Romans Part 6: RESPONSESample

WHO Is The Place of Your Residency?

Who do you belong to?

What does your fruit say about you?

Do you possess the humility necessary to truly view yourself as a Blood-bought member of Christ's Body?

Questions like these aren't meant to shame or guilt. Their purpose is to guide our heart into a place of self-reflection WITH Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit of God access to areas within us that might be tender and/or buried; areas that house hurts, traumas, incorrect mapping/faulty views in identity; areas that we avoid out of fear of being reinjured or discovering something about ourselves that is uncomfortable to be confronted with. Jesus wants to expose these areas to His Light, to resurrect our hearts to new life, and then to deliver us from the bondage that hinders our ability to truly operate in His gifts of grace. God wants to place you firmly into His truth where TRUE grace and peace reside. This act of obedience allows us to flourish under His care, under His watchful eye. If we neglect our relationship with our triune God by refusing to go where He leads, if we continue to operate out of our hurts, we are robbing ourselves of truly knowing His fullness.

Our relational God gives us diverse gifts to benefit His Body through His Grace. This starts from the common ground of being emptied of all false images, of self-importance, and of the internal need for approval from others. We unite in the commonality of truly accepting Jesus and all He offers through His infinite Grace. This allows us to view our brothers and sisters in Christ as equally vital parts of the same Body-United. Seeing each gift as the blessing it truly is allows us to receive His power to operate in our gifting, not coveting the gifts of others, but praising God for the miraculous work of His transforming Spirit. This happens through the beautiful sacrifice of His Son to enrich us, equip us, and comfort us all. We have the most beautiful opportunity to truly shine His Light into the darkness around us, but this can not happen, in the fullness of measure available to us, if we are using our grace gifts to serve ourselves. True worship cannot be divorced from service, and true service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not about how we perform on the outside. True worship has everything to do with our devotion on the inside.

Pastor John MacArthur offers a wonderful perspective on this:

"The purpose of offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices is not mystical or monastic but eminently practical. Devotion to the Lord and active, faithful ministry for Him are inseparable. We cannot be truly sacrificed to Him and be inactive in His work. And, on the other hand, we cannot be truly successful in His work without being genuinely devoted to Him. When a believer walks in holy obedience to the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit and serving God, it will become apparent to him and to others what his gift is and how it blesses the body of Christ. We must realize that from ourselves, from our fleshly humanness, nothing eternal can be produced, but that in the power of the Spirit, we can be used to build the kingdom and honor the King."

-Ardena Hamill