AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE.
As most of us know, this is the time of the year that JEWS celebrate PASSOVER, and THEIR LIBERATION FROM SLAVERY IN EGYPT
(historically the Passover
lamb was sacrificed)
Exodus 12:5.
The animals you choose must be
year-old males without defect.
This is also the time of the year that we as CHRISTIANS celebrate EASTER and OUR LIBERATION FROM SLAVERY TO SIN, and focus on our Passover lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20)
Unlike the JEWS we don’t have to offer animal sacrifices,
AS JESUS
“the Lamb of God has died to take away our sins”
JOHN THE BAPTIST.
John 1:29.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Isaiah 53:1-2.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, He did not open his mouth.
1 John 3:5.
He appeared in order to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
Ephesians 5:1-2.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved
children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
2 Corinthians 8:9-12.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though HE was rich, yet for your sake HE became poor, so that you through HIS poverty might become rich, And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.
Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness
to do it may be matched by your completion of it,
according to your means. For if the willingness is
there, the gift is acceptable according to what one
has, not according to what one does not have.
According to the instructions in Exodus 12, each household would select a lamb, bring it into their home, and inspect it for five days before the Passover celebration. This lamb was chosen on the 10th day of the first month, and then it was kept in the house until it was sacrificed on the 14th day.
As you can imagine a bond was formed with the lamb that was going to be killed
1 Peter 1:18-20.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
Genesis 22:2.(GOD SPOKE TO ABRAHAM)
Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
HERE WE SEE A FORESHADOWING
OF CALVARY
Genesis 22:6-8.
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
Genesis 22:6-7.
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham,
Father? Yes, my son? Abraham replied. The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
GENESIS 22:11-12.
But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham! Here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.
GENESIS 22:13.
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
GOD USES FORESHADOWING
so that we with our finite minds can get a glimpse of how much HE loves us and what it cost HIM to pay for our sins
to some degree, we can understand how Abraham must have felt, having been told to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering
We get so attached to our children in our short life-span, imagine the love between God the father and God the son, after being together for eternity.
In this account: We see that Abraham was asked to do the
unimaginable, but God was using this act to give us some insight into a sacrifice that we have become too familiar with
JOHN3:16.
For God so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only Son, that whoever believes in HIM should not perish but have eternal life.
(HOW CAN WE TAKE THIS VERSE SO CASUALLY?
John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
we get so attached to our children, imagine the love between GOD THE FATHER AND GOD THE SON, after being together for eternity.
we find what Abraham was asked to do, unimaginable,
but GOD was using this act to enable us who don’t understand AN INFINITE GOD to realise the enormity of HIS LOVE
The young English preacher, Henry Moorhouse, preached in D.L. Moody's church in Chicago on the verse John 3:16, which became Moody's favourite text and significantly impacted his preaching ministry.
Moody's wife told him that Moorhouse had drawn large crowds with sermons based on John 3:16. Moody himself later described Moorhouse's sermon as "extraordinary" and said it had changed his life, stating he never knew God loved people so much.
Genesis 22:6-8.
Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
Psalms 40:6-8.
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but my ears you have opened
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come
it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.
THIS PSALM IS QUOTED IN HEBREWS 4 AS BEING FULFILLED
Hebrews 4:4-7.
It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings, you were not pleased. Then I said, Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, my God.
Hebrews 4:8-11.
First, he said, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them, though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, Here I am, I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again, and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins
Hebrews 4:12-14.
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy
THE LORD HAS SACRIFICED SO MUCH FOR US TO FREE US FROM SIN AND ITS PENALTY
WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT IS TO OFFER OURSELVES FREELY TO HIM IN RETURN
WE ARE NOT OUR OWN, WE BELONG TO HIM
Sacrifice is not a popular word in the Christian dialogue, especially in the Western world, but for the believer who means business with God, it must become a way of life.
.
LET US SEE WHAT SACRIFICES THE LORD ACCEPTS!
Hebrews 13:15-16.
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Praise.
Good works.
Sharing with others.
we will deal with these separately in the future
UNLIKE A VERY LARGE FALSE RELIGION, OUR
GOD DOESN’T ASK US
TO DIE FOR HIM, INSTEAD
HE DIED FOR US SO THAT
WE COULD LIVE FOR HIM
2 Corinthians 5:15.
And he died for all, that those
who live should no longer live
for themselves but for him who
died for them and was raised again.
God died for us so that we could live for Him,
and in the end live with Him for eternity.
What a great responsibility rests upon [us overseers] to take care of those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood and to protect them against false prophets and false teachings.
(PAUL’S CHARGE TO THE EPHESIAN OVERSEERS)
Acts 20:28.
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
What a great responsibility rests upon us [overseers] to take care of those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood and to protect them against false prophets and false teachings.
Acts 20:29-30.
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
What a great responsibility rests upon us [overseers] to take care of those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood and to protect them against false prophets and false teachings.
2 Corinthians 11:2.
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
GOD CONTINUES TO BLESS US.
Romans 8:31-32.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your bodies
.
TEMPLES ARE USED TO HONOUR GOD AND TO OFFER SACRIFICES
Deuteronomy 14:2. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
TITUS 2:11-15. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST,
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you
Romans 12:1-2.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true
and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of
this world but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is,
his good, pleasing and perfect will.
THE JEWS WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TO SACRIFICE,
BUT WE ARE THE TEMPLE
AND THE ALTAR IS OUR HEART
MATTHEW 23:16-19.Woe to you, blind guides! You say, If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath. You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
Matthew 23:18-19.
You also say, If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
2 CHRONICLES 16:9 (ASV)
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth; to shew Himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him
The Hebrew word for "perfect,", is Tamim. This word can be translated as "whole, sound, healthful," and "having integrity".
1 kings 18:30.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down
1 KINGS 18:30.
Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down.
Psalm 51:16-17.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
1 Corinthians 13:3.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
WITH GOD (THE WHY) IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN
(THE WHAT)
As we prepare for Sunday and the baptismal service.