Take your Bible, if you would, and turn with me to Romans 12. Not Galatians yet. We'll start with Galatians 2 next Sunday, Lord willing. Romans 12. I want to be reading verses 1-13. Hear this as God's Word to you. Paul writes, 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. 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. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them." Prophecy in proportion to our faith. If service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints. And seek to show hospitality. And now, Lord, open to us this Your Word. Amen. So the motive for all Christian living is gratitude for the mercies of God in salvation. That is the life of a disciple. We live out our new lives of worship and service as a response to the free mercy of God for the glory of God. That is what Paul is saying here. He's just spent, as you probably know, 11 chapters of Romans spelling out the depths of God's mercy to us. I mean, just listen to these highlights. Romans 3, 23-24, his sin. Romans 5, 1 and 2, therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we've obtained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 6, 4, we were buried therefore with Him in baptism into death. In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Verse 14, For sin shall have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 8, 1 and 2, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. and on and on in Romans we could go. But now, Paul says, summing that up, in light of all these mercies, Christian, live! Live as free men and women in Christ who are now able to present the whole of your lives, your bodies, your very selves to Him daily as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. I really can't think of a better definition of a Christian than that. Someone who is indeed a disciple of Jesus. To know that you are loved in Him. Forgiven through Him. Freed from sin's power by Him so that you can now live a new and holy life of confidence in Him as we walk together as His church. That's the calling of a Christian. And if you think hard about all we've just said, you ought to dance at least a little on the inside. And it's in light of this calling that we're going to look at this passage here this morning. And we're going to think about what it means for us who are now united together in Christ as a part of this church, and in the mission that we have been given as a church that we've looked at for the past four weeks. So our mission as a church is to make disciples. Your mission as a Christian in this church is to be a disciple. The question is, what does that look like on the ground? As we live this out daily together, what does the mission require of you as a member of this body? What I want to do this morning is I want to give you five things. And so just as there were five priorities that we commit to as a church, truth that transforms lives, worship that centers us on Christ, fellowship that binds us together in love, Prayer that expresses our dependence on God and mission that shapes our lives. Just as we saw those things, I now want to exhort you in five commitments that we make as believers, as members of this church who are seeking to be faithful to Christ in His mission. There's more we could say, but just drawing from here and drawing from what does it mean then, I want to give you these five things. The first, dear one, is this. As Paul says here, offer yourself to Christ daily as a living sacrifice shaped by His Word. Again, verses 1 and 2, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God we've been looking at, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. You know what that is? That is really just a good long definition of what a disciple is. What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who has experienced God's mercy through faith in Christ, so that now the whole of their life is being shaped by Christ's presence through the Word. And so your response to the Gospel is to present yourself to Him. Body, mind, soul, heart to Him. All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. You give yourself to Him for His holy purpose. And you do that daily. Every morning you wake up and say, Lord, I'm Yours for Your purposes. And that's why this is a living sacrifice. Not a dead sacrifice. Not a one and done sacrifice. You know, I surrendered to Jesus back in 2014. I'm good now. It is a daily surrender to Christ. Not my will, but Yours be done. Let Christ be glorified through me today." How does that happen? Well, it happens, as he says here, by no longer being shaped by the sinful attitudes and values of this world, but instead, day by day, being transformed in holiness through the renewal of your mind as the Spirit works the Word into your heart. The truth of God's Word. Notice how that fits with that first priority we talked about a couple of weeks ago. Truth that transforms lives. And what is that truth? It's the truth of the Word. Molding and shaping how you think, how you act, what you love and how you worship. And so the point here is, dear Christian, give yourself to that daily. Not just as a rule to be kept, right? You know, I guess I have to. That's what it says. But a new life to be embraced joyfully as the Word worked by God's Spirit shapes you more and more in the image of Christ. What does this require of you? To live in Christ's mission? Committing to this. To knowing God daily through His Word. To letting that Word shape your lives and attitudes as you yield everything to them. It all begins there. Second, growing out of that, humble yourself. Humble yourself as a grace-empowered servant of God's people. That's verses 3-8. Paul says in verse 3, "...for by the grace given to me..." Notice how it begins with grace. "...I say to every one 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. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many are one body in Christ and individually members one of another, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them." Now, without getting bogged down this morning in the details of the individual gifts, I've done that before, you can look it up on Sermon Audio, what is the bigger point Paul is making here? Let me make that point with three words. First word, humility. As a Christian who belongs to Christ, you must choose a posture of humility toward one another in Christ. There's one Lord, one boss. It's Jesus, not me, not you. So we humble ourselves before Him. Now, think about that. Think of the grace that God has given us. I don't deserve that. You don't deserve that. Neither of us has earned that. But God has lavished that grace upon us. Ephesians 1, 7 and 8 says, In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight." You start there every time we gather together as a church. I'm a debtor of grace. And so I'm no better than any of these other debtors of grace. And really, we're in this together because of Him. We've been summoned together to serve Him. And so I come saying, Lord, make me a servant of Your people gathered here today. Humility. Second, belonging. Realize that if you're in Christ, you belong here with us whether you always feel like you belong or not, because feelings are not a safe guide to much of anything. You belong by grace, and in that grace have been equipped to serve these people. Right? I mean, if God has brought you to this church, dear friend, then you belong here, because He's the one who makes that decision, not me. And He will give you the gifts that you need to serve the people here. You've got a part to play in all that He is doing. His grace, Paul says here, is equipping you to serve Him here. And Paul calls that equipping of grace a grace gift. Literally, charismata, a gift of grace. So if you're a Christian by grace through faith, His grace is giving you gifts to share. His grace that saved you is equipping you to serve others. And so the exhortation then is embrace that place of service as one who belongs to Christ and who belongs with us as a church in Christ. Embrace that identity of someone called and equipped to serve one another. Which is the third word here, and that is serve. Use the gifts God is giving to serve Him with us. Look at verse 6. I love verse 6. He says, "...having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us..." So grace hits us, creates this plethora of gifts. "...having these gifts, let us use them." If you've got them, use them. And so he then lists a diversity of gifts, like one ray of light, this one grace, hits the diamond of our fellowship, and in a plethora of colors, different grace gifts manifest. But the point of this is not for you to look at that list and try to pick out which of those particular colors is yours, because your particular gift might not actually be listed here in this list. This is not an exhaustive list. This isn't the whole. He gives other gifts as well elsewhere. You might not even know at this moment what your particular gift is, especially if you're a fairly young believer, but that's okay. That's the kind of thing that gets worked out in the fellowship of the church through the commitment to serve faithfully. So the point Paul is making here is not, you need to know your gift's name. The point is, you must be willing to serve with whatever gift he chooses to give. Whatever gifts and abilities God gives or will give in the future, you commit to using them for the sake of others in His name. You know, at Christmas time, nobody really wants to be caught re-gifting. Right? You know, taking a gift someone gave you and re-wrapping it and giving it to somebody else. Oh, that's bad. But here, re-gifting is good. Because you take whatever gifts God has given you and you pass them on as a gift to others. Because you understand, my gifts, they're not for me. I think one of my gifts is in the area of preaching and teaching. But that's not for me. It would be silly for me to sit in a room somewhere and preach at the wall. My gift is not for me, it's for you. Your gifts are not for you, they're for me. Our gifts are for one another. So Paul says, having gifts, so he assumes we have them, that differ according to the grace given to us, he assumes there's lots of them, let us use them. And so you determine now that you will be a humble servant of Christ using every gift Christ gives in service to your brothers and sisters. You see, that's what they're for. Whether it's a gift of service or teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, mercy, or whatever, you make up your mind to use whatever God puts in your hand to help build up the faith and the joy of others here. We said last week that a healthy church will produce healthy members who are learning to follow Jesus. And then, healthy members will in turn build up a healthy church. Well, this is how that happens. As Ephesians 4.16 said, as each part, each member is working properly, that makes the body grow as it builds itself up in love. So second exhortation, let this be your attitude. Take what God gives you, submit it to Him for His purposes, and share it with your brothers and sisters. And yeah, it takes some learning and training and learning to walk and all of that, but the fundamental commitment, this is who I am and what I'm going to be. Along with that, give yourself to loving one another with genuine Christ-like love. Verses 9-11, almost like beads on a string, one after the other. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. That's serving. is in love. I mean, what did Jesus say would be the defining mark of a genuine Christian? That we love one another. John 13, 34 and 35, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, so also you to love one another by this. All people will know that you're My disciples if you have love one for the other. And that love He's talking about, it's not just a feeling that we feel, It is a reality that is seen in the sacrificial actions that we take on behalf of one another. 1 John 3.18, little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and truth. And so this love will be an active love that binds us together in the kind of Christ-empowered fellowship we saw last week in the book of Acts. Some things about this love. First, he tells us this love must be genuine. not feigned or faked, not shallow or hypocritical, which is actually the word here, let love be unhypocritical. So we don't just pretend to love each other and make a big scene about a lot of words about love and empty phrases about love. We demonstrate our love with our actions, with our actual caring service. as we'll see in Galatians 6.2 when we get to it, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, which is, by the way, love. You do that. Second, this love here hates what is evil and holds fast to what is good. Its character is a holy character, like God's character. So, in love, because he's bracketed this statement with love on both sides, abhor what is evil, like God does, Hold fast to what is good, like God does. You see, this is not just a sentimentalism we're talking about. I don't love you by pretending the evil or sin that I see getting hold of you is just no big deal, or by affirming you in your sin. That's not love. That's the world's fake, shallow, sentimental love that is powerless to help anybody. No, love seeks your good by sending you back to Christ, by helping you see your sin and turn from it and fall into His arms for forgiveness and grace and strengthening. Love comes alongside of you and does whatever it must to help you follow Christ because it knows He is your good. So one of our main callings as a church is to help each other follow Christ and to return to Him whenever we have strayed. Because, oh, we tend to stray. Third, notice that this love is affectionate as it seeks to build one another up. That's verse 10. Love one another with brotherly affection. Brotherly affection. So, while Christian love is not just a feeling, it does feel. It expresses affection. It shows that I care about you and treat you with honor. And so it reaches out a hand to pray when you're struggling. It puts an arm around to hug you and comfort you when you are sad. I mean, how many times does Paul say, greet one another with a holy kiss? Four times if you need that for Trivia Pursuit. And now, culturally, we don't go around kissing each other. I remember I got to Ukraine and they do. An old farmer walked up to me and I thought he was going to hug me and he kissed me right almost on the mouth. And I just had to back up and say, okay, this is how they show love here. I'm cool with that. It just caught me by surprise. But the point is it is affectionate. Our doctrinal commitment to biblical truth ought never to leave us cold and formal with each other. If you love the truth passionately, you'll love those who are of the truth affectionately. And you'll show it. For some of you, that's harder than for others. Of course, what we're talking about here, again, is that genuine fellowship that binds us together in love. That was our third priority a couple of weeks ago. The love of Christ that binds me to Him binds me to you so that I genuinely seek your good in Him. So what I'm saying here is, dear one, give yourself to this. Let the love of Christ that He has placed in your heart, let it out. Let it be seen. Let it be felt. Let it motivate you to reach out and serve the people God has placed with you. I mean, so much of the real ministry that takes place in a church takes place here. Not because we've got a program in place or hired someone to fill a position, though there's a time to do both of those things. but because the members love and serve one another with grace. Fourth, anchor yourself, while you're doing these other things, anchor yourself in the hope of the gospel through persistent prayer. Verse 12, rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. First of all, hope. Rejoice in hope. Because life in this world can send you into despair. You've been there? But the Gospel fills you with a confident hope that Jesus reigns. That death is defeated. That sin cannot prevail. That the tragedies and traumas of this present world will not have the final word because Christ has come and He's coming again. You know, as we enter this election season, both sides are going to be telling you the sky is falling. The world will end and all puppies will die if the other gets any more power. But stop and remember that however the outcome, I'm not saying you shouldn't care, but whatever the outcome is, Jesus reigns! and remind each other daily that it's true. Go to passages like Hebrews 12, 1 and 3. Therefore, since we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, meaning people who suffered and died because of their witness, let us lay aside every weight, every burden, and the sin that clings so closely. Let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and is seated right now at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted." Do I need to remind you that this Bible in your hand is full of such promises? And they're all true? Romans 8, can't wait to get here I think next week. What shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him give us graciously all things? Consciously anchor your life here. And then remind your brothers and sisters to anchor their lives here also. Because our faith is filled with such promises. That's why it is full of such hope, which empowers the next thing, patience. Be patient in tribulation or trial. Listen, we of all people are equipped for patience. For one reason, it's one of the fruit of the Spirit, so we could go there. But we're equipped for patience because we know how this thing ends. We know that He who began this good work in you will bring it to completion. We also know that it's going to be hard between here and there, because He told us so repeatedly. And we know that there will be times of great suffering and setback. There will be frustrations. There will be people who frustrate you, even in your own family, even within our church. But Christ is bigger than all of that. Christ is working through the mess to bring about His glory and our good. Give yourself to that. Rest in that by faith so you can be patient in hope. You know, as we work through this whole building thing, or whatever other challenge God may give us down the road, there will be missteps and false starts. There will be disappointments and votes that don't go your way. That's part of it. But through it all, fix your eyes on Jesus. Keep hope alive by resting in Him daily by faith, because He's the One who will see us through these things. He's going to do the work. All we must do is keep holding to Him and to each other by faith. Leading us into the third of those words, and that's prayer. Be constant in prayer. What is it that connects the grace we need, the patience we must have, and the hope that we desire to our lives? What connects us? It's coming back and back again to hymn and prayer. Our fourth priority the other day, by the way, prayer that expresses our dependence upon God. Now, why do we keep saying that? Because we really do need prayer. We need prayer for wisdom. We need prayer for strength, for grace. We need prayer for daily help. There are families in our church right now in desperate need of your prayer for God's strength. Some of the things you know about. Our brother Brian facing an amputation very soon. Others about to bury people they love very much. So some of these things you've read about, you know about. Others you don't. Other things, maybe someone sitting in the pew near you is going through, you couldn't even guess. Because there's suffering going on in this body every single week. There's struggles and tears and failures and challenges that they're facing that are just too big for them and they want to give up. But we have an all-sufficient God to call on. And prayer is what connects our need to His provision. Your prayers and ours together uphold and support those in trial just as theirs will support and uphold you in your trial. And it's not just our people, of course. It's our church. You know well that we've got some really big decisions to make. And I'll just let you in on something as you're praying. This weighs heavy on the shoulders of me and these two brothers. Others have been walking with it. But this whole thing weighs heavy upon us because we want to be faithful. We want to do what's right. We want to do that which honors God and provides for this church for years to come. And that is a tall order. And I'll just be honest, it is too big for me. And it's too big for you. But it's not too big for God. Right? God who says up to us in James 1.5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given. And I am banging on that door and I hope you are joining me in that. So when we say, come pray with us, it's not just religious talk. We really do need it. We are desperate for this. Your brothers and sisters are desperate for this. Prayer is one of our greatest needs and one of our greatest promises. So commit to praying for us and with us until God has answered. Then, last of all, with all of this, there is giving. Give with a generous and hospitable heart. That's verse 13. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Or back in verse 8, as he talked about gifts, he says, let the one who contributes do so in generosity. The principle here is simply this, a grace-filled heart is a generous heart. Love itself breeds generosity. Love and grace in us make us generous with our material things, like money and possessions, makes us generous with our time and our lives as we seek to make room for other people. We saw that kind of grace-filled dynamic of love demonstrated last week in Acts. It says, as they were brought together, Acts 2.44, all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any have need. And so these words here in verse 13 are a kind of picture of a love-driven generosity. Contribute to the needs of the saints. Seek to show hospitality. The picture of an open-handed generosity with our things that we're willing to share for the good of others. And an opening up of our lives as we make room for others to join us in the joy of Christ. Now, let me set your mind at ease. This is not a giving sermon. I can almost feel, I've been sitting in the pulpit, I'm here now, I've been sitting in the pew as you are, and there's something in me, maybe not you're like this, but I am, when the subject of giving it all comes up, something in me clenches. But giving is an important part of discipleship. And so we will come back to this. Not because of this or that that we plan to do, but because honestly, when we haven't done that, we are not serving you well as far as Discipleship goes. Because giving tests your heart. Giving reveals your priorities like few other things. Grace-filled, grateful people are generous with their things. Grace-filled, grateful people are generous with their lives and willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of others. And so Paul demonstrates that grace-filled attitude in two primary passages in 2 Corinthians that we'll get to in our dGroups. I didn't even plan that, but it's just going to work out well. And I'll just quickly look at it here this morning before we close. The first, if you want to turn there, is 2 Corinthians 8, 1-5. Notice how their generosity arises out of His grace alive in them. He says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they have, according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begged us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief for the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Again, notice the connection to His grace and the gratitude that results in their attitude. Make sure you see that connection. Grace-filled people are generous people. These were not wealthy people in Macedonia. But when they heard about a need, specifically a need of the saints in Jerusalem, they responded with generosity. They begged for the opportunity to participate in the grace of giving because that's the thing that grace does. But there was no compulsion. There was no hard sell or manipulation. God simply opened their hearts and they gave by the way like many of you do when you hear of a need. And so whatever giving that we will need to ask you to consider in the future to make room for others, I want you to understand it will always be in this spirit. Yes, we want you to give as a disciple. We want you to be generous people. But we want it to be from the heart, not just from the hands. Notice there is a heart work that must come first. Isn't that what he says in verse 5? And this giving, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God, to us. Okay, start there. Give yourself to the Lord first as a living sacrifice. Surrender everything you are and everything you have to Him for His glory and purposes. Be that living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That comes first before we ever can talk about this kind of giving or that kind of giving. Because the kind of giving we want is the kind that is truly born of a Christ-like generosity. In fact, verse 8 and 9, I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich." And so begin there with a full surrender to Christ. That's the place. Then, just quickly, the other passage would be 2 Corinthians 9, 6 to 15, you can read the whole chapter, you can do that yourself. Let me start in verse 6. The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. By the way, that's not a verse saying what the liars on TV say it says. Give a hundred, get a thousand, get a thousand, get a million, whatever nonsense like that. The reaping and the rewarding and the bountifully is more than just material things. He's talking about if the condition of your heart is such that there's a God-driven generosity, there will be a God given a bountiful harvest of His grace and mercy and work in your life. It will include provision for your needs to be sure, but he's not using the guilt or the greed motive here. Wish I had time to look at that, but we don't. You can search that out. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work. See how broad this is? As it is written, He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way, to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ. And the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you, thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift. Now that is a picture of the joy of grace-filled giving that spills over from a heart of gratitude into thanksgiving to God. Again, notice, it's not by compulsion. It's not forced or guilt-driven. Its aim is not to keep you from feeling bad. Its goal is the greater enjoyment of the glory of God. To see Christ magnified in the lives of others, celebrating what He's done. And so when we start talking about giving beyond your regular contribution to Christ's work here at Rockport, This is what we'll be asking you to do. Not just think about this amount or that amount or this amount of money, those kinds of things, but to think about, as God would lead you, the benefits such giving will bring spiritually to yourself and to others through the gospel that is proclaimed. Again, verse 11 and 12, let such a person understand that's the wrong chapter. Verse 11 in chapter 9. You will be enriched in every way, to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. So not just the benefit, making more space would be to you and your children, though I believe there would be a benefit, but the greater benefit that will overflow to God as we make room for others to join us in His praise, to be able to hear His Word more clearly taught, to worship Him faithfully with us, to grow in the genuine caring fellowship, and to be a part of the mission to bring others to Christ. That's the joy we want to focus on by any plans that we make. and pray and decide that we must do. And so we want to proceed here with wisdom. That's where the prayer comes in. We want to do so with a gospel-focused unity that is part of the binding fellowship that we share in Christ. We want to keep focused on His Word and worship as we pursue His mission to make disciples. But all of that ultimately is aimed at something greater. All the discussions, all the prayer is ultimately aimed at God's glory being seen in Christ and shared and celebrated by more people. If I can rip off the old catechism, what is the chief end of Rockport Baptist Church? The chief end of Rockport Baptist Church is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever as we make room and invite others to join us in that joy. However we do that. Well, there's a whole lot more to work out here. But here's what I want to leave ringing in your ear. Dear one, as a member of this church, as a Christian, standing before Christ, embrace this calling. Offer yourself to Christ as a living sacrifice. It all begins there. It all begins there. Conversion by repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ, dying on the cross for your sins, rising on the third day, trusting Him as Lord who is seated at the right hand. Surrender yourself to Him as a living sacrifice. Second, then humble yourself to serve Christ and His people by grace. Make that your determination that that's who you will be, a servant of others. In that, give yourself to a Christ-like love. Let that love grow in you and be expressed toward those around you. Fourth, be filled with hope through prayer. Consistently praying and trusting in His promise. Fifth, give for the joy of seeing God work. Not only giving financially, but giving of your time, giving of yourself, giving of your attention, giving because so much has been given to you that more and more people may come to glorify Him. We do have a lot of decisions to make and in the next few weeks we'll be trying to lead that. Please do pray. When I say this weighs heavy upon us, this weighs heavy upon us and some of you as well. And we want to be faithful, but more than anything we want this church to be faithful to its calling whether we do anything else or not. And we want to see you growing in that grace. And we want to see others being included in that grace as we are faithful to Him. So join me now. Father, our desire is that You will receive glory in everything that we are and everything that we do. And so Lord, give us now, through Your Spirit, The grace to be the people you've called us to be. Nothing else matters until that. That we would be a surrendered people. That we would be a humble, serving people filled with joy in you, hope in you. The love of Christ constraining us and moving through us for the sake of others. A generous people who give of themselves as well as what they possess. That Christ may be glorified. Work all that out in us. Help us to be the people that you've called us to be. Now and to the end, until you return, we pray in your name. Amen.