Forged by Fire | Living Sacrifice

Message

One of my favorite singer and songwriters, Jon Foreman, wrote a lyric in his song “The Blues that reads: ***“Is this a new year or just another desperation?”

After the year that all of us just endured, this question seems fitting for the first Sunday of 2021: The term desperate describes 2020 well, doesn’t it?

2020 was hard, and I’m glad it’s over, but let me ask you a really honest question: how will 2021 be any different for you?

If the pandemic ends this year and some semblance of pre-COVID normalcy resumes in our lives, will that wipe the slate clean on your anxiety?

As we begin a new year with all of the hope and potential that every new year pledges to bring, we must ask ourselves: will this be a new year where truly a new thing takes place in life, or will this year be more of the same old desperations?

Today begins a new series… for a new year… about new life… discovered through the most unlikely way…  through sacrifice. In fact, what I’m going to talk about today completely contradicts our way of life.

I think for most, sacrifice corresponds to loss, pain, and even death. In religious terms, sacrifice means old and irrelevant.

My hunch tells me that whenever many of us hear the word ‘sacrifice’, our defenses for self-preservation immediately spring into action.

Sacrifice and happiness typically don’t make good dance partners.

Yet, I’m standing before you right now because my mom, a single parent, chose to sacrifice her time, finances, and comfort for the sake of a better life for her two sons.

We are safely gathered here without the threat of death looming over us for being in this room because tens of thousands of men and women over the centuries saw fit to give their last full measure to honor our freedom of religion.

You are sitting here today because someone else - a parent, family member, mentor, friend, pastor - gave a sacrifice of their time, talents, and/or their treasure in order to help you soar higher than you would have otherwise done on your own.

What if those people who had chosen to make a a different decision.

And you know what, if they had to do it all over again, I bet they would.

Here, I am reminded of a passage in Ephesians that reads, ***“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

How did Jesus bring us into God’s family? By sacrificing his life! And do you know the crazy part?

***This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” Ephesians 1:5.

While sacrifice on the one hand always means loss. Sacrifice always leads to a new beginning.

In Jesus, new life was made possible for us because his life came to an end.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus opened a new way for all of us to live by modeling a life marked by sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul instructed Jesus’ followers to follow Jesus’ way, saying:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

In view of God’s mercy, Jesus washed the scorecard permanently and forever clean. That’s what mercy means: no condemnation.

Grace and mercy are two sides of the same coin. Grace is the act of receiving an undeserved gift. It’s getting what you don’t deserve. Whereas mercy is not receiving what you do deserve.

What Jesus accomplished on the cross was like unlocking infinite lives on Mario. I always felt envious of my friends who unlocked the code by clicking up down up down a-b-a-b-a-b-a up up up up down down on the controller in order to unlock infinite lives.

On the cross, Jesus unlocked the mercy code for everyone, and then still desires to give us all things through the fruits of his Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

What fruit do you need? Then ask for it and it shall be given to you. There is no limit!

God showed us unending mercy—forever withholding what we deserve—by enduring the loss of his own son. Our mercy cost God everything, but he willingly chose it for love. Because God loves you enough to suffer for our mercy!

This reminds me of what Paul wrote elsewhere: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20

In Christ, God said yes to every promise to us, even when we said no, because…

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! [[[wrote the Prophet, Jeremiah ]]]

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Thus it is In view of God’s mercy, that followers of Christ offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Romans 12:1

In the days when Paul wrote this letter, Jewish law mandated several kinds of animal and plant sacrifices.

Here in this passage, Paul picks up on this motif, but turns it completely upside down. Since Jesus fulfilled the purpose for why those sacrifices once existed, the only kind of sacrifice that now pleases God is the living of your life for God’s glory!

In fact, following Jesus’ death, historical evidence shows that from the time that Jesus died around AD 30 until the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, Jewish followers of Jesus stopped the practice of temple sacrifices altogether because they believed that Jesus’ death on the cross served as the final, ultimate sacrifice of sin for all people.

In turn, Acts chapters 2 and 4 describe how the first followers of Jesus offered life-giving sacrifices, such as providing food for the hungry, orphaned, and widowed, praying for the needs of others, and even willingly offering their own lives for the sake of Christ amidst persecution.

Jesus calls us his followers to offer their lives in life to the God of life.

This Paul writes is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:2

So how might your life be a living sacrifice - set apart and generous to God? Perhaps it begins outside of these 4 walls?

True worship, the kind that delights God and lifts our eyes above see level into faith level, becomes fully expressed when we live our lives in such a way that every part of our life is a YES and AMEN to God’s merciful sacrifice for us.

What if you viewed everything you do as an act of worship?

What a strange question! What does this even mean? Like be churchy at work? Sing songs and pray? I don’t think that’s what Paul envisioned as our response to Christ’s sacrifice.

Rather, the Greek word Paul used for our English word for worship offers insight into this question.

The Greek word is called ‘latreia.’

It used to mean ‘to work for hire or pay.’ It was the word used of the laborers who gave their strength to an employer in return for pay. It denotes the voluntary undertaking of work. Over time, the term came to mean quite generally ‘to serve;’ and then evolved to mean ‘that to which one gives one’s whole life.’

In the Bible, whenever this word appears, it always refers to a person’s dedication to God.

All of a sudden, this definition of worship takes on a dramatically different and radically wider context than simply to mean church on Sundays. What we do on Sundays matters for the upbuilding of the community and connection with one another.

“Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25

Our time together holds great significance for the being and purpose of Jesus’ followers. Yet, our true act of worship - or what could be called our latreia, our dedication to God - well, that’s everything. That’s our life.

“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Our lives no longer belong to us. On the cross Christ bought you back and now you belong to God. Now, where sin used to hold us, Mercy reigns, so let everything you do - your thoughts, acts, words, and deeds - be considered an act of worship devotion.

I want to address two areas of our lives that I believe hold significant influence in how we offer our lives to God: Work and Thoughts - what you do with your hands and what you do with your mind. Obviously, relationships, recreation, family - each one of these areas require our devotion to God, but for guys, in particular, WORK and THOUGHTS consume much of our daily hard drive, so:

How might your WORK be an act of worship?

How might every collegial interaction, supervisory session, profit and loss report, inventory count, board meeting, department meeting, team huddle, customer service response, every conflict, tension, celebration, and trash pick-up,  - all be done as acts of devotion to God?

I can’t see your expression through the mask, but I know many of you are thinking: you’re crazy. How can any of those things be done as acts of worship?

Let me share a story about a friend of mine who experienced his work as an act of worship.

For several months, he dealt with the hardship of a difficult colleague. Often, his frustrations at work kept him awake at night and made him feel uneasy to go to the office.

He wanted to report this individual to his supervisors, but instead, he felt a quiet nudge to show patience to his colleague. Since this individual didn’t report to him, his speaking out, he told me, might only cause friction between him and his other team leaders, so he made a difficult choice to show up to the office each day with his character leading out instead of conflict.

He admitted that he wrestled with whether or not he was being too passive or self-restrained? Some might say yes, but even still, he said that he chose to heed the still small voice, whispering in his heart to be patient, love well despite the circumstances, and let his actions bear the fruit of God’s spirit alive in him. For months, my friend sacrificed his own motives and vengeful cathartic satisfaction for character at the office.

He sought the direction of ***Colossians 3:23 for strength: Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

While he of course respected his colleagues and leaders, he actively chose to work for the Lord’s pleasure with patience in the face of hardship.

Over time, my friend admitted that he began to experience a surprising and unforeseen rare kind of joy whenever he chose to do his office work for the Lord.

Fast forward about a year, my friend’s character garnered favor in the eyes of his supervisors. When an opportunity for advancement arose, he was selected for promotion. Was that my friend’s intended outcome? Not at all. His intended outcome was simply to devote all of his work to the Lord, remain steadfast and diligent, and let the fruit of God’s Spirit bear forth in his labor.

That’s one example of viewing work as an act of worship.

Promotions aren’t promised, but joy is.

Whether you’re seeing patients, mowing lawns, writing the perfect macro formula, changing diapers, or attending school—your work is a profoundly spiritual and worshipful act.  It’s a way of caring for those who depend on us, of contributing to the world around us, and of worshipping the God who created you to flourish in your work.

Martin Luther, who initiated the reformation of the Catholic Church into church as we know it today, once said, “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”

In whatever you do, the integrity, character, and quality in which you conduct your work all speaks to the integrity, character, and quality of our God. While words certainly matter in sharing the Good News of Jesus, so also does your devotion to God in your work.

For additional resources on work as worship, let me recommend two: the Global Leadership Summit and Made to Flourish.

How might your THOUGHTS be considered an act of devotion - an act of worship to God?

For many of us, including myself, this is where the war rages — right here — in our minds. In fact, whenever I’m not careful and let my guard down, a single thought - whether true or not - has the power — for good or bad — to influence my emotions in such a way that gives shape to my entire day… and even beyond.

Over and again, the witness of God’s Word calls us to pay attention to our thoughts:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Renewal starts here (point to mind) and stands as the gateway to understanding God’s good, pleasing - pleasure-giving - and perfect will. This means no other will, including our own or the will of others, compares to the goodness, pleasure, and completeness of God’s will for you.

At the end of his letter to the Philippian church, Paul writes, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Fill your mind with these powerful ideas.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

How do arguments and lies become defeated? By taking captive your thoughts - you controlling them, not the other way around, and you making your thoughts obedient to the power of Christ’s mercy ruling over you.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 1 Peter 1:13

Be made new in the attitude of your minds. Ephesians 4:23

Renewal begins here—as you offer your mind, thoughts, and reason in full devotion to God.

I continually face the daily, even hourly, challenge, of surrendering my thoughts to Christ. I find myself fighting thoughts of comparison, fear, frustration, and competing narratives about myself and others that seek to deviate my attention away from what God desires for me in that moment to whatever other junk or shiny object grabs my attention.

When this happens, allow me to offer a couple of easy steps to capture those thoughts and make them obedient to Christ:

First, when a thought arises that drifts you away from Jesus, pause and take a breath.

Then, I envision myself literally grasping that thought and placing it at the foot of the cross.

And then I whisper a simple prayer, “Jesus, I’m yours.”

Whether I am facing a difficult situation at the office, received difficult news, or am feeling low, pausing, taking a breath, placing my thought at the foot of the cross, and whispering, “Jesus, I’m yours” does enough to reorient my compass back to true north and sustain me until the next challenge.

And then I trust for God’s Spirit in me to lead me the rest of the way.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

With Christ’s Spirit alive in you and mercy reigning where sin once used to, all things are possible. New life isn’t only possible but real.

Will this be a new year — where God does a new thing in you — or will this be another year full of the same old desperations?

The answer isn’t a secret: Simply bring yourself to God.

Resist the constant urge to conform to the whirlwind of our culture, but instead, be transformed - a direct reference to the transfiguration of Christ - by the renewing of your mind.

The difference between God doing a new thing in you this year and the same old desperations is what you’re willing to sacrifice.

It doesn’t happen all at once. Sacrifice is a daily ongoing process, but small wins over time change everything. Aim for small wins. Dig into God’s word daily. Pray daily. Stay close to Christ’s body, the church.

Let’s invite God to do a new thing in us this year.

Will you pray with me?