The Discipline of Sacrifice

The Discipline of Sacrifice

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Romans 12:1 NASB) Sacrifice is an abstinence discipline that helps us break free from our own self-security. It pushes us to find our security in God.

Most Americans, even those with little by American standards, are richer than most of the rest of the world. Our culture pushes us to "take care of ourselves first." Somehow we come to believe that we're responsible for our well-being and provision. We start trusting ourselves more than we trust God.

Sacrifice pulls us out of comfort zone and puts us in a place where we must trust God for our needs. (Let me say that this discipline does not allow us to be irresponsible. We still must meet our obligations and pay the debts for which we've obligated ourselves.) Most of us, however, have more than we need. As we come before God as living sacrifices, we place everything on the table. Our money, our time, and our skills become things we're willing to give up as we ". . .
discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness;" (1 Timothy 4:7)

We recently had a "He Is Worthy!" offering at First Baptist /Toms River.
For five weeks we thought about all the ways God is worthy of all we can offer. The culmination of the celebration centered on a special offering. We asked our people to give the equivalent of a weeks pay to declare the worthiness of God. Our goal was $25,000.00. The First Family (That's what we call ourselves.) gave more than $45,000.00! Many who gave did so through sacrifice, and several of them have since told me how God met their needs.

Many of us who saw God provide in remarkable ways would not have known His provision had we not chosen to sacrifice for His glory. Dallas Willard offers a powerful image to describe the blessing of sacrifice. "The cautious faith that never saws off the limb on which it is sitting never learns that unattached limbs may find strange, unaccountable ways of not falling."

Sacrifice isn't only about money, however. It may include giving up a relationship, time, sleep, shirt, coat, or career-whatever of your own resources that you trust in rather than God. Choosing to live with the discipline of sacrifice helps us identify those things in our lives that we hold onto more than we do God. Choosing sacrifice will teach us how to "cut off the limb on which we sit" and learn how God can in "strange, unaccountable ways" keep it from falling.

Where is your confidence? What are you willing to give up to make sure your confidence is in the Lord? - John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River and is our weekend Freedom Fighter contributor.

Great Quote: "Prayer will make man cease from sin. Sin will make man cease from prayer." John Bunyan

You will not want to miss the next five days of Freedom Fighter's. Invite a friend to join you on the journey.