The Foundation for Spirtual Strength

I thought when my brother Bruce got up, I thought, oh dear, he's going to take everything. But he left quite a bit for me, so that's good. I've been thinking and enjoying a very similar thing that my brother was on.

We often will, because of chapter divisions, we often tend to disconnect what is following and forget what is way back there. But yet it's sort of the word of the Spirit of God is very systematic and building, building, building. So I want to pick off from Romans 12 as well, but we'll just start in Romans 15.

Just trying to understand the statement that Paul said, and then we'll just look at it in the context and go back to Romans 12. So Romans 15 and verse number 1. We've been, I felt the ministry this morning was excellent, very searching. So my comment would be, how do we respond to ministry like that? We could use the flesh within and say, OK, I realize my wrong.

I'm never going to do that again. Determination, that will not last. So what I hope to do is get us to the point where we can get our eyes on Christ, because he's the only one that will help us to do what we've been encouraged to do today.

So Romans chapter 15 and verse number 1, and here's why Paul could say these words, because he tells us in 1 Corinthians that he is a follower of Christ. Romans chapter 15, verse 1. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. I just want to pick up on the first part of verse 1. We then that are strong.

Now, if I was to ask you a question, as a Christian, would you say you're strong? And right away into our minds would come, well, that sort of sounds awful arrogant to say I'm strong. Well, the reason that we would think that way is because we're probably thinking of worldly guidelines to gauge ourselves by to determine if we're strong. But I've been enjoying this.

Just where this is found in this little setting here of Romans 12, 13, 14, and he's been building to something. And then after all that the Spirit has been teaching through Paul, Paul is actually going to say very emphatically, we that are strong. So it is possible, dear child of God, as a Christian to be strong, to be living for God.

That's very possible. So we'll just take a minute and we'll look at the context and we'll see how can I do that and just where is the setting. Now, go back to Romans 12 and verse 1. Never hurts to repeat the word of God that has been repeated.

And this is just to add to what my brother said, not that it needs to be added to, just to keep on going from it. It's interesting, Friday night our brother Alex gave us a word on the man of God, different characteristics. And that theme has been carried right on through the morning.

So we trust that it will just continue here. Romans 12 and verse 1, I beseech you, I beg you. It's a very, very warm word.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Now, we know at this point, he has come to a peak in the letter. All of the truth that has preceded this is building up to this particular point.

And I believe that's what's encompassed in by the mercies of God. This tremendous unveiling of truth, to think of where we started and where God found us, and to think of the grace of God that brought us into Christ and all of the things that's developed in this chapter. And it just keeps getting higher and higher and higher.

And then you come to chapter 12 and verse number 1, and you end up with reasonable service, your intelligent service. So based on everything that the spirit of God has been telling us and bringing us into and everything that God has brought us into, this reaction, presenting yourselves to God, is not something that's reserved for elite Christianity. It's not something that's hyper-Christianity.

It's something that is just intelligent. It's reasonable. It's what the spirit of God expects from us.

I think sometimes we're not hard enough on ourselves, and we let ourselves off with too much. Well, you know, those preachers, they're supposed to live like what we heard this morning. But, you know, we're just the common people.

You know what I'm thinking? No, no, no, no. There are things that are in the word of God that God expects all of us to at least try to achieve to. He's given us the word of God.

He's given us the indwelling of the spirit of God. It all comes down to willingness. Am I willing? So we could sit here this morning, and we could hear the ministry as I heard it, and I could allow it to affect me just for this day.

And that's as far as my willingness went. But am I willing to carry it into next week, and then to bring it before God in prayer? Lord, there were things identified at that Stout Conference that hit me. And Lord, I want help.

I want help. I want to change. See, that's what the spirit of God is waiting for.

The spirit of God is not going to make me holy against my will. He's not gonna make me present my body as a living sacrifice to God if I don't want it to happen. It's not gonna happen if I'm halfway there.

Well, Lord, okay, I'm willing to give you 50%. And then as the day wears on, and another person gets up, and ministry touches, and you're like, okay, we're getting pushed to 75%. See, there's hesitancy there.

You're like, you're just almost afraid. I'm speaking about myself. Just to give yourself over to God.

Well, this is the point that we're at in the epistle. Now, look at it again. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies.

He's looking at the entire being, body, soul, and spirit, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Now, how in the world am I going to do that? Well, right away, the very first thing cuts us, verse two. And be not conformed to this world.

You see, if we reached into our pockets and pulled out a coin, a coin has two sides. We all know that. You can't pick up one side without picking up the other side.

So we all sit here today and we say, okay, the ministry has been invigorating, challenging, and we want to do this. I'm going to present my body, a holy, living sacrifice to God. What do I do? Separation from the world.

Oh, dear. You mean that Hollywood is not my friend? But preacher, I like my movies. I come home from a stressful day at work and everybody's got to unwind, don't they? So I find it very convenient and easy to unwind in front of a two-hour show.

You're never going to achieve Romans 12 and verse one. I will never achieve it. Well, I like all the, we could list endless, endless.

What we would almost like to tell ourselves are just innocent, but they're really vices, aren't they? They're just camouflaged traps. Traps. And we look at it and we think we can pick it up and play with it, and before long, it's got such a grip on us, we become addicts.

Oh, dear, should we touch Facebook right now? I wonder how many of us are going through withdrawal right now, haven't been able to find out what my friends are doing. You're almost like just longing for a preacher to get boring so he can hide the phone and, oh, good, we've got data coverage here. This might be a shock to you, but the world will get along fine if it doesn't know what you're doing.

So what I'm trying to get to is this. Everything comes with a cost. We can have these great desires, and we can, I want to achieve this, but listen to what it says.

It starts with this, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Now, you just look at those two words. Be not conformed, be not transformed.

Go do a study on them. Be not conformed. It's the idea of something on the outside putting pressure upon you and changing you.

Transformed, something on the inside that is actually working its way out and it's changing you. You see how important this is? What I'm coming at is this. How does a person renew their mind? I'm picking up the basic ministry of my brother.

As I look at this audience, do we all have a systematic reading of the word of God every day? That's basic, like that's base one. Nothing is going to happen unless I've got that consistent, daily washing by my savior. That is the shepherd's work.

Conferences cannot replace that. Bible readings cannot replace that. Gospel efforts cannot replace that.

Going throughout your neighborhood, knocking on every door, giving out gospel papers cannot replace what takes place when in the quiet hours, I myself sit at the feet of my savior. And I just allow him to wash me. Ministry will never wash me like what the savior is able to.

Oh, the Lord can use ministry, I understand that. I think we had a number of that this morning. But that's extra, that's secondary.

And you know yourself, dear child of God, the number one issue that we have today, time. We're so busy. But we can find time for what we want.

Coming back to Facebook, we can waste so many minutes, so many hours on these things that don't wash me. They grieve me, they trouble me, they vex me. You get my point? Obviously, you can tell I'm not on Facebook.

These things are useless. Now, analyze your life, look at it. If you did not sit here this morning and listen to how perfect our savior is, and not challenged by the ministry, I would question you got life.

Because every child of God with the spirit of God in them has got a desire, we wish it was more, to be like him. But there's going to be a complete opposite pressure. I'm convinced that the devil is happier when we're busy in activity than in communion.

Simple, systematic, reading, meditating, thinking. I'll be honest with you. If all I ever do as a preacher is read this Bible to get messages, I'm on the wrong road.

I'm just on the wrong road. My brother, Alex, last night mentioned that God not only saved us to use us, but to enjoy us. We get all taken up with the use, the use.

But could I challenge every single heart here today if you and I did absolutely nothing as far as physically what can be seen, what can be looked upon, and I just gave my whole being to God. Gold star. But it wouldn't stop there.

You see, this is where this whole section, after he's given all of this doctrinal teaching, all of us now, 12, 13, 14, 15, just starts a tremendous path of practical working of all of this truth. And if we started where the word of God starts, just presenting myself to God, I wouldn't have to worry about what to do. It would just open up for me.

I wouldn't have to force doors. I wouldn't have to, you know, we're so busy at putting the cart before the horse, aren't we? We want this, but we forget that we gotta get this first. That's just a trick of the devil.

Just reverse things, right? And I'm amazed as I, my father said it to me many times as an elder for over 45 years, and he said, Scott, this is not something new. He says, Scott, the number one problem is that the people of God are not reading consistently. I'm not talking now about, okay, I get the Lord a half an hour in the morning and I read.

I'm going deeper than that. Can I challenge my young people, my middle-aged people, my older people? When you find yourself with free time, develop a habit of meditation. Pick up a devotional book if you want.

Pick up a section of the word of God if you want, and just allow it to wash over your soul. Enjoy it. Start thinking on expressions.

Start communing with the spirit and asking, what does this mean? Show it to me. You know what would be amazed at? Something will connect in your mind. It's not going to be so obvious like, bang, whew, that came from the spirit of God.

It's so subtle. Just something that you never thought of before. Something that someone said over here, and all of a sudden there's a connection made.

That is God feeding you. That's delightful. I believe that's available to every single one of us.

So you've got this double-sided corn. I want to present my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Be not conformed to this world.

We are surrounded by this world. We live in it. We work in it.

We see it everywhere around us. And it just affects us, and we don't even realize it's affecting us. That's why the washing is so important.

Coming back to my brother's basin. The dust that was picked up. You know they had public bath houses back then.

And that's what the Lord meant. He that has bathed all over. He has walked to the community bathing house, and he's been bathed all over.

And now he has to go back home, and his feet and hands have come in contact with things as he's on his way back home. And as he enters into the house, he's picked up defilement. That didn't seem too bad.

But after he washed in the water, he understood, I picked up a little more dirt than I realized. That's what happens when we read and meditate and think upon the Word of God. Can we say it? There is no substitute for the Word of God.

No substitute. If I'm looking at someone, as my brother said, and you want direction, we can spend all of our energy asking, well, this preacher and that preacher and this elder and this elder, instead of going to the Word of God for direction. You see, the way God works is He's building us.

He's preparing us. He's feeding us. So that when these difficult situations happen, I've got nourishment.

I've got strength. I want to challenge couples. Maybe you're here and you're just starting to date.

Read together. Yes, read individually. Pray individually.

But what a wonderful way to start a date or end a date. Read a chapter together. And then hear each other pray together.

That will bring a whole different dimension into that little relationship. Married. Wonderful way to bring a husband.

But you know what happens? We get in our little silos, don't we? We get so busy. It's almost like we can talk about everything else under the sun, but what were you enjoying today, honey? You ever do that with your wife, challenger? In a good way. Where are you reading, dear? Come on, tell me what you're enjoying.

This is practical Christianity. This is just what the spirit of God would expect from us. Okay, so what I want you to do is I want you to, I'm going to be done here in a second.

I want you to lodge that in your brain now. We're starting this section with presenting your body holy to God, a sacrifice dead to self, no conformity to the world. Now there is the perfect individual that God can use.

What's going to come out of it? Look at the flow of the chapter. Verses three, four, five, six, seven, all taken up with gift. How many Christians try to figure out their gift and they haven't even done verses one and two? You will never figure out what God wants you to do if you're conformed to this world.

You may as well just mark it down, save yourself a whole lot of struggle. God cannot use somebody who's got one hand in the world and the other hand in the Bible. Do you know something that we are completely missing today? How concerned am I about your conscience? If I have fulfilled Romans 12, one, two, I will be very concerned.

You know the attitude today? I can do what I want. I have the liberty. When a liberty of yours becomes something that you have to do, you're in bondage.

You're not free. You're not free. And it's just the outworking of the wicked heart.

That's all it is. You're actually, the end of chapter 13, you're actually fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. That's all you're doing.

That's all I'm doing. And then this whole chapter 14 starts to break down this, there's two things that can happen. The brother that's eating meat can judge the brother that's not.

Then the brother that's not will not allow himself to do it. He's looking at the brother that is, and he's judging him. You know what the word of God teaches? Both are wrong.

Both people are out of place. As I look at this audience, you have permission to laugh when I say this. Wouldn't it be tremendous if you're all like me? What a place, eh? Wouldn't be no difficulty or nothing, because I'd all love you.

Because I happen to love myself. Right? But we're very different, aren't we? And there's things that you do that sometimes irk me. And probably there's things I do, I can hardly imagine that.

Things I do that irk you, hardly imagine that. But this is a test. Just how conformed am I to the world or to the Spirit of God? That's what it ultimately comes down to.

How much have I given myself to God? This is all connected. The whole section is all connected. Keep it in mind.

Come further, I gotta go quick. Look at verse number 13. Let not, let us not therefore judge one another anymore.

Now listen, if you want to judge something, but judge this rather. Now we're really good at judging, aren't we? We're really good at it. It just comes natural.

And it's like the Spirit of God now is going to give us something to judge. Well, let's read it. Look what it says.

That no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. Now I thought to myself when I was studying this, how much of my Christian life do I spend analyzing what I do and the effect it has on you? I would have, I had to be honest. Not very much.

Oh, we do it in the professional realm like this. We all put on our Sunday best and make sure we're behaving ourselves. But I'm talking Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Do you know what I mean? You know what I'm getting at? Now look at these words, stumbling block. That's something that you kind of stub your toe on. That's something that is obvious.

It's apparent, okay? Then look at this word, or it's one word in Greek, okay, an occasion to fall. Do you know what that Greek word means? It's actually the part of the bait, the trap, the stick, where you actually put a piece of bait over it to hide the trip, what's going to spring the trap. So the first one is very obvious.

It's right out there in the open and you can bang, stub your toe on it. The second one, it's camouflaged, but there's a lot of deceit behind it. How many people set a mousetrap and put a little sign by it and say, watch out mouse, it's a mousetrap.

You don't do that. You try to make it the biggest piece of cheese. I put peanut butter on top of my cheese.

I want to really get the smell of it away. Because I don't want him to see the stick he's licking. Bang, I got him.

Do you know what I thought? This is written to Christians. Do you find that troubling? This is telling me that as a Christian, I could get to such a point where I'm trying to bait you. Why, dear, I thought, does Paul know who he's writing to? That's what's in my heart.

So can I challenge you today? In the world of so-called liberty and freedom and everything else, you hear it all around and there's all kinds of words that are given to try to justify. They call this generation the millennials and they were never used to authority and on and on it goes. And really what we're doing is making an excuse for rebellion and we get all these words.

It's just the human heart. That's all it is. So if you're here today and you think you can do what you want, say what you want, go where you want, and I don't care the effect it has upon my brothers or my sisters or anybody, you're not strong.

That's what Paul is leading up to. You're actually conformed to the world. You're actually fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

And there's no acceptability before God in a state like that. That's why he, as he starts to develop right through chapter 14, and notice this, with this I'll end. Look at what he says in verse number 15.

But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat. He just caused a little bit of a, oh, in his mind. This is how sensitive Paul was.

Then come down to verse number 21. He repeats the words again that I just went over. It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, he got the verb form of the noun I wrote, I mentioned up earlier, or is offended, there's the verb form of the noun of the trap, or is made weak.

Do you know what happens when I take a liberty of mind and I do something without considering the conscience of my brother and I provoke him to go against his conscience? I'm actually weakening him. That's what I'm doing. I'm actually causing him to sin against Christ and further the word God would say, I'm sinning against Christ.

Isn't that amazing? And right in this section, you get this, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. The enjoyment of your liberties is not what Christianity is all about. It's how considerate I am of your conscience.

That's Christ-likeness, that's non-conforming to the world. And then Paul ends up in chapter 15 with verse one, we that are strong. Can you just allow the life of the apostle Paul to run through your mind? He was very conscious of the people's conscience around him.

So I come back to the question I started with. Are you strong? Am I strong? Will God help us to allow this book to transform us where we can be strong Christians and therefore bringing glory to the one who died for us.