Sacrifice to God

Psalm 51:17 - The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Heb 13:15-16 - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Phil 2:17 - But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

Roman 12:1 – Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

As we enter into this time of Easter, we are constantly reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We cannot hide from the fact during this time of year that the God who created the universe came down from Heaven in the person of Jesus and gave himself on the cross for us. That is a sacrifice of the highest degree. That a person would give his life for another person is an amazing thing and sometimes it can be unimaginable. That a person would give his life for a pet of a farm animal is unfathomable. What would make a person give his life for an animal? Only that the person loved that animal, for it isn’t due to the value of the animal or anything the animal might have done or might do. It is solely because the person loved the animal to give his own life for it. God is so much higher than we are. We are His creation. Yet He came down to become like one of us and then gave His life for us. Truly understood, a sacrifice like that is unfathomable to us.

Phil 2:6-13 tells us of Jesus Christ:
  6Who, being in very nature God (he was God),
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (didn’t think it was more important to be God – humbled himself),
  7but made himself nothing (made himself below his standing),
      taking the very nature of a servant (made himself man),
      being made in human likeness.
  8And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
  9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
  10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
  11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.”

So how do we respond to that kind of love? How do we respond to a sacrifice such as this?

We return the favor.

We sacrifice ourselves for God. It is the least we can do for the gift of eternal life that He has given us.

Sacrifice means giving something up for God or to give something to God. Give something to God for His consideration – whether that be His mercy or His pleasure.

Sacrifice our good times.

Sacrifice our career.

Sacrifice our money.

Sacrifice our reputation.

Sacrifice our future.

Sacrifice our relationships.

But it isn’t about pain for the sake of pain – sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice. It is about giving up ourselves for God - working in a way that is pleasing to God. This will often result in doing things that are painful to us. This is what sacrifice is calling for.

The attitude behind the sacrifice is important. We should not think highly of ourselves or our sacrifice if we are doing so begrudgingly. Cain’s sacrifice was not acceptable because he did not give his best. He gave resentfully and not with a joyful heart. It was not that he did not sacrifice - He did! But it was how he sacrificed that was displeasing to God. This is what God is talking about when He says He does not want our sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). He is not saying that sacrifice is no longer needed. He is saying that insufficient sacrifice made begrudgingly or without joy is not a true sacrifice. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Since a sacrifice is given unto God, it should be done so cheerfully without reluctance or compulsion. It should be the best one has to offer (Exodus 23:19). The idea of first fruits tells us that God desires that we give Him our best as well as the first portion. In giving our best, we do not want to wait until we have taken the best for ourselves and then give to God our leftovers. Additionally, we also want to put our faith in God, who provides all things to us, by giving Him the first parts of what we have to offer, knowing that He will provide enough for us.

In the end, it is about love – specifically loving God enough to give up what is important to you so that you can do and be what is important to Him. The reason for our sacrifice is because of the love we have for Him. This love comes from knowing all that He has done for us. It comes from knowing Him and knowing that He is love. If our God loves us so much, how can we give anything but our best? So we give our best, not because He forces us, but because we love Him for who He is and what He has done.

So let’s look at some examples of sacrifice:

Paul - Phil 3:7-11 – he gave up everything but he has gained everything. He had much, being a Roman citizen, a Jewish Pharisee, a leader of the Jews. But he gave all this up to follow Jesus although he knew that it would bring about persecution and resentment from those who until then were the most important people in Paul’s life.

William Tyndale – he sacrificed his home, his freedom and his life to write a Bible in English. He ended up being tracked down like an animal, executed and had his body burned at the stake because of his work in translating the Bible.

St. Francis of Assisi – he sacrificed wealth, family and comfort to preach the good news to all, after reading the gospel and feeling God’s call on him to go and take nothing but a staff, preaching of repentance and the kingdom of God. He left the world with nothing except the knowledge that he sacrificed it all for God.

God wants all you have. He wants your best. He wants you to give up what you hold dear because then all that’s left that you hold dear is Him. (Luke 14:26) (Hate means Give up). He wants you to carry your cross. He doesn’t want to hear any excuses for why you didn’t sacrifice. Throughout His Word, God is looking for us to sacrifice for Him, not as a means for salvation – He doesn’t say you will be saved if you do these things – but as the way to live the life of a Christian. If we do not sacrifice, if we do not do these things, we are not living a Christian life.

Here’s the kick – whatever it is that you hold so dear, when you die, it no longer is yours. You hold on to it your whole life deciding that this is more important than sacrificing it to God and doing God’s work and in 10, 30, 80 years, it isn’t even yours anymore. You can’t take it with you. And then not only have you lost that which was so dear to you, but you also have lost your opportunity to please God through the sacrifice of that thing. However, if we sacrifice those things now, instead of at our deaths, we will receive a hundred times what we gave up (Matt 19:29)

In fact, this entire passage shows the difference between those who refuse to sacrifice today and those who sacrifice all (Matt 19:16-30). The rich, young ruler cannot part with his riches. He will not sacrifice them at all to follow Jesus. In contrast, the disciples have given up all they have to follow Jesus – their families, their jobs, their time and money. Jesus tells them that they have made a good choice and their sacrifice will be rewarded.

Do you recognize who it is that calls you to sacrifice? Do you understand what He has done for you and how much He loves you? Are you ready to put your priorities in order and return unto God what He has lent to you? Will you wait until it’s too late to give up what you hold dear?

Sacrifice unto God all that is yours and you will be rewarded good and faithful servant.

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Last modified: Mar 8, 2009