Living a blameless life in an ungodly world requires a transformed mind and a willingness to be a living sacrifice to God. The sermon emphasizes that salvation does not eliminate the old nature but calls believers to depend on Christ and the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength to overcome sinful desires. By presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, we allow God to mold us, enabling us to shine as lights in the world and reflect Christ's character through our actions and thoughts. Ultimately, this transformation allows us to live unto the Lord, demonstrating the reality of Christianity to the world.
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those things of Christ. Let's take another look at our theme verse today, Philippians chapter two. Listen to how the Lord brings this out to us as we point out a few points and hopefully a challenge for all of us that we might leave here not only feeling comfortable and good, but disturbed also. For I believe that if we don't, as leaders and speakers, if we don't challenge you, And you came here and had a good meal and good fellowship. But I want to upset you. I really believe that when Paul preached, he didn't have folks running out of there saying, Man, that was a good message. Look at verse fifteen, if you would, our lesson today.
Philippians two, fifteen. Listen to what it says here. That you may be blameless and harmless. The sons of God. without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world. I wonder why he would bring this out to us. I wonder why would he tell us that we are to live a blameless life. Why did he just say that you might live in this world?
because he know that we still have this thing called flesh. We still have this old nature that's still there. And because of that old nature that is still there, don't let anybody fool you into thinking that, well, I'm saved, I'm sealed, I'm sanctified, I'm all right now, I'm on my way to heaven, and that's all I've got to do to just live. It doesn't work that way, does it? We still have problems with telling the truth. We still have problems We still have problems studying. We still have problems dealing with husband. We still have problems dealing with sons and daughters. We still have problems with this old nature that we have within us. And the only way that we can actually overcome these problems is by growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, by depending on him for our everything.
Paul says to us here that we might live a blameless life. But let's see how we can go about living a godly life in an ungodly world. Let's go to Romans twelve, if you would. Since you brought your Bibles, I think it would be a good idea if we used them today. I was given a few weeks ago a brand new Bible. And if you're like me, they are the hardest things to break in. So I have one that's in the hotel room that is peeled off and torn, and it's got ink stains, tear stains in it.
It's got marks all over it, and it's got notes and comments. And do you know it's hard to transfer those things into a new Bible? Now, if you don't use your Bible, you don't know what I'm talking about. Romans chapter twelve. Verse one puts it this way. I beseech you, therefore, brethren. And as I said last night, this does not just mean brethren, but it includes a sister in two. I beseech you, therefore, brethren and sister in there, by the mercies of God. that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And verse two says this, And be not conformed to this world, but be therefore transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, living in an ungodly world. Living in an ungodly world. I guess one of our messages that we would like to leave with you today is that it is possible. It's difficult, but it's possible. when we got saved, that is, when the Lord quickened our hearts and when He caused us to be pricked by the Holy Spirit, when He disturbed us to a point that we recognized that we were sinners.
We were men and women in the world without hope and without a God. When He showed us how much He loved us by pointing us to Calvary, when He showed us that, and then the Holy Spirit turned our hearts to cause us to cry, Abba, Father, and ask God. By faith, to trust in Him for what Christ had done by shedding His blood on that cross. When that time came, the moment that I was put into the body of Christ, the journey of living the life of Christ became real. I've heard folks tell me that, well, I'm going to get saved, but I've got to stop drinking first. I'm going to get saved, but I'm going to stop cussing and I'm going to start going to church.
I'm going to get saved, but I got to stop all these things first. Well, that is not what God required of a lost individual. Faith in Christ is all he asked for. You see, once I get saved, then he can deal with those things. But while I'm lost out there in the world, in God in the world, that's my nature. That's what I want to do. Remember before we got saved, that's our desire to do that what was pleasing to me in my way. Chaitin was my father, and he taught me everything that I know, and that's all I knew to do, whatever I wanted to do. But when I got saved, when Christ became the Lord of my life, Paul says here now that I am saved, as he said in Colossians, I now start looking in a different manner.
I'm beginning to look to Christ now. So he says here, since you are saved, Since he's called you, since you're here, we must learn now to depend on him, because the old nature is still there. It didn't move. Now, if you think that old nature is gone, let me walk out there and take my little pocket knife and scratch your brand new car. If you think that old nature is gone, let somebody call you up on the telephone and tell you that you just want a million dollars, but you've got to give three thousand dollars first in order to get that million. And watch the attitude that we take as soon as we hear those kind of words.
The old nature hasn't gone anywhere. What it did was it just kind of, I like to put it this way, when you got, when we say when we see Christ as our Lord, Satan just kind of backed up a little bit. That's all. See, he was the Father of ourselves, but he already, when the Holy Spirit came within us and sealed us, Satan just backed up a little while. And that's all. The old nature just kind of settled down a little while and allowed us to feel the enthusiasm of the Holy Spirit and the enthusiasm of God and the Word of God dwelling in us. And that lasted for what? Two days, an hour, a month. Remember how when we were so hot for the Lord, we wanted to turn the world upside down.
We want everybody to know that I'm saved now. And remember all the things that we wanted to do for God, well, let them last very long, did it? For after a while, Satan came along and he said, you say, you say. Why is it so hard to get up and go to Sunday school this morning? Why is it so? You know you want to stay here a little longer. When you got on your job and somebody walked up to you and laughed and talked with you and they were cussing and you remember that, well, I don't want to do that anymore, but there's something inside that let me say those words again. And so I let it blurt out. I know it's embarrassing and I'm ashamed about it, but they came out anyhow.
still have those selfish desires to please myself. Now, but I hadn't moved. I'm still, I'm saved, but the all nature is there. So Paul says here, brethren and sisters, and since you are saved now, since you are in Christ now, I ask you, I beg you, I beseech you, but if you want to live a godly life in this world, you've got to change. There has to be a change. A change, not necessarily physically, because As a sinner, it never happens. The old hymn, they used to say, my hands looked new, my feet did. That's all of it. It just looked different, but I'm the same old person. Same hair, same eyes, same leg, same feet.
The only thing that taken place was a change of mind, added addition of the Holy Spirit to my body that he now wants to control. Paul says here, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God... I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice. Now, of course, we know that in the Old Testament when Abraham and Moses and several of the other prophets and priests, when they would offer a sacrifice, they would find an animal. Usually these animals was already set aside. They had been checked out by the priest and his carry workers, and they had made sure that they were blameless.
They were spotless. They had no flaw in them. The fur was pretty. The dove was as clean as it could possibly be. The lamb was all right. Everything about that was fine. Because they had set it aside. And then the day of sacrifice, when that time was come for it to be offered, they brought it to the altar. And that armor was just as docile. It would not rear up. It wouldn't fight. It would argue. It just stood there. And as the priest would bring it, and as he would kill it, cut it through and lay it on the altar and cause the blood to go slipping down the sides or be poured all over the place. It was there. God says to you and I, we ought to be the same kind of animal. We ought to allow the priest that is Jesus, the Christ, to take us, kill us, put us on the altar and yield to him that he can turn us on the altar, mold us to the altar, flip us on the altar, whatever way he wants to.
That's all he wants us to do. But he don't want to put us on the altar of stone and wood. The altar that we are to be placed on us is in the world. You see, no man today has ever seen Jesus Christ physically. Even we who were saved, we haven't been, we didn't do as a writer said, touch them and hail them and behold them. We haven't done that, but it's by faith we remember what he had done through the word and by faith we live for him now. But on the other hand, the world took care of that. They have never seen him. So nothing that's about this. Jesus works for them because they can't see him. But they see us. They see us.
They see you. When you go into the grocery store, they see you. They see me. When we reach up on the counter and we purchase items, they hear us when we, oh, these prices, I can't stand these. I don't know all these prices. What's wrong with these? They hear us. They hear us. They watch us when we go into the store and the suits are there and we pick the grapes up and we say, oh, I want to, is this good? And don't pay for it. They see us. They see us. And then even on our jobs, when we walk into our offices and they have pencils and papers and we're writing with them, and we know that's the companies, but we don't leave it there. We take, oh, I'm going to take this. We're put in our pockets and we leave home. We leave taking these things.
The world see us. They listen at us how we get enthused over the hockey teams and the baseball. They listen to us. They are looking for a difference in our godly world. As a living sacrifice, it simply means this, I am in the hands of the Holy Spirit as He moves me, as He feels right. My job is to say, here I am, Lord, use me. Well, now, I can't do that willingly because the old nature said, man, you can't stop. You ever notice some of us still smoking and yet we're saved?
We still go down the street and when nobody's looking and buy Budweiser and all this stuff, we're still saved. We still get angry real quick, and yet we're saved. We still have no attitude toward love toward some of our family members, and yet we're still saved. We still drive past down this freeway. The light is there. We're still saved. We still go on to places that we have no business going, but we're still saying that's because the old nature is there and I'm not allowing the Holy Spirit to take and rule now and get our claim to be Christ. Well, how do I do that? Look at verse two. Paul says here, be not conformed.
Here's a word that tells me, don't change. Just be yourself. See, conformity simply means you're equal with everybody else. Same. We'll go in the store and we complain and argue and fight. We get arrested. We go to jail. We're the same. We're the same. Where's the check, honey? We've got to buy groceries in the world. What are you talking about? I'm a man. I'm the man. I made the money. It's my money. I do what I want to do with it. And we give them little attitudes about things in our lives. Our children, they may be saved, but if you look at us carefully, we are almost just like the world, except we have a savior in our life.
Conformity simply means don't change. Just be like yourself. Just be yourself. But you see, in being yourself is not what Christ wants us to be. He wants us to be different. Hold your hand there. We're going to come back there, Lord willing. They told me, I mean, that's at twelve fifteen or one fifteen? Oh, oh, two thirty. Oh, there's a whole lot of stuff between there, huh? All right. Let's go to John, if you would. Look at John chapter fifteen. Look at John chapter fifteen. You see, if I'm going to change at all, the change cannot be made by me, because I don't want to change.
Right? None of us want to change. Right, Brother? When she said, well, I want the sofa moved over here. Why you want to move that over there? Why don't you just leave it like it is? You don't believe that? Young folks, ask the elders, can we do this? Can we, we want to do something? Well, now we've been doing this for the past thirty-five years and we don't expect, and the Lord has blessed us all these, so we don't look for no changes now. We don't want to change, right? Let her get her hair done, brothers. She gets a change in different. She thinks this for her, I think it would make me look better, and I want to do my hair, and she goes out and do it.
And she comes back in and she says, well, what do you think? Why do you change? None of us like change. Even in the offices, if there's a new manager or a new department head, a new leader, a new principal, or whoever comes in new, all of a sudden, what happens? Why we got to have somebody new? No one likes to change. Therefore, we resent change. But when you get saved, God takes that decision away from us. We don't have a choice. He changes us. And the change is made by the Holy Spirit. And the way he does that is he tell us that everything you have and everything you intend to be has to come from Christ in order that you might live a godly life in an ungodly world.
Look how he puts it here in verse one. In verse one. John fifteen one. I am the true vine. My father is the vine dresser or the husband. Every branch in me bears not fruit. He takes it away. And every branch that it may bring forth more fruit. Now. The purpose of Christ in our lives is that He might cause us to become the true light in all this world. He could have used cows, chickens, birds. But you see, they are not in the image of God. He expects us to present Christ before the world. So young folks, when you go to school, when you're in the classroom, when you're on the job, or when you're in the street, when they see you, it's really not you that they are supposed to be able to see.
It's Christ. When we're talking with the world, when we're dealing with the world, the difference is that they are not listening to me, they are listening to Christ. So in a sense, what I need to know then was, how can I present Christ? First of all, I have to depend on Him to be in me. to have my mind, my heart changed enough that I might present Christ to them. Paul says, so when they see me, it's not I, but it is what? Christ in me. You see. Verse, verse, verse four says this, abide in me and I in you.
Now, now, if you didn't know anything about horticulture and agriculture, you noticed that you've got to have You know, the vine itself is that thicker part of the branch. Off the vine come these little things called branches and so forth. The sap that's in the vine itself is providing all the nutrients, the vitamins, if you would, the water, the sap, everything it needs to have to come from that into the branch. In order for the branch to produce any fruit, it has to have some source of power, some source of whatever it needs, and it comes through. Jesus gives the example of you and I. We are down in here. This is where we are. This is where Christ is.
Christ said, I'm going to supply you with everything you need that you might produce fruit that folks can come along and pick part of that off. So in order to get an apple or a cherry or a pear or a banana or whatever it is, the source is way over here. And if you notice when we go to the trees to pick these products off of, we could care less about the trunk. We could care less about the branch. We could care less about the vine. Our concern is what it's produced. And that's what Christ is trying. The ultimate goal is that we might show forth God's handiwork. But when folks see the apple, they'll know that it comes from an apple tree.
When they see Christ like Christians, they'll know that we come from God. We're different. We're different. We still have hands, eyes, legs, toes, feet, ears, mouth, nose, and so forth. But we're different. It's because how we use what God has given us. We take this body now. We present this body now to God that He might use it to His ultimate goal. And that is that the world might see that there is a reality in this thing we call Christianity. Present it. Give it to Him. Let me say something else. He says it. Look at verse five. Verse five.
I am the vine. And you're the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bring forth much fruit. For what? Without me, you can do nothing. Now, I understand that statement there. He gives example. If that branch is sitting out there trying to produce fruit without the vine, without the branches out, you can forget that. It won't work. You and I cannot, we cannot live a Christian life without the Holy Spirit, without Christ. So don't let anybody hear, well, I just can't make it. You just don't want to surrender. You see, I don't like my new boss, and I'm not going to obey him.
I'm going to be arrogant, I'm going to be disobedient. Well, you won't be there long. And see, God is the same way with you and I. When we fail to obey Him, when we fail to live a life for Him, we're going contrary to what the Lord wants. And we become sons, we become disobedient sons. And God's got a way of chastising those of us who are His sons and daughters. He wants us to shine for Him. Let's go back to Romans twelve, if you will. Be conformed. Depend on God. Depend totally on Him. Now, once I depend totally on Christ as my everything, and once I become an understanding that I'm just nothing more than just a branch out here, and that I really need Christ to live for Him, to produce the fruit, once I have a clear understanding of that, then what are, how do I go about that?
First of all, by having something happen to me that I have no control over, and that is have my mind completely renewed. My whole thinking, my mannerism, my way of life, And to do that, I have to hear. I have to listen. I have to be around the Holy Spirit's direction as he guides me. That's what Jesus told us. When the comforter comes, he shall not only guide us, but he shall teach us. And the way we are guided and are taught is that when we come together to sit at the feet of those whom God has caused to be our teachers.
Basically, he's the Holy Spirit. How do we, how do we, how do we, how do we quit cursing? How do we quit cursing? I think I'll stop cursing today. That's it. Boom. It's done with. You ever tried that? Amen. Amen. Amen. You know, you've got, you've got a problem with, with, with smoking, uh, with lying, with, with deceptiveness, with stealing. How about adultery? See, these are the big things. Those are the big things that we deal with. See, oh, I would never commit adultery. I love my wife. I love my husband. I would never, not me, no way in the world would I ever commit that.
Some of us wouldn't steal if they put it in front of us and told us that nobody sees. We wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Some of us in our own lives, there are some things that we have committed that we would never, ever do because it's a shame, it's a mockery to Christ. The big things. But did you know there are some little things? And if you look carefully at the letter that Paul wrote to Colossians, those little things are things that are not predominantly seen. Those are things that are predominantly controlled or governed by the mind. Let's take a look at that, if you will.
I really appreciate Brother Clark sharing with that, because, you know, a good sermon is one that you want to preach, because he didn't preach it right. That's a good sermon. Oh, see, they don't understand that, Brother Clark. Look at Colossians three, if you would. Isn't it strange how the Holy Spirit had cared us there? I'm looking at my notes, and I'm saying, where's he going with my notes? What did he do with me? Look at Colossians three. I want you to look at, I want you to look at verses five and a few of the following verses. Listen to what the Lord said. Now, if you be risen with Christ, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Now, when I'm renewing my mind, see, before that, my mind was governed by Satan. He was my father, as Jesus put it. He told us what to do, where to do it, when to do it, how to do it. If it feels good, go ahead and do it. Sounds good, we'll head and say it. If it looks like, go over there. And we did. And you know what I'm saying? We didn't feel bad about it at all, didn't we? None of us felt bad about doing something. Except when someone came to us and said, now that's wrong. Then we begin to think a little bit about it. When somebody told us that, that's not right, we begin to think a little bit about it. But we had no mind to say, I'm going to change. We kept on doing what we've done. Now that I'm saved, I have the Holy Spirit within me now. And now he's my guide.
He's my teacher. Satan is there. And every time the Holy Spirit tried to tell me something, Satan said, oh, you know, you don't have to do that. Don't worry about that. Go on. I've got to learn to allow him to take charge. Verse four. Verse five says this. Mortify. No, we're talking about the body now. Mortify. We're talking about the mind. Mortify. Kill it. Make it stable where it doesn't move. Cause it not to have life. Cause it to dry up and wither. Mortify simply means that I've got to learn that there are some things that I will allow the Holy Spirit to take control, and He can move those things, stop those things, give me the strength and the courage that I can overcome those things, modify them.
Well, how do I go about that? Listen to how he, listen to what he says to us here. Therefore, your members which are upon the earth. Now, look at these things that he talks about here. I want to go through all of them, but I want to just point out a couple of them. This is when it says, Fornication, uncleanness, in order and affection, evil, concupiscence, covetedness, which is idolatry. For which things take the wrath of God, come upon the sons of the disobeyed? But look at verse seven. See, verse five are things that we, oh, I wouldn't. Look at, this is when it says verse five. Fornication, oh, not me. I would never. Never. That's why it's so shocking when we hear of these kind of affairs going on in the church.
We, this, whoo! Not in the assembly. Oh. Uncleanness. No, no, no, no, no, no. You wouldn't, we don't do those kind of things in our assembly. That's, you see, so that's too bold. Look, look at the next one. You know, what an affection? Oh, we don't have those kind of people leading or in our assembly. We root that out. We preach against that. No, no, no, no. See, we nail that evil desire or concupiscence. Evil thinking and mindful mind. We let it be known that that's a bad idea. We don't want that in here. See, these are the big things. But now go down to verse seven. Verse seven, he talks about some things that people don't necessarily see physically.
Here he talks about the things of the mind. Verse seven says it, in which you once You also once walked when you lived in them. That's how we used to do. These are the things that we used to do. See, the transformed mind simply means this. I'm not doing this anymore. I won't allow myself to do that anymore. And if I'm having a problem with those things, I've got to learn how to control those things. Verse eight says this. What are they, Paul? What are they? He says this. But now you have put off these anger. It's not that you can't get angry. Don't let anybody fool you. And I don't get angry. You see, that is actually an emotion that God has given us.
And it's good for us. Did you hear that? It's good to get angry. See, some of us get so worked up that we hold it within. We get things that go contrary to our will, our desires, and our hopes. We hold it within. And we... Oh, I'm not mad. I'm not angry. I'm not upset. And it's just burning up on the inside, and it's just getting bigger and bigger. And after a while, when someone comes on at the right time and at the right moment, and it just busts that little bubble, then we, oh, we let it all hang loose. We fly all off the handle. There's nothing wrong with getting angry. It's how we control the anger. You see, when our children do something that is contrary to our teaching and really does something really outrageously wrong, it vexes our spirit.
It makes us angry. That anger shares with us how we are to control the matter. And that's what God says to us. Be angry, but don't sin with the anger. Don't do something that will bring shame on Christ in the midst of the anger. When you're driving down the road and somebody comes on there and cuts you off, so you don't have to go out there and cuss them out. You don't have to fly up alongside them. Don't shy away. You don't have to do all of that. Control the anger. You see, the anger starts with them. They don't see you getting angry. Isn't that right? They walk up to you and say good morning. And somebody bumped into your car, stepped on that low toe, or said something that was harsh to your child, or did something that was wrong.
And on the inside, they don't see you angry. And they walk up to good morning. And you say, good morning to you too. How you doing? You feeling all right? See, inside them angry. They don't even notice it. They're going on about their business, living their life, and doing what they want to do. And you'll fall up there in the house. That anger is there. That brings shame on Christ. For Satan's seasons in us. Jesus. Look at it. That's your... You die for him. You see... Christ is at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. Satan is running back and forth, always trying to bring shame on him by looking at us. There he goes. Look at that. She man.
Look at that. And then trying to put on a good front and front of them folks. Look at that. She's saying it. She don't really believe it. She's mad at us. Look at that. See, he sees all of those. Nobody else sees that. We have to learn to control this thing by putting it into the hands of the Holy Spirit. Anger? Look what else he says here. Look at what it says. Wrath? Yeah, right. I hope they get theirs. My grandmother used to say, she's ninety-eight now, she says, every dog's got his days. And then she'd come back, she said, but the good dog's got two days. Malice? I'm going to get back at him.
You ever notice that a lot among Christian folks? Well, I'm praying that the Lord will convert them and will change their mind. What we're saying, I hope God get him and get him good. You see, nobody sees the attitude of our mind, but God does. In this ungodly world, we see how they vent that vexation of spirit, that wrath, that anger, that malice. We see that in killings and murders and robberies and all kinds of crimes that are going on. And in the midst of all that, we are saying the same thing. We do those same things. Maybe not as blatant as they do, but we're in this world. The evidence of our salvation or the difference that we have is that we are learning to allow Him to control us.
Sure, I'm going to get angry. But Holy Spirit, tell me how to vent the anger. One of the ways that the Lord has shared with me how to vent the anger, he says, Now look at the mirror. And when you go to the mirror, look up. Look at the mirror and look up. Look at the mirror and look up. You know why? Because when I look at the mirror, I see me. I see what other folks see. When I look up, I see what Christ sees. Christ, do you see me? You see me? Yeah, I see you. Oh, God. You see? He sees every move we make.
He knows everything we're doing. So he tells us that these are some of the things by a transformed mind. I would not allow these things to emit themselves in order for the world to say, there's no such thing as Christ. Isn't that what they tell us? When you go witnessing to somebody, well, I know a Christian, and I know this church, and I know that pastor, and I know that elder, and I know that, they'll always throw that up in our face. And you know what? They are right. The reason a lot of folks will come to the church is because we're in the doorway blocking them. They are saying, well, what's different with you? You still go see these old nasty movies like we do.
When I come over to your house, your mom and dad, they're looking at some of these old nasty programs on TV. The games that you play, they're the same things that we do. You're still associating yourselves in clubs and organizations that you don't have to, that is worldly and ungodly, but you're still there. So what's the difference? What's the difference? They pull up alongside you and they rear their engine up in their car and you're saying, yeah, right, come on, let's get it on. And you fly down on the road and they fly right there with you. And at the same time you're saying, well, I'm not going to let him get in front of me. I'll just fly on. And it looks like speed. Let me go on by and go on by. You don't care. We have no conscience that God is saying your light is not shining light.
And then when they pull up alongside you and look over there and there's a Bible on the dashboard of your car, what do you think they're seeing? Yeah, I saw that, and he was a Christian. Blaspheming, filthy communication out of our mouths, lying to one another. These are the things that God wants to control in our lives that we might learn to say, Here, Lord, take it. I really want to serve you. I want to be that animal, that sacrifice that you offered. presents your body, a living sacrifice.
Let's go back to Romans twelve again. In order to do that, in order to do that, I actually have to depend on God himself through the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it's the Holy Spirit that takes control. He is in charge. I remember when Abraham taken his son Isaac to the mountain to offer him up as God said. Isaac, you know, you're talking about somebody walking by faith. We talk about Abraham's faith. Isaac had to have some. Isaac had saw his dad offer sacrifices many days.
He saw what happened. He saw when they would build that wood and stack it up there and it was. pick the animal and he would cut it and lay it on the altar and burn it up and saw that smoke on it. Isaac saw that happen many times. Now here's his father said, son, we're going up to the mountain and we're going to offer up a sacrifice. And as they were walking, Isaac began to notice, thinking about the altar, you know. You remember all that wood that his dad loaded up on the animal and carried it up to the altar? Thought about that fire that he had perhaps in his hand or some more. And his son began to look around and say, now I know he ain't going to use no mule. no camels. It began to look like, and nothing was there that was a sacrificial lamb or an animal that he could use.
So Isaac said, Father, I see the wood. I see the fire. But where's the sacrifice? Where's the animal? Now Abraham had explained this to the Lord before I died. We went to the mountain anyhow. And when he got there, the son didn't even argue with him. Perhaps the Father did him as he did other animals, tied his ankles and his arms and picked him up and laid him up on the altar. Isaac did not fight. He did not argue. He did not kick. He didn't do anything. He just was the animal that was laying there. That is the kind of animal that God wants you and I to be with our body, a submissive type animal, that God might use us and mold us and shape us, that he might be presenting us as a living sacrifice.
That means I'm not going to lay on the altar. but I'm a walk in this world different from everybody else. I don't smoke. That's a little different. Sleeping with every Mary, Jane, and Dom, and whatever the name. I don't do that. What? It's different. The Holy Spirit is guiding us and teaching us and telling us you don't do those things. That's what the world does. But I have the desire. I want to. That's true, the desire is there. But every time that desire comes, you know what we should do is ask the Lord to help us. Jesus? See, ask Him, call Him.
The psalmist says, In times of trouble, call me, and I will answer you. You see, what are you wrestling with? What are you doing? Some of you, some of us, are gossipers on the phone. We cannot help, but to talk about somebody else. It's good. And do you know something? Don't they feel good when they call you and say, Dad, do you know something? Oh, is that right? Well, will Lottie be? I'm going to tell you, you know, I heard about the same thing. See, and the spread that, it feels good to hear that. And I'm grateful to you to tell me that because, you know, I want to tell you about her brother. You see, her brother, I heard he said, and it feels good.
You know how to handle that? Real simple. When they call you up and they start at, first thing you do before you pick up the phone, Lord, hold my tongue. Lord, let me speak that which is pleasing to you. Now, I'm depending on him. I'm the living sacrifice. Lord, move me. Move my words, my mouth, my tongue, my mind, my... See, I'm being transferred. So I said, no, Lord, he'll use me. So in order for him to use me, I asked him, Lord, here I am. You take me now. And you know what they do then? When they call you, and surely they will. When they call you and say, did you hear? And if it is not anything good, you know how to hear another? They said, listen, you know, that's so sad to hear.
Let's pray about that, Arnold. Yeah, I know we have to pray. The Lord told us all. No, let's pray about it right now. Yeah, but, you know, we're going to be praying for them. But our Father, would you bless this? And carry them off to the throne. And soon as they get through with the prayer, it's nice talking to you by and hang up. Soon or later the message will come, don't bring any garbage this way. I've been changed. I've been transformed. See, every time he pulls up, one of the desires that I have when I was younger, I love to drive fast. Oh, that was my thing. A car was not made to drive thirty miles an hour. It was made to slow down to thirty.
When we got married, my wife and I, I had a nice sports car. It was beautiful. I drove that thing, convertible, and oh, I just enjoyed that. When I got saved and we got married and I saw how my lifestyle was, I sold that car. I bought a Plymouth station wagon. Six-cylinder. I don't care how hard I put my foot to the accelerator, it said, not now. You want me to do what? And after a while I got used to going thirty miles an hour, forty miles an hour, and then it became really easy for me. I depended on what it could do. That's the way you and I need to do with the Lord.
We need to learn that every time they call, Lord, what do you want me to say? And let him tell you, you'll find conversations get short and right to the point. I've been transformed. by renewing of your mind that I might be what's good to God. Let me carry two other verses and then we're going to take our break. Acts chapter fourteen. Acts fourteen. Now don't let anybody think that, you know, because You know, we're saved now.
We don't never do nothing wrong. You can forget that. I'm saved now, and I just won't do it anymore. I'm not going to... I will never say anything that would bring shame on my Lord Jesus. Well, you just lied. That was your first one. Look at, I'm sorry, Acts. I'm at Romans, Romans fourteen. Romans fourteen. Look down at verse, look at verse number seven.
Now, even though the Lord talks about several things here, where he talks about how some people would do certain things and some others would do, and we need to respect one another. But he also points this out in verse seven. for none of us live to himself. Now we have to keep that in mind. We're not here for ourselves. Every move you make, everything you do, it's because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that in him we move, we live, we have our being, we exist because of him. And because of him, everything that I do, it reflects on Christ. You're sitting here, it's a reflection on Christ. When you get in your car, folks see what Christ is like. They expect the church to be different.
They expect the church to live a different life than the world. And they'll even tell us, oh, the Christians, they don't, Christian. And when they find one of us fall, they will even be amazed. I didn't know you do that. I didn't know Christians. I didn't know. They already have within their minds and from what they've heard before, Christians ought to live a different kind of life, a godly life in an ungodly world. Verse eight says this. So whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are what? We belong to the Lord. Now let me carry to one verse and then we can go out. Well, it's a cluster of verses.
Then we can have a little meal here. Look at Philippians four. Philippians four. Now how do I get all this stuff wrapped up together? How do I package all this? Philippians four. Philippians four. How do I do all this? How do I get my mind straight now? How do I change for the Lord? Look down at verse number eight, Philippians four. He says, it's finally, brethren, oh, and sister and two. Finally, brethren, listen to this, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, Whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
In other words, put these in your mind. Somebody bring you something. Is it true? I'll deal with it. If it's a lie, I don't want to have any part of it. If it's honesty, if it's clearly defined, I'll enjoy working with it. But if it's dishonesty, I back up from it. Whatever things that are impure, the things of the world that are ungod, I just don't have any part in it. If I'm going to have a renewed mind, I've got to constantly be on the way, on a fight. Paul says, don't you know that there's a war that's going on in our minds constantly? All the time, Satan wants to get you and I to see that it's okay. Everybody else is doing it. But that's not right. Everybody is not doing it. There's somebody that's still holding up the bloodstained banner.
There's somebody who's still saying that Jesus is the Lord. So he says in verse number nine, Those things which you have heard both learned and received and have heard of me, seen and me do. And the God of peace shall be with you. He will be our guide, our direction, our focal point, our everything. Whatever we do, it's in the name of the Lord because in him we move, we live, We have our being and the world will say, God is real because we see Christ in you. Let's pray. Our Father, since we have been risen, since we know you as our God and as our Lord, since we have received you as the head of our life, Since we know that you want us to set our affection on things above, and since we know that you get glory when we live godly in this world, we ask for help.
Lord, we want you to help us in our mannerisms when it comes to serving you. That we might mortify those things that cause us to live an ungodly life in this world. Whatever that's there, Lord, I'm asking you now that you would show us and convict us and then strengthen us, teach us, guide us, and help us to become obedient that we can become the sons of God. Blameless in this world. Again, thank you for your word today. Bless us in my son, Jesus' name I ask. Amen.