INVINICIBLE CHURCH MESSAGE 2-2-25

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
2/2/2025
The God of Faith- Romans 12:1-8
The Bible is very clear, God created man for His glory and pleasure! So the ultimate purpose of man is to glorify God! If we want to please God then we have to live a life of faith in Jesus which includes: Submission, Commitment, Sacrifice, Work, Responsibility, And some risk!
The Bible says that as a True Follower of Jesus
We’re running the race of life that God has specifically designed for us! So we have to understand and be willing to take on the expectations and responsibilities God has for us here on earth because it’s the only way we can keep a mindset of true faith!
The starting point is to truly love the Lord our God with all our: Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength, and love others the way we love ourselves! It doesn’t just happen naturally because we’re facing real enemies of God in the form of pagan people and evil spiritual/natural powers!
So we have to make the intentional decision to: Love others unconditionally, Tell others about Jesus, Sacrifice for our family, Stand up for what’s right, Learn God’s Word, Resist temptation, Serve His Church, and that’s just to name a few! It’s why
God’s plan calls for us to consistently train and work to make our faith stronger! It’s not easy because we’re continually fighting against: Sin, Satan, Our own selfish nature
And we’re also having to endure the tests and trials that Jesus warned we’d be facing on earth!
The Bible says the justified [righteous] = [those made right with God] live by faith in Jesus Christ alone through: Dedication, Devotion, Sacrifice, Spiritual worship, Godly service. All while seeking God’s perfect will first in every circumstance and situation! Paul tells us how in
Romans 12:1-8 NIV - 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
So whatever:
• Family
• Group
• Club
• Organization
• Community
• Society
• City
• State
• Nation
• Or church
we belong to God either allowed or caused it to be put in place! And if we have a problem with any: Piece, Part, Or person involved in any of it then we better go to God first!
And if we go to God we need to know who the God of the faith really is and what He’s all about! We ought to know the truth and principles of His Word! We need to understand His plan and we better know how to approach Him! So it’s clear we need to know God better!
The process for knowing God better is to humble ourselves while we sacrificially give and serve God with the: Time, Talents, And resources that He’s blessed us with! God is a relational God who has sacrificially given us His: Love, Grace, Mercy, And even His Son!
God created us in His image so we’re relational beings who should want to know Him better! Jesus is the ultimate example of truly loving the Lord our God with all His: Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength, and loving others the way He loves Himself!
Jesus sacrificially gave His: Time, Talents, Resources, And even His own life out of His love for and faithful obedience to God!
As a True Follower of Jesus we should: Know it, Believe it, Understand it, and Live it because we have the Holy Spirit and we’ve been taught it!
Then we should be working hard to know God better! We should be serving Him out of love and obedience with the abilities and talents He’s given us while we’re giving and teaching the truth of the Gospel of Jesus to others!
In this passage, Paul tells us how to do it and he gives us
4 Ways to Know the God of the Faith Better
1] Give God Our Undivided Attention (vs 1a)
We should want to because it’s what we’ve been taught! The “therefore” here means that what God has said is intentional! So the minimum requirement for us to know God better is we have to intentionally decide to grow in the faith!
“Therefore” is the point being the hinge to forth the “if so, then”! In other words: “Now that you know the truth this is what you do with the truth!” It’s saying that once we acknowledge and accept God’s truth we put it into practical action through the faith we have in Jesus!
So as a True Follower of Jesus once we know God’s truth and principles and understand God’s plan … we willingly follow the commands and instructions from Jesus to: Love – Pray – Be Thankful, Go – Make – Teach, Ask – Seek – Knock, The word “urge” here means …
We should be encouraging and teaching others to do the same! We lead by example! We put our faith into action for others to see! We teach by intentionally mentoring those we are close to! And if we’re going to get all this spiritual work done, then we have to physically
2] Give God Our Body, Mind, and Soul (vs 1b)
It’s an intentional act of: Faith – Hope – Love
Our physical body is a tangible tool that serves as an outward display and witness of how we’ve decided to live our life as a True Follower of Jesus!
• In the Old Testament, God accepted the sacrifice of animals as payment for sin.
• But when Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for sin “once and for all”, animal sacrifices had no effect on sin, so they were no longer necessary!
Which means for a True Follower of Jesus
God only accepts our worship after we completely give our: Body, Mind, and Soul to Jesus!
Also, true worship isn’t just about giving and serving out of obligation! It’s about publicly showing our: Love, Awe, Respect, and Commitment to God, Worship isn’t just about us feeling good! It’s about having a: Positive attitude, Humble heart, Obedient spirit in everything we do!
The more our worship comes from a: Glad heart, Thankful soul, Content spirit the greater the gift is that we give to God!
So giving God the best of our body has to be an intentional decision with our mind.
The days that our gratitude to God is higher than our expectations are really good days not just for us but because those are the days we bring great glory to God!
So next, we have to
3] Give God Our Will (vs 2)
This is the bottom line for being a True Follower of Jesus! It’s impossible to have a true and valid faith that’s acceptable to God without being submitted to His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! And that’s only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit!
That’s why we have to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind” as it says in (vs 2)!
God designed us as triune beings so we operate in a physical realm with our body that’s driven by our brain, in the emotional realm of our soul that’s driven by our mind!
The spiritual realm of our spirit is driven by the Holy Spirit who connects us to God through Jesus!
Because lost people aren’t in a salvation relationship with Jesus the spiritual realm of their spirit has to operate without the power of the Holy Spirit so they are spiritually separated from God!
Now for us once we give our will over to God He trusts us with a huge responsibility for His Kingdom!
Our job is to help lost people realize that they have to stop allowing the evil spirit of this world to transform their mind into the image of this world!
If they don’t stop now by submitting to Jesus as Lord and Savior for salvation, they’ll be separated from God forever in a place called Hell!
The message is a warning and it’s very clear “Do not conform to the pattern of this world!”
The consequences are indescribably tragic for anybody who rejects Jesus as: Lord, Savior, King
We need discernment from God like never before! It’s imperative that we always seek God first in every situation so we can reinforce what’s good and get rid of what’s bad!
We have to walk in God’s wisdom and we can only do that when we’re walking with Jesus every day!
Because Jesus Christ is the only transformer! All others are enemies of God and they don’t have the ability to renew anybody’s mind because they are: Liars, Deceivers, Manipulators, Mutilators, Murderers
Number 4 is probably the most important thing we can give God and it’s
4] Give God Our Love (vs 3)
Jesus told the Pharisees that this was the greatest commandment and they couldn’t argue with Him!
If we love Jesus we’re going to do what He says and that’s love others the way we love ourselves!
If we can get this one right we can get them all!
Romans 5:8 (NIV)- 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
1 John 4:16 (NIV)- 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)- 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Paul’s telling us if we’re going to do this we have to …
A. See God for Who He Is (vs 3b)
Paul’s saying
“I’ve been absolutely broken before the Lord! I’ve seen His power at work in my life! I have nothing to give to others except what God has given me! His grace is ‘above and beyond’ all things!”
Think here is conceited—to have "attitudes and thoughts" in a self-centered "high place." The first thing that "comes to mind" in every situation for this person is themselves!
Highly is to be 'unjustifiably proud.' This person has high thoughts or elevated feelings about themselves!
Sober is clear-minded—to be in the "right mind," temperate, having sound judgment. This person makes decisions based on discernment of God's "wisdom and sensibility."
Accordance is the act of granting something by "specific portion," "allotting or allocating" something for a "specific purpose." The context and meaning of these words are important because they instruct and teach us how to have the "mindset of the faith." And
We have to approach all this being completely humble! Our greatest motivation is discovering who God is, what kind of God He is, why God is who He is, and what He’s all about! The Bible tells us God is "all-sufficient!" He doesn’t need us, but we can’t survive without Him!
He doesn’t rely on "anything or anybody" for any reason whatsoever! Only in Him can we find absolute fulfillment, meaning, and being! He truly is the "uncreated creator!"
Colossians 1:16b-18 NIV- 16 ; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. God told Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." [God is self-existing, self-being, self-sustaining, self-sovereign.] God either allows or causes everything, and everything that’s good is for His pleasure. Period!
We don’t exist today because of any "evolutionary phenomenon," and we’re not alive right now because of some kind of random luck!
Remember: 1] God created man! 2] God created man for His glory! So the ultimate purpose of man is to glorify God! Everybody has to decide to accept this truth or reject it! And those two options are never going to change because God never changes!
Jesus is the answer to every problem, circumstance, or situation in our life because He’s 100% trustworthy, 100% dependable, 100% stable, and 100% unchanging!
God is limitless—meaning He’s "infinite and forever!" He always "has been" and always "will be!"
God is ever-present (omnipresent)! He’s not limited to "physics & location!" He created time, space, and matter, so He’s not limited by them, which means He’s non-spatial! His nature is "spirit," so He "dwells and exists" in and out of creation!
And God knows everything. Period. The word for it is "omniscient!"
B. Work with others to honor Him! (vs. 4a) This glorifies God!
Every believer around us matters to God, so they better matter to us! An easier way to say it is "believers' lives matter!" There are things that we know about them that they may not know about themselves, and vice versa! All through the Bible, it tells us what this looks like:
We are supposed to carry each other’s burdens, suffer with each other, hold each other’s arms up when our brother or sister can’t. And finally,
C. Serve God by serving one another. (vs. 5)
"Just like in a physical wedding—'the two shall become one flesh'—so also is the church. In Christ, the church experiences union and unity in the 'truths and principles' of God."
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NIV- 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.