Austin Life Church

What does living life as a Living Sacrifice actually look like?

In response to the love of God for us, we are called to genuinely love others. But what does that actually look like?

In response to the love of God for us, we are called to genuinely love others. But what does that actually look like?

As a new creation in Christ, one who is fully surrendered to God in all of life, being transformed by the renewing of our mind, one way we live now is with right thinking of self before God, and right thinking of self with one another.

Being a Living Sacrifice for God is not just because of what Jesus has done for us. Wholistically, it is because of what God will do through us!

The kindness of God is that He takes our mistakes, what the enemy means for evil, and leverages it for good. Israel’s rejection of God is one of those events the enemy meant for evil, but God turned around and used for good. For our good. For their good. For the good of the world.

God promised to keep and preserve Israel throughout history for the purpose of His story of salvation. But has He given up? Has He rejected them? No. Even when it seems lost, God is keeping His promise.

The only way we can be made righteous is by making Jesus the Lord of our lives. There's no amount of effort or good deed that will earn us a place with Him; there are no shortcuts, all that is required is faith and devotion to Christ!

In Paul’s focus on salvation being the Lord’s, he asks and answers key questions around if God is just in being in control of salvation. The answer? Yes. Because it is God’s mercy to give in the first place. 

Regardless of background, one thing that is certain, and that we must understand, is that salvation belongs to the Lord. It is His choice and promise for us to be saved.

In this spiritual war where we are called to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy, we must learn and commit to putting prayer into our lives. It is not something we “put on” like other pieces of armor, but rather, it is in prayer that we actually put on the armor of God. In prayer is where we find our strength in the Lord. 

In this spiritual battle, we must take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, so that we can defend against attacks of the enemy, and go on the offense to push back darkness around us. 

Salvation is both a present and a future hope for believers. As we face a very real spiritual battle, Salvation is the hope we have to bring us to victory in Christ!

There is a real enemy whose aim is to bring death and widespread destruction. This enemy is not your neighbor or yourself; it is Satan. Our Faith, when taken up like a shield, defends us and extinguishes the flame of evil attacks.

The Gospel is for you, because it's going to someone else! We must be planted firmly with a readiness of the Gospel of peace. It is who we are made to be!

Perhaps our greatest need is to be in right standing with another, to be fully accepted and approved of. This is what the breastplate of righteousness is - full acceptance and right standing with God. And the devil will do anything, scheme in any way, to keep us from having it put on and from then continually putting it on. 

We are instructed to stand firm and make our stand against the devil, against the domain of darkness. And in order to do so, we must be prepared and put on the full armor of God. To start with, we must put on the belt of truth; wrap our lives with God, His Word, and His ways. 

We ARE in a cosmic battle between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of the Son. And if we are going to stand firm in this battle against the schemes of the devil, we must know where & when he is engaging in warfare. 

The Scripture is clear that we must stand firm, and put on the full armor of God, so that we may resist and defeat the spiritual enemy opposed to us. But before we look at what we must do, we must start with what God has done for us. Because the true secret to our success is not what we do, but what God has done for us. 

The reality of life is that we are presently, actively, caught up in a spiritual battle at all times. God is working for good, for life. The devil is working to steal, kill, and destroy. But the good news is that the One who is for us is greater than the one who is against us. So, let’s stand firm and push back darkness!

With all that we have received by faith in Christ, His Spirit living in us, who will complete the good work God has begun in us… if God is for us, who or what could possibly stand against us?

From before time began, God had a plan for us. He knew that we would mess up what He created us for and that Jesus would come to fix what we broke. When we trust Jesus and repent from trusting in ourselves and living our way, the Holy Spirit will come and live in us and do the work of God to not only apply what Jesus did but bring us to the end, when He will transform us into the image of Jesus. 

To be adopted as God’s son or daughter, to be coheirs with Jesus, means we WILL suffer alongside Jesus. To follow Jesus is to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. Well, is He worth it? 

When we have true faith in Jesus, full belief and full surrender to Him as Savior & Lord, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us and fundamentally changes us, makes us new. In addition, when the Spirit of Christ lives in us, we become adopted into the family of God as His sons and daughters. Everything in the present and future changes. 

Easter is the time when we remember the death, and even more so, the resurrection of Jesus. But Jesus did not die and rise from the dead just to put on a show. There was a reason. And that reason was to set us free from sin that we might live for Him!