Staying On Track A life worth living

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Staying On Track - A life worth living
I ask have you .. walked worthy of God, who
has called you .. to his kingdom of power and
glory? (1Th 212 CEV)
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I make this request to you, by the mercies of
God, that you give your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is the
only worship acceptable for you to give the
Lord. (Rom 121 BBE)
S A C R I F I C E
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  READ TO THE END......
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My attitude to Sacrifice
How do you view Gods call to be a Living
Sacrifice A dead sacrifice has no choice A
living sacrifice must chose to submit and
obey Negative Imposition-Burden-Obligation Posi
tive Honour-Privilege-Benefit We can so often
have an attitude of personal loss instead of
great gain We can so often be focused on the
hardship instead of the reward
And I count all things to be loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord for whom I suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but rubbish, that I may gain
Christ, (Philipians8 ASV)
Korean Christian Farmer
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Context
Sacrifice ("to make sacred", from Latin
sacrificium, "sacred" facere, "to make") is
commonly known as the practice of offering food
or the lives of animals or people to God as an
act of propitiation or worship. The term is
also used to describe selfless service for God
and others - being a short term cost in return
for a greater eternal gain
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The Gospels call to sacrifice

• Now a great number of people followed Jesus. And
  turning round, he said to them, If any man would
  follow me and does not hate his father and
  mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters
  and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
  Whoever does not take up his cross and come after
  me may not be my disciple.
• (Luke 1425-27 BBE)
• Jesus was using extreme language to drive home a
  critical point
• To be a true disciple will come at great
  personal cost/sacrifice
• Just as Old Testament animals were sacrificed as
  an expression of worship
• Our lives will be sacrificed as expressions of
  worship and obedience
• The Gospels call to commitment will constantly
  test our allegiance to Christ, our surrender to
  His Will
• and require deep levels of sacrifice

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No Excuses
To live a life worthy of the Gospel requires a
life committed to sacrifice
Jesus told the crowd that the choice to follow
Him is like him A man once gave a great banquet
and invited a lot of guests. When the banquet was
ready, he sent a servant to tell the guests,
"Everything is ready! Please come." One guest
after another started making excuses. The first
one said, "I bought some land, and I've got to
look it over. Please excuse me." Another guest
said, "I bought five teams of oxen, and I need to
try them out. Please excuse me." Still another
guest said, "I have just gotten married, and I
can't be there." (Luke 1416-20 CEV)
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Our willingness to follow Christ must be
Greater then our love for our Possessions
Comfort, worth Greater than our love for Places -
Homes, Jobs, Security Greater than our love for
People Family, relationships
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Types of Sacrifice

Property - Something we love more than the Lord
An important man asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what
must I do to have eternal life?" Jesus said, "Why
do you call me good? Only God is good. You know
the commandments 'Be faithful in marriage. Do
not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about
others. Respect your father and mother.' " He
told Jesus, "I have obeyed all these commandments
since I was a young man." When Jesus heard this,
he said, "There is one thing you still need to
do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the
money to the poor, and you will have riches in
heaven. Then come and be my follower." When the
man heard this, he was sad, because he was very
rich. (Luke 1818-23 CEV)
The underlying contention here is who OWNS the
possessions and who determines how they are
managed? The young man would not relinquish his
right to control/govern his material things
Jesus must have Lordship
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Personal reflection - Do you love me more than
these?
List the relationships that you know limit your
obedience to Gods call?
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Types of Sacrifice

People - Someone we love more than the Lord
Do not think that I have come to send peace on
the earth I came not to bring peace but a
sword. For I have come to put a man against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law
And a man will be hated by those of his house. He
who has more love for his father or mother than
for me is not good enough for me he who has more
love for son or daughter than for me is not good
enough for me. (Mat 1034-40 BBE)
The underlying contention here is who HOLDS
greater influence over our choices in
relationships Jesus must be our master
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Personal reflection - Do you love me more than
these?
List the relationships that impede your intimacy
and obedience to God
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Types of Sacrifice

Places - Somewhere we love more than the Lord
As they were walking along the road, a man said
to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. And
Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and the birds
of the air have resting places, but the Son of
man has nowhere to put his head. Jesus said, No
man, having put his hand to the plough and
looking back, is good enough for the kingdom of
God. (Luke 957-62 BBE)
The underlying contention here is comfort and
security linked to maintaining familiarity and
control Jesus must hold the authority to send us
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Personal reflection - Do you love me more than
these?
Would you be willing to sell uproot and go
wherever God send you?
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The value of value
Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering
box and watching people put in their gifts. He
noticed that many rich people were giving a lot
of money. Finally, a poor widow came up and put
in two coins that were worth only a few pennies.
Jesus told his disciples to gather around him.
Then he said I tell you that this poor widow has
put in more than all the others. Everyone else
gave what they didn't need. But she is very poor
and gave everything she had. Now she doesn't
have a cent to live on. (Mar 1241-44 CEV)
For sacrifice to be of value it must come at a
personal cost The greater the cost the greater
the act of worship A living sacrifice lays
him/herself on the altar
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The prophet Gad came to King David and said to
him, Go and set up an altar to the Lord on the
grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David
went up, as Gad had said and as the Lord had
given orders. Araunah noticed king David and his
servants approaching and he went out bowed down
with his face to the earth before the king.
Araunah inquired, Why has my lord the king come
to his servant? David replied, To give you a
price for your grain-floor, so that I may put up
an altar to the Lord. Araunah said to David, Let
my lord the king take whatever seems right to
him. May the Lord your God be pleased with your
offering! But David replied to Araunah, No, I
must pay for it I will not sacrifice to the
Lord, that which has cost me nothing. So David
got the grain-floor and the oxen for fifty
shekels of silver. There David put up an altar
to the Lord, making burned offerings. (2Sa
2418-25 BBE)