The Changed Mind

A Living Sacrifice

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)

I want you to take note of this-“Be not conformed of this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”. This is the key word- but the transformation comes by the renewing of the mind, that the mind may be completely renewed. It is the will of God that we go through the salvation stage, where we experience salvation by repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus, and baptism of the Holy Spirit; and then, after all of this, we must follow through with a life lived as a journey – where we need to work out our salvation daily as it says in

Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV):

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Life is real-life in the body is real, and life outside the body (eternity) is also real- so we must do our utmost best to live life in the body, now, as a lifestyle that will glorify God. It must be our goal every day in your life as you journey, whether you are at work, at home, anywhere- to live that kind of a lifestyle- it is the will of God that God has brought us to salvation and now He wants us to go ahead and live a life that is totally connected to Him.  Aim to live a life that is acceptable and holy- not acceptable to people and to people’s standards, because the measuring line is God. God is the one who truly has the measuring stick so we must measure ourselves according to God’s standard and not the tradition of men. Our first focus must be to please God and not seeking to please people because if you become a man pleaser, you probably find that it’s so difficult for you then to please God.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 KJV)

All that you do is to please God- when you serve the church, it is to please God, when you serve your leader, it is to please God, when you give of your time, energy, and finances, it is to please God. And if you have a true understanding of this, even when man disappoints you (because man will- only God is perfect)- you will still continue to please God and serve the church because your motives of doing it were correct. When people get easily offended and leave, or need to be given accolades and positions in order to stay- the motives are not correct.

The Bible says that we are not just supposed to be hearers of the word but also doers of the word-so you’ve heard the sermons, you’ve heard the teachings and now you need to put them into application. You can DO the word of God, you can LIVE the word of God, because God will never put a burden that is too hard for us to accomplish- you and I CAN accomplish and fulfill the will of God. Many people face problems in life because they do not know what the word of God says or have a wrong understanding of the word or interpret it according to their convenience. They are also not living according to the word of God- their personal lives will be chaotic, their marriages will be problematic, they will face a lot of problems at work, their households and children will not be in right order…etc. This is the result of not knowing and living the word of God. These people also find it hard to connect with God and are spiritually dry. And for us here today- there’s no excuse- if you do not know the word of God well- start by going to our Bible study classes.

The Apostle says in Romans “I beseech you brethren by the masses of God that you present your body as a living sacrifice”.  In the Old Testament, worship was ceremonial, with diverse kinds of sacrifices that were offered. In the Old Testament, you couldn’t fully have worship without a sacrifice- everywhere where worship was, a sacrifice must be there.

The Law of First Mention

Recall the passage when Jesus is asked about divorce in the New Testament. The Pharisees used the argument “but Moses, he let the people divorce, “but Jesus, what do you say?”. And then Jesus says Moses gave them the right to do it because of the hardness of their heart but it was not so from the beginning. Jesus is saying that Moses had to deal with the people but during the time of Moses, but it wasn’t to be so from the beginning- it was an alteration that was done because of the hardness of the hearts of people. You have to  know and understand what God intended for family and marriage relationship- understand it not from the perspective of what Moses did after they hardened their hearts but understand it from the perspective of the original intent and what God ordained from the beginning. This is the law of first mention. Now with worship for example- worship was introduced first in Mt Moriah where Abraham goes to the mountain with his son Isaac to sacrifice him- that’s where the word worship is first introduced in the Bible. The wood was there and the altar was to be set on top of the mountain, so where worship is, there’s always an altar. Altars and worship are connected. Whether it’s worship of God, or worship that is contrary to the word of God of idols of demigods…etc- they all set up an altar. This is why we also break and destroy evil altars because evil altars are places of interaction where spiritual activity takes place and there’s so much interaction between the people and also divinity at the altar-this is demonic. Some of you have dreams of foreign altars- this means that there’s demonic activity in your life and sometimes also your generation- there are things you need to repent of and change.

Worship as Sacrifice

It’s very important to understand that worship is a sacrifice. Worship has an altar, and worship also has fire because at the altar, there must be a fire that burns the sacrifice. Reflect on Romans chapter 1-it says, “Therefore I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves as a living sacrifice.” This means that now you are being presented as a living sacrifice - it means that's your worship, that's our conduct in worship. As we worship the Lord, we present ourselves, we present our vessels, we present our bodies, all for the glory of the name of the Lord. So when you read this scripture, you must understand it in the context in which it was written. Additionally, we must remember that the New Testament believers that the Apostles were ministering to didn’t have the New Testament. What they had was the Torah, what they had was the Old Testament. When the Apostles spoke about sacrifice, these people therefore had a deeper understanding of sacrifice more than a present-day believer because we have not seen a sacrifice as it was in the Old Testament. Sacrifice is now transformed in the New Testament; it is different from what it used to be. Someone who was in Jerusalem 2000 years ago knew and understood what sacrifice was because in the temple, they saw the sacrifice and they saw the animals.

What does it mean to be a living sacrifice for us now?

What it literally means is that it is a contrast to the literal sacrifice that was performed on a physical altar and the burning of the real fire. This sacrifice is not another animal but it is YOU - it is ME. This sacrifice is not about being killed because Jesus had already hung on the cross, which was the greatest altar. Jesus becomes the sacrifice at the altar on our behalf. As He becomes the sacrifice, how do we then make our sacrifice? Our sacrifice is made by us accepting Him, living for Him, and as we worship, we come to church, we come to prayer meetings, we give, we do all these various things as part of our reasonable worship. We are offering our worship, we pray, we call on the name of the Lord, we pour our hearts out to God, not trying to show off to anybody. We are calling on the name of the Lord, encouraging, and inspiring one another. We offer our sacrifice unto the Lord and glorify God. So as the Bible says here, we are presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. You are alive but present yourself as a living sacrifice. It is our reasonable service, but the Bible says,

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 (NIV))

Decisive Dedication

Another translation says, “to make a decisive dedication of your bodies”… Decisive dedication is when you make a decision that your mind must participate in the process of living for God. Temptations will come your way, but you’ve got to make a decisive dedication. Temptations will come, and the temptation itself is not sin, but it’s how we deal with it that matters. The tempter came to Jesus, and if He came to Jesus, Satan will do the same to us - but we must make a decisive dedication. There are decisions to be made EVERY DAY. I’m talking about a changed mind here today! With a changed mind, we are constantly making decisions, and the decisions we make impact our walk with God, our future, and our tomorrow. We must decide to be in favor of the will of God. We must decide to be in favor of the word of God.

Decide in a way like you know how the 12 spies were sent out to spy the land in Numbers Chapter 13. The Bible says there were 12 spies taken from the 12 tribes to come and spy, but when they went to the valley, they all saw the same thing - all 12 of them. What was different was their decision-making. The 10 came together and decided they were not able, they were like grasshoppers, they thought it was too big and they were not able to do it - they made that decision and conclusion and went with that mindset. But the Bible said, Caleb and Joshua had a different mind. I pray that God will make you have a different mind today. May you have a mind like Caleb and Joshua.

Becoming the Word of God

Every day when you wake up in the morning, there are decisions to be made. Every day when you wake up in the morning and God has given you a new day, DECIDE in faith, decide according to the word of God - it will always bring better results for you. And we know what happened to Caleb and Joshua. A changed mind will help you reach your destiny. A lot of people sometimes are presented with chances the same way as everybody else - with opportunities the same way but some people take them - they make decisions to be aligned with the plan and purpose of God but others presented with the same thing, they think in a negative way.

The Bible says, “as a man thinketh, so he is”. As a person thinks, so he is. So now in other words, you can never be greater than the thought patterns, the patterns of thinking that you allow to govern your mind - whatever governs your mindset will become the output of your life. I pray in the name of Jesus you will have a greater output because your meditation will be in the things of God - in the will of God - and you will think like Him - you will meditate like Him and as a man thinketh so he is. What are you going to become? How are you going to become? You have to become the word of God.

Indecision and Lukewarmness

But what happens when people are indecisive? What happens when people are not able to make decisions quickly and effectively? These are the procrastinators. These are the ones that are neither hot nor cold - they are lukewarm as the Bible says:

“'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16 (ESV))

And the consequence of being this way is severe: “I will spew you out of my mouth.”

To be indecisive usually means to have a difficult time making up one’s mind. Indecision can also apply to team collaboration in which no solution is reached. An indecisive issue is one that is not clearly marked out. We are indecisive when we are irresolute or lack strong conviction about a matter. Indecisiveness is common when we have to make a decision that will result in unpleasant consequences. There are times when remaining indecisive is wise. We may lack all the information, for example, or the issue is of little importance and an opinion would only be divisive. However, for the most part, indecision shows a lack of willingness to commit to absolute principles and to speak up for those principles. In that sense, indecision is a weakness (John 12:43).

An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8)

Several places in Scripture show the folly of indecision. Lot’s wife perished because of her inability to decide between Sodom and obedience to God (Genesis 19:26). Joshua reminded the people of Israel of the necessity of choosing sides concerning their worship, and he clearly stated his decision: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). On Mount Carmel, as the prophet Elijah confronted Ahab and the prophets of Baal, he addressed the fence-sitting, indecisive Israelites: “Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing” (1 Kings 18:21). Under conviction by the Holy Spirit, Felix refused to make a decision and sent Paul away until a time more “convenient” (Acts 24:25). Jesus warned us that “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).

Romans 14:5 addresses indecisiveness about personal convictions: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” God has given us His Word to instruct us in vital matters (Psalm 32:8; 119:105), but He leaves room for personal opinion and conviction in lesser matters as we strive to be pleasing to Him in all things. What the Bible does not condone is wishy-washiness. When we pray for wisdom, we are to believe that God hears and will answer (1 John 5:15; James 1:5). When we ask in harmony with God’s will, we must “ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). In other words, faithless prayer is spiritual indecisiveness.

We must seek wisdom in order to know what issues are worth being decisive about (Proverbs 2:2–6). Some people are very decisive about not killing whales, for example. Social media blazes with scorching opinions on every subject, but many of those fueling the fires would benefit from being more decisive. Our culture has substituted opinion for truth and passion for conviction. We need not have a hard and fast opinion on every subject, nor feel pressured to “take a side” when we lack all the information or education on an issue. Taking time to hear all sides of a matter is a mark of wisdom (Proverbs 18:13, 17).

Let the Gospel be Your Conviction

But when it comes to the basic tenets of the gospel or the infallibility of God’s Word, we must not be indecisive (2 Timothy 3:16; John 17:17). We must be convicted! More information is available to us than ever before in history, so there is no excuse for a Christian to be ignorant about God’s standards on the moral, civic, and relational topics of our day. Much spiritual indecisiveness is motivated by the fear of man, not a lack of knowledge (Galatians 1:10). What are people going to think if I don’t have a strong opinion and passion about the killing of whales? I am wasting my time and energy when I could be pursuing biblical convictions!

When we adopt the mindset that our opinion can challenge the time-tested declarations of God, we are creating an atmosphere of indecision where it need not exist. Simply because a biblical standard makes us uncomfortable or conflicts with political correctness does not mean we should be indecisive about it. Everyone carries on about political correctness these days - I am more interested in biblical correctness.

The minds of healthy Christians are settled on the things that matter and humbly teachable on the things that don’t. They continue to study to show themselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15) so that they form godly convictions about even the “gray areas” of life. They are careful not to judge others who serve God differently (Romans 14:1–4), but they are decisive about God’s plan for their own lives. When we live in ways that are true to those convictions, we will not be shaken by every new idea or cultural whim (Matthew 7:24–27). Indecisiveness about what God has declared to be true has no place in the life of a Christian.

Overcoming Indecision

1. Faith isn’t a product to purchase, but a person to pursue.

   So often we treat our faith journey as an à la carte product to purchase, when our faith is actually a person to pursue and follow—Jesus. Christianity on our terms isn’t Christianity at all. It can be dangerous trying to conform Christ to our image when we were meant to be transformed into His. Jesus is a person meant to be in a relationship with, and when we realize how incredible He is, we pick Him over the endless options at our disposal every time.

   
   

   Now more than ever, we have unending options available to us and we fear taking the wrong next step. So not only do we live with normal everyday FOMO (fear of missing out) but we take it to the next level and live with the fear of missing out on God’s will. Whenever I’m tempted to believe my decision carries more weight than my Creator, I read Psalm 37:1-5. It’s been a powerful reminder to me that God is good, faithful, and in control.

   
   

   “Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in His eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on His faithfulness. Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and He will provide for you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way you’ll find He pulled it off perfectly!”

   
   

2. Follow Jesus, not your feelings.

   Although our feelings are helpful to gain understanding, they’re not worth following. We allow feelings of sadness to tempt us to quit. We let feelings of anger cause us to say something we regret. We permit feelings of being unseen to cause us to question everything. It feels like our decisions are the end-all-be-all field guide to our futures—but we must remember God has sovereign control over our feelings and our lives. Scripture tells us to seek wise counsel [Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 15:22]; and hearing perspectives and wisdom from your trusted voices is imperative. Wisdom ultimately comes from God [Proverbs 2:6], and we’re instructed to receive it from Him [James 1:5]. “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:20-21).

   
   

   Oftentimes, we also allow the feeling of fear in decision-making to dictate our decisions. It can even cause us to delay or avoid making any decision at all. But remember: indecision is a decision. I love what Paul says in Acts 15:28: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything…”

   
   

   What motivated Paul’s decision? “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit.”

   
   

   Move forward with God. Listen to His Spirit. Follow Him boldly. Don’t enter the prison of indecision. Don’t let your feelings hold you back. And even if you make the wrong turn—God has a stunning way of bringing good things out of wrong turns. Do not let your worldly convictions overpower God’s wisdom and counsel.

   
   

3. Fully believe that God is good—and so are His plans.

   God is good. His plans are good. He is trustworthy. When you feel like you can’t believe those things, say them to yourself. Again. And again. And again.

   
   

   God is good. His plans are good. He is trustworthy.

   
   

   When we receive, accept, and live in the truth that God is good, His plans for you specifically are good, and that He is trustworthy—we’re much more eager to follow Him rather than waste time living in indecision. We’re more eager to live in the urgency of the Gospel rather than the tension of the middle. Don’t lose heart. Stay the path and remember that the path is GOOD.

   
   

A True Sacrifice is the Death of Something that Does Not Want to Die

When God established the Laws of righteousness under the Old Covenant through Moses, God’s people were instructed to worship Him by presenting a living sacrifice to God and to offer thanksgiving by lifting up a “wave offering” to Him. The Lord said these ways of honoring Him would be “…a perpetual statute throughout your generations and in all your dwellings.” (Leviticus 23:9-14)

The Lord’s established principle of offering a physical sacrifice in worship is affirmed over and over in the Bible. Under the New Covenant, you present your body as a living sacrifice to God and that will never be easy! Why? Because, a true sacrifice is the death of something that doesn’t want to die!

Timothy wrote, “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubt.” (1 Timothy 2:8)

David wrote, “So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” (Psalm 63:4)

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Through Him, then, let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

Praise and worship should always feel like a personal sacrifice. When you push past your feelings to literally present your body as a living sacrifice to God by setting aside your flesh to focus on ministry to the Lord in praise and worship, you are showing that your view of God is higher than your view of yourself.

Fight the Flesh to Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice

The thing about sacrifice is that something that is living has an internal, inherent, instinctive desire to live and it will fight back in order to avoid death. This is true in the natural world, but it is also true in the spiritual realm. Your spirit and your flesh are in a constant battle. So when you determine to present your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord as an act of worship, expect your flesh to fight back.

Spiritual worship and praise to the Lord will always conflict with your natural responses, but the Apostle Paul wrote that it is the will of God that you, “always give thanks…” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Paul also wrote: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17)

The enemy doesn’t want you to offer your body as a living sacrifice to God because he understands the true power of a believer who is willing to set aside their flesh in a sacrifice of praise. God speaks the language of sacrifice! That’s why your spiritual service of worship involves the “death” of your flesh!

Your enemy tries to keep you ensnared in the natural realm as much as possible because he can defeat you there! But the daily, holy sacrifice of your physical actions of praise to the Lord will keep your spirit, heart, and mind strong in faith. Satan wants you trapped inside of your feelings and experiences so he can torment your thinking and speak his lies. However, when you “walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). Worship is the sacrifice the things within you that need to die, but those things will not go without a fight!

5 Ways to Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice to God

It is natural to struggle at times in worship and praise, even when your heart and spirit cry out and desire to praise Him. The battle against your flesh may be difficult depending on the season of life you’re walking through, but it is a worthy and necessary fight! The sacrifice of praise in the Christian life is just that–a sacrifice–the dragging and forceful, aggressive, demanding requirement that your flesh submit to the spirit. The sacrifice of thanksgiving in praise and worship can mean singing a new song, raising your hands, shouting blessings to Him, kneeling, bowing, clapping–it is through this sacrifice where the true power of praise is seen in your personal life.

Take authority over your flesh and learn how to be a living sacrifice to God. Here are five things you can sacrifice:

1. Sacrifice Your INHIBITIONS

   You’ll have to sacrifice your inhibitions about other people’s opinions if you want to offer yourself to the Lord in true worship according to God’s will - you cannot be a people pleaser.

   
   

   The author of Hebrews wrote, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” (Heb. 12:1) This applies to praise and worship as well.

   
   

   Some people feel more free to express themselves in worship and some don’t, but feelings are a natural state of being that prevent the spirit’s freedom. Inhibitions and people’s opinions and self-consciousness block your spirit’s ability to remain God-conscious. The pattern of this world shows that those walking in darkness worship themselves. (Romans 1:28-32) Who cares who is watching! Who cares what they think! Your worship and praise are to the glory of God, for an audience of One. It’s time for inhibitions to die as the sacrifice of praise!

   
   

2. Sacrifice Your EMOTIONS

   To truly present your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord, you’ll have to sacrifice your emotions like frustration, sadness, anger, depression, or hardness of heart. For the people in the Kingdom of God, faith and feelings will always conflict. Paul wrote that believers must “…walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) The joy of the Lord will be your strongest weapon when you’re in a battle against depression, anxiety, and fear. In God’s presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11). God dwells within the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)

   
   

   Many believers become stuck in thinking that good deeds are forms of praise and worship, such as giving money to the church, or serving others, but those are not Scriptural forms of praise, nor worship.

   
   

   “Minister to Me…” the Lord says in Exodus 28, and throughout the establishment of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, it is clear that proper worship and praise are God-centered. Ministry to the Lord is the purpose of sacrifice.

   
   

   Feeling like praising the Lord is great, but when you don’t feel like it, even if you’re angry or disappointed with God – He already knows. Don’t turn your back on God – turn your face to Him and praise and worship the Lord in FAITH! Praise and worship are spiritual weapons that will keep your mind off how you feel in the natural realm. It is a strategy for victory!

   
   

3. Sacrifice Your MINDSET

   The peace that surpasses understanding will be the strongest weapon when you’re in a storm. God’s love that covers a multitude of sins will be the most powerful weapon when you’ve been betrayed, hurt, or mistreated. Your emotions will block your connection with God in worship if you give them that permission.

   
   

   It’s time for your natural and carnal emotions to die as the sacrifice of praise! You’ll have to deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Christ Jesus every single day and sacrifice to Him your mindset from things like doubt, carnal thinking, and expectations or assumptions to be a truly living sacrifice. God will not take your issues from you if you won’t willingly give them to Him, but the mercy of God will cover what you freely give!

   
   

   Being transformed by the “renewal of your mind” is a daily process of sanctification that takes place over time, but the Lord promised that:

   You will be like Him when you see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

   You’ll see Him in worship – He dwells there! (Psalm 22:3)

   That is why the enemy wants to keep you snared by things like self-righteousness (Mark 2:16-17), theological traditions (Matthew 15:6-9), following your heart (Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9), or carnal thinking (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

   
   

   You have a new life in Christ Jesus, and nothing the world can offer will give you more than God’s mercy has given you. God’s Word is the only source of truth in existence, and everything you believe must line up with that. After all, “…how can two walk together unless they agree”? (Amos 3:3). Know your Heavenly Father through His Word where the Holy Spirit brings it alive through the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:12).

   
   

   Pattern your life after the principles you see in the life of Jesus, the Son of God. Think in God’s way. Caleb and Joshua possessed the promised land because of their correct way of thinking, but the others perished because they did not believe. The transformation of your mind is KEY. Never underestimate the power of thoughts - you can have a wrong thought by yourself, and your body can react to what you’re thinking. Sometimes the nightmares that people have are to do with your thoughts - they are manifesting themselves from the way you think. Iniquity is not the act of sin but it is the processing of sin that takes place.

   
   

   You see, the Bible says that defilement comes from within and not from the outside - it’s what’s in our hearts - and the heart is the center of our being. The heart in this context includes the mind, the reasoning, and the soul. Warfare often happens in the mind more than in the physical. Transform your mind. Put on the mind of Christ. Put down your flesh daily by making time to lift your hands in praise to the Lord, lifting Him high above yourself. If you want to go deeper in worship, it’s time to present your body as a living sacrifice as your fleshly, natural mindset dies within the spiritual, supernatural sacrifice of praise!

   
   

4. Sacrifice Your EXPERIENCES

   You’ll have to sacrifice your experiences like pain and anxiety, bad choices, victimization, injustice, racism, and mistreatment. Every single person on earth experiences difficult seasons in life. Sometimes you invite problems through your bad choices. But God will work out even the worst parts of life for His glory for those who love Him and walk according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).

   
   

   You may come under a spiritual attack of the enemy who works through people to cause harm. But you have the Holy Spirit of God, the presence of God, the power of God, and the Word of God as your weapons! Other times, “life happens” and people make mistakes or don’t intend to cause harm, although they hurt you nonetheless.

   
   

   But God will turn your mourning into dancing. (Psalm 30:11-12). Your experiences aren’t God’s fault. God doesn’t partner with darkness. (1 John 1:5) He is good, and it is a misunderstanding of His Word to think that God causes bad things in order to produce good results. No!

   
   

   Romans 8:28 is clear: God uses bad things (which He did not cause) to work out good for His people, making a show of Satan openly! God is GOOD, and in reality, it is by His great mercy that things aren’t worse! You may have had bad experiences, but turn to a good God and He will help, guide, provide, heal, and restore. If you want to experience a greater intimacy with God, it’s time for your past experiences to die as you present your body as a living sacrifice of praise!

   
   

5. Sacrifice Your BODY

   What does it mean to present your body as a living sacrifice? In the most literal sense, your body itself must become part of your praise – your hands, your words, your knees, your voice, your instruments – shouting, singing, clapping, bowing, dancing. Nothing should be off the table as a sacrifice when the Lord prompts your spirit because God sacrificed Himself for you, first.

   
   

   In the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant of the Law, God’s people always offered a whole burnt offering of animal sacrifices in praise to the Lord because the sacrifice and the blood foreshadowed what Christ would one day do. It’s the same in the New Covenant.

   
   

   There is no longer a sacrifice of animals required, but flesh is still what the Lord desires. Why? God honors the cost of your sacrifice because He sacrificed His own Son. So, putting down your flesh creates an open invitation in the spirit for the Lord to come in.

   
   

   This is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do if you’re not comfortable with physical expressions of worship. Many Christian traditions downplay the role of your body in worship, and it’s unacceptable in some churches to clap or raise your hands. That is a misunderstanding and misuse of Scripture the enemy has used in the body of Christ to prevent you from sacrificing yourself to the Lord in worship.

   
   

   Here’s a challenging thought: If you’re comfortable in how you express your praise, are you really offering a sacrifice of praise to Him?

   
   

   Even Jesus danced in worship (Luke 10:21) and Jesus Himself sang praises to His Heavenly Father (Matthew 26:30).

   
   

   Remember what Paul wrote, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.”  If you’ve been asking God for more, it’s time for your body to die as the sacrifice of praise!

   
   

   Thought for today: Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice to God by Dying to Self

   
   

   A heart that is filled with worship and gratitude is a powerful place to start, but praise without sacrifice and physical expression is an incomplete act and is not what God Himself has asked for. Asaph wrote, “Make your vows to the Lord your God, and fulfill them;  let all who surround Him bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.” (Psalm 76:11). Psalm 89:15 says, “Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout…”

   
   

   Maybe these sacrifices and expressions of praise conflict with your experiences or the theology of your denomination or the culture or expectations of the church you attend – God is already aware of that! But that doesn’t change what His Word says. Here’s what’s the most important: If you’re willing to be challenged in your worship, present your body as a living sacrifice and the Lord will speak a new thing in you and through you and to you!

Prayer

Father, thank You that I am not a slave to my thoughts, fears, and inhibitions. Thank You that there is more to my life in You. Thank You for changing my mindset and beliefs through Your Word. Help me to take strong stands on Your truths and be decisive in my obedience to Your Will. I give You my painful experiences and choose not to be defined by them any longer. I believe You are transforming me and standing with me in the trials of life. I give You my body as a living sacrifice and raise my hands to praise You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.