How You Can Be More Like Jesus: Romans 12:9-11

and the Bible has a very serious character challenge for you today there's a list of Christian character traits actually 27 by my count 27 character traits in Romans 12 verse 9 through the rest of the chapter and I mean it's hard to find another list like this in the New Testament where there's this many one after another very serious very challenging callings upon a Christians life but this is I think what being like Jesus really means it really means these types of things we won't get it get over all of it tonight we're gonna get as far as we can we'll probably do it in two weeks instead of one but what I encourage you is this as we're doing this don't do it just passively like it's educational rather do this like it's training like it's a challenge for you personally and this is how I've been studying it and it has genuinely affected my life and it's been a huge blessing to me I've just been rejoicing over the impact that's been having but really evaluate yourself let your guard down this is not for you to have to feel embarrassed in front of anybody else or anything like that it's just about you saying Jesus I want to always be on the potter's wheel being shaped being changed being molded by the Potter and so let your guard down this is for Christ be open evaluate yourself and see how you can grow through this because some people will hear these things and they think of it as a test as we read through these character qualities I either pass or fail I have that I don't have that I have that I don't have that and so there's a lot of motive to try to convince yourself that you're you're okay in all the areas but instead of seeing it as a test if you see it as a calling then you're not asking yes or no do I have it or not you're asking how well am i doing here can I grow in this area is the calling even higher than what I've achieved and chances are yes I mean you're not perfected or maybe you are in which case can we trade places please and you can teach me your ways I'd really appreciate that all right so let's let's begin here Romans 12 verse 9 it says let love be without hypocrisy and the first one is is just so needful for the church the emphasis here isn't whether you love it's it's here assuming you're going to love as a Christian but it says how to love and it says without hypocrisy I love that without hypocrisy what is that what is hypocrisy here and I know that at least when I grew up in America right my understanding of hypocrisy is you say one thing you do another you know you say one thing you do another someone says hey you shouldn't smoke and they're smoking I think well that's a hypocrite well there's an element of that that's kind of true but really if you get down to the meaning of the word and what Paul was saying and what the Holy Spirit was saying it's not exactly that hypocrisy isn't so much say one thing to another hypocrisy is faking it in fact this is why the word actor is connected to the word hypocrite here in the Greek so that's the actor going through the motions being fake or insincere why why does he need to say this why does does the Holy Spirit need to tell you as a Christian hello I'm a Christian I've been saved I put my faith in Jesus Christ he's changed my life and the Holy Spirit's like okay after all that don't don't be hypocritical don't fake love don't pretend the whole love thing make sure it stays genuine I think because this could be me and this is needful advice I shouldn't think oh not me not me not me I should always think maybe me you know if the scripture is gonna bother telling believers this it's because we generally need to hear it you know it's an important thing for us and you're not alone in this but let's consider it I think Ananias and Sapphira are an example of this kind of hypocrisy they came and they brought gifts to offer to the church and they bring it lay at the Apostles feet supposedly they sold their house and gave this whole sum of money but they were being deceitful they were pretending to be more loving and generous than they really were and so God struck them dead and you might be like wow if God struck dead every hypocrite in the church you know church membership might decrease a little bit and that's true but these were the first hypocrites in the early church and so guys making an example the first time it happens so we never forget this example he does this recurringly through the Old Testament as well you know the first time people make a Arius error after sort of a new thing starts the hammer drops on that person like the guy gathering sticks after the after the law of Moses was given he was killed on the Sabbath or for gathering sticks on the Sabbath they didn't always enforce that law afterwards not that they shouldn't but they didn't and that was like the extreme example we get this with Moses when he brings a Ten Commandments and they've already broken them there was they were slaughtered those who had had worshipped the golden calf and so the extreme consequence of the first lawbreakers so to speak after the new thing starts this is to draw our attention if God dealt with every law breaker this way there wouldn't be very many of us left but but it's to get our attention so the attention is this hypocrisy will kill the church hypocrisy will kill the church and here's the part that's sobering my hypocrisy will kill my church it will kill my own fellowship of believers the falseness or fakeness that some people bring maybe not even fully aware they're doing it because they're just trying to at least look like they're doing the right thing you know trying to put on airs this can be really bad why would I be a hypocrite in love though what would my motivation be for doing this for pretending to love when I'm not really being loving I think one is to fit in to fit in I'm Here I am in a Christian environment where the ideals are Jesus you know and I'm like trying to fit in in this group so I might maybe sometimes pretend oh yeah oh yeah praise the Lord uh-huh like whereas my my responses are more like I'm reacting to the environment I'm in rather than sort of out of a genuineness that's in me but but also another reason why people would be hypocrites is because people are kind of dumb right and we're fooled by fakers all the time we're fooled by fakers all the time I mean that's why we enjoy TV none of these people are really what they're pretending to be but we're pretty much fooled by it so we get a kick out of it right I enjoy it and I don't think it's wrong to watch a show or something like that I think it's kind of funny though when you think about it every once in a while you're watching a show you're like none of these people are doctors none of those sick people are actually sick like none of these surgeries are actually happening sometimes people are talking to imaginary figures that we with CGI you know and and occasionally it pays to look and go it's all pretend and we ought to make sure our church isn't like that and then I'm not like this one I'm a fellowship that if I'm praying for someone I'm really honestly praying if I'm there in worship we're not just raising my hands because this is just sort of an act to fit in but rather if nobody was here Lord I'd be lifting my hands to you there's just a genuineness let your love be genuine let it be without hypocrisy because while people are easily fooled by faking in by hypocrisy they are easily fooled by this just watch some of the popular preachers who the the veneer is very thin and it should seem to be fairly obvious to most people who would look upon them but yet it fools the masses but God is not God is not fooled by the hypocrisy of people he sees right through it when he chose David to be the the new king of Israel Samuel the Prophet had gone to the family of David and he knew that God was going to anoint one of these sons of to be the man and so it says after he sees all these good-looking strapping young lads he's like surely this is the one surely this is the one but God tells him he's looking at the outward thing but God says 1st Samuel 16:7 but the Lord said to Samuel do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him for the Lord does not see as man sees for man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart God is constantly gazing upon our hearts so think about this imagine if all of the hypocrite hypocritical religious acting was completely obvious to everyone if everyone always knew when anybody else was faking and that's what it's like for God all the time so let your love be without hypocrisy because if you're living into the Lord there's no place for hypocrisy now there is a wrong solution I think to to letting your love be without hypocrisy I've seen people fall into this so I just want to mention it real quick and that is accepting a weaksauce version of Christianity where I'm like well at least I'm not a hypocrite but you really like your take is like 20% full and that's how you live your Christian life but at least you're not a hypocrite so you put your compromised on display and that is not the cure the cure is not to display my compromise like that's normal Christianity and make normal Christianity this really sort of compromised worldly version that's not very loving but rather let love be there without hypocrisy that that's the solution is to just be genuine be loving to be rather than to look to appear I think often people prefer looking good to being good because looking goods a lot easier and that can be that can be the solution I remember one lady I talked to she told me that when she really had fun and really enjoyed herself was when she went bowling with her friends and should go bowling with her friends he could relax put her hair down and just kind of enjoy the night and have a good time and she's like but when I'm in church I feel so uncomfortable I just wish I could feel the way I felt when I was bowling with my friend and I and I like this like stuck in my head this this thing it just kind of repeated in my brain for like weeks it's thinking about this and what I remember what I said to her at the time hopefully was something gracious and helpful I hope but what I thought later was maybe you need to stop faking it in church and the thing is you feel so uncomfortable because you come to church and it's all pretend pretend and so of course your rings have anxiety and anxiousness just being in the presence of other people here because you're not being you following Jesus of course the difference of bowling versus churches when you're bowling nobody expects you to follow Jesus so maybe that's why you feel more comfortable but it may be in church it's a little different so there's there's a another wrong solution would be to just avoid the environment that expects me to be like Jesus instead just be real Christians really in fellowship that's the calling be rather than appear I like what one commentary said it says what God seeks in the believer is not so much a single worthy act as it is a continuing quality of life when I was younger I used to think that I don't know where I got this idea but I used to think somewhere in my life there was one epic moment that I was being prepared for and that one epic moment would be the thing that I would do for the Lord what I didn't realize is that every day is a moment you live unto the Lord and this is what God is looking for it's not one epic moment it's a life of living unto Christ so this is 'la love be without hypocrisy I think that the rest of these 27 character traits are keys to Christian character are really about love that isn't fake and so in my opinion romans 12 here it's says let love be without hypocrisy and then it goes on I think giving us a big long list of what that looks like of what that looks like and remember our calling as Christians is to love who first God first others next ourselves last in that order so in later on in verse 9 the second the second character trait is abhor what is evil this is not which you would immediately title love not in modern culture anyways you certainly wouldn't abhor what is evil now there are three popular compromises I want to mention as we talk about this concept of abhorring or hating evil one popular compromise really common nowadays is embracing sin that'd be homosexuality or perverse humor or sex outside of marriage or you name it just go down the list you know some gossip you know whatever the the sin is being lazy that's a sin as well you know just embracing whatever the sin is that's one popular compromise a second popular compromise is acknowledging that something is sin but actually being embarrassed about it and I think that you may have seen this before I certainly have where someone acknowledges like yeah the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin you know you know but but really I feel kind of bad about that so sorry I mean that's what the Bible says you know but but I don't mean you know I understand where you're coming from I'm more reasonable than God I mean that's like pretty much the way it comes across the way some people teach about it and talk about it and I find this to be offensive to God I think I do not need to apologize for God I don't need to feel awkward when I say that there's a biblical truth about morality and I can take a stand on it um that misrepresents God to do that so that's the second compromise one is embracing sin one is acknowledging something is sin but being embarrassed about it and three is turning grace into a license for sin where I use grace as an excuse to continue in sin of course that's a third compromise but what should my attitude be what's the nut the uncompromised attitude towards sin it's right here abhor what is evil this is a great challenge for you as a Christian do you hate what's evil this is way beyond simply saying it's bad God wants me to have a gut reaction of hatefulness towards wickedness that's just way beyond me going yes objectively I see that it is wrong but I have you know but out here I am unobjective I'm a I'm objective and I have no real personal opinion about the matter but rather say no it's wrong like actually wrong like evil like that's bad like you that's the real nature of sin and it goes across every sip to where the word abhor is to hate utterly to despise to shrink away from another translation a Greek lexicon says to have a strong dislike for someone or something implying repulsion and desire for avoidance so that's my attitude towards evil things to have a I hate for it rather than to go like I know it's wrong but but it's still kind of good I kind of like it you know that's that's not the biblical attitude to have so this is a Christian character thing how does this relate to love because this is about loving God and I want to share God's attitude towards sin and to see God's attitude toward sin I don't really need to look a lot further than the cross I'm gonna look upon the cross and I go Jesus did you die for things that were technically bad or things that were really wrong to see the hatefulness of sin I just need to see the blood of Jesus Christ his beatings and his beer being ripped out and being nailed to a cross and him saying if there's any other way let me say something that's that's not popular at all since I'm on a roll today think about this cut this this statement your hell hell is not an overreaction from God consider this concept hell is not an overreaction from God yet many people think it is if hell's not an overreaction then maybe sin is actually way worse than most people admit so maybe it's appropriate to really hate this stuff sin I should hate it why well it sends people to hell it that's one consequence yeah but also it harms each other that's another quantum it also comes against the very nature in character who God is it also rebels against his authority and his specific commands to us in the end when it comes to the issue of Hell judgment sin and on consequences of sin we're always gonna end up I think either demonizing man or demonizing God either I'm gonna look at man and go wow man you are really messed up mankind is really sinful and wicked or I'll look at God and be like you know you're kind of taking things too far there God you should be a little more reasonable and then I think grace is something that's not even really grace it's more just understanding like God just understands that I make mistakes instead of has incredible grace upon such a wicked sinners so abhorring sin the depth of sin the wickedness of sin that's the thing that makes the love of God so amazing because when I realize how wicked I've been I mean how utterly wicked have been I I'm blown away by the amount of love and grace and kindness and mercy that God has given me that I'm called his child that he loves me and cares about me even even though so the question I have for you then maybe this is kind of news to you maybe maybe maybe even this is opening your eyes to say like well I don't treat sin like it's really bad sometimes I just treat it like it's that forbidden good thing that I like you know would be this is do you think that you were saved by a little bit of a grace or a lot of grace and if you were saved by a lot of grace then it must be because sins pretty bad good for us to abhor sin so it applies to my life character trait number two have I stopped of whoring sin have I become too tolerant not just in my preaching but in my living have I become too tolerant of sin and the things I accept into my life love does not mean accepting wickedness into any area of my life that would be fake love hypocritical love love means the opposite Psalm 97 10 it says this beautiful Psalm it says you who love the Lord hate evil so this is nothing new this teaching here abhor what is evil and then then there's number three the third character trait and it's like the flip side the other side of the coin from hating evil it's cling to what is good so to cling to that word is to join oneself to or to become part of something the idea is even it's even used in marriage when two become one they would use that same word so this is cling to what is good I'm - I'm - like attach myself to the things that are good a good cause a good ministry a good attitude a good action I think all of those things apply to cling to what is good and I think it's interesting that we're told to cling to what is good not just to love what is good I hate what is even with a repulsion withdrawing myself but what's good I like I like in desperation grab it and hold on to it and don't let go why because I think what is good slips away so easily from me you know we're fish swimming upstream and what would the tendency be for the fish swimming against the stream would be to start going with the stream it's just gonna like a natural kind of thing and there is unfortunately in our sin nature there's a natural tendency towards sin I have seen many times believers who at a younger age and the Lord had a much stronger commitment to holiness in their lives but as years went by and slowly compromised creeped in those not not my convictions their convictions changed and they started thinking things were more and more okay that previously they did were not okay with and I get a little concerned that that might happen in my own life as well I think it's happened so easy not clinging to what is good because we get tired we get lazy we get soft and we get cravings you just have things you want sinful things I want and I get tired of dying to it so I start I'll just a little bit here a little bit there and before you know it you're having a spoonful of Nutella every day isn't it interesting though we have to cling to what is good like you with desperation but we sometimes do the opposite like you're praying about serving a ministry and you need like ten confirmations from God before you'll commit to ministry but you don't need any to commit to that bowling league any confirmations to commit to like watching six seasons of some TV show yet it'll take the same amount of time out of your life and it's interesting how it is like with ministry it's like I give myself all these roadblocks before committing to serve the Lord but with other things it's like you know it's wide open man it's all green lights cling to what is good Titus 2:14 is a good reminder for us it says who gave himself for us Jesus gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people zealous for good works so I as a Christian one of my character callings is to be active in good deeds good works not for salvation no I mean Jesus purchased it man it's all paid for but I should be zealous to serve the Lord actively in my life busy yourself about good things if if you lack confirmation do it anyway I mean just go for serving the Lord my philosophy is this like here's here's my schedule of time I have in my life is I say yes to everything that's for the Lord until that plate gets full and now I have no more room and now I start going okay now I need to you know specialize need to go what am I really called to do what am I really better at let me let me take some things off and keep other things on expand certain responsibilities based upon your calling and your giftings and all that but I think it's like a no-brainer if I have time I say yes like that's just easy to do before the Lord because I want to cling to what is good now if you do this if you cling to what is good and you abhor what is evil I guarantee you you will be accused of one particular bad word is it okay if I say it out loud here just for the sake of Education legalism you will be accused sorry the l word you will be accused of legalism if you do this if you truly abhor what is evil cling to it as good doesn't mean you're dumping your convictions on others we'll get to that in Romans 14 we will talk all about convictions but you will be accused of this and my thought is just be gracious and don't worry about it and just keep plowing the field that God's given you keep living the life Lord's called you to live but here's some of the things you'll hear said to keep us from a whoring what is evil and clinging to it is good here's a phrase have you heard this before too often Christians are known for what they're against instead of what they're for raise your hand if you've heard that before and I'll be honest I'm not sure what that means when I really think about it that Christians are known for what they're against instead of what they're for I'm not entirely sure what that means but I'm fairly certain it's not biblical so I like to challenge this phrase right now I like to call it out to a duel to the death one of us will die tonight this idea that Christians should only be known for what they're for not what they're against my question is is that what the Apostles did is that what Jesus did is that what the prophets of the Old Testament did and the answer is no no and no not even close this is modern American tolerance entering into the preachers mouth that he can then tell people to what stop up whoring evil because you don't want to be known for what you're against just what you're for yeah but if you're for something you're against something else it's just inevitable I'm for paying the right amount of money when I go to Taco Bell does that mean you're against paying the wrong amount of money oh no I don't want to be known for what I'm against what are you talking about what is this like why are we tap dancing around things like let's just not play these games and I think it's a slippery slope to compromise and it compromises my love for God so that I could placate and peas up he's a wicked world it doesn't extend your outreach it just leavens the church because now the church can't take a stance against evil which we ought to do especially amongst our own numbers we really should I must be both I must do both I must abhor evil and cling to good I must stand against wickedness and for righteousness and there is no just pick one side or the other as a believer out to do both that's what Scripture teaches if nothing else it'll keep me from my own tendency towards sin so the next time you hear somebody say too often Christians are known for what they're against instead of what they're for just ask them to show you that in the Bible and the ironic thing is that's just another way of saying that they're against you being against things which is totally self refuting in and of itself anyway so if you want to take it from the philosophical position you can do that alright so let's look at character trait number four no matter drove in my Spanish ish I try number verse 10 it says be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love with brotherly love I think it's interesting that let love be without hypocrisy and then it's like hey evil cling to good and then it says after that it says now be kindly affectionate to one another because hating evil and cleaning to good is how you love God and being kindly affectionate is how you love people so that's really it's just love being played out in its different spheres so kindly affectionate now immediately many people will have images of marital actions and physical romantic love but that is a modern confusion that we have we make love into a husband-wife issue instead of into a human human issue which is what it really is but that's why it says be kindly affectionate with brotherly love in fact I'll bet you some of you could tell me the Greek for brotherly love without even knowing Greek Philadelphia it's actually Philadelphia the city itself a named after this is a Greek word this is why it's called the city of brotherly love Philadelphia phileo and Adele Foss the the two words for love and brother so in other words don't be the family that doesn't treat each other like family but brothers and sisters in Christ are actual eternal brothers and sisters so I'm to have like a loving family type affection familial affection for one another and this is I think applied in our local fellowship amongst the believers that we know in our circle the ones that you hang out with once you see here Sunday night so the ones you you know you encounter at your work or in your own family who are believers in particular have kind affection for them kind of fection here is just this sense of like a tinder heart like I have a soft heart to you I'm not closed off you're not you're not on this like naughty list in my mind like I have a soft heart towards you as my brother or sister even if you're failing even if you blown it my heart of compassion and love does not fail I think that people who who hopped urges fail to follow this character trait as a Christian I mean how am I being kindly affectionate when I keep rejecting whole groups of believers now it's one thing to say I merely saves I don't know what church to fellowship with I'm trying some places out you know so I'm trying to figure out where to plant my feet but if someone goes to a church for a year leaves goes to a church for a year leaves goes Richards for your leaves and this repeats over and over again I think there's a lack of love that very possibly a lack of love that you have for the body around you in Christ you're there to get fed to get served to get blessed but what about you being kindly affectionate to others people who dis fellowship entirely I mean at least church hoppers are going to church at least you got that going on I'm happy at least you're attending that's good that's a good thing but there are those who just dis fellowship entirely and they cut off the rest of the body of Christ with great bitterness and they have this tiny little circle like us for and no more you know that's like this tiny little group of other believers who sort of fit their really high requirements for how people can act around them and this is just not the kind of life that we're called to live as Christians we're called to be part of a big family but it's ultimately not enough to just show up at church nor nor does it really work to try to have this kind of kindly affectionate love I mean we have a church with you know a few hundred people in it so like how do you how do you have kind of affection and brotherly love with all of these people I can't remember all their names let alone interact with them all on this level so I think perhaps draw the circle a little smaller and just say but which of these believers are you interacting with you know which which ones are in your circle because you'll find like Jesus you know he had like the multitudes then he had the seventy whom he had more one-on-one contact with and he had the twelve whom he who followed him all over the place and he had the three you know who Peter James John or Peter John and huh James John thanks thanks that's me being sick my brains like falling out my ears but Peter James and John and then he had these those three who had a much even more intimate they even went even so you have different circles of sort of closeness in your life that's fine but treat them with that brotherly affection and love obviously you can't have everybody that tight with you that's fine nobody expects that so let's let's look at number five character trait number five it's in honor giving preference to one another this is this is actually really opposite of the world the world seeks to elevate yourself above others that's kind of the agenda of the world get elevated elevate yourself kind of lift yourself up above others but the biblical Christian calling is to seek to elevate others above yourself in honor in honor respect above yourself that's really interesting to me this actually follows Jesus because he made himself low like of no respect that he might raise us up and give us glory I mean talk about the extreme example and so he calls me to do the same thing in fact some translations put it this way outdo one another in showing honor and here we have in the New King James in honor giving preference to one another that's what that means in your prefer is preferred to them instead of to me that's my in honor giving preference to one another other translations like I said say outdo one another in showing honor like the ESV this really rubs us wrong doesn't it I'll show you honor but I don't want to show you more honor than you're showing me because then my head starts doing this my hand starts coming out I start snapping randomly in the air for I don't really know why some people that just that's just happen to them not me of course we have like this 50/50 rule right like I do for you if you do for me like I treat my friends well but my enemies better watch out really well that's completely unbiblical like what if God did that you don't feed a lot of trouble we want to offer people on or but the minute they disrespect us we write them off our list and we don't respect them anymore but the calling of Scripture is to respect them anyway to give them honor anyways to out to actually our goal is I want to show you more honor than you're showing me I'm gonna outdo you and show me honor that's the character calling of a believer and Jesus is my example because he certainly did that for me so that's that's pretty powerful that's pretty powerful it really butts very strongly against that thing I learned when I was a little kid where you know if you hurt me I hurt you if you disrespect me I disrespect you if you do this to me I do this to you this is so different than that so specifically it's this idea of giving honor respect value or status that's what I'm specifically being asked to do and I feel we really need this reminder when I look around and see other believers especially the ones I get to know personally right you might show up at a church and at first you're like me and these people are so godly these people are amazing they're so beautiful there's such beautiful people and they love the Lord all right and then you know one day someone like tells a joke you don't like or they say something that you think is dumb or their act unspiritual in some way and you're like you know and your whole perception of them shifts and changes and we tend to like lift them up here and then put them down here so that what ends up happening is the only people we really respect are the people we don't know very well right the only people I really respect I don't know very well and guess what would happen if I did get to know you well I would no longer respect you this is my fear as people get to know me I'm like oh great I don't think I hid my flaws but you still didn't know about amaz and all you do I think we need to do this is can you still show God loving respect out due respect to the people you are the closest to to the people you know the most not the least easy to do it to strangers because you fill in the gaps with your with your fanciful imaginations about how wonderful they are a but to the people you know the best can you show them respect out do them in respect or do you see them as a problem do you look at them and see a series of criticisms I call out their name Jeff and you're like oh Jeff Oh in all the problems of that guy do you do you just if I go through the list of people you know the best is it just a series of criticisms is that all you have attached to their faces out do them in showing respect is it a list of disqualifiers reasons why you don't need to listen to their opinion reasons why you don't need to respect them or do you see them as believers this is really in particular it's about believers do you see them as a vessel of the Holy Spirit who will spend eternity glorified ruling and reigning with Christ do I see them as the cult of God out do them in respect it breaks my heart to see in married couples how they've stopped respecting each other sometimes to where the only time that the husband can get a laugh out of his joke is when he tells it to a stranger right and his wife rolls her eyes or the or the only time that the wife gets complimented about oh that was in theory as intelligent or how helpful or how wonderful look at a great job you did is when it's like a visitor in the home and not the husband but it breaks my heart even more if I see it happen in my marriage no one should appreciate the people I love more than me no one should see their giftings and the wonderful things that they do more than I do really I want to outdo in showing honor so this is a very deliberate attitude even if we do have valid criticisms which we probably do I should still seek to show honor because Christ showed me such an incredible honor yet it's important in marriage but Jesus he draws that circle a lot bigger so the bigger we can draw that circle the more we're following Jesus in that yeah okay so six seven and eight I want to take all three of these together all right six seven and eight who do we appreciate okay verse 11 it says not lagging in diligence that's number 6 fervent in spirit that's number 7 serving the Lord that's number 8 three pieces of advice specifically for ministry so I have to ask are you in ministry are you in minutes if you're not ministry this really isn't for you but you are in ministry your life is ministry every breath you breathe that everything you do in life is ultimately for Christ in fact scripture says that you were a kingdom of priests you know what the priest was to the Jewish person full-time ministry that's what this guy did that's his calling in life is to serve the Lord you're a kingdom of priests so understand this as Christians we are already in ministry and understanding these issues first requires that you adopt a biblical mindset of seeing all of your life responsibilities as ministry unto the Lord all of your life responsibilities relationships occupation school friendships with it marriage just you you name it anything that's sort of in your stewardship Colossians 3:17 a great memory verse for us it says and whatever you do whatever you do in word or deed whether it's just spoken or something you act you act out do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him everything's ministry everything's ministry so these three pieces of advice are for everything they're for ministry which is everything so the first one is this not lagging in diligence that word lagging lagging now gamers know this people who deal with streams and things like that they understand what lag is when the stream lags it's because it cuts up and then it and the wheel spins you know and that's lagging but it also means lazy or lacking in ambition now we're not to have selfish ambitions the scripture is very much against selfish ambitions but it is not against ambition godly ambitions are considered a very good thing in fact I'm not to lack in ambition for the Lord so not lagging specifically says in diligence the ESV has the words here and it and it can be a bit of a difficult word to translate it has the idea of eagerness or doing your best so not lagging in doing your best in what in all that you do as unto the Lord not lagging in that diligence is not the start of the race right everybody starts their race well most people start the race when the gun goes off and the runner takes off running and usually they end the race fairly well because at the end you get that last final push you've been ready for but diligence what this is talking about diligence is that long boring part after the start and before the finish that's diligence that's diligence Christianity is a marathon it's a marathon and serving the Lord in in your in your relationship with maybe a parents or a spouse or a sibling or friend or ministry or serving and in church or just whatever even even extracurricular just fun activities you do but you do them as unto the Lord all these things that you do there's a diligence that's required and I think the way this plays out in my own experience it seems to be it plays out where I start out by doing it with the zeal of the Lord doing it for the Lord and then sometimes as I get in the routine in the habit of it I start sort of reducing my output energy instead of after years of serving the Lord in this area instead of being even better at it I'm worse at it because I've just gotten bad habits I gotten lazy I've stopped setting the bar really high I've gotten accustomed to lowering my standards we've all eaten at restaurants like this you know I I have a policy win a note when a restaurant opens up this brand new I always want to visit it when it's brand new you know what restaurants are like when they're brand new they give you free food that's what they're like they give you extra portions they make sure that everything's fine the meal comes out three minutes later the owner comes out to ask you how your meal is is everything okay can I hear a free appetizer for you guys tell your friends to come on over for five years later it's not the same anymore right now all of a sudden it's like this doesn't look like the picture it's like things have changed man and if and if that does happen if the quality of the restaurant goes down probably a couple more years ago down the road it's another new restaurant in that building and that's when I come back do you do your ministry your marriage your friendships your your own reading of the word your prayer time do you do these things like with the zeal of the newer believer when it was first starting when it was like I'm doing it all out I'm going for it or you got are you the guy that's like halfway through the marathon you can't see the end you can't see the beginning anymore and you're just tired so here's a test I put myself through recently and in a very real way and it was like if somebody else comes into your your life and replaces you would they do it better than you not skill wise I'm not talking about skill what they do it better than you in zeal in commitment and in perseverance where they have more diligence than you would they shame you what if somehow somebody else teleported right into my marriage into my shoes and I just was pulled out would he hit the ground running and he would love the Lord and he put on her God and the way he does these things and he'd be diligent he try to be a spiritual leader and a servant to his wife and all those things would he would he'd go for it and what I look and be like wow I wasn't doing any of that stuff what was I but was I doing so this to me is a real eye-opener this idea not lagging in diligence is a big eye-opener with someone else shame me or am i serving my best am i doing just good enough or am I really going for it for the Lord a good reminder for us a good reminder take a fresh look at yourself take a fresh look at your life and say Lord am i lagging in diligence the next one is fervent fervent in spirit some see that lagging in diligence is one side of the coin fervent and this in spirit is the other so you're not lagging in diligence but you are fervent in spirit in which case they're kind of like the same thing but personally in my experience usually when these lists come up in Scripture there's not a lot of repetition it's usually a different point being made even if it's similar so what is fervent in spirit well that phrase is use one other time in the Bible and as an axe 18:25 and it's with Apollo's Apollo's was preaching and it says that he was fervent in spirit and he resisted the unbelievers of the time of his area and he preached that Jesus was the Messiah and so he's like he's like fervent in spirit he's zealous he's excited about the Lord yet he's connected through with the Holy Spirit like his spiritual zeal is intact not just excitement diligence seems to be about actions to me fervent in spirit seems to be about a spiritual overflow in my life and it's it almost seems a bit strange to be asked be more fervent in your spirit because you're like well how do I do that and I'm not I'll be honest I'm not entirely sure how to how to train anyone to do this or myself for that matter I just know that there has something to do with the mindset of walking in the spirit versus the flesh now weird fervent it actually comes from or demeaning boiling like not in a in a negative sense but boiling like like this this this excitement and explosive kind of thing going on and the question is is this spirit mine or is it the Holy Spirit it seems like the at least of the translations I consulted they thought it was probably your spirit either way though you're like my spirit is gonna be receiving its empowerment from the Holy Spirit so either way this connects to my spiritual walk my spiritual walk so what is this like well my opinion is this that what what Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus may relate to this idea of being fervent in spirit so let me read to you the letter in Revelation that he wrote to the church in Ephesus and see if you think it connects to the idea of being fervent in spirit is as to the angel of the church in Ephesus write these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands I know your works your labor your patience and that you cannot bear those who are evil and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars and you've persevered and have patience and have labored for my name's sake and have not become weary nevertheless I have this against you that you've left your first love remember therefore from where you have fallen repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent but this you have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches to him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God perhaps this fervent in spirit is that thing which the new believer understands very well right i man I'm just in love with the Lord and my spirit is thriving in him I'm abiding in Jesus and very much fruit and then we're being called to do the same thing I think and I could be wrong here this is my understanding of the text and maybe I'm wrong but I'll give you my best my best shot at it my best shot at it is this I think new believers see it and old believers see it and the middle-aged believers sometimes don't and what I mean by middle-age I mean that that's me right I'm not a new believer anymore I'm not that like ancient in the faith guy either and I feel like like they've got the corner on the market when it comes to fervent in spirit you know I see it all the time and those who can follow Jesus for so long if their spirit up boiling is going on and the new believer I see it too but sometimes for those of us in the middle we just get so many things going on and distractions so remember that it really comes down to your relationship with Jesus Christ and staying alive and just this this this revival of your spirit be in that place be in that place and then finally the third one and we'll be last when we cover tonight serving the Lord serving the Lord so not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit serving the Lord I see there's three pieces of advice the final one makes me the servant it makes me the servant there's a beautiful Christian song and it's very Christian right like if it wasn't in the environment of Christianity it'd be like who would sing this song and it says make me a servant humble and meek Lord let me lift up those who are weak and may the prayer of my heart always be make me a servant make me a circle make me a servant was today today that's a good prayer and it's very Christian I mean could you see how the world might walk into a room of Christian singing make me serve it you know like what you serve it like what's wrong with you guys but we see service to the Lord as such an honorable and beautiful thing like I get to serve the Lord and that's the reminder I am a servant I'm a servant it's easier to remember this when you're doing what the world considers as menial tasks but for some of us when we step into ministry and leadership roles we sometimes forget we're servants and so it's good to remember you're here to serve you're here to serve but I'm not just serving I'm serving who the Lord I am serving the Lord this means that all the stuff I'm talking about not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit it's all connected to my relationship with God it's relational it's not just performance its relationship tonight I'm teaching a Bible study to to you guys but I'm teaching it unto the Lord this is part of my walk with God like as I get to step into ministry and serve I'm serving the Lord like what an honor what a privilege I get to do this I do it all unto Him now if I see this if I see that my my diligence in my fervency a my abhorring of evil am i clinging to it as good am i being kind to others and out doing them an honor if I see all these things as service unto the Lord now it's all worship it's all an act of worship unto Him even the hatred of evil is an act of worship unto God it's relational now well we're gonna we're gonna continue going through these there's several more ice I counted might like I said by my count there was 27 we'll go through the rest of them next week we'll finish them off 9 through 27 but what I want to challenge you guys to do is this take all of those character traits at least the ones we did tonight and before you go to bed tonight like just open the Word of God open Romans 12 again and read on through those verses and just kind of refresh your heart in it and just be like Lord just help me to see the things that you're showing me here to be able to grow and be on that potter's wheel getting shaped getting changed because I found as I was preparing this that it was definitely affecting my life and it was changing things because I'm I mean I haven't reached sinless perfection yet I'm I'm just I'm this close of this close but I'm really finding that it's refreshing and changing and there's something so beautiful about that you know it's the last time you changed as a believer was like you know a year ago then something's wrong you know something's wrong because I should always be always beating shapes and always be getting changed renewed in my mind let's pray father God we thank you for your Holy Word we thank you that it targets us it targets us but it's like the most gentle surgery and its benefits are so incredible Lord so we pray for this we ask God by your spirit open our eyes to see the things in your word that are applying and should apply into us into our lives our attitudes our spirit all of these things God we we want to be growing in Christ's likeness really we want to put on true Christian character and even if we're a minority in the church let us not do so with arrogance or pride but let us do so to be an example that we might serve others by just being an example we pray Lord for the sanctification of ourselves and of the body of Jesus Christ we pray Lord that you would you would do a work in us and you have our full permission full permission to lead and guide and transform and change us Lord not that you need that Lord but we definitely want to give it and we ask for your will to be done we ask for that you'd make us servants make us humble and meek to lift up others to encourage others to not see the world through the eyes of the world but to see all things through the eyes of the Lord we pray in Jesus name Amen [Music] [Applause] we will [Music] Oh God [Music]

Channel: Mike Winger

Views: 25,279

Rating: 4.9269881 out of 5

Keywords: What does it mean to be just like Jesus, what are true Christians like, character traits of real Christians, what Christian character looks like, keys to Christian character, how Christians should act according to the bible, Romans 12:9, will you be more like Jesus, challenging Bible study, more like Jesus, how to be more like Jesus, how you can be more like Jesus, how can I be like Jesus, jesus, Bible study, verse by verse, Romans, good Bible teaching, good Bible studies

Id: BeSbG0Hst4w

Length: 50min 39sec (3039 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 08 2018