Sacrifice is not a word we hear much
these days. We’re accustomed to comfort, good life and blessings. While we shouldn’t invite anything other than
these, if we want to please God, there will be times we have to make
sacrifices.
The definition of
sacrifice is an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a
possession as an offering to God. Sacrifice has been there
from the fall of Adam and it is continued in the New Testament with Jesus being
our ultimate sacrifice. What does it mean to sacrifice unto God? Today we can
learn about three ways we can make sacrifice that releases great blessings.
God
loves the sacrifice of a broken heart.
Just like the Israelites, we don’t do very well remembering God when everything
is going good. We’re stubborn and even arrogant when God wants to deal with the
sins in our lives. We can go on pretending everything is alright or like King
David, we can humble ourselves and offer the sacrifice of our broken heart to
God. When we surrender to God, we’re setting ourselves up for God-size
victories.
I can’t help but think of the Pharisee
who prayed announcing his righteousness and looking down on the sinful tax
collector. But when the tax collector prayed, he begged for forgiveness and
mercy. God heard him. Jesus said,
“All
those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves
will be exalted.”
Another
way we can sacrifice to God is through praise and worship.
We don’t always feel like expressing our gratitude to God. In fact, sometimes
life is hard to get along with. There’s always something that seems to steal
from us. When we take time to offer our thanksgiving to God, we make Him proud.
No matter how dark situation you’re going through right now, find something to
thank God for. Remember your salvation, healing and the way God blessed you
with a spouse, family and a job. Most likely, everything you have today was a
miracle from God once. Thank God for what He has done!
We
can offer sacrifice through our giving.
We’re so programed to fend for ourselves that we seldom remember how we can be
a blessing to others. God wants us to live with an open heart. He wants us to
sacrifice in our giving. When we give financially we’re making God happy. When
we’re praying for people going through a rough patch, we’re making Him smile. When
we want to give someone a piece of our mind and we restrain ourselves, we’re
making a sacrifice unto God. When we’re going to church, being our best,
serving our family, we’re offering sacrifices unto our Lord.
Friends, making sacrifices unto God is
a powerful tool. In China, India and many other parts of the world, people are
making tremendous sacrifices to follow Christ and spread His message of Hope.
Many are beaten, tortured and even murdered. But our brothers and sisters
sacrifice daily to please our Master. Shall we also not make sacrifices when
the Lord prompts us to help others?
In Mark 10:17-27, the rich young ruler
in the Bible had done everything right by the book. Jesus asked him to sell off
his possessions and give it to the poor. Like some of us, this man had a heart issue.
He didn’t want to sacrifice his possession to save his soul. Friend, let us
offer Him the sacrifice of our broken heart. God is pleased with the sacrifice
of our praise and worship. He loves a cheerful giver who is willing to
sacrifice his possessions. God is calling us to sacrifice to reach the world. What would you sacrifice unto
our God? The blessing of a sacrifice is a reward of an eternal harvest.
“You also, like living stones, are
being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5 NIV).
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