Introduction

Romans Chapter 12 follows on from the previous 11 chapters. Having built up to this point, Paul begins to summarise in this chapter:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

At first glance, these words might seem perplexing. To understand the reasoning, we need to refer back to the previous chapter. Consider the end of Chapter 11:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

We must begin to read the Bible from a higher spiritual perspective. I am also striving to elevate everyone's spiritual level. This level involves recognising that all things originate from Him, are sustained by Him, and return to Him. In other words, the God we believe in today, the Gospel we uphold, and all the things we do, combined with the views Paul presents in Romans Chapters 1 to 11 – founded on faith, beginning with faith, and leading to faith, this Gospel being the power of God, and so on – what conclusion can we draw?

The conclusion is that if we rely on this God, we can live out His glory. What more needs to be said? Therefore, Paul exhorts everyone to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service.

In my faith, there is a very important concept. Before I knew God, I was searching for a God. I did not want to find a minor deity; I wanted to find a reliable, supreme God. And indeed, in this world, we have found the greatest God, from whom, through whom, and to whom are all things.

He is so gracious to us, preparing exceedingly abundant grace and bringing us great tidings: that we can live like humans, live out God's nobility, and live out God's glory. Is there a problem with offering our bodies as living sacrifices? No!

Do Not Conform to the Pattern of This World

People in this world have a characteristic: it is not that I offer to you, but that you must offer to me. If you offend them, they will relentlessly pursue you. Therefore, we must not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That is to say, brothers and sisters, we must recognise one thing: we must return to a fundamental place, which is not to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

If we walk the path of trusting in God today while still conforming to the pattern of this world, that is our greatest obstacle. I later discovered that those who conform to the world share a common trait: their minds are filled with worldly value systems. These worldly value systems are deeply harmful, and those who possess them are incredibly foolish. Even I am shocked. For example, someone contracts a terminal illness, comes to me, is healed, and then goes back to their previous ways. No amount of persuasion helps!

I repeatedly analyse what this worldly value system is. Today, we will dissect this matter one by one. Therefore, I have set the theme of this chapter as: do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The reason for this theme is that Romans 12 is entirely about what to do and what not to do.

If we believe in God, we should emulate Abraham's faith. Abraham believed in a God who can raise people from the dead. Among the many problems in life, the most difficult is death; once a person dies, it is all over. But Abraham's faith is interesting. I believe in a God, I want to seek Him, I believe that life on earth is vanity of vanities.

Why do I say that people in this world are foolish? Because they forget what happens when a person dies; they only care about the time when a person is alive. All their value systems are based on the seventy or eighty years from birth to death. If you infringe on their core interests during these seventy or eighty years, they will fight you to the death.

But those who trust in God like Abraham do not focus on these seventy or eighty years. I divide people in the world into two types: those who conform to the world and those who emulate Abraham. Which is wiser? Of course, emulating Abraham is wiser.

All who emulate Abraham will discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. I often warn brothers and sisters not to forget one thing: in this world, no matter who you oppose, do not oppose God. No matter whose pleasure you seek, it is not as important as seeking God's pleasure.

Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

In the ministry, there are countless pastors who are utterly miserable. If you ask how I am doing, I would describe it in one word: awesome! Although there are times of blood, sweat, and tears, it is still awesome. Because my mind is constantly renewed, I often see God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. This will is not for everyone, but for those who do not conform to this world.

Therefore, we must not love this world; we must learn to love God. How do you love God? Take Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as examples; these four generations of grandfather and grandsons are truly remarkable! They are people who do not conform to this world; their minds are constantly renewed, continuously climbing on the path of knowing God. Constantly renewing! Renewing! Renewing! They would not say: Oh, I have known God for a long time, but it's just like this.

Some people, bringing a host of demons with them, come to us, and after being ministered to and almost delivered, they think that they have learned everything. But there is one thing you certainly have not learned, which is that we are still constantly renewing today. For example, we were much better in 2012 than in 2011, and much better in 2013 than in 2012... until now, we are new every day, and we are still constantly changing. Because the world is constantly progressing, we cannot stop.

I met a very famous pastor who said something to me that almost made me laugh. He said: We have done all the healing and deliverance that you are doing now. Did you do it right? You ended up with a body full of illness and many unresolved problems. Once he had done it, he felt it was okay: We have done charisma, healing, and deliverance. We used to cast out many demons, but we no longer bother with it. I often meet people who say these things.

In the past, when I was teaching a class, a very lovely old man came up to me and said: Driving out demons? We did that a long time ago. Hearing this, I really felt that it was useless to teach this class! Another old man said: I haven't driven out demons in a long time; I'm a bit rusty. I pondered this matter. No matter who it is, as long as the mind stops renewing, there is no way to discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. Therefore, we must constantly renew ourselves in the knowledge of God's truth!

One characteristic of my theological views is that, unlike Jesus, it is not that things were not done correctly. The reason we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds is that today we are still very far from being like Jesus. Yesterday, I received a call: someone was going around preaching and driving out demons, and he felt that his ministry was very powerful, but he could not drive out the demons in his own family. In the end, it still doesn't work!

Someone introduced him to me, and I briefly introduced our entire belief system. The Chinese Mingding Destiny system is a constantly evolving system that is never不变. Why? Although we know a lot about God today, we are still far from enough. Only by constantly renewing ourselves can we continuously know God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.

We often feel that this is a bit difficult! But the Bible shows us that many great figures of faith have done it, such as Isaac, who completely offered his body as a living sacrifice, willing to burn himself as an offering to God, but God stopped him and prepared a lamb himself.

Isaac is a remarkable person! For example, the story of Isaac digging wells: he digs a well and water comes out, he digs another well and water comes out. Can you understand this? In fact, the Philistines did not want to steal Isaac's wells, but no matter how they dug, no water came out, and they were very anxious. As a result, they saw that Isaac dug and water came out, so they went to steal it. Isaac is amazing! If you steal mine, I won’t fight with you. I will go and dig again, and as a result, another one is stolen, until finally no one comes to steal anymore.

What kind of person is this? This is a very powerful person. Powerful people are like this; if you steal mine, I will bless you. If you are a person like Isaac, do you still need to desperately grab, fight, and snatch with your own hands? If you are a person like Isaac, do you still need to be afraid of your boss like a mouse seeing a cat at work? If you are a person like Isaac, do you still need to worry about not having enough money? If you are a person whose mind is constantly renewed and no longer conforms to this world, and you often see God's good, pleasing, and perfect will, will you lack money? No!

Do you really believe in God, really believe that all your good things in this world are not apart from God? When someone steals a well from you, do you go home feeling tangled, frustrated, and sad? Isn't it enough to bless them? Even if you are cheated, you don't care! The problem lies in whether we know this God within us.

If you don't know God, and someone steals your well, you go home and complain to God with regret: God, look, I worked so hard to dig a well, but they stole it. Please help me get it back! Isaac was not like this. Even if the well was stolen, he felt it didn't matter. Because Isaac is a person who knows God's heart, he knows how great and generous God is!

The Difference Between Two Logical Systems

Therefore, everyone, do not conform to this world. The world is one system, and trusting in God is another logical system. I am very happy as a pastor because no matter what difficulties I encounter, I trust in my God. Since believing in the Lord until now, I have not relied on my own abilities. I have a God; I have finally found Him. If I don't trust in Him, how foolish would I be!

The world's system has big problems. The world's system always makes people think of themselves more highly than they ought to, but those who trust in God will think of themselves with sober judgment. Some people feel great when they earn money and feel incompetent when they lose money. They feel great when problems are solved and feel terrible when they are not solved. They are always swaying in this state. The world's logical system is fully reflected in us, so we must constantly deal with these problems within us.

Why are people like this? Because people attribute all successful things to their own abilities and attribute failed or poorly done problems to others. I was born into a bad family, my father has no power or influence, and he did not send me to a good school. I was framed by someone, and he took advantage of me, so I have no prospects in this life... all the problems are others'!

Today, do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to, but understand your true nature and trust in God. If you know you can do it, then do it well. If you can't do it, then learn to do it well, constantly renewing, constantly improving, and then getting better day by day.

What is most deadly for those of us who believe in the Lord today? Rigidity! The world's system is rigid. The world likes to suddenly invent something, rely on it for a lifetime to earn money, and then do nothing else and just relax. How wonderful that would be!

But those who believe in God are not like this. They constantly pursue knowing God, constantly experiencing God outwardly, and constantly renewing inwardly. Constant renewal is the key! Thinking of oneself more highly than one ought to is not the solution to the problem. When you think of yourself as you ought to but then discover that you cannot do it in practice, you will feel inferior. We must think of ourselves with sober judgment and no longer see ourselves according to the world's logical system.

In Jesus Christ, we should not pursue individual cultivation but seek unity! Because in Jesus Christ, we are building up the body of Jesus together, each functioning in its own way and supporting one another. Many people in the world pursue being powerful themselves; they do not like to build up the body of Jesus Christ; they like to build their own small kingdoms and establish their own small strongholds.

I know one sister who used to play my sermons and Bible studies in the local church but did not tell everyone whose sermons these were. Why? She wants to build her own small stronghold. It is said that quite a few people offer to her. What is she pursuing? Maybe she is pursuing building up the body of Jesus Christ. If so, she should help the brothers and sisters succeed. How should she help the brothers and sisters succeed? By solving their problems! If there are some brothers and sisters whose problems she cannot solve, she should let them go to places where their problems can be solved.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; (Romans 12:6-7)

Some people interpret this passage as meaning that if you are serving, then serve, and if you are teaching, then teach, and do nothing else. In fact, that is not what it means. It means that people should each function in their own way. Whatever your responsibility is, do things well within the scope of your responsibility. Some people like to meddle in other people's business, but their own business is not done well.

A long time ago, there was a sister who liked to shepherd sheep that did not belong to her. She would shepherd her own sheep with those two things, and that was it. That is nonsense! But when she encountered a newcomer who was not under her care, she would serve them with great care. Why? Because she used those two things again, and people thought she was great. Paul is admonishing us here that no matter what a person does, he must do his part well, and don't mess with things that are not your responsibility.

In this world, people flock to places where there are benefits to be gained, and they like to follow the trend. If we meddle in everything, it is difficult to do things well. For example, if a person sees others speculating in real estate, he also goes to speculate, and if he sees others speculating in stocks, he also follows the trend. He doesn't know if he can do it, and he can't see himself as he ought to, and he can't do it with moderation, so he likes to mess around.

Therefore, Paul advises us to do what we should do. In fact, our God does things in an orderly and systematic way. Everyone should slowly ponder the problems we are talking about today. You may be a little confused, and I will discuss it with you later. Faith is not only distributed to each person by God, but the choice of faith is our responsibility. We cannot blame God for giving us little faith, because this cannot replace what Paul talked about in the previous chapters: beginning with faith and leading to faith.

Loving God is a Joyful Thing

We must not conform to this world, which operates according to a logical system based on the seventy or eighty years from a person's birth to death. Today, we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that while we are alive, we are constantly renewed, constantly knowing, and constantly experiencing God, and knowing what is good, acceptable, and perfect, is the will of God.

This world often plays with falsehood, so the Bible says:

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. (Romans 12:9-10)

Paul tells us here that love must be sincere, love brothers with affection, and give preference to one another in honour. Many of our brothers and sisters do not know that these expressions are called faith. I used to like inviting Christian entrepreneurs to share in the church. After the sharing, a sister rushed up to exchange business cards with them, as if she could gain something by getting involved with them.

What are these people thinking? Wanting to get to know this rich man, perhaps they can use him one day? This is not love, it is taking advantage of people. Love must be without hypocrisy. Can you deceive God if you are hypocritical? You can't even deceive a demon! If you deceive God and play with falsehood, you will definitely attract demons. Love brothers, be affectionate to one another; honor people, give preference to one another. Then you will ask, if you do this, can you take advantage? Then I tell you, we live by relying on God in all things, not by relying on taking advantage.

Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

Serving the Lord is very hard work if you are not fervent in spirit. To this day, we are still serving God fervently. How good it is to serve in this way! In service, I have encountered many lazy people, and many lazy pastors. Some people leave me messages on the website: Look, you criticize this and criticize that, people have weaknesses. A Christian must be fervent in spirit, always serving the Lord. Since we have offered our bodies as a living sacrifice, is it not natural to serve the Lord fervently? Serving the Lord is our most important thing, it is a very worthwhile thing.

Some people are fervent when they are set free, but they don't have time to serve others and set them free. What kind of mind is that! If we trust in God, receive benefits from God, and know that all things are from him, through him, and to him, can we not have time to serve the Lord?

Someone said: Oh, I serve people until late at night, what will I do tomorrow when I go to work? In my past career, I almost lost my job several times, and God arranged better jobs for me, and my salary kept rising. That's not because I love money, but because I love God. Loving God is such a good thing! If you love the world, the world will pierce you with sorrows; if you love God, God will reveal to you his perfect, good, and pleasing will.

Stop Worrying, Completely Give it to God

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

This is what a person who has completely dedicated himself should be like. When our interests may be slightly damaged, don't worry.

Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. (Romans 12:13)

What if you get cheated? Don't worry, God is still in control of this world, but you have to start learning to know which one is a saint and which one is a guest.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14)

Don't get this wrong. You can't curse others because your own interests are damaged. Even if others take advantage of you, you can't do this. Sometimes I might say that they will encounter disasters, but that is not a curse, because sowing and reaping is a spiritual principle. We must distinguish that our gospel cannot be separated from blessings and curses, but if a person curses others because of his own gains and losses, then that is not pleasing to God.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. (Romans 12:15-16)

It is still a bit difficult for us to remove the worldly system within us. Once people have a little money, they become arrogant and think they are great. These are all bad habits, all systems of this world.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19)

If you are a new creation, you will definitely do these things. Since you lack no good thing, just let people wrong you a little. Give the grievance to God! Don't always think about revenge, or think that people are taking advantage of you, or feel that people are hurting you, and want to avenge yourself. Many people go to appeal, and they have been appealing for more than ten or even twenty years. How miserable they live.

We don't do this today, we don't belong to this world, the world is nothing great. Even if we lose something in this world, so what? Our home is not in this world, our country is not in this world, we have nothing in this world. Apart from vanity, there is only vanity in this world.

So I often tell everyone: it is a very simple thing to live. Some of us often say pray for me this, pray for me that. Others took a little advantage of him, and he hated them for a long time, how could he not get sick? We must learn to see through a person's life.

Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.(Romans 12:20-21)

Why do people do this? Is it taking advantage or suffering a loss? People do this because you regard everything in the world as vanity. If everything is vanity, then what is money? Today, many people are bound by money, and problems arise because of money. Some people feel unhappy because they spent tens of thousands of dollars more. In fact, they didn't spend that much more, but they just felt that they spent more. If you look down on things in the world, just suffer the loss.

Can we see through and look down on everything in the world? Living is a very simple thing. If you make it very complicated, how can you live wonderfully? If a person believes in God, but does not trust in God, and is unwilling to offer himself as a living sacrifice, and clings to the little things he owns, how long can you hold on? Who will get sick if you don't? Because you have not acted according to God's will, nor have you acted according to God's word. You do not believe in God, and you do not want to rely on him! You only feel that if others take advantage of you in this world, then it will not work, then can you not be in pain?

In fact, whether you suffer a loss or take advantage in this world, this world and the things in the world will pass away, you can't grasp it. If you hold on to this world, the world will pierce you with sorrows. If you take the things of this world very seriously, and take your children very seriously, these things will pierce you with sorrows.

Some people collapse when the teacher calls because their children are not doing well in school. If we see through all of this, then what's so great about it? Some people bought a school district house for their children's education, at a price of 140,000 to 150,000 yuan per square meter. Will the children really have a future because of that school? No. Because learning depends on people learning, not on schools teaching! What can the school give you? Later, the school moved away, and your house depreciated. This is how the world operates. You have spent all your money, what will you do in the future?

There are many strange things in this world. If you are willing to imitate this world, this world will definitely pierce you with sorrows. That's why every family has its own problems. If you recite the scriptures of the world, of course it will be difficult to recite. If you recite the Bible, act according to God's word, and often experience God's goodness, perfect and pleasing will, and look down on the things of this world, you will lack nothing, right?

The logic system of the world is a logic system that only wants to obtain, but the logic system of God is a logic system of dedication. What belongs to God is to completely dedicate oneself to God and become a blessing to this generation or future generations. What belongs to the world thinks that the world serves me, even if the whole world serves you, what can you get when you die? I don't know why people are so stupid.

Among us, if you have listened to my Bible study, but still insist on pursuing these things，then I will give you a prophecy again: you will experience a lot of sorrows. When a Christian puts himself on the altar for God, even in tribulations, we can endure with hope in our hearts. If a person experiences tribulations in this world because he loves the world, what can he use to resist? Where does he get hope?

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, listen to my advice. We must learn to see through a person's life, to see through the things from birth to death, and only to know Jesus Christ as the most precious treasure, and to regard all things as rubbish. We must recognize the essence of this world. There is something in this world called Lao Ma. Lao Ma deceives you and robs you of your money. You desperately earn money again, and he robs all of these again, and you enter an infinite cycle of death until you die, and when you die, you have to return to the devil. What can you get?

But we who trust in God only want to live out God's glory in our lives, even if we imitate the Lord Jesus and are crucified on the cross, we will not hesitate! Because we have seen through the things of this world! If we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices, to live for the Lord and to die for the Lord, this is a very good thing! Because all things must be from him and to him! If we can return to God, is that not the purpose of our life? Isn't it natural to dedicate ourselves to God and serve God? May God bless everyone!