A Simple Life (Romans 12:1) – Part 1

Romans 12, beginning with verse 1: “... Therefore, brothers, I beseech you by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable worship. And do not conform to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

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 of himself with sound judgment, according to the measure of faith God has allotted to each one. For just as we have many members in one body, but not all the members have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Therefore, since we have different gifts according to the grace given to us: if it is prophecy, let it be used according to the measure of faith; if service, in serving; the one who teaches, in teaching; the one who exhorts, in exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who leads, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy: abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. In showing honor, give preference to one another.” May the Lord bless His holy Word. Amen.

Well, brothers and sisters, over the next few days I would like to spend some time talking about what I call preaching horizontal sermons. Why horizontal? Because many times in church we preach what I call vertical sermons, which have to do with spiritual things, obviously spiritual things—for example, when we talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We talk about signs and wonders and miracles. We talk about spiritual warfare, and we talk about the world of demons. We talk about the need for prayer and fasting. These things are obviously spiritual. But I believe that what Christians and many Christian churches that recognize the importance of the gifts and of the Spirit often lack is that ethical dimension, that moral dimension of life, that everyday dimension. I am referring to that dimension of the Christian life that has to do with our relationships with one another, with our character, with our daily behavior, with those little things in life that make all the difference.

Many times, we Christians become so enamored with the gifts and the things of the Spirit that we forget that there are simple things in life. In fact, I believe that the great problems we have in life come from those little things that we have not surrendered to the Lord, those little foxes that spoil the vineyards. And I believe that we pastors must also learn to give people sermons like that—sermons that are sometimes a little boring and do not lend themselves very much to shouting, “Glory to God! Hallelujah!” or dancing on the seats, but that are solid food for daily life.

Brothers and sisters, let us turn our attention more and more toward those areas of life. I believe that success in life depends on certain virtues, such as honesty, hard work, diligence, discipline, persistence in life, and not living by emotions alone but by principles. These are the things that truly ensure a successful life.

We Christians, brothers and sisters, must make sure that these things are part of our spiritual lives. Let me give you an example of this. Gregory was telling me that, I believe it was just today, he went to visit a family from the church, the family of our brother and sister Brenda and Winston Quant. They are from Nicaragua, very faithful Nicaraguans who have been in the church for many years. I am sure that 90% of the church does not know Brenda and Winston, and they definitely do not know Winston, because he is a very quiet, very reserved man. Gregory was celebrating the fact that they have just obtained a house that God has given them, a beautiful house. Gregory was there. I even saw a little envy in his eyes.... From the way he described it to me, he was saying, “Wow, I’d trade mine for it.” A brand-new, magnificent, enormous, and greatly blessed house.

And when Gregory spoke to me about Winston, he said that this morning Winston was giving thanks to the Lord with tears in his eyes. Right away—Mario is nodding because he knows what I mean. There is a picture of Winston sitting here in this building about 10 years ago now, at least 8 or 9 years ago, in the middle of the cold, and Winston was here helping Mario with the construction work. Brothers and sisters, when I look at that picture of Winston—and I took part in that entire struggle with this building—I blessed that man. Winston did not make a big show of anything. Winston simply came faithfully and gave his time to build this building, and when other people perhaps grew a little tired—and one understands; this is not an implied criticism or anything like that—Winston sacrificed himself for the Lord, and no one even knows this. Today I am saying it here. But in my mind I always thought: Winston is a quiet, reserved man; he does not make much noise, but he served the Lord in that persistent, sober, disciplined way. Do you understand what I mean? But notice how, years later, the Lord’s blessing comes into his life.

His daughter is currently studying in a special program, a beautiful daughter named Suyen, a lovely daughter with a special character, on a scholarship, and soon she will also be traveling to Guatemala with a group of young leaders selected from across the nation for their studies. As you can see, brothers and sisters, this is a family that I have always watched over the years: not very conspicuous; they do not jump around much, they do not speak in tongues much, they do not throw themselves on the floor—and glory to God for those who do all those things, understand me. I am not criticizing anyone. On the contrary, I want all those things to take place in my church. Glory to God for them. Amen.

There are other brothers and sisters who sometimes jump and dance and everything, and glory to God for that. The point is, as Jesus Christ says, it is not a matter of doing one thing or the other, but one thing and the other. What God wants, brothers and sisters, is for us to unite the two qualities in our lives. Let us unite passion for God, the fire of the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit with a sober, hardworking, disciplined, excellent life, and let us unite those two qualities into one.

That is what will allow our lives to be a blessing. Listen to me, Latino community, and also the North Americans to whom I am speaking here now. It is important that you—young people, the young couples who are here—I see my brother Wilson, for example, and his wife, and I see other young couples: Samuel and Myriam, Omar and Airimar, and so many other young couples. Hugo and his wife as well, Sofía, and others.

Brothers and sisters, let us devote our lives to living by solid values, because that is what will build our house, and not. One must cling to a vision through thick and thin, despite discouragement and the ups and downs of life. One must remain steadfast, clocking in punctually at work every day, going to the bathroom only for as long as necessary and devoting all the rest of the time to work, earning one’s bread honestly, so that people will say, “Look, if that employee leaves, my factory will collapse,” because you devote yourself wholeheartedly to living a simple life of integrity.

Young people, get the butterflies out of your heads—and the cockroaches too. That is what is important, brothers and sisters. It is that quality. What you devote yourself to, what you consider important, is what will determine success in your life. If your values amount simply to knowing the latest episode of the latest soap opera, your head will be full of cockroach wings. But if you devote yourself to developing solid values in your character, woman of God, man of God, and to being steadfast in your conduct and walking uprightly through life, that is what will lead you to success.

Now, what does all that have to do with this passage? I realize that the only thing I will be able to do is give the introduction, but that is fine. The introduction is good enough, and there is a great deal for you to chew on. This passage is clearly made up of simple advice. Chapters 12 and 13 of Romans, and everything through the end, are very practical chapters. From chapters 1 through 11 of Romans, the Apostle Paul devotes himself to discussing very lofty theological matters, and the Epistle to the Romans is one of the most powerful epistles of Christian theology. In Romans, the Apostle Paul laid the foundations of Christian theology, but from there, from chapter 12 onward, the Apostle Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, devoted himself to giving simple advice about the Christian life.

All he does throughout the rest of that chapter is give us practical advice. For example, let us go to verse 9. It says, “Let love be without hypocrisy; abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” “Love one another with brotherly affection.” Verse 10: “In showing honor, give preference to one another.” Look at verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”

Brothers and sisters, this is very simple advice. There is nothing exalted, nothing very exotic in this advice. These are the qualities, brothers and sisters—as I said, by way of introduction—to which, in the name of the Lord, I want to call all of you this morning: to look at those simple aspects of the Christian life. If we devote ourselves to pursuing those small but very important values in life, as the years pass we will see God’s blessing come to rest upon us, as it has in the case of the Quant family.

For some reason, I see young couples, and I say to them: If you set yourselves that goal now in your lives—to live a life like that, one that honors the Lord in the simple things, in the little things—God will bless you in the long term. When you reach 20 years of marriage, 30 years of marriage, you will be able to look back and see how the growth has taken place.

The Word of God says, “... for the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the day is perfect.” The journey of a man or woman of God, of a couple belonging to God, is like that: remaining steadfast, and people who look across the years can step back and see the pattern; they can see the ascent. Perhaps we do not see it as we live it day by day, but others can see it, and when we step back and look at our lives, we see that, yes, our lives have been rising. That has to be done day by day, simply putting one foot in front of the other, standing firm, valuing the Word of God.

I want to do something right now. I want the young people to stand up. I want that young couple over there to stand. And all the other young couples, from age 15 onward. From 15 to 22 or 23, stand up. I do not want to be too precise. Over here as well. Rocío and this couple, stand up. Stand to your feet. You two as well. Any other young person who is here, stand up too. If you feel this is for you as well, stand up now—the rest of you too. All right, if you want to stand up, Gloria and Rafael, stand up. Commit your life to the Lord.

See what it says here. It says, “... do not conform to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” There are many young people, many people who are just beginning their lives, who are conforming to this age. The Lord is saying: Do not place so much emphasis on the things of this world, on the world’s fashions, values, and ambitions. No. Instead, be transformed inwardly; change your mindset; renew yourselves so that you can live successful lives. It says, “... so that you may discern the good will of God.” There must be a change of mindset before we can discern God’s will for our lives, because God wants to bless every one of us, but first there must be an inner change. “Lord, I am going to set my love on You; I am going to set my passion on You; I am going to take my eyes off the world and devote myself to honoring You and seeking Your glory,” and then you will see God’s blessing descend upon your life.

When you set your preference on the things of God, when you prefer God and place Him above everything else, God begins to bless you, illuminate your path, straighten your steps, and remove the obstacles from your life. There must be a conversion.

Many of us are in the church, but the church is not in us. It is like the saying: Some people go through school, but school does not go through them. Many of us are in the church, but the church has not gotten inside us.

The Bible says, “... the eyes of the Lord range throughout the whole earth, seeking those whose hearts are fully committed to Him, in order to show Himself faithful on their behalf,” but you must begin with a change of mind and values. And we must put those values into practice day by day. Put the Lord to the test. I promise you in the name of Jesus that you will see great things in your life. Amen. Hallelujah. Glory in the name of the Lord.

Right now, raise your right hand. Everyone stand up now and raise your right hand as a sign of covenant with the Lord. And say to the Lord, “Father, I embrace the values of your Kingdom, I embrace the ethics of your Kingdom, the morality of your Kingdom. I welcome excellence into my life”—say that to the Lord. “I welcome discipline, persistence, self-control, honesty, justice, love, and fairness”—these are the values of the Kingdom of God. Ask the Lord to change your life: “Lord, change me. Change my emphasis, change my attitude, change my heart, Lord. Change the inner structure of my life. Change me on the inside. Do not merely change me on the outside, simply doing outward things. No, change me within. Put a new strength within me, Lord. Oh, hallelujah.”

Thank you, Lord. We worship you, we bless you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for your word, Lord, because your word is the truth; your word is faithful, Lord. We embrace your word, Lord. We are going to sing, “Lord, we thank you.” You are going to see great and transformative changes in your life. Dare to believe the Lord, and put him to the test for a time, as Daniel did with his vegetarian diet. Truly put God to the test for a time, and challenge others to see the change in your life. You are going to see how God will transform your life.

Thank you, Lord. We bless you, we worship you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Hallelujah.