It is that time of year where we take a few weeks and look at a specific passage of scripture and dig in. For our Winter Bible Study this year we will be looking at Romans 12; Dedicated Service, Living for God. I encourage you to grab your Bible and join us. If you need one let us know and we will get you one. We are exploring the adjustments we need to make to serve our Lord in a way that honors Him. Whose knowledge have we been depending on? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We jumped right in and learned that as we live we need to live differently. We read the words to describe the life we should live; holy and sacrifice. Live a life that is set apart, different. A life that puts the consideration of others above our own, sacrifice. The writer reminds us that we are accountable to God. This life he talks about must be acceptable to God.
We then learned that we not only need to live differently, we need to think differently. God is the only one who can transform the way we think. We don’t see or understand all things. Only God has a complete picture and if we allow him to, He will guide us, He will transform us.
Romans 12:1-3; NLT; And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
As we move forward in our study the concept of what we think of ourselves comes to mind. The fact is what we know and understand is limited but God is all knowing, our faith is limited but nothing is impossible with God. You see how the writer delicately helps us; because of the privilege and authority God gave me, listen, don’t think you know everything and have all the faith you need.
We all know someone who thinks they know everything and has an opinion on how everything will go down. Maybe that’s us, we are that person who knows the future. That attitude is developed as a defense mechanism, a protection device. We fear that if we don’t, someone will have the upper hand or will take advantage of us. It is hard to be at peace when we are trying to figure everything out.
Funny thing is, just the time we think we have it figured out it changes. “I didn’t see that coming.” There are so many instances in our lives that we devote time and effort figuring out every angle. Trying to solve all the what if’s in life drains our energy and leaves us exhausted. Worry, anxiety and angst rob us of living.
The writer says, stop, you don’t know enough understanding to figure it out. God does, and He will guide us on the right path.
Proverbs 3:5-6; NLT; Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
God only reveals to us what we can handle. We then think we are supposed to figure the rest out. We take it from there and come up with all kinds of scenarios of what tomorrow will bring. We think we know and then we act and make plans based on our lack of understanding. The result isn’t what we anticipated, in fact the result usually presents a surprise or two.
Think of times you thought you knew what was going on. You had it all figured out. Then, when the dust settled it wasn’t even close to what you thought was going on. One of the areas that we think we know best is in other people’s lives. We look from the outside and observe their actions and then we set off thinking we know the whole story and how they should live their life. The problems come when we start telling them how to live. I am reminded of the words of Christ
Matthew 7:3-5; NLT; “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
When we put these verses together we should come to the understanding that God knows and he will reveal it to us when we have to know. If we let Him renew our mind we will be thinking and focusing our life, on letting Him lead and not taking matters into our own hands.
The passage says be honest with ourself, realize what our limitations are. Stay in your lane! Let God do what He does and don’t take the wheel and try to drive the car where we think it should go.
Likewise, we should understand that faith is something we develop by walking with God. He reminds us not to get ahead of ourselves, we are not there yet. I think of someone who has these grandiose plans, but they have difficulty with completing the simple things. They think they are ready. Someone might say, “you have a lot to learn”
We all have a lot to learn, especially as it relates to God and His will for our lives. We would do best to take a step back, hold our tongue, focus our mind on what God has revealed and wait for God to move. When He does, follow Him!
Romans 12:3; ESV; For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
God promises we will have what we need. He will not guide us in a direction He hasn’t already equipped us for. He will provide the faith and knowledge we need to walk the path He has prepared for us. Don’t buy into the lie that we know it all.
Blessings,
Pastor Don