When we are born-again of God there are many things that happen to us as a result of our regeneration. There are many obstacles for us to conquer and there are many lessons for us to learn. As we like to say, "Salvation is the foundation" for the rest of our lives. Being born-again is the start of a new life and we are to begin a holy construction on the Foundation of Life who is Jesus Christ our Lord. We are not to have the foundation laid and then leave it bear. One of the first obstacles that we need to overcome is the pattern of living for ourselves. We need to learn to submit to the authority of Almighty God and we need to become "living sacrifices" that are holy and acceptable to God. This means that we are given the task of denying ourselves and our worldly desires to do those things that God approves of. Part of this is renewing our thinking and giving up the false worldly ideas that we have held to for so long. We should begin to think as God does. That is why it is so important that we study and read our Bibles. By doing this we can learn what God's will is in every situation in our lives. I want to talk to you about learning to be this living and holy sacrifice. Let us look at to Romans 12:1:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
(Romans 12:1 KJV)

Paul is calling to us with Urgency.
I want discuss several things here. The first thing is that Paul is calling to us with urgency. He says, "I beseech you therefore." Paul is strongly urging us towards a principle of the Christian life. This is an important principle and he wants to bring us to an understanding that will, in turn, help us to impact other for Christ just as it will impact us. Paul is saying, "Come on, this is the way of truth and I am encouraging you to walk in it." Paul has just ended his argument that all have fallen short of the glory of God and now he is going to show us a practical way to apply the Scriptures to our lives and to live a sacrificial life that is pleasing to God.

Paul calls to his Brethren
Second, Paul calls to his "brethren". This word brethren is used as a term of affection and concern. I want to point this out because it means that all Christians are born of the same origin. We are all born of the Holy Spirit. We are all cut from the same cloth. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all of the same family. Family should always be there for family. We should be willing to help and take care of our own. We have family in places like Israel and the Middle East. We have family in places like the Sudan, where they are persecuted for their faith. We have family in China, Russia, Australia, and South America. We have family all over and that is why missions are important. We now have a growing family in Iraq. We need to support our families when we are able, whether they are here in the United States or those on other continents. We should be willing to be there, not just for our earthly families, but also for our heavenly ones. We are family. We all have the same Father in heaven. Paul's call is to all of the family of God.

Mercy was the Basis for the Call
Third, Paul has laid down a principle and called all of God's family to look into this matter with urgency. The basis for this call is the great and wonderful "mercies" of Almighty God. This is the groundwork on which believers should offer themselves as living sacrifices. Why should we become living sacrifices? It is because of God's great compassion on us that we should be moved to making ourselves offerings before Him. These offerings should be made with joy because we know that we have been loved and cared for by a loving and merciful God. He has shown an undeserving people great compassion and kindness. We should give ourselves wholly to Him in undefiled worship and service.

We are to Present Ourselves to God
Fourth, what is this worship? It is the call that we are to "present" ourselves to God. The word means that we are to yield ourselves to God. It is the term that was used for the Levitical priest when they presented the sacrifices on the alter of God. The sacrifice would be placed on the alter and turned so that it faced the Most Holy Place bringing it before God. The act of presenting the offering was one of free will. It was a voluntary exercise of their faith in God. Likewise, we need to offer ourselves as freewill offerings before Him. We need to yield ourselves up to Him in righteousness and truth. It is God's will that we freely yield ourselves.

We are to Yield Up our Bodies.
The fifth thing I want you to see is that we are to yield up our "bodies" as the living sacrifice. When we talk about presenting our bodies we are talking about presenting the whole man and surrendering our whole will to God. It is putting away evil and worldly desires to walk in the newness of our regeneration.

When a sacrifice was brought to the altar the whole thing was given, not only part or half, but the whole sacrifice. We are to give our entire selves to God, transferring all ownership, all our rights, the title that belonged to us and every other interest we may have into the hand of Jesus Christ. We were bought with a price, the deed has been signed and it is time to hand over the property to the One who owns it. In the presenting of our bodies we are not only to avoid sin, but we are also to offer ourselves to righteous living and righteous works.

We are to be Living Sacrifices
Sixth, we are to be a living sacrifice. We are not to think of it as an atonement offering. Jesus was the one who offered atonement for our sins on the cross. We are to think of it as an offering of praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God. How can the body become a living sacrifice?
Let the eyes look on no evil thing. We have many evil and wicked things broadcasted to us on a regular basis. We see these things every day, whether on TV or in every day life. We need to look away from these things. We need to spend time placing things that are of God in front of our eyes. For example, reading our Bibles, looking on good godly pictures and artwork.
We need to turn our ears away from wicked speech. Sound waves are consistently sent through the air. Sometimes they are sent from the radio, from T.V. or from people around us. If we are watching something on TV that is wicked then we are filling our souls with that wickedness. If what is on TV does not honor God then change the channel or turn it off. If we are listening to a radio station and it is not of God we need to turn the channel and not listen to the trash being broadcasted.

I love all kinds of music; everything from contemporary to good old rock-n-roll. However, if the music playing does not praise and honor God, it is wicked and worthless. It does not edify our souls. There are good Christian rock-n-roll songs that truly seek to honor God and there are those that do not. Likewise there are good contemporary songs that honor God and there are those that do not. If the music that we listen to does not honor God turn the channel or turn it off.

We need to make sure that our speech is pure and clean, not fill with filth and vulgarity. The things we say influence others. I want you to think about something; "Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind trying to express itself forcibly." If we are speaking wicked words and claiming Christ our witness is dead and void. It is when we speak pure, holy words and keep ourselves from worldly ways that we become a light and a living sacrifice in all that we say. I am not suggesting that we should only quote Scripture all day. I am saying that when you speak, speak words of encouragement and compassion to others. When Jesus opens the door for you to speak more, do not hesitate to quote Scriptures.

We become living sacrifices by the work that we do. We should always put one hundred percent into everything that we do as we are working for God. By doing this our hands honor God. If we put our hands to evil deeds, such as stealing, murdering or hurting others, we are not being living sacrifices. When we place our hands in good hard work, do it to the best of our abilities, when we place our hands to work in our ministries, whether inside or outside the church, and we promote the Name and the Good News of Jesus Christ, then we honor God.

Lastly, we need to keep our feet out of the places that they do not need to be. Sometimes our feet lead us into the most despicable places, such as bars and other people's homes where we do not belong. Our feet need to set out to places that edify our spirits and those of our family's spirits, especially our children's. Places like church and church related functions. Places like our employment, so that we can make an honest living. Places like the schools, so that we can be good parents to our children. Places like the hospitals when our brothers and sisters our sick. Places like the mission fields were souls need to hear the Good News of God's salvation.
Our whole bodies need to be dedicated to God. We must be willing to work, to speak, and to go where the Lord calls us. In everything we need to yield to His righteous ways and His Almighty name.

We are to be Holy
The next thing I want you to see here is that we are to be "holy." To be holy means to be pure or morally blameless. To be holy is to be without blemish or defect. In the sacrificial world of the Old Testament, the priest did not allow people to bring the lame, the blind or any animal that was deformed in anyway. So it is with us today. We are to present our minds, talents, time, strengths and all of who we are to God in a holy manner. How do we walk in this holy manner? Get rid of perverse thoughts and forsake the sins that we walked in before we were saved. Our sacrifice must be holy. Our sacrifice must be clean, of pure thinking and a righteous way of life.

These Things are Acceptable to God.
These things are "acceptable" to God. That means that they are well pleasing to Him. He desires these things in us and recognizes them as good. Our sacrifice is not to be as the pagans; such as the pilgrimages of the Muslims, the self-inflicted penalties of the Catholics, or the works that "lead to salvation" mentally of other religions. These things do not please God and they are not what He has asked for. We need to seek God and find out what things and what actions are pleasing to Him. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:9:

"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him." (KJV)

It should be our first duty to find out what pleases Him. It should be our life's pursuit to find those things that are good, godly and acceptable to Him. Only in this way can we truly be an acceptable living sacrifice.

To Do what is Right is Our Reasonable Service
To do what is right in the sight of God is our reasonable service. Reasonable means to be rational and intelligent. It means to have thoughtful meditation, not heathen practices or the "works" mentality. It is not a superstitious worship, but a service that has understanding of what God desires of us.

Our living sacrifice is to be presented in a reasonable manner and offered as a free will offering. It is not forced upon us but it is desired of us that we make right choices before God in all matters of life. Many people go to great lengths and do unthinkable things to "please" God even when God never called them to do so. We must have a reasonable mind to worship God.
So here we see that we are strongly urged to present our whole being to God in a righteous and morally blameless manner. We are to be a living sacrifice to Almighty God. If we perform the actions that God has decreed to be good and right then we perform a spiritual act of worship that is acceptable and well pleasing in His sight. This is our duty before God.