A. Self-sacrifice. A word we are not too familiar with, right?
1. Certainly, we understand its meaning. It is not too hard to define, but it is hard to embrace and embody. Wouldn’t you agree?
2. And yet when we witness self-sacrifice, we are drawn to it. We are amazed by it.
3. Sacrifice touches people’s emotions and melts their hearts.
B. How many of you remember the story of Pat Tillman?
1. It is a remarkable story: Star athlete walks away from the game in his prime, leaving millions in cash on the table, to put his life at risk in service to his country.
2. Pat Tillman had so much going for him.
3. Academically, Tillman majored in marketing and graduated in 3 ½ years with a 3.84 GPA.
4. Athletically, he was gifted. He played football for Arizona State University, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 1998.
5. In May of 2002, just 8 months after the September 11 attacks, Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million contract to join the military.
6. He enlisted along with his brother, Kevin, who gave up the chance of a career in baseball.
7. The two brothers completed training for the elite Army Ranger school late in 2002.
8. Both Pat and Kevin were deployed to the Middle East as part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
9. Pat was subsequently redeployed to Afghanistan, where, on April 22, 2004, he was killed in action by friendly fire while on patrol.
10. According to the Army, his unit was attacked in an apparent ambush.
11. The Arizona Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill said of Tillman, “In sports we have a tendency to overuse terms like courage and bravery and heroes, and then someone like Pat Tillman comes along and reminds us what those terms really mean.”
12. Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagiabue said, “Pat Tillman personified all the best values of his country and the NFL. He was an achiever and leader on many levels who always put his team, his community, and his country ahead of his personal interests.”
13. Sen. John Kyl called Tillman, “A great American hero in the truest sense. He had already given up so much, including an incredible football career and loving family to fight for his country in the war on terrorism. His patriotism and courage are an inspiration and we are grateful for his ultimate sacrifice.”
C. There’s that word again…Sacrifice.
1. As I’ve already said, “Sacrifice moves people.”
2. It causes them to stop in their tracks and ask, “Why? Why would someone do something like that?” “What would cause a person to go out of their way for me? What would make them put my interests before their own?”
3. And because sacrificial acts are so rare and powerful, they are rarely forgotten.
4. Sacrifices impact people for a lifetime.
D. The Bible says that those of us who follow Christ should live infectious Christian lives.
1. We should live in ways that makes our faith irresistible to those outside of the family of God.
2. As Philippians 2:15 says, our lives should “shine like stars in the universe.”
3. And, recalling the way that Jesus used the illustration of salt, we should have high savor and potency so that we can impact those around us.
4. In the last few weeks we have been talking about the attractiveness of authenticity and the case for compassion, and today we want to add to them the strength of sacrifice.
5. Authenticity and compassion are important aspects of being a high impact Christian, and when we couple them with sacrifice our lives can have even greater impact.
6. Sacrifice, motivated by genuine love, is extremely difficult to discount.
7. It demands a response of some kind, which is probably a large part of why Jesus lived such a sacrificial life and then called us to follow in his steps.
E. Although there are many ways we can show love by making sacrifices for others, I’m going to focus on three specific areas that I think can have the highest impact on people in our culture.
I. First of all, we can make a Sacrifice of TIME.
A. You very likely could have guessed this first one.
1. Time, as they say, is money, and it’s becoming about as rare a commodity.
2. In our day and time, work weeks are longer, leisure breaks are shorter, and the pace of life is faster.
3. Not long ago, USA Today poked fun at the madness of our schedules, calculating that if we did all we’re supposed to do to live what the experts say is a balanced, well-rounded life, it would require 42 hours a day to get it all done.
4. We all know how hard it is to maintain even the “do-or-die” activities, without trying to add things like exercise, flossing, keeping up with world events, enjoying a hobby, and nourishing deep and meaningful relationships.
5. It’s not just difficult to do it all, it’s impossible.
6. And that’s why, in the midst of a world like that, that we make a huge statement to others when we joyfully offer them the gift of time. It is no insignificant gesture.
B. And neither was it insignificant when Jesus offered someone the gift of His time.
1. Do you remember the episode in Jesus’ ministry when He was passing through the city of Jericho? (Luke 19)
2. There was a huge crowd of people following him at this stage of His ministry.
3. The scene was something like the Macey’s Parade without the balloons and floats!
4. Suddenly Jesus surprised everyone when He stopped the procession and asked a man named Zacchaeus if he could spend a little time with him at his house.
5. Zaccheaeus must have gasped in disbelief. But he consented to have Jesus over to the house for dinner, and before the day was over, Zacchaeus was a different man.
6. He had experienced a spiritual birth that transformed him from the inside out.
7. A key to his conversion was that Jesus gave him time.
8. Jesus stopped the parade and focused His attention on one person.
9. And, as a result, Zacchaeus’s future was forever altered.
C. Zacchaeus was like a lot of people we know.
1. They are interested in spiritual things, but they need someone to come along and invest a little time and effort to help them address spiritual matters.
2. Jesus took the time and it made the difference for Zacchaeus.
3. Will we do the same for others?
4. Most of us, likely, underestimate the effect we could have on people’s eternities if we would take the time to schedule a breakfast or lunch, or to go out together, or have them over.
5. If we would just make an appointment, and then take a risk by turning the conversation in the direction of spiritual matters, heaven only knows what might happen.
6. In some future lessons we will talk more specifically about spiritual conversations, and sharing the gospel, so I won’t address that topic right now.
7. For now, all I want to focus on is the importance of offering others the gift of time.
D. I know that this is not an easy thing to do.
1. It takes courage and tenacity to clamp down on old habits of overwork and frenzied activity.
2. But if we are going to embrace our mission and become more intentional about reaching the lost, then we are going to have to make a sacrifice of time.
3. So, I want to encourage you to pause and ask God, how can I carve out some time, and to whom should I offer the gift of time?
4. How wonderful to think that we may help someone experience a transformed life today and heaven tomorrow, just because we offer them the gift of time!
II. Second, we can make a Sacrifice of RESOURCES.
A. We’ve heard it said, “Money isn’t everything, but it sure beats whatever’s in second place!”
1. We live in an age when most people are intoxicated with the desire for money and material goods.
2. That’s why when we make a sacrifice of these kinds of things that it has such an impact.
B. So many people around us are in financial trouble.
1. If we’ve never stared at an eviction notice or repossession papers, if we’ve never avoided answering the phone because it might be another creditor, if we’ve never lacked the basic necessities, then we don’t know how wonderfully overwhelming it can be to have someone generously help meet our needs.
2. The person on the receiving end of a transaction like that will try to figure out what would make someone show such extraordinary generosity.
3. And hopefully, sooner or later they’ll come to see that only God can relax the stranglehold that most people have on their possessions.
4. Only God can transform a hoarding heart to a joyfully generous heart that experiences Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
C. I know that there are some in this world who are just takers.
1. They will take what we might give without a thought. Matter of fact, their attitude might be: “Is that all?”
2. But we must not let those kinds of people keep us from being caring and generous.
3. 1 John 3:18 challenges us with the words, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
D. I believe that it would honor God if we, as a congregation, had the reputation of being a place where people receive help.
1. Whether it’s food or clothing or gas or rent, whatever the need we want to help.
2. But for that to take place, each one of us have to cull back our own appetites. We must tighten our own budgets so that we will have more available to give to others.
3. And we don’t have to give it just here in the collection plate, we can give to others on our own, wherever we see a need.
4. Whether it be in the grocery line when we see an elderly person who lacks enough money to buy what they are trying to buy.
5. Or whether it be the hungry child we might encounter along the way.
E. I love the story of soldier serving abroad who noticed some hungry children gazing at the food through the bakery window.
1. The serviceman bought some bread and gave it to the children outside the bakery and walked away.
2. As he continued on his way, he felt a tug on his coat, and turned to see the hungry children he had just helped.
3. One of the kids asked him, “Mister, are you God?”
F. Let’s put our faith into action on behalf of others by a sacrifice of some of our resources, and let’s watch the return God will bring in the form of changed lives.
III. A third kind of sacrifice we can make is a Sacrifice of a consistant, godly LIFESTYLE.
A. It’s not much of a trick to project a squeaky-clean Christian life for a short season.
1. But to stay on track and to live a consistent, godly life takes great effort and sacrifice.
2. It is like the difference between running a 100 yard dash and a marathon.
B. For many people in our world, it is going to take a long time to make an impact on them.
1. Religious cynicism runs deep for many.
2. They need to watch a Christian live out his or her faith over a substantial period of time before they’ll be convinced that the whole thing is real.
3. So, we need not be surprised if this is the attitude of some of the people closest to us, including our families.
4. Many have seen us go through all kinds of phases before: like, eccentric diets, karate classes, pyramid marketing schemes, or subliminal tapes played under our pillow at night.
5. And now we come along and say, “I’ve found what’s been missing in my life all these years – It’s Jesus.”
6. And they’re thinking, “Yeah, isn’t that what you were saying about those herbal food supplements a couple of years ago? How long is this fling going to last?”
C. Do you see the problem?
1. Maybe you or I haven’t dabbled in all these fads, but if we are like most people, we’ve been through enough excursions to make others a bit calloused to conversions of all kinds.
2. The question is, are we willing to prove them wrong by making the sacrifice of living a consistent, high-integrity, Christian life, not just for a season, but for the long haul?
3. Unfortunately, our experience is full of stories of believers who burst out of the starting blocks with incredible energy and enthusiasm but who wound up being sidelined only a lap or two into the race.
4. This certainly causes doubters to disbelieve all the more.
5. And that’s why we have to be ready to make the sacrifice over a lifetime.
6. That’s doesn’t mean we are perfect, because we won’t be, but that means that we own up to our imperfections and we keep striving to be holy as God is holy.
Conclusion:
A. Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)
B. It’s encouraging to know that when we give part of our lives for our friends, our example makes it a lot easier for them to understand and accept the claim that Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice on their behalf.
C. Our authenticity, compassion, and sacrifice all work together to help those outside the faith come to the point of saying, “The proof is in the living. The evidence is irrefutable. Who else but God could help someone live this way? I want what they have found.”
D. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16)
E. May God bless and use all our self-sacrifices.
(Much from this sermon came from Hybel’s Becoming a Contagious Christian, chapter 6)
