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Hey guys! For this video, I want to talk about something that most churches tend to avoid.
It's a dangerous subject, because it means exposing who we really are. It means getting
rid of the sin that we try so desperately to hold onto. It means ripping off our fake masks & proclaiming
2 Corinthians 12:9 over our lives, which says, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient
for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'" I'm talking about sanctification. Sanctification,
which essentially means surrendering all of yourself to God, has two key parts.
So, let's start with the first half: Being crucified with Christ. Galatians 2:20 says,
"I have been crucified with Christ & I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life
I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me & gave Himself for
me." Being crucified with Christ is one of those terms that church kids grow up hearing,
but never really have it explained to them. Basically, to be crucified with Christ
is to surrender, despise, & even put to death every ungodly thought, action, desire, & attitude
that tries to rise up in you. You have to surrender every area of your life to Him...even the
parts that aren't so pretty. Let Him change whatever He sees fit. "Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians
5:17. As a Christian, you've been set free from having to obey your flesh & living in
sin. Choose to use your freedom to glorify God. Don't go back to being a slave to sin!
Crucify your flesh. Learn to hate every evil & ungodly thought. When you put a stop to
all ungodly thoughts by taking your thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), your flesh will
starve. Christ died to save you from your sin & from your flesh. Live like you're free!
Now, the second half: Being a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 explains this: "Therefore, I urge
you, brothers, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship." "Living sacrifices?" Here's
another term that's never really explained. What on earth does it mean to be a living
sacrifice? Well, Jesus gave Himself up for us. He sacrificed Himself for us. Now we get
to live for Him. We get to let Him have full control over our bodies, so He can do whatever
He wants. If you've been crucified with Christ, how can you be in control? I mean, you're
dead! To be a living sacrifice, you have to surrender yourself completely to Him. You
have to submit to Him. You're saying, "Jesus, You died for me. I'm going to give You my
body, so You can live through me." You follow Him to whatever lengths necessary. You follow
Him to death, if that's where He calls you to. It sounds really scary, but I promise you...once you let
Him fully take over, you'll see AMAZING things. The peace & joy
you get when you submit to Him is incredible. Everything in your life becomes...good.
Every problem you face won't really be a problem anymore. You'll be able to honestly say, "Life
is good," even when everything is crashing down around you.
I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. It's not easy. Your selfish desires will try
to rise back up in you. But you have to make the choice to proclaim, "NO. I am living for the
One True King. I'll go wherever He calls me. I'll do whatever He calls me to. I will serve
Him at all costs." It's not easy to let go of some of the things that seem fun to you right now, which He might call you to do.
satan will probably even try to convince you that God is just taking these things away from you
because He doesn't want you to have fun. But I promise you, that is NOT true. Those thoughts
are nothing but lies. satan is the one who's trying to keep you from having fun. He's trying
to KILL you. God is trying to save you. And you know what's cool? The more time you spend
with God, the more you'll enjoy it. You'll begin to desperately crave more of Him. He'll
become your obsession, & you'll love every single second of it. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself
in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart." Guys, I've never heard anything
more accurate than that right there. When you begin to figure out what He likes, you'll start to
realize...you two have quite a bit in common. You love all the same things! You hate all the same
things! You just might not realize it yet. I know I'm right about this. You want to know
how? We were ALL made in the image of God. We were ALL designed to love the things He loves.
We all love things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, & praise
worthy. He created us to love what He loves. Okay. That's all I've got for this video.
Don't forget to let me know how the challenge went last week, if you decided to take it.
Love you guys!