SACRIFICES

During stewardship month, we are talking about taking care of the things God has given us. Stewardship does not mean just protecting, it means using our time, talents, and treasure in a way that is pleasing to the One Who gave them to us. The book of James tells us that every good gift comes from the Father, and His stewards should use what they have in a way that will please God.

1 Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

To be a good steward means to be faithful to use the things that we have received from God in a way that will please him, not please ourselves.

Psalms 4:5 “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness…”

In this verse, David explains that the simple act of living righteously is a sacrifice pleasing to God. We could certainly live selfishly, carnally, or criminally. When we choose to say, “No” to sin and “Yes” to righteousness, we bring that righteous life to God as a sacrifice to Him from our hearts of love and gratitude.

The sacrifice in the Old Testament might have been an animal or money, and it was brought to God as a gift of gratitude and worship. The sacrifice was given by denying oneself in order to give something to God and His house. Righteous living is something you bring to God, something you have denied yourself in order to please your Heavenly Father.

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

First, we observe that righteous living is a sacrifice pleasing to God. In this verse, we see that a broken spirit and a contrite heart are also a sacrifice pleasing to God. The first sacrifice is the choice to live righteously. The next sacrifice is to come to God with a broken heart when we fail to live in a manner pleasing to Him; these are pleasing to God. God does not focus on your sin of yesterday, He focuses on the sorrow in your heart for having violated God’s righteous laws.

A broken spirit and contrite heart are very pleasing to the Lord. I do not expect people to be pleased or satisfied with that. Whether church attenders or people in the employment industry, people are not real good at forgiving and forgetting, but God is. When we come to God with a broken heart, it is very pleasing to Him.

Psalm 107:22 “… Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving…”

God is very pleased when we are thankful. Gratitude for our health, our marriage, our children, our country, or any of the good things God has given us are worthy of praise and thanksgiving –that is well pleasing to God. God calls these things a sacrifice. An express thanks does not seem very sacrificial, except in the case of looking across America and seeing how few people say, “Thank you” to God for all of the blessings; only then you might realize how very precious your words of gratitude are to Him.

Thus far, we see that God accepts righteousness and a broken and contrite heart as acceptable sacrifices. Then we read that thanksgiving is a sacrifice that pleases God.

Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
vs. 16 “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Here again, we see a sacrifice that brings us to thanksgiving and praise. Verse 15 makes it clear that it is not just a grateful heart, but words of praise and thanks on our lips. Public thanksgiving and praise to God are very honoring to Him. What husband or wife does not enjoy their spouse bragging on them in public. You have a God Who deserves so much praise and worship, and it is very pleasing to Him when He hears that gratitude.

Verse 16 adds two more sacrifices: to do good and to communicate. We have seen a spirit of thanksgiving arise twice and, we see righteous living coming up again. When you turn from shame and sin, and choose right, God looks down from Heaven and it pleases him.

Just as a rich person brings great amounts of money into an offering or as the old-testament believers brought their precious sheep to be sacrificed, God is pleased when you shut off the television when it spews smut into your living room or when you refuse to allow corrupt friends to be a part of your child’s life. These are the kind of sacrifices that are so pleasing to God. To do good makes God happy.

Next, we notice the word communicate. This is a financial word. To communicate usually indicates something that the learner is bringing to the teacher. It could be a church member and the pastor, or it could be a student and a teacher in the classroom. It could be a church to the leadership of their church. The word communicate pertains to financial remuneration. Again, we see that God is well pleased.

Parents will pay great amounts of money into their children’s schools, but sometimes we forget to invest our resources in the most precious influence on our family, those who are spiritually influencing us.

Hebrews 13:16 “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Yes, we believe in sacrificial living, sacrifices that bring great pleasure to God.

Pastor