Sunday Morning Podcast March 6, 2016. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT:ROMANS 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
MARK 12:28-30
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
We need to love God with all our soul, strength and mind. Not being conformed, but transformed by the renewal of our mind. Will you be conformed to, or transformed from, …this world? Conformed, is when you have something that fuses or stays together, within a “pattern” or form. Transformed is to be taken beyond, …evolving from that which has been. Before becoming a Christian, we all conform to “the patterns” of this world’s fleshly ideas, (or selfish desires). Even after becoming of the “brethren” of God, we are instructed to “……. present your bodies a living sacrifice“… Romans 12:1. And tho we become brethren, we are still told “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2).
God wants us to be transformed away from patterns that the world sets before us. God wants us to present our very lives for Him to mold, into what His will is for us. A life no longer conformed to the world, sin, and self, but now sanctified (transformed) for God’s purpose. No longer bound by the fashions and behaviors of immodesty, but instead submitted to God’s Word and direction for holiness. If all we do is stay in our own ways and thoughts, we won’t be transformed. We won’t have a transformation from our former life. Being transformed won’t take away all our natural inclinations of our personality, etc., but it will purify the motivations of our heart and mind. Being transformed will also mean that other people’s needs will be more important to us, than our own.
God wants His children to thrive. God also wants us to recognize our shortcomings and limitations, so we won’t continue in them. The key is to …”love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:”… Mark 12:30 Are you willing to not live for your own ways, but instead God’s?
Are you conformed, …or transformed ?