Lisa Barry: Many people live by the philosophy of "eat, drink and be merry." The pursuit of pleasure has overtaken all others, it seems. But then, someone like Elisabeth Elliot comes along and says, "Don't seek to consume, be consumed. Don't drink in, but be poured out like an offering."

That's pretty radical thinking for this day and age, isn't it? Today on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth wraps up this series called "Peace Comes Through Obedience" with one final challenge to be broken and spilled out on behalf of others. You'll find the strength to do that from today's program. Let's get started.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says, "and underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend, Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you today about a word which is not bandied about very freely nowadays--it's the word oblation; it means anything offered or presented in worship or sacred service.

Oblation is something that goes radically against the grain in today's world. We love comfort and fun, we love getting away from it all, needing a break, telling ourselves we don't want anybody interfering with our precious plans. Stop a moment and think. Am I available? Am I ready to relinquish something that I have cherished? Am I poured out like a drink offering?

The Old Testament offerings, the sacrifices, sometimes involved thousands and hundreds of thousands of animals. They were an oblation, a sweet smelling savor to God, something poured out.

Now, you know how hard it is to part with precious possessions. You who are born pack rats, do you know how to get rid of things? Do you ever think of giving away some things that somebody else might need much more than you do--pictures or books or knickknacks, whatever?

Love always means sacrifice, so we're talking today about oblation, this aspect of sacrifice, and I'll give you several points here. Number one is sacraments of the will of God. These are visible signs of an invisible reality. For example, the bread and the wine in the communion service, they are sacraments or visible signs of the will of God.

And I think of a little Jewish girl by the name of Mary who lived in a quiet, peasant home. And one day as she was perhaps dusting or weaving or baking bread or spinning, suddenly there was an unexpected visitor in that humble little home and she was told that there was an incomprehensible assignment that she was going to have to accept. She was greatly troubled at his words, but the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God." And her answer was "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; let it happen as you say," or "be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:26-38).

That little Jewish girl, whom we're told by scholars was probably somewhere between 12 and 14 years old, did she balk at what the angel had said? She had no personal agenda, she had one simple question, "How can this be? Be it unto me according to thy word." She was a little country girl whose bringing up had taught her the love of God, the peace of God, the will of God.

You know that beautiful hymn, "Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well with my soul.'"

And she in whom dwells Christ--and I hope that means you and I--respond as Christ would respond to the Father. Do you remember how Christ responded to his Father when he was in agony in the garden? He said, "nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Are you and I willing to be an oblation, to be poured out, to be as sacraments of the will of God?

And when Mary and Joseph took their Baby up to the temple in Jerusalem, old Simeon had been waiting there for the consolation of Israel and immediately he recognized that, "This child is...to be a sign that will be spoken against," speaking of that Baby Jesus. And then he looked at Mary and he said, "And a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Luke 2:25-35).

And as you read the rest of the Gospels and find Mary mentioned here and there, you can't help but believe that more than one sword pierced her soul. To each of us, these sacraments, these visible signs are from time to time appointed. In what form must we make this oblation?

Some of you know that I was a missionary in Ecuador back in 1952. And after learning some Spanish in the capitol city I went to live in the western jungle of Ecuador where there was a tribe of Indians called Colorados, so-called because they painted themselves red from head to toe. But these people did not have the Gospel because no one had ever reduced their language to writing, and so I was asked to come and help with that task. And I did have some linguistic training.

It was during that year that the Lord gave me several different challenges. One of them was very soon after I had gotten there. I was working on the language with a man who miraculously spoke both Spanish and Colorado, and he and I worked very happily together for a number of weeks. And then one morning he was killed--shot to death by some angry people in the area.

We never knew for sure what the motive was, but right away I looked up to the Lord and I said, "Why, Lord, would you allow this to happen?" There was no one else on the face of the earth who spoke both Colorado and Spanish, no one else who could have done the job that I needed to have done. And I looked at the corpse and I marveled and I wept to think that God would have allowed this one and only man, who happened to be a Christian, why would God allow him to be killed? I felt as if I was looking into an abyss and there was no answering echo, no explanation.

God moves in mysterious ways, doesn't He, His wonders to perform? And all I knew was that it looked as though my work had come to ashes. Before that year was over, all the linguistic work that I had done--and I had continued after Micario was killed, I spent almost a whole year working on that unwritten language--and at the end of that year, all of my language material was stolen.

It had been in the suitcase that another missionary was carrying. It was put up on top of the bananas in the banana truck, which was standard practice. There wasn't room inside for suitcases. Anyway, somebody stole that suitcase. They must have been thoroughly disgusted when they opened it up and discovered that there was nothing in it but paper, paper that would mean nothing whatsoever to them.

But two huge blows to my faith--and I thought of a poem that Amy Carmichael had written:

And the Lord's response was:

These strange ashes, was one of those times which I'm sure all of us who are Christians can remember when we could not help saying to God that three letter word, "Why?"

And what does God have to say to us? "Trust Me, I know what I'm doing."

That obedience may require a definite oblation--the pouring out of something that you cherished, something for which you hoped someday perhaps to be recognized. I confess that I thought, Wouldn't it be nice if I could be the apostle to the Colorado Indians? But that was not to be, and the Lord simply said as I looked down at that corpse, "Will you love me? Will you trust Me? Will you praise Me?"

We don't know what is for our good, so our Heavenly Father makes it His business to provide it. His storms are necessary, His hidden things He does not unfold. We are to accept the present moment. And grace--we can be assured--is precisely measured to the moment. Whatever it holds is most holy, most effectively nourishing our souls, and conforming us always into the image of Christ.

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I uphold thee by the right hand of my righteousness" (Isa. 41:10). Will you trust Him? Praise God. Thank God for this gateway to joy.

Lisa Barry: As you consider how God wants you to apply the things you've heard today, I want to encourage you to write down your thoughts. If you're learning things from this program that are helping you walk with God, then keeping track of those quotes and verses will help you see firsthand how God is leading you. And if he is using Gateway To Joy in your life, we'd like to hear about it.

Few things encourage us more than hearing how Christ is meeting your needs on a daily basis. In fact, we've heard more than a few of those testimonials this week. And when you go the extra mile and offer your support for this program, we're humbled and honored.

We would love it if everyone in this world could hear the life-changing message that Elisabeth Elliot brings each weekday, but the truth is, we can only do that to the extent that people like you come alongside us and help. If God has been tugging at your heart about this, then I'd encourage you to drop us a line and tell us you enjoy listening. Thanks for standing in the gap for others. Here's our address:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE 68501. Or, call anytime toll-free 1-800-759-4JOY. Today's program is also available on tape, ask about it when you call 1-800-759-4569. And if you're on the Internet, be sure to check out our Web site, we've made some changes that I think you'll like. That address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Monday, Elisabeth begins a new series on how to make the most of the time you have. Find out more the next time we meet for Gateway To Joy. This is Lisa Barry, thanking you for listening. Have a great weekend.