Here we are together once again to think about the things of the Lord. As I contemplated writing the Weekly Word this week, I looked over my large email list and was reminded of all the friends the Lord has brought into my life. I also realize that as I post the Weekly Word on my Facebook page and personal website, there are many more who read it.
There are friends who read the Weekly Word whom I have never met, and yet we are brothers and sisters in Christ. I feel a special closeness to you. Some of you have allowed me into your lives and shared things you may not have dared to share with others around you. We have talked together in person, on the phone, or through email, sharing the Word of God with one another. We have loved one another as Christ commanded us to do. We have shared each other’s joys and sorrows and helped carry one another’s burdens. That’s what family is all about. We have given ourselves to one another as living sacrifices because of the mercies God has shown us.
I know I have spoken of these verses before, but they are certainly worth repeating. Romans 12:1–2 (ESV):
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Isn’t that really what our lives are to be all about? In view of God’s mercy toward us, we are to give ourselves to Him. How do we do that? We present ourselves as living sacrifices.
When we think about a sacrifice, we generally think of something that has been killed. In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed as an atonement for sin. They were killed in a prescribed manner, and their blood, representing their very lives, was offered before God. Then came the supreme sacrifice in the New Testament—the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. He bore the judgment of God against our sin. Forsaken as He hung upon the cross, He bled and died, taking upon Himself the punishment our sins deserved. His was the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin. But Jesus Christ didn’t remain in the grave. No, He arose from the dead! By His almighty power, God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
We read in Ephesians 1:19–22 (ESV):
“And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
That supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the foundation of all that we are and all that we do as believers. Because of what He has accomplished, we have received blessings beyond anything we could ever deserve. Look at Ephesians 1:3–10 (ESV):
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
That is mercy! Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, made holy and blameless in God’s sight, adopted as His children, and given redemption and forgiveness of sins. WOW! That’s mercy! That’s where it all begins—with the mercy of God reconciling us to Himself through His own Son.
That’s what Paul is writing about when he says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God.” What should our response be? If we have even begun to understand what that mercy entails, we should willingly present our bodies as living sacrifices. In other words, we are to die to self and live for Christ because He lived and died for us and is now alive again. Our sacrifice doesn’t earn God’s mercy or forgiveness. Jesus has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. Rather, offering ourselves to Him is our grateful response to the mercy and grace we have received.
Do you want to bring pleasure to God? By that same power that raised Jesus from the dead, you can present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Giving yourself as a living sacrifice is pleasing to God. Did you catch that? To die to self and live for God and others is pleasing to Him.
Jesus reminds us in Mark 12:30–31 (ESV):
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Because of your love for God, have you ever given yourself completely for another person? I mean, have you ever given yourself with complete abandon, setting aside your own desires and interests to meet the needs of someone else? If you have, you know the joy it brings to your soul. It’s not simply the satisfaction of having accomplished something good. No, there is a deep joy within, a joy that comes from knowing you are living in a way that pleases your heavenly Father.
It is the joy of living in fellowship and relationship with God our Father through Jesus Christ. It is something holy, something different from the ordinary ways of this world. It is something eternal in nature because it comes from the very heart of God Himself. It is an act of worship because we have taken our eyes off ourselves and entrusted our lives to God for the sake of Jesus Christ. In those moments, we experience the joy of Christ living in us and working through us.
Paul expresses this beautifully in Galatians 2:20 (ESV):
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Oh, that we might experience many more of these moments! That is exactly what Paul urges us to do—to give ourselves as living sacrifices. As we surrender ourselves to God and serve others in love, we experience the joy of fellowship with Him and with those whom we serve.
The world would have us seek after our own good. The world says, “Seek your own pleasure, and you will be satisfied.” But that kind of satisfaction never lasts because we were created for fellowship with God. To experience that fellowship, we must not allow the world to conform us to its pattern of life or squeeze us into its mold. Rather, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How is that possible? The Word of God brings new thinking. It teaches us the truth of God Himself and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, guides us into that truth. God’s Word directs our paths and changes our hearts and minds. As we spend time in His Word, we begin to see life from His perspective rather than through the eyes of the world.
Remember these words from Psalm 16:11 (ESV):
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Commit that verse to memory, and let it remind you that there is a path to follow in life. That path is revealed in the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit gives us the strength and wisdom to walk in it. It is a path of surrender and sacrifice, but it is also a path that brings joy in the Lord’s presence and eternal pleasures at His right hand.
This is what worship and fellowship with God and one another are really all about. As we follow His path and present ourselves as living sacrifices, we learn to discern and walk in His good, acceptable, and perfect will. Worship at its best is more than the songs we sing or the words we speak. It is a life surrendered to God, a life that reflects His mercy and grace through our love and service to others. When we present ourselves as living sacrifices, we discover the joy of walking in His presence and living according to His will. That is worship at its best, and it brings pleasure to the heart of God!
In Christ
David “PK” VanderKlay
