Bible Text: Romans 12:1 | Preacher: Pastor (Mrs) Debola Adeyemo | Romans 12:1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
A sacrifice is an act of slaughtering an animal which was exemplified in the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. He was a sinless man yet He sacrificed his life for the sake of sinners.
To be a living sacrifice is to give something valuable for the sake of greater outcomes. It means to be dead in the flesh but you’re alive in the spirit unto God. A living sacrifice loses the ability to talk back and fight for its own right. How many times have our responses been less than what it ought to be?
Heb 12:2, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
QUALITIES OF A LIVING SACRIFICE
1. Obedience and humility to the master.
2. Meek and submissive to the master.
3. Slow to speak.
4. A forgiving person.
5. Gentle as a dove but wise as a serpent
6. Repays evil with good.
BENEFITS OF LIVING SACRIFICE
1. By his wounds you are healed. 1 Pet 2:21
2. God will reward you. Num 12:6-8
3. Honour and exaltation. Phil 2:8-10, Heb 12:2
CONCLUSION:
Sacrifice is about dying daily (1 Cor 15:31b). The object of sacrifice will experience pain, denial, insult, persecution, cheatings, blow on the ego and betrayal. To be a living sacrifice means you do not insist on your own right. Jesus Christ gave himself for us all so that we can function as light in a dark world. The spirit we have is a spirit that blesses and that is the spirit that we carry as believers. A living sacrifice is not obedient in one location; rather his obedience to God is without question in all locations he finds himself.
A message preached by PASTOR DEBOLA ADEYEMO