Friday 22 February 2013

The Power of Sacrifice

Looking up the meaning of the word sacrifice we come across a lot definitions in diverse line of reasoning. The word Sacrifice is defined to be an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering as to a deity. This refers to making a blood sacrifice and something similar to whatever an individual regards as god. But the meaning of sacrifice that I'd love to hold onto and talk about is Sacrifice defined as an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
Moving forward we will see this definition of sacrifice in line with biblical values and also learn the power in giving up something valued to God for the sake of something regarded as more important or worthy. Proverbs 3:9-10 teaches us to honour the Lord with our wealth, with the firstfruits of all our crops; then our barns will be filled to overflowing, and our vats will brim over with new wine. This is the kind of sacrifice that I wish for us to consider, the sacrifice of our best, in wealth and in the fruits of our labour to God who alone is able to cause them to multiple in yields and returns for us. 
Sacrifice to God serves a two-fold mission, it acts as an expression of whatever we actually feel in our hearts for God and also as a seed sown that will germinate and yield returns for whoever dears to sow the seed. If you truly love God, then it will reflect in the quality of substance you are willing to give to Him as a reflection of your claim to love Him. Gift given is an expression of love and I am positive a lot of people will agree with me on that. So whatever we are willing to give in gratitude to God reflects how much we love and appreciate Him. 
This gift is not weighed in volume, size of quantity, but it is weighed as a ratio of what you are giving to what you actually have or own. The widow in Luke 21:1-4 gave all she had to live on to God because that was how much God meant to her. Although what she gave was little compared to what the rich people gave, yet that was all she had to live on and that was how much God meant to her. 
Considering the act of giving to God as a seed sown that will germinate and multiply in returns, let us again consider Proverbs 3:9-10. When your honour God with your wealth and the firstfruits of your crops, you are actually making an investment that must yield good returns. Those who enter into partnership with God never make loses. When you learn to honour God with your substance, He will in turn honour you in multiples of what you have given to Him and return back to you with a package of heavenly riches, wealth, blessings and whatever it is your heart desires. 
There are two people in the early Bible days that I will like to do a brief analysis and compare their attitudes in relation to the issue of sacrifice. The first man I want us to note is Noah (Genesis 6-9) Noah was a man who by virtue of his righteous living found favour with God and was spared from the flood and God repopulated the earth through him and his sons. Genesis 8:18-22 tells us that as soon as Noah came out of the ark he built an altar to God and offered sacrifices to God which was a pleasing aroma to God and the Lord blessed him and his household and entered into a covenant with him placing the rainbow as a sign of His covenant.
The second man I want us to consider is Lot, Abraham's nephew (Genesis 18-19). When God was ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah were Lot was living, He informed Abraham who pleaded the case of Sodom and Gomorrah before God. But when the angels proceeded to carry out the destruction, Lot did something really commendable, he hosted the angels and prevented the men of Sodom and Gomorrah from molesting them and so he was spared from the destruction alongside his daughters. But unlike Noah, Lot never remembered to show gratitude to God, he never sacrificed to God. And so the resulting story of the life of Lot was a far cry from that of Noah. In the place of blessings and covenant, Lot was made drunk by her daughters and they took their turn to have sexual intimacy with their father, a sin before the Lord.
A man who understands the power and the importance of sacrifice and giving to God is a man who has positioned himself ready to be blessed by God. The Bible tells us to give and it will come back to us in good measure, pressed down and running over will men bring to our bosom. David in 1 Chronicles 21:24 says he will not offer to God a burnt offering that cost him nothing simple because he had walked with God well enough to understand the power of sacrifice. 
There is no investment that yields better returns than to honour God with our wealth understanding perfectly well that it is God that has empowered our hands to make that wealth. When your sacrifice is offered in holiness and righteousness to God, then it is a seed that is guaranteed to yield returns in due course of time and in season too. 
For more on this click the link http://www.thewordthatsuits.com/_item?item_id=029002
To purchase the ebook "The Sacrifice that Pleases the Lord" by Aderinsola Obasa, please click the link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305268 



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