“Sacrificing My Body”
Romans 12:1-2
INTRODUCTION: We live in a world where sacrifices are made every day. Soldiers are sacrificing their lives over in Iraq. Mothers making sacrifices for their children. Teachers making sacrifices to teach in our schools. Missionaries sacrificing their time, money and energy (even their lives) to be of service to God.
In our Scripture this evening, God tells us that He expects us to sacrifice our BODY as a “living sacrifice”.
DITTY – Football Player
In just a few minutes, I’ll tell you HOW God wants us to do this.
BUT … for now, let’s take a look at some other important things about this “living sacrifice” of our BODIES.
1.- IT IS A PLEA – “beseech” … which literally means ‘to beg’.
Paul is telling us that this is extremely IMPORTANT … not something to be taken lightly. Paul doesn’t want us to bypass this Biblical truth … it’s essential to our Christian life.
2.- IT IS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN – “brethren” … not just men, or Pastors, or Sunday School Teachers, or super spiritual saints … but ALL CHRISTIANS. If you are a child of God, you are included in this group. It’s for everyone in the body of Christ.
3.- IT IS BECAUSE OF GOD’S MERCY – “by the mercies of God”
• GRACE - God giving us what we don’t deserve.
• MERCY – God NOT giving us what we DO deserve.
If God gave us what we deserved, we wouldn’t have a “body” to present to him. Some of us here tonight aren’t in very good health. BUT … you’re here! It’s by the “mercy” of God that you’re not in a hospital or nursing home or funeral home somewhere. If you have a body to present to Him, it’s only by God’s mercy … you don’t deserve it.
AND … since He has graciously given you this living body (as defective as it may be), you are to present it to Him as a “living sacrifice”.
4.- IT IS TO BE A LIVING SACRIFICE – God don’t need no DEAD sacrifices. That was done away with, with the resurrection of Jesus. God began the process of DEAD sacrifices in the Garden of Eden when He clothed Adam & Eve with the coats of skins. Then He incorporated it into the Law of Moses with the system of blood sacrifices.
FINALLY, God looked upon the dead body of Jesus on the cross of Calvary, and said that He had had enough of DEAD sacrifices. Jesus had completed that picture. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He made His dead sacrifice come back to life … and He no longer wants anymore DEAD sacrifices. NOW, He wants “living sacrifices”.
5.- IT IS TO BE HOLY – “holy”
“holy” means ‘to be set apart for God’s use’. We use our “bodies” for lots of different things, don’t we? We even ABUSE our bodies. On Monday, I played my annual golf game with some Pastors, and ABUSED my body by walking 18 holes of the longest golf course on the planet! We pour caffeine, nicotine, sugar, salt, fat & calories into our bodies. God has something else in mind for our “bodies”. He can USE these overweight, under-exercised, frail, stiff, sore, weak, defective “bodies” of ours. We just have to ‘set them apart for God’s use’.
6.- IT WILL PLEASE GOD – “acceptable unto God” means ‘well pleasing’.
God will be PLEASED with this sacrifice … no matter what shape your body is in. Somebody once said: “My body is in shape … ROUND is a shape!”.
Do you want to “please” God? If you’re a Christian, of course you do! Paul gives you one way that you can “please” God. The sacrifice of your body will “please” Him … it is “acceptable to God”. Not everything we do PLEASES God … but this will.
7.- IT IS REASONABLE – “which is your reasonable service”
This is a very rational, intelligent, reasonable thing to do. After all, that’s what God gave you your body for. He didn’t give it to you just to house your bones, your brain, your stomach, your blood vessels, your internal organs, and your muscles. God gave you your body so it could be put to use for His service. It’s only “reasonable” that we put our bodies to the use that God had designed it for … for “service”.
NOW … we get to the HEART of the message. SO FAR, I’ve only given the INTRODUCTION to the message. HOW do we “present our bodies” to God?
Let’s start at the BOTTOM and work our way up:
1.- OUR FEET
Ephesians 6:12-15 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [14] Stand therefore, having [15] your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
Turn to Romans 10:14-15.
Paul says that we are to sacrifice our FEET … and GO to those who don’t know Christ, and share the gospel with them. We GO to Walmart … we GO to church … we GO to the doctor … we GO to visit our friends and relatives. God wants us to GO to all these places … and be a TESTIMONY for Him.
MAYBE we CAN’T present the gospel every time we GO. BUT, we CAN be a testimony of God’s love, grace, and mercy by how we treat other people … by how we act … by how we talk … by how we love.
God’s got too many Christians with their feet under His table … being fed. God wants us to get our feet out from under His table and GO into the world to share what we’ve been fed, to a hungry world. We need to present the FEET part of our BODY to God … as a LIVING SACRIFICE.
2.- OUR HANDS
We are to present the HAND part of our BODIES to God.
Galatians 2:9 – “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship;”
We need to be more sensitive to visitors in our church services. We need to extend to them the “right hand of fellowship”. Too many times, during FELLOWSHIP TIME on Sunday AM, we are more interested in greeting those whom we know … and not welcoming our visitors. God gave you your HANDS to use in service for Him.
James 4:8 – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
We use our HANDS for lots of different things, don’t we? God wants CLEAN HANDS. We wash them before we eat. There are signs in public bathrooms: “Employees are required to wash their hands.” I always wash my hands before I see someone in the hospital. Do you ever watch the show “Monk”? He has to wash his hands every time he touches something!
God wants CLEAN HANDS to be put in service for Him. BUT … not just PHYSICALLY clean hands. God wants your hands to be clean when used in SERVICE for Him. We get our hands DIRTY by handling the filthy things of this world …
DIRTY SHOVELS … by digging up the past … in our own lives … and the lives of others.
DIRTY BROOMS … by sweeping our sins under the rug.
DIRTY REMOTE CONTROL … by switching to channels we have no business watching.
DIRTY MONEY … that we spend for things that don’t honor God.
God wants the HAND part of our body to be sacrificed to Him.
3.- OUR MOUTH
We are to present the MOUTH part of our BODY as a SACRIFICE to God.
James 3:8-10 – “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. [10] Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
Your MOUTH wasn’t made just to be an intake hole for food. Your MOUTH was made to be of service to God. James 1:26 – “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
My, how much good we could do, if we would only present our MOUTH to God as a “living sacrifice”!
Philip. 2:14 – “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”
Psalm 63:3 – “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.”
We need to present our MOUTHS as a “living sacrifice” to God.
4.- OUR EYES
We are to present the EYE part of our BODY as a SACRIFICE to God.
Most of us have “eye problems” … and we wear glasses to see better. I can see distances pretty good … but I can’t read anything without my glasses. I can drive without my glasses, but I can’t see the speedometer to see how fast I’m going!
If we don’t present our EYES to Jesus, they’ll start focusing on the wrong things. Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;”
We used to sing the little chorus in Sunday School … “O be careful little eyes what you see … for the Father up above, is looking down in love … O be careful little eyes what you see.” Your eyes are the windows of your soul. They are the gates that allow the world into your mind. We are tempted first by what we see.
When we present our EYES to the Lord, we might have to turn them away from much of what we are now looking at. We need to “sacrifice” our eyes to those things that please Jesus.
5.- OUR EARS
We are to present the EAR part of our BODY as a SACRIFICE to God.
Do you know that God is SPEAKING to you all the time? We just fail to LISTEN. Psalm 115:6 – “They have ears, but they hear not:”
Some people have hearing problems … wear hearing aids … have surgery to correct their hearing. Some people are deaf … and have to learn sign language … or learn to read lips.
We need to get our ears tuned to the same wave length as God’s voice. We need to LISTEN when God speaks to us. We need to present our EARS to God as a “living sacrifice”.
HOW does God speak to us? Psalm 85:8 – “I will hear what God the Lord will speak:”
Of course He speaks to us through His WORD, the Bible. He speaks to us through PRAYER, as we talk to Him. He speaks to us through the HOLY SPIRIT, as our hearts are sensitive to His leading and still small voice. He speaks to us through CIRCUMSTANCES … and sometimes it takes a tragedy to get our attention!
BUT … we need to present our EAR body parts to God … to be open to what He has to say to us.
6.- OUR MIND
We are to present the MIND part of our BODY as a SACRIFICE to God … our brain … our thoughts.
You ARE what you think … you will DO what you think about … Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
Col. 3:2 – “Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.”
How often to we really THINK about Jesus? I mean, REALLY. We go about our daily lives, and rarely give Jesus a passing thought. YET … Jesus is thinking about YOU all the time. His mind is never off of you. If He ever quit thinking about you, Satan would be all over you like stink on a skunk.
We need to present our MINDS to Jesus … and start thinking about HIM.
Philip. 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
We need to start thinking more POSITIVE things. We need to get our minds out of the gutter that this world is putting us in, and start thinking about that which is pleasing to God.
Philip. 4:8 – “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
God wants ALL your BODY to be sacrificed to Him … especially your MIND – Romans 12:2
7.- OUR HEART
This is perhaps the most important one of all. Paul said that we are to present our BODIES to God. What He wants most … is our HEART.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:8 – “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”
We can be DOING all the right things … SAYING all the right things … even BELIEVING all the right things. BUT … if our HEART isn’t right with God, we will never please Him and experience the joy of our salvation. Hebrews 10:22 – “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,”
A lot of people have HEART PROBLEMS … have had heart attacks … heart by-pass surgery … a heart condition … a heart pace-maker. When your heart stops … YOU stop! Your heart is the most important part of your body, when it comes to LIFE. Everybody I have ever known, has died of heart failure!
Let me ask you tonight, “How’s your heart?” If you haven’t given your heart to Jesus, you’ve got ETERNAL problems. When you die, the owner of your heart determines where you will spend eternity.
If you’ve given your HEART to Jesus … have you made Him the LORD of your heart?
Jesus doesn’t want a half-hearted service … a half-hearted commitment … a half-hearted loyalty … a half-hearted sacrifice … a half-hearted love. How would you like it if your husband/wife told you: “I’m half-heartedly in love with you.” It wouldn’t be much of a marriage, would it. Jesus wants your WHOLE heart.
CONCLUSION:
Paul is begging every Christian to give every BODY PART over to the Lord – Romans 12:1.
NOTICE the word “present”. In the Greek, it means ‘once and for all’. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever given your FEET, HANDS, TONGUE, EYES, EARS, MIND, HEART to God?
Maybe now is the time. Which body part are you struggling with in your Christian life? Which body part are you hanging on to … unwilling to present to Jesus?
Romans 12:1.
STAND - PRAY
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“Sacrificing My Body”
Romans 12:1-2
INTRODUCTION: We are to be a “living sacrifice”.
1.-It Is A Plea – “beseech” – ‘to beg’ – not to be taken lightly.
2.-It Is For Every Christian – “brethren” – ALL Christians.
3.-It Is Because Of God’s Mercy – “by the mercies of God”
- By God’s mercy, you have a body (as defective as it may be) to present to Him as a “living sacrifice”.
4.- It Is To Be A “living” Sacrifice – Dead sacrifices ended with the resurrection of Jesus.
5.- It Is To Be “holy” – ‘to be set apart for God’s use’.
- God still uses them when we set them apart for His service.
6.- It Will Please God – “acceptable unto God”
7.- It Is “reasonable” – This is a “reasonable” request.
HOW DO WE PRESENT OUR BODIES TO GOD?
1.- OUR FEET – Ephesians 6:12-15, Romans 10:14-15
- Be a testimony for Christ wherever you GO.
- Our feet spend too much time under God’s table being fed, and not enough time in the world feeding others.
2.- OUR HANDS – Galatians 2:9 – the “right hand of fellowship”.
- God wants clean hands in service for Him – James 4:8
3.- OUR MOUTH – James 3:8-10, 1:26
- Our mouths were made for more than being an intake for food – Philippians 2:14, Psalm 63:3
4.- OUR EYES – Hebrews 12:2 – The eyes are the windows to the soul, the gates that allows the world into our minds.
- We are tempted first by what we see.
5.- OUR EARS – Psalm 115:6 – God is speaking to you all the time … we just fail to listen – Psalm 85:8
6.- OUR MIND – Proverbs 23:7 – You will do what you think.
- How often do you think about Jesus? – Colossians 3:2
- Jesus thinks about you all the time.
- Think POSITIVE – Philippians 2:5, 4:8, Romans 12:2
7.- OUR HEART – Matthew 15:8 – Doing, saying & believing all the right things means nothing if your heart isn’t right.
- “The heart of the problem, is the problem of the heart” –
Hebrews 10:22
- God doesn’t want a half-hearted service.
CONCLUSION: God wants you to “present” your BODY PARTS to Him in His service.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
