By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
August 9, 2016
A Living
Sacrifice
Romans
12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Before we go any further, let’s
take a look at this verse in the Amplified Classic Version. It is a more detailed
way to see it in writing, and in our minds…
Romans 12:1 AMPC
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the
mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all
your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated)
and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent)
service and spiritual worship.
If we are to be doers of God’s word, really, then we need to look at these
verses as the absolute instructions for our lives as we seek to live a godly
life. These are things that the Lord wrote to us through men of God as they
were directed by Holy Spirit – just like I am every day when I write to you.
These words are the Lord’s instructions to us. They must be adhered to if we
want to really be disciples of Jesus.
Coming out of an addictive
lifestyle takes some serious work and discipline on our parts. God is with us
and He will always do the bigger part that we cannot through Holy Spirit. But
the Bible is full of “If’s”. What does this mean? It means that “if” we do our
part, then God is obligated to do His part. He always tells us what our part is
and then He tells us what He will do if we do our part.
When we walked in addiction, no
matter what it was, we were offering our bodies to that substance, or thing. We
gave it permission to control our lives by controlling our thinking, our
actions and reactions. It controlled our body. It became impossible to let go
of on our own. However, for the born again child of God, we must remember that
we have the power of God living right inside of us. It is too marvelous to put
into words!
With His power at work in us,
there is no addiction that we cannot overcome – not one. Isn’t that great news?
Our bodies are the place where His glory dwells while we are on the earth – He is
literally living in there. He sees every single thing we do or think. He knows
how we are treating the bodies He gave us. Yesterday we talked about not
putting trash into our bodies. That can be in the form of unhealthy food,
drugs, alcohol, or anything that comes in through a sexual encounter, our eye
gates or our ear gates. If it is not 100% clean and good, it should not be
coming into our bodies in any way. We are God’s house now that we are born
again.
And just like we said
yesterday, we wouldn’t take our trash to a friends house and deposit it there,
would we? Picture this – taking our bags of trash and placing them at the altar
at church. Sound hideous? Of course it does. And it is just as hideous to do
that to our bodies – it’s really the same thing. That’s perspective, isn’t it? In
the same way, the Lord expects us to offer our bodies up willingly to Him as an
act of worship. How many know that when we do this, it is a form of worship?
Exercising is a form of worship. Why? Because we are trying to take care of God’s
house by keeping it strong so that we can serve Him effectively.
The Bible says in this verse
that because of all that God has done for us, we should in turn make a determined
or decisive decision to dedicate our bodies to Him in holiness – holy (set
apart for His use) living. This is pleasing to the Lord – very much so! It has
to be a willing choice on our part. The Lord will not ever force us to do it –
we get to make the choice. He does not control people – never did – never will.
When it states “your reasonable
service” it is as if He is telling us that this is the very least we can do in
response to His wonderful mercy toward us. He didn’t give us what we deserved –
punishment and a sentence to hell. Instead, He sent Jesus, who gave His body as
a reasonable and even exceptional service, above all other people, to the Lord
as a living sacrifice. Jesus never sinned in His mind or His body. He kept
Himself pure at all times. He did not eat in ways that would destroy His body.
He did not get drunk or take anything in that was not good. He suffered and
went without many things many times so He could take His body all the way to
Calvary to offer it to God as a payment for all mankind when His blood would be
poured out of His holy and pure body to wash away our sins.
When we consider all of that,
it should make us think every time we want to pour bad stuff into what belongs
to God for us a His born again children. We can be thankful that Holy Spirit is
right here with us to give us the leading and prompting of what not to do. But we
have to listen.
Friends, we can walk away from
addiction. How do I know this? Because I have seen God’s power work in my life
so powerfully that I can be a witness to tell the world that His power really
works. I have experienced it. I experience it every day. The drugs, cigarettes
and alcohol were one thing to walk away from, but the food – well, that was
another matter altogether. It was a battle I fought for far too long and it
seemed overwhelming more times than I can tell you.
But over time, the Lord,
through His Spirit and His word has made possible for me what I could not (no
way, no how) do for myself! Glory to His name forever. And what He has done for
me He will do for you. He wants to. He loves you so very much. He wants you to
succeed. He wants you to be healthy, wealthy and wise. He wants you to be a
bright light to the world around you. He wants you to walk in the freedom that
Jesus died to give you and every one who will take it.
My friends, be encouraged in
His presence today. Be strengthened and healed in the name of Jesus. Keep
professing His word out loud over your life every day. If you fail, just get
back up and keep on as if it never happened. As you continue to “work” His word
in your life by saying it, meditating on it and believing it – taking it by
faith, then you will have the victory that your heart desires. He always causes
us to triumph and gives us the victory in Christ Jesus – hallelujah!
God bless you!
2 Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the
fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
1 Corinthians
15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
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