Living Sacrifices to God
Today's topic is being a living sacrifice to God in our lives. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God in response to Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice in life and death on the cross.
Maybe you don't fully understand this concept, or maybe you do. Either way, hopefully you find this topic interesting and helpful.
The Apostle Paul said it best here in this scripture:
Romans 12:1
Living Sacrifices to God
"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."
In response to what Jesus has done for us, in sacrificing His life for ours on the cross so we could be saved forever, the only proper adequate response is to give ourselves completely back to Him. What else would be enough? Even everything we have to give is still not enough for Him and what He deserves. Giving ourselves back to Him completely is only our reasonable service. It's the least we can do. We can always do more than that and go above and beyond like the Apostle Paul, and be willing to suffer anything and everything for Him, and even be willing to be a martyr for our faith in the process.
It all begins with asking God to change your will to His. The beginning of all good changes and total transformation is the "Submission Prayer" which is: "Father, if I'm not willing to do your will, change my will so I'm willing to do it." This is giving Him permission to change your will to His own. You need to trust Him and know that He would never do anything to harm you. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
If you don't properly understand God the Father's character, you will have trouble submitting to His authority. When people try to describe God they often don't do Him any justice. You may have heard the same attributes of God over and over. He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all-present), omnipotent (all-powerful), just, merciful and loving. These attributes are true, but God is much more than this. Describing Him in this way makes Him sound almost super-human. Above all, God is not human. He is "altogether other". God takes on human form in the person of Jesus, part of the trinity, who is fully God and fully man. We are created in God's image, so we are like Him, but He is not like us. Above all, God is holy. Holy means to be separate. This means God is completely in His own category. He's incomprehensible. There's nothing and no one like Him, nor has there ever been or will there ever be. We have nothing to compare Him to. He's completely outside of the limits of our understanding. In other words He's completely mind blowing and mind boggling. We cannot begin to wrap our minds around Him. He had no beginning and has no end. He has always existed. He exists outside of time and space; He created time and space. His character is power, knowledge, wisdom and perfection. He's the definition of moral perfection. There is none like Him; no one even comes close. His holiness is so powerful it can be terrifying to come into God the Father's presence. Most of the time when we experience God's presence on earth, we are experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is peaceful and comforting.
I experienced God the Father's presence one night, and it was so terrifying I thought I was having a nightmare. I was somewhere between awake and asleep when I heard an ear splitting frequency and saw swirling white inferno of flames rushing towards me with extreme force. I felt myself being completely crushed into the ground as if my body didn't exist anymore, and only my spirit was left. It was as if there was no space for me in His presence. It was so powerful that I woke up petrified, terrified and shaken to my core. I turned the lights on and I discovered the light bulb on the side where I saw the spirit coming towards me was burned out. It was black, completely burnt. I have also experienced feeling the bodily presence of Jesus at night, and it also was terrifying. I felt Him in the room with me, even though I didn't look to see Him because I was too afraid. I knew it was Him. I can't explain how I knew that. I just knew. It was such a powerful presence I have never in my life felt anything quite like it. I felt so unworthy to be in His presence. I didn't even look because I was so scared to see Him. I felt unworthy to even look at Him. God has a way of humbling the proudest of people just with His presence.
We must have the proper reverence and fear of God. We must come before Him properly and respectfully. People died in the Old Testament because they disobeyed God and didn't have the proper reverence for His holiness. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, God the Father forgives us of our sins and we can now be called children of God. God has always been loving and slow to anger, even in the Old Testament. God is patient with us, but simply will not compromise His holiness or tolerate irreverence, even in His great love for us. He can't. The perfection of His character won't allow it. God does show grace which is like a salve for our wounds. God's grace is a GIFT, not an unending gift. There's a limit to it. There's a point where God's grace runs out. It's NOT ever to be abused or taken for granted. Grace is to be appreciated and thankful to God for. He loves us with a perfect love, but will not compromise His holy perfection in the process. God has a standard for us. He's more than fair. He helps us with our increasing holiness every step of the way through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us. God helps us become holy by giving us His Holy spirit. After we have been born again, we have the Holy spirit living in us helping us to become more and more holy, like God. The only way that it's even possible to meet this standard is through the blood of Christ. We can come now before God without having to offer the proper sacrifices by a priest to atone for our sins. Because Jesus died as the ultimate sacrifice, the veil was torn, and now all believers can enter the Holy of Holies and come before the presence of God the Father without fear of His wrath for our sinful nature. Our sinful nature has now been atoned for by the blood of a perfect Christ on the cross. We can now be considered priests and children of God. The only sacrifice we now need to offer is our very selves, in completion, holding nothing back.
We must first acknowledge the truth about God. Above all, He is holy. He's the only one who is fully righteous. There is none righteous or good but Him, not one. He's the only one worthy and deserving of worship. No one else is worthy of worship but Him. There's none like Him. He's the creator of heaven and earth. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the GREAT I AM. He is the "Ancient of Days", the "Un-created One", the "Holy One of Israel", the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", the "One True God of Israel". He is OUR God, the one and only God of all.
We are fully dependent on God for everything. He alone is our provider and protector. Every good thing comes from God alone. Our employer is not our provider. Our spouse is not our provider. The government is not our provider. God is our provider of every single thing, large and small. Everything comes from Him. He is the SOURCE. We must recognize this and be thankful for God's daily provision and protection.
We need to view ourselves honestly, and acknowledge the truth about ourselves. We are created in God's image, but are currently fallen flesh who've become corrupted by sin after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. We are under now under the curse because of the disobedience of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. We are nothing but weak and powerless vessels in the presence of a holy God. We are not just sometimes weak and powerless, when we feel like it, but ALWAYS. In spite of how we feel, we are fully dependent on God and His grace towards us all the time. We are nothing without God, but with Him, everything. We have got to view ourselves with the right perspective. We are nothing but earthen clay vessels that first need to be emptied of our sin and corruption, and then filled with the Holy Spirit. When God first formed Adam, he formed him out of the clay of the earth. God from the beginning of time created man to be a vessel. We will either be a vessel for righteousness or for wickedness. If we don't allow God to fill us with the Holy Spirit and help us become a holy vessel, we will be thrown in the fire and destroyed forever. God will only save the vessels who have given themselves over to righteousness through the atoning blood of Christ. We are not invincible or unbreakable, but earthen clay vessels who are tough and resilient, but not altogether unbreakable. When we face sickness and death we realize how fragile and breakable we really are. God uses these things to transform us. Sometimes God needs to break us and then supernaturally put us back together again.
God loves us so much. It's hard to even comprehend. He loves us so much it hurts. Think of someone you love very much and multiply that by a billion. God loves us so much it's immeasurable. He loves us so much He sacrificed His own son to redeem us. We can now be called His children. Jesus took on every sin and every infirmity of every human being that has ever lived upon His body on the cross. Can you imagine how horrible that was for Him? Can you imagine how much God loves and cares for His own children to be willing to do that? True love is wanting the highest ultimate good for someone. In God's effort to help us grow, sometimes it can be a painful process. The pain involved doesn't mean God doesn't love us. He IS love. It's impossible for Him not to love. When He shows love He's expressing who He truly is. He loves us so much He is fully invested in our growth and faithful to complete what He begins in us. He will not leave us the way we are. He seeks to transform us completely from the inside out into the image of His son. He seeks to perfect us.
God is love, as well as just. Those who don't repent must pay the consequences for their sin, eternally. The wages of sin is death. The dilemma is we are sinful human beings in relation to a being which is absolute perfection, God. What to do? Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We play by God's rules. He doesn't play by ours.
If you don't understand God or have trouble trusting Him pray for wisdom and understanding of His character. Seek Him with your whole heart, and He promises you will find Him.
If you don't properly understand God the Father's character, you will have trouble submitting to His authority. When people try to describe God they often don't do Him any justice. You may have heard the same attributes of God over and over. He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all-present), omnipotent (all-powerful), just, merciful and loving. These attributes are true, but God is much more than this. Describing Him in this way makes Him sound almost super-human. Above all, God is not human. He is "altogether other". God takes on human form in the person of Jesus, part of the trinity, who is fully God and fully man. We are created in God's image, so we are like Him, but He is not like us. Above all, God is holy. Holy means to be separate. This means God is completely in His own category. He's incomprehensible. There's nothing and no one like Him, nor has there ever been or will there ever be. We have nothing to compare Him to. He's completely outside of the limits of our understanding. In other words He's completely mind blowing and mind boggling. We cannot begin to wrap our minds around Him. He had no beginning and has no end. He has always existed. He exists outside of time and space; He created time and space. His character is power, knowledge, wisdom and perfection. He's the definition of moral perfection. There is none like Him; no one even comes close. His holiness is so powerful it can be terrifying to come into God the Father's presence. Most of the time when we experience God's presence on earth, we are experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is peaceful and comforting.
I experienced God the Father's presence one night, and it was so terrifying I thought I was having a nightmare. I was somewhere between awake and asleep when I heard an ear splitting frequency and saw swirling white inferno of flames rushing towards me with extreme force. I felt myself being completely crushed into the ground as if my body didn't exist anymore, and only my spirit was left. It was as if there was no space for me in His presence. It was so powerful that I woke up petrified, terrified and shaken to my core. I turned the lights on and I discovered the light bulb on the side where I saw the spirit coming towards me was burned out. It was black, completely burnt. I have also experienced feeling the bodily presence of Jesus at night, and it also was terrifying. I felt Him in the room with me, even though I didn't look to see Him because I was too afraid. I knew it was Him. I can't explain how I knew that. I just knew. It was such a powerful presence I have never in my life felt anything quite like it. I felt so unworthy to be in His presence. I didn't even look because I was so scared to see Him. I felt unworthy to even look at Him. God has a way of humbling the proudest of people just with His presence.
We must have the proper reverence and fear of God. We must come before Him properly and respectfully. People died in the Old Testament because they disobeyed God and didn't have the proper reverence for His holiness. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, God the Father forgives us of our sins and we can now be called children of God. God has always been loving and slow to anger, even in the Old Testament. God is patient with us, but simply will not compromise His holiness or tolerate irreverence, even in His great love for us. He can't. The perfection of His character won't allow it. God does show grace which is like a salve for our wounds. God's grace is a GIFT, not an unending gift. There's a limit to it. There's a point where God's grace runs out. It's NOT ever to be abused or taken for granted. Grace is to be appreciated and thankful to God for. He loves us with a perfect love, but will not compromise His holy perfection in the process. God has a standard for us. He's more than fair. He helps us with our increasing holiness every step of the way through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us. God helps us become holy by giving us His Holy spirit. After we have been born again, we have the Holy spirit living in us helping us to become more and more holy, like God. The only way that it's even possible to meet this standard is through the blood of Christ. We can come now before God without having to offer the proper sacrifices by a priest to atone for our sins. Because Jesus died as the ultimate sacrifice, the veil was torn, and now all believers can enter the Holy of Holies and come before the presence of God the Father without fear of His wrath for our sinful nature. Our sinful nature has now been atoned for by the blood of a perfect Christ on the cross. We can now be considered priests and children of God. The only sacrifice we now need to offer is our very selves, in completion, holding nothing back.
We must first acknowledge the truth about God. Above all, He is holy. He's the only one who is fully righteous. There is none righteous or good but Him, not one. He's the only one worthy and deserving of worship. No one else is worthy of worship but Him. There's none like Him. He's the creator of heaven and earth. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the GREAT I AM. He is the "Ancient of Days", the "Un-created One", the "Holy One of Israel", the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", the "One True God of Israel". He is OUR God, the one and only God of all.
We are fully dependent on God for everything. He alone is our provider and protector. Every good thing comes from God alone. Our employer is not our provider. Our spouse is not our provider. The government is not our provider. God is our provider of every single thing, large and small. Everything comes from Him. He is the SOURCE. We must recognize this and be thankful for God's daily provision and protection.
We need to view ourselves honestly, and acknowledge the truth about ourselves. We are created in God's image, but are currently fallen flesh who've become corrupted by sin after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. We are under now under the curse because of the disobedience of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. We are nothing but weak and powerless vessels in the presence of a holy God. We are not just sometimes weak and powerless, when we feel like it, but ALWAYS. In spite of how we feel, we are fully dependent on God and His grace towards us all the time. We are nothing without God, but with Him, everything. We have got to view ourselves with the right perspective. We are nothing but earthen clay vessels that first need to be emptied of our sin and corruption, and then filled with the Holy Spirit. When God first formed Adam, he formed him out of the clay of the earth. God from the beginning of time created man to be a vessel. We will either be a vessel for righteousness or for wickedness. If we don't allow God to fill us with the Holy Spirit and help us become a holy vessel, we will be thrown in the fire and destroyed forever. God will only save the vessels who have given themselves over to righteousness through the atoning blood of Christ. We are not invincible or unbreakable, but earthen clay vessels who are tough and resilient, but not altogether unbreakable. When we face sickness and death we realize how fragile and breakable we really are. God uses these things to transform us. Sometimes God needs to break us and then supernaturally put us back together again.
God loves us so much. It's hard to even comprehend. He loves us so much it hurts. Think of someone you love very much and multiply that by a billion. God loves us so much it's immeasurable. He loves us so much He sacrificed His own son to redeem us. We can now be called His children. Jesus took on every sin and every infirmity of every human being that has ever lived upon His body on the cross. Can you imagine how horrible that was for Him? Can you imagine how much God loves and cares for His own children to be willing to do that? True love is wanting the highest ultimate good for someone. In God's effort to help us grow, sometimes it can be a painful process. The pain involved doesn't mean God doesn't love us. He IS love. It's impossible for Him not to love. When He shows love He's expressing who He truly is. He loves us so much He is fully invested in our growth and faithful to complete what He begins in us. He will not leave us the way we are. He seeks to transform us completely from the inside out into the image of His son. He seeks to perfect us.
Philippians 1:6
"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"
God is love, as well as just. Those who don't repent must pay the consequences for their sin, eternally. The wages of sin is death. The dilemma is we are sinful human beings in relation to a being which is absolute perfection, God. What to do? Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We play by God's rules. He doesn't play by ours.
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There is a very big BUT there in the middle.
Romans 3:23
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
The wages of sin is death, and every person has sinned. BUT God has not left us destitute and hopeless. He gave us Jesus to atone for our sins and give us the gift of eternal life spent with God. We must first put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and then we will receive eternal life as children of God. There is only one way, one remedy, one cure, one acceptable payment for our sins, Jesus Christ. There is no other way.
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
If you don't understand God or have trouble trusting Him pray for wisdom and understanding of His character. Seek Him with your whole heart, and He promises you will find Him.
Jeremiah 29:13
"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Ask yourself right now: Is your life a living testimony of God's power and grace? Are you a living sacrifice that has given everything back to Him? If you aren't a living sacrifice, how will you be a living testimony, and how will God equip you to lead by example?
What's stopping you from stepping into your destiny? What are you holding onto or holding back? Don't miss out on fulfilling your ultimate purpose and God's perfect will for your life by holding back and not giving everything over to God in complete submission. He won't be able to use you to your full potential unless you fully submit. You may wonder why others have proof of God's power daily in their life and you don't. Maybe it's because they fully submitted and you haven't. You can't hide anything from God. He's knows everything.
We must resist pride, properly acknowledge our weakness and dependence on God, and submit to His authority above all else. We need to submit to God before we can be trained for His service. God won't use people that are proud and won't acknowledge the truth about Him and themselves. When we let pride rule in our hearts, we lose out on the greater blessings that come with humility and full submission.
God's perfect unconditional agape love is always available to us, his love for us never changes. The only thing that changes is our ability to receive it. We can't fully receive His love and awesome blessings without first submitting to His authority. We can't draw near His throne with pride in us. God hates pride. The reason God hates pride so much is it's being innately dishonest. It's a false belief about ourselves that we are somehow better than we really are. It's not based in reality. Pride is an illusion and a delusion. Pride is so dangerous because it skews and distorts our perception of everything: other people, ourselves, God and everything that happens in the world around us. We need to first repent of any pride through prayer. When we repent God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins through the atoning blood of Christ. Then we can boldly come before His throne of grace. We will never be able to properly worship God or have a close relationship with God while we have an inaccurate perception of ourselves (pride) and inaccurate perception of God (irreverence). We must come to acknowledge the truth before we can worship God properly and have a proper relationship with Him.
James 4:6-8
"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore SUBMIT to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
Do you have a pride problem? You will know you do if you are constantly being attacked by the enemy in your mind (anxiety, depression, self-doubt, fear), and your prayers don't seem to be answered. Above it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." God may not be answering your prayers because of pride or because you aren't submitted to his will. God's good graces is where we want to be.
The Bible says:
Proverbs 9:10
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
James 4:6-8
“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Do you have a pride problem? You will know you do if you are constantly being attacked by the enemy in your mind (anxiety, depression, self-doubt, fear), and your prayers don't seem to be answered. Above it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." God may not be answering your prayers because of pride or because you aren't submitted to his will. God's good graces is where we want to be.
The Bible says:
Proverbs 9:10
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
If you don't fully understand God's nature, pray for wisdom and insight into His character, and He will give it to you. His ways are very different than ours. We play by HIS rules, He doesn't play by ours. We are HIS creation; He isn't ours. We must have the proper perspective of God and ourselves. We must acknowledge the truth about Him and ourselves. The relationship will never be right with God until we acknowledge the truth about Him and ourselves. We must submit and admit He is all powerful and we are weak. We must cry "Mercy!", and admit defeat. God is more powerful; He wins. We must surrender to His plan for us.
You must admit that God is in charge of your life, not you. You may think that you have already acknowledged that, but have you really? Do you get on your knees everyday and acknowledge to God that He is all powerful and you are a weak and powerless vessel, fully dependent on Him for everything?
James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
So in short, this is the continuum line in simple terms:
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Sin/ pride/ the Lost Us-the redeemed Perfection- God
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Sin/ pride/ the Lost Us-the redeemed Perfection- God
Simply put, we are either moving TOWARDS God or AWAY from Him, and that's all there is to it. I pray that you would receive wisdom from above and submit to God. When you give yourself entirely back to Him that's when you'll find yourself becoming the person you've always wanted to be, and were always meant to be. You will find the purpose you were created for, and live the destiny you were born for. When you submit you'll find what you've been looking for all along. You'll find the great secret of life. It lies in your creator.
Matthew 10:39
"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Comments
keep writing. im proud to call you my friend always!