S7 EP4 | Is it Always God’s WIll That We Sacrifice?
In today’s bonus episode, Carla takes you through some reflective questions she’s been asking her clients lately as they have described wanting to live a successful life.
What truly is a successful life from the kingdom perspective?
And how do you get there?
Grab a paper and pen and jot down your thoughts - then head over to instagram and share them with Carla!
There are many scriptures about living a sacrificial life. In fact, we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. But is it always God’s will that we sacrifice?
Carla delves into the question of sacrifice, exploring the true essence of sacrificial living and its alignment with God's will.
Setting the Stage for Sacrifice
Carla introduces the topic, emphasizing the common perception of sacrifice in the context of Jesus as the ultimate example. She questions whether sacrifice is always God's will and sets the stage for a deeper exploration.
Reflect on the concept of sacrifice and its role in God's plan.
The Misconception of Sacrifice: Earning Worth
Carla addresses the common misconception of sacrifice as a means to earn worth and value. She highlights scriptures that mention sacrifice and warns against sacrificing for self-glory rather than God's glory.
Evaluate the intention behind your sacrifice; God desires a sacrificial heart, not a self-serving one.
The Heart of Sacrifice: Seeking God’s Kingdom
Carla emphasizes the importance of seeking God's kingdom first as the measuring stick for sacrificial living. She encourages listeners to assess whether their sacrifices align with God's desires or are rooted in personal motives.
Use Matthew 6:33 as a measuring stick for your sacrifices; seek God's kingdom first.
The Sacrifice of Dying to Self: A Heart Transformation
Carla challenges the notion of sacrifice as a checklist and highlights the need for a transformed heart. She explores the essence of sacrificing fleshly desires for spirit-filled intentions, emphasizing a shift from pride to humility.
Sacrifice is about dying to pride and selfish desires; let a transformed heart lead to transformed works.
Identifying Self-Serving Sacrifices: A Heart Check
Carla guides listeners to identify self-serving sacrifices, especially in the context of family life. She cautions against becoming martyrs and encourages introspection regarding resentment and hidden motives.
Examine your heart when making sacrifices; avoid becoming a martyr with hidden resentments.
Balancing Sacrifice: Saying No for God’s Best
Carla explores the balance in sacrificial living, acknowledging that sometimes saying no to good things is necessary to focus on God's best. She emphasizes the importance of discerning God's will and avoiding distractions.
Discern God's best thing and prioritize it over distractions, even if it means saying no to good things.
A Call to Walk in the Spirit
Carla concludes with a call to walk in the spirit and seek God's will in sacrificial living. She reiterates the importance of glorifying God and not seeking worth from Him or others through sacrifice.
Walk in the spirit, pleasing God with sacrifices that glorify Him; avoid fleshly sacrifices.
Affirming Truth - My sacrifice will be to glorify God and not earn my worth from him or man.
Key scriptures:
Luke 9:24 - "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."
Ephesians 5:2 - "And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering in sacrifice to God."
Hebrews 13:16 - "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
Romans 8:8 - "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Join In His Image Wellness Collective ---> carlaargeswellness@gmail.com
Come hangout on IG with me @carlaarges
Check out the blog
TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hey friends, it's Carla here. Welcome to Affirming Truth. So we're going to explore a question today. Sacrifice. Is it always God's will? I think we often take this question and are supporting evidence for our answer [00:01:00] out of context. Sacrifice, is it always God's will?
[00:01:05] Carla: We see Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice, as the example of the servant leader. He left his position in heaven, came down as a, uh, uh, looked down upon Nazarene. Died in the most undignified death. He is the epitome of what sacrifice is, and we are called to be like Jesus. So often, we take that to assume that our whole lives should be sacrifice.
[00:01:40] Carla: And we hear it in the scripture too, like in Luke 9, 24, it says, For whoever wants to save their life, We'll lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will save it. Sacrifice, laying down your life. In Ephesians 5, 2, it says, And walk in the [00:02:00] way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering in sacrifice to God.
[00:02:10] Carla: Sacrifice. Hebrews 13, 16, and do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is pleased. And so we might say, yes, obviously God always wants sacrifice. We are called to live a sacrificial life. And I think sometimes we take that and, and make ourselves the martyr. We forget that fundamentally, Jesus, God is after our hearts.
[00:02:45] Carla: You know, we read, read in Samuel that God said, I don't look at the way other people look. I don't look at the outside. I'm looking at the inside. And so many of us. have [00:03:00] mistakenly taken on positions of sacrifice, not to the glory of God. But to earn our worth to earn our value. We have mistaken that taking up our cross and denying self is about putting down our fleshly desires in walking in the spirit.
[00:03:22] Carla: It's not meant to make our humanness.
[00:03:28] Carla: I see a lot of this play out in women that I'm coaching who have a problem with people policing that they give so much of themselves to please others. They sacrifice so much of themselves to pour out thinking that, Oh, I'm doing God's work when really the heart attitude is. I want to earn man's affection.
[00:03:53] Carla: I want to earn the world's recognition. I want to have [00:04:00] accolades from others. I want people to see me as someone who is so generous. The intention behind our sacrifice nullifies
[00:04:14] Carla: it as an act of worship to God. And so does God always want our sacrifice? No. He doesn't want our sacrifice when we're trying to earn our worth. He doesn't want our sacrifice when we have been told that Christian living means that you're a doormat. He doesn't want your sacrifice if it's actually for your own glory.
[00:04:44] Carla: And these are challenging words. Friend, but I've been there. I have been there and have had to catch my heart attitude in sacrifice. Am I sacrificing for God's glory? Or am I sacrificing for man's [00:05:00] recognition?
[00:05:03] Carla: Here is your measurement, friends. Matthew 6 33. This is the measuring stick by how you measure your sacrifice. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In your sacrifice, are you seeking first the kingdom? Are you asking God, what do you need me to lay down in the flesh so I can pick up what you want from me in the spirit?
[00:05:36] Carla: Sacrifice in loving God and in loving others is not about a punishment, but it's about laying down fleshly desires for spirit filled desires. That means that when I don't Feel like making that [00:06:00] meal for the new mom at church because I'm tired or I'm not a great cook or it's going to take effort that I do it not so people think, Oh, look how generous and self serving Carla is.
[00:06:14] Carla: I do it because I am dying to my selfish will that's only concerned with me and saying God show me how to love to glorify you. Sacrifice is about dying to your fleshly desire. And that means your desire to earn people's approval. That means your desire to earn your worth. That means your desire to be glorified and lifted up in your life.
[00:06:50] Carla: Ouch. Ouch. Guys, I'm with you. It hurts. It's convicting. It's convicting because we are people [00:07:00] prone to pride. Pride is what started it all. Pride is what got a hold of Lucifer and caused the fall. Pride is how he, how he tricked Eve. Pride is fundamentally In all of us, and so it is dying to pride. It is laying down.
[00:07:33] Carla: Our desires to be glorified, that is the sacrifice. The sacrifice is the heart attitude. Now, does a changed heart produce changed works? Yes. Does a changed heart reveal the fruits of the spirit? Yes. But it is out of the overflow of a changed heart, [00:08:00] dying to self and living for the spirit. It's not works first.
[00:08:07] Carla: It's not do the sacrifice first, check the boxes, give myself a pat on the back, make myself feel self righteous, and move on. God doesn't want that sacrifice. God doesn't want the sacrifice of your time, your money, or your energy if it's rooted in self promotion.
[00:08:31] Carla: God wants your heart. God wants your heart. And moms, women, we are so, so blind oftentimes to how this works in our lives. Because we become martyrs. I sacrifice everything for my family. I sacrifice everything for my [00:09:00] husband. And we think we're doing God's will. But what's happening in our heart tells a different story, how we harbor resentment, how we have a tally list.
[00:09:17] Carla: This is what I've done. What have you done for me lately? How we disdain the mundane, what's in
[00:09:28] Carla: your heart? What's in your heart? I really want you to reflect on that. When you go to lay down your time, your money, your energy that is sacrificial. Ask yourself, who's glory am I after? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God? Because the other truth is sometimes people are going to ask you to sacrifice and it's going to be a [00:10:00]distraction from where God has called you and you have to say no.
[00:10:06] Carla: Sometimes we have to say no to good things so we can stay focused on God's best thing. So God does not want your sacrifice at all costs. He wants a laid down life, walking in the spirit. picking up his will and chasing after it.
[00:10:31] Carla: Are you going to do that? Are you going to let the spirit lead? Are you going to seek first the kingdom's will and the God's desire and his righteousness and point it all back to him in glory and praise? Your affirming truth for today is my sacrifice will be to glorify God and not earn my worth from him or man.
[00:10:57] Carla: In Romans 8, 8, we read, [00:11:00] those who are in the flesh cannot please God. If your sacrifice is in the flesh, it is not pleasing to God. Walk in the spirit, my friends, I'll talk to you next time.
[00:11:20] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye friends!