursuit of becoming living sacrifices is putting on that righteousness of God. And bear in mind that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, okay? So these things have not happened yet. They have not occurred. But because Christ has not yet returned, is not God long-suffering, as it says? And bear in mind that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, exactly as our brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has also written to you. Because he is also, in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, which he does, in which some things are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable are twisting and distorting, as they also twist and distort the rest of the Scriptures through their own destruction. And we've seen that, many of us, in the Church of God in our time, as well as the theologians and those who are in mainstream Christianity who have rejected the law of God, the commandments of God, the statutes and judgments of God, the ordinances and precepts of God. You see, because we don't need those, we just need Christ Jesus, we just need his cross, and we're saved. And, as we've heard many times, that little prayer, and you're saved. No, you're not. That's a damnable lie. It's a heresy, and it is contra. It's going in the opposite direction of the Word of God, and people are deceived, thankfully, till the second resurrection. Because that deception, the blindness, God is going to take away that veil. And when they see the truth of God, do you think they're going to rejoice? Yes, indeed they will. Therefore, beloved, verse 17, since you know this in advance, be on guard against such practices, lest you be led astray with the error of the lawless ones within the Church of God. If it's not there now, it's coming. But there are always going to be the lawless ones, even within the body of Christ, who are opposing the very Word of God. Why? Because they are not living the life of living sacrifices. They're walking according to the flesh, deceived in themselves, think they're walking according to the Spirit. Not so. The apostles, the prophets, warn us of these things continuously, because God does not want us to be deceived. But there are those who are deceived, and we've got to accept that fact. And the ministers of the Gospel of Christ, we would be negligent if we fail in our responsibility of preaching all the Word of God, the whole Word of God. And let's remind ourselves of Deuteronomy 28, cursings and blessings, blessings and cursings. It sets the tone for the whole of the Scripture. God is warning us, because we've got an enemy who is Satan, who does not want you or me to be a living sacrifice, and he will pull out all stops. He'll throw every fiery dart in his weaponry in order to deceive, in order to turn us away. I was reading just recently when I was going through Ephesians 6 and the armor of God about the shield that the Roman soldiers have. After one battle, one soldier pounded 220 darts in his shield, 220, and of course, back in those days, I guess they dipped in tar and other subjects that set fire to them, and those arrows then were sent towards the shield, and of course, the shield protected the soldiers. That's why we need the shield of faith. You know in Ephesians 6, what it says, by the shield of faith, we quench, put out, destroy the fiery darts. Just like Jesus did using the shield of faith, Matthew 4, 4, where he said, man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, shield, fiery darts that Satan was throwing at him. What happened? Satan had to leave. Jesus overcame him. He had the shield of faith as a man, flesh and blood, human being, yet the Son of God. Let's go back to verse 17. Therefore, beloved, since you know this in advance, be on guard against such practices. That's a warning. We must never forget it. Yes, we're looking for the fruits of the Spirit, but in looking for the fruits of the Spirit, remember who is going to be attacking us. Who is going to be attacking the Church? From without, and we see this in the news, world news, where churches are being attacked and destroyed, mainstream media churches, fortunately for the churches of God, most of the churches of God, we don't have buildings. We rent them. We hire them. But yes, they're attacking, and the whole nature, turning the nations of modern Israel away from the true God. And sadly, we, as those people, for those who are of the descendants of those tribes, we have been deceived as a people. And going back to Daniel 9, perhaps we should be thinking of praying for our nation just as Daniel did. He put himself among his people, taking on board all the problems of the nation of the Jewish peoples for himself. He didn't see himself as being separate. He saw himself as one of the people, and crying out to God for God's help and God's intervention. And look at the prophecies that God has given us through Daniel. Amazing. Least you be led astray with the error of the lawless ones, and you fall from your own steadfastness. Rather, be growing in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and into the days, or the day of eternity. Amen. Let's look at chapter 2 Peter 2 and verse 1. The theme continues, but there were also false prophets among the people. Yes, he's talking here of the people of Israel, ancient Israel, right up to the time even when Jesus was walking in the land of Israel amongst the Jewish people, his own people in that sense. False prophets among the people, and indeed there will be false teachers among you. Now I'm not trying to set up some scare tactic here. This is the Word of God. This is what God is warning us. This is the cursing part of the plan, and that we have to be aware of. And if we don't warn, what's going to happen to the brethren? Well, if we don't warn, as Ezekiel is told, the blood will be on our heads. But if we warn you, then you have the opportunity of fleeing from those disastrous activities, and you have the opportunity of being the living sacrifices and living God's way and recognizing these false teachers, these false ministers. And they don't necessarily have to be ordained to be false prophets or false ministers in our midst, but what they're doing is they're ministering evil attitudes through the words that they speak—hostility, contention, anger, disruption, turning brethren against brethren. And there will be false teachers—yes, that labels them—among you. And who's Peter talking to? He's talking to the brethren of the Church of God from the day that he spoke this, and it was written for our learning, for our understanding, and for our protection. Who will stealthily introduce destructive heresies, personally denying the Lord by their actions, by their attitudes, by their thoughts, introduce destructive heresies, personally denying the Lord by their actions, by their words, who brought them? See? They've been bought by the blood of Christ, but they've turned, they've gone back, and bringing swift destruction upon themselves. It doesn't mean that they're going to be destroyed immediately at the time, but when their destruction comes, it will come swiftly. And we'll all be warned by that and know that we have a need to take care. And many people will follow them. We've seen this happen. How many was it in worldwide? Multiple tens of thousands attending feast sites, 10,000, 15,000 people at Feast of Tabernacles. Amazing. God has mercifully delivered those who remain faithful to him so that we continue to learn the way of becoming living sacrifices. Okay? And many people will follow as authoritative their destructive ways. President, let not any one of us do this. Follow a man. But let us follow the teachings of God as he gives them to us through his true and faithful servants. But even then, we have to prove that those servants are faithful. That's our responsibility. That's my responsibility. After resigning from worldwide, there's no way that I was able to follow any other group until I heard a voice in which, for me, I knew this was my master's voice speaking because the truth has been speaking. And that resonated in my mind, as I'm sure it did for those of you who went through some of the circumstances. And because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. So through insatiable greed, oh yes, through insatiable greed, they will, with enticing messages, exploit you, usually not from the pulpit, although that can happen, but behind the scenes, quietly, whispering, sometimes pretty loudly, you know, may come through e-mails or some other communication where they're criticizing and condemning those who are the true followers of Christ. We need to recognize those types because they are not living sacrifices, and as Peter shows us at the end of this chapter, what they really are, okay? Enticing messages exploit you for gain, oh yes, they're after your money. One of these so-called apostles on the internet, he's telling people, I've just got to pay more money, demanding it, otherwise they're not pleasing to God. What sacrilege, what lies, what falsehoods? For whom the judgment of old is in full force, yes, they're being judged right here and now because they're claiming to be a part of the body of Christ. And their destruction is ever-watching, and when it comes, it will come suddenly. Then it goes on about God not sparing the angels, it talks about God saving Noah and Lot and delivering Lot, and that righteous man, and hopefully this describes each one of us, the Lord, for that righteous man, verse 8, dwelling among them through seeing and hearing their lawless activities, was tormented day by day in his righteous soul. And I think in the world today, that happens for us when we see the lies, when we see the terrible things that we as human beings can do to another human being. And I won't go into all the details, but you know it, it's there, it's before us every day, bombarding us, bombarding our minds. Verse 9, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptation. Thankfully, we always can trust in our God and Father and our elder brother, our high priest and our coming King and Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. They're there for us. They're our backstop. They're our shield. They're our protection. They are our everything. So God, verse 9, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unrighteous for the day of judgment. Yes, the judgment is coming, for sure, unless they hear messages like this and they repent. But particularly those who walk after the flesh in corrupting lusts, yeah, part of the church of God, part of the body of Christ, yes, but departed from the way, leaning to their own understanding, their own judgments, who walk after the flesh in corrupting lusts and holding in utter contempt because of the words they speak and because the attitudes of mind and heart or of heart that they have. Corrupting lusts and holding in utter contempt the lordship of God, that's such a powerful statement against all these people. They are audacious and self-willed. They are not living sacrifices. They are not afraid to blaspheme the divine powers where angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring a reigning condemnation against them before the Lord. But these, here's a good description of them, and sadly we have seen and we will see again people like this in our midst. This is a warning against these kind of people. Don't be sucked in. Don't be drawn into their lies, to their heresies, to their vanity. Who's the master of vanity and corruption and evil? Satan the devil. But these, now realize these are people within our midst or could be as irrational brute beasts born to be caught and destroyed, and they are going to be caught and destroyed unless they repent. Blaspheme those things of which they are ignorant. Yes, ignorance. Why are they ignorant? Are they studying the word of God? Are they filling their minds with the word of God? Maybe they are, but from their own perceptions, because they're not willing to obey what they read. They'll look for scriptures that back up their particular perceptions, their particular way of living, and shall be utterly destroyed in their own corruption. They are bringing upon themselves the reward of unrighteousness, and we do. We do that. We all do that. That's why we repent, and God freely forgives us when we truly repent, and that's very important right now as we approach Passover. While finding pleasure in satisfying their lustful desire day by day, now notice particularly this next statement. This is important because this is talking about people who are within the body of Christ. I'm not saying they are now, but they have been in the past. They will be now. As Peter said, they will be among you. We can't ignore the fact. While finding pleasure in satisfying their lustful desires day by day, they are stains and blemishes, reveling in their own deceptions, they're self-deceived, while feasting together with, who? You. And who are you? We are the body of Christ. This is talking about what's in the church, and in the next chapter, we read the last days. We're living in the last days. Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin, they are engaged in seducing unstable souls, having a heart trained in lustful cravings, cursed children. These are the words, through Peter, inspired by Christ Jesus, the Word of God. Well, I'll leave you to read the rest of that. We need to move on to the positive side now. Ephesians, the fourth chapter. As we look at the subject of living sacrifices, because we have so much—yes, there's all that warnings for us, for the members of the body of Christ, but the answers, the solutions are, shall I say, overpowering. There are so many. There's an abundance of them. Why? For our protection, for our shield, to protect us from the darts, from the helmet, to protect our minds, from the breastplate that protects our hearts from those fiery darts that come from Satan and all his agents, within and without the church. Okay, Ephesians, the fourth chapter. And we want, again, about verse 8. For this very reason, Ephesians 4 and verse 8, he says that after ascending on high, he left captivity captive and gave gifts to men. So yes, Christ has taken captive Satan and his demons. He's in control. They're his prisoners. He allows them to do what they are to do in order to accomplish God's plan. And mostly that is to test us, to make sure that we remain obedient. Now he who ascended, what is it, but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. Christ, of course, was crucified. He who descended is the same one who also ascended above all the heavens, right to the very throne of God the Father himself, where he came from in the first place, so that he might fulfill all things. And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, and some evangelists. And these are not offices of authority. These are statements of what a person does. Basically, we can say they're job descriptions. And that is something I hope we've all come to understand, particularly those who came out of the church of the past, where that was the case. Some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. So basically today we're looking at, we say ministers and elders because that's the primary term that's used in Scripture. Why? For the perfecting of the saints, so that we can be warned of the evils and taught the path that we can walk in, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Until we all come, that means ministers and brethren, saints, we're all saints, until we all come, that includes all men, all women, anyone who's a minister, anyone who's a deacon or deaconess in the church, until we all come into the unity of the faith. You see, these dogs, which we never got to read, read the rest of 2 Peter chapter 2, because he says that these people are like dogs returned to their vomits, and swine that have been washed clean returning to rolling over in the filth again, a very apt description. But this is for the edifying of the body, until we all come to the unity of the faith of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, meaning man as in man and woman. God created Adam, God created man, male and female, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And that we understand, of course, to accomplish that we are committed at the baptism ceremony, we committed ourselves to become living sacrifices. Before that, the Bible says we were dead, we were the living dead, we were like zombies without the knowledge of God. Once baptized, following repentance, once having God's Spirit sealed, Paul mentions that at least a couple of times, we are sealed with the Spirit of God. So when it comes to revelation and the sealing of those people, it's not the church, it's those that are called out of tribulation. You and I are already sealed. You know, it's like, of old, you know, they would take a document, a king or some very important person would take a document and they'd fold it up and they'd put a little wax on here, then they'd take the insignia, which was really, like for us today, our signature is our word. We would sign that document and nobody was supposed to be involved or touch that. So we've actually been sealed. The Holy Spirit is like that physical seal of old. God himself sealed you, so you've got his seal in your mind and in your heart as your protection, as your way of life, as your way of living. So that we, verse 14, so that we no longer be children. This is why we need initially the elders, until we've come to that place of maturity, when we can then begin to help others and teach others and be instant with God's Word and preaching and speaking to one another. Perhaps we need to do more of that, not perhaps, we should do more of that. Until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We'll have more to say about that in a minute. So that we're no longer children tossed around with every wind of doctrine, you know, by these incumbents in the church, these ones that are working against the very Spirit and Word of God. Carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, yes, even within the church in cunning craftiness, with a view to systematizing of error. But holding the truth in love, may we, in all things, go up unto him who is the head even Christ, from whom the whole body is fitly framed together and compact. And we are. God wants us to be together. God wants us to be like the Roman legions, you know, when they're under attack, each of the soldiers would come forward, they'd bring their shields and put them together and keep away, keep out those who were attacking them as a defense. We defend one another. We're not fighting one another. God forbid that we fight one another in the body of Christ. We're to love each other, not contend with. Contend is God's, to contend with those who oppose him. We're called to love with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our souls, and with all our beings. We're called in that love to do good for those who hate us and despitefully use us, and rather do good to them. It's a hard lesson sometimes, but it's one we have to learn. All right. I just encourage you to read the rest of that. Let's have a look now. We know Romans 12 and verse 1. Let's just turn there and read it. Romans 12 and verse 1, which is where the statement for the topic came from. Romans 12 and verse 1, I exhort you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. He's exhorting. This is Paul. Paul was totally wholehearted to his love for the present because he had worked personally with them. Today, we don't have that same opportunity except by means like this, the internet. But the time is coming. This is why we need to be growing. This is why we more and more need to be becoming living sacrifice, because as we read in the prophecies, there's going to come a famine of the hearing of the Word. So we need to have that level of maturity. We need to be so filled with the Word of God, the mind of God, the Spirit of God, so that we're not going to have to rely on the preaching that comes from the ministers or the elders. That we know the Word of God ourselves. We've been brought to that maturity. And the urgency, the mission, is on each one of us personally. You can't trust in any man. As it used to be said, you know, we're not going to get into the kingdom of God on the shirt tail of any man, of any individual. Only Jesus Christ. He's the door. He's the window for us into the kingdom of God, the family of God, in the resurrection. No one else. Now, on the other hand, we're to respect those who are our leaders, our elders, our ministers. And we're not to be contemptible towards them. And yet, day by day, I would say that the majority of most ministers and elders do have those that contend against them. But not for righteous reasons. Now, on the other hand, if an elder or a minister makes a mistake, then yes, if it's serious enough, it needs to be brought to the attention of all the people. Can he repent? Of course. Will God forgive? Yes. What about his ongoing service? Well, that's something that would have to be determined depending on the nature of the sin. But where repentance is, we all sin every day. That's why every day we pray, Father, forgive us our trespasses. We've trampled all over your laws. Please apply the blood of Christ. Please wash us in the blood of Christ. Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. That's our daily prayer. God knows our heart. God knows when we make mistakes. We know it when we make mistakes. Reminds me of a statement my dad used to make of Fritz Kreisler, a Hungarian-American violinist back in the, let's see, he was born in the 1860s. He only died. I just read it this morning. He only died in 1962. His name was Fritz Kreisler. And my dad was very keen on the violin. He used to play a little himself. I think our daughter now has that same instrument, one of our daughters. But Dad, whenever Fritz Kreisler was on the radio, everyone was hushed, quiet, and my father would be listening. Then he would tell us a story about Fritz Kreisler. He said, Fritz Kreisler was asked, you know, how often do you need to practice? How often do you practice? And Kreisler's response was very interesting, and I think we can take a lesson from it. He said, if I don't practice for a month, my audience knows it. If I don't practice for a week, my family knows it. If I don't practice every day, I know it. So he had that need to practice every day in order to maintain the beauty of his playing. Apparently, his expression was just simply, shall we say, simply divine, but obviously a man of great talent, blessed by God, and many were able to enjoy. You can go online, I think, and still hear some of his recordings. Anyway, that was just a little story as a fill-in there on that point. Where were we? Okay. Remus Proverbs 1. I sought you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies. That's everything. Body, mind, soul, spirit, to present your bodies a living sacrifice. Yes, we're alive to God, but we're dead to Satan, we're dead to the world, and we're dead to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of the physical life. At least that's our commitment, and every day we're striving to overcome those areas. Do not conform yourself to this world, but be transformed. That's the path, that's the walk. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind every day, every morning, every time we pray, every time we talk to God, in order that you may prove what is well-pleasing. So we're proving what is well-pleasing and good and the perfect will of God. Now, who was the one who was the ultimate in a living sacrifice? Was it not Jesus? Yes. We can read in the history, Hebrews 11, of all those who presented their bodies to God as living sacrifice, like Moses. He chose not to become Pharaoh's son, denying himself and denying the pleasures of this world, which we are all to do. And we are to involve ourselves in the joys and the pleasures that God provides for us. The pleasures of reading His Word and understanding it, knowing that it is the Holy Spirit that is giving us that understanding. Let's have a look at, let's go there to John, the sixth chapter. We'll just go to verse 63, because it's a very powerful scripture. John 6 and verse 63. My health if I get John rather than Deuteronomy. This is a good one to memorize. And you can read the context later. Verse 63 says, it is the Spirit that gives life. Yes, this is the Spirit that we receive, that seal. God sealed us after the waters of baptism with the laying on of hands. It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh profits nothing. We need to spend time thinking on that and meditating on that and asking ourselves questions, examining ourselves with Passover coming up, is that, is the Spirit in my life more to me than the flesh? We must live in the flesh according to the flesh to provide for ourselves, provide for our families, and to do those things that are good and natural and right that agree with the scriptures. But anything other than that, no, that's the negative. So again, it is the Spirit that gives life. Correction, yes. It is the Spirit that gives life. Eternal life. The Spirit you have within you now is your seal that when you die or when you go to sleep, you will hear the voice of Christ in the resurrection when he raises the righteous from the grave, the first resurrection, which is the bed of resurrection. Now notice, the words I speak to you, and what words has Jesus spoken to us? Well, it begins with Genesis 1.1 and goes right through to the last verse of Revelation. He is the Word of God. Everything that's written, regardless of whether it's history, whether it's prophecy, or whether it's the way of living, which are the three parts the Bible is basically made up of. The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life. So if we're drinking in the Word of God, we're going to want to follow them. The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life. Think about that. We need to pray about that because this is the path becoming living sacrifices by walking in those words. Let's have a look at another scripture here, 2 Corinthians, a couple in closing. There are many more, but we will suffice with these two, maybe 2 Corinthians 10. And this particular passage has been on my mind so much over the past weeks and months, and I've spoken about it. And it's still in my mind, but the words are so incredible that we want to repeat them. In verse 4, we read, For the weapons of our warfare, 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4, are not carnal, but mighty through God. Yes, weapons of our warfare are mighty. All the power of God is there in our weapons, both for offense and defense. We're lacking nothing. We have to use those weapons through God to the overthrowing of strongholds. Yes, we need to examine ourselves. We can't just say, oh, I don't have any strongholds anymore. I can't say that personally. I have to go before God's throne on a constant basis and ask him, Father, if there are still strongholds in me or where there are strongholds within me, please show me. Because I don't want anything standing between you and me and becoming the living sacrifice that you want me to be. And then casting down vain imaginations, where do they come from? Satan, the devil, the master, the king of vanity, the king of pride. That's why he's called the devil today. He's no longer an angel of light. He's an angel or a demon of absolute darkness. And bring in, oh, let's see, casting down vain imaginations, and we can say this is an ellipsis, and casting down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. This is the path to becoming more and more the living sacrifice that we can become more than where we are today. It's an ongoing job. It's an ongoing process. But notice the next thought. I would like just to challenge you, to encourage you to spend a lot of time thinking and praying about this and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. Think about that. Galatians 4, verse 19. Paul was a bit frustrated with the Galatians because he wondered if his preaching had been in vain. Let's just quickly turn there. That's Galatians 4 and verse 19. Yeah, he said back in one of the earlier verses that he didn't know if his preaching was in vain, and I'm sure that distressed him. Verse 19, my little children for whom I am again laboring in pain, and I believe that all those who are faithful ministers of Christ do the same. As we see people taking the wrong step, we try to help them to bring them back on the right path. There are many who are already walking that way. They're already mature, and that's good because they can be there helping also like Paul said he had many helpers in the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm laboring in pain until something else that we can think about deeply in prayer and in meditation. Until Christ has been formed in you. The thought I had, Paul didn't say until Christ is fully formed in you, but I think just my thought here is that Christ will be fully formed within us at the resurrection. In the meantime, we are living the life of living sacrifices so that that can be accomplished in the resurrection. We're out of time, but I would like to mention, please read Philippians the third chapter to see what Paul had to say. Paul said, I'm prepared to give up. I have given up everything and counted as done that I might gain Christ and the power of his resurrection. Powerful passage. Philippians 2. Please do take time out to read that and to see how you fit into that as we all need to do as far as the scriptures. So that's all we have time for today. This is a big subject. This is like most biblical subjects. Much more can be said. So many scriptures, but I hope what has been said will be of some help and of some profit to you as you and as I continue to work towards becoming the truly living sacrifices, living our life as sacrifice to God, our father, to Jesus Christ. And let's not forget that we sacrifice ourselves also for our brothers and sisters.
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