"The Beauty of Sacrifice" - Pastor Doug Batchelor

message today we're gonna be talking about really a very important central core Bible theme dealing with the beauty of sacrifice sacrifice and typically when we think about sacrifice we recoil a little bit at the idea because it makes us think of some form of horrific self-denial and it is true that sacrifice can mean the greatest form of self-denial at all laying down your life remember hearing a story from World War two where first lieutenant John Robert Fox was there stationed in Italy during the heat of the battle and his job was an advanced position where he was looking with binoculars and he was giving instructions and coordinates to the artillery operators to bring in the bombs and artillery on various positions and he'd call on the radio it's a enemy's in this position rained down artillery and bombs here and on the enemy they're over here and then somehow up this valley he suddenly noticed that he had missed this larger German Nazi force that was coming right in upon him but he could have dropped everything and run for his life and been okay but he knew that they would surprise his own men and that there was going to be a great loss of life so he called in the coordinates and he said you need to drop everything you've got on this position and on the other end of the radio they said well that's where you are he said you better do it you better do it fast and they reined in the artillery and it took his life when the American forces finally came to the position there it was in the town of Soma Colonia Italy they saw that there was lieutenant Fox surrounded by about a hundred dead German soldiers and they took a medal and they placed it on his chest because he had truly realized that other people's wives we'll be lost if I don't call him the fire on my position and really this is what Jesus did is he called in all the wrath of the devil on his position so that we could be saved now that's the purest form of sacrifice when we think of someone laying down their life and Jesus said in John 15:13 greater love has no man than this that someone would lay down his life for another sacrifice sacrifice is really a beautiful thing and it might be good to look at a definition as we go on with this sacrifice is by definition and this is not the total definition for virture or giving up of something highly valued for the sake of someone or something considered to have greater value or claimed it's giving up something or sacrificing forfeiting something that you value to obtain something you think is of great worth and we must be very valuable to the Lord that he would sacrifice his life to save us now sacrifice for the Christian is not optional there's a misconception that is somehow filtered its way through a lot of Christians churches that because Jesus sacrificed his life he did that so we don't need to sacrifice that we're off the hook somehow that's not the teaching of the Bible he sacrificed as an example for us let me give you a few verses that explain that mark 8:34 of course we had one in our scripture reading whoever therefore desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me whoever wants to come after Jesus you've got it self deny and follow him for whoever desires to save his life will actually lose it but whoever loses his life or sacrifices his life for my sake in the Gospels will save it from what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul if if you refuse to make the important sacrifices because you think you're gaining something you're actually losing thing someone said that which you sacrifice for God is never lost in multiplies you do not lose anything you sacrifice for God or what will a man give in exchange for his soul Matthew 13:44 you know this parable again the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which when a man finds it he hides it and for joy over it notice the word joy true sacrifice is beautiful it's a blessing for joy over it he goes and he sells all that he has and he buys the field I just want to give you the picture in Bible times they didn't have bank they never saving and alone with a big safe in the middle of it a lot of people if you had money you were saving they would actually dig a hole and bury it and they pace it off and figure where they buried it and have some landmarks and maybe tell a few trusted family members in case something happened to him you probably heard in England these guys were out there with a metal detector going through one man had a metal detector and he just was combing over the different fields because he knew that the Romans had once occupied Great Britain and they'd hidden their gold in the fields and sure enough his detector went off and it registered something that looked like a solid metal like gold and they dug down they found this I think it's called the hawks and horde millions of dollars of gold and stuff that someone just buried out in the field so it wasn't uncommon in Bible times you'd be leasing someone's field and you'd be farming and you're going along with your donkey pulling the plow and also the plow hits something and it unturned this rock and you look under the rock and there's a box and you look in the box and there's treasure but you're an honest man it's not your field meaning it's not your treasure so you cover it back up and you go to the owner and you say I'd like to buy that field says what would you want with that old field is that I just you know it just has become very precious to me and what's it gonna cost when he gives them the prices and Wow in order to do that I'm gonna have to liquidate everything and you go home you tell your wife says we're selling everything what for four homers filled homers feel did nothing but sorry you ever rented that field what do you want to buy that feel for trust me you want to sell everything we've got for that field must have been some interesting conversations it's worth more than they know and they sell everything they have a garage sale they sell everything they've got they put the last penny on the table and they buy homers field I just made up the name Homer just because he needed it was it worth it oh yeah he knows there's much more in the field but Jesus said in order to get that treasure you gotta sell everything you got to be sold out for the gospel and then he go I was unsimilar parable and he says or it's like a merchant seeking precious pearls who when he finds a pearl of great price he goes and he sells how much all that he has and he buys Apia the field Luke 14 27 Jesus said whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple you pick up your cross because there's gonna be a sacrifice and if it's your cross is probably your sacrifice take your cross your crucified with Christ again he says in Luke 4 he says it three times in Luke I'm just reading you to Luke 14:33 so likewise whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple that means when you come to Christ it takes everything he wants the complete surrender and so many I'm sure that the reason there's a lot of miserable Christians out there is because there's a lot of people who want to go to heaven and they appreciate what Jesus did but they're not ready to make a complete sacrifice so they have enough religion to know about the do's and the don'ts but they don't have the joy of really believing their sins are forgiven because they've made a partial sacrifice and until you come to the point of really putting it all on the line for the Lord and saying all that I have and all that I am are yours you don't experience the freedom that's the joy of making that sacrifice someone wrote that since the Son of God has died for me the least I can do is the same for him Jesus is God and God died for me than no sacrifice really what sacrifice is too much to make for God who made everything who died for you it might mean sacrificing what looks like a high earthly position a lot of people have decided to put the Lord first we've heard about different athletes that in high school in college showed great promise and then along came some pro recruiter and offered them a multi-million dollar contract and they said I can't take it why not because you have games on Sabbath and I can't play on Sabbath you're crazy you can you know just do it for 10 years and retire no I can't do it at all and they'd sacrifice what would seem like a very lucrative career because the gospel is more important to them I actually I'm telling him that story because we had a call and amazing facts a young man had just been recruited by the Jets New York team and he'd been watching our programs and he learned the Sabbath truth and he said I've told them I can't play anymore on the Sabbath well you know that didn't go over too well but he stood his ground I think ultimately they sold him and he ended up going into another field the Bible talks about Moses who seemed to have the promise of being in the line of Pharaoh Hebrews 11 24 by faith and when you make a sacrifice it's often done by faith by faith Moses when he became of age he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin you know if you're associated with Pharaoh's household and you introduce yourself it you know name-dropping that would be handy and then the Egyptian party I am part of Pharaoh's family but instead he would say I belong to the slaves I'm with the slaves the Hebrews he understand that was reverse name-dropping he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God and is all that prestige and power rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin you know when we were doing our meetings back in North Carolina and Karen and I went to there's a Billy Graham Memorial Library I guess he's still alive he's that still in a Memorial Library it's the Billy Graham library he's 98 years old now and there they've got a a little place his wife is buried and his good friend George Beverly Shea how many of you know who George Beverly Shea is younger kids are going on a strange name George Beverly Shea was a very talented singer he's a son actually the Methodist minister and deep clear booming bass baritone voice articulated every word perfectly and and he after he graduated from college he worked for New York Life Insurance Company I need sing periodically special music and Christian occasions he loved to sing but he had such a tremendous voice that some people with I think it was NBC radio I had this program across the country the big thing back then I'm driving 1933 what's called the hit parade I don't expect any of you remember that and they said we'd like to you to be one of our singers on hit parade well that was like the Academy Awards back then if you were on the hit parade radio program everybody knew what that was this but you know you're gonna have to sing some secular songs you can't just do religious songs and he said well I think God's given me the gift of singing anyone's been to use it for him I'm not singing any worldly songs you can still sing some gospel songs but you can also have to sing some of the you know folk songs and the traditional said I don't want to do that at all of his friends said oh you're crazy just do it for a little while you got a chance to be known and once you're famous you can sing all the gospel songs you want they wanted him to compromise just for a little bit said no he was very very committed to the Lord he said I'm just gonna sing for God if I'm gonna sing that's the only thing we're singing about and they withdrew the offer and his friend said you missed your golden opportunity so I haven't missed anything if I have no one ever hears Who I am they said they'll never hear of you everyone I'll know you if you do this for a little wise and I said just want God to be happy with me well ten years went by and you know he continued to singing in churches and working the traditional job then Billy Graham asked him to sing for him for one of his evangelistic programs 1947 and he started singing with Billy Graham and he said why don't you quit the insurance and go with us full-time and sing for the Lord he's I've been hoping someone would ask me to do that and so he continued for the next as folks thought his career was over because he was in his 30s his older than Billy Graham and he's sang with Billy Graham for 60 years I don't know any of you remember when Billy Graham came to Arco one of his last meetings Yark arenak and that's been 20 years ago Karen were you at yeah and there was George Beverly Shea up front in his 80s saying clear voice it's amazing well he's in the Guinness Book of World Records now for singing to more people than any other human being life because he traveled with Billy Graham and sing to literally millions and millions and millions of people and there are tons of Records and they lived to a hundred and four no one will ever hear of you they said and they he said you know I'm some people thought it's a sacrifice but people thought Moses you're missing your chance in the palace more people know about Moses now when here's this guy goes out in the desert and you thought no one will ever hear from me again I'm just following around these sheep no one's ever gonna know about me the whole world knows about him because he chose to forsake the pleasures of sin for a season and the Bible is full of heroes like that for you and I to think about of course one of the great sacrifice stories is Abraham what would be harder give yourself or to give your child what's a more difficult sacrifice Abraham these are the sacrifice heroes in the Bible took his son up the mountain he had faith offered his son Jephthah offered his daughter rather than to violate a vow to God Hannah offered to sacrifice her son she prayed for a child for years finally God gives her child she said I'm giving it to God but that's a sacrifice he didn't die I mean and Jephthah by the way did not burn as a daughter some people misunderstand that he also gave his daughter to the temple she would never marry and have children after that Elijah wealthy son of these farmers they got 12 teams of oxen and he kisses his mother and father goodbye decides to follow Elijah and become the apprentice of a poor prophet I mean really you know Elijah you know he lives by a creek and he's fed by Birds and lives in the Attic of a widow it wasn't a very promising future to be the apprentice for a poor prophet lives in a cave out in the wilderness Elijah said oh I'll leave everything and follow you and you know that's why when Elijah was about to go to heaven he said anything I can do for you said he I want a double portion of your inheritance which was the Holy Spirit and the firstborn was supposed to get a double portion of the inheritance but he had faith and he made that sacrifice Nehemiah leaves the Persian palace to go and try and build these ruins in the promised land the Apostles it tells us about Peter James John Andrew and Matthew the others probably made similar sacrifices Luke 5:11 so when they brought their boats to land they forsook all and followed him so what does it cost and most Christians don't really understand what it means to make that kind of sacrifice you know Jesus tells a story actually it's not a story it's it's a true event but he drew attention to this Widow mark chapter 12 I don't hear anyone turning pages mark 12:41 you probably all have digital Bibles right you're looking on your phones you don't hear it anymore used to be that you know I'd give the verse and all send it'd be a flurry of airconditioning everybody turning their pages Jesus sat opposite the Treasury and saw how people put money in the Treasury he's watching it and many who were rich he's watching human nature parade by many who were rich put in much they blow the trumpet and everyone gather and so as I was making this donation you know and they'd all applaud and go moving on they dropped the coins in one by one big gold coins big funk on the bottom of the box then one poor widow she was waiting until the fanfare drifted away and she quietly by herself hoping nobody would notice she threw in two mites which make up quadrants now a might just say no you got gold coins and you got silver coins and then you had bronze coins if they weren't even copper it was cheaper than copper it's bronze and it was a little bitty bronze coin and one Bible commentator I read said we have nothing in our currency to explain it because it was about a third of a penny so she throws in two thirds of one penny but then Jesus said it was everything she had you might be able to buy a piece of a piece of bread with that Oh maybe more I don't know what bread cost back then but it wasn't much as she and Jesus called his disciples to himself he said assuredly I say to you this poor Widow he nodded towards his widow that just went through the line has put in more than all of those and he they can tell by the way she's dressed she's poor she may not only be a widow she may be a widow with orphan children and it says she put in more than all those who've given to the Treasury for they put in of their abundance but from her poverty she put in her whole livelihood in other words she gave everything isn't it interesting I've observed it seems like poor people it's more easy for them to give everything because they're a figure well I'm so close to nothing anyway what difference will it make if you give your last two dollars it's sometimes is interesting how those who have the least give the most they may not give the most in numeric value but they give the most in percentage and Jesus was calling attention to her says yeah you know on the scale you might not think it's much but she's giving a hundred percent and so when the Lord looks at what we give is that the amount or is it the percentage of the heart God's interested in you know of course I can't miss this opportunity to remind you all that our church is in the midst of a capital campaign I'd be shameful if I miss this chance for commercial and what we're telling people we're we're not interested in your making a pledge or commitment based on a number as though everybody can give the same amount because we can't but wanting to be wonderful if everyone made an equal sacrifice meaning if we give equally everyone's going to give differently based on the resources that we have but if we all gave so we all felt it a lot of people give and you'll drive home in the same car and you'll live under the same roof and you'll everything will be the same a sacrifice means you give so you actually experience some difference there's a vacuum that's a sacrifice everything else is an offering or a donation sacrifice is different the widow gave 100% you know I've thought about it before it's gonna be interesting for her in the judgement Jesus you know he points to her she was hoping that she could discreetly give her two cents and then slip out of the temple and he he says see that Widow and she goes oh no I'm so embarrassed I had nothing to give just he said she gave more than anybody now in the resurrection when things take on the real value all of the Jews who went through the temple that day and the trumpet made their donations and tried to get a lot of attention they gave to be seen of men and Jesus that's all the reward they're gonna get all of their names have drifted off into obscurity nobody knows who they are but when you get to heaven the two sense that that Widow gave by her example has inspired more giving I'm guessing billions and billions of dollars have come in to the cause of God because Jesus drew attention to her two cents wasn't even two cents two thirds of one sin won't that be something it's like I'm telling the story today hopefully it inspires you it's been inspiring people for 2,000 years all over the world in virtually every Church think about how her gift multiplied and she probably went up to the offering box that day and thought I know this won't make any difference what a difference it made you figure the whole world has been changed by that little bitty gifts that she gave so if you're thinking well you know I'd like to give but my little bit it won't make a big difference you have no idea what God can do with your little gift because she gave her all it's made a big difference sacrifice as I mentioned will cost you something you remember King Saul he came back from attacking the Amalekites and he was supposed to exterminate all the animals there but he kept some of them and so Samuel said to King Saul I thought you were supposed to exterminate all those animals from the Amalekites that was the order that came from God he said what we kept some to sacrifice to God that's kind of like you mugging your neighbors sitting by you and then making a donation from their wallet that's your sacrifice he says yeah I stole it from the Amalekites oh we can give it to God we'll get credit for that I told you this story probably more than once that somebody sent me some flowers once while I was at the office and I walked into the offices big bouquet and I read the card it's from actually a programmer that was congratulating us on a new program that had gone on the air on this station and so they sent all these people hours and and I looked at those flowers and I thought well you know that's nice but what am I gonna oh I'm gonna get some mileage out of this so I brought it home to Karen so I brought you some flowers I didn't say where they came from I did bring them from the office to the house I had to finally confess from exactly where they came from but I was trying to get flour credit now what do you think made more difference to Karen for me to say someone sent me a bow cake where she was suspicious about that right away someone sent me a bouquet and I brought you that bouquet that someone else was thinking of me but I brought it to you because I'd know what else to do with it whole bouquet or if I actually take time and bring one flower where I thought about it see what I'm saying you get more credit I think for the one flower when you're actually thinking about it then bringing someone else's bouquet and transferring it like a real sacrifice is gonna cost you something King David there is this plague going through Israel and David knew he needed to make an offering to God to intercede for his people to stay the plague and he went to this man that owned this big threshing floor named araña and the big threshing floor on top of Mount Moriah was right where Abraham offered Isaac and the king said look I'd like to buy this threshing for a big flat area and make an offering to God this man had a big heart he said you're the king I give it to you then King said no he said no I want to give it to you David said no I am NOT gonna sacrifice to the Lord something that doesn't cost me I will not sacrifice he said surely I will pay the price nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my god of that which cost me nothing that is not a sacrifice if it costs you nothing there's no sacrifice a lot of us want free Christianity we want a discount we want to get a good deal we want to get it on sale you're not gonna find Christianity discounted now having said all that it's making you nervous some of you biblical sacrifice is joyful I want to read a quote to you from the book steps to Christ page 46 what do we give up when we give up all a simple looted heart for Jesus to purify it to cleanse by his own blood and to save by his matchless love and yet men think it hard to give up all I'm ashamed to hear it spoken of I'm ashamed to write it Hebrews 12 verse 1 and 2 it says and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him nobody made a bigger sacrifice in Jesus but was it a sad sacrifice why did Jesus do it he was looking at the joy beyond the sacrifice that were tongue what a sacrifice will you forfeit something for something worth more Jesus was looking at you being redeemed and he thought that's worth more it's worth my suffering for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross despising the shame and he has sat down now at the right hand of the throne of God David Livingstone when he spent the years in Africa knee and dirt all kinds of hardship and he had malaria and hunger and and exposure and threatened he was attacked by lions and natives and all kinds of problems and listen to what living Livingstone said people talk of the sacrifice that I've made and spending so much of my life in Africa can it be called a sacrifice which is simply paying back a small part of the great debt owing to our God which we can never repay is it a sacrifice which brings its own blessed rewards and healthy activity the consciousness of doing good the peace of mind of Bright Hope of glorious destiny in the future away with such a word in such a view was such a thought it is emphatically no sacrifice say rather it is a privilege I never made a sacrifice we ought not talk of sacrifice when we remember the great sacrifice that he made who left his father's throne on high to give himself for us he had a good attitude he actually wanted to go to China but chyna clothes he ended up going Africa he just wanted to go to serve the Lord but I just thought I'd throw this in it's interesting an English Mission Society wrote to Livingstone one time when he was in Africa and he's now in the centre of Africa and just a very difficult part they said have you found a good road to where you are if so we'd like to send some men to join you Livingstone wrote him back he said if they will only come if there's a good road don't send them and he did make a sacrifice Christians are often accused of being morbid when they talk at the joy of sacrificing I think it is one of the deepest truths of the Christian religion far from being the source of sadness sacrifice is the greatest joy and the source of illumination perhaps the greatest of all joys that's from anonymous I quote a lot from him you know an example of this would be Jacob remember how how much did Jacob have to work for his wife seven years hard work you read a Jacob describing the work that he did up all night fighting off thieves exposed to the cold exposed to the heat but he had to work seven years for Jeep for Rachel and listen it says in Genesis 29 2007 years for Rachel they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her when you love somebody it didn't seem like a sacrifice sometimes we give God a lame sacrifice Ephesians 5:1 and to therefore be imitators of God dear children and walk in love as Christ has also loved us and given himself for us we want to give him the best sacrifice Malachi says in chapter 1 verse 8 and when you offer to the Lord the blind as a sacrifice you know you're supposed to give the best of your sheep and sometimes oh well it's time to offer sacrifice they've gotten the old mangy sheep I can give there's the blind one now me as well sacrificing he's already blind that one's he's kind of gimpy he's got one bad leg you got run over truck I'll sacrifice that one and he says they'd bring these to the the Lord and he said well if you were gonna give a donation to your governor you don't bring a lames that you wouldn't offer it to your governor you wouldn't offer it to a king do you offer the leftovers to the Lord or your best Oswald Chambers said our notion of sacrifice as though it's the ringing out of us something we don't want to give up full of pain and agony and distress the Bible idea of sacrifice is that I give as a love gift the very best thing I have so why am i dwell in on this about sacrifice what am I talking about this because when I read these stories in the Bible and I think about sacrifice I say Lord it'd be so easy to give a hundred percent if I loved one hundred percent so if we're struggling to sacrifice and give the way God wants us to give of our lives of our time of our means of our service whatever it is if sacrifice is a struggle is it that we just got to try harder is that we got a love more the more you love the easier it is is it hard for a mother to care for her baby that keeps him up all night well maybe sometimes but they do it why the more you love the easier it is and that's also true in the Christian economy while I'm talking about parenting sometimes we have to sacrifice convenience and I was reading about the emperor penguin you've probably seen these probably watch the program on penguins a hundred times with David Attenborough on it I always feel very sorry for the photographers that had to spend part of winter in the Antarctic to get the footage in virtual dark they had to watch this group of male penguins emperor penguins huddle in the cold for three months balancing a big egg on their feet how many of you would sign up for fathering if you knew that was involved don't get to eat for three months cuz you got this egg on your foot what makes them do it God's wired them to love their offspring and it's so unusual because in the animal world sometimes the father he just you know procreates and he leaves happens in our world too doesn't it but with the male penguin he takes care of it and feeds it finally the mother comes back and takes over and he goes to eat but listen to what Paul says about the sacrifice of Christianity second Corinthians six 3 we give no offence in anything that our ministry may not be blamed but in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God this is not just ministers but all people in much patience in tribulations in needs in de-stresses in stripes in imprisonments in tumults paul experienced all this in labors and sleeplessness in fastings by purity by knowledge by long-suffering by kind he starts out with the troubles and he talks about the blessings the beauty by purity by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness by the holy spirit by sincere love by the word of truth by the power of God by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left by honor and dishonor by evil report in good report as deceivers and yet true as unknown and yet well known is dying and yet behold we live as chastened and yet not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things is a brilliant passage I don't know if you caught it he starts by talking about the sufferings then he talks about the joys and then he balances the sufferings with the joy is in the last third other's bad days but there's better days there's dying but we live you're poor but you're rich you have nothing but you possess all things and it's a really biblical sacrifice is beautiful you know it's always easy to sacrifice when you think about sacrificing something someone else has that's what socialism does it's really easy to vote for me to ask you to give away what you have it's like the story of the pastor came to visit the farmer pastor was talking about them having the dinner to feed the poor what just so happened that outside the window the pig and the chicken were listening and the chicken was so moved he said you know we ought to do something to feed the poor the pig said what do you have in mind so why don't we do bacon and eggs and the pig protested he said well for you it's a donation for me it's total commitment you've heard that before heaven but in the Christian life if you're gonna get it you got to give it away they man was hiking across Nevada and he got very thirsty and he came to one of these ghost towns where there was an abandoned ranch and other hikers had been there because there was a pump in the middle of the town and there by the pump was a bottle with one gallon of water in it and a cap on top and it thought oh good the bottled water but on the bottle was the sign it says do not drink this water said if you're thirsty pour this water down the well it will prime the pump and you will have all the water you want it says trust me it works and the idea is you've got to give it away if you want to get it so it must have been hard he said I've got a gallon of water do I keep my gallon and drink it I'll be satisfied now but the next person will have nothing or die pour it out so I'll have all I need sacrifice it you'll get more than you need and you'll be able to fill the jar for the next person on the trail so you wonder how the story ends that's up to you it's just an illustration you go through this life you can either live selfishly and try and take it all for yourself or learn to follow Christ and say all that I am and all they have is yours Lord and like it's not optional for the Christian I remember reading about a Chinese Christian years ago his name was lo fook I always reminded me because it sounds like for sook and he was a barbers apprentice in China discovered the truth about Jesus fell in love with Jesus and he served Jesus in his community as well as he could became rather prosperous but his heart was going out to so many of the poor he had heard about many of the poor Chinese that were working in the mines in British Guiana when they were working in the sugar plantations and they had no one to preach Christ to him and he offered to go preach Christ to him but there was no ship that would take him he said what if I sell myself as these other Chinese have you had to sign a seven-year contract or to work as a slave so he sold himself as a slave for seven years so he could go preach to the other Chinese and every day he ended up in the gold fields they don't have gold mines there because they were mining the rivers he was in the gold fields and he was preaching to the other Chinese and leading him to Christ one by one and he ultimately before his seven years were up after five years he died but he raised a church of nearly two hundred people that's someone who actually followed the teaching of Christ where it says that he gave all things that other people he made himself a slave took upon the form of a slave that he might reach others by this we know love because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren this is what sacrifice means and this is a beautiful thing Christianity it's not like sacrifice in a baseball game where you're giving up a run trying to get another base it's talking about where the rubber meets the road it's not talking about a donation it's talking about a heart we give our hearts to him and when the Lord has our hearts he has everything else he'll have your service we'll have your time but what will move us to make that kind of sacrifice to give all it's got to be we love him because he first loved us when you see Jesus dying on that cross where you belong because he loved you it should touch our hearts if it doesn't prague on a warm your heart pretty god will move your heart with the spirit you know sometimes I worry about people who grow up in the church and they hear about the cross all their lives and they never really understand what that means and a little more than a year ago I went to the Philippines we were doing some evangelistic meetings just so happens it was April it was over Easter and you know there's a town it's in Fernando I think where they actually reenact crucifixions they don't act though people volunteer themselves to be crucified and everybody gathers around to watch this I took Nathan with me I kind of have didn't know whether I should or not he was adult but it's very troubling these people are trying to show God honor and with people watching there must've a know half a dozen that actually went through crucifixion where they had you know they're good guards there and they got stainless steel males and there I got a first aid but they nailed him to cross they hoist them up they put microphones on them so you can hear him cry when they do it we had our media team there and we thought it would be footage we could use in our amazing facts program and we did use actually some of it but you know I heard about crucifixion and you read about it and I preached about it but you see you see that and this was all very sanitized form of a crucifixion and that Jesus would offer to do that to save me and not just then they take these guys down from the cross and they give him first aid Jesus he didn't come down he died and to be willing to do that because he loves you so much it ought to stir you you know the Holy Spirit touch our hearts and say Lord I'm willing to give my life for you because your god see you own because you created me and you're my Savior you own because you bought me back and I am willing to sacrifice for you my life is that your desire are you at least willing to be made willing to have that desire you know that's why I picked our closing song number three to eight must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free why don't you stand let's sing that together three to eight and then we'll have a closing [Music] you know I just feel it would be appropriate now at the close of this service there may be some here the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart and you're thinking you know I've never really offered to give the Lord my life whatever is involved in Lord whatever you want I'm Yours but you're wanting to do that today's a good day maybe you haven't felt like doing it for a while but you feel like it now the spirits talking to you then don't wait for another time before I pray and we close our service today if you'd like to say Lord I want to really give you all I haven't done that before would you be willing to just come to the front and be part of the closing prayer and all especially and those gathered here will pray for you maybe you've never made a decision to totally surrender your life to Jesus you can do that now and you can have that joy you can experience the blessing of that sacrifice that he made for you don't worry about the people around here who's gonna move for us if you're feeling he's calling you you come now come down to the front here we do this publicly not to be a spectacle boat you know Jesus died for us publicly and so we shouldn't be ashamed of a decision to follow Jesus Amen praising anyone else come you want to know what that means to make a complete sacrifice and experience all that joy and if you're interested in Bible study just talk to the pastors or elders here and won't be happy to study with you some of you may have gone to church for years and you just know that your heart is not completely surrendered you want to do that today come anyone else before I close with prayer so short him today we didn't have enough verses to this thing as you came down okay let's pray father in heaven today we've been talking about just the very the epicenter of the gospel which is your sacrifice we believe the plan of salvation rotates on an axle that is really the cross and then you've told us if we would come after you that it's not optional but we must deny ourselves take up our cross and following you and we believe Lord that this is blessed and it's there's a joy that we see before us that should motivate us there's a love that will experience there's a peace that passes understanding and yes there is self-denial there is struggle but it is so much better help us Lord to be willing to make that sacrifice of placing all that we are all that we have our time our means our hearts on the altar and say we are yours and if we're struggling with that decision all of us I guess struggle with that everyday help us to renew that commitment right now and keep it fresh in our lives bless these who have come forward today give them peace help them to experience that joy of laying all at the foot of the cross and be with each person that's gathered here today Lord bless this church and bring revival to your people we know we're living in the last days we not only want to be saved and want to be ready we want to get others ready we want to offer our lives to reach others we thank you lord we pray this and we pray we can glorify your name and it's in the name of Jesus we pray amen god bless you you may be seated and if there's any that have come forward if you'd like special prayer or if you'd like to talk to the pastor's please meet us at the door happy Sabbath

Channel: Aaron

Views: 10,765

Rating: 4.8156681 out of 5

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Id: zYgDNqZESDU

Length: 47min 32sec (2852 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 08 2018