Live Your Life As A Living Sacrifice For Others

Hello, and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being with us today.

We’ve got a great sermon for you that I really hope will inspire and change your way of living or urge you on to do whatever you’re doing even more, so if you are already doing this.

This could be a very difficult sermon for a lot of people to grasp and to understand and apply, so if you’re doing something else while listening to this, go ahead, continue to do that.

Continue to listen, but then I really, really, really encourage you to come back and listen again, or watch it again, so that you can really internalize this and understand it and then externalize it.

Because this one is a very, very important sermon for self-growth, self-help, and to inspire others to be better versions of themselves.

To be more like Christ, because we don’t want to be more like us in humanity, we’re dead. We’ve died to the flesh. We are alive in Christ. We are no longer slaves to the flesh—we are slaves to Christ.

I know that could be hard to grasp, but for those of you that have read your Bible that understand it. That part, you get it now, and it’s time to start living it and doing it even more.

And how do we do that? It is by becoming a living sacrifice. You need to be a living sacrifice. What? That can be hard to understand because in the Bible, in the Old Testament, we know of these sacrifices, and we even know of Jesus being a sacrifice.

And in all those cases, what happened to the sacrifice? They died. And so this concept of a living sacrifice is something that might seem a little foreign, but let’s really unpack it, and let’s understand it.

And let’s strive to do it, because this is what God is calling you to do. There are many things God wants you to do. There are many callings in your life. The greatest is the mission to go out and make disciples of all nations.

That is your sole calling. Sole as in great, not only, and there are other callings in your life. This is one of them. You are called to be a living sacrifice. You are called to bring others to Christ.

You are called to do your purpose, to accomplish the purpose for which God made you. Whether that is a certain career or profession, something like that. There are many callings and many purposes in your life. Being a living sacrifice is one of them.

Let’s go to Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

How do you truly and properly worship God? Offer your body as a living sacrifice to him. Does that mean that you need to jump into a volcano to sacrifice yourself to God? No, because then you’d be a dying sacrifice.

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. That means what? Prayer. Fasting. Living by example. You are sacrificing things in this life to get closer to God. Not forever, but for a time.

That’s why fasting is important. That’s why, during periods of time, you abstain from sexual relations with your spouse. That’s opposite-sex spouse, by the way. So then, after a period of time, you come back together.

So you do not give in to temptation and stray from one another, but you sacrifice things like food. Maybe for a period of time, not so that “Oh, I’m getting healthy, yeah, I’m cleaning out my gut, resetting my body.” No. Yes, that’s great. It is something that your body is designed to do. But you need to do it for a spiritual purpose of living sacrifice.

I’m giving up food to be closer to God because this is my food. No, you don’t eat the Bible. Come on, what’s wrong with you? This is the food from God. The bread of life. It is food that many people know nothing about, but that can sustain you.

And yes, in fasting, there is a period of time when it’s almost unbearable, and you’re like, “No, I’m going to eat. I can’t do it, but guess what? Persist a little longer, and all of a sudden, you’re not hungry.

No worries. Now, the next several hours, maybe even a day, is no problem. Once you made it over the hump, it’s like downhill. Then after a day two, maybe, you’re climbing a hill again, and there’s a point where it’s, “ha, persist, it gets easier.”

You need to empty yourself to fill yourself. Seems simple. Living sacrifice. God wants you to be a living sacrifice. In other words, he wants you to live. God doesn’t want you to die for him, although dying for someone does show great love and devotion.

So yes, if it comes to it, God wants you to die for him. But more importantly, he wants you to live for Him. Let’s go to a verse, John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

So if you are a friend of God, not a friend of the world, we have a sermon about that, “Friend Of God, Friend Of The World.” Check it out up here. Go to our website, search it. If you are a Friend of God, greater love. You can lay down your life for God.

That is excellent, but he doesn’t want you to do that. If the case arises, he wants you to step up to the plate and be willing to do that. But you can do more here on Earth while you are alive.

God would rather have you alive because of what you can accomplish on Earth. What can you do on Earth by dying for God? Yes, the event of your death may have an impact on others, and a story could be told, and it could have an impact, and a lot could be done.

But arguably, you could do a lot more while you’re alive. Because while you’re dead, you can do nothing. You’re dead. So, how much more can you accomplish on Earth by living for God every single day?

You live a 100 years. If every day you live for God, 100 years of days living for God. You can accomplish a lot. Yes, of course. I agree it is a lot better to die. I would love to be dead right now, to be in heaven. You’re like, “Whoa, what are you talking about?” Is this guy suicidal? No, I want to be in heaven with God, but guess what?

Me in heaven with God is a selfish thing. I want to be in Heaven. That’s what I want. That’s what I desire someday. I’ll get there—be patient. There’s a lot of work to be done. Think of others. It’s better for everyone else that I stay here and do my purpose. What God has called me to do.Same with you.

The reason you are here is to be a living sacrifice so that others may benefit. It’s better for Christians to die, because then we will be in heaven. This world is not a great place. We can make it better, but it’s not the best.

Heaven is the best. This world will never be the best. We are not of this world—we are citizens of Heaven, and I long to go to my homeland. But in the meantime, I will live as a citizen of Heaven, as someone not of this world.

I will live in this world, and I will do what I am called to do, to be a benefit and a blessing to other people as a living sacrifice, working for God. Philippians 1:21-24.

Philippians 1:21-24, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!” “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;” “but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”

These are the words of Paul, these are the words of me, these are the words of you. You can speak this to anyone.

Listen, to die is to be with Christ. That’s gain by far. If we go on living here in the body, in the world, it means fruitful labor. It better mean fruitful labor, because if you’re not accomplishing your purpose, if you’re not making fruitful labor, if you’re not being a blessing for others, then what good are you?

Seriously, I know it’s harsh, but if you aren’t accomplishing your purpose, God has no use for you. Because you’re not providing use. You’re useless. You’re like, “Dang, yeah, that’s right!” So live your purpose.

Go on living, because it will mean fruitful labor here on Earth. That is the goal. Yet what shall you choose? You say, “Well, fine, I’ll just give up and die and go to Heaven.” Selfish! Live here on Earth, do fruitful labor. Why?

Because it is better and more necessary that you remain in the body for others. To die is better by far—it truly is. But you need to go on living here on Earth, doing fruitful labor for the benefit of others. Because a tree does not eat its own fruit.

If you are an apple tree, you are producing hundreds of apples a year. Who is benefiting from that? Other people. So guess what? You need to have fruitful labor for others as a living sacrifice.

Someday you will go to Heaven. Yes, be patient. Wait for your day, and in the meantime, try to make Heaven here on Earth. Bring it here—you can do it, so don’t be afraid. Get out there and share the gospel. Live your purpose, because God’s not going to lead you to your death.

But even if he does, don’t be afraid. For some of you, yes, your purpose might be to die for Christ. Some missionaries, you might be persecuted. You might be tortured. You might die for God. But, many, many others, you will live for God as a living sacrifice.

Daniel Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it. And he will rescue us from your hand, oh king.” “But even if he does not, we want you to know, oh King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

God has the power to deliver you so that you can continue to be a living sacrifice. But even if he doesn’t, don’t be afraid, and be willing to die for him.

Greater love is none than this—that you lay down your life for your friend, Jesus Christ. God is much more interested in your life than your death, though.

Yes, he wants to be with you in Heaven. But God is with you now, here on Earth. So, for God, he’s already with you. Whether you’re here or there, he is with you.

For us, we can be with God here on Earth. But to be with God in Heaven is way better. So we want that we will get there eventually. God is with you now. Let him be with you now.

He is so much more interested in your life than your death. Because in your life, you can have a huge impact on others, so that they too can be with God. Let’s go to Colossians. Colossians 1:10,

Colossians 1:10, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

So you need to bear fruit in every good work here on Earth and grow in the knowledge of God by reading the Bible. And praying to him and understanding his words. You are to be a living sacrifice. Hebrews 13:15-16.

Hebrews 13:15-16 “Therefore, through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.” “And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.”

You need to do good and share with others. You say, “Hey, I’m hungry, I’m going to eat this steak. And I have a dog that’s also hungry—I will give the dog the bone. Win-win, right? Dog eats the bone, you get the steak.” You’re filled. Is that a sacrifice?

Better would be to give the dog the steak, and you sacrifice and be hungry. God is pleased. Now, am I saying that you need to just give everything away? No. Because sometimes that would be foolish.

But that is an instance from another Gospel of the Kailedy that is known as “Wise Strangers.” You can check it out online at Amazon.com. We’ve published a different version of it that you can check out, but the point is, you need to be a living sacrifice.

And God is pleased at that—bearing fruit for others, helping others, doing what you can to better the Kingdom here on Earth. And if that means it might kill you to go to work every day to provide for your family so that they can have a better life, and they’re being raised in Christ, then that may be what you need to do.

If it would kill you to pull your kids out of the secular public schools and home-school them, so that they can learn the Bible and go out and be witnesses to others, then maybe that’s what you need to do.

Maybe you need to sacrifice your job for the benefit of others. Maybe you need to sacrifice by working more for the benefit of others, not sacrificing your family and your relationships, but sacrificing your wants and desires.

Maybe instead of poker night with the guys, you have family night in a movie. Maybe instead of going out to eat or bowling with your friends. You stay home with your kids and take them, or maybe you take them bowling instead.

It’s all about sacrificing your life as a living sacrifice for others. Do you get the picture? It’s important. A living sacrifice, not a dying sacrifice. Christ already died so that you may live. Christ died so you may live. You need to live so that others can have eternal life.

Christ died so you can live, you need to live so they can live eternally by bringing them to Christ. John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that whoever believes in them shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

You are to be that living sacrifice—you’re much more valuable to God alive than dead. God is keeping you alive for a purpose. You have a purpose. Check out this sermon. You can type “Purpose” into the search bar on our website.

You can type it into the YouTube channel, wherever, our podcast “You Have A Purpose.” God has a great purpose and a plan for you—you need to live it. Because if you’re not living your purpose, you will be shut down. So live that purpose.

What is it? The main calling, as we said. Mark 16:15. He said to them, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” That is what you need to be doing—preach that gospel. Get out there and share it with the world.

If you say, “Hey, I can’t preach like you can,” then guess what? Share the sermon. If you say, “Hey, you know what, Spencer, I really love your sermons, and I listen to them when I can, but you know they’re like 20 minutes long, man. I wish there were like five minutes.”

Guess what? You can go on YouTube, you can use the clipping feature, and clip out a five-minute section. And share it on your social media so that other people can have a section of a sermon that you feel is valuable information for them. Now that takes a little effort.

That might take you 10–15 minutes to figure out how to use it, but guess what? What are you, a living sacrifice? Sacrifice your time, and instead of scrolling through the TikTok reels or Instagram reels or Facebook reels or the video feeds, watching all these videos.

Take 10 minutes, clip out a section of a sermon, whether it’s Social Media Ministries or another, share that on your feed. Share that with your friends. It’s fruit you are producing. Yes, it’s been produced, but you’re taking it and sharing it with others.

You’re redistributing the fruit for more people to see. Go out into all the world—preach the gospel to all creation. You can literally share the gospel with others around the world from your couch, while you’re watching the news at night or the TV at night, relaxing.

Clip a part of a sermon, put it on your social media, share it with others. Don’t want to do that effort? Share the whole sermon. We have also Ministry Minute every single day, it’s a Bible verse and devotion.

Share that, repost it, get it out there, live your life for God. Share the good news—you need to be fruitful. We have a sermon on that, go there. “Fruitful”, type it in on our website, YouTube channel, watch it, listen to it, whatever. “Be Fruitful.”

All these that we are referencing today are very, very essential. You need to be that living sacrifice. Don’t be a lukewarm Christian. One of the very first sermons we did years ago, called “Be Hot.” You have to be hot. Revelation 3:16.

“What happens if you’re not hot?” Revelation 3:16, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” God doesn’t want you if you aren’t going to be hot. He’ll spit you out.

Be hot, be fruitful. Multiply the Kingdom. Share it with all creation. Produce fruit. Be a living sacrifice. Be willing to die, if necessary. But know and trust in God that he will deliver you. Because he wants you alive, accomplishing your purpose, accomplishing His will, here on Earth.

The more you do that, the more you accomplish His will. The more you share the gospel with all creation, the more you will be fruitful. The more fruitful labor you do, the more God will keep you alive and give you more opportunities to do it.

It’s like a never-ending thing. You do more, God gives you more. You do more, more, more. It’s like a paradox. You’re like, “My cup is full.” Guess what?

God’s giving you a bigger cup, and He’s going to fill that too, more, more, more, and more. Because He knows you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. What He wants you to do. You’re building His Kingdom here on Earth.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for this inspirational message. I pray that each and every person out there would be inspired to be a living sacrifice for you. That they would truly understand and grasp this concept, that they need to get rid of, put aside all selfish ambition and vain conceit.

That in everything, that they would value others above themselves. That they would do fruitful labors, producing fruit for others. Because a tree does not consume its own fruit.

Have them be the best fruit tree that you created them to be, that they would live their calling and their purpose, sharing the gospel with all creation, being fruitful and multiplying to the ends of the Earth.

That you would inspire them to do it every minute of every day, take five minutes, take 10 minutes, share it on their social media with their network of influence. Send it to the contacts in their phone.

Every single person has hundreds of people they can reach every single minute of every single day. God inspires them to do it, not ashamed. And that if these people get tired of getting text messages or instant messages, or DMs.

Or seeing these verses on their social media feeds, that you could just remove them. Then, if they don’t want to see it, get rid of them, fine. But give them the courage and the inspiration to share it, and boldly proclaim your gospel and your message with the world.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thanks for being with us this week. Any questions or comments, please put them below. And I really strongly encourage you to be fruitful, to do the work God made you to do. To live your life as a living sacrifice for him.

Have a great week, and God bless.