SACRIFICIAL LIVING
MAIN TEXT: HEBREWS 11:24-25
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
HEBREWS 11:37
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Every Christian must know that running the Christian race is not always easy. It involves sacrifices, and mountains may stand in our way as we continue on the course God has marked out. Difficulties and temptation may cause us to veer in one direction or other, but if we keep our eyes on the goal by “looking unto Jesus’ we will not stray from the path. As we stay true to the Lord, we will keep heading towards our goal. And whenever distractions or temptations cause us to stray off-course, and loose our way, we can look again to Jesus, confess our sins and He will help us to keep our eyes on the goal.
Believers who through faith in God’s Word have had a foretaste of heaven and have considered their glorious spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus are not attracted by the enchantments of this world. Recognizing that which has genuine worth and lasting value, they respond to the casting and temporal by saying “take the world, but give me Jesus”.
In a day and age when we are bombarded as never before with appeals to buy and have, it is difficult even for believers to stand firm against an excessive desire for material things. We need to guard ourselves against the tendency to want more and more material possession because they can draw us away from the Lord.
Don’t forget that the treasures we store up on earth will stay behind when this life ends, but the treasurers we store up in heaven, we will have forever.
LIVE A LIFE OF SACRIFICE TODAY.
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES: 1 JOHN 2:12-17, COLOSSIANS 3:1-2
