Sacrifice unto God

One of the things I believe that many Christians fail to take into account  a lot of times when relating to God, is that God as God is worthy of Sacrifice. When you study the civilizations throughout ancient history, even though they were not in covenant relationship with Jehovah, they knew that the deities that they were subscribing to were due sacrifice since they were culturally recognized as their gods. This mindset I believe is something that God has built in naturally into the human spirit because man was made to worship God, and an instinctive and intuitive part of this worship involves and requires Sacrifice. So if your relationship with God is headed in the right direction, then there is a component of Sacrifice that has been established with the Lord to demonstrably show your love and adoration to Him.

One of areas of Sacrifice that we as Christians need to focus on is Sacrificial Giving. Yes, we are to pay our tithes and offerings, (Malachi 3). But in the words of Paul, this should be our "reasonable service" (Romans 12). We are approaching a Season where, if we're going to seriously and significantly establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven, we're going to have to contribute financially sacrificially. A good example of this is King Solomon. When dedicating the Temple that his father King David had envisioned, he sacrificed thousands of sheep and oxen on the altar (2Chronicles 7). Solomon did this to manifest his thanksgiving and praise to God for the building of the Temple for which the Lord had promised to his father. Saints, we too need to sacrifice at that level for the construction of the Kingdom and our thanksgiving to the Father.

Another area of sacrifice is the Sacrifice of Praise. It needs to be understood that God wants His people to worship Him and to praise Him. This is not optional, this is mandatory. There are still too many believers that attend worship services and are content to play the spectator role. This is not the will of God. Hebrews chapter 13 clearly admonishes us to off er unto God the Sacrifice of Praise with the fruit of our lips. God wants to hear some noise coming out of His people's mouths! (Psalm 100). Jesus says that the Father is looking for "true worshipers" (John 4). It is a sacrifice we need to render unto the Lord, and not just when we go to church.

The last area of Sacrifice that we want to explore is the Sacrifice of Love. The reason love is such a sacrifice is because if you plan to love according to the will of God, it's going to require the sacrifice of self. True, godly, effective love is Spirit-led, Christ-centered, and self-less. It's not easy, and that's what makes it sacrificial. 1 Corinthians 13 describes love in the King James Version as long-suffering. When you truly love the way God has commanded us to love, you have to give up your own personal rights. The right to privacy, the right to comfort, the right to convenience, the right to be treated fairly, the right to receive respect, the right to receive mutual and reciprocal interactions. When you commit to love, you commit to sacrifice these areas if necessary. I know I'm saying it right, because Jesus sacrificed ALL OF THESE THINGS in the greatest act of love this world has ever seen in His dying on the Cross for our sins. The Bible says that Jesus gave Himself for us "an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour". (Ephesians 5).
Saints, it's time to take our love and commitment to God to the next level. No more of this "pedestrian Christianity". No more of the this convenient spirituality. It's time for us in the name of Discipleship to bear our cross and die daily (1 Corinthians 15). It's time to offer our Sacrifice unto God.