The living sacrifice.

 BY Argie Simonis

Do you know the solution to all of our problems? It doesn't matter where you're from or what situation you're facing:

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

You are not set free by the truth that you will simply hear, but by the truth that you will know! And if you wonder what this truth is that we must know, the Lord himself gives us the answer:

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6

Truth is not just an idea or an abstract concept that varies from person to person. Truth is a person and it is called Jesus! So Jesus is the One we must all know in order to be freed:

"It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life." Ιωάν. 6:63

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---- WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

The apostle Paul answers that:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20

~~ Christian life is not that we live for God and ask Him to bless us for our effort, but that we daily become a living sacrifice before God.~~

We come before Him without any boasting in ourselves and in our abilities:

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Phil. 3:3

The Lord said:

"... without me you can do nothing." John 15:5

But we who are in Christ are never alone:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Phil. 4:13

This recognition, that of ourselves we are nothing, that we are dead and have crucified our flesh and Christ is the One who now lives through us, this is the living sacrifice Paul refers to in Rom. 12:1.

Do you know that even after our spiritual birth, our flesh remains just as bad? As Christians we may have quit from old bad habits, behave better or speak better, but our flesh does not become better.

First of all, let me make a clarification here. Flesh according to God's word, is not just our flesh and skin, but the whole physical and emotional part of us. In other words, flesh is our physical body and our soul.

 

~~ So without Christ we are nothing, but in Christ we are everything because the Lord becomes the unit in front of the endless zeros that we are and gives us incredible value! ~~

With the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us and with the gifts He gives us, we can do things that are humanly impossible:

"... Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, said the LORD of hosts." Ζach. 4:6

"And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Gal. 4:6

When we lay hands and the sick are healed, when we give prophetic words, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, we do not do this with our body or with our mind, but with our spirit.

"I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST which strengthens me." Phil. 4:13

See what Paul is telling us here in a picture:

It's like being on a plane. If you think you're someone great and you're proud to fly so high at such a high speed, get out of the plane and see how much you can still fly! You will hit the ground like a rock!

~~ When we are in Christ and our trust is in Jesus, we have victory in our lives. The biggest recipe for failure is trusting our own abilities. When we do this we cease to be in Christ and the fall begins. ~~

Remember what Isaiah says:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ..." Is. 64:6

See which criteria God has for those He uses:

"For you see your calling, brothers, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:" 1Cor. 1:26

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" 1Cor. 1:27

"And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:" 1Cor. 1:28

If you are wondering why God does not choose the most great and the most talented, Paul explains it to us in the very next verse:

"That no flesh should glory in his presence." 1Cor. 1:29

So God chooses to move through the foolish and weak of this world so that He gets all the glory!

This is the living sacrifice that Paul is talking about. We take all our talents and gifts, offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord, and let Him move through us!

~~ Do you have a talent for music? In teaching? In arts? In communicating with people? What is your gift? Give it to the Lord and see how He will use it to do great things! ~~

This is the main reason why many believers are still waiting for God to use them. They have not yet become a living sacrifice to the Lord and are trying to do things out of their flesh.

We see this in the story of Moses that we read in the book of Exodus, and if we combine this with the information we get from Acts chapter 7 and Hebrews chapter 11, we learn many useful lessons.

Many base their theology on Hollywood movies rather than the Scriptures. They see for example in the movie Moses accidentally killing the Egyptian, but the Scriptures tell us otherwise. Stephen, shortly before he was stoned, full with the Holy Spirit, said:

"For he supposed his brothers would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not." Acts 7:25

What I want to emphasize here is that Moses knew what God's will was, but he was trying to fulfill it in his own way. Do you recognize youreslf here? How many times has the Lord shown you to do something and you tried to do it in your own way and with your own strength? This is NOT a living sacrifice and that is exactly what is standing in your way.

The Lord does not want anyone to represent Him with human strength. Look at what John writes to us when Jesus after His baptism went to Jerusalem:

"Now when Ηe was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did." John 2:23

"But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men," John 2:24

"And needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man." John 2:25

The people who followed Him had not yet reached the point of becoming a living sacrifice.

~~ The Lord does not want His people to move according to the flesh, but according to His guidance, because He is more interested in the quality and not the quantity of the ministry. ~~

 

You may have a relationship with the Lord, know what He wants you to do, but as long as you have the attitude

"Lord show me what you want and I'll take it from there"

you will fail.

Many people called by God have failed and ministries have been destroyed because they did not become that living sacrifice that Paul describes to us and tried to do their own thing. We must make a decision to follow Paul's advice:

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Phil. 3:3

Moses, in the same spirit, responded  when the Lord said to him:

"And Ηe said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Ex. 33:14

"And he said to Ηim, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." Ex. 33:15

In other words, we do not make even a step without the Lord. We must learn to be patient, because the Lord's answer does not always come in the first 5 minutes of our prayer. You know, one characteristic of the living sacrifice is that it tends to want to escape. But when we remain at the altar, the Lord promises:

"I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Becoming a living sacrifice is something we must put into practice daily and if we do it diligently, we will bear rich fruit!

Amen!