Sacrifice

Week 5 - Sacrifice (Palm Sunday)

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Big Idea: The Hebrew people experienced the temporary forgiveness of sins by the blood of an animal sacrifice. The sacrifice of Jesus, to leave heaven and offer himself on the cross, was an atoning sacrifice that is effective throughout eternity. Through Christ we are completely redeemed from the ashes of our former life.

Prayer: “Jesus, thank you for your sacrificial life. Without your life, death, and resurrection, we would all be lost in our sin. Remind us today that we’re no longer slaves to sin, but alive in You. Help us to live our lives sacrificially, and be willing to lay our lives down for others.

Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-14, 1 John 2:2, John 14:6, Philippians 2:6-8, John 6:50-71, Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:2

Introduction

Today, we’re going to be talking about the sacrifice of Jesus and the impact his humble actions have had on all humankind.

To illustrate the idea of sacrifice I want to share a story with you from the trenches of World War II.

“John Robert Fox was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in May 1915. By all accounts, he was a smart, diligent young man and he earned a place at Wilberforce University. Here, he signed up for the Reserve Officer Training Corp, meaning he not only finished college with a graduate degree, but with a rank of Second Lieutenant. When war broke out he took his commission and joined the 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated division for African-American soldiers that fought with distinction throughout the conflict.

With his unit, Fox was sent to the European theater of war. In 1944, he found himself fighting the Nazis in Italy. It was here where, in December of that year, he was tasked to stay behind in the small village of Sommocolonia, in Tuscany. The village had been overrun by Nazis, and Americans were in retreat. Fox found a house to hide in and, from the second floor, he used his radio to contact his colleagues. He called for artillery fire to be directed at the village in order to give the US forces time to retreat, regroup and then launch a counter-attack. Fox specifically ordered a barrage of fire on his exact position. The gunner who received the message pointed this out to him, assuming it must be some mistake. Fox, however, simply said: ‘Fire it. There’s more of them than there are us.’

Fox’s act of sacrifice was not in vain. As he planned, the artillery barrage did indeed give his comrades the chance to regroup and launch a successful counterattack. When the US army entered Sommocolonia, they found Fox’s body surrounded by the bodies of nearly 100 Germans.[1]”

The sacrifice of John Robert Fox gave life, opportunity, and victory to his fellow soldiers in a decisive battle with the Germans.

The sacrifice of Christ also gives life, opportunity, and victory to all who would believe. The sacrifice of Christ is so completely sufficient that there’s no need for any other work to be done.

There is much to learn from Christ in this area, so let’s get started;

Main Teaching

Humility & Sacrifice

Philippians 2:6-8

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We already covered humility in week 2, so I’m not going to belabor the point again. But I do have to take a moment to recognize where there is sacrifice… there is humility.

Christ willingly gave up Heaven to come to earth as a sacrifice for our sin. He did not hold onto His position and power, but instead laid it all down to be a humble servant and give up His life on a cross.

He knew, in order to rescue the world from the curse of sin, it would cost Him His life.

There Is A Cost

If you are going to follow in the footsteps of Christ, which is what it means to be a disciple, then you are going to experience sacrifice. Thankfully, Jesus is very straight-forward about this and He tells us this in the gospels. Listen to his words from Luke 14;

English Standard Version Chapter 14

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

challenge is to give up family, plans, and position in the process of discipleship. Another way to say it, to paraphrase the lesson of this passage, is to say, “You have to be willing to let go of everything as you follow Christ.”

If Christ sacrificed Himself to bring redemption then you are going to need to do the same as you share redemption with others.

Crucified with Christ

I can almost guarantee you’ve heard this verse from Galatians before, simply because it so succinctly describes our position with Christ and our engagement with the world around us; Galatians 2:20

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me

Yes, discipleship and sacrifice can be difficult.

Yes, you have to be willing to let go of everything you once believed to be so incredibly important.

Yes, there will be opposition.

And Yes, God will be with you always… In fact He lives in you, empowering you to live the life of faith. So as hard as it is to let go of things and make sacrifices don’t forget that He’s with you and He’s the perfect High Priest; Hebrews 4:15

English Standard Version Chapter 4

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Sacrifice takes courage, conviction, and confidence, but it’s worth it.

It’s Worth It

So here’s the encouragement today; throw off the past sin and shame that so easily entangles you. Run the race set out before you… looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith… who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross.

Jesus sacrificed His life for the joy set before Him. And let me tell you today – there is a very real, deep abiding joy in serving others and sacrificing your life for someone else.

Think about the last time you went out on a service project… You sacrificed time, energy, and possibly money to serve and be a blessing to someone else. And you know what? I bet it felt amazing, I bet you walked away having experienced a fullness that was different than you’d felt before.

(Pastor - can you share a story here about serving others or a story from your own life of sacrifice for others?)

When we trade our selfish desires and wants for a life of discipleship and serving others the sacrifices we make have meaning and purpose. They have names and faces attached to them. When we serve others, we can see our selfless impact.

Without the sacrifice of Christ, there’s no redemption.

And without the sacrifice of all the saints who’ve gone before us, there’s no church.

Sacrifice is powerful, it can change the outcome of a battle...like the story I shared at the beginning of service. It can change someone’s life who needs help. And it can redeem someone’s eternity… Think about that for a moment.

No matter how hard life has been. No matter how far from God you may feel here today. No matter how irredeemable you believe your life to be… The sacrifice of Christ was completely sufficient.

And today is as good a day as any to rise above the sin and shame and accept the gift that God has given you through His son.

Conclusion/Application

As we wrap up, I want to take a moment to recognize that today, the Sunday before Easter, is called Palm Sunday. And on Palm Sunday many churches read the passage where Jesus rides a colt into Jerusalem. In that story Jesus is treated like royalty and all the people lay their cloaks down before him as he rides along.

Luke 19

English Standard Version Chapter 19

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

And then, as Jerusalem comes into view Jesus weeps over the city and says;

Luke 19:41–44 ESV

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Friends, next week is Easter Sunday. It’s a day when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the fulfillment of the prophecies about Him. There were many contemporaries of Christ, many well educated and faithful people, who didn’t recognize He was in fact the Messiah. For them, the sacrifice was nothing more than the loss of a human life. But for those who believe, it’s the promise of eternal life.

How will the sacrifice of Christ change your life this coming week?

What are some things that you need to let go of in order to give your life, time, money, etc… so that others may experience the life of the gospel?

What areas of life are you being called to greater sacrifice?

This life of faith can and will be a costly one, but remember that Christ is always with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Let’s pray together.