admin
TODAY is resurrection Sunday.
We remember the death and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord from the grave. Christ is alive today and forever more, and He shall come back to receive the righteous in Him and I believe you will be one of those. Your destiny will not die, God has ways to recalibrate your life and ensure success.
In Psalms 139 v 17-18, David says, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”
God has numerous plans and ways to get you to your place of provision and breakthrough. Today celebrate resurrection Sunday with the knowledge that God has got you covered. For the past two weeks, l have been talking about Romans 12 v 1 that says, “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.”
We will focus on the phrase “living sacrifice.” The word sacrifice is defined as “to forfeit or to surrender or lose in order to gain an objective”. The art of sacrifice is one that many young people have not grasped, particularly now that many believe in get rich quick schemes. If you have ever watched the Karate Kid movie (the original and the new one), you will have an understanding of sacrifice. It entails giving up on some of the pleasures and luxuries that come with being who you are. It is always uncomfortable and is usually painful and requires a lot of effort on behalf of the one giving the sacrifice.
Look at Abraham in Genesis 22 when God asked him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Isaac was the child of promise, he was a miracle baby born to Abraham and Sarah when they were aged 99 and 89 respectively. Isaac was the testimony, the breakthrough, the answer to a prayer, the most beloved of his father and mother, Isaac was all that his parents lived for. Yet God asked Abraham to sacrifice him.
Let us pause there for a little bit.
For you to succeed in life you have to give up something. Most times this act of “giving up” actually seems like an inconvenience and at other times you can feel like you are losing out or being abused. Yet when one gives up one item to gain something better in the future, it is actually an investment.
Today what is of value to you right now? Is it your gift or talent? Is it your time? Is it your mind or your relationships? What do you consider valuable and how does it correlate with your future? You will discover that if you are in school, your teacher or lecturer will give you assignments and homework that will eat into your time and sleep and inconvenience some leisure activities.
lt will be painful but at the end, there is joy when you have your qualification and know your trade. If you are an athlete you cannot eat what everyone else eat, neither can you do what you want at any time.
I heard the story of a professional footballer who got injured while playing a friendly game at some backyard pitch. His career suffered because of that he spent some months on the side-lines.
Maybe you are talented in arts and crafts, or maybe you are gifted intellectually. In order for you to attain the next level, you have to give up one thing to get the other. I believe that we have all come across this aspect at one time or another. I would like to encourage you to go a little further.
For Abraham to get Isaac he had already sacrificed, he had left his home, he had left his family, he had committed to serve God alone, and he had basically given up everything and changed his entire life to follow God. Then came Isaac. In Genesis 22, God asks for Isaac. To the ordinary eye, this does not make sense. Yet Abraham went ahead and did so. Little did he know that his simple act of obedience and willingness to sacrifice was a forerunner to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
When David served Saul he had to leave his home, friends and family and yet he was hounded by Saul after all that sacrifice. He still remained faithful in his call to serve. That simple act was the qualification for him to be the next king of Israel.
When Ruth chose to follow Naomi and leave her family and nation even after her husband had died, Orpah chose to go back and find a new husband. She remained faithful and sacrificed her youth to serve her mother-in-law. She would surrender all she worked for to keep them alive. Little did she know that this was the key to her becoming a part of the story of Christ.
When Jesus came and sacrificed His life through crucifixion, it seemed like a loss but three days later, He rose from the grave and He still lives today. l encourage you to find an area where your gift can be of service and surrender it. It could be in church or to your family or to your nation. This is the essence of Easter where we see God giving us the ultimate example.
Till next week, God bless.
Tinashe Zinyemba is a pastor with New Life Covenant Church. Email feedback to [email protected]
Online Reporter