As Christians we’re called to be a living sacrifice.
Jesus gave His life for us on the cross. The least we can do is live for Him.
“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.” (Romans 12:1)
You will reap the reward of the sacrifice you’re willing to lay down on the altar.
The sacrifice isn’t because of who you are, it’s because of who God is. He is worthy.
What’s more important than the sacrifice is the heart behind the sacrifice.
Sacrifice has to come from a place of true joy and a pure heart. It’s not about just ‘giving to God’.
Your character will also be more important than your sacrifice.
“You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16) is what the word of God says.
Here are 3 keys that precede laying down a sacrifice for God:
1. Submit
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
You must submit to God. To submit is to heed to God’s word. It’s to live beneath His word, teaching, commands, principles, and precepts, not above.
2. Obey
Obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience precedes giving a sacrifice to God. The alignment with God’s heart is greater than the assignment God gives you.
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,As in obeying the voice of the Lord?Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,And to heed than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)
3. Surrender
God will lead the sacrifice. He will ordain it and call it forth. It’s on you to surrender to the sacrifice God is calling you to put on the altar.
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
(Genesis 22:1-2)
God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham says, “Here I am.”
Abraham didn’t fear losing his son. He feared disobeying God.
Surrender to the sacrifice God is calling you to give in this season.
Your sacrifice will bless the generations that come after you.
Jesus sets some strict guidelines to following Him in Luke 14:25-33:
"Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
There’s a cost to following Jesus.
Sacrifice isn’t just about what you give, it’s about what you give up. What you leave behind to follow after Jesus. That’s sacrifice.
Let God move in your heart daily. Allow Him to test you with your level of sacrifice to do His will.
David spoke about the sacrifice of thanksgiving and the sacrifice of joy.
This is a sacrifice we can all give.
Give the sacrifice of joy when you don’t feel good.
Give the sacrifice of thanksgiving when nothing looks good in your life.
It doesn’t always need to be complicated.
Our heart just needs to be right and God will lead the sacrifice.
Saul was sacrificing what God didn’t call him to give. His heart wasn’t in the right place.
Everyone carries an individual ministry that requires surrender, obedience, and sacrifice.
Click here to listen to the podcast on this topic.
Check out our personalized slipper collection!
