This message is Part 7 in the message series “AWAKENING” by Pastor Chuck Bernal. In this message titled, “Awakening To Sacrifice”, Pastor Chuck talks about the importance of genuine sacrifice in the Christian life and why we should be willing to sacrifice our lives for the Lord. Using stories from the life of David, Mary and Paul, he talks about the nature of sacrifice: it is costly, illogical and personal - and how gratitude is the key motivator for real sacrifice. This message was delivered at LifePointe Church in Crowley, TX on Sunday, June 11, 2017.

2. David &
Svea
Flood Swedish
missionar
ies to the
Belgian
Congo
(1921)

5. awakening to sacrifice
(true living comes by giving)

6. nothing of spiritual significance
comes without sacrifice.
your spirituality will always be
measured
by the size of your sacrifice.

7. the sweet smell of sacrifice
what it means

8. I have everything I need and more than
enough.
I am taken care of because Epaphroditus
brought your gift. It is a sweet gift. It is a gift
that cost you something.
It is the kind of gift God is so pleased with.

9. And now I have it all—and keep getting
more!
The gifts you sent with Epaphroditus were
more than enough, like a sweet-smelling
sacrifice roasting on the altar, filling the air
with fragrance, pleasing God no end.

10. the sweet smell of sacrifice
in the life of david

11. But the king answered, “No, I will pay you
for it.
I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices
that have cost me nothing.” And he bought
the threshing place and the oxen for fifty
pieces of silver.

12. But the king said to Araunah, “No. I’ve got to
buy it from you for a good price; I’m not
going to offer GOD, my God, sacrifices that
are no sacrifice.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the
ox,

13. He built an altar to GOD there and sacrificed
burnt offerings and peace
offerings. GOD was moved by the prayers
and that was the end of the disaster.
(2 Samuel 24:24-25 – Msg)

14. true sacrifice is always
costly

15. the sweet smell of sacrifice
in the life of mary

16. Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the
home of Simon, a man who had previously
had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman
came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of
expensive perfume made from essence of

17. She broke open the jar and poured the
perfume over
his head. Some of those at the table were
indignant.
“Why waste such expensive perfume?” they
asked.

18. So they scolded her harshly. But Jesus
replied,
“Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing
such a good thing to me? You will always
have the poor among you, and you can help
them whenever you want to.

19. She has done what she could and has
anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I
tell you the truth, wherever the Good News
is preached throughout the world, this
woman’s deed will be remembered and
discussed.”

20. Six days before the Passover celebration
began,
Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of
Lazarus —
the man he had raised from the dead. A
dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor.

21. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of
expensive perfume made from essence of
nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it,
wiping his feet with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance.

22. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would
soon betray him, said, “That perfume was
worth a year’s wages.
It should have been sold and the money
given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the

23. and since he was in charge of the disciples’
money,
he often stole some for himself. Jesus
replied,
“Leave her alone. She did this in
preparation for my burial. You will always

24. true sacrifice is always
illogical

25. the sweet smell of sacrifice
in the life of paul

26. So then, my friends, because of God's great
mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer
yourselves as a living sacrifice to God,
dedicated to his service and pleasing to
him.

27. Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have
shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge
you to offer your bodies as a living and holy
sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that
brings Him pleasure; this is your
reasonable,

28. So here’s what I want you to do, God
helping you:
Take your everyday, ordinary life — your
sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and
walking-around life —
and place it before God as an offering.

29. true sacrifice is always
personal

30. the sweet smell of sacrifice
why it matters

31. Love others as Christ has loved us.
He gave his life for us,
a sweet smelling offering and a sacrifice to
God. (Ephesians 5:2 – World English Bible)

32. A genuine sense of gratitude is rooted
in the realization that all that I am, all
that I have
and all that I have achieved, is not
because of me. None of us is really

33. True worship is the realization
that every good thing in our lives
ultimately comes from the God who
made us and loves us.

34. And this realization should lead to
gratitude, and gratitude should lead us
to one logical conclusion: God
deserves to have the first place in our
lives

35. This is the essence of what the Bible
teaches
about the nature of sacrifice and
worship.

36. david

37. a sacrifice to thank God
for his undeserved forgiveness

38. mary

39. a sacrifice to thank God
for his unconditional love

40. paul

41. a sacrifice to thank God
for his unexpected mercy

42. Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me
. . .
(Psalm 50:23 – Good News Bible)

43. Aggie
Hurst
Daughter
of David
& Svea
Flood

44. Pastor
Ruhigita
Ndagord
a
Superinten
dent of the
Pentecostal
Church in
Zaire