HolySample

A HOLY SACRIFICE.

YOU ARE THE SACRIFICE.

The concept of sacrifice is found all throughout the Old Testament. In ancient times it was common to make animal sacrifices to reconcile and redeem sin. As the sacrifice would burn, smoke would rise, and the idea was that the incense would be something given that would please God.

But let’s clarify something, God is not in heaven loving the smell of smoke and ash, God loves the heart of sacrifice. Every time we sacrifice something that we have or need, it requires a choice to love. God loves the ‘smell’ of your love. He loves it when we prioritize Him, and when we put Him above our needs.

God doesn’t require your sacrifice, He desires it. Sacrifice is not a prerequisite to enter the kingdom of God. However, sacrifice is the way to His heart. But God doesn’t sit on a throne demanding sacrifice from His people; instead of demanding sacrifice, He becomes a sacrifice for us. Jesus didn’t just talk of sacrifice but demonstrated it by getting up on a cross himself and giving His life for you and me.

So why should we sacrifice? Wasn’t Christ’s sacrifice enough? Of course, it was enough. When Jesus died on the cross for our sin, it completely paid the debt we were meant to pay with our lives. Jesus paid our debt in full. Christ was enough, and Christ is enough. He is everything we need to reconcile us back to God, and He is everything we need today.

The reality is that salvation will cost you nothing. But discipleship will cost you everything. Salvation is a gift, paid for by the blood of Jesus. You can’t earn it, you can’t work for it, you can only receive it or reject it. However discipleship, following Jesus, living a life that is Holy will cost you something. And that’s exactly what a sacrifice is, something that has a cost. If it doesn’t cost you, then it never was a sacrifice.

Whenever we think of sacrifice, we think of what we need to give up. We think that God wants our money, wants our time, and wants our stuff. But the reality is that God wants more than that - He wants your life. Romans 12 reminds us that WE are the sacrifice. We aren’t laying something on the altar, we are getting up on the altar ourselves.

John Wesley, one of the great voices and influences of modern Christianity once said, “light yourself on fire with passion, and people will come from miles to watch you burn”. When we get our lives on the altar for God, we completely surrender ourselves to Him. We allow His fire and His presence to consume us, and we become the sacrifice that is consumed. But not only are we changed, but we start to change the lives of those around us.

God is looking for a generation that would lay down their lives for Him. Not just lay down their time, or lay down their resource, but lay down their entire lives. Complete Surrender. A life set apart. A life on the altar. That is what it means to be a HOLY sacrifice.

QUESTIONS:

1.What are some things in my life that I am holding onto, that I need to surrender to God?

2.What needs to die in your life, for you to step into the calling that God has for you?