Sacrifice

We live in a world that is very "me" oriented. When we get sick, we expect insurance or the government to fix it. When we are out of work, we expect the government to help us out. We want to be treated like royalty when we go out to eat, travel, or use a service. Most people are all about making a buck; I keep mine while you give me yours.

But the Scriptures teach about sacrifice. That's not a word we like to hear because it's more fun to receive than to give stuff up. Yet we see it over and over again in the Scriptures. Beginning with Cain and Abel, people sacrificed. When there was a spiritual need, people sacrificed. They gave up something valuable to them and placed it on an altar and gave it up to God. Did God need it? If you can create the universe and everything in it by a word from your mouth, you don't need it. Does God desire it? Yes. It shows an attitude in your heart that places Him above all. 

Under the Mosaic period, God required sacrifice for the sins of His people. They were to bring the first, the best, the unblemished, to be given to Him in sacrifice. This was to show that sin was worthy of death. It was to show that life was required for sin, and it was to be a foreshadowing of Jesus' final sacrifice for sin; the only-begotten Son of God, the best of mankind, unblemished by sin. Our sin sorely cost God. 

But what about our sacrifice? Are we required to make a blood sacrifice for our sins? Of course not. Jesus did that once for all. But God still desires the attitude within us that places God before all. I've been in ministry a long time in various places, and I have seen a lot. Some people will surrender anything, and I mean anything, to God in the furtherance of His Kingdom. I've met people who tithe 50% of their income, and then will volunteer their time and energy to make sure various ministries or efforts are accomplished. They are willing to sacrifice a lot.

Others make sure that they at least tithe. Someone will say now, "But tithing is not taught in the New Testament!" And I agree, it's not. But the principle was created before the Old Covenant when Abraham tithed before Melchizedek. It was to be ten percent. It was to be a tenth, the first, and the best. The New Testament does speak of offerings, which I understand to be that which is given above the tithe. A tithe is what God expects; in my opinion, the offering is what extra we are willing to give. Some people make sure they at least tithe, so their responsibility is met. My question is, does a person do this out of duty, or is it with that attitude that God desires? The attitude that says, "God, You are above all that I have." Most tithers do so because they do indeed possess this attitude. The Church survives and carries on due to these people of faith.

Then some give a few dollars when convenient. In one past ministry, there was a well-to-do millionaire who would put $5 in the offering whether he thought the Church needed it or not. Can God use that $5? Absolutely. And He could turn it into a million if He so desired. But that's not giving up on faith. That certainly does not say, "God, you are above everything else in my life." That says, "I'd better put something in the plate so that people do not think I'm not giving anything." These people, in my experience, will not give you their time or energy because, quite honestly, their heart is not in it.

Then some attend the Assembly, but they don't give anything that costs. They may help out here and there; it assuages their guilt. But they figure that since they do not have much, nothing is expected. May I point out what Jesus taught about the widow and her mite? Mark 12:42-44 "A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."  

God desires sacrifice no matter what your tax-bracket.

But some take and take. We all need help from time to time. But I have known people who only show up for the Assembly when there is a dinner to follow. Not because they were in need, but because it was free food. 

God desires sacrifice. Personally, I have learned more in the last few years about sacrifice than I ever wanted to know. God desires sacrifice. He sacrificed His Son for us. He desires a sacrificial attitude from His people. But there is something else God desires even more than sacrifice. Obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22  Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."

Wow. To Obey is better than sacrifice. But you see, it all goes hand in hand. We sacrifice because we put God above all that we have. We obey God because He is above all that we have and all that we are. Not one over the other, we are to do both. If we were to learn what every Old Testament Jewish child learned, we would do well: "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Deuteronomy 6:4, 5

Instead of being "Me"- oriented, we must be God-oriented. Has it occurred to anyone that the reason you do not have more may be because you have not been faithful? The only place in the entirety of Scripture where God says to test Him concerns tithing and sacrifice: Malachi 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." 

Bring to God that which He expects from your sacrificial heart, and He will overflow blessings upon you. It is my prayer that all Christians love our God so much that we obey Him with sincere pleasure, and that He may be pleased by our sincere sacrifice.