November 16, 2023 • 19 mins
Imagine waking up every morning with renewed purpose and dedication to living a life that honors God. In this faith-filled episode of the WHY to Fitness Podcast, I, your host Aaron O'Connell, am thrilled to guide you through ten practical steps to transform your life into a living sacrifice for God, starting with dedicating your daily decisions to Him. We'll explore everyday practices, including healthy eating habits and how good sleep hygiene impacts your ability to serve God and others. Discover the significance of being intentional about our health and fitness and learn how serving others and pursuing holiness can offer our bodies a living testament to our faith.
As we journey, we'll delve into the power of being a living witness for Christ through our actions and words. We'll investigate how standing up for what is right can profoundly impact and reflect Christ's love and grace. You'll gain insights into the transformative power of scripture in guiding our decisions and actions and the unifying strength found in worship and fellowship with other believers. This episode is not just about spiritual health; it's about an ongoing conversation with God through prayer and living a life dedicated to worshipping Him in every aspect. So, join me, and let's embark on this journey together to live a life that truly honors God.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Therefore, I urge you , brothers and sisters, in view
of God's mercy, to offer yourbodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true and properworship.
(00:30):
Welcome to the Y2 FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today I will be giving you
10 ways to offer your body as aliving sacrifice to God.
In Romans 12-1, the apostlePaul urges Christians to offer
(00:50):
their bodies as a livingsacrifice to God, which is a
metaphor for living a lifededicated to God's service.
So I want to give you 10practical steps to embody this
teaching.
To start it off, devote yourdaily life to God.
(01:14):
Begin each day by dedicatingyour actions, your thoughts and
decisions to God.
This could involve prayer,meditation or reading scripture
to align your day with God'swill.
I really love how the messageversion puts Romans 12-1.
(01:35):
He says so.
Here's what I want you to doGod helping you.
Take your everyday, ordinarylife your sleeping, eating,
going to work and walking aroundlife and place it before God as
an offering.
Embracing what God does for youis the best thing you can do
(01:55):
for Him.
Your sleeping, your eating,going to work, walking around
life we need to offer that toGod.
That is our true and properworship.
So how can we go about doingthis?
One thing that I have all thepeople that work with me that
(02:17):
want to find peace over theirhealth and their physical image
is I have them log their food,and the way that I put this in
perspective is a lot of us havebeen taught let's pray over our
food.
Let's pray over our food.
Dear Jesus, thank you so muchfor this meal blessed to our
needs.
Jesus' name, amen, kind ofthing.
(02:38):
What are you blessing to yourneeds?
What are your needs?
Your body is a temple, as Paulsays to the Corinthians.
What does your temple need?
Your eating?
Let's offer that to Christ.
A lot of people that I work withsay oh, I eat really healthy, I
(02:59):
eat really healthy.
And then when they startlogging their food, they start
bringing it to God, their littledetails to God.
They realize they're gravelymistaking.
They're under eating protein,they're under eating nutrients.
They're fibers in the dirt.
Their calories aren't anywherenear what they thought they were
.
You're sleeping.
(03:22):
Are you sleeping well?
Have you dedicated it to God?
A lot of people are strugglingto sleep, yet they haven't
brought God into that.
Before they go to bed, they'reconsuming their social media,
they're on the phones, they'rewatching Netflix, and then
(03:43):
they're wondering why they can'tsleep right.
Colossians 3.17 says In whateveryou do, whether in word or deed
, do it all in the name of theLord Jesus, giving thanks to God
and Father.
Through Him, we need to takeall of our lives.
Let's bring Him into all of ourlives.
(04:05):
This is just one way we canoffer our body as a living
sacrifice.
The second way is we need toserve others.
We need to look foropportunities to serve and help
others.
This can be throughvolunteering, acts of kindness
or simply being present andsupportive for people in need.
(04:26):
Serving others is a way ofserving God.
Colossians 5.13 says you, mybrothers and sisters, were
called to be free, but do notuse your freedom to indulge the
flesh.
Rather serve one another humblyin love.
Unfortunately, too manyChristians are using their
freedom to indulge the flesh.
(04:47):
They're eating all that theywant.
They're getting unhealthy fromall the crappy food they're
eating from their laziness, andthen when they are called to
serve, they can't.
They get overheated in theFlorida heat.
They're unable to go that extramile because they don't have
the energy to do so.
They're too busy having to takemedications and how sick
(05:09):
they're constantly getting,they're unable to serve others,
let alone truly looking forthose opportunities to serve
others.
Jesus didn't come to be served.
He came to be a servant, andwhen we serve others, we are
offering our body as a livingsacrifice.
(05:29):
Once you start finding freedomwithin your health and fitness,
you'll be able to help othersfind that same freedom too.
That is what my whole programis about with the Y2 Fitness is
to help Christians find freedomover their health and their
physical appearance.
So then, after you find thatfreedom, you can help others.
(05:51):
You can serve others, find thesame freedom that you have found
.
The next thing of how we canoffer our bodies as a living
sacrifice is to pursue holiness.
We need to strive to live alife that is moral and ethically
aligned with Christian values.
This includes being honest,kind, forgiving, avoiding
(06:17):
behaviors that are harmful toyourself and others.
As 1 Peter 1.15-16 says butjust as he who called you is
holy, so be holy in all you do.
For it is written Be holybecause I am holy.
We need to be kind.
We need to drop that anger.
We need to be forgiving.
When we forgive, we setourselves free, regardless of
(06:45):
whether they accept theforgiveness or not.
We can be unhealthy if we'reunforgiving people and cause
major damage just on our bodies.
If we're unforgiving.
We need to be honest, becauseif we're not honest and we're
lying and we're fibbing just alittle bit and just taking the
(07:05):
next leg to get up, it's goingto affect our health, it's going
to affect our bodies.
If we're being stingy with ourtime, if we're being selfish, if
we're being a glutton andeating too much, this is not
being holy.
(07:30):
Next one is study and applyscripture.
I shouldn't have to even saythis, but we need to regularly
read and study the Bible.
We need to seek and understandthe teachings and apply them to
our life.
This will guide us in makingdecisions that honor God.
2 Timothy 3.16-17 says Allscripture is God-breathed and is
(07:51):
useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in
righteousness, so that theservant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
Do you have any issues thatyou're struggling with?
Are you going through a hardtime?
Do you need more knowledge orwisdom to figure out, to make a
(08:13):
decision in your life of what'sthe next thing to do?
Are you looking for yourpurpose?
Are you struggling with anxietyor depression?
If so, we need to dive into ourBible, read it regularly, study
it, meditate on it and thenapply them to our lives.
(08:34):
Too many people think, oh, Idon't need to read that, and
they don't spend time in theword, and then they're wondering
why they're struggling.
If you're searching Googlebefore you're searching the
Scriptures, your priorities arebackwards.
(08:55):
The next thing that we need todo is we need to worship and
have fellowship.
We need to participate incommunal worship and fellowship
with other believers.
This helps us to strengthen ourfaith and provides a community
of support.
Hebrews 10, 24-25 says let usconsider how we may spur one
another towards love and gooddeeds, not giving up meeting
(09:17):
together, as some are in thehabit of doing, but encouraging
one another, and all the more asyou see the day approaching.
We need to meet and havefellowship.
We need to have fellowshiptogether.
Where two or more are gathered,surely God is there.
The Scriptures say it willprovide you that strength when
(09:40):
you have that community aroundyou.
When you are weak, they may bestrong, the areas that you are
weak, and they will be strong.
It's another reason to find amentor or someone to help you if
you're struggling with yourhealth and fitness, because
they'll be able to see yourblind spots, on the days you
don't feel like doing what mustbe done.
They will get in your cornerand be your personal cheerleader
(10:01):
.
They will remind you of the whyyou're doing and the why behind
you're doing it, the deeperreasons that it's not just for
selfish gratification but it'sto celebrate God and all that he
has done for you to serveothers, to be in fellowship with
others, to live holy.
All those different reasons.
(10:25):
Next one is to pray continually.
We need to maintain an ongoingconversation with God throughout
our day.
We share our thoughts, ourconcerns and thanksgiving with
Him.
Verse Thessalonians 5.17 sayspray without seizing, or pray
continually.
It shouldn't just be a in themorning thing or just night at
(10:48):
night or before food.
No, it's like your best friend.
Talk to him daily before themeeting.
Say, Lord, give me the words tosay before you hop into the
grocery store.
Say, lord, help me make gooddecisions.
Before you eat.
You bless the food and youdedicate it to Him.
You have Him eat.
(11:09):
You make sure that you're doingall that.
You're not eating it just foremotional gratification, but
you're doing it for a way tofuel your body so you can
fulfill the purpose that he hasgiven you.
When you're going into aconversation with anyone, pray
to Him to give you the abilityto listen more than you speak,
(11:30):
because that's what the wise do.
Proverbs say let's praycontinually.
Number seven.
The next one is use yourtalents for God's glory.
Identify your unique talentsand gifts and find ways to use
them in service to God andothers, whether it be through
your career, your hobbies oreven volunteer activities.
(11:53):
First, peter 4-10 says each ofyou should use whatever gifts
you have received to serveothers as faithful stewards of
God's grace in its various forms.
What are your gifts?
What are the great things thatGod has given you?
Where are you at?
(12:13):
Within your work?
No matter what you're doing, nomatter what your job title is,
you can use your talents forGod's glory.
If you're a mother, be the bestmother you possibly can.
If you're a business person, doeverything to serve others with
excellent quality.
(12:34):
Look for the little person andbring them up.
Work harder than everyone else.
There's so many ways to use ourtalents.
If you're a drawer, drawpictures and celebrate God.
Don't say, look at what I did,look at the talents that God has
(12:55):
bestowed upon me.
When we use our talents forGod's glory.
That's another way we can offerour body as a living sacrifice.
Number eight which this one maybe the biggest one for a lot of
people we need to practiceself-discipline.
We need to exercise controlover our desires and impulses.
(13:17):
This includes disciplines likefasting, controlling your temper
, being disciplined in your useof time and resources.
Paul says with Church ofCorinthians and 1 Corinthians
927, no, I strike a blow to mybody and make it my slave, so
that after I have preachedothers, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.
(13:38):
I'm in fear for all theChristians that are going to be
disqualified for the prizebecause they just go to so many
different controls, things thatgive them satisfaction.
They can't help but eat thedessert every single night
because it's the one thing thatmakes them feel good.
(13:59):
They have such a control overtheir lives.
Or they're lusting after womenor men, they're in sexual sin,
or they're temper flers, or theyuse their time just to
(14:22):
self-gratify themselves, when weonly have oh so much amount of
time here.
We need to practiceself-discipline.
When we do that, when we do itfor God's glory, he will come
and reward us for that properworship.
(14:45):
Second last thing is we need toembrace the lifestyle of
simplicity, live a life that'snot overly focused on material
possessions or worldly success,but focus on what is essential
and valuable in God's eyes.
Matthew 6, 19, 21 says Do notstore up for yourself's
treasures on earth where mothsand vermin destroy and where
(15:06):
thieves break in and steal, butstore up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where mothsand vermin do not destroy and
where thieves do not break inand steal.
For where your treasure isthere, your heart will be also.
Where's your focus?
Is your focus on getting more,more money, more fame, more
power?
(15:26):
Are you constantly focused onwinning your friends over what
other people think?
Where are your treasures?
There, your heart will be also.
Are you focused just on yourbody all the time and what
you're eating?
Ask yourself when does most ofmy focus go?
(15:48):
If most of your focus is goingto God, you will live an
abundant life.
Your health will be increased,your wealth will be increased,
your friendships, your love thatyou're experiencing will be
increased.
But unfortunately, we're sosucked in to the social media,
to this mundane distractions ofthis world Netflix, anything,
(16:12):
internet, work, whatever.
It is just wanting to competefor your time.
Where your treasure is there,your heart will be also, so
let's embrace a lifestyle ofsimplicity.
Last, but definitely not least,we can offer our bodies of
(16:35):
living sacrifice by being awitness to others of our faith.
We need to share our faith withothers through our words and
actions.
We need to live in a way thatreflects the love and grace of
Christ.
Matthew 5.16,.
Jesus says in the same way letyour light shine before others
that they may see your gooddeeds and glorify your Father in
(16:58):
heaven.
Just be a witness.
That doesn't just mean talkabout your faith and walking up
to be like hey, do you knowJesus Christ?
Or yelling at people saying, oh, you're a sinner.
No, just go through youractions.
When someone gives you too muchchange back at a store, go back
(17:21):
and give it back and then pointit to Christ while you're doing
it.
Don't gossip when people starttalking about another person and
say hey, I prefer not to talkabout other people, let's talk
about something else.
And if they make fun of you,you tell them why.
You tell them why it's bad togossip.
You tell them what you learnedin the Bible.
God doesn't need a lawyer, hejust wants a witness, and the
(17:54):
strongest thing we can do is bea witness of what God has done
in our own lives.
If you were lost, but now youare found.
If you are depressed and nowyou have joy.
If you lacked friends and love,and now you have love and
plenty of friends.
If you, the shortest witness ofJesus Christ is right there in
(18:18):
the Bible.
I was blind and now I can see.
That's it.
What has God done for you?
Where have you been and whereare you now?
Let people know that I wasdistracted and now I'm focused.
Let's be a witness to our faith.
(18:41):
These 10 things are how we canoffer our body as a living
sacrifice, which is our perfect,our true and proper worship of
how we worship.
It's not just singing onSundays.
We worship in everything.
God sees everything, everythinghas.
(19:03):
A living sacrifice is about acontinuous daily commitment to
live in a way that honors God,rather than a one-time act.
It involves every aspect oflife, from personal habits and
relationships to how youinteract with the wider world.
So the question is are yougoing to live for yourself, for
(19:29):
your own desires, for your owngratifications, for your own
comforts, or are you going tooffer your body as a living
sacrifice to God?
Therefore, I urge you , brothers and sisters, in view
of God's mercy, to offer yourbodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true and properworship.
(00:30):
Welcome to the Y2 FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today I will be giving you
10 ways to offer your body as aliving sacrifice to God.
In Romans 12-1, the apostlePaul urges Christians to offer
(00:50):
their bodies as a livingsacrifice to God, which is a
metaphor for living a lifededicated to God's service.
So I want to give you 10practical steps to embody this
teaching.
To start it off, devote yourdaily life to God.
(01:14):
Begin each day by dedicatingyour actions, your thoughts and
decisions to God.
This could involve prayer,meditation or reading scripture
to align your day with God'swill.
I really love how the messageversion puts Romans 12-1.
(01:35):
He says so.
Here's what I want you to doGod helping you.
Take your everyday, ordinarylife your sleeping, eating,
going to work and walking aroundlife and place it before God as
an offering.
Embracing what God does for youis the best thing you can do
(01:55):
for Him.
Your sleeping, your eating,going to work, walking around
life we need to offer that toGod.
That is our true and properworship.
So how can we go about doingthis?
One thing that I have all thepeople that work with me that
(02:17):
want to find peace over theirhealth and their physical image
is I have them log their food,and the way that I put this in
perspective is a lot of us havebeen taught let's pray over our
food.
Let's pray over our food.
Dear Jesus, thank you so muchfor this meal blessed to our
needs.
Jesus' name, amen, kind ofthing.
(02:38):
What are you blessing to yourneeds?
What are your needs?
Your body is a temple, as Paulsays to the Corinthians.
What does your temple need?
Your eating?
Let's offer that to Christ.
A lot of people that I work withsay oh, I eat really healthy, I
(02:59):
eat really healthy.
And then when they startlogging their food, they start
bringing it to God, their littledetails to God.
They realize they're gravelymistaking.
They're under eating protein,they're under eating nutrients.
They're fibers in the dirt.
Their calories aren't anywherenear what they thought they were
.
You're sleeping.
(03:22):
Are you sleeping well?
Have you dedicated it to God?
A lot of people are strugglingto sleep, yet they haven't
brought God into that.
Before they go to bed, they'reconsuming their social media,
they're on the phones, they'rewatching Netflix, and then
(03:43):
they're wondering why they can'tsleep right.
Colossians 3.17 says In whateveryou do, whether in word or deed
, do it all in the name of theLord Jesus, giving thanks to God
and Father.
Through Him, we need to takeall of our lives.
Let's bring Him into all of ourlives.
(04:05):
This is just one way we canoffer our body as a living
sacrifice.
The second way is we need toserve others.
We need to look foropportunities to serve and help
others.
This can be throughvolunteering, acts of kindness
or simply being present andsupportive for people in need.
(04:26):
Serving others is a way ofserving God.
Colossians 5.13 says you, mybrothers and sisters, were
called to be free, but do notuse your freedom to indulge the
flesh.
Rather serve one another humblyin love.
Unfortunately, too manyChristians are using their
freedom to indulge the flesh.
(04:47):
They're eating all that theywant.
They're getting unhealthy fromall the crappy food they're
eating from their laziness, andthen when they are called to
serve, they can't.
They get overheated in theFlorida heat.
They're unable to go that extramile because they don't have
the energy to do so.
They're too busy having to takemedications and how sick
(05:09):
they're constantly getting,they're unable to serve others,
let alone truly looking forthose opportunities to serve
others.
Jesus didn't come to be served.
He came to be a servant, andwhen we serve others, we are
offering our body as a livingsacrifice.
(05:29):
Once you start finding freedomwithin your health and fitness,
you'll be able to help othersfind that same freedom too.
That is what my whole programis about with the Y2 Fitness is
to help Christians find freedomover their health and their
physical appearance.
So then, after you find thatfreedom, you can help others.
(05:51):
You can serve others, find thesame freedom that you have found
.
The next thing of how we canoffer our bodies as a living
sacrifice is to pursue holiness.
We need to strive to live alife that is moral and ethically
aligned with Christian values.
This includes being honest,kind, forgiving, avoiding
(06:17):
behaviors that are harmful toyourself and others.
As 1 Peter 1.15-16 says butjust as he who called you is
holy, so be holy in all you do.
For it is written Be holybecause I am holy.
We need to be kind.
We need to drop that anger.
We need to be forgiving.
When we forgive, we setourselves free, regardless of
(06:45):
whether they accept theforgiveness or not.
We can be unhealthy if we'reunforgiving people and cause
major damage just on our bodies.
If we're unforgiving.
We need to be honest, becauseif we're not honest and we're
lying and we're fibbing just alittle bit and just taking the
(07:05):
next leg to get up, it's goingto affect our health, it's going
to affect our bodies.
If we're being stingy with ourtime, if we're being selfish, if
we're being a glutton andeating too much, this is not
being holy.
(07:30):
Next one is study and applyscripture.
I shouldn't have to even saythis, but we need to regularly
read and study the Bible.
We need to seek and understandthe teachings and apply them to
our life.
This will guide us in makingdecisions that honor God.
2 Timothy 3.16-17 says Allscripture is God-breathed and is
(07:51):
useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in
righteousness, so that theservant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
Do you have any issues thatyou're struggling with?
Are you going through a hardtime?
Do you need more knowledge orwisdom to figure out, to make a
(08:13):
decision in your life of what'sthe next thing to do?
Are you looking for yourpurpose?
Are you struggling with anxietyor depression?
If so, we need to dive into ourBible, read it regularly, study
it, meditate on it and thenapply them to our lives.
(08:34):
Too many people think, oh, Idon't need to read that, and
they don't spend time in theword, and then they're wondering
why they're struggling.
If you're searching Googlebefore you're searching the
Scriptures, your priorities arebackwards.
(08:55):
The next thing that we need todo is we need to worship and
have fellowship.
We need to participate incommunal worship and fellowship
with other believers.
This helps us to strengthen ourfaith and provides a community
of support.
Hebrews 10, 24-25 says let usconsider how we may spur one
another towards love and gooddeeds, not giving up meeting
(09:17):
together, as some are in thehabit of doing, but encouraging
one another, and all the more asyou see the day approaching.
We need to meet and havefellowship.
We need to have fellowshiptogether.
Where two or more are gathered,surely God is there.
The Scriptures say it willprovide you that strength when
(09:40):
you have that community aroundyou.
When you are weak, they may bestrong, the areas that you are
weak, and they will be strong.
It's another reason to find amentor or someone to help you if
you're struggling with yourhealth and fitness, because
they'll be able to see yourblind spots, on the days you
don't feel like doing what mustbe done.
They will get in your cornerand be your personal cheerleader
(10:01):
.
They will remind you of the whyyou're doing and the why behind
you're doing it, the deeperreasons that it's not just for
selfish gratification but it'sto celebrate God and all that he
has done for you to serveothers, to be in fellowship with
others, to live holy.
All those different reasons.
(10:25):
Next one is to pray continually.
We need to maintain an ongoingconversation with God throughout
our day.
We share our thoughts, ourconcerns and thanksgiving with
Him.
Verse Thessalonians 5.17 sayspray without seizing, or pray
continually.
It shouldn't just be a in themorning thing or just night at
(10:48):
night or before food.
No, it's like your best friend.
Talk to him daily before themeeting.
Say, Lord, give me the words tosay before you hop into the
grocery store.
Say, lord, help me make gooddecisions.
Before you eat.
You bless the food and youdedicate it to Him.
You have Him eat.
(11:09):
You make sure that you're doingall that.
You're not eating it just foremotional gratification, but
you're doing it for a way tofuel your body so you can
fulfill the purpose that he hasgiven you.
When you're going into aconversation with anyone, pray
to Him to give you the abilityto listen more than you speak,
(11:30):
because that's what the wise do.
Proverbs say let's praycontinually.
Number seven.
The next one is use yourtalents for God's glory.
Identify your unique talentsand gifts and find ways to use
them in service to God andothers, whether it be through
your career, your hobbies oreven volunteer activities.
(11:53):
First, peter 4-10 says each ofyou should use whatever gifts
you have received to serveothers as faithful stewards of
God's grace in its various forms.
What are your gifts?
What are the great things thatGod has given you?
Where are you at?
(12:13):
Within your work?
No matter what you're doing, nomatter what your job title is,
you can use your talents forGod's glory.
If you're a mother, be the bestmother you possibly can.
If you're a business person, doeverything to serve others with
excellent quality.
(12:34):
Look for the little person andbring them up.
Work harder than everyone else.
There's so many ways to use ourtalents.
If you're a drawer, drawpictures and celebrate God.
Don't say, look at what I did,look at the talents that God has
(12:55):
bestowed upon me.
When we use our talents forGod's glory.
That's another way we can offerour body as a living sacrifice.
Number eight which this one maybe the biggest one for a lot of
people we need to practiceself-discipline.
We need to exercise controlover our desires and impulses.
(13:17):
This includes disciplines likefasting, controlling your temper
, being disciplined in your useof time and resources.
Paul says with Church ofCorinthians and 1 Corinthians
927, no, I strike a blow to mybody and make it my slave, so
that after I have preachedothers, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.
(13:38):
I'm in fear for all theChristians that are going to be
disqualified for the prizebecause they just go to so many
different controls, things thatgive them satisfaction.
They can't help but eat thedessert every single night
because it's the one thing thatmakes them feel good.
(13:59):
They have such a control overtheir lives.
Or they're lusting after womenor men, they're in sexual sin,
or they're temper flers, or theyuse their time just to
(14:22):
self-gratify themselves, when weonly have oh so much amount of
time here.
We need to practiceself-discipline.
When we do that, when we do itfor God's glory, he will come
and reward us for that properworship.
(14:45):
Second last thing is we need toembrace the lifestyle of
simplicity, live a life that'snot overly focused on material
possessions or worldly success,but focus on what is essential
and valuable in God's eyes.
Matthew 6, 19, 21 says Do notstore up for yourself's
treasures on earth where mothsand vermin destroy and where
(15:06):
thieves break in and steal, butstore up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where mothsand vermin do not destroy and
where thieves do not break inand steal.
For where your treasure isthere, your heart will be also.
Where's your focus?
Is your focus on getting more,more money, more fame, more
power?
(15:26):
Are you constantly focused onwinning your friends over what
other people think?
Where are your treasures?
There, your heart will be also.
Are you focused just on yourbody all the time and what
you're eating?
Ask yourself when does most ofmy focus go?
(15:48):
If most of your focus is goingto God, you will live an
abundant life.
Your health will be increased,your wealth will be increased,
your friendships, your love thatyou're experiencing will be
increased.
But unfortunately, we're sosucked in to the social media,
to this mundane distractions ofthis world Netflix, anything,
(16:12):
internet, work, whatever.
It is just wanting to competefor your time.
Where your treasure is there,your heart will be also, so
let's embrace a lifestyle ofsimplicity.
Last, but definitely not least,we can offer our bodies of
(16:35):
living sacrifice by being awitness to others of our faith.
We need to share our faith withothers through our words and
actions.
We need to live in a way thatreflects the love and grace of
Christ.
Matthew 5.16,.
Jesus says in the same way letyour light shine before others
that they may see your gooddeeds and glorify your Father in
(16:58):
heaven.
Just be a witness.
That doesn't just mean talkabout your faith and walking up
to be like hey, do you knowJesus Christ?
Or yelling at people saying, oh, you're a sinner.
No, just go through youractions.
When someone gives you too muchchange back at a store, go back
(17:21):
and give it back and then pointit to Christ while you're doing
it.
Don't gossip when people starttalking about another person and
say hey, I prefer not to talkabout other people, let's talk
about something else.
And if they make fun of you,you tell them why.
You tell them why it's bad togossip.
You tell them what you learnedin the Bible.
God doesn't need a lawyer, hejust wants a witness, and the
(17:54):
strongest thing we can do is bea witness of what God has done
in our own lives.
If you were lost, but now youare found.
If you are depressed and nowyou have joy.
If you lacked friends and love,and now you have love and
plenty of friends.
If you, the shortest witness ofJesus Christ is right there in
(18:18):
the Bible.
I was blind and now I can see.
That's it.
What has God done for you?
Where have you been and whereare you now?
Let people know that I wasdistracted and now I'm focused.
Let's be a witness to our faith.
(18:41):
These 10 things are how we canoffer our body as a living
sacrifice, which is our perfect,our true and proper worship of
how we worship.
It's not just singing onSundays.
We worship in everything.
God sees everything, everythinghas.
(19:03):
A living sacrifice is about acontinuous daily commitment to
live in a way that honors God,rather than a one-time act.
It involves every aspect oflife, from personal habits and
relationships to how youinteract with the wider world.
So the question is are yougoing to live for yourself, for
(19:29):
your own desires, for your owngratifications, for your own
comforts, or are you going tooffer your body as a living
sacrifice to God?
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