1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,220 Will you open your bible, please, at Romans chapter 6 and verse 13, 2 00:00:06,220 –> 00:00:12,200 we are going to focus on this key verse in the scriptures where Paul says, 3 00:00:12,200 –> 00:00:21,040 offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life.” 4 00:00:21,040 –> 00:00:26,379 Now we are continuing our series entitled repentance, the hidden path to a transformed life. 5 00:00:26,459 –> 00:00:31,760 And we’re learning together, a definition of repentance given by Doctor J.I. Packer 6 00:00:31,760 –> 00:00:35,840 that repentance is turning from as much as you know of sin, 7 00:00:35,840 –> 00:00:43,240 to give as much as you know of yourself, to as much as you know of your God. 8 00:00:43,240 –> 00:00:45,860 And as we have been learning this from the scriptures, 9 00:00:45,860 –> 00:00:50,240 we have seen therefore that repentance really begins with knowing God. 10 00:00:50,240 –> 00:00:52,720 You know God a little? You will change a little. 11 00:00:52,720 –> 00:00:56,340 You know God much? You will indeed change much. 12 00:00:56,360 –> 00:01:01,660 And we saw this illustrated from the life of Job, a man who clearly knew the Lord, 13 00:01:01,660 –> 00:01:04,080 but when he came to know God more, 14 00:01:04,080 –> 00:01:07,320 his repentance moved to another level. 15 00:01:07,320 –> 00:01:11,720 And he said, I’ve heard of you Lord with my ears now I’ve seen you with my eyes 16 00:01:11,720 –> 00:01:15,080 therefore I repent in dust and ashes. 17 00:01:15,839 –> 00:01:20,919 And I want to encourage you to keep your eyes open and to look at people who have 18 00:01:20,919 –> 00:01:24,739 significantly changed in their lives, 19 00:01:24,839 –> 00:01:29,680 and I think that you will find as I have consistently found that people who have 20 00:01:29,699 –> 00:01:34,260 significant lasting change in their lives have one thing in common and that 21 00:01:34,260 –> 00:01:37,779 is that in some way they have immersed themselves in the Word of God. 22 00:01:37,779 –> 00:01:44,059 Because real lasting change flows from a deepening knowledge of God in your life, 23 00:01:44,059 –> 00:01:48,500 that’s where we find the hidden path to a transformed life. 24 00:01:49,160 –> 00:01:52,919 And then we’ve seen that we pursue that path 25 00:01:53,120 –> 00:02:00,779 as we know, stalk and kill in-drilling sin in our lives and we’ve seen that this is 26 00:02:00,779 –> 00:02:05,599 a lifelong process no matter how long you have been a Christian your flesh 27 00:02:05,599 –> 00:02:10,839 will always produce impulses and reactions which if you followed them 28 00:02:10,839 –> 00:02:16,500 would take you away from the path of Jesus Christ and every believer is 29 00:02:16,500 –> 00:02:20,740 involved in this lifelong struggle with the flesh we saw last week that the 30 00:02:20,740 –> 00:02:25,399 particular sins to which you’re most prone will probably change over the 31 00:02:25,399 –> 00:02:30,539 course of the years but nonetheless it’s the same old battle merely fought on 32 00:02:30,539 –> 00:02:37,000 different ground. Now today I want us to focus on the positive dimension of 33 00:02:37,000 –> 00:02:42,940 repentance. It is turning from as much as you know of sin that’s obviously the 34 00:02:42,940 –> 00:02:47,919 negative and it’s turning to give as much as you know of yourself to God that 35 00:02:47,979 –> 00:02:52,960 plainly is the positive and it’s important for us to recognize that 36 00:02:52,960 –> 00:02:58,279 repentance always involves both the negative and the positive. Always what we 37 00:02:58,279 –> 00:03:04,720 turn from and at the same time what we turn to. It is not in other words just 38 00:03:04,720 –> 00:03:09,759 that we stop doing certain things. That is not repentance it’s only half of 39 00:03:09,759 –> 00:03:15,899 it. It is also that we start pursuing certain other things. Now let me give you 40 00:03:16,380 –> 00:03:19,759 some examples because this is a pattern that’s found all the way through the 41 00:03:19,759 –> 00:03:24,479 scriptures. It’s just what repentance is. If you look at first Thessalonians 42 00:03:24,479 –> 00:03:30,419 chapter 1 and verse 9, where we have a wonderful description of what repentance 43 00:03:30,419 –> 00:03:36,220 is, first Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 9, you’ll see that when Paul 44 00:03:36,220 –> 00:03:41,699 preached the gospel in Thessalonica there was a wonderful response and it is 45 00:03:41,720 –> 00:03:46,259 both negative and positive. It’s stated in verse 9 there. When he preached the 46 00:03:46,259 –> 00:03:53,039 gospel, he says you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 47 00:03:53,039 –> 00:03:57,399 1 Thessalonians 1, 9. Now that’s repentance. You see the negative and the 48 00:03:57,399 –> 00:04:01,839 positive? You turned away from idols. That’s the first thing but it wasn’t 49 00:04:01,839 –> 00:04:06,399 just that you dropped the idols. It’s that you gave yourself to serving the 50 00:04:06,399 –> 00:04:12,279 true and living God. It’s not just that you stop doing certain bad things. It is 51 00:04:12,279 –> 00:04:18,119 that you started pursuing certain things, other things that are glorifying to God. 52 00:04:18,119 –> 00:04:22,760 Now I think it’s worth just pausing on this for a moment, because some of us 53 00:04:22,760 –> 00:04:29,140 were perhaps brought up with a version of Christianity that majored on the 54 00:04:29,140 –> 00:04:36,940 negative. That it was about certain things that you should not do. I will not 55 00:04:36,940 –> 00:04:46,260 smoke or drink or chew. I will not go with girls who do. Where’s the positive 56 00:04:46,260 –> 00:04:52,420 vision of a life that impacts the world for Jesus Christ in that? It is an 57 00:04:52,420 –> 00:04:56,700 inadequate concept of repentance. Merely that there are certain things that we 58 00:04:56,700 –> 00:05:03,179 will not do. Repentance cannot be confined to the negative, it must turn to 59 00:05:03,179 –> 00:05:05,619 the positive. This was the problem for the rich young 60 00:05:05,619 –> 00:05:11,059 ruler. Think about that story. This man who has been very successful, has an 61 00:05:11,059 –> 00:05:16,100 encounter with Jesus Christ. He wants to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus 62 00:05:16,100 –> 00:05:21,380 engages him in a conversation about the Ten Commandments. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. 63 00:05:21,380 –> 00:05:25,140 Don’t commit adultery and the man said, well these are the very things I’ve been 64 00:05:25,260 –> 00:05:28,940 doing ever since I was young. I have avoided all of these things. He’s done 65 00:05:28,940 –> 00:05:34,739 well on the negative, you see. He has avoided the things that God has said a 66 00:05:34,739 –> 00:05:41,739 person should not do and so what does Jesus do? He turns to the positive. He 67 00:05:41,739 –> 00:05:44,820 says, well now here’s where we go from here. You sell all that you have, and you 68 00:05:44,820 –> 00:05:48,779 give it to the poor and then come and follow me. You see what Jesus is saying? 69 00:05:48,820 –> 00:05:55,739 You’re telling me that you have avoided certain things. I’m asking you what good 70 00:05:55,739 –> 00:06:00,820 you’re doing in the world. I’m asking you what you’re doing about helping the poor. 71 00:06:00,820 –> 00:06:05,739 I’m asking you what you’re doing about alleviating suffering in this world. I’m 72 00:06:05,739 –> 00:06:09,500 asking whether you’re willing for sacrifice that’s involved in coming and 73 00:06:09,500 –> 00:06:13,100 actually following after me. And that is where the rich young ruler parted 74 00:06:13,399 –> 00:06:20,359 with Jesus. Cause he was comfortable with a life that was moral. He wasn’t ready 75 00:06:20,359 –> 00:06:26,179 for a life that was sacrificial. That is all the difference in the world. See 76 00:06:26,179 –> 00:06:31,359 there is a huge difference between morality and Christianity. Don’t confuse 77 00:06:31,359 –> 00:06:35,320 the two. Don’t think because you’re moral you’re Christian. That’s only half the 78 00:06:35,320 –> 00:06:39,980 definition of repentance. Morality is about avoiding certain things that are 79 00:06:40,040 –> 00:06:45,920 wrong. It focuses on the negative dimension of repentance but Christianity 80 00:06:45,920 –> 00:06:51,519 is about the pursuit of that which is right. It is about leaving sin in order 81 00:06:51,519 –> 00:06:56,660 that we may pursue righteousness as followers of Jesus Christ. And Packer 82 00:06:56,660 –> 00:07:00,399 catches this, I think very helpfully, in his definition when he reminds us that 83 00:07:00,399 –> 00:07:09,260 repentance is turning from all that you know of your sin to give as much as you 84 00:07:09,399 –> 00:07:14,920 know of yourself to God. So there’s the positive and that’s our focus today. Now 85 00:07:14,920 –> 00:07:20,320 let’s look at it in its biblical expression in Romans chapter 6 and verse 86 00:07:20,320 –> 00:07:25,339 13 and that verse will be our focus throughout this morning. Romans chapter 87 00:07:25,339 –> 00:07:37,940 6 and verse 13. Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death 88 00:07:38,540 –> 00:07:45,320 to life. I want to draw your attention something I found fascinating and I 89 00:07:45,320 –> 00:07:50,179 think is very significant in this verse. Look at it from the beginning of verse 90 00:07:50,179 –> 00:07:59,859 13. Do not, here’s the negative, offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments 91 00:07:59,859 –> 00:08:05,739 of wickedness. Now Paul here is talking about your abilities, your capacities, 92 00:08:05,920 –> 00:08:09,859 what you can do with the skill of your hands, the power of your mind and so 93 00:08:09,859 –> 00:08:14,519 forth. This is the negative dimension of repentance and now Paul is going to go 94 00:08:14,519 –> 00:08:18,859 on and state the positive. So the negative is do not offer the parts of 95 00:08:18,859 –> 00:08:23,839 your body to sin as instruments to righteousness. So if that’s the negative 96 00:08:23,839 –> 00:08:28,700 you would expect him to say as the positive instead offer the parts of your 97 00:08:28,700 –> 00:08:32,359 body to God as instruments of righteousness. That would be the natural 98 00:08:32,599 –> 00:08:37,840 parallelism wouldn’t it? Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments 99 00:08:37,840 –> 00:08:42,159 of wickedness, but rather offer the parts of your body to God as instruments of 100 00:08:42,159 –> 00:08:47,640 righteousness, that would be beautifully parallel but notice that that is not 101 00:08:47,640 –> 00:08:56,840 what he says. That is something else that you have to do first before you offer 102 00:08:57,440 –> 00:09:05,479 abilities, your capacities, your talents and your gifts to God. Notice the verse 103 00:09:05,479 –> 00:09:11,119 carefully, do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness 104 00:09:11,119 –> 00:09:18,739 but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death 105 00:09:18,739 –> 00:09:24,760 to life, and offer the parts of your body to him that’s to God as instruments of 106 00:09:24,780 –> 00:09:28,719 righteousness. Now you see the very important point that’s contained in this 107 00:09:28,719 –> 00:09:38,940 verse. Before you offer your gifts you have to offer yourself. It’s a critical 108 00:09:38,940 –> 00:09:43,179 principle and if we do not grasp it we will come to grief at some point in the 109 00:09:43,179 –> 00:09:49,580 Christian life. You offer yourself before you offer your gifts and only when 110 00:09:49,820 –> 00:09:57,840 yourself is it safe for you then to offer your gifts. Now you see this in the 111 00:09:57,840 –> 00:10:04,359 very beautiful hymn by Francis Ridley Havergill, Take My Life and Let It Be 112 00:10:04,359 –> 00:10:09,559 Consecrated Lord to Thee. And Havergill goes through the various gifts and 113 00:10:09,559 –> 00:10:14,559 abilities that a person might be able to offer to God. You know the verses in 114 00:10:14,559 –> 00:10:19,359 familiar song take my voice and let me sing take my hands and let them move at 115 00:10:19,359 –> 00:10:24,340 the impulse of your love, take my silver and my gold not a mite would I withhold. 116 00:10:24,340 –> 00:10:27,559 So it goes through all that we might offer to God but where does 117 00:10:27,559 –> 00:10:36,320 it begin? Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee. You have to 118 00:10:36,320 –> 00:10:45,280 offer yourself before you offer your gifts. Now why is that important, for this 119 00:10:45,320 –> 00:10:52,840 reason that if you start with your gifts and your abilities, then your focus will 120 00:10:52,840 –> 00:10:58,799 always be on how your gifts and abilities are being used and if that’s 121 00:10:58,799 –> 00:11:05,320 your focus I promise you it is a formula for frustration. If the focus is always 122 00:11:05,320 –> 00:11:14,020 how am I being used, you will find an experience of recurring frustration in 123 00:11:14,359 –> 00:11:23,500 the course of your Christian life. You have to offer yourself before you offer 124 00:11:23,500 –> 00:11:33,080 your gifts. I enjoyed last week sharing some time with one of the elders from 125 00:11:33,080 –> 00:11:37,979 the church that I served for many years in North London. He was passing through 126 00:11:37,979 –> 00:11:43,500 Chicago, stayed with us overnight and we got reminiscing together about many 127 00:11:43,619 –> 00:11:47,020 things, and you know how these conversations go. I’ve no idea how we 128 00:11:47,020 –> 00:11:52,479 ended up here, but we got somehow onto the subject of a lady in the church who 129 00:11:52,479 –> 00:11:59,020 liked to sing. Now I’m going to try and describe this delicately. 130 00:11:59,020 –> 00:12:08,659 She was well past her prime and had what I might describe as a somewhat optimistic 131 00:12:08,659 –> 00:12:14,979 view of her own talents. One of the first letters I received when I became 132 00:12:14,979 –> 00:12:21,719 pastor of the church was an anonymous letter asking me to invite this lady to 133 00:12:21,719 –> 00:12:27,739 sing. Over the years, I gathered a large collection—I kept them in a shoebox—a 134 00:12:27,739 –> 00:12:33,539 large collection of these letters, all of them anonymous. Some of them actually 135 00:12:33,539 –> 00:12:39,559 specified which songs I should ask this particular lady to sing, and others even 136 00:12:39,559 –> 00:12:45,299 specified who should accompany her on the organ. The funny thing was that, of 137 00:12:45,299 –> 00:12:49,700 course, every one of these letters came from the woman herself. I knew her 138 00:12:49,700 –> 00:12:53,859 handwriting very well and had been warned about her by the previous pastor 139 00:12:53,859 –> 00:13:00,539 who also had a shoebox full of her letters. Now, at one level this is really 140 00:13:00,659 –> 00:13:07,039 quite comical, but on another level it really is rather sad because what you 141 00:13:07,039 –> 00:13:12,780 have here is a woman, perhaps in this case somewhat eccentric, but nonetheless 142 00:13:12,780 –> 00:13:19,859 a woman who really is looking for a platform for her gifts, and the bottom 143 00:13:19,859 –> 00:13:28,140 line is that is not offering yourself to God. Offering yourself to God means 144 00:13:28,280 –> 00:13:37,859 putting yourself at his disposal. That means leaving him to assign the task, and 145 00:13:37,859 –> 00:13:44,260 I’ve got to tell you that is spiritually liberating, because if my focus is all 146 00:13:44,260 –> 00:13:48,739 about, now what is the opportunity for my gifts, I will end up very, very quickly 147 00:13:48,739 –> 00:13:55,760 in frustration. My responsibility is to offer myself to God and to say, here I am, 148 00:13:55,960 –> 00:14:02,119 I’m available and I want to be useful as you will direct and I’m willing to place 149 00:14:02,119 –> 00:14:08,419 myself at your disposal. There is peace, and there is freedom, and there is joy 150 00:14:08,419 –> 00:14:15,739 that is found in that. It was interesting, you know, talking with this elder last 151 00:14:15,739 –> 00:14:22,780 week. It was a long, long, long, long, long time before his gifts were ever 152 00:14:22,859 –> 00:14:27,859 recognized in the church. In fact, it was only in the last year or so of my own 153 00:14:27,859 –> 00:14:32,239 ministry there, after 16 years, that he had any kind of leadership position at 154 00:14:32,239 –> 00:14:37,640 all. We got on to talking a little bit about that, as well, the importance of 155 00:14:37,640 –> 00:14:44,419 offering yourself to God. When we came to the election of leaders in the church, 156 00:14:44,419 –> 00:14:52,419 this man’s name was invariably on the list. And I tell you, year after year 157 00:14:53,200 –> 00:14:59,479 after year, others were elected. His name was the one that came in just below the 158 00:14:59,479 –> 00:15:04,479 cut, and he was thanked for his willingness to serve. You know that 159 00:15:04,479 –> 00:15:09,119 deal? I said to him when we were driving 160 00:15:09,119 –> 00:15:14,080 down to a hair take-back, I said, you know, I got to tell you something. I often 161 00:15:14,080 –> 00:15:22,179 felt deeply embarrassed that your name was put up so many times for leadership. 162 00:15:22,919 –> 00:15:29,679 And so many times you never got elected, and he admitted to me that it hadn’t 163 00:15:29,679 –> 00:15:36,140 been easy, but then he told me something that was quite fascinating, he said that 164 00:15:36,140 –> 00:15:42,719 it was through the delay that he had found out what God wanted him to do, and 165 00:15:42,719 –> 00:15:46,880 you see the reason that he was visiting here passing through Chicago is that he 166 00:15:46,880 –> 00:15:51,679 now serves as the director of an international mission that is focused on 167 00:15:51,799 –> 00:15:57,080 outreach in the Middle East, an extraordinary responsibility. And he said 168 00:15:57,080 –> 00:16:01,260 this, if I had gone into leadership at the local church level earlier, I would 169 00:16:01,260 –> 00:16:09,619 very probably have missed the calling of God. You see what that is? That’s a man 170 00:16:09,619 –> 00:16:14,799 who’s understood that the most important thing is to offer yourself to God and to 171 00:16:14,799 –> 00:16:19,700 place yourself at His disposal not to be focused on where’s the platform for my 172 00:16:19,799 –> 00:16:24,520 gifts. The Lord has given him that avenue of opportunity. 173 00:16:27,000 –> 00:16:32,900 Offer yourself before you offer your gifts. It’s the only way in which we can 174 00:16:32,900 –> 00:16:37,200 serve the Lord effectively individually and together. Here’s the second thing 175 00:16:37,200 –> 00:16:42,880 this morning, offer yourself in your present circumstances. Now I think the 176 00:16:42,880 –> 00:16:46,760 best way to get at this is to look at some examples from the Bible together. 177 00:16:47,700 –> 00:16:52,359 Take the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. Now what a gifted guy he was. 178 00:16:54,000 –> 00:17:00,679 And God had remarkable purposes for Joseph. And Joseph knew that right from 179 00:17:00,679 –> 00:17:03,359 early in his life because God gave him a vision that 180 00:17:03,359 –> 00:17:08,040 indicated that he would have a special calling and a very special ministry 181 00:17:08,040 –> 00:17:13,900 indeed. But what happens to him? Well he ends up getting beaten up by his 182 00:17:14,020 –> 00:17:18,339 brothers. And being left for dead in a pit, he’s 183 00:17:18,339 –> 00:17:25,140 carted off to Egypt where he gets a job and works hard and pursues integrity. 184 00:17:25,140 –> 00:17:29,619 But in the course of pursuing integrity he ends up with a woman telling lies 185 00:17:29,619 –> 00:17:36,640 about him. And so he finds himself in the end in prison. Now you try and put 186 00:17:36,640 –> 00:17:40,280 yourself in Joseph’s shoes as I’ve tried to put myself in Joseph’s shoes this 187 00:17:40,479 –> 00:17:44,839 week thinking about it. See I am absolutely sure that I would be saying 188 00:17:44,839 –> 00:17:50,640 to God well if you’ve got a great purpose for my life why am I here? And 189 00:17:50,640 –> 00:17:57,739 what kind of ministry can I have while I’m in a prison? Where’s your plan in all 190 00:17:57,739 –> 00:18:08,560 of this? But you see what Joseph did he offered himself to God in the prison 191 00:18:08,819 –> 00:18:15,199 just where he was. He exercised faith in the prison, he pursued integrity in the 192 00:18:15,199 –> 00:18:19,079 prison, he ministered to the men who God placed around him in the prison the 193 00:18:19,079 –> 00:18:27,079 butler and the baker. Nothing much happened but then God stepped in. And 194 00:18:27,079 –> 00:18:36,219 Joseph was used to save his entire family. You see the pattern. Imagine if 195 00:18:36,400 –> 00:18:41,880 And Joseph had been focused on how his gifts are gonna be used in the prison. 196 00:18:43,540 –> 00:18:49,199 You offer yourself to God in your present circumstances. Think about Moses, 197 00:18:49,199 –> 00:18:57,119 here’s another very very gifted and godly man and he has a vision, he has a 198 00:18:57,119 –> 00:19:02,040 burden, he has a passion for the oppressed people of God and he is one of 199 00:19:02,239 –> 00:19:08,640 them himself. What happens to him? Man with a vision gets betrayed by his own 200 00:19:08,640 –> 00:19:12,680 people, finds himself looking after sheep in the backside of the desert. 201 00:19:12,680 –> 00:19:19,579 That’s Exodus 3 and verse 1. Has he put yourself in Moses shoes? 202 00:19:19,579 –> 00:19:25,040 Should I would have been saying to God, you know you gave me a burden for your 203 00:19:25,079 –> 00:19:32,680 people, so why am I here in the back of the desert? What are you doing in this? 204 00:19:32,680 –> 00:19:37,880 What kind of ministry of leadership can a man have when all he’s got around him 205 00:19:37,880 –> 00:19:48,319 is sheep? But Moses offered himself to God in the desert, he honored God as a 206 00:19:48,640 –> 00:19:56,079 shepherd. Nothing much happened for forty years, and then God steps in and Moses, in 207 00:19:56,079 –> 00:20:01,800 the last years of his life, becomes the shepherd of God’s people. 208 00:20:01,800 –> 00:20:08,359 Think about the New Testament, John is called to be an apostle, serving the 209 00:20:08,359 –> 00:20:15,520 churches of Asia. What a task. What a calling. And what happens to him? He ends 210 00:20:15,520 –> 00:20:19,920 up on an island called Patmos. Essentially him imprisoned there. What 211 00:20:19,920 –> 00:20:24,800 kind of ministry can you have to the churches? When you’re stuck on a little 212 00:20:24,800 –> 00:20:35,819 island. Well John offered himself to God. He was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, 213 00:20:35,839 –> 00:20:42,060 and God gave to him a vision of heaven, which became the last book of the Bible, 214 00:20:42,119 –> 00:20:47,420 which has brought strength and hope and comfort and courage to the churches 215 00:20:47,439 –> 00:20:53,000 across the world for the last 2,000 years. Now you see the principle? You 216 00:20:53,000 –> 00:20:58,619 offer yourself to God in your present circumstances, in the prison, in the 217 00:20:58,619 –> 00:21:04,880 desert, on the island, because there’s the great danger. Now I wonder if you find 218 00:21:04,880 –> 00:21:10,400 this in yourself of saying, how useful I could be to God if only my circumstances 219 00:21:11,020 –> 00:21:18,319 were different? If only I didn’t have this illness, if only I had a believing 220 00:21:18,319 –> 00:21:26,560 wife, if only I lived in another place or perhaps even in another time, if only 221 00:21:26,560 –> 00:21:31,000 the circumstances of my life were different, then I could be so useful to 222 00:21:31,000 –> 00:21:38,040 God. And it’s all an illusion because the only life that you have to offer to God 223 00:21:38,199 –> 00:21:42,160 is the life that He has given to you right now so offer yourself to God in 224 00:21:42,160 –> 00:21:49,439 your present circumstances and leave your future usefulness in his hands. God 225 00:21:49,439 –> 00:21:54,119 knows what he will do with you in the future your responsibility is to offer 226 00:21:54,119 –> 00:22:03,000 yourself to him as one who’s wholly available right now. Offer yourself 227 00:22:03,000 –> 00:22:11,739 before you offer your gifts offer yourself in your present circumstances 228 00:22:11,859 –> 00:22:20,219 Thirdly offer yourself in all that you do in all that you do now let’s take a 229 00:22:20,219 –> 00:22:25,500 quick look at the regular routine of a typical day yours may be somewhat 230 00:22:25,500 –> 00:22:30,000 different but it’ll be framed something like this 24 hours in a day and let’s 231 00:22:30,000 –> 00:22:35,079 suppose you spend eight of them sleeping I know many are saying as I’m saying I 232 00:22:35,079 –> 00:22:38,819 wish I did spend eight of them sleeping but let’s just take that for a start and 233 00:22:38,819 –> 00:22:42,020 let’s suppose that you spend eight of them at work and some of you are saying 234 00:22:42,020 –> 00:22:45,380 I wish it was only eight that I spent at work but let’s just take that for a 235 00:22:45,380 –> 00:22:50,939 start as well that’s 6. settings now let’s suppose that you eat three meals a day and that 236 00:22:50,939 –> 00:22:54,459 with one thing another you take an hour with each of them a lunch and breakfast 237 00:22:54,459 –> 00:22:57,699 and so forth that’s another three hours of eating and let’s supposed that you 238 00:22:58,260 –> 00:23:02,119 commute and so that’s two hours of traveling that which gets us I think up 239 00:23:02,119 –> 00:23:06,540 to 21 hours which leaves you with three hopefully if you have a family you’d be 240 00:23:06,540 –> 00:23:10,020 spending a couple of hours with them which leaves just one hour and then 241 00:23:10,020 –> 00:23:19,579 you’re tapped out for the day right now many people have the idea that offering 242 00:23:19,579 –> 00:23:23,880 yourself to God means getting involved in a ministry in the church 243 00:23:24,219 –> 00:23:28,500 which is a wonderful thing to do the work of the church only happens because 244 00:23:28,500 –> 00:23:34,780 people give themselves to ministry but if what you offer to God is limited in 245 00:23:34,780 –> 00:23:37,680 your mind to being involved in some ministry in the church then what you’re 246 00:23:37,680 –> 00:23:45,180 offering to God is only going to be a tiny tiny tiny fraction of your life and 247 00:23:45,180 –> 00:23:50,199 when Paul says offer yourself to God he clearly is not referring to a small 248 00:23:50,560 –> 00:23:54,660 he’s referring to the whole of your life which has to include the Sleeping the 249 00:23:54,660 –> 00:24:01,300 eating the working and the traveling the principle here is clearly stated in 250 00:24:01,300 –> 00:24:09,079 first Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 31 where Paul says whatever you do do 251 00:24:09,079 –> 00:24:15,859 it to the glory of God is a wonderful principle whatever you do do it all to 252 00:24:15,859 –> 00:24:22,739 the glory of God first Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 31 I was reading an 253 00:24:22,739 –> 00:24:27,239 article by John Piper recently just a short article based on this verse 254 00:24:27,239 –> 00:24:31,359 whatever you do do it all to the glory of God so he wrote a little article 255 00:24:31,359 –> 00:24:37,280 called how to drink orange juice to the glory of God I like that as a title 256 00:24:37,280 –> 00:24:42,359 because if we’re taking this seriously that everything you do including your 257 00:24:43,319 –> 00:24:47,040 you have for your breakfast is for the glory of God then you need to know how 258 00:24:47,040 –> 00:24:50,599 to drink orange juice to the glory of God as opposed to drink it in some other 259 00:24:50,599 –> 00:24:55,520 manner and he makes the point they’re pretty obvious points I think but 260 00:24:55,520 –> 00:25:01,060 helpful nonetheless you drink it with a spirit of Thanksgiving recognizing that 261 00:25:01,060 –> 00:25:05,939 all good gifts come from God you you drink it with a commitment to use the 262 00:25:05,939 –> 00:25:11,099 strength that comes from that glass of orange juice over these next hours to 263 00:25:11,099 –> 00:25:15,079 live in a way that is pleasing to God and to seek that no part of your energy 264 00:25:15,079 –> 00:25:19,619 will be dissipated in anything that displeases Him and if you happen to be 265 00:25:19,619 –> 00:25:23,239 drinking that orange juice with someone else the other side of the table or 266 00:25:23,239 –> 00:25:27,319 around the table then let your conversation with them over the orange 267 00:25:27,319 –> 00:25:33,319 juice be an expression of love so that they will be edified and let’s face it 268 00:25:33,319 –> 00:25:36,540 there are very different ways of drinking a glass of orange juice 269 00:25:37,280 –> 00:25:43,180 with a very bad spirit and no gratitude at all and a sense of frustration and an 270 00:25:43,180 –> 00:25:47,780 utter absence of faith as you think about the day that lies ahead drink your 271 00:25:47,780 –> 00:25:54,239 orange juice to the glory of God now suppose you play soccer how do you play 272 00:25:54,239 –> 00:25:59,640 soccer to the glory of God and you play soccer God has placed you because he’s 273 00:25:59,640 –> 00:26:03,099 in control of all things right in the middle of a whole group of people who 274 00:26:03,160 –> 00:26:09,500 are interested in soccer they’re all people who God loves and your calling is 275 00:26:09,500 –> 00:26:15,780 to offer your soccer to God that means commitment in the way that you train 276 00:26:15,780 –> 00:26:21,439 because the Lord is glorified by someone who does things wholeheartedly not 277 00:26:21,439 –> 00:26:29,060 half-heartedly commitment in the way that you play the quality of interactions 278 00:26:29,060 –> 00:26:32,699 with members of your own team especially a member of your own team who’s playing 279 00:26:32,699 –> 00:26:37,119 badly on a particular day how are you going to glorify God in the way that 280 00:26:37,119 –> 00:26:41,880 you relate to that person and the interactions that you have with someone 281 00:26:41,880 –> 00:26:45,800 on the opposite team especially someone who has fouled you how are you going to 282 00:26:45,800 –> 00:26:50,920 follow the example of Jesus in regard to that and even your interactions with a 283 00:26:50,920 –> 00:27:00,640 referee relate that to your work relate that to your time of travel in the car 284 00:27:00,699 –> 00:27:05,900 we’re talking here about a pattern of faithfulness and obedience and a 285 00:27:05,900 –> 00:27:12,459 thankfulness and of praise that runs throughout life and glorifies God in all 286 00:27:12,459 –> 00:27:20,199 things now think about this Jesus spent three years in the public ministry of 287 00:27:20,199 –> 00:27:24,099 preaching and teaching and healing 288 00:27:24,400 –> 00:27:32,260 before that he spent 20 years thereabouts as a carpenter and during 289 00:27:32,260 –> 00:27:40,479 that time we know that he cared for his mother now I want to affirm as clearly 290 00:27:40,479 –> 00:27:48,900 as we possibly can today that Jesus Christ offered himself to God as much in 291 00:27:48,959 –> 00:27:55,359 his carpentry and caring for his mother as he did when he preached the gospel 292 00:27:55,359 –> 00:28:00,680 and performed the miracles do you believe that are you’re not sure or 293 00:28:00,680 –> 00:28:08,579 you’re asleep do you believe that Jesus Christ offered himself as much to God in 294 00:28:08,579 –> 00:28:13,280 his carpentry and in his caring for his mother as he did in his preaching and in 295 00:28:13,280 –> 00:28:17,939 his teaching and even in his dying and in his rising do you believe that see 296 00:28:18,819 –> 00:28:25,119 you gotta believe that because otherwise Jesus didn’t live a perfect life you 297 00:28:25,119 –> 00:28:28,280 don’t believe that what you’re saying is that he lived a perfect life for three 298 00:28:28,280 –> 00:28:32,619 years but not for thirty before that and the scripture makes it absolutely clear 299 00:28:32,619 –> 00:28:37,040 that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in him was no sin what that means is 300 00:28:37,040 –> 00:28:41,339 that he offered the totality of himself to God throughout the entire course of 301 00:28:41,339 –> 00:28:44,839 his life that’s encouraging for all the carpenters and for all the people who 302 00:28:44,959 –> 00:28:49,959 mother and everything else that goes into the ordinary routine of life. You 303 00:28:49,959 –> 00:28:53,199 know we had someone from the church here won’t mention his name but we had 304 00:28:53,199 –> 00:28:57,119 someone from the church do some electrical work in our house recently 305 00:28:57,119 –> 00:29:05,060 and when I got the bill I noticed that at the top it had the contractors name 306 00:29:05,060 –> 00:29:13,739 and at the bottom it said a company desiring to bring honor to Jesus Christ 307 00:29:13,780 –> 00:29:24,859 Christ through service so that’s what Paul is talking about here you can 308 00:29:24,859 –> 00:29:37,520 install lighting to the glory of God you offer yourself in all that you do and in 309 00:29:37,520 –> 00:29:45,359 this way you live for and honor the name of Jesus Christ so we’re trying to get 310 00:29:45,359 –> 00:29:49,380 a handle on what it really means to offer yourself to Jesus Christ you offer 311 00:29:49,380 –> 00:29:54,479 yourself before you offer your gifts that’s crucial you offer yourself in 312 00:29:54,479 –> 00:29:58,500 your present circumstances you don’t spend the rest of your life saying oh if 313 00:29:58,500 –> 00:30:01,979 only it was different how useful I could be you offer yourself in the position 314 00:30:02,400 –> 00:30:09,880 God has placed you right now and you offer yourself in all that you do. 315 00:30:09,900 –> 00:30:15,880 The last thing is simply this that you offer yourself just as you are. 316 00:30:15,880 –> 00:30:19,400 Now, let’s come back to the definition of repentance one more time today repentance 317 00:30:19,400 –> 00:30:24,619 means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know 318 00:30:24,619 –> 00:30:29,699 of yourself and what we’re learning I think in this series is that the 319 00:30:30,099 –> 00:30:34,239 life is really a life in which we continue to learn more about our sin 320 00:30:34,239 –> 00:30:38,339 more about ourselves and more about God that’s what growing as a Christian looks 321 00:30:38,339 –> 00:30:43,719 like. Now that reminds us something that we can easily forget that actually 322 00:30:43,719 –> 00:30:49,660 knowing yourself is a very very difficult business. It was Calvin who said that all 323 00:30:49,660 –> 00:30:56,339 true wisdom is really in two parts. It’s all about knowing God and knowing 324 00:30:57,180 –> 00:31:01,479 said you can never know the one without the other. It’s very fascinating to think 325 00:31:01,479 –> 00:31:06,699 about you see if you want to understand yourself you really have to know God 326 00:31:06,699 –> 00:31:09,660 because you’re made in His image and if you don’t know the one in whose image 327 00:31:09,660 –> 00:31:14,420 you are made how can you possibly know who you are? You want to know yourself 328 00:31:14,420 –> 00:31:19,040 you have to know God. But on the other hand if you want to know God you have to 329 00:31:19,040 –> 00:31:22,939 know yourself because you will never draw near to him in repentance and faith 330 00:31:23,079 –> 00:31:29,239 until you come to humbly see your own need of Him. So these two things always 331 00:31:29,239 –> 00:31:32,739 go together and the way that we have light on both is of course as we saw 332 00:31:32,739 –> 00:31:38,160 last time through the word of God. Knowing yourself is a difficult business 333 00:31:38,160 –> 00:31:46,780 and it is a lifelong journey to discover the strange movings of one’s own heart 334 00:31:47,119 –> 00:31:52,660 keeps taking you by surprise Jeremiah said the heart is deceitful above all 335 00:31:52,660 –> 00:32:01,099 things and who can understand it? Who can understand his own heart? Psalm 19 336 00:32:01,099 –> 00:32:09,280 David cries out, who can discern his errors? Psalm 139 David prays, Lord you 337 00:32:09,280 –> 00:32:14,560 need to search me and know me. And why does he pray like that because he knows 338 00:32:15,479 –> 00:32:19,760 how difficult it is for a man or a woman to know their own heart, you see only God can 339 00:32:19,760 –> 00:32:28,560 fully understand the heart. Know God more and you will come to know yourself more. 340 00:32:28,560 –> 00:32:36,040 One day of course you will know even as now you are known by God and then when 341 00:32:36,040 –> 00:32:40,959 you know yourself fully you will be more grateful for God’s grace than you ever 342 00:32:40,959 –> 00:32:47,500 have been before. But what you can do right now is to offer yourself to God 343 00:32:47,500 –> 00:32:56,699 just as you are and because he is gracious he will receive you. I think it’s 344 00:32:56,699 –> 00:33:01,359 caught well in the hymn that’s familiar to many, hymn Just As I Am that expresses 345 00:33:01,359 –> 00:33:08,439 how we come to the Lord and one of the verses says, just as I am though tossed 346 00:33:08,439 –> 00:33:18,459 about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fighting’s within and fears without, oh 347 00:33:18,459 –> 00:33:23,900 Lamb of God I come. With all the stuff and all the struggle that’s going on 348 00:33:23,900 –> 00:33:29,920 within me I come just as I am to you. It’s the only way you can come to the 349 00:33:29,920 –> 00:33:37,260 Lord. Look to him to work by his grace in your life to move you forward 350 00:33:37,439 –> 00:33:43,780 in a way that otherwise would just not be possible. You offer yourself as you 351 00:33:43,780 –> 00:33:49,599 are. The reason you can do that is that as a Christian believer Paul says 352 00:33:49,599 –> 00:33:53,260 you’ve been brought from death to life. Isn’t that a beautiful statement in 353 00:33:53,260 –> 00:33:58,380 verse 13, offer yourself to God as those who’ve been brought from death to life. 354 00:33:58,380 –> 00:34:03,400 You may have all kinds of struggles and fears but you belong to Christ and his 355 00:34:03,619 –> 00:34:09,239 resurrection life is in you. His Spirit is in you so give yourself to him because 356 00:34:09,239 –> 00:34:18,879 you are his that’s what he’s saying. One man who struggled to know himself 357 00:34:18,879 –> 00:34:27,120 perhaps more than most was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was one of the 358 00:34:27,120 –> 00:34:31,419 German Christian leaders who stood against the Nazi regime. It took great 359 00:34:31,439 –> 00:34:37,459 courage to do what he did. As a result he was imprisoned and eventually was 360 00:34:37,459 –> 00:34:46,100 executed. He became a martyr for his faith and bonhoeffer was an inspiration 361 00:34:46,100 –> 00:34:51,840 to many and still is through his writings today. People admired him for 362 00:4:51,840 –> 00:34:56,540 his courage. people looked to him for the strength of his testimony. This man was a 363 00:34:56,659 –> 00:35:04,639 leader.” But when bonhoeffer looked into his own heart he wasn’t quite so sure 364 00:35:04,639 –> 00:35:10,760 and he wrote a wonderful poem with which I want to conclude this morning and it’s 365 00:35:10,760 –> 00:35:19,179 simply entitled, Who Am I? In it he struggles with how people see him on 366 00:35:19,179 –> 00:35:22,639 the one hand, they think he’s such a marvelous strong person and then when he 367 00:35:22,739 –> 00:35:29,719 looks into his own heart he has all of these struggles. He writes these words, 368 00:35:29,719 –> 00:35:39,459 Who am I? They often tell me that I would step from my cells confinement calmly, 369 00:35:39,459 –> 00:35:48,780 cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country house. Who am I? They often tell 370 00:35:48,780 –> 00:35:54,540 me I would talk to my warders freely and friendly and clearly as though it were 371 00:35:54,540 –> 00:36:01,939 mine to command. Who am I? They also tell me that I would bear the days of 372 00:36:01,939 –> 00:36:10,360 misfortune equitably, smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win. Am I really 373 00:36:10,760 –> 00:36:20,280 all that which other men tell off? Or am I only what I know of myself, restless 374 00:36:20,280 –> 00:36:25,959 and longing and sick like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath as though 375 00:36:25,959 –> 00:36:31,399 hands were compressing my throat, hungry for colors for flowers and for the 376 00:36:31,399 –> 00:36:38,439 voices of birds, thirsty for words of kindness for neighborliness, trembling 377 00:36:38,439 –> 00:36:45,580 with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation, caught up in expectation of 378 00:36:45,580 –> 00:36:52,100 great events, powerlessly grieving for friends at an infinite distance, weary 379 00:36:52,100 –> 00:37:00,260 and empty at praying and thinking, at making, faint and ready to lay farewell 380 00:37:00,479 –> 00:37:11,300 to it all. Who am I? This, or the other? am I one person today and another tomorrow? 381 00:37:11,300 –> 00:37:19,600 Am I both at once a hypocrite before others and before myself a 382 00:37:19,600 –> 00:37:26,739 contemptibly woe-begone weakling? Or is there something within me still like a 383 00:37:27,000 –> 00:37:37,479 beaten army fleeing in disorder from a victory already achieved? Who am I? 384 00:37:37,479 –> 00:37:50,580 they mock me these lonely questions of mine whoever I am thou knowest oh god I 385 00:37:50,919 –> 00:38:00,979 I am thine now you see that’s where he finds his peace in the middle of this 386 00:38:00,979 –> 00:38:09,179 extraordinary struggle whatever you are facing right now here is the one thing 387 00:38:09,179 –> 00:38:23,020 that matters you belong to Christ so offer yourself to God as one who has 388 00:38:23,020 –> 00:38:28,719 been brought from death to life