Inside Out: God's Plan for Real Transformation

Uh I actually heard a quote uh months ago that has just stuck with me about how um

the Lord is the chef. He's the one who's prepared the meal. It is just my job as the waiter to bring it to your table.

And so hopefully you are enjoying God's word and not the words of a man.

But this morning, uh, as we jump in, uh, it's it's always this tweener time of

between, uh, what Joel has wrapped up in the Advent season and what's coming in the new year. And so this morning, uh,

I'm going to introduce you to this guy named Janice. This Roman god named Janice, who is uh,

depicted for you up here on the screen. He is this god of the beginnings and

transition times, and is usually depicted as in having two faces. one face looking backwards to the past and

one face looking forwards to the future. And he was often recognized during this

exact time, this New Year's time as as someone looking backwards and looking forward on their life. It is a time

where people would look backwards on their own life. They would reflect on their last year. They would

self-evaluate. They would look at themselves and say, "Are there any areas in my life that need change?"

And then they will look forward to the next year and say, "Here are the areas in which I'm going to implement some of

these changes, making goals to better themselves." And if you can't tell where

we're going with this, this is often where we get our famous New Year's resolutions, right? Raise your hand if

you got a New Year's resolution this year. No shame. No shame.

We are well below the national average. Studies show about 35 to 45% of adult

Americans, well below average actually this morning, will have a New Year's

resolution of some kind. And uh and often this the most popular, as you could guess, is usually health, health

or well-being, uh bettering your health. The the second one is usually financial or career resolutions. Uh the third is

bettering relationships, getting better, stronger relationships with those around us. And the the the next one is usually

picking a new picking up a new hobby or getting better at an existing hobby. And

generally speaking, uh the concept of a New Year's resolution, it's a great concept, right? Like it's a great way

for us to self evaluate to implement ways to better ourselves in hope of

lasting change. Uh but the problem in lies the execution. You see, most New

Year's resolutions are given up by week two in January. Week two in January. In

fact, it's estimated about 8% of all New Year's resolutions last the whole year.

8%. You see, no matter how good the goal or the plan, the New Year's resolution just

does not typically lead to lasting change. And the reason for this is

because at its core, a New Year's resolution is nothing more than a catalyst for a little bit of change in

your life. It might emotionally inspire us to do something, to put in some hard work for a couple weeks, uh, but when

things get tough and our schedule doesn't align and things aren't working out, when there's conflict in life, it's

right back into our normal routine. And those two weeks that we put of effort at

the beginning of the year leave us exactly the same as where we were at the beginning of the year. And here's the

thing, church, is that we need something more than a New Year's resolution in our life. As good as a New Year's resolution

is, there must be something better. If it only lasts two weeks, it must not be that great. We need something better. We

need something that lasts more than two weeks. We need something that transforms our life, not just the first two weeks

of the year. We need something that takes us from who we are today to somewhere that God wants us to be.

And so this morning, I would encourage you, if you have your Bibles, and I hope you do,

I would encourage you to turn with me to Romans 12, starting in verse one this morning. The famous coffee cup verse

that we're going to be taking a look at this morning. And as we look at God's word this morning, and we're going to

see that the goal for everyone in this room, uh not for the year of 2026, but

the goal for us in the room, for the rest of our lives,

we're going to see this morning that being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation. That the

beginning being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation. As you're flipping to Romans chapter 12, I

would remind you that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our Lord will stand forever. And that

all scripture is breathed out by God. It is profitable for teaching, for reprove, for correction, and for training in

righteousness, so that you and I can be complete and equipped for every good

work. And so before we jump in to Romans chapter 12, we're jumping right into the

middle of this letter that Paul wrote. one of the most famous and daunting letters that he wrote within the

biblical text here. And so I want to just give us a quick little snapshot and remind us that the book of Romans is

often considered uh as being in four different parts. The first three chapters of the book of Romans typically

is talking about the wrath of God, our sinfulness and where our sin leads us.

And the next three chapters, uh, four chapters I can math, five chapters, I can math from like Romans 3, Romans 4

through Romans 8 is typically talking about the grace and mercy of God to us.

Romans 9 through11 talks about the plan of God, what his plans and purposes are.

And we find ourselves this morning jumping into chapter 12, this next great section of the book of Romans where Paul

unpacks the will of God for his people. This is in in light of what you have

learned over here. This is how you are to respond and live your life. In the letter of the book of Romans, Paul has

laid out before us doctrine, the truth teach taught from God's word. And then he's laid out into us or for us our

duty. Doctrine and then duty. And so doctrine is really simple as this. It's

the core beliefs and teachings of what we believe from the biblical text. When we rightly divide God's word, when we

understand what the truth of his word is, it is teaching us doctrine. And doctrine is not separate from Christian

duty, it's not separate from our responsibility in light of what we learn about the truth of God. In fact, it is

what empowers it. It's what it's the power behind the action of what we are to do in response. And in fact, we may

wonder why the world looks upon Christians so unfavorably. They look at us with spite. They look at

us as as hypocrites, right? Often times, and I think this is the truth behind

this church is that a lot of times the church has such a poor and shallow

understanding of doctrine and theology that it leaves us lacking in

understanding of how we are supposed to respond to who God is in obedience.

We've missed the mark. So, if we want to rightly receive what Paul has for us here in uh Romans chapter 12, we must

have a solid understanding of the first parts of Romans, we must know that the

truth of God's word is this, that our sin, we all have sin, it separates us from God. It leaves us separated

eternally from him. And and by his grace and his mercy, he's sent his son Jesus

to restore us back into a right relationship with him. that God has done everything that we could never do to

restore us to a right relationship with him through faith alone in Christ alone.

That is a nutshell of what the beginning of Romans has talked about. The first 11 chapters has talked about. Now, let's

take a look at Romans chapter 12 as to how we are to respond to God's grace to

us in the face of our sinfulness. Take a look at chapter 12 starting at verse one. Paul writes this. I appeal to you

therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not

be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and

acceptable and perfect. Paul is first and foremost giving us uh he he gives us

this awesome big word therefore. And anytime we see the word therefore in the Bible, we should always be looking

backwards in the text to see what it's there for. And we find that, hey, it's a

reminder to us of, hey, in light of all these things that I've taught through chapter 1 through 11, our sin has

separated us from God, but by God's mercies, he sent us his son, Jesus, that we can have salvation through him,

through Christ alone, through faith alone. To God be the glory alone. And because of this, it should lead us to

action. And specifically in this case, it should lead us to a heart of gratitude. He opens up with this amazing

picture of sacrifice of a living sacrifice. He paints this picture draws

back the Old Testament ties to the sacrificial system where people would bring a living sacri a a sacrifice

excuse me an animal sacrifice to an altar that would be burned at an altar as an act of worship to God. But here's

the truth of the matter is that the all the Old Testament sacrifices were dead.

They died. They were burnt to literal dust. They were gone. But the sacrifice

of Jesus, the spotless lamb, it's not only complete, but Jesus is still alive.

He's not dead. He's alive. He's the greater. He's the perfect and acceptable

sacrifice for sin. And in light of what Jesus has done for us by wholly sacrificing himself for the sin of

mankind, we also are to sacrifice holy

our lives in worship to the Lord. Because of what Christ has done, we are to be living sacrifices to use the whole

of our lives to bring glory to God. Not only through our humility and surrender to him, but in our actions and obedience

to him as we live lives of faithfulness. You see church, the Old Testament says

we were to make sacrifices, but the New Testament says you are to be a living

sacrifice. Being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation.

In fact, this word that Paul uses here to present our bodies, to present ourselves, is a once and for all

sacrifice. It commands a a definite commitment. I'm committing to this right

now and it is going to change me forever going forward. It's similar to to a word

that would be used like when a bride and a groom uh get take their vows on their

wedding day, right? They come together to make a commitment, a lifelong commitment to one another. Till death do

us part, no matter what comes, I'm committed for life. And this commitment

should overflow into their decisions and their everyday lives into everything that they the decisions that they make

throughout their lives. And like marriage, being a living sacrifice is a definite commitment. It's a defined

commitment saying starting now and going forward I am committed to this. It's a singular commitment to the Lord that

overflows into the everyday liv into our everyday lives. It should shape every

single decision that we make. We make the commitment in gratitude and in

worship to the Lord. Being a living sacrifice is exactly what Jesus meant in

Luke chapter 9 when he said that we must deny ourselves. Take up our cross daily

and follow him. He said, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but for whoever loses his life for my sake

will save it." Being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation. Christian,

you might be sitting here today, but Jay, I heard that that Jesus said that he came to give life and life

abundantly, but man, I'm living in the dumps right now. Things are not going

well. Things are hard. Things are difficult. Things are not right. Where where is the joy? Where is it? You might

be thinking that that man, I'm missing the point. But friends, the life of a

follower of Jesus is not about what you can get from Jesus. It's about what you can give to Jesus.

It's about what you can give. Paul is telling us that we need to get our order of operations corrected. We need to be a

living sacrifice. We need to lay ourselves before the Lord, humble ourselves before the Lord, and the rest

will follow. In fact, just as Jesus prayed when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest and mock

trial and crucifixion, he said, "My father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless, not my

will, but your will be done." Jesus laid his life down in obedience and worship

to the father as a living sacrifice. It brought him to the cross.

And yet at the same time he is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation. Friends, being a living sacrifice will

be painful. Sacrifice takes sacrifice. It's not easy. It will be painful. But

it's the first step for the Christian to experience transformation in Christ. In fact, Paul even says that it's the next,

it is the logical step in our transformation and worship to the Lord. This word that he uses here, he says,

"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

This word spiritual that is used here comes from the Greek word uh it's it says logicos.

It means this word, we get the word logical from it. It's logical. It's

reasonable. It's rational. It is our logical worship. Being a living sacrifice is our logical worship. In lie

of what God has done for us fully and completely surrendering ourselves to the Lord is the logical response. It's the

right response. It's the rational response. It's the only thing that makes sense to worship the Lord. When we

surrender to the Lord as a living sacrifice, it's logical. Romans chapter 6, Paul writes to us. He

says,"Do not present your members to sin as for instruments for unrighteousness,

but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from

death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness."

You're either doing one or the other. You're either being logical or you're being illogical. There's no middle

ground. You're either presenting your body to the things of the world in which

the sin that dwells in your flesh produces unrighteousness, or you are presenting yourself to the Lord as a

living sacrifice, as an instrument for righteousness to be used and played by

the Lord as he sees fit. Friends, being a living sacrifice is not

a New Year's resolution. It's not something we make a decision. Ah, the year 2026 is going to be different. And

it is a liflong commitment to the Lord. A sacrifice being a living sacrifice is

the beginning of transformation. It's the logical response to the grace and

mercy the Lord has poured out to us in his son Jesus by showing gratitude to

him. In fact, church, it is the duty of the Christian to worship the Lord

logically by sacrificing ourselves to him. This brings us to Romans 12:2. Take

a look again with me. Do not be conformed to this world.

Church, if you have a pen and you like to make notes in your Bible, if that's not underlined twice,

underline it twice. Do not be conformed to this world, but

be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will

of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Friends, we are not to be conformed to this world, but transformed.

This word world is talking about the present age. is talking about uh the attitudes, the mindsets, the

philosophies, the schemes of the world that we live in today. It's not just the

fallen world and its people, but it's also the worldview that it is trying to

press upon you and I day after day after day. To be conformed to the world is to

allow the world to shape us into its image, to form us into its likeness.

It's something that is done to us and we willfully or unwittingly just go along

with it. Friends, we're not to be shaped or defined by this world and its philosophies and schemes. We are not to

masquerade around the world as a worldly person. We are to be different. We are

to look different, to smell different, to taste different. We are to be different. We must not become victims of

the world or pulled back into our former way of thinking in our sinfulness.

In fact, uh Satan is is said to be the ruler of this world. He's prowling

around like a lion seeking for someone to devour, to destroy.

We must resist conforming to the world. We must resist conforming morally,

intellectually, emotionally, behaviorally. We are to be in the world,

but not of the world. I want to read to you a section of Ephesians chapter 2.

And I I think I think you'll get where I'm going with this.

Paul writes this, "And you were dead."

Dead. Not alive, dead. You were dead in the trespasses and sins in win in which

you once walked. Following the course of this world, following the prince of the

power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,

of whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the

desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like

the rest of mankind. Friends, we have all been at one point conformed to the

world, following the prince of the power of the air as sons and daughters of

disobedience. But Ephesians chapter 2 verse4, but God.

But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved

and raised up with him and seated with him, seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that in the

coming ages he may show the immeasurable riches of his grace and in kindness

towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. It's

not of your own doing. It's the gift of God, not a result of works that no one

may boast. Friends, we have all been stuck in the pattern of sin and following the ways of the world. But God

in his mercy and in his grace has rescued us and redeemed us through the

blood of Jesus Christ. He has brought us into a different place, a different position. He's brought us out of the

domain of darkness and into his marvelous light. And if you are in

Christ Jesus, you have proclaimed and professed the name of Jesus as your savior. Being a living sacrifice is the

beginning of transformation. Not conforming back into the world, but

being transformed by what God has in store for you and I. Not by following the patterns of this world and getting

fooled and pulled away from the goodness and greatness of God, but by falling headlong after the Lord. Yes, Lord.

Anything you want, it is so much better than anything the world has to offer.

Friends, being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation.

And the follower of Jesus who has presented himself as a living sacrifice to the Lord is to be identified by his

steadfast unwillingness to conform to the world. I'm going to

say that one more time, church. that the follower of Christ who has presented himself as a living sacrifice to the

Lord is to be identified by their steadfast unwillingness to conform to

this world. You see, friends, we are so willing to stand up on a Sunday morning to cheer on

the Broncos when they're playing, to cheer for them, to shout, to scream, to jump up and down, to text our friends,

to talk about the game at the water cooler at work the next day, to even look forward to the matchup the

following week. But when was the last time we jumped up and shout and cheered on a Sunday morning at the hearing of

God's word? When was the last time uh we were so passionate about God's word that

we heard on Sunday morning that we responded and we played in a fantasy God's word league keeping up with what

God's doing through his word. When was the last time we talked about a sermon on a Sunday morning, but on a Monday or

a Tuesday morning at the coffee maker at work the next day? When was the last time we looked forward to the to to the

next chapter in God's word to see where we might be going next week? Friends, we're so willing to stand our ground on

trivial worldly matters, but we have devalued the value of God's word. We've

missed the mark. We've gotten fooled by the world. We've been conformed to the

world. We need to be transformed. We must be steadfast in our

unwillingness to conform to the world because being a living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation.

Paul goes on saying that we are not to conform to the world but we are to be transformed.

This word transformed is kind of nerd out I guess on you here, right? It's this it's a passive

imperative. In other words, it's something that is happening to you. It's just happening to you passively. It's

just it's like passive income. It's happening. But God is doing this for you in your life. If you presented yourself

as a living sacrifice, you are being transformed by God, it's already being

done to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and working in your life. Paul is simply telling us to keep on being

transformed. This word transformed is the same word that we get our word metamorphosis from. Uh it is a complete

change from the inside out. Is a change in appearance and character and condition or function. It's it's like

the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Different. We are to be

transformed. We are to be different. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 5,

he says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is what, church? A new

creation, new, transformed. The old is gone. Behold, a new has

come." God wants to transform you from the inside out. if you are a follower of

Jesus that he in fact is transforming you from the inside out from a

self-centered sinner, one who's been conformed to the world to a god-honoring

child of God. He's transforming us into the likeness of his son Jesus.

Philippians chapter 1, Paul writes,"I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion

at the day of the Lord Jesus." God has begun a good work in you and is faithful

to perform it, to perfect it and complete it. Church, God is transforming

you if you are a follower of Jesus. The world wants to conform you, but God

wants to transform you. The world tries to change you from the outside in. But God says, "I'm going to change you from

the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit." Being a living sacrifice is the beginning of

transformation. And all of this happens through the renewal of your mind. Take a look again

at 12:2. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed

by what? by the renewal of your mind. It happens by the renewal of your mind

through the working of his word in your life. Colossians chapter 3 says this,

"Put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image

of its creator." Friends, this requires spiritual input. We must be in God's

word. We must be growing in our understanding and knowledge of God's word. Not for the sake of checking the

box of saying I read that and I know this. But for the sake of saying this is intimacy with the Lord. This is how I

better know him by diving into his word. The way that we gain knowledge of the

Lord starts with reading God's word. It starts right there. God's word is living

and active. It's more effective than the two-edged sword a centurion used in the

Roman days. It's an effective sword and it will divide us. David writes in Psalm 119, he

says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." You want to be transformed, church,

start in God's word. John MacArthur writes this. He says, "The transformed

and renewed mind is the mind saturated with and controlled by the word of God.

It is the mind that spends as little time as possible with the necessary things of earthly living and as much

time as possible with the things of God. It is the mind that is set on the things

above and not the things that are on this earth. We must be in God's word,

church. Do you hear me? We must be in God's word. Another way that your mind

can be renewed is through prayer. You see, prayer is this unique tool that is paired with God's word. It is paired

with it. As we read and marinate in God's word, we are to respond in prayer to the Lord. God, here's what I'm

hearing from your word. Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I getting it? Do I have it?

Man, I want to better understand this. And then we rinse, lather, repeat, and go back into God's word and marinate

more in his word and go back into prayer and marinate more in his word and back into into prayer. We're to respond in

prayer with the Lord, talking through areas of his word we think we understand and areas that we want to better

understand and then we go back to his word for those answers. Rinse, lather,

repeat. Another way that we can grow that we our mind is renewed is through Christian fellowship. It's what we're

doing right now, church. Spending time together, fellowshipping with one another, under uh hearing from God's

word. We need other followers of Christ to share in life with to hold us accountable to God's word and to hold us

accountable in our understanding of God's word. And I need somebody walking

alongside of me to keep me straight. And that's what the church is here for. And they're also here to make sure that

we're not misinterpreting God's word as we gather together and speak about God's word. We can hold each other accountable

and are understandable. These uh in our understanding of God's word, these are three areas in the primary ways that the

Lord will renew your mind through time in his word, through time in prayer, and through time uh in fellowshipping with

other followers of Christ. And as the Lord is renewing your mind through these

areas, he gives you a promise, the promise of discernment. Look again at

verse two. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing, you may

discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul is telling us that when your mind is renewed, when we're spending time in God's word, praying, spending time with

other believers, when our mind is being renewed and shaped, informed by God's word, that you will gain the ability to

think, to morally reason, and to properly assess everything that the world throws your way. You're able to

determine what conforms to God's word and what is just simply that of the

world. You'll not only discover the perfect will of God, but you will have a

through a renewed mind, you will put God's will into action in your life and

apply it to your everyday life. Being a living sacrifice is the beginning of

transformation, church. So, what does this all mean for you and I this morning? What does it all mean to

you and I on the cusp of a new year as we many of us or six of us actually uh

are looking forward to the next year as to what we might want to change.

What what what does this mean to us as we look backwards and self-evaluate and forward as to how we want to better

ourselves in growth and renewal? First off, we need to understand that Romans 12:es 1-2, it's not a New Year's

resolution. It is a lifong decision. It is a lifong commitment. It is the

logical duty of the Christian in response to God's mercy and grace to us.

It starts first with presenting yourself as a living sacrifice to the Lord.

Surrendering your will to him. Not my will, Lord, but your will. I'm going to mess it up anyways, God. You're going to

perfect it. I didn't get a single amen on that one. I appreciate that.

and I'm going to mess it up, God. You're going to perfect it. I'm going to lay myself down and you're going to do something amazing with it, God. Present

yourself as a living sacrifice to the Lord, as an act of worship to him. Have you had that defining moment in your

life where you truly surrendered to the Lord, God, I surrender to you.

Do with me as you please. May I be an instrument for your playing. Do what you will. Maybe today, church, is your day.

Maybe today is your day. True transformation and renewal cannot happen without surrendering your will to the

Lord. It's not about what you can get from God, church. It's what you can give

to him. Surrender to him today. Have you trusted that God desires to transform

you from the inside out? And what are you doing to partner with the Lord in this process of renewing your mind, of

renewing you? And here's where I would encourage you to make a couple life-changing behaviors. Not for 2026,

but for the rest of your life. Check this out. First, I ask, ask

yourself, how was the world trying to conform me? How was the world trying to

conform me to its image? Friends, we are to be steadfast in your

unwillingness to conform to the world. Be steadfast in your unwillingness to conform to the world. What is in your

life that is conforming you to the world? What is drawing you back to the

sinfulness of this world? Maybe you need to drop that friend group. Maybe you

need to eat lunch at work with a different group of people. Maybe uh you need to stop watching the news. Maybe

you need to stop watching that TV show. Maybe you need to stop wasting time on that app. I have an app on my phone I'm

deleting today. What is it that you need to pull away from? And instead of spending time

watching that show, instead of time uh watching the news, instead of time uh fraternizing with uh people that are

pulling you back into the world, maybe we need to replace that time with time spent in his word. Which brings us to

the next thing that I would challenge you to do for the rest of your life, not just 2026. Get in God's word.

Make a commitment to spending time regularly in his word. Don't just say you're going to do it. Make a plan and

stick to it. Buy a daily devotional. Man, you're going to buy something off Amazon. It'll be at your doorstep by the

time you get home. Start a devotional. Get something that's going to help you

walk alongside God's word, help you interpret and better understand God's word. Start a Bible reading plan in the

Bible app. And when you complete it, start another one. Keep the process

going. When you fail, don't hate on yourself. Forgive yourself and get back

up and do it again. Get into God's word. Transformation doesn't happen overnight.

It happens with consistency and accountability. It happens because God is doing it in your life and desires for

you to partner with him as he accomplishes it in you. Get in God's

word. The third thing is this. Get connected with other followers of Christ outside

of Sunday morning. This is good. This is good being here on a Sunday morning. But

man, we miss on the relationships and the accountability that we can have when we partner with each other in a life

group, in a small group, in a Bible study, when we invite somebody uh to join us in that Bible app reading plan

to hold us accountable and to talk about God's word with together. we must connect with one another to hold each

other accountable. Friends, allowing God to do what he does best is this to perfectly accomplish his

will in your life. He will do it. He's performing and perfecting a good work in your life. This is your his will for you

is your transformation to bring you more into the likeness of his son. Being a

living sacrifice is the beginning of transformation