This week is the second part of the series my team is doing for team times. Last week we focused on Servanthood and dove into serving each other and the Lord.
This week we are focusing on Sacrifice. Today was the first day of it and we praying into what we are going to sacrifice for the Lord.
Let me just get a few things straight and show the heart behind it…
When you sacrifice things for the Lord, it is another form of worship. When you sacrifice, you don’t sacrifice the leftovers. For example, when you get that monthly paycheck, a lot of people tithe 10% of it to the church. You do that at the beginning of the pay period. You don’t wait till the end of the month and throw whatever scrap money you have left to the church, because that shows how little faith you have that God will provide for you.
DON’T GIVE HIM YOUR LEFTOVERS!
Where is the heart behind that? Where is the faith?
Another thing we need to get straight… when you sacrifice something, you replace it by worshipping the Lord. For example, if you are fasting a meal, you don’t just not eat and not worship the Lord by it. If you aren’t eating just to not eat, then you are starving yourself, not worshipping the Lord. Fill what you are sacrificing by worshipping Him.
So today we took about 10 minutes of listening to the Lord and asking Him what we each personally could give up for the week to seek him out more. I heard 2 things for myself…
1. Not spending any money
2. Not sleeping in my comfortable bed
So background, I have a really nice bed this month that is very comfortable… and that was one of the last things I wanted to hear from the Lord to sacrifice. But, God asks us to be uncomfortable for Him to seek out his presence more. Whether this is a one night thing or not, I’ll need to pray about that a little more.
Then we prayed as a team for the Lord to reveal what we should sacrifice as a team. Here is what He revealed…
Tuesday: we are sacrificing our electronics (Social media/texting/calling)
Wednesday: we are sacrificing sleep by waking up very early and going on a prayer walk as well as watching the sunrise
Thursday: we are fasting from food all day
Friday: we are fasting on words, we aren’t staying silent, but we are being wise with the amount we talk
I ask that you pray for my team and I as we focus on Sacrifice this week. I ask that you pray for strength, growth, and for the Lord to reveal what he wants in His will for us this week.
I also challenge you to sacrifice something this week. Pray about it, then do it! Seek the Lord in a different way. And if you feel inclined, drop a comment on this blog about what you are sacrificing and I will send you a message for prayer for it! It would also be cool if you shared your experience about whatever you are sacrificing and how the Lord worked on your heart through it.
