The Principle of Sacrifice for the purpose of God is biblical and brings blessing!
The Sacrifices of the Old Testament provide a pattern for us. Under the Old Covenant, God required the Israelites to bring animal sacrifices and those sacrifices were to be the best - they were to be studs, reproducers - so that what was sacrificed was not just that animal, but all that the animal could produce in the future. They were to have no defect - the BEST - not just the REST - is to be given to God.
By the time the prophet Malachi came around hundreds of years later, the people were offering crippled, blind, and diseased sacrifices and they earned a rebuke from Malachi and a curse from God! They respected prestigious people in their culture more than they did God. Do we have greater honor for the things of this world than we do the purposes of God?
Through Malachi, God said they might as well just shut the doors of the Temple.
What are you giving to God - the best? or, the rest?
Obedience goes beyond sacrifice -
The first King of Israel, Saul, disobeyed God when God gave him a battle plan. His disobedience was in bringing some of the enemy's animals for sacrifice when God specifically told him not to. The message was, "Obedience is better than sacrifice" (1st Samuel 15:22).
If obedience goes beyond sacrifice - and if we have not yet reached the point of sacrifice - have we yet reached the point of obedience?
It is not the sacrifice that pleases God - it is the obedience - it is the level of faith. It is putting His purposes as our purposes and His priorities as our priorities.
If a ministry is coming into line with the purposes of God, then we ought to give in obedience, no matter how far that obedience takes us - even beyond the point of sacrifice. That is why we are asking the Kokomo New Life family to pray about their giving to a great cause - an Extreme Makeover of our Worship Center. A much-needed update has been 25 years in the making!
Paul commended the Philippians for their giving in Philippians chapter 4. They were very poor people. We know this because Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the Philippians (2nd Corinthians 8). He bragged on them and said they were an example because they gave out of "extreme poverty". We have gone through some hard economic times, but the fact is that the poorest among us is still wealthier than 90% of the world's population. It's a matter of what we've gotten used to and what we define as our "needs". Paul said that God would supply all of the Philippians needs because of their faithfulness is giving!
There are some blessings we will never experience without sacrifice!
Can it ever be a sacrifice to give to God when He promises to give back to us in proportion to our giving (Luke 6:38)? It only seems like a sacrifice - maybe it is our priorities that are sacrificed - but if we give according to God's wishes, and He gives back, how can any of it be a sacrifice?
Sometimes it is our preferences that have to be sacrifices. Some people have followed Jesus for many years, but they have preferences about how things should be done in church that really don't relate at all to people who need Jesus today. Those who are spiritually mature should be more than willing to sacrifice preferences for the sake of those who are not yet in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Is there something God is asking you to sacrifice for His purpose?
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