The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. You delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings… Ps. 51:17,19
The Lord has called us to be living sacrifices and to present ourselves before Him in full submission. A living sacrifice is a willing sacrifice. Do sheep or ox just willingly lie down on the altar to be burned alive? No, of course not! They are first killed. Not so with us. The Lord has given us the choice to sacrifice our lives to Him. But, He does demand that we give ourselves fully to Him. Everything. Not leaving any part of us behind. And often that is what holds us back. There are areas in our lives that we try to hide, and would rather not reveal. Can I just remind us that nothing is a shock or a secret to our Father? God sees all. He knows our hearts. He knows the secret things, the hidden things.
King Saul knew this all too well. God called him to destroy the Amalekites. Totally. Utterly. Everything. Saul followed through with what the Lord asked, at least, to the extent he felt like obeying. Apparently, ‘utterly destroying’ to Saul was just a suggestion. Saul chose what was in the category of evil and vile and destroyed that. But what was precious to Saul, he kept for himself. Samuel came to Saul the next morning for a progress report. Saul haughtily told Samuel that the mission was complete. "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15: 14,22)
The Lord calls for obedience in His kids. When He calls us to lay something on the altar, nail it to the cross, we need to follow through with that in completion, as a whole offering, not holding anything back. Sometimes we hear the voice of the Lord to sacrifice something. We take that, analyze it, compartmentalize, and decide what put in storage. Don’t do that!!! Don’t be a Saul! If the Lord has called for a bonfire, light it up!
We cannot overshoot our obedience to the Lord. I think that we sometimes fear that we may be over zealous and take the thing too far. No! The Father loves us! When He sifts through our lives, He will separate the chaff from the wheat. What is holy and righteous and fruitful will remain. Look at Abraham. The Lord called him to lay his son on the altar. What was the purpose? So that Abraham would know for himself that he was fully devoted to the Lord, obedient even unto death. Did the Lord stop him too late? “Oops, I should have been watching more careful!!! You actually needed to stop 5 minutes ago. Oh well! I’ll pay more attention next time!” No! That is not our God. He stopped Abraham from taking it too far. He will do that for us, too! Could it be that sometimes it is a test of our obedience? “Be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice!” (Gen. 22:18)
May our sacrificial lives be a sweet savor to the Lord. May we carry the fragrance of Christ with us. May we have the smell of the incense of the throne room all over our lives. And as we walk through this life, may we carry the aroma of the holy, refiner’s fire, an acceptable sacrifice ready for the Lord’s service.
(1 Sam. 15, 1 Cor. 4:5, Romans 12:1, Eph. 5:2, Gen. 8:21, Gen. 22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz9qTLVowWo
The Lord has called us to be living sacrifices and to present ourselves before Him in full submission. A living sacrifice is a willing sacrifice. Do sheep or ox just willingly lie down on the altar to be burned alive? No, of course not! They are first killed. Not so with us. The Lord has given us the choice to sacrifice our lives to Him. But, He does demand that we give ourselves fully to Him. Everything. Not leaving any part of us behind. And often that is what holds us back. There are areas in our lives that we try to hide, and would rather not reveal. Can I just remind us that nothing is a shock or a secret to our Father? God sees all. He knows our hearts. He knows the secret things, the hidden things.
King Saul knew this all too well. God called him to destroy the Amalekites. Totally. Utterly. Everything. Saul followed through with what the Lord asked, at least, to the extent he felt like obeying. Apparently, ‘utterly destroying’ to Saul was just a suggestion. Saul chose what was in the category of evil and vile and destroyed that. But what was precious to Saul, he kept for himself. Samuel came to Saul the next morning for a progress report. Saul haughtily told Samuel that the mission was complete. "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15: 14,22)
The Lord calls for obedience in His kids. When He calls us to lay something on the altar, nail it to the cross, we need to follow through with that in completion, as a whole offering, not holding anything back. Sometimes we hear the voice of the Lord to sacrifice something. We take that, analyze it, compartmentalize, and decide what put in storage. Don’t do that!!! Don’t be a Saul! If the Lord has called for a bonfire, light it up!
We cannot overshoot our obedience to the Lord. I think that we sometimes fear that we may be over zealous and take the thing too far. No! The Father loves us! When He sifts through our lives, He will separate the chaff from the wheat. What is holy and righteous and fruitful will remain. Look at Abraham. The Lord called him to lay his son on the altar. What was the purpose? So that Abraham would know for himself that he was fully devoted to the Lord, obedient even unto death. Did the Lord stop him too late? “Oops, I should have been watching more careful!!! You actually needed to stop 5 minutes ago. Oh well! I’ll pay more attention next time!” No! That is not our God. He stopped Abraham from taking it too far. He will do that for us, too! Could it be that sometimes it is a test of our obedience? “Be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice!” (Gen. 22:18)
May our sacrificial lives be a sweet savor to the Lord. May we carry the fragrance of Christ with us. May we have the smell of the incense of the throne room all over our lives. And as we walk through this life, may we carry the aroma of the holy, refiner’s fire, an acceptable sacrifice ready for the Lord’s service.
(1 Sam. 15, 1 Cor. 4:5, Romans 12:1, Eph. 5:2, Gen. 8:21, Gen. 22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz9qTLVowWo
