Great day, everyone. I hope that this message finds you well. My name is Daryl Baptist Jr., and I'm a servant of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is to Him that I owe everything, and I'm honored to have been called by Him to serve Him and do His will. Recently, I was granted the opportunity to start my process into ministry through my church, and the first step to that was to give what they call my initial sermon. With the support of my friends and family (relatives and spiritual family), I gave my first sermon on March 27th, 2024. It was an amazing experience and certainly one that I will never forget.
I was asked to share my sermon, so I decided to upload it on my blog for preservation purposes. After the post, I will share the link to the video in case anyone is interested in viewing the whole service.
Intro.
A few weeks ago, Bishop Granger started a new series on Stewardship. During the 2nd part of that series, he preached a very up-in-your-face, challenging message that forced us to look at and examine our lives. He taught from The Parable of The Talents. Most of us are familiar with that story, but for those unfamiliar with it, here are the cliff notes to get you up to speed.
A master went on a journey and left talents to his three servants according to each one’s ability. To one, he gave 5; to another 2, and the third, 1. The servant with the 5 went and traded and attained five more. The servant with the 2 gained two more, but the servant with the 1 went and buried it. After some time had passed, the master came back to settle accounts with his servants. The servant with the ten talents and the servant with the four talents presented them to their master, and he was well pleased with them—rewarding them on their faithfulness with the little they had. And regarding the person that buried their talent… well, just read Matthew 25. I know some of my peers will use ChatGpt, but I promise you artificial intelligence still falls short of the revelation of God’s word.
As I was studying this parable, a few things caught my attention.
Each servant was given an amount that directly corresponded with their ability. This shows that…
The servant with the five talents gained 5. The one with two talents gained 2. What this shows is that God doesn’t give you everything at once and...
Not only did they gain back 100% profit on their investments, they used all that they had.
What I took away from this is that
There was a level of intimacy between the master and his servants.
How so? The Bible says that they were entrusted with his possessions. When someone entrusts you with something, there has to have been an established and respected relationship beforehand. They had to have known your capabilities and your potential.
This is just another confirmation that God knows our capabilities and we are all given just enough to achieve the tasks we are given.
Though you may not have much, whatever God has given you is enough to multiply.
It’s okay to have a little. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God made a lot from a little. Read 1 Kings to see the story of Elijah and the widow who didn’t run out of flour and oil during a drought. Or in the Gospels, where Jesus fed the multitude with leftovers from 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.
And if He did it, then He could do it again.
The servants knew their master’s desires, tendencies, and characteristics, so much so that they traded everything they had to present to him as much as they could have received.
I don’t want to give the whole story away, but based on the reasoning the servant with that buried used, they all knew good and well what expectations their master had of them.
Which made me start thinking…
How many of us have the same respect for our Master as these servants did with theirs?...
God entrusted us with our resources, gifts, talents, abilities, time, and most importantly, our lives.
But with all that being said. I am led to ask…
Are you giving it all you’ve got?....
It is easy to become complacent with the grace of God and become deceived into thinking that the minimum we do is okay with Him. Sometimes, or perhaps even most of the time, we take God’s kindness for granted. We think that I must be doing right since God is blessing me. However, God’s kindness, grace, patience, and mercy have nothing to do with our actions. He blesses everyone out of His love for humanity. But I am here tonight to share with you that we must maintain sight of the level of expectations that He has of us.
If God said it, then God meant it.
Part 1
Just like any parent or someone in authority, God, the King of kings and The Lord of lords, has requirements for His people. Turn to your neighbor and say that GOD HAS ORDER IN HIS KINGDOM. Many of us know what it’s like to be a leader or have authority over someone or a group of people, be that of a parent/caretaker, manager, educator, etc.
If everyone was left to do as they will, without regard to the rules and order set in place, how soon would it take before things become chaotic?
How productive would that environment be?
More importantly, how frustrated would you feel when dealing with those who are actively disobedient?...
We are not without excuse…
We cannot claim ignorance.
God’s word is clear, which brings us to the first point for this evening….
DEDICATE YOUR WHOLE SELF. Dedicate your whole self.
We are required to present all that there is to ourselves to the Father. The Bible says to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Our bodies include more than just our physical body. We are to present all that there is about ourselves to God. I mean, just think about it. Can you separate your mind from your body? What about your feelings? How about that thing that just makes you, you? It’s ridiculous, right? This is precisely what God means when He tells us to present our bodies. We are to sacrifice ourselves, in every aspect, to the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot fake the funk. We can’t just present anything to the Lord and foolishly think everything is acceptable to Him… He wants our bodies to be presented as living and holy sacrifices. Did you catch that? Living and holy.
What does that mean you ask? Well, I’m excited to tell you. God doesn’t just want the dead parts of you. The parts of you that have no life, that which has no actual weight or meaning. You know, the things that are easy for you to sacrifice.
The occasional prayer when you want something.
Liking and sharing Christian content on social media.
Showing up to church whenever it’s convenient for you.
Ladies and gentlemen, God is not a fool! He knows that if your boyfriend or girlfriend calls you drop everything for them. He knows that when your friends hit you up to go out on the scene, you dress to impress and hate to be late. He knows that He is not the priority in your life.
Listen! You have been fearfully and wonderfully made. He didn’t create and form you simply to give back to Him plain ol’ ordinary or your leftovers. No! God wants the vigor, the vibrant, the vital! He wants your first and your best. He wants what has been set apart, that which is uniquely unique, that which is one of a kind. He wants a living and holy sacrifice. Are you that sacrifice?
Please let not the trickster deceive us. Turn to your other neighbor and say EVERY SACRIFICE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. One of the first illustrations of this is in the Genesis story of Cain and Abel. Cain, being a tiller, had an offering of fruit from his works. Abel, being a keeper of flocks, had an offering of the firstlings from the flock. Both brothers presented their sacrifices to God, but only one brother’s offering was accepted.
During my sermon preparation, I wanted to ask which brother you want to be. But when I asked myself that question, I didn’t want to choose either because it didn’t turn out well for either of them. So I’ll disregard that.
We must take the Lord’s command seriously. In order to present your body as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to the Lord, you must Dedicate Your Whole Self. You must Give it All You Got.
Part 2
This brings us to the second point of this message.
DISCIPLINE YOUR MIND. Discipline your mind.
The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”...
Did you catch that? “Do not be conformed”… The A clause of this command affirms the seriousness of the spiritual warfare occurring right before our eyes. It rightly assumes that we have been conformed to, or living in harmony with, the evil of ways, thoughts, and behaviors of this world. We aren’t innately evil creatures, as we were made in the image of the living God. But, we have fallen from His grace and have since become subject to lessor, yet still powerful, forces. There are powers and principalities that govern the air, and they are on a mission for the destruction of God’s people and the tearing down of His Kingdom. These entities have access to our minds, and if we are not diligent in disciplining them, they will take control of our thoughts and give birth to all sorts of sin.
This reality may seem dark, but God’s light outshines any darkness. God gives us hope in the A clause of this command to not be conformed to this world. He lets us know that being conformed to this world is a matter of choice. He won’t give us a command that we can’t live up to with His help.
He provides an out…
The B clause of this command is for us “to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” The Bible tells us that we can have our minds renewed. However, let’s make this clear. The Bible doesn’t tell us that we can renew our minds ourselves. No self-help book, no counselor, no new-age spiritual guru, and no amount of willpower can compete with the evil that is at work in this world. We did not create ourselves; therefore, it is impossible to change ourselves. God is the one who creates us, and it is God alone who changes us. Titus 3: 5 reads as follows
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
This verse makes it clear that it is the Holy Spirit that performs the renewal. We must be diligent in our surrendering and denial of self. This is the only way God can truly get His glory through our lives.
Remember, everything points back to God. It is through Him and Him alone that we have freedom from bondage. It is through His power that we have the ability to discipline our minds. We are given access to a loving and holy God who wants and desires the best for us. Yes! Without Him intervening, we would be too weak to handle anything worth handling. But be encouraged because we have a God who not only strengthens us but who is also our strength when we are weak.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I am glad to have the God of Isreal as my God and not have to rely on Buddha, Allah, Krishna, or any other false god. I’m glad my God is the God of Elijah, who brings fire down from heaven with a prayer, and not have to scream out and cut myself for Baal just for him not to show up. I have a God that allows me to move mountains. I have a God that will enable me to defeat giants. I have a God that sees me through fires. I have a God that knows my name.
We do not have the excuse or the luxury to play the victim when our Savior is the Victor. Our Bible tells us, “That who the Son sets free is free indeed.” You don’t have to be bound to the ways of this world. The greatest enemy to life is death. And, if the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead truly lives in you, then through His power, you can Discipline Your Mind and Give it All You Got.
Part 3
We have covered that Giving it all you got requires both Dedicating your whole self and Disciplining your mind. But do we have a God who requires us to give Him everything just because He is so self-centered, with nothing to show for our obedience? The answer is no. God is a rewarder of those who wholeheartedly seek Him and follow His commands. After we present our bodies as living and holy sacrifices and then transformed by renewing our minds, we become eligible to receive the benefits of obedience, which brings us to our last point for tonight.
Display God’s will for your life. Display God’s will for your life.
God is fully aware of the hardships and troubles we face on a daily basis. He knows what it’s like to deal with the evil and dissatisfaction of this world. He knows what it means to hurt and suffer for righteousness’ sake. Though true, God doesn’t know this simply because He is omniscient. No! The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 4, verse 15 that, “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” God is a gracious and understanding God. He is just in all His ways. He knows the difficulties that we face, the heartbreaks, and the temptations. His demands for our lives are not unrealistic or unachievable. Therefore, any sacrifice made in righteousness, for His name’s sake, will be rewarded.
For my notetakers, write this down. If God can do it, with Him, we can do it too.
Our scripture for tonight tells us that after we have been renewed, we will prove what the will of God is for our lives: a will that is good, acceptable, and perfect. The word prove, in this verse can be a little misleading in that we might think the Bible is talking about proving something to God or someone else. However, the writer is saying that we will prove to ourselves that God’s will for our lives is all we need.
For a more vivid understanding of what the writer was implying, let’s exchange the word prove for experience. “So that you may experience what the will of God is, that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect.”
But what is good?
Good is morally excellent, virtuous, and satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree. In the simplest form, good is the opposite of evil. If you’re unsure what good looks like, just know it’s not bad.
God’s will for your life will prove to be good.
What does the writer mean by acceptable?
Acceptable, as used in today’s language, falls short of the intended meaning of the word acceptable. When we think of acceptable, we think of mediocracy, okay, or good enough. However, when we look back to verse one, we have already established that this cannot be the case. We know that what’s acceptable to God is nothing short of the best. If that were not the case, then Cain’s sacrifice would have been accepted by God simply because a sacrifice was made. Yet, Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted.
So that brings us back to the question: what does the writer mean when he says acceptable?
Acceptable is better translated as well-pleasing. This idea fits smoothly in verse one as we know God has to be well pleased with the type of sacrifices that He receives. Now, let’s add it to our verse.
“So that you may experience what the will of God is, that which is good, and well-pleasing, and perfect.”
God’s will for your life will prove to be acceptable.
Now, what is perfect?
Perfect is complete, perfect is whole, and perfection lacks nothing. When you experience God’s perfect will for your life, there is nothing else you want. One of the most quoted Psalms is Psalm 23. The first verse goes, “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want.” Oh, how great it must be to live without wants because you have the confidence that you have a good Shepard who will provide for all your needs. A Shepard that will leave the 99 to come and get you whenever you find yourself lost.
God’s perfection doesn’t disappoint. Nothing else needs to be added, and what’s even better is that not even the devil himself can take that away from you.
God’s will for your life will prove to be perfect.
Closing
Tonight, we discussed the necessity of Dedicating your whole self and Disciplining your mind. We were all created to give God glory, not to live the lives we wish to live. So many of us try to lead Jesus where we want to go instead of being led by Jesus to where He has already ordained. What has God done that was so bad that you can’t give Him your all?
God is faithful, merciful, and patient. Why wouldn’t we give such a provider our best?
Remember, we all have a purpose, we all have an assignment, and we all are stewards of the lives God gave us. What God requires of us is incomparable to what we will receive for our faithfulness and obedience. Again, back to the parable of the talents, the master who gave his servants stewardship responsibilities said since they were faithful with a few, he made them ruler of many and allowed them to enter into his joy. Who doesn’t want all that God has in store for them? Who doesn’t want to enter into His joy?
God gave us life, His son, and an endless supply of love.
Will you give nothing? Will you give a little? Or will you give it all you’ve got?
Let us pray.
Thank you again for reading this sermon. If you have found it helpful, please share it with someone who you feel will also receive it. As promised, here's the video from the worship service https://www.youtube.com/live/0GBcSB4Z70w?si=Ps2CeMgXf_SgkR31
Enjoy and have a great day.