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Sacrifice

Glenn Blankenship
11/27/16 - Sunday

MATTHEW 16:24-25
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever is bent on saving his life shall lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake shall find life everlasting."

Instances of sacrifice in the Bible
Gen 4:1 - the first recorded sacrifice
Gen 8:20 - Noah's sacrifice of thanksgiving
Gen 22 - Abraham's willing sacrifice of Isaac
Lev 1 - sacrifice defined in the first covenant
Heb 9 - how the 1st covenant sacrifices translate into the new covenant.

Sacrifice may have a different meaning to any of us. It may have religious connotations, or you may think of a sacrifice bunt in a baseball game, or it may relate to a financial solution for you.
But all of these have a common defining thread:
*to surrender or give something up
*losing something in order to give
Phil. 3:7 - Paul lost the glory/honor of men for the glory of Christ

Because sacrifices to God are to be the BEST, something precious to us - we need to study our lives and make sure we are giving our best.
Spiritual Application
Heb 13:15,16 - the fruit of our lips - are we offering praise, kindness?
Rom 12:1,2 - our bodies as living sacrifice - we must give up our control and give it to God through transformation of our self - by renewing our minds not conforming to the world.
Phil 4:18 - the Philippians supplied Paul's needs and boosted his spirit.
Physical application
TIME - our Saturday choices can affect our Sunday activities
SCHOOL/WORK FUNCTIONS
kids activities, work, sports/hobbies - must draw a line when these things interfere with your time doing God's work

Sacrifice should be a part of our LIFE. Deny ourselves, follow Christ
Christ was the ultimate sacrifice - we have the choice to accept His salvation or do our own thing.