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What if living your faith authentically could radically transform your life and those around you? That’s the bold question we tackle in this episode of the Jamie Luce Podcast. We explore the profound principle that faith without works is dead, urging listeners to align their actions with their beliefs. By examining Romans 11:22, we reflect on God’s kindness and severity and the importance of discerning His will in today’s culturally confused landscape. We also present five proofs from Romans 12 that encourage a deeper commitment to living out Christian faith in tangible, meaningful ways.
Imagine a world where society doesn’t distort moral values or suppress religious expression. We address this head-on by comparing the absurdity of unqualified individuals dictating specialized tasks to non-Christians attempting to define Christian practices. Highlighting the erosion of the principle of separation of church and state, we discuss the resulting rebranding of sinful behavior and the importance of maintaining the integrity of Christian beliefs amidst external pressures. This episode is a call to arms for maintaining God’s righteousness over societal redefinitions.
Struggling with identity, mental health, or addictions? We’ve got you covered. We emphasize the transformative power of renewing the mind through the Word of God, exploring how true transformation aligns us more closely with Christ. From grappling with same-sex attraction to battling depression and suicidal thoughts, we delve into grounding our thoughts in scripture to live out God’s will. By testing and living biblical principles, we can lead lives that are good, acceptable, and perfect in His eyes, proving that faith without action is meaningless. Join us for an episode that not only challenges but inspires a holy, committed Christian life.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:00) – Living Out the Will of God (18 Minutes)
This chapter emphasizes the necessity of living out one’s faith through actions, aligning with the biblical principle that faith without works is dead. I highlight the importance of truly hearing and understanding God’s word, praying for spiritual insight and comprehension. We explore the duality of God’s nature, focusing on His kindness and severity as described in Romans 11:22, and the need for discernment in a confused cultural landscape. I address the importance of knowing Scripture to understand Christ and God’s will, presenting five proofs from Romans 12 that demonstrate living in alignment with God’s will. Through this, I aim to bring clarity and encourage a deeper commitment to living out Christian faith authentically.
(0:17:33) – The Challenge of Biblical Interpretation (11 Minutes)
This chapter explores the troubling trend of society labeling good as evil and evil as good, particularly through the lens of non-Christians attempting to dictate how Christians should interpret and live by their faith. I draw a parallel between this and the absurdity of an untrained person instructing a brain surgeon on their work. The discussion emphasizes the fundamental misunderstanding and misapplication of the principle of separation of church and state, noting that it was meant to protect religious freedom from government interference, not to allow the government to control religious practices. We also examine how the erosion of these principles has led to the distortion of moral values, the suppression of religious expression, and the rebranding of sinful behavior with softer terminology. Ultimately, we reflect on the importance of adhering to God’s righteousness over societal redefinitions and maintaining the integrity of Christian beliefs amidst external pressures.
(0:28:17) – Living Sacrifice and Holy Living (16 Minutes)
This chapter addresses the nature of sin and the importance of adhering to God’s laws rather than personal feelings or societal norms. I explain how Christianity is fundamentally about following Christ’s way and not our own preferences. We explore Romans 10:12-17, emphasizing the necessity of preaching the Word to ensure people hear and believe in Christ. I then discuss the call for Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices, dedicating themselves to serving the body of Christ through actions that demonstrate their faith and commitment. We reflect on how to balance secular work and activities with the devotion required to support the church and its members.
(0:44:28) – Transformed by Renewing the Mind (14 Minutes)
This chapter addresses the profound struggle many face with identity, mental health, and various addictions, emphasizing the importance of transformation through the renewal of the mind. We explore how changing one’s physical gender does not alter one’s DNA, and how true transformation is about becoming more like Christ. For those grappling with same-sex attraction, depression, suicidal thoughts, fear, or cravings, the key lies in renewing the mind through the Word of God. I highlight the dangers of making decisions based on fluctuating feelings and stress the necessity of grounding one’s thoughts in scripture. By testing and living out biblical principles, one can discern the will of God and live a life that is good, acceptable, and perfect in His eyes. Faith without action is meaningless, and true belief is demonstrated through consistent, holy living.
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Full Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.
0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
You can’t in theory do. You can’t be a Christian in theory. You can’t say I believe that and then not do it and expect to see the results because you believed. Faith without works is dead. I can say that I believe all day long, but the proof that I believe is that I actually do what I say I believe.
Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. I am really happy to be with you. I hope you’re having a blessed morning, a blessed start to your week, or whenever you’re listening to this. I hope you feel the presence of the Lord, come into that space with you, that your ears are tuned to hear his voice, that your mind is ready to receive and that you are confident that God has something to say to your heart, to your spirit, to give you life, to bring strength into you, into your spirit, to give you a renewed faith.
Why waste time listening to podcasts about the Spirit of God and what the Word has to say about God, and studying Scripture and the Bible? What is the purpose, if not to receive something from him? So I hope that you come to this looking to hear and you know, even myself today, when I was in my own prayer time. I was just asking the Lord. Father, I need you to any place that I’m deaf. I need you to give me ears to hear, any place that I am blind. I need you to give me eyes to see. I always pray. Give me a mind that understands and a heart that comprehends the truth and the severity of your word.
You know there’s a scripture in I’m not going to use this today, let me see if I can find it for you real quickly and it so gripped my heart. Let me see if I can find it. But it puts both the love of God and the severity of God in the same scripture and that we need to know the severity of God. Well, I don’t want to waste time this morning. If I come across it, I will give you the reference. It’s in Romans, I can tell you that. But that we can understand that there is a. Oh, I found it. Yay. Okay, it’s the kindness of God and the severity of God. In Romans 11,. Okay, it’s the kindness of God and the severity of God. In Romans 11, chapter. I’m sorry, chapter 11, verse 22,. It says this those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you. So I’m not going to give you the whole context for that scripture.
We’re going to touch on Romans 10 and get to Romans 12 today, but in this passage it is explained that you have the remnant of Israel who chose to follow Christ, who recognized their Messiah had come versus those who refused to believe and they refused to see what seemed evident in front of them. And Paul goes on and on. In multiple places in the Gospels and in his letters it’s made evident by the disciples, by Paul, that they had an opportunity in front of them and if they simply would have looked to see, actually made an attempt to truly discern, then they would have seen and known what they needed to see and know. And because of it they then have to deal with the severity of God versus the kindness of God, because they’re fighting against God of God versus the kindness of God, because they’re fighting against God. And that has to do with the will of God for us to know what it is that we should be standing for, fighting for, living for, giving our lives for, and what we should be standing against and what we shouldn’t allow in.
And our culture right now is so confused. The Christian world itself looks confused to the world. It doesn’t look like the church has it any more together to the world than they do. You’ve got churches out there who have completely embraced everything that the world says is okay, says is love, says is righteous, and they have completely wrapped themselves in those clothes of the world. And then you have those who are extremely on the other side, who say not only is that wrong, but you’re all condemned to hell and there’s no place for you. There’s no place for you. And then you have those who are trying to live and discern God. What is your will in all of this? This is confusing to us, that the waters have become so muddied that we cannot discern what is righteous, what is good, what is right, and I really hope today, by the word, to bring some clarity to this. I am blessed that our pastor right now of the church that we attend is speaking boldly about the things that are confronting us as Christians and what the word says about those things, and it just is going right along with what I’ve been talking about anyway.
So he said something that just really touched my heart this past Sunday and as I was reading, what struck me was and I’ll give this to you ahead of time in Romans 12,. What struck me is he says I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as and? Don’t we need to know that? Don’t we need to know that right now? And so what I’m gonna give to you today is basically five proofs that show the will of God, five proofs that I can know that I’m living in the will of God, five proofs that scripture gives to us that tell us what is good, what is right.
How do we know? How do we know the difference? And if you’re not someone who’s in your word, you’re not going to know. You’re not going to know the only way to know what a Christian is, who Christ is, what is it that I’m following? What am I living and calling my life after if I don’t know what the scripture says? I can’t know Christ if I don’t know what he did and what he said and what he expects. And I can’t say that I belong to God if I don’t care about what concerns his heart. So today, I pray that you will open up your heart and your mind today, and that you will ask the Lord to speak to your ears, to your eyes, that we can have in a society that is confused and desperately needs Jesus Christ, that we can be those who know the answers, that have the answers, whose lives show that we not only say what the answer is, but that we live the answer with our life. So before I begin, I just want to pray over us and then we’ll dive right in.
Heavenly Father, we just thank you for your word. We thank you that we don’t have to be confused, we don’t have to wonder what you think about things. We don’t have to say God, what is the right way that we can come to you and we can ask and you hear and answer our prayer, and that you gave us your word so we would know what it was that you think. We know what you say is good. We know what you say is blessed and what is cursed. We know what blesses your heart and the things that you say are an abomination to you. We can know the will of God and live according to that. And by faith, we can know we have been received into your family. That, by faith, we can know we can pray as touching anything and we can receive what we have prayed for. Father, that we can know that you are with us and that we are not alone, that our assurance of eternity with you is secure, because we have chosen to follow your will and to do what you have said. We want to be those who obey your commands, who love your law, who love your word, not because we’re saved by the law, but because we know that you want our lives to be full of blessing. So we thank you and give honor to you because you have paid the price for us. You sent your son, who gave himself as our sacrifice, who paid a debt we could never pay, and gave us salvation we could never earn and never would deserve. Thank you, lord, for your word. Bless your word today as it goes forth, and give us ears to hear that we might be able to be made alive in our spirits today, that our strength in faith is made new and that we have all that we need today, trusting that you are the one who hears and answers prayer, and it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Okay, turn in your Bibles to chapter 10 in the book of Romans. I’m not going to read the whole chapter. I’m going to give you several verses and then we’re going to go through and jump over to Romans 12, where I will give you the five things that will prove that we can find and know the will of God for our lives, things that will help us in our everyday walk with the Lord. If you’ve got something to write with, it would be good to write these down, just so you can remind yourself. I can easily go to the Word and say what did he say? What do I need to do?
You know, my husband and I we were dealing with a major problem and he was having to a major problem and he was having to navigate very difficult waters in running business. We have two businesses and him running those businesses and we’ve owned them now for a very long time and run them, and he’s had to navigate very severe recessions and dealing with changing, not just changing economies but the change in the way the world runs. Our businesses had to shift in the way that we operated and make huge changes in order to stay current with the way that the world does business now and, for us, the way that the world does healthcare now, and in order to know that there came a point where the weight of carrying the businesses and trying to navigate and know what to do, to make wise decisions and to hold on to what God gave him. He knew that the Lord had spoken to him very clearly and told him this is an inheritance that I’ve given. You Don’t sell your inheritance, don’t lose this inheritance. And he didn’t know the way to go. He didn’t know what steps to take.
And as we were talking about it and asking the Lord for direction, what came into my spirit and what I shared with him then is how we navigated that change. But I simply said to him you know how to do this. You know how to get a hold of God, you know how to pray, you know what it is to get in God’s presence and to come before his throne and to ask him and to get answers from him and do this. And if you know how to do that, then you’ll know what to do. And he said you’re right. And he just went back into his prayer closet and began to shake off the fear and shake off the unknowns and say but God, you know, and I’m coming to you, the one who has me, the one in whom I’m secure my future is secure the one who has my tomorrows and has already planned a good plan for my life. He knows.
And, folks, it doesn’t matter what you’re facing today, it doesn’t matter how crazy the world has gone, it doesn’t matter what they don’t understand and how confused they are. What matters is that we know how to get answers for our life. Whether they’re living them or not, whether your neighbor is living it or not, whether our government is living it or not, whether our government is living it or not, folks, you can live in the victory that God has for your life if you will go and walk according to what he has, the instructions he’s given you, the patterns he’s spoken to you, the way he has told you to live your life. If you will live according to his plan, if you will walk out his directions, you will end up at the destination you were destined to get to, and you will do that in victory. But we have to do it God’s way. We can’t do it the way the world does it. We have to do it.
So let’s look at what this says. Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them and them he means his Jewish brothers is that they may be saved, for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, them witness that they have a zeal for God and when I read that scripture by itself, when you understand that, you can see real Christians, those who really love God. They have a zeal for God. They quickly or easily share that they love Jesus. They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, for being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own. Are you getting this? So they have a zeal for God, but it is not according to knowledge. Knowledge of what? Knowledge of what God said? Okay, knowledge, they had knowledge of law and they would tighten the vice scripts of the law, but they weren’t following the pattern that God had told them that Messiah was coming. They weren’t following the words of the prophets who had been declaring he was coming and that a change was coming and it wasn’t going to look the way it looked before.
Not according to knowledge, for being ignorant of the righteousness of God, because they thought the righteousness came by the law. They thought that their right standing was because of the law and yet they missed it even in that, because the law said something has to die, that this is so sinful, something has to die, and that this righteousness isn’t even permanent. Every time you sin, more atonement has to constantly be made. They didn’t understand that Jesus, their Messiah, was coming once and for all to do away with the old system, that the only way to lay hold of it was to believe he was who he said he was, by faith that there is a righteousness that comes by faith and faith alone, not by the works that have been done. I can’t be saved by works, for being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own here is a huge danger in what we see happening in churches, at the church at large, not maybe the individual church that you attend. I don’t know your place of worship and I don’t know what your church is saying and doing, and I praise God for the ones who are standing for the righteousness of the word and the righteousness that God has given to us through his word. But there are so many who are looking to make their own righteousness.
Our world right now calls good evil and evil good. They call themselves Christians. There is a television show called the View and these women constantly say that, what they think, and they criticize Christians, saying well, a Christian should say this or that, or believe this or that, or do this or that, and you have people who are not Christians, who don’t know what the word says, who don’t live by its instructions, by its commands, don’t know what it means, don’t know what it says, don’t know what the word says, who don’t live by its instructions, by its commands, don’t know what it means, don’t know what it says, don’t care what it says. And you have those people telling the Christians what they should and shouldn’t do, as if they are an authority of Christianity. It blows my mind how people with no expertise in the word want to tell people who actually try to live by the word what the word says and how we’re supposed to interpret it. It blows my mind, it’s the most confusing.
I don’t even understand. You wouldn’t go up to a surgeon who is a brain surgeon, who specializes in surgery on the brain, the soft matter in our brain, to be able to remove tumors, to help people who have had traumas, to people who have had strokes, the brain surgeons. I would not go to a brain surgeon having no knowledge of anything to do with brain surgery, let alone just the complexity of the brain, notwithstanding how to do surgery on the brain. I could never go up to a surgeon and tell him how he should conduct his surgeries. I have no right. I have no bearing, no footing to stand on. I have no right. I have no bearing, no footing to stand on and we allow.
This is the ludicrousness of letting the world tell the church what the church should think and how the church should act. It’s why we got so upset that the government tried to tell the church, because of COVID, if they should or should not meet. It’s not your place. You don’t understand why we gather and what God says and what’s available to us and what we should and shouldn’t do. You have no place as a government.
When the government of the United States, where I live, was created, we did so in such a way that we said you do not get to dictate. You government, do not get to say anything about how I serve my God. You don’t get to tell me what religion I will adhere to or how I should do. That. That’s not your place, no matter what’s happening in the world. And this is why there was an actual call and determination in the government that you would have separation of church and state. It was so that the government could not interfere in the religious acts and dictates that we would adhere to. It was not so that the government could tell us how to vote. It was not to tell us that we shouldn’t pray in school. It was to say you have no right to tell us what we can and can’t do. They’ve got it backwards.
The government of the people, by the people, for the people, means that the people get to determine, not the government. The government doesn’t get to say the people do. And now there might be disagreement amongst people, but we have freedom to do. We don’t get to tell what the other one gets to do. So with that you get the good and the bad. You get those who serve God and those who serve different gods, those who serve Buddha, allah, hindu gods, which there’s over 2 million Hindu gods. You could be serving all kinds of gods. You could be serving the stars, you could be serving animals, whatever you could be serving Satan. The government is not the one who gets to determine and we see a problem with that it leads to.
In scripture at least, when Paul is speaking about his Jewish brothers, he’s talking about basically becoming a religion that is void of the heart of God, and Jesus fought this all the time. They were void of the heart of God. They wanted to have the rules to live by, but they didn’t want to have his heart, and they couldn’t understand and make room for changes because it would displace their power and their position, which meant they didn’t want the heart of God. They wanted power and position. They wanted an elevated place in society. In essence, they wanted to be worshiped as well. So in doing that, you’re violating the law as it is. Have no other gods before me. You shall have no other gods before me, and so this is a correction that Paul is trying to bring, and I’m hoping that I can bring a little bit of clarity to the mess the church is in right now.
He says verse three, for being ignorant of the righteousness of God, what God calls right, how to live in right standing with God, and they seek to establish their own. They did not submit to God’s righteousness. They did not submit to God’s righteousness. Folks, we don’t get to determine what’s right. God determines what’s right. Just like I said, look at the world. They say what is evil is good and what is good evil. They’re trying to remove the word pedophile and use a term that sounds nice. I am simply attracted to minor persons. I am minor attracted. They try to soften all the hard, obvious edges of what is evil and call it good. And then they’ll want to take what is good marriage between one man and one woman and call that bad.
People are being fired from their jobs right now because they’re trying to say you are saying you have the right to celebrate pride, right when pride was what caused Satan to fall, the most heinous of sin, right, which causes all the other sins. And you have people saying okay, well, I’m going to celebrate that I am not gay and that I am straight heterosexual, and by saying those words, they’re fired from their jobs, that they are not allowed to have the same freedom. It is now evil for you to have freedom. They’re trying to make freedoms evil and take your freedoms away and call them unkind and evil Folks. They were dealing with this in biblical times. We’re dealing with it now.
I know that this scripture is directed Paul’s directing this in regard to his Jewish brothers, but we can take this very principle of scripture and see how it is still applying today and into our lives. How else am I going to make this relevant in my life if I don’t look and see the very same thing happening and how was it dealt with? How do I determine the will of God? How do I know to do what God says? I go according to what God says. He doesn’t change. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he meant it then he means it now. He is the same, so he deals with it the same way.
Therefore, I should deal with it the same way, for Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believes. What he’s saying is you don’t get your righteousness by following the rules. You don’t get your righteousness by doing things, by following the laws. You don’t get your righteousness by you know, praying this many times a day and going and making that sacrifice and making sure you do this and do that and check all your boxes. It is by faith that you have been saved. By faith, god had mercy. He had mercy on us and by his grace we can be set free from the guilt of not being able to live up to the law.
It is by faith that I lay hold of the one who said I will pay your price and if you believe that I have paid your price, you can walk out of that jail cell free. You can walk out free and you don’t have to live that way anymore. You don’t have to be bound to those things anymore. You can be free. You can be free, you can be free. Okay, so we can see what this. I’m looking at my timer. We can see what this scripture is saying. We can see the condition that our world is in and that churches are finding themselves in, because the minute you decide to do things the way the world does them, you’re no longer adhering to scripture.
Then you don’t get the luxury of claiming salvation according to scripture. You can’t have it both ways, folks. You can’t say I’m a Christian and I believe the part of scripture that says I’ve been saved, that God had mercy on me and he loves me, and then I turn around and throw out the part that says that I have to live according to his commandments, that that’s how they will know that I belong to him, that I follow his commandments and I love my brother, that I love them according to scripture, because Paul’s letters continually were written to make corrections on how to deal with people who were not living right in the church. We have to deal with the reality of calling ourself a Christian and then living according to the way that God says live. I live according to those constructs. If I don’t want that part of scripture, I don’t get to keep the part I want. I have created, then, a new religion. I’ve said this a million times. I’ve made my own Jesus, my own Christ. That’s a separate, different kind of religion. You can make your own cult, you can sure go do that, you’re free to do that, but you’re not a Christian. A Christian lives according to the word of God. A Christian lives and his yeses and nos are based off of God’s yeses and noes.
Sin is not determined by what I think or what I feel. Sin is determined by what God says sin is. I don’t get to determine that. I don’t get to make the rules. I don’t get to say and people can get offended all they want and not like when I say that this is right and this is wrong. I’m not the one who determined it, I’m simply repeating. It’s like saying the law is to go 65 miles per hour on the freeway and if I go 75 miles an hour on the freeway and get a ticket for that, I don’t get to say, well, I wanted to drive 65. I don’t like that law, I’m not going to follow that law. Well, that’s fine, you don’t have to follow that law, but you’re going to pay the penalty. Now you have a ticket. Now you have to pay the price for breaking the law. I don’t get to determine if it’s the law. I simply have to abide by the law that was determined by the one who determined it. So I have to.
My Christianity must be according to Christ. That’s why it’s Christianity, christ his way. That’s why the church in Paul was called. They called it the church. They were the ones of the way. They were the people of the way, the way Christ said to do it the way God intended it to be. We follow his way. It’s his way, not my way. We don’t. You don’t get to be a Christian and then your theme song be. You know, I did it my way. It doesn’t work that way. We don’t walk around with the slogan of Burger King have it your way. That’s not Christianity.
Christianity says I know your God. I know your God that you created it all. I recognize that I have failed and I have not lived to your standards and I have sinned and I have fallen short of your glory and I need a savior to be saved and therefore, if I receive your salvation, I now live according to that salvation. That’s the way we do it. Okay, I want you to jump over. Well, before I do that, I want you to read with me.
Let’s look at verse 12, same chapter, verse 12. Yeah, verse 12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, will they call on him if they have not believed? So first they had to believe. And how are they to believe in him of whom they’ve never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Folks, this is us standing up for righteousness right now, in the face of everything that we’re dealing with. It’s saying no, that is wrong, this is right. How will people know if we don’t tell them what the Bible says? We cannot let our voices be silenced right now. We must stand for righteousness God’s righteousness, not our own. God’s righteousness. And how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? For they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? Verse 17. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. So, folks, they’re not going to hear if we don’t say and the only way that we can say and say it right is to say it through the word. We have to hear the word. It’s the word. We don’t get to use our own philosophies, we don’t get to use the current culture’s ideals. It must be according to Jesus Christ and what he says.
Let’s go to chapter 12. I want to read to you verses 1 and 2, and this is where we’re going to find our five proofs. We’re dealing with a world that is out of control. They’re living crazy, they have no real moral compass at all and they question morality on every front. But it says I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, and I’m saying the same thing. I’m appealing to those who call themselves Christians, to the brothers and sisters in the faith. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, we are the ones who have received his mercy to present your bodies. This is number one of our five proofs. Number one Bodies. This is number one of our five proofs. Number one this is what I need to do. These five things are the actions that I take that prove that I can know the will of God. Do you understand Five things? Let’s go through them.
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. What does that mean? What does that mean? Present my body as a living sacrifice, folks, I have to be willing, with my whole body, to stand up to speak, to act, to do, to comfort, to acknowledge, to listen. However I can benefit the body of Christ, I need to present my body a living sacrifice so I’m not dying and then dead and cannot give myself again. This living sacrifice means that I continually am giving myself sacrificially to the cause of Jesus Christ and his body, his body to the church, to the brothers and sisters.
How am I of service to my brothers and sisters in Christ? Do I give most of my time to the world? Is most of my time and my sacrifice given to a secular job? Is most of my time and my effort and my heart given to secular activities? You know, just sports, fun, keeping myself busy? I mean, and I’m talking to me too, folks, we have to look at our lives. Many are called in the marketplace, so don’t. I’m not saying that working a secular job is bad, but I am saying what are you giving your heart and your life to? There are many who work a secular job so that they have extra finances, not only to bless their family but to bless the church, that people give their spare time to the functions of youth in the church or senior citizens or widows, and those who give to feed the hungry in the church.
I applaud those who give themselves to the poor and to the marginalized of society. But if all we’re doing folks, we have to keep this in mind. If all we do is feed them and clothe them and don’t give them the gospel with it, you are not helping them. You’re just giving them the ability to live a longer life on earth before they go to hell. I don’t want to help people into hell. I don’t want to give them more time on earth for nothing. I want to meet those needs and many times they can’t hear the gospel until you’ve met those needs.
But we must do that with the gospel that they understand that they are a sinner gospel. That they understand that they are a sinner just like I am and that I had to be saved, I had to be redeemed, just like they need to be redeemed. And then we give our life as a proof that we are his. We give our life as a living sacrifice. Okay, so you have to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Okay, and I’m calling this number two because it’s I could work myself ragged just doing stuff, just being busy doing stuff, even for the church. You can just be busy all day and your heart’s not even in it. You could work yourself to the fair, to a fairly well in church. So I’m not, please hear me.
There is a second component to the way that I give my life to the Lord, and this is a standalone in that this is one without the other almost nullifies the one. So I have to give my life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which means I need to live a holy life because it is holiness, living in holiness, that is acceptable to God. That’s what makes what I’m giving and doing acceptable, that it is holy. And I’m not the one who determines what’s holy. He does. His word determines what is holy how I act, what I do, what words I say, how I treat somebody, with what heart I am doing all of these things. The holiness of God matters.
I cannot look like the world, sound like the world, talk like the world, involve myself the way the world involves itself. All of those things must look different than the world. I must live a holy life Holy, it doesn’t look the same. Someone should be able to look at my life, the way that I live my life and what I do, and determine there’s something different about me. There’s something that is markedly different. And even if they can’t pinpoint it because they aren’t familiar enough with it and they don’t understand it, they still know and they may even say I don’t know what it is. But there’s something different about you. You know, I don’t understand how you can do that. I can’t do that. Understand how you can do that. I can’t do that. I don’t understand how.
I have a precious sister-in-law and brother-in-law who lost a daughter at a young age and I can tell you they have been a picture of the grace of God, their example of honesty and how they feel the struggle and yet the utter dependence on God and the faithfulness of God and the strength that God has given. It is evident to everybody who knows them, everybody, those who serve God and those who don’t. Both can see the obvious relationship that they have with the Lord and how their lives look different. They’re not drowning in a bottle. And how their lives look different. They’re not drowning in a bottle, they’re not medicating themselves through every day, they are not in bed, succumb under the pressure of depression, pressed down in every way by depression. I am so proud of them, way by depression. I am so proud of them, but with a holy righteousness, because I know only God, only God can do that, only God can sustain, only God can bear you up like that. We need to look different. Our lives need to look holy. They need to be acted out in holiness, so holy and acceptable to God.
That was number two. Number three well, which is your spiritual worship? Number three in verse two Do not, do not be conformed to this world. Let me say it again Do not be conformed to this world. I think this is the biggest issue that the church is facing right now Trying to call themselves Christians but being completely conformed to a secular, ungodly world, sad, distasteful, deceptive, ugly thing. We cannot. Do not be conformed to this world. Look at your life. I have to look at mine, I have to examine does this look like God or does this look like a fallen world? Do I live trying to measure up, by the grace of God, to this beautiful gospel, or have I embraced the definitions, the concepts, the polarizations? Have I accepted the world’s molding for my life and for what I call my Christian life? Do not be conformed to this world but here’s number four but be transformed. Our world right now is embracing trans, trans, and the crazy thing is, to change is a wonderful thing when it’s changing for the right thing and changing in the right direction. They’re wanting to change who they are biologically, which throws in the face to God that God is sovereign and that he knows what’s best for you and that he had a plan for you and that he knit you together in your mother’s womb, that he loves you and has a destination in mind for your life.
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But God says to change is actually a good thing, but I am to be transformed, not in my physical gender, which is impossible. I’m simply mutilating a body and that doesn’t change the biological formation of who I am. It doesn’t change my DNA, but to be transformed into Christ’s image. I am to be transformed. How? How is it possible to change?
What if you’re a Christian who suffers under the same-sex attraction? What if you are someone who suffers under the heaviness of mental fatigue and depression and thoughts that haunt you, even maybe suicidal thoughts? You even maybe suicidal thoughts? What if you are someone who bears up under the fear of? You have fears on every side fears that something’s going to happen, of the ominous. Fears of sickness in your body, because you witnessed sickness in your family. Fears of failure, because you’re trying to accomplish something and it seems like you can never get ahead, you can never break through, you can never seem to make headway. Maybe you are someone who deals with, um, severe cravings in your flesh, whether that’s for substance, whether that’s for physical affection, whether that is food addictions, whatever.
You could be suffering in so many ways and you could be saying, jamie, I want to change that, I want so bad to change and I’m trying so hard to do it. But, folks, the only way to be transformed is by the renewal of our minds. Everything we do is based off of what we think, and what you think is linked, then, to a feeling, and we have, as a society, elevated feelings to be the ultimate barometer of how we should make decisions. It is the worst, as my pastor put it this past Sunday it is the worst CEO. Feelings are the worst CEOs. You can make decisions based off of feelings and I guarantee you you’re going to get it wrong the majority of the time, because your feelings can change from one day to the next, from one moment to the next, from one moment to the next.
And if you were to step back and look at something from a different perspective? It’s like when you see a buffet of gourmet food in front of you, of gourmet food in front of you, and if you are somebody who is hungry and hasn’t eaten in days and you see that food, it doesn’t matter if you even like some of those foods. You may not even normally like some of those foods, but for some reason it looks good and you start eating and eating, and eating. You just eat everything because you’re so hungry. It all looked good and somehow it all tasted good because you were so hungry. But you set that same buffet in front of somebody who has just eaten a large meal and is past satisfied. They are full. That same food that would look good to them because they’re so hungry now doesn’t even tempt them. It doesn’t matter how it smells. In fact, the smells could actually make them feel a little sick because they’re so full.
What we think changes constantly. What we feel changes constantly. The only way to be transformed is by the renewal of our mind, and the only way to renew your mind is by the washing of the word, the washing of the word. You need to submerge yourself, wash yourself every day, cleanse the dirt off that you get from watching the television shows that you’ve seen, the things that have come up and popped up on your phone, the company that you have kept, the environment that you have worked in. You need to wash the gunk of the world off and get the mind of Christ, the mind of Christ, to know what is right, to know what is good, to know what is holy, to know what is acceptable. Renew your mind and in that renewal of your mind you will find strength and hope. You will know Okay, before I get ahead of myself, let’s continue to read, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
This is number five that by testing, that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. So why am I calling the testing number five? What I’m saying is you put these things to the test, you live them, you test them. Actually, do it, make this part of the process, do it, do these things, and when you do these things, they will prove. By you doing them, by you testing them, you will be able to discern the will of God by doing them, test them by doing them.
Folks, you can’t in theory do. You can’t be a Christian in theory. You can’t say I believe that and then not do it and expect to see the results because you believed Faith without works is dead. I can say that I believe all day long, but the proof that I believe is that I actually do what I say. I believe I can’t have belief only, I’m deceiving myself. That’s a farce. That’s not even a real thing.
I believe that this chair can hold me. The proof is I sat in it and it didn’t fall down and I’m still sitting in it, okay. But you have to do that with the can hold me. The proof is I sat in it and it didn’t fall down and I’m still seeing it, okay. But you have to do that with the word of God. You have to actually do what it says. That is the proof of the renewal of your mind, of the sacrifice that you have made, of your life. It is the proof that you have not conformed to this world.
Folks, we have to live a holy life proved out. Live a holy life proved out. And when I live that way, when I actually do these things, the will of God becomes evident. The will of God is laid bare, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. It’s that simple. These five things, if you will put these into practice, will cause you to know the will of God for your life. They will cause you to be able to live knowing the direction you need to go, even when it’s shaky. What do we know? The scripture teaches us Jesus said this that if you build your house on the rock, that when the storms come okay, because the storms are going to come and they’re going to beat on your house this happens.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean life gets easy, but it means I know how to navigate it. I know how to get through it and come out still standing. I know how to do it, being a conqueror and being a victor and not a victim. I know how to live this life in triumph. It can get hard and it will get hard and things will come that you don’t understand, and they’re difficult and they’re hard and we may cry crocodile tears and sweat great drops of blood per se, but you can understand how to have victory. You can get through it.
It’s that famous saying you know, if you, if your life, if all of a sudden you find yourself and you’re living in hell, keep walking. You don’t? You don’t stay there, keep going, get out, don’t, don’t it’s? I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Yeah, I may have to walk through that valley, but I remember that it’s a shadow and I’m going to keep going till I come out of this.
And when we don’t understand what is happening, we don’t understand the things that are going on around us, we can know what I do know. What I do know is that I live according to this and somehow I’m going to come out on the other side, and when I do, I’ll be like those precious Hebrew boys who come out of the fiery furnace with no, no strings attached. There are no um binds around me that are tying me to something I’ve. My shackles have come off and there’s no smell of smoke on me. I don’t have yesterday. Still, you can’t smell it on me. We have, we’ve got more renewal to do. If you can smell the smoke of yesterday, if you can still smell the smoke, there’s still work to be done, but that’s the transforming power of the word that we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
I encourage you, folks, get in your word. Get in your word, pray, ask the Lord to show you like we prayed at the beginning. Ask him to open your eyes to see what you’ve been blind to. Ask him be brave enough to open up your ears and hear what’s hard to hear. To make those transformations, to make those changes that need to be made, to live a life of holiness, to see what is truly good according to God and not the world’s standards. We need the word of God more than ever before. And, folks, this world, we can make a difference. You and I can make a difference, but the only way we’ll make a difference is if we are different. You can’t make a difference if you’re no different. The only way to make a difference is to be different. Let’s be real Christians, let’s really live what this word says and watch our world around us change for the better.
Let me pray for you this morning or afternoon or evening, whenever you’re watching this Father. Again, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the power and the truth of your word. We thank you that your word continually lives and always accomplishes what it was intended to do. I thank you that each one who’s listening today has received your word and that the roots of what they have received will go deep and produce a bountiful, productive crop in their life that reaches out like the little mustard seed that grows into the biggest plant and, as it does, it brings shade for all of those birds and others to come in and take comfort in. Let us be those that people come to, but they say there’s something different about you this week. Give each one who’s listening the opportunity to be the difference and let them see your will made manifest as they do, and we give you all the praise and all the glory for what you’re doing. And in Jesus’ name, we pray Amen. Thank you for being with me today. Thank you for making a priority of the word in your life.
I pray that you continue to share this word. If this has blessed you or you know someone, it will bless. Send them you know. Share. Send it in an email, send it in a text message, just share it on social media. Get the word out, whatever you do, if you’ve, if you come across something good not just mine when you come across something good. That’s why I use social media, I come across things that I think now that’s truth. I want to share that truth, whether that’s mine or not. Be someone who shares the gospel, someone who shares truth. Don’t just share all the bad that’s going on. Don’t just share all the craziness. Let’s not multiply the chaos. Let’s share the goodness of God as well. Let’s you know, if we need to be informed great, then we need to inform one another, but let’s be a comfort to one another and let’s share truth. Let’s share truth and if there’s a victory, let’s celebrate the victories with one another. Amen.
I’d love to hear from you. If you want to send in a prayer request or you’ve got a praise report. You can send me an email at jamielucecom. That’s mail at jamielucecom. You could also visit my website. I’ve got all of my content there. If you’re wanting to introduce someone to the podcast, that’s a great way that you can be a help to me. If you listen to this on podcast, you can give us a rating and leave us comments of why this is a blessing to you. That would be a blessing to me and to our team, and if there’s any way that we can be in prayer with you, I’d love to do that, so I’d be happy to hear from you and share in the victories that God is giving to you. Thanks again for watching today. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
