How to Sacrifice Self

[Mike]

How to Sacrifice Self
Jeremiah 29:11-13

A house devoid of furniture echoes with emptiness. Every smudge on the
carpets and walls stands out, and the rooms seem cool regardless of the
outside temperature. We can feel like that empty house when we refuse
to sacrifice our self-will to God. The Holy Spirit lives inside us, but
we have no blessings to populate the rooms.

Believers are inundated by the Lord's benefits when they practice
deliberate and voluntary submission-in other words, when we make a willful
decision to yield undivided possession, control, and use of our entire
being to the Lord Jesus Christ. That means we go wherever He sends us,
we do whatever He requires, and we desire whatever He desires. Even if
we do not want to comply, we nevertheless commit to obey, no matter
what.

Each believer will eventually come to a point when a decision must be
made regarding sacrifice of self. At that moment, we face an important
choice: either we gamble on our own ability to produce a good life, or
we acknowledge the Lord's right to be in charge because He will
invariably act in our best interest. Of course, whichever way we decide, God is
truly in control, so the real choice is between obedience and
rebellion.

Our daily lives are filled with situations that test our resolve to
remain faithful, so every day we should renew our commitment to surrender
to God. In return, He will use you to build His kingdom and give you
innumerable blessings, filling your life with the peace and joy that only
comes from serving Him.

 

[Sleepy]

This confuses me

Has anyone got any experiences that they could share where they knew it was about sacrificing self and they knew it was God that was asking/telling them to do something?

I'd love to hear/read about them.

Thank you

 

[calluna]

Is this the same as dying to self?

I deleted what I previously wrote. I believe I was wrong. I had good intentions in helping Sleepy.
I understand that if I don't know something for sure then I need to keep quiet.

love Calluna

 

[Snowrose]

Hi Calluna,

I happen upon the thread you were thinking about. It is in the "Recovering Christians" forum and the title of the thread "In the door now what?" placed on by cuprunsovr. It is an article written by Chip Brogden called "He must increase". Thanks cuprunsovr (& jiggyfly) - I printed it off to read in my spare time and have enjoyed it. God bless.

Snowrose

 

[Faithful Son]

Has anyone got any experiences that they could share where they knew it was about sacrificing self and they knew it was God that was asking/telling them to do something?
I'd love to hear/read about them.
Thank you

Hey Sleepy, I guess you waited long enough to get a response from someone. This is my story of self sacrifice. I was 20 years old and I went outside my room, it leads to the back of our house. I sat outside and had a smoke. I still smoke 'till today, but thats another issue. Anyways, I finished the sigarette and stood up. I come from South Africa. So something told me to look down. I looked down and there was a little black mamba at my feet. I had slippers on. I just felt something sting my toe. I really got a fright and picked up a huge brick next to the chair and threw it on the snake. I went inside and it felt like I was hyperventilating. I immediately lay on my bed after closing the door. I was scared beyond comprehension. The fact of the matter is that if a mamba bites you, you will die, no question about it. I felt the Holy Spirit around me, with a warm glow. I wasn't alone at home, but I never make my problems anyone elses. So I lay on bed on my back and closed my eyes. I really thought this snake got me. I had all these thoughts enter my mind. Submit yourself to God. I didn't refuse, but I was scared to die. I opened and closed my eyes a few times and closed them again. I totally gave myself to God. I had thoughts of dying and I submitted to God, I gave myself to God in death. I felt a release of energy exit my body. I fell asleep. The following morning I woke up and realised the snake didn't bite me. After all the thoughts of dying and everything, nothing happened. It's hard to put the whole experience into words. I did not have the capacity to think that night. I didn't even check my foot, to see if there's a bite. I gave my life to Jesus at the age of 15, so this was really strange to me. The fact is I won't go into total detail, but my life has changed ever since that day. I don't believe in "getting saved" anymore, I believe a person should believe in Jesus, not just pray the prayer of salvation, but total belief in Him. Just like the thief on the cross next to Jesus. If anyone disagrees with me on this matter, feel free to state your opinion. I submitted to God, I gave myself to Him even in death.