I sometimes sit and
wonder are we truly living for God in His church in the United States or are we
living to please ourselves. Or, are we wanting to hear all you have to do is believe
and say a prayer then you are saved? It
is simple to be a Christian you don’t have to really do much at all show up to
Church on most Sundays and say that you are saved no need to change how we live
or even think about allowing God change our view points on things, yeah it’s ok
to keep living a life of sin. But then
we run across John 8:28-30 “ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on
the cross, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own,
but I speak what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me—he
has not deserted me. For I always do those things that are pleasing to him.” Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.” What do we do with a piece of scripture like
this? When we see the first part Christ
is talking about being hung on a cross, being the final sacrifice for our sins,
saying that He lived His life to please God.
This is not a poplar thing to
talk about but have you ever thought about what types of sacrifices you might
have to make in order to please God?
I’m not
talking about animal or ritualistic sacrifices, no I’m talking about life
changing sacrifices. You may say I
already sacrifice sleeping in on Sunday’s to be here what more does God
want? We have to look no feather then to
Matthew 16:24-26 where Christ says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find
it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Christ who came from Heaven to earth tells us
if we want to save our lives we must give up our lives. What does that mean, it means that when we
get real with God we begin to see that life on earth is not about us but about
God. It is about obeying God. We must pick up our cross and ask what must
die in my life in order to live for God,
We must get rid of the sin in our life.
We have to begin to see what we
are doing that is not bringing honor to God.
Maybe God wants us to spend our free time in more prayer, at the soup
kitchen, working with the homeless, maybe giving our money away to those in
need.
Christ hung and died on a cross He gave up Heaven to come to
earth to be mocked beaten and spit on, took in all the sin of world as He hung dyeing.
All because it pleased His Father God so that we could be saved from our sins,
and come into a relationship with the living God. We must no longer think what can God do for
me, but think what do I need to sacrifice to God, what must I give up in order
to please God? But who really lives this
life who really would give everything up to please God? Paul did this in fact He told the Philippines
this, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that
you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice
in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a
drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad
and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and
rejoice with me.”(2:14-17)
Paul says
his life is to be poured out like a drink offering the commentator tells us
this. “Both Jews and Greeks sometimes poured wine out on an altar in connection
with religious sacrifices (see Num. 15:1–10). Some have interpreted this figure
of speech as depicting Paul’s own martyrdom for the cause of Christ. However
the content of the letter reveals by contrast that Paul assumes he will live
(see 1:25) and expects to be released from prison shortly (see v. 24). Thus
Paul probably was saying that he was presently being poured out as a living offering
on behalf of the faith of the Philippians. sacrifice: This means
primarily the act of offering something to God. service: Paul chooses a
Greek term that depicts a person who fulfills the duties of a public office at
his or her own expense. In the Christian context, this word speaks of worship
humbly offered to God.” I ask you this
simple question are you allowing your life to be poured out for Christ?
Marva
J. Dawn:
"Marva was born in Ohio in 1948. She is a
lifelong scholar, having earned four masters degrees and a PhD. She is also a
teaching fellow at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is
involved with the organization Christians Equipped for Ministry. Marva has
written many books, is a gifted musician, and speaks to clergy and at
conferences all over the world. One of her books, Unfettered Hope: A Call to
Faithful Living in an Affluent Society, specifically addresses what a faithful
response looks like in our culture. Her life is a reflection of her belief that
seemingly small acts of faithfulness can have a profound and significant impact
on the world. All of the profits of her books go to support charities like
Stand With Africa: A Campaign of Hope, which “supports African churches and
communities as they withstand AIDS, banish hunger, and build peace.”2 Marva and
her husband live off his teacher’s salary, which is not much. Despite Marva’s
many medical problems, she still refuses to take more money for herself. She
cannot imagine spending to make her life more comfortable when so many people
are desperate and dying throughout our world. She says that her 1980 Volkswagen
Bug with its broken heater helps her focus more on prayer and to better
identify with those in need." (Crazy Love, Francis Chan)
Chan,
Francis (2008-05-01). Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (pp.
151-152). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
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