James Meehan - Called to Worship
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James Meehan: Well, hello there and welcome to "Switch Uncut," woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My name is James.
Kaitlyn Caffery: And my name is Kaitlyn.
James Meehan: And today we're talking about?
Kaitlyn Caffery: The Bible.
James Meehan: The Bible. Good, that's actually exactly what we're talking about.
Kaitlyn Caffery: I thought you were gonna list some more stuff off.
James Meehan: Nope, that's it.
Kaitlyn Caffery: That's it, that's it.
James Meehan: The Bible, and following Jesus and how we can better understand the Bible so that we can live more like Jesus for the sake of others, because we know it's kind of a big deal if you consider yourself a Christian.
Kaitlyn Caffery: Right.
James Meehan: And like we do on the show, we're gonna walk you through a passage of scripture and break it down piece by piece so that we can better understand what it means and how we're meant to apply it to our lives so that we can faithfully reflect the goodness of God to the rest of the world. We're in a series right now titled "What difference do I make"? Because you know, that's a pretty big question...
Kaitlyn Caffery: Right.
James Meehan: That so many people are trying to answer and to help us find good answers to that question, we are going to go where we always go. And that is straight to the truth of God's word, so with that being said, "Kaitlyn, will you open us up by reading from Romans chapter 12"?
Kaitlyn Caffery: Yep.
James Meehan: Verses one and two.
Kaitlyn Caffery: 100%. Verse one, "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. Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and prove what God's will is, his good pleasing and perfect will".
James Meehan: Mm, beautiful. This is one of the, like, most famous passages of scripture. I know a lot of people really love, especially Romans 12:2, that "don't conform to the patterns of this world, to be transformed by the renewing of your mind". And what this here is, is Paul setting us up to then dive into how we live as people of God rather than being conformed of the patterns of the world.
— Right.
— And so what we're gonna do is we're gonna walk through this entire chapter of Romans 12 in three different parts.
— Let's go.
— Part one, we're gonna look at how we are meant to respond to the mercy God has shown us.
— Mm-hm.
— Then in part two, we're gonna talk about how we're meant to use the gifts that God has given us, and then finally part three, we're talking about honoring God with our entire lives
— Yeah.
— because this week of our Switch message series on Wednesday nights, we're talking about how our Redeemer has called us to worship.
— That's good.
— But what is worship?
— Right.
— Well, that's what we're gonna learn about today. Before we dive any further into this chapter, though, we're gonna talk about the context, because when we approach the Bible, we always wanna remember that Jesus is king and context is everything, Everything in the Bible leads us to Jesus and invites us to become like Jesus, and if we wanna understand what the Bible is meaning, we've gotta understand who the author is, who the audience is, and the point that they're trying to make.
— Mm-hm.
— And so Caitlyn, pop quiz.
— Pop quiz.
— Who wrote the letter to the Romans?
— That would be the apostle Paul.
— And who did he write the letter to?
— Didn't he write it to like a bunch of different people, like a bunch of Christians all throughout the Roman provinces? Is that right?
— Maybe, I don't know. I'm pretty sure it's more specifically the city of Rome.
— Specifically the city of Rome, since it's called Romans?
— Yeah, yeah. So I think he wrote it to the Christians living in Rome and they were scattered throughout the city in a bunch of different house churches.
— Yeah.
— Because what Paul was trying to do in this letter is bring these divided Christians together because as followers of Jesus, we've been adopted into God's family.
— Right.
— And this isn't meant to be some distant or divided family. It's meant to be a united family.
— That's good.
— Under the name of Jesus. So that's why Paul wrote this letter to the early Christians, and I think it has so much truth that's still relevant for us today because there are so many Christians in our world that are divided rather than united.
— Right.
— Now, what we also wanna do is look at the context of where this chapter falls within the entire letter, because we're in chapter 12 of a 16 chapter letter. And the very first thing that Caitlin read for us in verse one was "Therefore".
— Right.
— Which basically means because of everything that came before, now, here's what you need to know, and everything that came before was Paul laying out the bigness of the gospel, the goodness of what God has done through Jesus, what God is still doing through Jesus and what God will do through Jesus. So starting in chapter 12, what we're looking at today is Paul inviting us to better understand how we're meant to respond because of God's mercy. That's what it says
— Mm, yeah.
— In verse one, "in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices. This is your true and proper worship". What Paul is telling us is that worship, really good worship, means devoting our entire lives to God. And this is really important for us to wrap our minds around.
— Yeah.
— Because worship is not just singing songs to God. It's living our lives for God.
— That's good.
— So worship, as we're defining it, is giving honor and devotion to God.
— Right.
— And there's lots of ways we can do it, but the way we really wanna focus on is allowing every part of our lives to be devoted to God as an act of worship.
— Mm, so what I'm hearing you say is this chapter is like the linchpin
— Ooh.
— In the book of Romans, like, it's like the point where Paul turns a corner and says, because of everything that I've just explained to you,
— Yep.
— Your response is to worship.
— Yep, I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know what a linchpin is.
— Oh, it's like, oh dear God, it's like the thing that, like, kind of holds, like, you know, like a trailer hitch?
— Uh-huh.
— It's like the thing that holds it onto the thing.
— Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
— Like I don't, I don't remember what it's called, but it's like, there's a...
— Yeah, yeah ball and the...
— ...there's the thing and...
— ...coupling and then you put the linchpin in and it holds it together.
— Cool, I mean, I've heard people talk about linchpins, and I kinda just smile and nod my head.
— Ah, that sounds good.
— So I think of it, I think of it like this is the, the hinge
— Mm.
— that the door swings on. Is that good?
— Yeah.
— 'Kay, good, 'cause that's...
— Feels great.
— ...usually what I say. All right. The beginning of chapter 12 is the linchpin,
— Yep.
— As Caitlin would say, or the hinge on which the door turns,
— Yeah.
— As, as I would say, you know, probably most normal people would.
— Okay.
— And then, but here's what's cool, in verse two of chapter 12,
— Yeah. Paul says not to "conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds".
— That's good.
— So what he's inviting us into is this idea of, because of God's mercy, we're to offer our bodies, to give our entire lives, as worship to God so that we won't be just like the rest of the world.
— Right.
— Instead, we will become more like Jesus for the sake of others.
— Right.
— So this very first part, verses one and two, is Paul showing us how we're meant to respond to the mercy that God has shown us.
— That's so good, and it seems like he's also saying with the connection between those two verses is that worship is the thing that rewires our mind.
— Ooh, come on.
— It's the thing that renews our minds, and it's,
— Yes. it's like that, that different way of thinking,
— Right.
— Where everything I do is devotion to God.
— Right, 100%.
— That's so good.
— Right, because it's, it's been said by people smarter than me that it's a lot easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of living.
— Mm, dang.
— This is what's important about the invitation that Jesus offers.
— Yeah.
— It's not go and believe these things.
— Right.
— It's come and follow me.
— Yep.
— And so, as we are following Jesus,
— Yep.
— With our bodies.
— Yep.
— Not just our thoughts.
— That's so good.
— That's when our minds are renewed; that's when the way that we think is changed.
— Right.
— That's what repent means, to change the way you think, to return to God, and so
— Yeah.
— Yeah, you're absolutely right, like, all of it goes together and where we get into trouble is when we try to separate it.
— Right.
— When we remove the linchpin.
— Oh, it all falls apart when you remove, oh. Okay.
— All right, moving on to part two, the next part of this chapter, where Paul is gonna show us how we're meant to use the gifts that God has given us. Caitlin, take it away.
— All right, I'm gonna read verses three through eight. "For the grace, for by the grace given to me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith that God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so we in Christ, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 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. If your gift is serving, then serve. If it's teaching, then teach. 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, then do it cheerfully".
— So what Paul's telling us is that, because of the gospel, because of the good news, God's grace has been made available to us.
— Yeah.
— And one of the ways that grace shows up in our lives is as gifts that we've been given by the Holy Spirit.
— Yeah.
— And he starts off this section by saying, hey, like, "don't think of yourself more highly than you ought". Like, don't think you're better than you really are, "but rather, think of yourself with sober judgment".
— Yeah.
— Think of yourself as you really are because every single one of us have been given different gifts by the Holy Spirit and every one of those gifts matter.
— Yep.
— But none of us are meant to be the star of the show.
— Right.
— We're all meant to work together as a part of God's good plans for the world. And so whatever gift you've been given, use it well.
— Yeah.
— Use it wisely. Let it be an act of worship to God and an act of service for others. Because when that happens then, our minds will be transformed.
— Yeah.
— Because we will be following in the footsteps of Jesus. So we started off verse one and two,
— Right.
— Learning how to respond to the mercy that God has shown us.
— Yep.
— This part is talking about how we're meant to use the gifts that God has given us.
— Yep.
— Now this last part is gonna be a little bit lengthier.
— Okay.
— And you're just gonna read all of it.
— I'm ready.
— Can you do it?
— I think so.
— Yeah, I know you can. And it's in this last part where Paul just begins to lay out a whole bunch of different ways that we can honor God with our entire lives.
— Mm.
— So we started with here's what God has done
— Yep.
— And how we're meant to respond. We moved to here's what God has given us
— Yep.
— And how, if we use these gifts wisely, it's worship for God and service for others. And then he just lays out. Here's what it actually looks like to honor God with your entire lives. Here's what it looks like to be a citizen of God's heavenly kingdom. Somebody who hasn't been conformed to the patterns of this world
— Yep.
— But who has been transformed by the renewing of your mind. So, Caitlin, Take it away.
— A lot of words coming for you. We're gonna start in verse nine. Says, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of the low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge. I will repay says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good".
— Mm, so because of what God has done, because the gifts that he's given us, this is what it looks like to really worship him.
— Yeah.
— To live our entire lives devoted to him, and throughout this entire little chapter we've been reading,
— Yeah.
— What we're being given is a picture of what Jesus looks like.
— Right, so good.
— Because everything that Caitlin just read are things that Jesus modeled, he exemplified, and so when Paul is instructing us in these things, he's actually reminding us of what Jesus did,
— Mm.
— of how Jesus lived, and he's asking us to do exactly that.
— Yep.
— And what I think is so beautiful is all of this starts with God's mercy. Then we moved to God's grace, where he gives us these gifts that we didn't earn and we don't deserve, but he gives 'em to us anyways so that we can live out the life that Jesus has called us.
— Yep.
— And so as we've read through this entire chapter, all of Romans 12, we've been looking at how we're meant to respond to what God has done through Jesus because of Jesus in Jesus. Then we looked at the gifts that God has given us and how we're meant to use those wisely as worship to him and in service to others. And then finally we just covered a large portion that outlines what it looks like to live as people who are not conformed to the patterns of this world, but who have been transformed by the renewing of our minds. And so, Caitlin,
— Yeah.
— As we looked at that last little chunk,
— Yep.
— Is there anything that stuck out to you, anything that is either challenging, insightful,
— Yeah.
— Confusing thoughts?
— So in verse 10 it says, "Be devoted to one another in love and then it kind of moves through and describes basically every person who I would be tempted to not love".
— Come on, that's good.
— Like, the people who persecute you, the people who are like of lower position or status than me, the people who do evil against me,
— Yep.
— People who are my enemies.
— Yep.
— He, he lays out this thesis statement, be devoted to one another in love.
— Right.
— And then he proceeds to like detail that I don't get to discriminate who it is that I am devoted to loving.
— Right, I mean, it's one of the most common things that Jesus reminded people of is that really living your life for God looks like loving him with every part of who you are
— Yep.
— And loving your neighbor as yourself.
— Yep.
— And there's this moment in Luke's gospel where Jesus is asked the question, "Okay, but like, who's my neighbor? Who do I actually have to love that way"? And he begins by describing somebody that his audience would have seen, not as their neighbor, but as their enemy.
— Right.
— And he says that,
— That guy.
— That's, that's the guy.
— Yeah.
— That's the guy who loves others well, and then in Matthew's gospel, he doesn't just say, "Love your neighbor". He says, actually, "Love your enemy".
— Yeah.
— And "pray for the people who persecute you".
— Yeah.
— And so over and over again, throughout the entirety of the Bible and especially made clear with Jesus, we're shown that we don't get to discriminate
— Uh-uh.
— when it comes to the people we're called to love.
— Yep.
— But actually when we choose to love others, regardless of what they've done and whether or not they deserve it,
— Yeah.
— We're living lives that truly and properly worship God.
— That's so good.
— Because God loved us
— Right.
— Even when we didn't deserve it.
— Yeah.
— God loves us, even though we don't deserve it.
— Yeah.
— That's why it's called grace.
— Yeah.
— That's why it's mercy. And because of his mercy, we can have mercy
— That's good.
— For others.
— Yeah, the story that has been wrecking me recently is the story of when Jesus is, is having a meal with some of the religious leaders and a woman who has a reputation of being sinful,
— Right.
— Comes into where they're eating, and she breaks this expensive jar of perfume and anoints Jesus, and she's just so overcome and overwhelmed
— Yeah.
— by who Jesus is and his mercy and his grace that she starts weeping. And some of her tears get on Jesus's feet and she bends down and she literally wipes his feet with her hair.
— Yeah, yeah, yeah.
— And all the religious leaders are thinking in this moment is, "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe that Jesus is letting this sinful woman touch him," and Jesus knows their thoughts, knows their, like, hesitations, and he responds and he says this thing that kind of blows my mind. He said, "People who have been forgiven of a little love a little. And people who have been forgiven of a lot, love a lot".
— Yeah.
— And what he, the point that he was making is this woman, like, she got it.
— Yeah.
— She recognized how much God had forgiven her of,
— Right.
— And it came out as love and adoration and worship
— Right.
— For Jesus. And I wanna be like her.
— Come on.
— I wanna be somebody who gets it.
— Absolutely.
— And that's the whole thing we started with, like, in view of God's mercy,
— Right.
— In view of the fact that Jesus has forgiven me of so much, I want my love to be sincere.
— Come on.
— Like, I want to love others without discriminating against anyone or who it is that I'm called to love because that's the only reasonable response to what Jesus has done for me.
— That's so good, and I think what you did there is perfect 'cause it brings us right back to the start.
— Yeah.
— It's, therefore, in view of God's mercy,
— Yeah.
— And, and, and to remind you, this is chapter 12.
— Right.
— The first 11 chapters are all about God's ridiculous mercy
— Come on.
— And his relentless grace.
— Yeah.
— And so because of that, we can be transformed.
— Yeah.
— We can become like Jesus and we can live for the sake of others, and when we do, Paul's telling us that is our true and proper worship.
— Mm.
— And so what things do you need to be reminded of that God has forgiven you?
— Yeah.
— Where has God shown you mercy, and how can that inspire and motivate you to show that same mercy to others? Maybe for you, the question you need to explore is what gifts has the Holy Spirit given me?
— Mm.
— What are the things I'm really good at? What are the things I'm really passionate about? What are the things that the world needs, and how can I begin to step into that gap with the gifts I've been given to serve others the same way that Jesus has served me?
— Mm.
— Or, or maybe it's, who's the person I really don't want to love? But God is prodding
— Yeah. me and pushing me and poking me closer to them so that I can love them the same way that he has loved me? As we think about everything we've talked about, Caitlin, what encouragement, what challenge would you offer to the people that are watching this video?
— Yeah, I think that, that first question of, man, what would it like to reflect on the ways that God has shown mercy to me and then allow that to be the thing that motivates my response. That's a, that's an awesome challenge. That's what I would challenge you guys to do. Sit down, journal it out.
— That's great.
— Pray, and just, like, allow God to remind you and remind your heart of the mercy that he has for you, and the beautiful thing is, is that his mercies are new every morning.
— Come on.
— And so, something that really helps me is journaling in the morning.
— Yeah.
— Just about the things that God has done and is doing in my life, and then it, it just frames up my day of, like, in view of God's mercy, here we go.
— Yep, and if after hearing all of that, you're like, "Yeah, I still don't know". Like, "It's not obvious".
— Sure.
— Then, then I think what Caitlin said is brilliant. Pray.
— Yep.
— Go to your Heavenly Father in prayer. Seek his will. Seek his wisdom.
— Mm-hm.
— Invite him to open your eyes to things that you may not be aware of. And what's cool is, throughout this series, "What Difference Do I Make"? what we're doing is we're practicing the discipline of prayer because we know that when we go to God with prayer, we are able to better connect with him, to grow in our relationship with him and through prayer, God actually makes us more like Jesus
— Yeah.
— So that we can truly worship him and we can truly love others.
— That's good.
— In the description of this video, you're gonna find a link to a Bible plan that we put together called "Becoming Like Jesus Prayer". And this Bible plan is meant to help you become a person of prayer, starting from the basics of how do I actually pray?
— Right.
— What is it? Why is it? All of that and more are things that we're gonna talk about in this Bible plan, so if you're not sure where to start, then check out the description of this video and click the link on that plan. It'll take YouVersion Bible app where you can start that plan and invite some people to do it with you.
— Yeah.
— Because we all know that this journey of following Jesus is so much better
— Come on.
— when we do it with other people.
— That's good.
— And I think that's all I got for you.
— Yeah.
— Anything else?
— I'm good.
— She's good, you're good, we're good. Let us know if you've got any thoughts, comments, questions, suggestions, leave it down below. Thank you so much for taking some time to watch this episode of "Switch Uncut" and we hope to see you back next week.
— Bye guys.
— See you.