The Blessing of Sacrifice
Text - Matthew 13:44 (KJV)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. —Matthew 13:44
In Deuteronomy 16 Moses sets out Israel’s three major festivals that convened every year—The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. There was ONE MAIN THING that each of these festivals had in common.
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. —Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NKJV)
The one common THEME at these feasts was that nobody could worship without a sacrifice. Even now in the Church age, the principle remains …
You don’t lose anything when you sacrifice to God; it is just the opposite—you
• The key to receiving is
• The key to ruling is
• The key to promotion is
• The key to experiencing God’s glory is to
In other words, the key to reward is putting God first.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:20-22 (NKJV)
Noah’s sacrifice wasn’t based on wisdom or what was advisable. It was based on obedience!
God’s Response:
God promised to never again curse the ground.
He promised to never destroy the earth with a flood.
He promised to never destroy all the creatures of the earth.
And He promised to never eliminate the seasons of “summer and winter” and harvesting.
Do you know what an acceptable sacrifice is? It’s something to which we attach value.
He rewards us when we surrender to Him what is precious to us.
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
Widow of Zarephath – 1 Kings 17:8-16
The widow of Zarephath sacrificed the only handful of flour and little oil she had for her son and herself to eat during a drought (cause of the famine in the land), and God gave her food to eat till rain started falling again for crops to grow. She experienced supernatural turnaround through her sacrifice.
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac – Gen 22:1-19
God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, whom he waited for years to have. Abraham went ahead to do so, willingly, in worship of God and with expectation that God will raise Isaac up from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-18). At the end, God provided the animal used for the sacrifice and He enacted a covenant of blessings, multiplication and dominion with Abraham and his descendants, which is still speaking till today.
The Widow’s Two Mites
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” —Mark 12:41-44
Nothing comes spiritually without making
How to know your sacrifice will be acceptable:
Give yourself
Give it for the
Give
Give in
Give
We really MUST -
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. —2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NKJV)
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” —Luke 6:38 (NKJV)
THE
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. —Matthew 13:44-46 (KJV)