Responding to so Great a Sacrifice

The title for my message this afternoon is Responding to So Great a Sacrifice. Responding to So Great a Sacrifice. In 1 Corinthians 5, you can begin turning over there. We have a letter from the Apostle Paul, and he's addressing an issue to the Corinthian church that existed in their midst. We're quite familiar with this passage of Scripture. We come here quite often during the days of an 11 bread, but it's good to rehearse these things once again.

First Corinthians chapter 5, the brethren in Corinth were essentially tolerating opens in in their midst. And not only that, they actually had become quite pleased with their level of tolerance that they were able to express in this way over the individuals and the situation as it presented itself. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we have the Apostle Paul taking them to task over what their attitude, in fact, was. So let's begin here. First Corinthians 5 and verse 6. Paul writes, and he says, Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? He says, Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.

And so, brethren, as we understand, there is no way that that church or us individually can purge out the old leaven. There's no way that we can live truly unleavened apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that God extends by repentance through that sacrifice.

This is an important part of our relationship with God. Verse 8, carrying on, he says, Therefore let us keep the feast, in light of the sacrifice, in light of the price that was paid and the blessing we now have through that, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And so for the last week, you and I have stepped back in one sense from our regular routine. We've put the leaven out of our homes, and we've attempted in the best way that we could, both physically and spiritually, to observe these days of unleavened bread and sincerity as well as absolute truth.

The central theme to the Passover and the days of unleavened bread hinges on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and it hinges on the freedom that we've been given through His blood. And I don't think you and I can, for a minute, overestimate the level of blessing, the level of mercy that God's extended to us by His grace through faith in Him and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and that sacrifice. Let's go back to John 3, verse 16. John 3, verse 16, probably one of the most quoted verses by Christianity of this world. It's probably the most quoted verse, but probably also the most misunderstood.

John 3, verse 16, Jesus Christ's own words, and He says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So it says that God so loved the world. God did. As a result of His love, He offered something that was of great value to Him personally.

He offered His Son. God so loved the world that He provided His Son as a sacrifice to be given on our behalf so that through faith in Him, we could have forgiveness of our sins. We could be reconciled in relationship back to the Father, and we could ultimately, in the beginning, enter into that covenant relationship that He desired to have with us.

John 3, 16 contains three separate, I would say, entities that we need to understand. First, there is the Redeemer, the one who wants to redeem something, the one who is willing to extend a hand and pay the price. That's God the Father. He is our Redeemer.

There is also the Redeemed, which is you and I. We were the ones that were sold under sin and death. We were the ones who were bought back out of that penalty and restored once again to life. And then there was the ransom. There was the price that actually was paid.

That was Jesus Christ. He was, in that sense, the currency that paid the debt that hung over you and I. Brethren, we were all sold under the penalty of sin and death. We were, in that sense, we could say, locked up in a prison cell on death row, awaiting the results of our actions. No way to intervene for ourselves or free ourselves from that consequence. And God came along with the key and unlocked the door.

Jesus Christ stepped into that cell in our place, and you and I were liberated to then walk free. Here in the last day of 11 Bread, I would like to ask the question, in light of so great a sacrifice, what ought our response to be? And so, in light of so great a sacrifice, what art your response and my response to be? How will that blessing we've been given affect our life going forward?

What will we do with our freedom? How does this wonderful blessing we've been given affect our life on a day-to-day basis? On the first holy day, Mr. Swaggerty mentioned the fact that being set free from bondage isn't licensed to go and do whatever it is you will.

It wasn't for ancient Israel, and it's not for us today. Freedom doesn't mean we can live our life any old way we choose. God does have a standard, a level of commitment that He expects from us, and that is how we should treat our blessing the freedom in which He's given us. So again, the question is, how will you respond to this blessing that you've been given by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

The same basic question was asked back in the Psalms. Let's turn there. Psalm 116.

Psalm 116th chapter, beginning in verse 1. I think the psalmist has an interesting perspective from some circumstances he found himself in. Psalm 116, beginning in verse 1. He says, I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications, because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. Since the pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me, I found trouble and sorrow. Verse 4, he says, then I called upon the name of the Lord, O Lord, I implore you to deliver my soul.

Gracious is the Lord and righteous, yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple.

He says, I was brought low and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. And so we have an individual here who's essentially saying, I had a death sentence over my head because of the circumstances He found Himself in. He cried out to God and deliverance came. Verse 8, he says, for you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. He says, I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

I believe, therefore I spoke, I am greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, all men are liars.

And in verse 12, we come to the question of interest here. He says, what shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits towards me? Here God heard this individual's cry. He looked down on Him in mercy, delivered Him from death. And the question that's extended is, what shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? Brethren, once again, in light of such a great sacrifice, what should you and I render towards God in light of His benefits towards us? We've been set free, again by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Do we have any responsibility going forward?

Must we respond in any particular way? What is our level of accountability in the matter?

Well, we can begin to find the answer in Paul's writings in 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

If you follow me there, please. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19.

Another familiar passage. I think sometimes it's easy to go to the familiar passages and just read quickly over them. We know what they say, but it's important that we stop and truly understand the deep and rich meaning that they extend to our lives. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19, breaking into the middle of the context, Paul says, Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have received from God, and you are not your own? You know, as Americans, we usually stop right there and say, well, wait a minute, what do you mean I'm not my own? You know, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave. I bleed red, white, and blue.

I'm a free man. What do you mean I'm not my own? Verse 20 tells us why it says, For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

The price, brethren, that purchased us, again, was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his shed blood that was spilled for the remission of sins for our benefit. When we accept the sacrifice and we engage in a direct relationship with God through faith, we're not free to do just any old thing we want, because again, we don't represent only ourselves. We've been bought with a price. We have the spirit of the Almighty God dwelling within us. We are the temple of God, and so we walk now as representing something much bigger than simply me.

The freedom we've been given through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ does require something of us, and the Apostle Paul said it requires that we glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are his. And so this afternoon I'd like to look at one way in which we can glorify God in our body and spirit, one aspect in which we respond to God according to the benefits that he's poured out upon us. And we find that way in Romans chapter 12 verse 1. Romans 12 verse 1, again, the writings of the Apostle Paul. And to me, it's quite interesting as you read through your through his writings, you get the flavor for the man who was very zealous to defend what he believed. In his zeal, he persecuted the church until Jesus Christ struck him down and showed him the light. And then in his zeal, he defended the church and was himself persecuted. And so throughout his writings, you see very much an individual who understood the grace and the mercy that had been extended to him and how it is he ought to then turn and live his life in another direction.

Romans, I'm sorry, chapter 12 and verse 1. Again, this is how we can glorify God.

He says, 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. So this afternoon, brethren, I'd like to talk about presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice before God. God sent his son to be sacrificed on our behalf. It seems only appropriate that we in response to that would desire to live a life of sacrifice and service before God as well.

So what does it mean to be a living sacrifice? You know, how do we do that? How does it manifest itself? What will someone who is living as a sacrifice look like? We'll look at that today in the course of the message. The book of Romans is rather an interesting book because Paul wrote this message to a church that he desired to see. He had never seen them in person. He desired to one day make it there and to impart to them some spiritual gift and extend to them encouragement and strength. But he was never ever at this point, anyway, able to make it there in person. Eventually he did, but not in the way maybe he was expecting. Paul made it to Rome the first time under the chains of imprisonment. As we recall at the end of the book of Acts, for two years under house arrest, he preached the brethren in Rome. The book of Romans is interesting, as I said. There were some unique situations occurring in the church in Rome. They had some unique issues among its members because, you see, the Roman church was a mix of Jewish and Gentile converts. And the manner in which they looked at each other was in a sense of, I suppose, competition, we could say. The Gentiles felt that the Jews had had their chance, by and large, as God's chosen people. You know, God brought them out of Egypt. He gave them His covenant. He gave them His law, and they rejected it. He sent His son the Messiah, and they killed Him. God then, after that, extended His Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. So, you know, at what point do you say, well, obviously you were God's people, but you rejected Him, and now He is extending that to us. The Jews, on the other hand, looked at the Gentiles as certainly not worthy to be called God's people. Because, you know, they didn't come to God through the law in the same manner that the Jews did. And we're not talking Ten Commandments, but we're talking ceremonial law and circumcision and the various ordinances that the Jews themselves had added to the law that was not given by God, but prescribed on their own. And so, you had this competition between the two groups, and Paul is addressing the fact that whether you are a Jew or a Greek, you're saved in the same manner. It's only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The theme of the book of Romans is the Gospel Message, and Paul spends the first 11 chapters of the book covering deep doctrinal topics that are essential to salvation that are core topics to the message of the Gospel. He addresses repentance, he addresses justification through faith, baptism, God's sovereignty, the law and the Holy Spirit, resurrection, and judgment. And so, from Romans chapter 1 through 11, we have these core principles about what it takes to come out from under sin, be reconciled to God, live lives of holiness again, and the way to do that was the same whether you were a Jew or a Gentile. Again, it was only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

When we come to chapter 12, then there's a change in the tone of the book. Paul goes from his heavy doctrinal discussion to more of a Christian living approach. You know, in light of all these things, how do you now live this life? How do you apply the practical application, the blessing that's been extended to you? And so, that's the light in which we read Romans chapter 12. I want to begin again in Romans 12 verse 1. Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. He says, in light of these things, what we've covered, salvation, forgiveness, you are one in Christ. I beseech you therefore, because of those things, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And Paul's not saying that you literally sacrifice your bodies upon the altar before God, because we're not talking about a dead sacrifice here. Again, this is a living sacrifice. This is someone who continues to live and breathe and live their life in a way that is to the glory of God.

To be a living sacrifice means that we give our lives over to God to use as He sees fit.

You see, so often, again, when we think that we are our own, we live our life according to the way that we see fit. Living sacrifice submits to living their life according to God's way and for God to use as He sees fit. Under the Old Covenant system, people offered physical sacrifices, a part of seeking mercy. You know, if you committed a sin, you brought that animal to be slaughtered and sacrificed, and that blood to be spilled on your behalf, so that God would hopefully extend mercy to you, so that He would overlook your transgression, and you would be ceremonially clean before Him. You and I have been extended mercy by God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our response not to be, then, to go and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice before God because of the mercy He's extended to us. Here in verse 1 of Romans chapter 12, Paul calls that our reasonable service. To be a living sacrifice is a reasonable response to the mercy and the forgiveness rather than that's been extended to us. Verse 1 also gives us the heads up as to what God expects from an individual that will give themselves as a living sacrifice.

It says that they must be a sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God. You'll recall under the Old Covenant system, not just any old sacrifice would do. There were actually standards of acceptability as to what you could offer as a sacrifice on the altar and what you couldn't. What was good enough or what wouldn't qualify. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 22 and see what actually comprised and existed an acceptable offering for God. Leviticus chapter 22 verse 17. I think as we read through this we'll start to see the parallel application as to how we need to live our lives in an acceptable manner as well. Leviticus chapter 22 and verse 17.

It says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offer his sacrifice for any of his vows, or for any of his free will offerings which they offered to the Lord as a burnt offering, he says, You shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. So again, there were animals that were acceptable to be offered as a sacrifice before God, and there were some that were not.

Any animal with a blemish or a defect or some ailment in this way disqualified it from being acceptable before God in this manner. Verse 21, it says, And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord to fulfill his vow, or a free will offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted. There shall be no defect in it, that those that are blind or broken or maimed or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar of the Lord. It says, Either a bull or a lamb, which has any limb too long or too short, you may offer as a free will offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed or torn or cut, nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. And so again, just as the Old Covenant sacrifices had standards that they had to meet to be acceptable before God, our lives must meet certain standards in the manner in which we live as well. If we're doing acts of service at church and we're serving before one another and before God, and yet we're out robbing banks during the week, do you think that's a life that will be an acceptable offering before God? I think not.

Brethren, this doesn't mean that we have to be perfect. It doesn't mean we won't ever make a mistake or fall short, but what it does mean is that when we stumble, we must continually come back to seeking the mercy and forgiveness of God through repentance. We must seek to have the blood of Jesus Christ applied to us so that when God does look upon our lives, He sees us as clean, as pure, as acceptable before Him. That's what a living sacrifice must be.

Brethren, the standard that we've been rehearsing all this week during the days of 11 bread is to put the leaven out. Put out the self, the sin, the pride, the carnal nature that's in opposition to God, and to put something else in its place. And that is Jesus Christ, who is the unleavened bread of life, as Mr. Crane read in the sermon at. He is our bread of life. We need to put the leavening out, put Christ in, as the only way we will be an acceptable sacrifice before God.

If you and I measure up to this standard, and I certainly hope that we do, how then do we engage in the process of being a living sacrifice? What is it we do? What sort of actions do we need to take?

What path do we walk down to become a living sacrifice? And what does a living sacrifice look like? Well, we begin to find the answer in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5. From some of the comments, it sounded like the message this morning.

Refer to the fact that we need to be taking on the nature of God and Jesus Christ, and that is just where we're heading in this message. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. This is the only way we can be an acceptable sacrifice before God. Philippians 2.5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. For Jesus Christ, in order to fulfill what was necessary to free us from the penalty of sin, humbled himself. He came from the right hand of God, took on form of mortal man, and lived unto death, brethren, so that you and I could be forgiven. In order to engage in a life of acceptable sacrifice before God, you and I need to take on that mind of Jesus Christ. The mind of Christ was a mind of humble service. It was a mind of sacrifice. It was a mind that was willing to put other people's needs ahead of his own, even to his own detriment.

And that is a mindset we must be willing to take on as well. Verse 5 said, again, let this mind be in you. Why would it say let? Well, it says let because it doesn't come naturally to us.

Our natural carnal nature, again, is in opposition to God. It takes overcoming. It takes true effort and true work to allow that mind of Jesus Christ to be formed in us. The carnal nature wants to look out for number one. It's look out for me. The carnal nature will sacrifice for me, for my needs, my wants, my desires, and yet that was not the mind of Jesus Christ.

His sacrifice was based in selflessness, and our sacrifice must be as well. If we back up to verse 3, Philippians chapter 2, verse 3, we begin to see in part how some of that mind exemplifies itself or demonstrates itself. Philippians 2 verse 3, Paul says, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. That's hard, isn't it? That's hard to stop and say, you know, I put you above me, and I submit myself to you over my needs and my will and my desire. That's what Jesus Christ did. I mean, ultimately, he was serving the will of his Father, but he was willing to put us ahead of himself. Verse 3, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interests of others. And so to be a living sacrifice, you have to be an individual that has the interest of others at heart, and you give yourself to seeing that those interests are fulfilled. And oftentimes, brethren, it is a sacrifice, and it does require that we invest ourselves more than just superficially in the process.

That's what a sacrifice is. It's giving up of something that's important to you in order to serve a greater purpose than yourself. Jesus set the example and the perfect example of what an acceptable sacrifice ought to look like. Not only in his death was he a sacrifice for sin, but also in his life, and the way he conducted his actions. In the example that he set, he showed us what a living sacrifice ought to be. He showed us what it is that we ought to imitate in our life today. Let's go to Luke chapter 9 verse 23.

Luke 9 verse 23. Jesus Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. He was unleavened. He shows us how to be unleavened, and we must follow him. Luke 9 verse 23.

Then Jesus said to them all, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

I think you and I know very well that the cross was the Roman instrument of death.

It was a very destructive, a very torturous instrument, a very hideous way to die.

Yet Jesus Christ took that upon himself willingly, without resistance.

The question is, brethren, are we people who are willing to lose our own life and service the God?

Now I'm not speaking ultimately unto physical death, although that is something that may be required of some of us someday. Again, the point is to be a living sacrifice. But are we willing to sacrifice our personal dreams, our ambitions, our desires, the things that we most want to accomplish in this life for the calling we've been given from God? Are we willing to make our lives focused about what it is that God wishes to accomplish in us, as opposed to what it is that we want to accomplish for ourselves? That doesn't mean that we can't live a fulfilling life and do the things that we like to do and pursue the things that we want to do. But again, brethren, it comes down to a question of priorities. What is it that comes first in our life?

Jesus Christ set the example of what ought to come first.

He set the example for his fellow man. He submitted to the will of God. He said, it is my food to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. That's John 4, verse 34.

Jesus said, it's my food to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. And so, doing the will of God is what sustained Jesus Christ, is what he thought about, is what consumed his focus and how he lived his life. In order to accomplish it, we see that he actually sacrificed many of just the basic comforts of humanity that you and I strive after every day.

Now, the gospel counts. Jesus said, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. It was a pilgrimage life. And he said, if you're going to follow me, this is the life you're going to lead as well.

And so, we see through the gospel examples that he sacrificed oftentimes his meals, didn't he? His physical comforts, his lodging, his personal quiet time, away from the crowds.

You know, he received word that his cousin and close personal friend John the Baptist was killed. He not even had the time to go and grieve because the crowds were there. He had to minister to them.

Again, sacrificing for others came before self. He said, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Brethren, is our food to do the will of God who called us?

Is that what ultimately sustains us? Are we willing to make real sacrifices to serve and support the work that God is doing today? Scripture tells us that doing so is considered a pleasing sacrifice to God. Let's go to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4 verse 15.

The Apostle Paul, as we know, embarked on many missionary journeys. And you know what? He didn't always know what lay ahead for him when he set out on the trail.

Didn't always know where he was going to stay that night or maybe next week or next month. Didn't always know where his provision was going to come from going forward. And yet he trusted God. He also received support along the way. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 15.

Paul writing, and he says, Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica you did send aid once and again for my necessities. He says, Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.

Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. Rather than supporting the work of God, whether it is financial support or hands-on support, or support on your knees before God, the effective fervent prayer of the righteous man does avail much, whatever our level of support would be, it's considered a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. The work we engage in as a church is not only preaching the gospel, but it's also preparing people. And in the local congregations, there are many ways in which the work of God is performed and is supported among the local members. To come to church early, to unlock the door, to set up the hall for Sabbath services is a sacrifice. It requires somebody gets up early, leaves, dedicates their time to see that it gets done so that when the rest of us show up, we can lock in the door, enjoy our time together, and glean much from the service.

To run the cybercast, to plug in the sound system, to do all the things that we need to do so the transmission could go out, go to the other congregations, and those who connect in with us is a sacrifice. We all see the work that goes on. It is extensive. To present Sabbath school lessons to the children each week is a sacrifice. You know, it takes time to prepare those things, and I think it takes patience to deliver those as well. It is a sacrifice. To serve in the kitchen, to sweep the hall, to take care of the needs that are just routine here at Sabbath services is a sacrifice. It takes people who are willing to give their time and their effort to make the day more fulfilling for the rest of us. To prepare sermonettes, to give Bible studies to prepare sermons is a sacrifice. It takes a tremendous amount of time for all the men who support that effort, and it takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice from their spouses who put up with being neglected during the process. It is a sacrifice. To prepare and present special music is a sacrifice. It takes weeks to prepare. You have to come together and coordinate what piece you're going to play. You have to practice it together. You have to have a sound check. You have to get cybercast permissions so that the moment they step up here, which is the first time we see it, all this work has happened.

There's a sacrifice. All these sacrifices, brethren, are pleasing to God.

To visit the widows and the infirmed is a sacrifice. And so there's so many things that we can engage in on the local level that contribute to the overall accomplishment of the work of God today, and participating in those things are all part of being a living sacrifice that is a sweet-smelling aroma pleasing, acceptable before God. If you serve in those areas, I thank you. I thank you for taking your time, your effort, that you could actually divert to something that would be profitable for yourself and using it to serve the rest of us in the congregation. That's what it means to be a living sacrifice. It is much appreciated. Brethren, just as there was a physical temple under the Old Covenant system in which there were physical sacrifices that were offered on the altar, there is a spiritual temple of God today, the spiritual house of God. It is the Church of God. And this is where spiritual sacrifices dedicated to God ought to be offered as well. Let's go to 1 Peter 2, verse 5.

1 Peter 2, verse 5. Again, as a church, we all come together. We all contribute. We must contribute.

1 Peter 2, verse 5. Peter says, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Brethren, service must not be a solo event. It must not be something that only one or two people do. It can't be something that only one or two people can sustain on their own. When it comes to offering up spiritual sacrifices at the house of God, we can't afford to let the 80-20 rule apply.

80-20 rule essentially says, you know, 80% of what is accomplished is done by 20%, those that put in the effort. We can't afford to have 80% of the work that's done to be accomplished simply by 20% of the people.

Verse 5 said that we are living stones being built up into a spiritual house, which means we are each intended to contribute to the overall strength of the structure. I tend to think of being living stones, you know, we don't build with stone so much anymore, but I can relate it to bricks. There is the overall structure of the house of God, which is the temple of God, and each of us are a brick in that structure. And we've been placed as it's pleasing to God in the manner in which we can serve, and we're all tightly mortared together through God's Holy Spirit binding us together. And as I think about that analogy, I think, you know what, I don't want to be that loose brick where, you know, the mortar all around us started to crumble, and the wind blows, and the brick falls out on the ground, and lays there, and somebody has to come along and pick it up and put it back into place. I want to be a brick that's solid and secure and tightly mortared to the structure and is hoping to supply strength and stability because, you know what, it's tied together with the strength and stability of the other bricks.

That is how you and I must serve as living stones in the house of God.

Giving a sacrifice, whether it's a physical sacrifice or a spiritual sacrifice, is the giving of something that has real value to you. You know, think about it. If you were a shepherd in ancient Israel, and you had your flocks, you had your herds, how much value do you think it would be to you for a lamb or a goat without spot or blemish? Well, number one, it's probably good financial value to you because if it's part of your breeding program, I would, I don't know, I would assume that a well-put-together lamb will hopefully produce another well-put-together lamb and so on down the line. And if you have ones that come out all mangly-looking, you know, you're not going to be breeding that to reproduce those characteristics. So, one without spot or blemish or defect was of value. And, you know, I would say at least value is, it would at least be a value from the perspective of, you know, Israel was full of sinners, right? Somebody's going to be looking for a spotless animal for sacrifice. Maybe you could sell them one. But the fact is you were giving of something that had real value to you if you were offering up a sacrifice on the altar before God. Spiritual sacrifice is much the same. It's a giving up of something that has real value and benefit to us in order to be offered up in service to God and His people. It could be our time.

Time is of the essence all the time. It's valuable. Seems like we never have enough time to do the things that we want to do and the things that we should do. Offering your time to serve somebody, to go visit somebody, to do something that needs to be done. It is a sacrifice, but it's a sacrifice of something that is actually worth something to you. How about our finances? You hit somebody in their pocketbook and that's worth something. You know, if you have the ability to assist somebody that needs help, that's a blessing. You're extending something that has value. If you're giving up prestige, personal advantage, advancement in some place in order to assist and lift somebody else up, again, that's a sacrifice of value. Hospitality, putting out of your finances and your time, prepare a meal and have people over and clean the house and all the work that goes in so that somebody can just show up and have an enjoyable time and you can build your relationship, again, and giving something of value. Whatever it is, brethren, that we can offer, if it's done to the glory of God and it's done for the benefit of his people, it is something that is well pleasing to God.

It could be prayer. You know, you might say, I have nothing of value to offer. Yes, you do. You can spend time on your knees in the fervent effective prayer of a righteous man avails much. You can offer your time in prayer before God for your fellow brethren.

Being a living sacrifice doesn't mean that you only give, give, give, give, give without any return. There is return to being a living sacrifice. When we lay down our lives for one another, we display the love of God and, in turn, as a result of that, we come to understand and more deeply appreciate the level of love that God and Jesus Christ have for us. If you lay down your life for somebody, you come to understand the commitment and the love they had and Christ had as he laid his life down for us as well. 1 John chapter 3 verse 14. 1 John 3, 14.

John says, We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren.

He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Verse 16. By this we know love because he laid down his life for us, and so we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's good and sees his brother in need, shuts up his heart from him. How does the love of God abide in him?

He says, My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

You know, brethren, it's so easy to speak the words, to tell somebody that you love them.

It takes a lot more work and effort to show it in deed and action.

You know, around our house, we sort of like getting together on Saturday nights and just crashing in front of the television set, try to find a movie that we can all watch as a family, you know, pop up some salty, buttery popcorn and kick back in the recliner on a sectional and watch a movie. And it's easy to do that and look around and say, you know, this is great. I love you all. I love my family. This is a wonderful experience. But if somebody says, I'm thirsty, would you give me a drink? How easy is it to say, get it yourself? I just sat down. Go get it yourself.

Never said that. Is that truly the love of God? How willing are we to display the love of God in deed? How willing are we to run to the store and buy groceries for somebody who doesn't have the health or the ability to go and do it for themselves and to bring it to them? That takes time. How willing are we to put our plans on hold to go and visit someone who is sick or is in need?

Those things are important. Mr. Swaggerty mentioned the prayer request for Janice Day.

I went to the hospital in Cootie Medical Center yesterday to go visit Janice, and I walked in the door and something I wasn't expecting just sort of hit me like a ton of bricks. And I didn't say anything to Janice about it, but I walked in the room and there's Janice laying in the hospital bed, and there's her daughter sitting there keeping her company. And a couple things came to mind in a flash. First of all, it was a scene that looked very familiar to me. I mean, there are many times I've walked into the hospital and it's been my mother-in-law in the bed, and it's been Darla or Selina sitting there through the night with her. And I had an instant kind of connection I could relate to what was going on. The second thing I wasn't expecting that just sort of hit me when I walked in the door. I thought it was flashed in my mind. I thought, you know what? Joe's not here.

You know, we all know Joe gave his life as a sacrifice for Janice. And it wasn't that it was something that he wasn't expecting and sort of got caught up in. He married a woman with severe health issues, and he stayed by her side day and night. And you know, I walked into that room and I thought, you know, Joe's not here. I thought, you know, is that really fair? You know, Janice has struggled all her life with health problems. Joe was much younger. He was strong. He was healthy, and he got cancer, and he died very, very quick. And you try to say, what is the answer to that?

You know, why would God allow something like that to happen? And what where's the where's the sense in that? And all I can say is, if you're looking for an answer, you're not going to find one. But hopefully you can find some peace in the fact that you understand what God is doing. And so, you know, I woke up in the night, I was thinking about Joe, and I woke, I was driving down to Kennewick, and I was thinking about Joe. He come in light of everything he was dealing with during the week. He'd be at the door, every Sabbath, was he not? At the door greeting us.

Afterwards, he'd be sitting by Janice's side, supporting her. And I thought, you know, he is a prime example of what we could look to in the congregation as a living sacrifice.

I couldn't find scripture off the top of my head because I was driving, but fortunately, I have a smartphone. So if you bear with me for a minute, let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

This is a scripture that actually gives me comfort to a degree when I don't understand.

2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6. Paul says, It is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light and the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He says, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

And then he goes on now to describe as apostles what they dealt with, but also what we as Christians deal with. Maybe I'm pulling it a little bit out of the context in which it's given, but I think the principle applies. Verse 8 Paul says, We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.

And here's where I constantly come to. We are perplexed, but not in despair.

And there's been things in my life and times. Look at the death of Joe Day, and look at the death of Angie Erickson and various other people.

And I say, you know, I'm perplexed. I don't have an answer as to why.

But I'm not in despair. All is not lost. God has given us His word. He has a plan. He is faithful and true, and we will see them again.

But we're perplexed, but we're not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always caring about in the body the dying of the word of Jesus, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our body.

Do we manifest the example of Jesus Christ in our actions? Are we a living sacrifice in the same manner in which He was a sacrifice? You know, how willing are we to do the things that need to be done?

Here's a bigger, another big one. How willing are we to do something nice for someone who just stepped on our toes? Jesus Christ died for those who killed Him.

You know, He didn't say, I curse you, I spit on you. He said, God forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. I don't think the bar gets set much higher than that.

How willing are we to do something in service and sacrifice for someone who just stepped on our toes? Well, I think we ought to be quite willing. How willing are we to visit the shut-ins or someone in a nursing home, somebody who doesn't get the visits? I remember after my father-in-law had the stroke and we would go and pick him up and bring him home for dinner on Wednesday nights, dinner and a movie, and we'd bring him to church on the Sabbath. I remember all the other residents in the nursing home that when you walked in the door, they would look anxious. You know, it's just somebody that's coming to see me. And over the course of time, we became friends with many of those individuals. And the sad thing that we discovered is that most of them don't get visitors. And the staff that worked there said, it's amazing how you guys take him out all the time because these people sit here forever and nobody even comes to say hello. And after Carl died, there was quite a bit of time that we actually kept going back to that nursing home just to visit the people that we'd met while we were there during those four years. And they appreciated it.

Darla's aunt and darling sister's in a nursing home. We bring her things on occasion. And almost every time I walk down the hall, there's a little old lady doing the puzzle, and she looks up, you know, makes eye contact, and you could just walk right by.

But, you know, it's a sacrifice. How big is it really compared to what she's doing? Let's just stop and engage and just say hello. Brethren, Christ died not only for us in the church at this time. He died for the world. Our laying down our lives and sacrifice ought to be for those in the world around us as well. You don't even have to know who's at the nursing home to stop.

Say hello to somebody. How willing are we to take our precious Sunday afternoon to go work on somebody else's car or repair on somebody else's house? You know, hopefully we're willing to do those things. I know many of you do do those things. And again, I thank you. It's a sacrifice that's well pleasing to God, and it's an expression of the love that God and Jesus Christ have shown to us. Jesus declared during his earthly ministry that he did not come to be served but to serve. And when we serve one another in either small ways or big ways, we're imitating him. In fact, is when we serve one another, we are directly serving him, and such service has eternal consequences. Matthew chapter 25.

Again, a familiar passage, but when we read the scriptures around it, it always strikes me as to how big of a deal it is. Matthew 25 verse 31. When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and we separate them one for another as the shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. And then the King will come to say to those on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. He says, I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothed you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least, one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. And so serving and making sacrifices to others is a equation of others is equated to serving Jesus Christ himself. And it leads to life. Verse 41, then he will say to those on the left hand, Depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink.

I was a stranger and you did not take me in. Naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? You know, saying, Lord, if we had seen you, surely we would have. When did we see you like that? And he will answer them saying, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. I think it's interesting that Jesus didn't condemn those people because they weren't keeping the Sabbath, they weren't keeping the Holy Days. I think the indication is that they were people who were, but the condemnation stemmed from the fact they didn't serve and sacrifice and give of themselves for the needs of others. Do you think that being a living sacrifice is a big deal? I would say in light of this passage, it definitely is.

Let's conclude in Hebrews 13.

Hebrews 13, beginning in verse 15.

Hebrews 13, 15. Therefore, by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God.

That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. 2. Brethren, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life.

God the Father is our Redeemer. He gave his Son as ransom for us. God unlocked the prison door. Jesus Christ took our place on death row. We were set free.

In light of so great a sacrifice, again, what ought our response to be?

Our response in part should be to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

As we conclude these days of an 11 bread, let's never cease from putting the leaven out, the leaven of self, the leaven of sin, the leaven of pride that actually elevates ourselves above God in terms of perspective in our own minds. Let us put those things out and let us replace it with the mind of Jesus Christ. Mind of service, mind of sacrifice. In doing so, you and I will come to more deeply understand the love that God has for us. And in doing so, we will demonstrate the way that God's love works, the way that we serve one another, and the way that we are a living sacrifice. That is, brethren, after all, our reasonable service.