"Lifted"

by Pastor Brandon Davis


--> Romans 12:1-
- present: to place at one's disposal; to present a person to another to see and to question
- Paul is charging us to put ourselves at God's disposal!
(We're trying to be more like God- if you become "like" a person, it's easier to pick up their habits. For example, if you have a friend that consistently uses profanity, you are more likely to accept cursing or begin cursing yourself. Not necessarily ALWAYS the case but you make yourself more vulnerable  to it by putting yourself in an environment where they curse.


       --> He (God) has the power to do whatever he wishes to do with your life!


Q :does God have the power to do whatever he wants to do in your life? [obviously, he has the power to do anything, but he gives us free will]


- Are you willing to be at God's disposal? [present yourself to God as a living sacrifice]


-Don't make anyone make you feel like you can't be used, or walk in God's purpose for your life as a teenager.


-Paul also calls us to let God examine every aspect of our lives


  3 things in this text:
1) God wants our lives to be a lives to be a living sacrifice
2)wants our lives to be holy
3) wants our lives to be acceptable to his standards


*sacrifice--> the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something more important
     - it's easy to give up something when you the better


Q: what's your most prized possession? who/what do you feel you can't live without ?


-sacrifice is worship.
- the surrender/ destruction of something not pleasing to God= an act of worship!


-destroy your selfish will because God's will is more important! *It's not you at all whenever God uses you.
- what will you value most? --> there your worship & your heart will be also.
* anyone trying to follow God can't hold on to what they had before they knew him!
-when Jesus enters you life everything in your life should drastically change! Why? Because you must sacrifice.
*If your heart isn't open to God, how is he living there?


2) holy- living before God, good conduct before God --> *righteousness = your position with God
holiness is your character before God


3) acceptable = pleasing to God
      - we shouldn't want to please our teammates, boy/girlfriend, family, music, money, etc more than God
*in order to worship, you must sacrifice.
 - you can't gain Christ holding on to the things that keep you away from him


--> Matthew 13:44 * [meditation script]
- when sacrificing something we always view it as a negative
-as long as you hold on to the stupid things you do, you'll never gain him!


- i know he's worth more b/c the things of this world won't be there with you when you die
        *what sense does it make to be popular? Who is going to die with you?
*mark 10: 17-
        - whatever you're not willing to sacrifice
        - is Jesus worth more to you than all you have? 
*When the first thing you ask is, " what do i have to do to get into heaven?" you're being selfish- only looking out for yourself getting into heaven instead of looking at what Jesus actually requires for you to live!