THE LIFESTYLE OF SACRIFICE 2: BECOMING GOD’S ANSWER

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:2

The world of men is filled with challenges, troubles and problems that keeps showing up in man’s life from time to time. One of the survival strategies of man on earth is the ability to withstand the troubles of each day without necessarily breaking down completely. If there is one thing that brings all men to the same standpoint in this world without any special regard for status or level of influence, it is challenges! Though it is true that some men due to their level of influence and expertise have systems already in place to try to manage the kind of challenges that life keeps poising at them, yet this doesn’t prevent them from encountering those problems. As all of these unfolds daily, man begin to search for solutions to end this constant flow of problems that are encountered. God in His wisdom and benevolence as the Creator of man already put in place a strategy to keep man out of trouble as much as possible here on earth. What is this special strategy of God for man? MAN! All through the scriptures, we constantly see the move of God on earth coming into existence ONLY through the partnership of God with a man or a group of people! Ordinarily, Adam’s sin of disobedience in the garden of Eden should lead to the end of the human race here on earth, but still in the midst of God’s curse upon man and the other parties involved in the rebellion, we saw God instituting the salvation plan of man to reconcile man back to God again. Why? As long as earth remains, man will always be God’s access point to the world of men! Until believers understand their roles as God’s answers to their world and the expectations of this world for the saviours, man’s quest for fulfillment will always end in disappointment. In this episode, all that you need to know about becoming God’s answer to your world shall be discussed. Get ready for the Fire Experience!

There is an eternal pattern of God for the world of men, this pattern is responsible for all of God’s move and dealings with the world. Our God is a God of patterns. It is by the understanding of the patterns and ways of dealings of God captured in the scriptures and history that we begin to align our lives to, so as to continue to experience the hand of God upon us. If we fail to read the handwriting on the wall and discern accurately the way God desires to move in our world, we might not be able to partake in that move, the best we would be able to achieve is to be an onlooker in that revival move of God. So, searching through the dealings of God over the years, we can draw through the consistent words of God one of which is our anchor scripture in this post; God needs men! The latter part of Isaiah 60:2 says “but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.”. The response of God to the darkness that overwhelms the world is that His Glory will rise upon a man and then that man becomes God’s answer to the darkness upon the earth.

If we fail to read the handwriting on the wall and discern accurately the way God desires to move in our world, we might not be able to partake in that move, the best we would be able to achieve is to be an onlooker in that revival move of God.

Jesus in His sermon on the mount called us LIGHTS of the world. The reality of this revelation must lead every believer to a point where we begin to see ourselves the way God sees us. Understanding that believers are the set of people that captures the full expression of God’s desire and promises here on earth will not only lead us to a life of seriousness with God but also must lead us to becoming responsible children of God through our active partnership with God in this His special business here on earth.

Now that we have established God’s need for men in His agenda on earth. It is important to note at this point that our God has a standard. If God will use you, then He must train you. Being used by God comes with a demand; the lifestyle of sacrifice. This is the reason why this subject is very important to our making meaning for God here on earth. For God to take over a man’s life and use the man for His glory, man must be ready to path ways with any other agenda, desires and life aspirations and fully embrace the life that will be fully given and centered on God. Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians explained this truth in this way: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” Galatians 2:20a. Until every believer gets to a point where they can declare like Paul did here, living a lifestyle of sacrifice will never become their daily experience. Like we explained in the previous episode, a lifestyle of sacrifice comes with a very huge price. The price of devotion to God. the price of holy living and separating totally from the ways and patterns of this world. The price for all of God is all of you. To what extent are you willing to surrender all to God? until we hit that pedestal when we are empty of ourselves and truly die to self, we will not be able to fully carry the person of God and live for Him here on earth.

For God to take over a man’s life and use the man for His glory, man must be ready to path ways with any other agenda, desires and life aspirations and fully embrace the life that will be fully given and centered on God.

The answer to man’s ageless quest for relevance and fulfillment is inside God. Religion in all of its attempt to capture the features of the supremacy of God will never be able to replace the place of seeking God. Man was wired by God to seek Him! Remember, everything that was made was all because of Him! Apostle Paul explained the person of Jesus very clearly in the opening chapter of Colossians: “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him”. Colossians 1:16 (Msg). So, every believer must journey into God to discover purpose and as a result begin to get fulfilled when they start to live according to the discovered purpose. Every believer must answer the call unto Kingdom service which positions us for purpose fulfillment. When God’s will become your will and you are willing to see it come to pass in your world, then we say you are living a sacrificial lifestyle. This is what we are pressing into, all that we aspire to become must be found inside God’s will for our lives or else, they will only lead to short term fulfillment and self-glory. The right question to ask at this point is, are you willing to partner with God to bring down His Kingdom here on earth?

Until we hit that pedestal when we are empty of ourselves and truly die to self, we will not be able to fully carry the person of God and live for Him here on earth.

Finally, no man is indispensable. This is the bitter truth we must all sink in; becoming God’s answer to your world will only be possible when you intentionally align yourself to the plans of God for your life per time! Believers must understand that, all of God’s promises for man comes without any name tag, any man that answers God’s call unto service and willingly pays the price to be used by God becomes God’s answer to the world at that point! Becoming the chosen vessel solely depends on you and the decisions you make as regard the plans of God for your life. God is always waiting for that moment when every of His children will rise in understanding and be ready to become His answer to the world having paid the price for God’s power. Remember, God will keep searching for His answer amongst men and guess what? He will always fine one! Will you be that one man?