LIVING SACRIFICE

Living sacrifice.

What comes to your mind when you hear that phrase? What does it minister to you?

Let's continue reading to find it out.

First of all, I would love to establish that we as humans are created to bring God pleasure and glory. That's our primary purpose as God's creation. However, we are to dedicate ourselves in making the actual intention of God as to why we are created shown. Though Adam failed, Jesus Christ came and restored us to our Father making us accessible and useful for His service.

Now, you love God, you worship and serve Him, but the question here is, what do you serve Him with? I know your answer would be "the heart" and that's totally true. But it's more than that. Our hearts alone isn't just for the service of our Creator. Our bodies are too. Infact, the scripture says "and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mark 12:30 KJV. In other words, our entire being should be involved in our love and service to God. Notice the word strength in that verse. Strength means the quality of being strong. And being strong means capable of producing physical force and it is your body that is used in producing a physical force. Therefore, your body is involved in service. That's the point I am trying to make.

So, if our body is fully involved in service and not just our heart, what should we do then with our bodies in respect to service unto God?

We should understand that it is a temple.

Your body is a temple. Like a container; a vessel. We are spirits that lives IN a body. Notice "...in a body", so the body's like a house. Moreso, it can be possessed by a spirit as the access be given. You can either be possessed by the Holy Spirit – as a Christian– or by an evil spirit. It all depends on which you open yourself to.

However, you should understand that your body is the temple of God as a Christian and shouldn't be messed up. "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;"

1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV. This scripture says you are not your own. Your body belongs to Him which means your body will be part of your service to God. It is needed after all.

You submit to God if you want your body useful to Him. Submit to God and resist the devil. No other spirit can access you when you obey this principle. Just submit totally to God and His Word and walk in the Spirit. (James 4:7, Galatians 5:16).

Understand that your body should be a sacrifice.

This is where Living sacrifice comes in.

"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."

Romans 12:1 KJV.

"I beesech you therefore brethren..." The word beesech here means urge. Apostle Paul was trying to lay emphasis on the importance of what he was telling the Church in Rome. That verse says ...that you present your bodies... which connotes that our bodies, though living should be sold out (offered and dedicated) totally to God. It should be for the Master's use alone.

When something is sacrificed, Let's say to an idol or a god, it means that that thing automatically belongs to that entity. And obviously, when a sacrifice that has life in it, say an animal or human, is to be offered, it is first killed before it's been offered right? This means that you as a sacrifice is, in the literal sense, killed–or you should be– to the world but alive unto God. You are dead to live unto God. You are living but offered to God. To understand this more, let's look at what Apostle Paul said of himself; "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 NIV. He said he no longer lives but Christ lives through him. That is how we should carry ourselves –our bodies– as Christians. Show others that you live for Christ and serve Him with your body and not just your heart. Never let anything defile it cause it is holy. Anyone that defiles the temple will be destroyed. That's what the Word of God says in 1corinthians 3:17.

Be the living sacrifice. One that is holy and acceptable unto God. That's our reasonable service.

If you haven't been honoring God with your body, repent now and start honoring Him with it. Abstain from anything that will defile it. Sexual immorality is part of it.

Be holy, you bring glory to God doing so.

God bless you.

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