A Living Sacrifice

The following is an automated transcript from the sermon above.

All right, boy, it is great to be here at True Words Baptist Church, the first Sunday night service ever. I am so excited for what I heard went on this morning, 77 folks in attendance, and five saved just this morning, then a couple more saved this afternoon. And I just say, you know, this is one Sunday, and there’s a huge harvest field. God has put you right in the middle of a harvest of souls, and I’m so thrilled to get to Just know what’s going on here, be friends with Brother Josh, Brother Nathan, the whole church family, and just looking forward to what God’s going to do here in the years to come. And I’ll just say this, if you’re looking for a church home, you’re here. I was going to say, how many of you, this is your first time here, but this is the first Sunday, period. So, you know, I guess, how many of you, this service is your first time here, anybody? I mean, okay, well, good. All right, we have some visitors with us, good. And it’s everyone’s first Sunday here, but this is exciting. I mean, this is the ground floor. This is the very beginning. And I’d love to come back in 10, 20 years and just see what God has done here. And so I want to encourage you to be faithful, stay here, let God use you in a great way. And God’s going to do some things that you’re going to be excited about for years to come. So I want to encourage you, stay faithful, be a part of this ministry here. Let’s turn to Romans chapter 10 tonight, please. Romans chapter 10, already it’s obvious there’s been a great sacrifice of time, a great sacrifice of treasure, a great sacrifice of effort that this church, True Words Baptist Church, has put in to beginning today, to launching today.

And I will simply tonight want to encourage you. some of the price it takes to begin with a church and the commitment it takes. And I pray that through this message tonight that you’ll just remain committed till Jesus comes, till He calls you home. And the title of the message tonight is this, A Living Sacrifice. And if you’re here tonight and you don’t know for sure that when you die you’re going to heaven, I can tell you right now You can leave here tonight having that settled. You can leave here knowing Jesus as your Savior. And so I want to encourage you to listen to the first part of the message about salvation. But then if you are saved, ask God to speak to your heart and give you exactly what you need from his word. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much. for the work that was done, for the great results today. We give you all the credit and all the glory. But thank you, Lord, for the people that labored so hard here to have all these things ready. And so, Lord, I just pray that you’ll bless them. And in the days and weeks and years ahead, Lord, put a hedge about them. And may this ministry just continue to grow for your glory. and for the good of many souls. And Lord, I pray if there be someone here tonight or listening online that is lost, I pray that today would be the day of their salvation. And then, Lord, just challenge us from your word. Give us what we need tonight. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Romans chapter 10, verse 9, it says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him, on Jesus, shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.

God doesn’t care what your education is or isn’t. He doesn’t care about the color of your skin. He doesn’t care how much money you do or don’t have. He doesn’t care where you live. There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord Jesus over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever, put your name right there, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, that’s Jesus, shall be saved. When I was a teenager, I was raised in a Christian home. I went to church. I was literally taught to read from the Bible. But when I was a teenager, I began to wonder if I died today, would I go to heaven or hell? And I don’t want to go to hell. I want to go to heaven. And I began to pray and beg God and read the Bible and read gospel tracts and say, Lord, I don’t want to go to hell. Please show me the truth. How can I be saved? And I read Acts chapter 10 about a man named Cornelius. And Peter came and preached Jesus to Cornelius. Peter told Cornelius that Jesus, the son of God, died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. And he told Cornelius and all of Cornelius’ household, if you’ll believe on him, If you’ll trust Jesus as your Savior, you’ll have remission or forgiveness of sins.

And when I read that verse, that’s what got it settled for me. I placed my faith and trust in Christ, and I knew without a doubt I was saved. And I’m saying tonight to you, if you can’t look back and say, I know 100% sure that I’m going to heaven, you can be saved tonight. Well, notice what it says, verse 14, How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? There’s a preacher here, brother Josh Tapp. He’s going to be preaching the gospel each and every week, getting the gospel to the folks in this neighborhood. Verse 15 says, and how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. So again, if you’re here tonight, you’re not saved. You can leave here a child of God with your sins forgiven, trusting Jesus and him alone. Now go to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, for sake of time we’re going to skip a few verses in Romans 11. Romans chapter 12, our main verse is Romans 12 verse 1. And it says this, I beseech you, therefore.

Now, if you study the Bible, when you see the word therefore, what do you do? You look at everything before it to see what it’s there for. He said, I beseech you, I beg you, therefore, brethren, because you’re saved, because you’re children of God, because you’ve experienced the mercy and grace of God, because you have a home in heaven, because your sins are forgiven, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” The title of the message tonight is this, A Living Sacrifice. Because we have mercy from God, what’s mercy? It’s God not giving me the judgment I deserve. If I got what I deserved, I’d go straight to hell. But because of Jesus, not only am I not going to hell, but I’m a joint heir with Jesus Christ. I’m on my way to heaven. I’ve received mercy from God. I’ve received grace from God because I have received that mercy and grace. It’s just reasonable for me, notice, to present my body to God as a living sacrifice.

Now, those two words together don’t seem to go together. Living and sacrifice aren’t sacrifices dead. Well, the Bible tells us as God’s people were to be living sacrifices. And very quickly tonight, I know we’ve had a long day, you’re weary from hard work, but I just want to quickly give us three thoughts on what a living sacrifice is. Number one, a living sacrifice is dedicated to God while it is living. A living sacrifice, you don’t wait until it’s dead and offer it to God. You give it to God while it’s alive. Well, for us, a living sacrifice means giving God the first place in our lives. Can I ask you a question? Does God come first in your life, or does He come last? Does God come first, or does He get the leftovers? Here’s how we know. Sunday morning rolls around, and boy, you’re tired, and when it gets wintertime, the floor is cold, right? You’re like, I don’t know if I want to roll out of bed and go to church. Well, I want to ask you, who gets first? God? Does he get first or does he get last? So I don’t know. Church, church. I don’t know if I have time for church.

I know I’m preaching the choir, but he’s here this evening. But the fact is this, we need to give God first place. Proverbs 3.9 says to honor the Lord with your firstfruits. Literally put God first. Matthew 6.33 says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Give God first. A living sacrifice is dedicated to God while it’s still living. It’s giving God that which is first. In the morning, tomorrow morning, you’re going to wake up. What are you going to reach for first? Are you going to reach for your remote control? Are you going to reach for your telephone or are you going to reach for your Bible? I want to tell you, give God first. Give God the first part of your day. And young people, give God the first part of your life. I mean, not just the first, but start right now serving God if you’re a young person. Give God the first. Next, give God your best. Give God your best. What does a living sacrifice do? A living sacrifice dedicates itself to God and gives the best it has to God, not the leftovers.

Uh-oh, those of you who are married, I want you to imagine for a minute your anniversary, okay? Now, don’t miss your anniversary. Make sure you know your anniversary. How many of you married people know your anniversary? Let’s see, all right? Or let’s say your birthday. Let’s pretend, though, it’s your anniversary. And, man, let’s say you went out, you said, you know what? I forgot it’s my anniversary, but I’m gonna go golfing. And you go out golfing with your friends, or you go out and play ball with your friends, and then suddenly, while you’re out having fun, you realize, oh, it’s my anniversary. So on your way home, you spare no expense. You go by someone’s garden and you pick some flowers out of their garden. And you bring those flowers back to your wife and say, hey, I remembered you on the way back home. Would your wife be satisfied with that? Hopefully not. Why? Because, listen, the first thought on your anniversary shouldn’t be the buddies and the golf game. The first thought on the anniversary ought to be your spouse. Well, can I say this? The God in heaven who loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us, He should not get last place in our lives. He should get first. First place. I mean, every day, putting God first.

In Malachi chapter 1, there were people who were offering God sacrifices, but they were lame sacrifices and blind sacrifices and leftover sacrifices. And what God said is, He said, I’m a great king. He said, look, I deserve your very best. I wonder, Have you given your best to Jesus? Have you given your best to Jesus or are you giving him your leftovers? You know, there’s a missionary to China we support as a church, Nicholas Dunn. I just want to read this part of his letter. He goes to communist China where sometimes the authorities threaten to shut them down, threaten to arrest some of them. And he writes this, he says, what is Jesus Christ worth? The rote answer and one most often given is, well, everything. He’s worth everything. Does not one of our songs so describe I’d rather have Jesus than anything? It sounds so fitting when we speak in enormously descriptive and moving terms such as I would give it all or I would even be willing to die for Jesus Christ. But sometimes, he said, I fear we would sooner walk two miles for Christ when it is necessary rather than one consistently. The natural assumption is that should you be willing to die for Christ, living for Him would be a given.

It would make sense that if Christ is esteemed worthy of all, then He should be worthy of some. Herein lies the conundrum. When called upon to make the greatest of sacrifices, our faith engages, and many a saint has risen to the challenge. Yet when the demand is subtle, the request voluntary, or the stakes less than the natural fame of great stands for the faith, then we seem to hesitate. What price is Jesus worth? Is he worth a drive to church? Is he worth a loss of opportunity or a drop in pay? Is he worth a little bit of ridicule for his name’s sake? Is he worth giving up a little convenience? Is he worth, if you’re saved, following him in baptism? Is he worth being a soul winner? What would you give up? Or rather, pay in Jesus’ service. Could you give up a little convenience? Would you give up freedom in pursuit of His kingdom? The fact is, to be a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service, it requires that we give God the first. and we give God the best. And I can tell from Two Words Baptist Church, you’re giving Him the first, you’re giving Him the best.

My challenge is that we continue putting Him first, that we continue giving Him our best. Number two, a living sacrifice is not only dedicated to God while it’s living, it gives God its best. Young people, let me say to young people, how many of you in here are, let’s say, 20 years of age or younger? Would you raise your hand? Bunch of young people. Hey, I should see some hands over here. I know you are not 20. All right, raise your hand. There you go. I’m middle-aged. I told someone that, I don’t know, a year ago at our church. They go, you’re not middle-aged. I said, well, unless I’m living to 120, I’m middle-aged. You know, I’ve lived over half my life. But for those of you 20 years and under, I mean, you are really just getting started. in life. Do not wait until you’re my age to say, you know what? I’m going to give my life to Jesus. Then I’m going to put God first. No, you put him first right now with your life. You give him your absolute best. You put him first in your life. You honor him. He’s a great king. He’s a great savior. He’s your creator. Put him first. That’s what a living sacrifice does. Number one, a living sacrifice is dedicated to God while it’s living. Number two, a living sacrifice, don’t miss this, is dead to its own desires. Dead to its own desires. So I thought it’s a living sacrifice. It is. Part of being a living sacrifice is being dead to self. What does it mean to be dead to self? It means being dead to what my flesh wants, what I want over what God wants.

Paul said it this way. He said, I die daily. He said, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. And there’s a man who lived many years ago named George Mueller, saw great answers to prayer. And here’s what he said. He said, there was a day when I died, died to self. my opinions, my preferences, my tastes, my will, and I died to the world, its approval or censure. I died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends. And since then,” he said, I have studied only to show myself approved unto God. A living sacrifice is dead to its own desires. How many times have you heard a believer say, preacher, that’s what I like. Question, what does God like? Preacher, that’s how I like to talk. Question, how does God want you to talk? Preacher, this is what I want to do with my life. Question, what does God want you to do with your life? You see, to be a living sacrifice, you have to be dead to your own desires. It’s not about me. It’s not about you. Who is it about? Our great King, the Lord Jesus. That’s who it’s about. So we need to be dead to our own desires. Matthew 10, listen to the way Jesus said this. He said, He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross. and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” He said, take up your cross.

We beautify the cross and it’s a beautiful thing because the Son of God paid the price for our sins on that cross. But what is a cross? It’s a place of death. It’s a place of crucifixion. And every day, what are we to do? Take up our cross. We’re to die to self. If we’re going to be a living sacrifice, it’s not about what do I want out of life? It’s what does my Savior want for my life? Dead to our own desires. In Matthew 16, Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself. and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” If you try to hang on to your life and just get everything you want out of your life, you’re going to end up wasting your life. But if you’ll open your hand and offer your life as a living sacrifice to God and be dead to your own desires, that’s when you’ll truly find what real life is about. A living sacrifice, number one, is dedicated to God while it’s living. And what does that mean? It means giving God the first and giving God the best. And a living sacrifice is dead to its own desires. You know, I think of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. When He was in the garden, what did He say before He went to the cross? He said, Father, not my will, but Thine, be done. He said, let this cup pass from me. What did Jesus know He was about to face?

He knew He was about to take my sins. and your sins and the sins of the whole world. He who had never sinned one time was about to take the guilt, the filth, the evil, the wickedness of this entire world upon himself and he was beaten and spit upon and mocked and a crown of thorns was put on his head and he was nailed to an old rugged cross and he knew he was going to face that to pay the price for our sins but yet what did he do? He died to self and he said, not my will but thine be done. And here’s what Jesus said before he went to that cross. He told his disciples, the hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. And then he said this, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat, like a little seed, your life is like a seed, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Many of us hold on to our lives like that little seed. Well, like the little child, you put a seed in their hand, they don’t want to give it up. They don’t want to give it up and what happens? They lose it. But if you’ll take that seed and you’ll give it up and you’ll plant it and you’ll bury it, what happens? When it dies, it breaks apart. It actually brings forth much fruit. If you’ll give your life to the Lord and let him use your life, you’ll put your life in his hands. He’ll use your life to bring forth much fruit.

He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, Jesus said, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor.” So again, a living sacrifice is dedicated to God while it’s living. Give God your best, give God your first. Number two, a living sacrifice is dead. to its own desires. And then number three, last of all, don’t get too excited. I might take a while on this last point. OK, but number three, last of all, a living sacrifice is divinely consumed. You know what it means to be a living sacrifice, it means to let God take your whole life and use it for his glory. Hebrews 12, 29, say, how much of my life does my Heavenly Father want? Does He want my life on Sunday? Hey, I’ll come to church on Sunday. Yeah, I’ll serve God on Sunday. What about Monday? Your Heavenly Father wants your life on Monday. What about Tuesday? So that’s not church day. No, but it’s the same day the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of you. And He wants you on Tuesday. What about Wednesday? He wants you on Wednesday. And Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday.

See, look, the moment you were saved, you believed on Jesus Christ. Understand, the ownership of your life changed hands. We are bought with a price. What price was paid for us? The blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, He are not your own, for you are bought with a price. The price is the blood of Jesus. Again, I want to remind you, what if you went out and you bought a, let’s say you bought a nice car, I mean a really nice car, like a Toyota Corolla, okay? That’s a really nice car. You bought a really nice car and you went to the dealership and you paid the full price and you got the keys. And you went home, and before you left, the dealer said, I want you to know something. I owned this car before you did. So Mondays and Tuesdays, I want you to bring the car back to me. Now, you can use it the rest of the week however you want to, but Monday and Tuesday, I want it for myself. How many of you would agree to that? How many of you would say, yeah, I’ll let you do whatever you want with it Monday and Tuesday? Of course you would. Say, no, I paid the price for this. This is my car. I own it. It belongs to me. I say what happens to it. Can I tell you something? Our lives belong to Jesus Christ and not just on Sunday. And not just five days of the week or six days a week, all the time. Say, how much of my life does God want? God wants all you are and all you have all the time. That’s what He wants. Hebrews 12, 29 says, Our God is a consuming fire. And to be a living sacrifice means a lifetime of sacrifice. And being a living sacrifice is being a Christ-like sacrifice, because that’s what Jesus did for us. He literally laid down His life. for us. It wasn’t just a one-time thing. Now, He paid the price once for all, but the point is He gave it all.

And to be a living sacrifice, we must be divinely consumed. God wants all of us. It’s been a great day here at Two Words Baptist Church. There are souls hanging in the balance now this week. that need True Words Baptist Church and the people of True Words Baptist Church to stay faithful, to be here on Sundays, to sing God’s praise, to go out soul winning, to give, to support, to live a holy life for Christ. I mean, the work is just getting started. And there are millions of people hanging in the balance. What could God do through this church? What I’m saying is this. If there’s a room full of people who would say, you know what? My life belongs to Jesus. And so Lord, I will be a living sacrifice. Lord, I’m going to give you my first. Lord, I’m going to give you my best. Lord, I’m going to be dead to my own desires. And Lord, I’m going to let you divinely consume me. I want you to have all of my life. Not just some of it. The song, all of me. Take all of me. Use my life as an offering. I will serve you faithfully. Here’s my life. Lord, take all of me. Where you lead me, I will follow. Where you send me, I will go. There’s another song says, I want my life to count for Jesus. For earthly things will quickly fade. No need to add to worldly riches. I only seek eternal gain. Romans 12.1, what did he say? He said, because you’ve experienced the mercy and the grace of God, because you are born again, because you’re saved, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, I beg you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Isn’t it just reasonable that if our Lord and Savior could go all the way to the cross for us? that we should live the rest of our time for His will.

1 Peter 4 says it this way, it says, For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time. Can I ask you how much time do you have left in your life? How many more years are you going to live? I don’t know exactly, we don’t know. So we should live the rest of our time in the flesh, not to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. You know, I’d love for this to happen 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now for everyone in this room. To be able to look back on this day, the beginning of True Words Baptist Church and for every believer in this room to say, no, I wasn’t perfect. Yes, I’m just a sinner saved by grace. But the best I know how. I gave my life to God as a living sacrifice.” The Bible says, better is the end of a thing. It’s been a great day, right? Seventy-seven folks this morning, folks saved, and maybe some more folks saved here in a minute. Better, the Bible says, though, is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. Did you know there are years, there are many years of lifetimes of labor left, souls hanging in the balance? And the people in this neighborhood need True Words Baptist Church and need people in True Words Baptist Church to be living sacrifices.

May we all say as Paul did when he was about to give his life for Jesus Christ. Here’s what he said. He said, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” True words, Baptist Church, be a living sacrifice for Jesus Christ. This is the beginning. This is the beginning of some great things. Many souls come into Christ. You be faithful. You stay faithful until Jesus calls you home. Let’s ask God to do a great work here. Let’s bow our heads together, please. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. No one’s moving around, looking around, please. I need to ask this tonight. It’s very important. It’s very important. Say, Pastor, you talked about being 100% sure you’re saved. And the truth is, if this were my last day on earth, if I were to breathe my last today, the truth is I’m not 100% sure I’m saved. I’m concerned about my soul and I sure would like to know that I’m saved. I’d like to know for sure heaven’s my home. I’d like to know for sure Jesus is my savior. Please pray for me, Pastor. I’m not sure I’m saved. Please pray for me. If that’s you, quietly lift your hand until I see it. Lift it up right now. Pastor, I’m not sure I’m saved. Please pray for me.

Our heads are still bowed, our eyes are still closed. Who’d say, Pastor, I know I’m saved. No, I’m not a perfect person, but I have a perfect Savior, Jesus, and He has saved me by His grace and by His mercy, and I know He paid my way. And I know if I die, I’m going straight to heaven because of the price Jesus paid for me.” If that’s you, would you lift your hand? I know I’m saved. I know I am. Heads are still bowed, eyes are still closed. Church family, there are multitudes right around this place. You are strategically planted in this place. God put you here. God has opened this door for you. And there are multitudes of souls hanging in the balance. And what it’s going to take, it’s going to take a church full of people who are willing to be a living sacrifice. Not just one day, not just one week, one month, but a lifetime. Putting God first, giving God your best, dying to your own desires. and being totally consumed for Jesus Christ. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Who would say to the Lord, Lord, I owe it to you. I owe you everything. And so, Lord, here again, I offer myself to you as a living sacrifice. Lord, I will live for you. I’ll die to self. I’ll do what you want me to do. I want to do your will with my life. If that’s you, would you lift your hand to the Lord right now? Would you commit it to him? Say, when does that start? It starts right now. And it starts tomorrow as you get up and you go to work, or you deal with your children, or you’re in your neighborhood. Look, if you’re a believer, you’re a believer tomorrow, too. So be that living sacrifice. Represent Jesus well to the world around you. Heavenly Father, bless Your Word to our hearts. Help us, Lord, to be living sacrifices for You. And Father, thank You so much again just for the great results of this day. And Lord, we’re just praying for the days and weeks and years to come or that you’ll bless True Words Baptist Church. Have your hand upon it. May your people, Lord, do your work. We’ll thank you for what you do. We give you all the credit and praise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.