This morning I would like to consider with you the Word of God from Romans chapter 12, the book of Romans chapter 12. We will be reading the entire chapter, but our text today is verse 13. Romans 12. I don't know about you, but I've grown to really appreciate the benevolence program that has cropped up in some of the retail stores around here. It's been there to help me in my hour of need, and I have grown to contribute to it. And surely you've seen it, the little cup on the counter, got a penny, leave a penny, need a penny, take a penny. Now, in the big scheme of things, of course, this isn't very important. But when three cents stands between you and your lunch, it can mean the world to you. And I don't play team sports much anymore. In fact, probably not any sports. But I do remember the day when the best two players would be the captains and they would pick for their teams. Because I was a tall, skinny kid, I knew the joy of being selected to play in the basketball game. I knew what it felt like to be included, to be on the team. but I also knew the agony of being left out of the football game to be excluded and on my own. Now, in the big scheme of things, of course, such games are not all that important, but that accepting nod, that accepting gesture, if that's all that stands between you and the group that you want to belong to, it can mean the world to you. And I know that you know what I'm talking about. You know what it is to have a need that you can't possibly fill by yourself. You know what it is to be excluded because you don't seem to have what it takes to belong. We all know to some degree or other what it is to be pressed out and to be pushed out. And we all know what it is to long for someone to show us compassion and to lift us up. And to grant us inclusion by drawing us in. Our text this morning calls on us to consider this universal experience from the other side. As the ones who are called to reach down in order to lift others up. As those who are called to reach out in order to draw others in. And by it, we are roused to compassionate inclusion as a part of our spiritual act of worship in view of God's mercy. Follow along as I read God's word this morning, Romans, chapter 12, in its entirety, our text again, verse 13. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing, and perfect will. For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. But rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same functions, So in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly 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 God'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 low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my 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 is 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. Here ends the reading of God's word and may he add his blessing to it. Paul begins chapter 12, and in fact the second half of this letter, with a strong word of encouragement. I urge you to practice grateful obedience to the will of God. rousing the saints from indifference to attention and from complacency to action in our day-to-day lives as Christian people. Paul highlights the fundamental nature of the Christian life in verse 1 when he strongly encourages us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This, Paul says, is your spiritual act of worship, or as the King James put it, your reasonable service of worship. You see, it's reasonable to expect such a life from a Christian. Just as it is reasonable to expect a cat to act like a cat, aloof and independent, and a dog to act like a dog, submissive and eager to please, it is also reasonable to expect natural man, unregenerate man, to live for himself. And to expect spiritual man regenerate man to live for God it is your reasonable service and Paul spends the rest of this letter expounding what it means to have this reasonable service as part of our lives as the nature of our lives but he begins in chapter 12 with an exquisite montage of it in verses 6 to 21 we might compare these verses to the slideshow we had a couple weeks ago from the young people of their trip to Mexico. That slideshow was composed of many different scenes from that one week-long event. And they were strung together one after the other so that we could get a sense of the whole, of what our youth experienced there. Well, Paul didn't have PowerPoint, but he had powerful Greek. And with these few words and these few paragraphs, he flashes before us scene after scene of the Christian life in order to give us a sense of the whole. And this morning we interrupt this slideshow and consider just one scene. Scene verse 13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. And in this verse we are roused to compassionate inclusion, which is but a part of our reasonable act of service, but a part of our spiritual act of worship. now paul often describes the christian life as a change of wardrobe putting off the old man putting on the new our spiritual act of worship involves conscious and purposeful effort to shed the attitudes and the actions of unbelief and to practice the attitudes and the actions that are according to verse two good and well-pleasing and perfect according to the will of God. That's the Christian life. And it involves, according to verse 2, conscious and willful effort to resist the pressures of this world, even as we surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, Paul writes, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. On the one hand, when Paul says in verse 2, do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. He means that we should no longer allow ourselves to be conformed and shaped by the pattern of this world. The unholy trinity of our flesh, of sin and the devil, never tire of working to fit us to this mold. In rebellion against God, they continually press against us with attitudes and actions that give shape to a life of unbelief. Apart from God's intervention, everyone is molded to this mold. Like so much cake batter that's molded to the pan in which it's baked. It presses on us, seeking to conform us. But as Christians, we're not only to be aware that this is happening, we are to resist it. And so what pattern does the world seek to impress on how we share with God's people who are in need and how we practice hospitality. What's the world trying to do to us as Christians who are called to this service? Well, the world presses upon Christians to love as the world loves. It would have us be content to be nice to the needy, to offer an encouraging word, maybe refer them to the deacons or to the nearest social service, maybe even to offer to pray for them without really getting personally involved. Now, this benevolence may sound right when it's in fact dead wrong. James warns against this conformity in chapter 2, verses 15 and 16 of his letter. He says, Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed. but does nothing about his physical need, what good is it? Jesus warns against conformity to the world's standards. In Luke chapter 6, verse 32, saying, If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners will love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend it to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. You see, the world would have us reserve our love and reserve our help only for those who can love and help us in return. Showing benevolence, showing compassion with an eye on what's in it for me. Therefore, Jesus warns in Luke chapter 14, warning a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dinner along with all of his friends and all of his family, and all of those with whom he was very comfortable, Jesus said, when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you back. And so you will be repaid. The scriptures warn us against the love of hypocrites, the love of the world. A love that is insincere, that is phony. A love that wears a mask that looks concerned to hide its indifference and its inattention. And in the name of compassion, it neglects the needs of others. It wears a mask that looks welcoming to hide self-seeking. And in the name of inclusion, it turns a blind eye to the strangers among us. now on the other hand on the one hand we talk about don't be conformed to the world on the other hand Paul says in verse 2 that you are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind and when he says that he says he's meaning that from now on allow yourselves to be transformed by the renewing of your mind the spirit of Christ the Holy Spirit never tires of his work applying the word of God to us so as to transform us from the inside out God's sovereign grace is irresistible we must not be confused and he is at work in us to will and to act according to his good purposes but even so it requires attention and it requires effort to test and approve what is the will of God it takes effort and attention to avail ourselves to the means of grace that Christ has given to strengthen our faith. Wherein he applies his word to our hearts by his spirit to renew our minds. And it takes attention and effort to discern what is pleasing to God and what is not. To adjust our thinking and our speaking and our doing as we more and more pursue this life as living sacrifices. And it requires a love that according to verse 9 must be sincere and indeed it is sincere when it is transformed by the word and spirit to become genuine not hypocritical it wears no mask what you see is what you get it looks compassionate because it is compassionate it attends to the needs of others in order to lift them up And it looks hospitable because it is hospitable, seeking out others in order to include them. And how does the renewing of our mind transform how we share with God's people who are in need and how we practice hospitality? It reorients us. It reorients us to love as the Lord Jesus Christ loves. When Paul writes in verse 13 that we are to share with God's people who are in need, he is saying that genuine love is displayed in a life of giving. And what the Lord has given us, to be sure, but giving to the needs of the saints. And we are transformed to discern the needy in our midst, no longer waiting until they come and ask, but seeing and offering aid before they come and ask in the name of Jesus. Do you remember the reason Jesus gave for feeding the multitudes? Matthew records it in chapter 15 of his gospel that Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people. They have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry for they may collapse on the way. He had compassion on these people. He did not feed them because they believed in him. he knew their limitations and he knew their needs and he provided for them all with what he had. Seven loaves and a few fishes. And in Luke chapter 6, right after he warned against the benevolence that was conformed to the pattern of this world, after he had warned those about lending to those who can pay you back and doing good to those who do you good back, Jesus says to his disciples, Love your enemies. Do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. And if this be true toward our enemies, how much more toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. Indeed, Paul says in Galatians 6, verse 10, Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. And when Paul writes in verse 13 that we are to practice hospitality, he is saying that genuine love is displayed in pursuing the love of strangers. The language here is really interesting. Pursuing the love of strangers. We're transformed to discern the strangers even in our own midst. no longer waiting for them to ask for our hospitality, but pursuing them, chasing them down, as it were, in order to draw them in and to make them at home. In Luke chapter 14, after Jesus had addressed the Pharisee about inviting all of his friends and family, he said to him in verses 13 and 14, when you have a banquet, you should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. That's how the Spirit of God transforms our mind and gives us a genuine love to transform our hospitality and to transform our compassion. Now, as a congregation, there is much in the way of benevolence going on. Much, if not most, of it is never seen. Some of the things you may be aware of that are fairly prominent is that as a congregation, we provide for the physical needs of many. Aiding families who need help to give their children God-centered educations. Helping to bridge budgetary shortfalls when circumstances overwhelm a family. Supporting mission work in this area and around the world. Providing food, shelter, and clothing for many inside and outside of this church. Many lift one another up in prayer. Our prayer chain is hundreds. Many who rejoice with those who rejoice, and many who mourn with those who mourn. And as a congregation, there is much in the way of hospitality going on. Some of it organized, but much of it not. There are many who eagerly and regularly seek visitors to draw them to their table and into their circles. indeed there is much praise much to praise God for his work amongst us genuine love sharing with the needs of the saints giving, hospitality but even so I want us to stop this morning and ask ourselves using the eye of our mind not training our next around this morning but in the eye of our mind to look at our brothers and sisters in Christ in this place Do you see the needy? There are many. Among us are those whose bodies are failing and whose spirits are weak. Among us are those whose finances are strained and relationships that are broken. Among us are those whose hearts are heavy and whose hopes have been crushed. even among those who look like they have it all together? Do you see the needy? Because part of our spiritual act of worship as the people of God who have been transformed by His Spirit is to share with God's people who are in need, giving to the needs of the saints. And in our mind's eye this morning, do you see the outcasts? There are many, different than you in any number of ways, isolated because they can't seem to fit in, lonely and afraid of one more rejection should they try one more time to be included, Feeling all alone in this sea of sinners and saints. Longing for your fellowship. Longing to spend time with you apart from corporate worship and apart from a group study during the week. Do you see the outcast? Because part of our spiritual act of worship as the people of God who are transformed by the Holy Spirit is to practice hospitality, to pursue the love of strangers. And how important is it that we do? According to Jesus in Matthew chapter 25, it's important enough that on the last day he will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me. And the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? And the king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, my brothers of mine, you did for me. And to those on his left, he will say, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. That's how important it is. Now, if we look at ourselves, when we hear this call to compassionate inclusion, we will stop short of our calling for one of two reasons. Either when we look at ourselves, we will despair at our shortcomings. Or we will look at ourselves and become prideful for all that we do. In either case, we forget that it is God who is at work in us to will and to act according to His good pleasure. And He does so because of what He has already done for us in Christ. Therefore, having been roused to this compassionate inclusion as a part of our spiritual act of worship, we will only persevere with genuine love if we do so in view of the mercies of God. Not because of what we see in ourselves. It's because of His great love for His people that God, who is rich in mercy, has shown us the greatest compassion that is to motivate and enable our compassion. When we know, as Paul makes clear in the early chapters of this letter, that there is no one righteous, not even one, and that what our sin deserves is death, then we begin. we begin to come to grips with the greatness of our need and to feel the oppression of our sin and misery. And yet when we believe that while we were still dead in transgressions, God gave. God gave His only begotten Son as a ransom for many to meet our needs, to satisfy all righteousness, even as He suffered the full penalty for our unrighteousness, for our sins. And when we believe that, we begin to appreciate that He died to sin once for all, including you and in me. And that He was raised to life again to live to God. So that through faith in Him, we too can be dead to sin and alive to God. Though He was rich, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty we might become rich. And it's only in view of this mercy of God that he has met our needs in Christ Jesus our Lord that we are roused and we are enabled to share with God's people who are in need, giving to the needs of the saints. And because of His great love for His people, God, who is rich in mercy, has shown us the greatest hospitality that motivates and enables our hospitality. When we know that the sin that brought not only death brought alienation from God, that we became His enemies, outside, strangers to His family. And we begin to come to grips with the extremity of our separation, to the degree of our exclusion from the kingdom of God. And if we know that, and we believe that at just the right time, when we were still powerless, that God sent His only begotten Son to us. That He sent Him into this world to die on the cross. And on that cross, the Father pushed him away because of our sin. So that he might draw us near because of Christ's righteousness. When we believe that, we begin to appreciate what Paul says about us in Ephesians chapter 2, that we who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Consequently, we are no longer foreigners and aliens, no longer strangers, but fellow citizens of God's people and members of His household. And it's only in view of this mercy of God that He pursued us and that He loved us while we were still strangers, that we are aroused and we are enabled to practice hospitality, to pursue the love of strangers. So with Paul the Apostle this morning, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God for this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will that includes giving to the needs of the saints and pursuing the love of strangers. Let us pray. Almighty God and Heavenly Father, we this morning have seen Your wonders to us. That we who through sin have merited death and are dead to You, have been granted your Son, Jesus Christ, whom you gave for our sins. We thank you, Father, that we know your compassion in him, that we know that he has satisfied our every need. And we know this is because you have loved us with a love that is indeed genuine. And Lord, we know that Christ was sent into this world while we were still your enemies to die for us, to live for us. To ultimately be pushed away, to be forsaken at the cross, Lord, that we might be accepted, that we might be drawn near. And Lord, we thank you that because this is so for your people, that we can know that by your Spirit, who is at work in us to transform us according to your will, that you are enabling us, you are motivating us, you are urging us this morning to give to the needs of the saints and to pursue the love of strangers. Help us, Lord, in our weakness. Help us ever and always to keep our eyes on Christ who has done it all. That we might not despair in our failings. And that we may not boast in those things that you grant us success. We ask this all in Christ's name. Amen.