The Sacrifice of Obedience

• 1 Samuel 15

     Trusting in Jesus for everything in your life will bring you to obedience to the Laws of God.  It will be a sacrifice on our part because it doesn't come naturally to us.  In order to find out what exactly we are to obey we must look to the Bible as it is the revealed Word of God.  God's commands that we are to obey are all found within its pages and we must read it and study it to find them so we can apply them to our lives.
     Denial of one's self-will is important for true obedience to take place.  We can reform our ways to make it appear as though we are obedient to God, but if it doesn't come from our hearts our obedience is forced and our religion has become ascetic.
     God wants willingness on our behalf to fall in with His designed plan for our lives and for the entire world.  Our response will impact more people than just ourselves.

tightrope walking

     Nick Wallenda recently walked across the Niagara Falls.  The falls created their own winds, a mist that continuously settled around him.  He had to focus on what he was doing so he would not fall off the cable that was his stability.  As he walked across the cable swayed under him seeming to the watchers to be treacherous.
     Life is like a tightrope with you walking across the thin cable that sways under your steps, and the constant "wind" and "mist" would hamper your progress unless you retain your focus on Jesus Christ.  Any other focus would be disastrous to you and would result in your demise.

Keep Jesus In Your Focus

and

All Will Be Well!

Sacrifice of Discipline

     Our flesh has a bent toward wickedness thus our natural tendency is to do evil.  Many people do not recognize this tendency and think they are "good", but we all go against the established laws that God has set up for our protection.
     Disciplining yourself to avoid wickedness is a sacrifice your flesh will have to make. We cannot expect to indulge in the pleasures of this world and receive intimate fellowship with a holy God.
     We must learn to discipline ourselves in every area of our lives.  The act of making a life-long sacrifice must be a discipline that comes out of a heart of love.  If we are following Jesus Christ, we are his disciples and are learning His disciplines.
     When we discipline ourselves we are training ourselves to do things that do not come natural for a wicked man (person without Jesus Christ) to do.  The disciplines of Jesus Christ are living a life of sacrifice to Him, and godliness which can then be broken down into smaller areas.
     Godliness will uphold a life of purity, mercy, and faith that is stretched yet firm in the Lord, etc....  To be honest, discipline and sacrifice go hand in hand and cannot really be separated.
     It takes real discipline to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God.

Sacrifice of Praise

-Hebrews 13:15
     It will not be a sacrifice unless it comes from our heart.  We can say words, sing songs or whatever, but that is all it will be unless our love for God has moved us to praising His name.
     If we are truly moved by our love for God, we will praise Him even under pressures that try to rob us of our peace.  The sacrifice of our praise is not determined by our circumstances, but by love.
-Hosea 14:2
     Instead of sacrificing calves upon the altars of Israel, we now can give the sacrifice of our lips or praise whenever-wherever you want.

PTL

The Lord alone 

is

Worthy of

our

Praise!

 

Sacrifice of Love

     The very essence of our walk with God is the sacrifice of our love or loves.

     We need to recognize to further the kingdom of God, we must sacrifice the love of ourselves.

     In our relationships with other people, love is the oil we apply when sparks fly and they are getting on our nerves.

     If we are going to show God's to the world, we must allow Him to show Himself through us.  God died (Jesus) for us while we were His enemies.

     Do you love God more than your own life?  Would you be willing to die for the cause of Christ?

     To deny one's self is at the root of living successfully as a christian.  It has to do with sacrifice to and for God.  Unwilling sacrifice will not merit anything with God, rather a willing heart out of love for Him will offer himself as a vessel, a means by which truth will be expressed.  Imagine what it means to God when a man or woman out of a willing heart does this because of love.

     Are you willing to forsake all?

     True sacrifice of love requires such a complete sacrifice that you would willingly lay down your life for the name of Jesus Christ and to further His cause. 

Living Under The Shadow Of The Most High

     As an eaglet learns to fly his mom and dad fly with him keeping a close watch for if he needs help.  They will then fly under him and bear him up on their wings.
     Supposing you are at a certain place standing on the floor with a shadow enveloping you.  You then look up to see what is causing this shadow and you see a 20 ton box being held by a cable above you.  The cable is frayed ready to break at a moments notice.  This is what it means to live under the shadow of Satan.  The destruction of your body (and soul) is imminent.
     On the other hand, to live under the shadow of God is to look up and realize the shadow that is enveloping you  is Him holding out His arms: saying "Come unto me if you are tired and worn out".  He will nourish you and give you rest.  God wants to rejuvenate your life instead of destroy it.
     We have a choice to make which will it be?

Choose life and God will give

You eternal life

eternal joy

eternal peace

eternal hope.

     Life is like a bed of roses, there are thorns as well as beautiful flowers.  We may not necessarily experience no pains in this life, but positively will in the life to come if we choose life. 
     Psalm 91- God wants you to live in His shadow.

Fig Leaves to Cover Our Deplorable Condition

     What is your fig leaf?  Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin by covering themselves with fig leaves, but God was not mocked, He knew exactly what was going on and approached them about it.  (Genesis 3)
     We all are born with a desire to mask our sins which we attempt to do by fitting into any of the many religions that man has to offer.  Religion is a mask that people wear to cover up who they really are.  What is your mask or are you in a relationship that consumes who you are making you a new creature in Christ?
     Across the world religions have been established because man has a need to worship something or Someone.  These religions are largely based on fear due to the nature of how people approach the object of worship.
     Unfortunately Satan has made inroads into God's people and many are falling into the trap of putting on the mask of Christianity.  There are two different types of christianity.... true christianity and false christianity.
     True Christianity is not a religion but a relationship that the individual blends into God's character.  True Christianity should be as real to you as breathing.  It totally defines who you are, it doesn't just cover who you are.  You become a brand new person.