Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Living for God means handling your life in a way that what you do with that life is dictated by the Lord. In other words, you’re speaking of being controlled, influenced and directed by the Lord. That word ‘Control’ is one that the average human detests. You know why there are people who say there is no God? They don’t want to be controlled because admitting that there is God suggests that they can’t live just anyhow. They don’t want accountability. The average person doesn’t want to be controlled and that was from the fall. We got that nature from the devil because he didn’t want to be under the authority of God. He desired to be the one in charge in the heavens. That’s how many of us want to be in charge of our own lives. It’s true that you have to take responsibility of your life but it’s also true that while you do that, God still has a say in the choices you make, the way you live and people you do life with. This is where it began – that nature of wanting to be in control – Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. You shall be as gods, in other words, you’d be in control. The devil made her feel like she was missing something by not being in charge.
When we look at the opening scripture, the Bible says to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice and another version says this is our true and proper worship.
Worship is not a song, it’s seen in the way you live and the choices you make on a daily basis.
A worshipper is not just the one who leads others in worship. They live influenced by the Lord in their lives and from that life, they lead worship. You can’t take people to where you haven’t been. Anyone who leads worship is doing that from a base or a platform and that platform is their own personal walk with the Lord because your worship of God is only as deep as your revelation of Him. Understanding that your life is a sacrifice on the altar leads you to live for God.
When you understand this, you know your life isn’t yours and you are a slave to Christ. Remember He bought you at a price. We were slaves in the kingdom of darkness, meaning we used to do the devil’s bidding and he was in control of our lives but Christ bought us from that slavery into another Kingdom and now we are still slaves but to Him.
In the days of slavery, when someone bought a slave, that slave had no life of their own. They couldn’t have a personal ambition but literally lived for their master. It’s the same with a new found life with Christ. We do His bidding. Many people have said that Christianity is slavery and I agree. There is no one on this earth who is not in slavery. The difference is who you are enslaved to. An atheist thinks that by their unbelief in a Supreme being, they are free, not knowing someone is actually controlling them. You may think you are free to do what you want but you are a puppet in a spirit’s hand. All men are controlled by a spirit. That’s how God made us. He never made us to be independent of a supernatural power. You now determine which spirit influences you.
Here are some scriptures to confirm all I have said so far; Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 1 Peter 2:16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 1 Corinthians 7:22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
I can go on and on but the bottom line is we are all slaves. The difference is that the devil enslaves you forcefully and many times without your knowledge. He works with a person’s ignorance. Many people who are working for the devil may not even know it. However, slavery to God involves you surrendering willingly knowing fully what you are entering into and God glorifies you eventually while the devil’s end goal is to destroy and devalue you.
Make a decision to live for God because you can be going to church or call yourself a Christian without living for Him. The first step is accepting Christ and believing in Him. To the second step, many never get there. It’s living for Him. You know how we say, ‘Accept Christ as your Lord and personal Savior?’ Many have accepted him as Savior – the one who died – but not as Lord – the one we live for.
He died for you, you live for him – that’s the term of the contract.
The Word In Clarity 