A Living Sacrifice
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service.
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.
My
Experience, Strength & Hope
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 when I write one of these
messages. 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 His 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
fulfill our obligation to Him.
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! (Read Ephesians 1, 2 & 3 & pray it over your life)
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. In another message, 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 an ungodly sexual
encounter, etc. - our eye gates and 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 as we discussed previously,
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 our opening
verse that because of all God has done for us, we are asked 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; offered as full payment for the sins of all mankind on the mercy seat in heaven before
the Father.
When we consider all of that,
it should make us stop and think every time we want to pour bad stuff into what
belongs to God; for we are 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
to do or, what not to do. But we have to listen and obey. That’s our part.
Friend, we can walk away from
addiction. How do I know this? Because I have seen God’s power work in my life
so wonderfully 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. And busyness, that’s still an other. It was a battle
I fought for far too long and it seemed overwhelming more times than I can tell
you. All because my focus was wrong.
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 with His wisdom. He wants
you to be a bright light to the world around you; a city on a hill displayed
for all to see. He wants you to walk in the freedom that Jesus died and was
raised to give you.
My friend, 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 do sin, go to the
Lord and confess what you did and ask Him to forgive you in Jesus name. Then
forgive yourself, get back on the saddle and repent – stop doing the wrong thing
and start doing the right thing. Keep on as if it never happened. As you
continue to receive His revelations and words in your life by spending time
with Him and hearing from Him personally and in His word, believe it, receive
it and walk in the victory that your heart desires. He always causes us to
triumph in Christ Jesus and you are in Christ and He is in you if you are a
born-again child of God. Hallelujah!
Scriptures from This Message…
·
What is a
living sacrifice?
·
How can we
be a living sacrifice unto the Lord in our everyday lives?
Definition of Sacrifice…
a: Destruction or surrender of something for
the sake of something else. b: Something given up or lost (the sacrifices made by parents).
James 1:21-25
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and
superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which
is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a
doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man
shall be blessed in his deed.
Luke 14:25-27
And there went great multitudes with him: and
he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his
father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his
cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luke 6:40
The disciple is not above his master: but every
one that is perfect shall be as his master.
The Bible has a lot of
“IF’s” in it. What does this mean? I call it a God sandwich – the finest meal
indeed. If we do what He asks us to do – the bottom bun, then He will do what
He promised – the meat of the sandwich, and we will have a desired result – the
top part of the sandwich – the bun, making the meal full and complete.
Hallelujah!
2 Samuel 24:21-25
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king
come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to
build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed
from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and
offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice,
and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these
things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the
king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said
unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I
offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me
nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of
silver. And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and
peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land,
and the plague was stayed from Israel.
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
But this I
say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth
bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in
his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver.
And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He
hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth
for ever.
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both
minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the
fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every
thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
God is NOT the one who is in control of your life and body.
It is our choice to OFFER it to Him cheerfully, freely. We always get to
choose, each and every moment of every day. The majority of how our life will
turn out depends on our response to the word of God.
Is this the cry of your heart?
Matthew 26:36-46 (NKJV) Jesus and His prayer
scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. What is your prayer in your Garden of
Gethsemane?
Then Jesus came with them to a place called
Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said
to them, “My soul
is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face,
and prayed, saying, “O
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I
will, but as You will.” Then He
came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed,
saying, “O My
Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be
done.” And He came
and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went
away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came
to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at
hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of
sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
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.
Important Things to Think About:
·
As we look back over our lives, even in recent
days, it is good to see where we have missed it so we can understand where we
need to grow. What have you seen by Holy Spirit revelation in this message that
you believe will make major changes in your future?
·
Have you been willing to make a cheerful offering
to the Lord? Think about this and ask the Lord to help you see what you need to
see right now in this season of your life. He always wants to help us and bring
us to a higher place. He never condemns us.
·
In what ways can you change the way you are
living right now so you can be a holy offering – a living sacrifice to your
Savior?
·
Will you remember to depend on God’s power and
the help of His Holy Spirit in you to bring you up and out of bondage forever?
·
God wants to use you as a witness to this dark
world. Remember, the thing you struggled the hardest with is the very tool the
Lord can use to bring others up and out of their Egypt.
·
The Lord Jesus was sent to give you an abundant,
rich, full life with joy - beaming with His love and blessings. Will you
receive that gift fully and freely right now?
**If you would like to join our weekly call, please send an email to the following:
The3rdJohn2Program@yahoo.com
Be blessed!
Hanny
Hanny
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