Key 16 - Sacrifice

• Why did Elijah ask the Widow to make food for him first?  Why did she have to give it to him first?  The first reason is faith.  The second is sacrifice which is also a MAJOR key to unlocking miracles in your life.

• Sacrifice is “an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.”

• So Elijah was showing the widow, and people throughout all history, that if you REALLY need a miracle from God, you need faith first but also sacrifice.

• What is the right way to sacrifice?

• 1. Sacrifice something to God with intention and purpose.

  2. Remind God during your sacrifice of the things that He loves.  Symbolism can be powerful.  Be creative.

  3. Sacrifice something meaningful and valuable to you.  It has to cost you something.

  4. It doesn’t have to be extreme and torturous, and it doesn’t have to last forever.

  5. You should sacrifice regularly.

  6. It doesn’t have to be food and/or drink.

  7. You can also apply sacrifice to your other relationships; spouse, kids, family, etc.

• 3 primary types of fasts: Partial, Full and Total.

• Partial is when you give up something for a set period of time.  This is like Lent.

• Full Fasting is when you give up meals for an entire day or more.

• A person should standardly not do a Full Fast for more than a week or two. Three weeks is really pushing it.

• This is different from a Total Fast in that with Total Fasting you give up all food and drink.  This is the most powerful type of fast but also the most dangerous.

• You can only really survive without water for up to 3 days, so you really don’t want to do a Total Fast for more than a day - again, unless God Himself is guiding you to do it; which He typically won’t.