I'm not going to send out a text message yet this morning because it's only four o'clock in the morning. Why would you want to get a text message at four o'clock in the morning? Nobody wants that I understand. So I won't set up the text messages later. But we have a busy day today. So I wanted to jump on this door and do coffee and purchase with you. Well, good
morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions, this where every day you and I we get together. We have a much needed cup of coffee we get into God's word and we throw in our love for the Lord together and this year 2022 will make it for that book. X to the book of fire.
Let's go ahead and have some coffee or go get an award Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much that we get to start our days
by being that we get to hear from your spirit or to pray that as we read these words, it will not just be letters on the page but biographies. They do work in us that we would truly love in Jesus. All right, you're you're we're at Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 will begin at verse nine and we will finish up Romans 12. Today Romans chapter 12, verses nine through. Let's see, I think it's 21 Verse 21. Here we go. Let love be without hypocrisy. Of for what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. Not lagging and diligence for experience. serving the Lord, rejoicing and hope. patient in tribulation continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep be of the same mind toward one another. You don't set your mind on high things. But associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things. In the sight of all men. In it is possible. As much as it depends upon you. live at peace with all men. The loving you know then you so rather give place to grab. For it is written VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY Cecil Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, even if he is thirsty, give them a drink. For in doing so you will cause a fire on his head.
Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing well. We have a whole list here Well, that's embarrassing. My Bible accidentally hit my button that switches the screen over to the outro didn't mean do that. I'm so sorry. Well, we need to ask ourselves, What is this about? What's the best verse to summarize this? What are we called to do in response to these words? So first,
what's this about? What chapter 12
starts off with? We need to have our minds renewed. We have to we have to live our lives as a living sacrifice. As we are reading through this section, we might think oh, here's just another list of stuff that Christians have to do. Or no this is what does it look like to love God? What does it look like for us to live our lives as a living sacrifice? Remember, he said do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Here it is telling us what that looks like. This is this is any you have been raised with Christ, you have been united with Christ you have been given the Spirit of Christ. So now what does that look like in our lives?
The gospel is not just theoretical, but it is experiential. That it changes our lives that are hard to unmute and we are not just declared only but we are being made. What does that look like? Well, the first thing that it looks like here in the Christian line, unsurprisingly
is love.
Love the without hypocrisy. You get what you love. Not just the sentimental, but be genuine. A true care for another person's eternal well being and looking out for another person. Sacrificial let your love be genuine. are here to love be without hypocrisy. A poor What is he ordered to be more Christ like than up boring what is evil? Notice is a stay away from evil. But this is commanding the sentiment of our heart now is saying up for it. Right what God says evil. what God says is sin what God says is wrong. Don't fool around with it. You need to actually cultivate in your heart a distaste a hatred for evil of course. And instead of the evil that we want desired, cling to what is good. Press you cling to it with all your mind. Hold on to what is good. Hold on to those things. And praise God for them. Be cuttingly affectionate to one another with brotherly love became the affectionate the teacher that tenderness in his words. That as Christians we should be kind for one another with brotherly love the familiar language here. Did you know that this idea of Brotherly Love Philadelphia that's where we get our town in Pennsylvania. This is Philadelphia City of Brotherly Love but Philadelphia means
brotherly love Do we actually show genuine love for one another? What's going to tell us how but one of the ways in which you can show genuine
brotherly love kindly affection to one another. It's giving preference to each other. This is this has changed heart, a new heart now. Heart that loves God and loves others and what does it look like to love others? Well here it's giving them preference. Putting away what I want putting away what I desire and looking towards what my brothers and sisters need your desire. Not lagging diligence, like this. This idea that we're not going to be lazy about your faith and about doing good works but you're going to be fruitful. We're going to be diligent and know you're gonna be working hard and fervent in spirits. Now we know this to be true that our spirit sometimes is we don't have very much seal and there are other times that we have a lot of a lot a lot a lot of love and compassion and zeal for the Lord the Lord has said you need to keep the fire underneath going. They stay fervent. Don't grow to an ember. Keep it burning into a flame don't become warm. Don't forget your first love and this is specifically fervent in spirit serving the Lord. Suddenly you know what it's like to burn out where he's gonna go man, I'm doing all this work. And it doesn't look like anybody else's laboring alongside you. Keep on going keep serving the Lord. Keep loving the Lord. Don't give up. Let me just be your chief cheerleader here. Keep going. Keep going. Right stay firm. Stay in the Lord. Keep your eyes focused on Christ. Don't worry about what other people are doing. You just keep on glorifying God. You just keep on loving God, you just keep on loving others. I know that it's tiring. I know that, that you might be growing weary. But May the Spirit lift you up that you might not grow feeble in your knees or slack in your hands. May you be further serving or rejoicing in. Oh, I love this right we are committed to love without heart without hypocrisy. And now we're commanded to rejoice in hope. Oh, we have such a horrible guy. Oh wait. I mean he's just so me. He commands us to rejoice. Alright, wonderful. He's gonna Indigos you're rejoicing always in hope. Right? There's when there's good news and there is a blessing return of Christ and we get to hope and rejoice in him. Don't give up. Don't rejoice in horrible ways. And then the patient in tribulation this lifestyle I love you too much the lie to you say no. If you become a Christian, everything's gonna be okay. No, there's gonna be tribulations. Because the darkness hates the light. And the light exposes the darkness. And that's okay. When tribulation comes, you haven't lost hope. Rejoice and hope in the door with patients as tribulations. God's giving you his spirit he's going to comfort you. He's going to be with you. I'm not trying to minimize what you're going through. But keep on persevering. You've got this. You got it, brother. You can keep continuing steadfastly in prayer. That's how you'll keep going. How will you be patient in tribulation? Never stopped. Go for it we just finished. They call it crazy for us. We groans beyond words. The Holy Spirit is with you. Christ is interceding for you the father says come boldly to His throne of grace. So we need not be anxious about anything. But in everything we can be busy about prayer and the peace of God which surpasses everything that we know will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus continue in prayer. rejoice in hope, the patient in tribulation. Distributing to the needs of the saints given the hospitality if you see needs in, in amongst the Christians, as what it means by amongst the saints. But see, this is what Christianity does it it changes our natural disposition of being radically inward me focused to being a seeing needs.
I know that Lord's going to provide for me, so I'm going to help as much as I can. But it's not just the saints. And that's what it says here practicing hospitality. We just been commanded. Or what did he say here that that we would show brotherly love? And yet here it says that we are to be given to hospitality rather than love is Philadelphia. This is Xena Adelphia this is we get our word xenophobia. Fear of strangers that's what the natural man is fearful of Stranger but your tells us we are to love the stranger. Do you see how this takes the world and it turns it on its head that Christ died as a spirit that God continues to Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Oh man, it talks about being like Christ. Jesus is our example of this as he's hanging on the crosses his Father forgive them but they do not know what they do. As a man on the crosses there and he's been mocking him and mocking him with the other man next to him and at some point towards the end of his life, he realizes Hold on What am I doing? And as he has been cursing and reviling Christ blaspheming finally looks over at the other guy and says hey, man, knock it off. We deserve to be here.
It's really this man hasn't done anything. What does Jesus do deceit? Does he say? Oh, you stupid fool. You're just making fun of me Be quiet.
This is the day you will be with Me in Paradise was blesses it's not something you can do that. If you try to do this from the flasher you fail. But I pray that you'll be so filled with the Holy Spirit
that you'll be able to do this miraculous work versus to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Like God is empathetic with us not as sympathetic. Jeez, Jesus is able to empathize with those who are being tempted for he himself was also tempted yet without sin. God isn't just removed from us. It Jesus Christ
humbled himself in the likeness of a man. He knows what you're going through to become.
Jesus knows what it's like to be tired. This knows what it's like to be cursed. Jesus knows what it's like to have aches and pains. Jesus knows what it's like for people to pick up stones and want to try. Jesus knows what it's like for someone to say he's got a demon and now that seems scary, isn't it? We can rejoice with those who rejoice. We can leave with those. We can go to funerals, and we can truly mourn. And we can empathize. Because we love and when somebody has a new baby, we were able to rejoice with them. Because we know that our hearts are linked together because somehow we are united to one another, as a body of Christ. Be of the same mind toward one another. Have to say same way, get along. This isn't saying we've become robots. We're not just marching. You know, like the Soviets in lockstep? No, that's not what he's talking about. But we have the same mind toward Russia. This means we're understanding with each other You're not such a mind height pains
associated with humble think less of yourself. Don't have your hide your head up in the clouds and think so highly
of yourself that you ain't got no time for anybody else. No, be humble. Walk with the lonely. This is one of the things that Christianity does. It tears down the hierarchies. It shows us that we're all on an equal footing. Even if God has put me in this high state I'm supposed to associate with those in a low state. I'll forever be thankful for my boss he was what in the in the military there is a huge stratification there's a hierarchy. You wear it on your shoulder. You're, you're literally ranked I'll never forget my highly ranked boss didn't even sleep in the same birding, the same barracks the same room as me. Slept a different place. He didn't even eat the same food I ate or in the same place. Ieave who was so high in rank and yet he came and he shared Christ a force stupid sailor mocked up tennis and he associated with low and my soul was seen because we associate with those low they do not be wise. In your own opinion, right? We all got opinions, and everybody's got their own opinions. But don't think so highly of your opinion, right? What do we do we go to the Lord. Our opinions are our opinions and we can keep them to ourselves. They might be helpful at times, but that's it. But when there's truth when there's God's word, that's what we stand for 17 We ain't no one evil for evil. That's, that's we'll see. What goes wrong needs to know. Bless those who persecute you. Bless them they do something wrong. is slightly on the cheek.
Turn around and do it again.
This is a radical mistake can only come from the Spirit have regard for good things in the sight of
rejoicing what is good. record those things praises when you see someone do something courageous. You see selfless love. You see something good. rejoice in that. Regard did that point people's eyes to that when you see a child who does something wonderful. Praise them for it. When you see someone doing something that is charitable, rejoice in their charity. Show them that love right? We have a new cycle that is built we live in a culture where people love negativity.
Right the shocking things so your God is saying? How about we bring the spotlight on those things that are good. And if it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. This is a good dose of realism from the Lord as some people you're just not gonna be able to live at peace with them going to want to make you stumble, they're going to want to be make you fall they're going to want to make your life for lack of a better term a living hell. This is this is the reality of the fallen world we live in. You're gonna find this in your life
okay, you need to leave that job. As long as it depends on you. That peace be that person who brings holistic value to the relationship who is calming the storm, rather than causing turmoil and fire. Be the person who always like a glass of cool water
with a piece with all this as long as it depends on you, I don't know the person who likes to poke the bear. Push the red button with a piece of it. United enjoy ourselves rather give place to wrath. For it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay Cecil Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him. He is thirsty give him a dream. For him doing so you will be pulled to fire on his side do not overcome evil by evil or Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good isn't this counter all counterintuitive? Your enemy versus you see bless them. Your enemies hungry. See feeding enemies thirsty.
So you give them a drink. Don't Don't worry about it. We know our judges come. We know at the end of the day. Jesus Christ is going to come the judge living in the dead.
So we look forward to him. I don't need to have judgment in this light. God's going to judge a few things to point out here. This is not saying when it says do not defend yourself. This isn't saying that there's no place for self defense. Right? No non we must preserve life. If the commandment is do not kill them that means that there's a requirement there for the preservation of life. So there's a need for self defense. But that doesn't mean that we are always ready to be on the attack. Nor does it mean when it says do not defend yourself that there's no place for the civil magistrate. People have twisted these words. And I need to be careful with this because many, many Christians have sinned against our sisters by telling them that they should not go to the civil magistrate to go get justice. And instead they stay in abusive relationships. May that never be the case. But there's a place we're gonna get into that on Monday with what the place of the government is
why they bear the sword. But the question is what is the motivation of our heart?
Even when we can't get justice? Do we let that consumers feel that we do the radical thing and what do we do? We show love we overcome evil with it, overcoming evil. It's good. This is not a list of legalistic moralism
is being transformed by the renewing of your mind that we might prove what is God's will? Chief of all this is love of God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as such.
Let's find it. Thank you for what a blessing to have your spirit and to have your son walked before us and loved and we are an example of love.
We pray that you would please give us your spirit that we would love to Jesus's May the love of Jesus Christ. Walk always before he made you be filled in your heart with joy and peace and then you live peaceably with all beings along the way. We'll see you tomorrow. Night. We'll see on Monday. Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai