Join in God’s efforts to lay a foundation for true worship (Ezra 3:1, 1 Kings 5:17, 7:10, Isa. 28:16, 58:12,
Heb.11:10, Matt. 7:24-27, 16:18-20, 1 Cor. 3:10-12, Eph. 2:19-22, Rev. 21:14)
People gave a great shout of praise when the foundation was laid (Ezra 3:11, Ps. 98:4-5)
True security (a reliable foundation) lay in trusting God (Phil. 3:12-14, 4:10-13, 1 Tim
6:17-19)
God’s 2 covenants, with Israel, and with the followers of Christ, were both
instituted by sacrificial acts. In Exodus 24, there was an animal sacrifice and a
verbal commitment of obedience to the law. Christ Himself was the sacrifice
instituting the New Covenant and Christians are called to follow His example.
Sacrifice is not about giving up what was ours, its about giving back what is His.
Who is the more faithful steward? Us or God?
You don’t need to wait for the “temple” to be completed before you begin
sacrificial worship, in fact, sacrificial worship is an integral part in the process
leading to the completion of God’s work in you as “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1
Cor. 3:16)
In I Chronicles 21, when King David was looking for a place to build a temple,
God directed him to buy the land Araunah the Jebusite was using as a threshing
floor for his wheat. When King David offered to pay Araunah the full price,
Araunah insisted he wanted to give it to David at no charge. Most of us would
have jumped at the offer of free land, but David refused to accept the gift. Instead
he said, “...I will not sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” (I
Chronicles 21:24) Then David paid the full price for the land that would be used
to build the Temple. It’s not a sacrifice if it cost nothing. Many Christians only
give on a level they can comfortably afford; they seldom make a real sacrifice.
Proverbs 3:9 says to “honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all
you produce.” Are you honoring God with your gifts? He also promised in I
Samuel 2:30, “He who honors me, I will honor.”
The big question is not “should I tithe?” Your biggest question is, “Can I trust
God’s promise?”
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart
to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2
Corinthians 9:6-7, Lev. 19:5)
When you sacrifice a material possession to God you demonstrate you love God
more than your possession.
A real sacrifice always gets Jesus’ attention (e.g. Mark 12, the Widow’s 2 coins)