Wednesday Night Bible Study 24 March 2021
/The Wisdom of God
Part of the “Father’s Plan” for this year is to know THE SECRET OF HOLY LIVING. We found in last week’s lesson that THE WORSHIP OF GOD is our reasonable service, logical, sacred, our bodies are the temple of God. I personally believe that we are being commanded to yield up to God our bodies, along with our sinful natures. In this last section of Romans 12: 1-2, Paul's focus shifts to some very practical matters. Paul will discuss many aspects of everyday living in this world. The idea here is of total surrender to God. A living sacrifice means that we are to be on the altar, wherever we are. The sad truth of the matter is this: we are either pleasing God or hurting Him by the way we use our bodies.
Romans 12:1-2
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Pastor Nick is so radical, no practical is more like it. It’s not just for me or just for Shiloh…..
(Ill. By the way, note the words "brethren" and "ye". This command to sacrifice all on the altar of consecration is not just for a select few super saints. It is a command that is given to every member of the family of God. Not a single saved person has the right to deny God the pleasure of our bodies sacrificed on His altar!)
Planning last week - Revolved Around The Worship Of God
II. V. 2a THE WISDOM OF GOD = memory verse James 1:5 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
(Ill. Paul moves from dealing with the body to dealing with the mind. Here is the root of all our problems anyway. When we can get the mind to think as it should, then the body will obediently follow along.
What’s on your mind right now? Take a minute and think about it…
If you remember the commercial a mind is a terrible thing to lose.
The bible says: Let this mind be in which was also in Christ Jesus. Phil 2:5
Thou will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him Is. 26:3
In this matter of conquering the mind, there are two steps that must be taken.)
A. Shunning The Mold - (social distancing or rejecting) We are commanded "be not conformed to this world." The word "conformed" means "to fashion, or to shape." It literally means "to mold". We are not to allow this world to squeeze us into its mold. We are not to allow the world to make us like it is! You see the world, and those who are controlled by its influence, are vastly different from that which God intends men to be. This is made clear by a list of some of the works of the flesh as listed in Gal. 5:19-21. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
B. 19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; 20 in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; 21 they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.
There are many other concepts that could be added to that list, but those are sufficient to see that the world is diametrically opposed to God. We are to avoid being squeezed into the world's mold! We must be different and remain different!
B. Shaping The Mind - Then we are commanded to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." The word "transformed" gives us our English word "metamorphosis". It describes the transformation a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. Did you know that the caterpillar and the butterfly are the same creature? What happens when the caterpillar enters the cocoon and later emerges is that the part of the insect that resides on the inside is allowed to be manifested on the outside.
That is the change God wants to effect in each of His children! You see, He moved into our hearts when He saved us. Jer. 17. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. He transformed our spirit and changed us into His child. Now, He wants to transform the mind (the soulish part of man) so that the flesh might be changed. What we must remember is that this flesh will do what the mind tells it to do. It is only when the mind is changed and brought under the power of God that the flesh can be brought under control.
How is this accomplished? By surrendering the will to God. By filling the mind with the Word of God. By ordering one's life after the teachings and commands of God. By cutting oneself off from the influences of the world and by allowing the Spirit of God to control the mind.
(Ill. There are basically three types of people in the church. These types are distinguished by the way their minds operate. Let me share these three types with you and let's see which category you fall into.
1. The Sensual - This kind of individual is ruled by the physical world around them. They live by their senses. Everything comes down to how they feel, what they see, how they are affected, what they want, what they hear, etc. They may be saved, but they are living far below their potential!
2. The Soulish - These people are those who are ruled by their intellect, their will and their emotions. These folks are harder to spot than the sensual. In fact, there is a very fine line between the soulish person and the truly spiritual person. To be intellectual, emotional or to possess a strong will is not necessarily to be spiritual! Let me illustrate:
a. The Intellect - A person may know the Bible forward and backwards and be a walking concordance, but that does not mean that they are a spiritual person. Knowing the letter of the Word is far different from living out the spirit of the Word.
b. The Emotions - A man may shout and cry in the services. He may lift his hands to praise the Lord. These things are not wrong, but neither are they always spiritual in nature! Too often they are merely actions of the emotions. The sane person who shouts on Sunday may be in the valley on Wednesday. If he were genuinely spiritual, he could shout in either place!
c. The Will - A person may, when he gets saved, decide to stop smoking. He may be able to throw down the tobacco and walk away from it. That is a good thing, but it is not necessarily a spiritual victory. It may just be the exercise of a very strong will.
3. The Spiritual - This kind of individual is very rare in the church. These are people who are under the control of the Holy Spirit. He controls their thinking, their actions, their speech. He rules their lives. They have given over total control to Him and they have no life but that which He gives them! This is God's will for every believer - Eph. 5:18.) 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
(Ill. How can we know the difference? Well, the sensual person is not hard to spot. They stand out because they are so selfish and carnal in the way they live. However, the line between the soulish and the spiritual person is so fine that there is just one indicator in the universe that can tell the difference. That instrument is the word of God, Heb. 4:12. 2 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is the only thing that can teach us the difference between the soulish and the spiritual. That verse says that it is the "discerner" of our thoughts and our motives. That word comes from the same word that gives us the word "critic." The Word of God is able to teach us the difference between that which is of us and that which is from God. The Word of God is the one thing that can tell us whether we are pleasing the Lord or living for ourselves! Therefore, it is Paul's statement that the mind must be renewed and the only was this is possible is by transforming it through the Word of God! You see, just as the body of the caterpillar hides the butterfly within, or flesh hides the glorious, new man living in every redeemed person this evening. The mind must be brought under the control of the Lord so that the flesh can be subdued and the new man, who is made in the image of God can be set free! Basically, what the Lord is attempting to do in each of our lives is to get us to think like He does, Phil. 2:5.) 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
I. The Revolves Around The Worship Of God
II. The Revolves Around The Wisdom Of God