Sacrifices We Still Need to Offer – To Do Good and To Share

    Over the past two weeks we have looked at Hebrews 13:15 where we find the command to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name,” and this week we will dig into the next verse in Hebrews 13:

“But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16 NKJV)  

    Within these two verses, we quickly see how much of ourselves need to be involved in offering these sacrifices: our lips (words of praise), our minds (thankfulness), our hands (to do good), and our hearts (to see a need and share).

Do not forget to do good…

    We are the workmanship of our gracious and merciful God, who created us in Christ Jesus for good works; He prepared good works for us to do so that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). Walking in these good works means to live in them; doing good is the standard we hold our lives to.

“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.” (Proverbs 31:10-12 NKJV)

    We are to not grow weary while doing good, because a harvest will come if we do not give up, so we need to do good to all whenever opportunity arises, and make especial effort toward fellow Christians (Galatians 6:9-10, see also 1 Corinthians 15:58).  

    The apostle, Paul, reminds Titus repeatedly to be ready for every good work (Titus 3:1). He tells him a few verses later, that he should affirm constantly that those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works because these things are good and profitable to men (Titus 3:8), and in his closing words, he states: “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)  

…and to share

    Jesus, in teaching a certain ruler in Luke 18:12-23, told this man that even though he had been obeying the commandments from the Law since he was a child, there was still something he lacked. Jesus instructed him to sell all that he had and distribute to the poor; in doing this and following Jesus, he would have treasure in heaven, but instead of being happy to now know how he could inherit eternal life, the man became sorrowful because he was very rich.

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV)

    One of the very first things we see the church doing in Acts 2 is selling their possessions and goods, and dividing them among all, as anyone had need (verse 44). These new Christians had all things in common, they shared everything so everyone had what they needed, and didn’t have to worry about material things. We see this again in Acts 4:32-37, where members of the church who had land or houses, sold them and gave the money to the apostles to distribute to anyone who had need – this act of sharing resulted in no one among them lacking anything.  As you read through the remainder of the New Testament you will find multiple occasions where individual Christians and churches shared with other Christians to benefit the spreading of God’s word and to help relieve them during a crisis (ex: Acts 11:27-30, Romans 15:25-26/2 Corinthians 8:1-7, Philippians 4:15-16).

    Remember, for everything God asks of us, He always provides a way: “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 9:8) – God provides all we need to do His will, we simply need to employ our heart and hands to do it! And when we do good and share from the abundance God gives us, people will abound in glorifying God and in giving thanks to Him (2 Corinthians 9:10-13)!

    Are you ready to do good and to share with others? With such sacrifices God is well-pleased! He always does His part, let’s be sure we are doing ours!

You can do it! So can I!! 

Sacrifices We Still Need to Offer – The Sacrifice of Praise (Part 2)

“For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:14-15 NKJV)

    I thought it would be valuable to take an extra week to understand the importance of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that we are to offer because this is not the first time these two words have been linked in the Bible. 

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in Your praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.” (1 Chronicles 16:34-36 NKJV)

    David leads the Israelites in a song of thanksgiving after the ark of the covenant is returned to Jerusalem (Note: This song is also recorded as Psalm 105). David wanted the people to recall all that the LORD had brought them through, all the reasons to thank Him and praise Him. He wanted them to look to God, to continue to depend on Him for salvation, so that they could thank Him and triumph in His praise. David wanted all the people to sincerely joy in the LORD, thank Him and laud Him, appreciate all He has done (and continues to do) and to glorify His name!    

“Sing praises to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name… You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me in gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” (Psalm 30:4. 11-12 NKJV)

    When David finished building his house he praised God. The LORD had brought him through much turmoil and troubles (see 1 and 2 Samuel) and has now given him the throne over the kingdom of Israel. When he says “my glory may sing praise to You” he means his soul; his soul will sing praise to God – from the very core of his being, he would declare the glories of God and not be silent! He would also give thanks forever, meaning there would never come a time in life (or in eternity) in which God would not be thanked for His goodness and mercy.  

“I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.” (Psalm 35:18 NKJV)

    Similar to the verse before, David declares that he will proclaim God’s help and provision by openly thanking Him before a multitude of people and by praising Him to a countless amount of people. It was as though David was saying, ‘To those I am with now, and to everyone I speak with in future, I will tell them how thankful I am to You, and I will always praise Your name.’  

“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30 NKJV)

    David again calls on the Lord for help, and he is so sure of God’s care that he pronounces that he will praise Him with a song and magnify Him with thanks. Magnify means to make great or powerful. Have you ever done something for someone (or given them something) that meant so much to them that their thankfulness made it seem like a much bigger gift than it was? Maybe they told others about it for quite a while after? We need to be thankful towards God like that! Now, His love, mercy, care, and provision cannot be overstated or over-thanked, but when we, in full appreciation of His gifts, openly declare our thanks and praise, it may cause one who does not pay attention to the things of God to take notice; it may lead them to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). I invite you to “magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

“So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations.” (Psalm 79:13 NKJV)

    In this psalm of Asaph, we find a confidence that God will have mercy on His people, and they in turn will always be able to thank Him and tell others (future generations) of His goodness and grace. Take time to read and consider these passages that convey a similar message: Joshua 4:1-7, Psalm 71:18, and Psalm 78:4

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with Praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4)

    Think on those things that are praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) and meditate on (frequently recall to your mind) those things that you are thankful for; gather them up in your heart/mind as you approach God’s throne (Hebrews 4:14-16), and bless His name. Bless (in this verse) means adore with bended knee; reverent love. Speak beautiful words about God from a heart of sincere appreciation and devotion. 

“Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God.” (Psalm 147:7)

    The first “sing” in this verse refers to the literal singing voice; thanking God in lyrical song. The second “sing” refers to literal playing of music which was made common in the tabernacle by David (and later in the temple) in the Old Testament; its original meaning was to hum or murmur (i.e. music of the heart and mouth). There are several mentions of Levites (servants in the house of God) being assigned to give thanks and to praise the LORD: 1 Chronicles 25:32 Chronicles 31:2, Nehemiah 12:24 and 12:46 

    In the New Testament we do not find any instruction or example for using mechanical instruments in our worship (and God knew all about them, so if He wanted them used He certainly would have given clear instruction), but we do find one instrument mentioned, a God-made instrument that we all have: our hearts. “…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:19-20). So, we can certainly still sing to the Lord with thanksgiving and sing praises with our heart to our God!

“Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures for ever.” (Psalm 106:1 NKJV)

    This is why we offer the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving: because life is hard, but God is always good. He is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), His compassions fail not, they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-26)!

    Let’s take time each day to think on all God has brought us through, all that He has brought to, and all the provisions He continues to bless us with (Psalm 68:19). Let’s sincerely joy in His power and His grace; celebrate it! Tell Him what it means to you to have the hope of heaven! Thank Him for sending His Son to be our Saviour! Be ready to tell others about His goodness, about His wonderful care and His wisdom – keep telling others for as long as you live (Psalm 146:1-2, 150:6), don’t be silent, tell your children and grandchildren – tell anyone who asks the reason for your hope (1 Peter 3:15). Proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Magnify Him and openly thank Him for His faithfulness (Psalm 92:1-2). Read some more of the psalms and tune your heart to speak beautiful words about our God. It will take time and it will take practice, but God is worthy of our every effort to reverently praise and thank Him!

You can do it! So can I!!   

Sacrifices We Still Need to Offer: The Sacrifice of Praise

    We no longer live under the Old Covenant because Jesus brought God’s New Covenant into effect when He died on the cross (Hebrews 10:5-10), and it is because of Jesus’ sacrifice that we no longer need to offer animal or grain sacrifices, but we must not neglect the sacrifices that we are still commanded to offer to God: spiritual sacrifices.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5 NKJV)

    This week, I would like you to consider the sacrifice that is commanded in Hebrews 13:15 – the sacrifice of praise.

“For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:14-15 NKJV)

    Jesus sanctified us with His own blood outside the gate, because of this, we willingly go to Him outside the camp and endure the same reproaches He endured (Hebrews 13:13, 1 Peter 2:20-24); because we seek the eternal city that is to come (consider John 14:1-6, Hebrews 11:16).

    Keeping what Jesus has done for us always in our minds, knowing that through Him we have been granted access to boldly approach God’s throne (Hebrews 4:14-16), we should be continually (from this time forward without end) offering the sacrifice of praise to God.

    What is this sacrifice of praise? 

    We offer God the fruit of our lips – our words of praise and thanksgiving to His name.

    How are speaking words of praise and thanksgiving a sacrifice?

    First, they are a sacrifice because we are offering them to God. What we offer should be heart-felt and sincere; God knows our hearts, we need to let our hearts seek His face (Psalm 27:8) and the words will come.

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness every night.” (Psalm 92:1-2 NKJV)

    Second, they are a sacrifice because we will have to give some things up in the process: time and thoughtless/corrupt speech.  

    The fruit of our lips is not always praise, is it?  We do not always speak with grace – sometimes the saltshaker is nowhere to be found (Colossians 3:6). Sometimes we let our upset take the reins and we say things we shouldn’t, we post things we shouldn’t…

“With [our tongue] we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10 NKJV) 

    We don’t want the fruit of our lips to be wormy and rotten (consider Matthew 12:33-37 and Ephesians 4:29), we can prevent this by purifying our hearts, by being mindful of what we are thinking at all times, and by spending more time appreciating all that God has provided for us – on earth, in His word, in His people (the church). 

    In a world that praises the hustle and the constant go, go, go, we need to take the time every day to be still (Psalm 46:10) and give God thanks and praise Him for life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25) and for giving us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).   

    We do not want to be like those mentioned in Isaiah who drew near to God with their mouths, who had the appearance of honouring Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). Let’s determine to offer God what is right, not give Him what is left. We have been granted access to speak to God; the Creator of the universe! Think about that for a moment… Let’s not leave it to the very end of the day, when we can barely keep our eyes open, to thoughtlessly utter a memorized phrase before falling asleep; instead, let’s take time in our day to press our minds and hearts with thought and search our vocabularies for appropriate words to speak – let’s proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)! Always remembering that we can read some of the Psalms to learn how to increase our offering of praise to God and find even more reasons to give thanks to Him!  

    Take time to read and consider Psalm 101 and Proverbs 4:20-27.

    I hope you will put aside your busyness today to sit quietly and honestly examine your heart. Yank out the weeds of corrupt speech and plant words of praise and thankfulness in their place; it will take time, it will take sacrifice, but it will be worth your every effort! Help your heart along by teaching yourself to meditate on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely; what is good news, virtuous, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8); in doing these things we will be able to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, and be able to readily give thanks to His name!

You can do it! So can I!! 

New Study - Sacrifices We Still Need to Offer: Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice

    I have heard many Christians say that they are glad that we do not still live under the Old Testament with its required blood sacrifices and offerings, but there are sacrifices in the New Testament that we need to be aware of so that we are offering what is acceptable and well-pleasing to God.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 NKJV)

“I beseech you therefore… by the mercies of God… ”

Beseech means to strongly urge, to implore, or fervently ask. “I strongly urge you brethren…”

Therefore means because of what I have just said, because of this, for this reason. So, whenever you see the word “therefore” in the Bible, read the context (chapters and/or verses before) to understand what the current command/instruction is ‘there for.’ To understand Romans 12:1, you need to read Romans 11:28-36. In these verses we find that because of God’s mercy, the gospel was given to the Gentiles after the Jews rejected it.

“…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…”

Present your bodies means our physical bodies, our capabilities: everything we can do with and within our bodies. We can use our bodies (our members: mind, heart, hands, etc.) as instruments of either sin or righteousness. Take time to read Roman 6:1-23.

A living sacrifice means that God does not require blood or death (as required under the Law, i.e. animal sacrifice), but instead He desires us to have a willingness to sacrifice whatever we need to remove from within ourselves (desires, sin) and our lives (company, habits) so that we may commit/submit wholly to Him and His way. Consider Matthew 16:24. People in Jesus’ time would have understood that anyone seen carrying a cross was not going to return to their former life, and so we understand that when we deny self and take up our cross, we, too, will not return to our old life/ways because we are now following Jesus (1 John 2:3-6). Show yourself ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to follow God and obey His commands.

“…holy, acceptable to God…”

Holy means sacred, set apart. You allow God’s word to make you different than the world and more like the Lord (Romans 12:2).

Acceptable to God means we do what He requires and commands. We study God’s will, the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15, Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-17), so we can do what aligns with His will, what is approved by Him. Read and consider these examples: 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 1 Peter 3:1-4, Hebrews 11:6

“…which is your reasonable service.”

Reasonable service means rational conclusion. As we gain knowledge through study, and gain wisdom through use of that knowledge (obedience), we will develop spiritual understanding: comprehending the vital importance of God and His word, Jesus’ sacrifice, His example, etc. We will begin to comprehend the value of the spiritual blessings found in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14). Our rational response to this understanding and comprehension is to wholly commit to do what is needed to be holy – different than the world, and more like Him – because we adhere to His instructions and guidance. This is the most logical, the most sensible, response you can give to God who loves you and shows you such mercy.

    I strongly urge you brethren, because of God’s mercy and compassion on you when He gave you access to the gospel of Christ; that you show yourself ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to follow Him and obey His commands, allow God’s word to make you different than those in the world who don’t know Him and become more like the Lord, doing what aligns with His will and what is approved by Him, for this is the most logical and the most sensible response you can give to God who loves you and shows you such mercy.

    As Christians, this is a sacrifice we need to be making each and every day. Are you presenting your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God?

You can do it! So can I!!