Hearing God: The Burden of Sacrifice and Surrender

Today we will be discussing the 4th burden: The burden of Sacrifice and Surrender 

Misconceptions about God that require correction:

• God doesn’t allow His children to suffer

• God doesn’t allow His children to experience hardships 

• God comes to save you from the hard things 

  • He brings us through them 

In the west, we have the tendency to not teach and talk about these things. As a first world nation, with access to so much we think because we aren’t impoverished this won’t apply to us. However, Jesus emphasizes these things all throughout the New Testament because as followers of Jesus this will apply to us. We are to expect it and know that His grace empowers. We are not exempt. In order to understand sacrifice and surrender we must come to grips that we will experience suffering and sorrows.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

How we view suffering must change. Suffering and Sorrow take you to the high places. They serve a great purpose in transforming into image bearers.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Phil 1:2-4

Let’s Define the Terms: 

Sacrifice: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone.

Surrender: a believer completely gives up his own will and subjects his thoughts, ideas, and deeds to the will and teachings of Jesus.

We see this Biblically:

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life (sacrifice). And you must be willing to share my cross (surrender-to the deeds of Jesus) and experience it as your own,] as you continually surrender to my ways. 25 For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep. (we miss out on the Fullness Jesus has for us) 26 For even if you were to gain all the wealth and power of this world—at the cost of your own life—what good would that be? And what could be more valuable to you than your own soul? (eternal perspective) Matthew 16:24-26 

This is powerful because even before Jesus said it to His disciples, David understood it: 

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. 25 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. 2 Samuel 24:24-25

The people of God are facing a famine as a result of a mistake made by David. David goes to make things right by preparing to give a burnt offering. He determines that he will prepare an altar to burn his sacrifice at the threshing floor where the angel of the Lord appeared before he was about to destroy Jerusalem. 

However, he needs to speak to the owner before doing this. Araunah (A-RAW-NA) (the owner of the threshing floor) approaches the King when he sees him arrive. David explains why he is there and requests to purchase the threshing floor from Araunah. 

Araunah, honored by the king's request offers it as a gift, but David refuses, insisting that He will not present a burnt offering that has not cost him. 

Important Details to Note: 

• This is symbolic 

• Burnt Offering: animal sacrifice offered on the altar in the temple in Jerusalem that was completely consumed by fire. Signifies propitiation for sin and complete surrender, devotion, and commitment to God.

  • David understood that He needed to offer a burnt offering because it would be a symbol of his complete surrender to God 

  • David understood that it had to cost him. 

    • Sacrifice: giving up something that you want to keep (5-7 year salary)

    • Surrender: giving up his own will by submitting to actions to God

What does this have to do with hearing the voice of God: 

1. Hearing from God will require you being willing to SURRENDER. 

   1. You must choose to give up your thoughts, ideas, and deeds for the ways of Jesus. 

2. Hearing from God will require you to sacrifice. 

   1. It is going to cost you. 

      1. In the form of what you want to keep. 

         1. Your pride

         2. Your finances 

         3. Your freedom 

         4. Your time 

         5. Your preferences 

3. We love the idea of hearing from God, but God will pause speaking new things to us if we continually are opposing surrender and sacrifice. 

   1. What’s the point of hearing from Him if we aren’t going to follow through with what He is speaking to us.  

What’s the Fruit?

• Sacrifice and Surrender will be required of us, but He promises to be there in the midst of it all. 

  • Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.…Hebrews 13:20-21

  • And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matt 28:20

• Our hardest moments become our biggest testimonies. 

  • Living in the basement 

• As a result of disobedience 

• Aug 2017 God calls us to buy a house

• I disobey because $ wasn’t there 

• God tells Joshua it is time to move out-I don’t listen because that would be irresponsible 

• God gives Joshua a deadline, I still resist 

• On Feb 1, 2018 we get hit with a plague of mold 

• We move into a basement and get hit with sickness and some of the toughest trials we faced in our marriage. 

• God speaks to me again telling me to keep striking the ground and not to stop until He says. 2 Kings 13

• God starts providing miraculously 

• God prompts a couple the day we got married to start saving $ for our house downpayment. In about a week we receive $20,000 for a downpayment. 

***What if I had obeyed the first time God spoke to Him? What if I had surrendered to His will immediately? The sacrifice I would have had to make would most likely be less than it would have been after disobeying Him.***

Note: Obey swiftly and thoroughly 

• God calling us into full time ministry 

  • After providing for a house 

  • We had a kid 

  • We would have to take DRASTIC PAY CUT. 

  • Teaching was my dream job since the age of 8 I knew what I was going to do. 

    • Dream school, grade, subjects 

  • As if to say, do you really trust me? Will you give me your yes? Will you live in complete surrender and sacrifice your comfort? 

    • He was calling me to sacrifice it all. 

    • I wanted to choose His ways, but I was so scared. 

  • We do it. 

    • We experience extravagant provision 

    • No bill ever paid late for over a year 

    • EVERY SINGLE NEED MET. 

    • The Lord does HUGE inner healing in both of us 

    • He gifts to us with our 2nd son. 

  • Was it hard? 

    • Terribly so. It was painful, scary, but what came from it cannot compare to the hardships. 

      • Inner healing 

      • Trust with Finances 

      • Community 

      • Peace of knowing we were in His will 

      • Connection with the Father 

      • Marriage renewed 

      • Physical Healing 

      • Testimony of His power

Final thought: You will ALWAYS gain way more than you sacrifice or surrender. This is the reward of bearing the burden of sacrifice and surrender. It is costly, but always worth it. Thank you Jesus.