It is the desire of our Lord that we become "a living sacrifice" (Rom.12:1 NIV), purified in His holy fire. We must be willing to die to self, and let Him come to reign in us. This is the choice we must make, and for which we pray in the Lord's Prayer as we ask, "Thy Kingdom come" (Matt.6:10).
We point our finger at our own hearts, because it is only within hearts that the Kingdom will be established. When all hearts allow Him to reign in them, then the whole world can be His Kingdom.
The Jews looked for a Messiah to come as their prophets had foretold, but their Messiah, or King, came as a tiny baby born in Bethlehem to become a King of love to reign in the human heart!
The Israelites offered sacrifices at Jerusalem by burning animals to free themselves from their sins. Jesus replaced the sacrifice of animals by becoming "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He only asks now that we accept that forgiveness and be ourselves burned as a living sacrifice.
Jesus' apostle, Peter, writes "with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross." When someone is this close to an actual event, we are more apt to listen to what he has to say; he was there! Peter tells us, "Don't be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials...because these trials will make you partners with Christ in His suffering" (1 Peter 5:1).
God wants to burn out all worldly love of money, all self- exaltation, all self-pity, and all unforgiveness toward others. He wants to burn out anything that would prevent our worship of Him.
Jesus asks us to worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). To do this, we must ask Jesus into our hearts so we can praise Him for who He is. We do not praise Him only for what He has done for us, but more importantly we praise simply because He is the King of our hearts. We often behave like spoiled children wanting to push a magic button to have our prayers answered rather than doing the one thing He asks of us--to worship Him because, and only because, of who He is!
He also asks that we worship in "truth." This means we must be sincere. If we worship only to get a spiritual high and feel good, we are not worshipping in "truth." We must worship because we love.
God is purging His church. He will no longer allow His people to stay where they are, but He is burning out the impurities and apathy which have been there too long. He is cracking the walls of denomination and pouring His Holy Spirit into the hearts of all who are willing to repent of their own sins and the sins of their fathers.
He is, as the Bible predicts, "separating the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matt.25:32). He asks each of us to be willing to burn out our sin. He wants us to become as little children so that He can teach us His ways.
Christians around the world are joining into one great sacrifice of praise as they sing, in a multitude of languages, such choruses as, "We bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of our God."
God asks that we be willing to die to self so that He can become our Master to rule our hearts. As we die, we allow Him to live in us to demonstrate to a dying world the love of Jesus. We reach out to show His love to those around us, and replace fear and anxiety with trust in One who died to save a world of sinners.
Our worldly master--the love and desire for money and the things it can buy--is being burned out so that a new Master, Jesus Christ, can be worshipped as King of our hearts, worshipped in spirit and in truth.
Jesus, whom Peter saw die on the cross, is alive. Hallelujah!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer