Living Sacrifice: Dedication in the New Testament

The building that we have is dedicated or committed to God's service, and when we dedicate something to God, it means it's His, and He uses it, and He controls it, and everything belongs to Him. So to say we dedicate this building says we want it to be God's, and we want it to be used the way He wants it to, and we want it to describe or declare the nature and character of God Himself. But in the Old Testament, dedication was a very common thing. They dedicated the tabernacle when it was built, said, this is yours, God. They dedicated the temple when it was built, they said, this is yours, God, use it however you want. They dedicated the temple when it was reconstructed, and said, God, we've made this over again, it's yours. But a really funny thing, in the New Testament, there's not any mention of dedication. One word in the New Testament. And that was a reflection on the Old Testament dedication of the temples. In the Old Testament, there was a great desire for God to please God and to be able to celebrate His presence in the temple where God's presence was. And they call this the sanctuary. They call it the sanctuary because the word sanctuary means holy. And they saw in the temple a special place that God had them give that was just for His presence, the holy of holies. And so when they looked at the temple, they saw this great curtain that was there, and behind that curtain was a symbol of the presence of God. Now they knew that God was greater than all the universe, but this room was dedicated to reflect God's presence with His people. And so they called the temple a sanctuary. It meant a holy place where God was. It meant that this was the place where God lived. In the New Testament, this word also disappears. No longer do they use the word sanctuary because now God has changed His relationships with people. No longer does He live in this place. When Jesus was crucified, the temple curtain was torn apart, and this holy, holy place was suddenly exposed to the world. And no longer did people think God lives in that building. But in the New Testament, those ideas are not dispersed. For in the New Testament, there is a very important ingredient that requires dedication. And there's a very important ingredient that Jesus indicated was crucial for our relationship with Him. I want to read a passage from Luke chapter 9. Jesus was talking about His disciples and about Himself, and they discovered that He was really the ruler, the one sent from God, the Christ, the Messiah. And they made that confession to Him. And then in Luke chapter 9, verse 23, Then He said to them all, once they recognized His place, If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. Jesus was talking about dedication here, a commitment of your life that He describes as giving your life away. Whoever wants to rescue his life and hold on to it will ultimately see it disappear because he's trying to hold on to it himself. But whoever gives it to Me will find in his life fulfillment and completeness. Now the word dedication is not used here. But what He's talking about is surrendering yourself completely and totally to the authority of Christ Himself, saying to Him, My life is Yours. You now own it and control it. Jesus' words challenged His disciples to make sure that the giving of their life was a dedication to sacrifice and service. His description was whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But if you want to save your life, rescue it, hold on to it, you will lose it. But if you give it away to Me, you will actually find it. And He describes this giving of your life of self-denial, saying, I know there are things that I want to do with my life. You heard some of these people talk about their own lives and how they wanted to give themselves to Christ, and He asked things of them that were greater than they expected. He asked them to deny themselves what they wanted and to do instead what He told them to do. This is the powerful concept of dedication. My life, Lord, belongs to You. I am willing to be in a church where You tell me. I am willing to take the jobs You ask me to do, even though it means for me turning away from things that I would want to do and hold on to myself. So You must deny Yourself, and You must live in obedience to me regardless of the cost that it takes. Everyone who worked on this construction project gave a lot more time to make sure that it was done as they thought God wanted it to be done than they intended in the beginning. What God says is, I want you to start on a journey with Me. I want you to do what I tell you to do, and I know that it's going to cost you time, and I know that it's going to take your effort, and I know that it's going to take your money. But I want you to do, first of all, what I tell you, regardless of the cost. So in the New Testament, it's not talking about dedication as it has in the Old Testament, but it's talking about sacrifice, of laying your life in God's hands regardless of the consequence. Deny Yourself, take up the cross, and live as You have seen me live. That's why Bible teaching is so critical for us. It's the guideline for us. How do I face the circumstances in my life when I'm retiring? How do you face the circumstances in your life whenever you have a situation you have no control over? You say to God, I give You my life, and I trust You to provide the needs that You've given for me. Paul in chapter 12 of the book of Romans described to those who were listening to him, reading his material, exactly what it was that God wanted from them. He described how God has changed both the Gentiles who were enemies of God, not even concerned about God, until they became followers of His. He talked about the Jews who'd misunderstood God's instruction so that when Jesus came, they didn't even recognize Him as God. He said God has brought both of us together in this great mission of sacrifice and service to God. This is the way God wants us to be able to live, and he described this in Romans chapter 12, beginning with verse 1, God's effort to be able to show us how life is to be lived. Therefore, he said, since you have come to this place, you've given God your life. I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. What he's asking here is a living sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was given. You slayed an animal, you put it on the altar, you burned it up. Its life was gone. People in the Old Testament couldn't give that sacrifice, so what they did was they brought an animal, they put their hand on the head of the animal, symbolizing that this animal now becomes a representation of me. And it's put on the altar, and it's burned up, and as the smoke goes up into the sky, it's like my life is burned up and given to God. That was the symbol that was there. In the New Testament, a different picture is given. It's not the animal that's burned, but it's my life given as a sacrifice for God. He said, in this world, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You look around you and see front pages of paper today. One man killed somebody. Somebody killed another man. What causes a person to want to do that? There is raging inside of all of us passions and desires that are in conflict with what God wants for us. Sometimes it's things we want to see that we know we shouldn't. Sometimes it's things we want to do that we know we shouldn't. Sometimes it's things we say that we know we shouldn't. We look around us and we see that we'll fit in in the world doing all of these things because there are people who do them. I ask of you, Jesus said, that you give me your life. And when you look around at how the world's standard of living is, pay no attention to that. You look at the life of Christ himself and you make that as a pattern for your own living. It will mean that sometimes you'll have to change the way you talk. It will mean sometimes that the goals of your life will have to be different than the people around you. The values that you hold on to will be different than the people around you. You will look to some people a little strange or odd because you're living a pattern of life that they don't understand, recognize, or even value. In fact, they will think that there is something wrong with you. This is the living sacrifice. So when you say to your friends, I no longer do that, they'll make fun of you. When you say to your family, I can't do that because I've got some commitment to God and the church, they'll call you a holy name. A preacher, which is the worst thing you can say about somebody, you're a preacher or a deacon because they want to ridicule you because you've lived a different way with different values and different interests. This is what Paul was talking about. If you're going to live this life of devotion to God, you've got to be prepared to give me your life. When you give me your life and you pledge to live in obedience to me, look what happened to my life. They killed me. I ask you to do the same thing. I ask you to do exactly what you know I want you to do regardless of what people think about you or what they say about you. You look at the world's standards and principles by which it lives, yours are different. For I will tell you how to live. I will tell you how to think about things, money, career, lifestyle. I will tell you what to do with your money, how I want you to use it and spend it. I will tell you what to do with your time, what to give to one place and what to give to another. For I will guide your life. Now what you're going to find is that a lot of people around you are doing it differently and you will look at them and say maybe that's the best thing but instead you listen to me. This is the living sacrifice. You made this today. A lot of your family and friends are sleeping in this morning. You said no, this is what God wants for me and I give it. And I promise you that if you're faithful in giving God what he asks of you for your time, your family and your friends will criticize you or make fun of you sometime in your life about your gift to God. The dedication I want from you, he'll say, is I want you to promise me that you'll do everything I tell you regardless of what the people around you do. This is the living sacrifice. It is holy because it's given to God. It is pleasing to God because it's obedient to God. This sacrifice allows you to conform to the character and nature of God as shown in Christ instead of conforming to the world around you. We cannot do anything with this building that makes the world change differently. But what God asks is give me your life, dedicate your life to me, and I will make an impact on the world around you. So in the New Testament, God didn't ask us to dedicate a building where he would surrender ourselves to his authority, to say to God, I don't know what the rest of the people in my family or the world are going to do, but beginning today, I'm going to live in obedience to you as best I know how. I'm going to find a Bible and I'm going to begin to read it. And as I read it, I'm going to say, God, what do you want me to do? How do you want me to think differently or to live differently or to make choices differently? What is it that you're asking of me? And as you listen to that, you will find yourself making choices you never made before. You will find even as you do this, that people around you will think there's something odd or strange about you because you've changed. The living sacrifice, a devotion to God that calls on you to give him everything in your life. This sacrifice will enable you, Paul said, to test and approve what is God's will. How do you know how to live your life in this world? Well, you can listen to your friends around you. You can read books. But there's only one person that really knows how to live in this world and has done that successfully. It was Jesus himself. And as you read the Bible and you say, God, I pledge my life to live in obedience and submission to you. He will reveal to you how to handle the problems that come into your life, how to deal with your time, how to deal with your money, how to deal with your friends, how to deal with conflict. All those things are a part of life because he has dealt with every single one of them. So he will say, this is my will for you in this situation and you will know what it is. His will is always good, even though it's hard. His will is always pleasing to God and his will is always perfect or correct or complete. So in the New Testament, we don't dedicate the building to God as the big step in our lives. We dedicate our lives to God. My life, God, belongs to you. So in the New Testament, it doesn't talk about dedicating buildings because they didn't have buildings for 300 years after Jesus was born. But what he began to ask from the very beginning is, give me everything in your life. Now in the New Testament, the temple was destroyed and there's not very much discussion about a sanctuary. A sanctuary is a place holy because God is there. And in the New Testament, they didn't have buildings. So the sanctuary of God was quite different than it was in the Old Testament. In John chapter 14, Jesus was getting ready to leave his disciples. He was talking to them about what he was going to do. My time is limited here and I'm going to be leaving. But he called all of them around and said, this is my plan for you. In John chapter 14, verse 15, he said, if you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever. Then I want to skip to verse 25. All of this I've spoken to you while still with you. But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I've said to you. Peace I live with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. What Jesus said to his disciples was, I'm going to give you another counselor. He was their counselor. Every time they had a question, they came and said, what do you want us to do? And he told them what to do. They said, we don't understand this. And he explained it to them. But I'm going to leave, he said. And after I leave, I'm going to send another counselor who can be with you all the time everywhere you are, every waking moment of the day. That counselor will answer every question you have is the Holy Spirit. So the very Holy Spirit of God comes to live in every person who says to God, I give my life as a living sacrifice to you. This spirit comes inside of them. So inside of every person is God's spirit. The reason in the New Testament they don't talk about the sanctuary is because the sanctuary has changed from the Old Testament to the new. You, if you've delivered your life to God, are the living sanctuary of God. He resides within you. And everywhere you go, God is inside of you, in your mind, helping you to understand what goes on, giving you directions about the choices you need to make. You are the sanctuary of God. When we gather together in this place and God is in our lives and He's directing us, the Spirit of God is present. You heard Logan say that they experienced here the presence of God. That's because not the building, not a secret room that we have, for when all of us leave, this becomes simply a building. Some churches call their auditorium a sanctuary because they understand that when they make a prayer, the elements of the Lord's Supper become really the body and blood of Christ. But the tradition of Baptists has been to call their meeting place an auditorium. For the sanctuary of God, for us, is inside of ourselves. You are the sanctuary of God, the holy place where He lives. And so, whenever you gather together with other people in whom God lives, His Spirit is presence with us in a way it never is individually or personally wherever we are. When Jesus was talking about the fact where two or three of you gather together for my purpose in my name, there I will be with you in a special way. So we don't call this the sanctuary of God. We are the sanctuary of God. The holy place where he lives. It's holy because we've given it to him. He's forgiven us of our sins and he's placed his Holy Spirit within us so that we are the living presence of God. This building is valuable to us. It's a place where we come to learn. It's a place where we come to celebrate. It's a place where we come to worship. It's a place where we come for fellowship. And it's meaningful to us. But it's only meaningful to us because we have dedicated our lives to God. He's placed his Holy Spirit within us. And when we gather with others who have the same spirit, there is a sense of God's presence that can be found nowhere else in the world but with the people of God. What God asks is that our lives become living testimonies to the presence of Jesus Christ in us, that our words and our lifestyle reflect his character and his nature. This building is a tool, a tool to open our lives to the very presence and purpose that God has for us. He wants us to dedicate ourselves as living sacrifices. He wants us to live as the living sanctuary of God's Holy Spirit that is available to everyone. All he asks is you say, God, here is my life. You take it. It belongs to you. I choose to live from this moment in my life in submission and obedience to what you want. And in that one moment, you become the tabernacle of God, the sanctuary of God, for he forgives you of all your sin and places inside of you the very spirit that lived in Christ. And this building becomes a place where we learn how to live as Christ wants us to live. And we leave this building as an empty auditorium to go into the world as tabernacles or tents of God's presence wherever we are. From the Old Testament, where they dedicated the tabernacle in the temple and where they offered human, where they offered animal sacrifices, it's changed. Now we place our own lives in the hands of God. Lord, I sacrifice myself for you. He comes to live within us. He changes our lives and all the lives of people around us are touched. Would you bow your heads for just a moment? I want to ask in this moment that you would simply say to God, I dedicate myself to you to allow you to control my life, to allow you to control my mind, my heart, and my will. And from this moment on, I pledge myself to learn what you want from me and to live in obedience to what you've asked. You may have felt in the moments of this service that God said to you some things or some thoughts came to your mind to say, this is what you need to do. I want you to understand that it's God talking to you, giving you directions. He may have pointed out some things in your life that need to be changed. He may have said to you, this is the place God wants you to be in this church family. You see, in these moments, God's Holy Spirit is here. He is saying, I want you to deny yourself and do what I tell you to do. And then you will find life in all of its fullness. I'm going to ask our pianist to play for just a moment. And I'd like you to think about what God has placed in your mind this time. If there's some concern you'd like for us to pray with you about, Carl's here, I'm here. We'll pray with you. This is a moment where God, His Holy Spirit, comes to you and talks to you. You listen. And you do what you know He's placed in your mind.