What Do You Need to Sacrifice?
2-28-24
Sacrifice is defined as "destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else; to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure or destroy for an ideal, belief or end." I think for the most part that sacrifice is not a word that most people find to be very positive. We think of sacrifice as a bad thing; as something we need to do or must do but really don't want to do. Of course, that's what makes it a sacrifice. But sacrifice is actually a very good thing. If done for the right reasons, it is something that is very beneficial for us. It's good for us to sacrifice to God out of worship for Him. It is good for us to sacrifice something when it is detrimental to our lives or to our walk with the Lord.
Sacrifice really becomes a problem for most people when it has to do with something that is very dear to us. Because those things are dear to us we tend to hold onto them very tightly. Only God should be held onto that tightly. Everything else needs to be a 38 special song: we need to hold on loosely. That's because there may come a time when God requires us to sacrifice whatever it is so that we can be better used by Him to make a difference for the kingdom.
One thing that people hold onto tightly are possessions. By possessions we mean anything that has a price tag. That would include things we purchase or it also might include things that have been passed on to us from others. Some of our most treasured possessions have very little monetary value yet they mean a great deal to us. They may be a family heirloom of some sort that has been passed down to you from a loved one.
One treasured item that I have is my great-great grandfathers discharge papers from the Civil War. It's obviously very old and getting to the point where some of it is hard to read. I don't know if it's worth anything or not, even if it is that's not why it is important to me. Because it's family history, I find it very valuable.
If we are holding onto anything too tightly, even valuable family history and heirlooms, we need to let them go. Holding loosely to your possessions doesn't mean that you have to get rid of everything that you own. It does mean that we need to be willing to get rid of whatever is holding us back spiritually. When we hold onto our possessions with an iron grip, they become an idol to us. They become more important to us than even God Himself.
That is the very reason why God may want us to sacrifice something. We may need to get rid of it because it has become too important to us. God says to let go of the possessions; let go of the resources; let go of the money. We say, no, it's mine, mine, mine. Our things become our security blanket instead of God. We need to keep in mind that God will do whatever needs to be done in order to pry our fingers loose from whatever we're holding onto so that we can serve Him fully. Hold onto your possessions loosely.
People also tend to hold onto their dreams very tightly. We all have some sort of dream or goal for our lives. It's good for us to dream and to dream big. We need those lofty goals to keep us living and focused on something that gives our life meaning and purpose. Some of those dreams are realistic and attainable. Some of them will never come to fruition.
I have dreams of one day being able to comfortably retire. I dream of us enjoying whatever new chapter in our lives retirement brings. I dream of grandchildren and being involved and active in their lives. I dream of Nebraska one day winning a lot of football games again. Like I said, some dreams are realistic, others will never come to fruition.
Dreams are good but we can't hold onto them too tightly. If we are rigid with what we want and what we expect from life, then it can keep us from other possibilities. The dreams we have may not be God's will for us. So to hold onto them too tightly might keep us from doing what God wants us to do. That means it's possible that God may ask us to sacrifice our dreams so that we are free and able to then seek Him and His will for our lives. Even though it's OK to dream, we need to make sure that we hold onto those dreams loosely because they may not come to pass.
Lastly, people tend to hold tightly to their relationships. We all have meaningful, personal relationships that make life more interesting and pleasurable. Those relationships include spouses, parents, children, extended family members and friends. Relationships are some of the most important aspects of our lives. God made us relational people and we need those meaningful connections to live a full and satisfying life.
But like anything else, we can hold onto our relationships too tightly. Our family and our friends can become more important to us than God. When we regularly choose relationships over God, we are choosing poorly and sinfully. If that's the case, then God will almost certainly ask you to sacrifice those relationships so that you are free to serve Him and be involved in whatever His will is for your life. As important as relationships are, we need to hold onto them loosely.
Perhaps the Bible character who most understands the need to hold relationships loosely is Abraham. We've talked about this being a sermon series on nobodies, but Abraham is hardly a nobody in the Bible. Even the episode of his life that we're going to look at this morning is pretty well known. But it's just too good to pass up.
This is a fascinating story worth remembering. This is not a story about sacrificing a possession; it is not a story about sacrificing a dream although there are elements of that in this story. It is a story about sacrificing a relationship. Let's read Gen. 22:1-14.
At this point in time, Abraham was quite old, well over 100 years of age. He had more than a lifetime's worth of faith-building experiences. He had showed great faith when he obeyed God in moving from his home to what would eventually become the Promised Land. As a younger man, God had called him into a special relationship and made a covenant with him. As part of that agreement, the Lord promised to build a nation with Abraham and Sarah's offspring.
But through all that they had gone through and all they had faced in life, Abraham and Sarah remained childless. They must have surely wondered when God was going to give them the long sought-after son of promise. They heard their biological clock ticking and decided to give God some help. At Sarah's request, Abraham conceived a child with her handmaid. It was a faithless act. God denounced it as a sin. Abraham failed that time and still had no son of promise.
Then, many years after Sarah had lost her ability to bear children, God appeared and promised this faithful couple that Sarah would soon have a son. Even in her old age, she was pregnant with Abraham's child. Nine months later, she bore a son whom they named Isaac. The name Isaac means laughter.
The birth of Isaac was the long-awaited fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. The land of Canaan, the Promised Land, would be filled with his descendants. They would become a great nation. All of God's promises, all of the Lord's blessings, would come to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac.
As an aged father, Abraham took increasingly more delight in his long-awaited boy. But in the midst of their great family relationships and while the father was immensely enjoying his time with his son, God interrupted life. (vv. 1-2). Suddenly the Lord stepped in and commanded this aging father to put his only son to death on an altar. It would have been hard enough for him to hear that Isaac would die; it would have seemed beyond belief for Abraham to hear that he was the one to do the killing.
Scripture tells us that this was a test. The Hebrew word translated test in this passage has the idea of proving the quality of something, usually by putting it through a trial of some kind. God wanted to prove the validity, the authenticity of Abraham's faith. It basically all boiled down to one main issue: Did Abraham love the gift of God or God Himself? Was he holding so tightly onto Isaac that he wouldn't let go? Or was he holding onto his son loosely so that God could work and move in his life? Would he be willing to sacrifice to God the one thing in life that he loved the most?
Abraham was told by God to make a burnt offering of Isaac to the Lord. With some other offerings, only part of the animal was burnt. Some of it was used for meat to be eaten by the family making the sacrifice or for the priests. But a burnt offering was different. When making a burnt offering, the entire animal was put on the altar, all of it. It was to be entirely consumed by the fire before God. God was in effect saying to Abraham, "I want the entire body of this young man placed on the altar and released back to Me."
As surprising and shocking as this command from God must have been to Abraham, he obeyed swiftly and immediately. (v. 3). He offers zero arguments. There is no delay; no hesitation; no bargaining. Abraham doesn't even question or give any sort of hint of reluctance. We can be sure that he had a sleepless night the night before dealing with overwhelming anguish of his soul. But he held nothing back. He rose early, prepared the supplies, got Isaac out of bed before dawn, and started off.
As this story progresses, we see more and more evidence of Abraham's faith in action. Notice the calm assurance he expresses to the young men who were with them. (v. 5). Abraham clearly expected to return home with his son. How could he be so confident? Hebrews gives us the answer. Heb. 11:17-19.
According to these verses in Hebrews, Abraham knew three important facts that strengthened his faith during this difficult test. One, Isaac was to be the vehicle of God's promise, therefore Isaac must live. Two, God always keeps His promises. Three, God's power is absolute even over the power of death. Therefore, Abraham believed that somehow, against all natural reason, after killing Isaac and allowing the fire to completely consume him, God would miraculously restore his life.
We again see his rapid response, his follow through and his simple faith as the story goes on. (v. 6). At this time, Isaac was no little boy. He was at least half grown, a young adult, old enough to converse with his father, understand the significance of the ritual and carry a load of heavy firewood. But he also had questions. (vv. 7-8).
Isaac also shows amazing faith in this story. When all was ready for the sacrifice, he basically allowed himself to be bound and put on the wood. He was old enough and no doubt strong enough to fight off his dad if he had wanted to. But he didn't run; he didn't fight; he didn't plead; he didn't complain. (v. 9).
Finally, the moment arrived. (v. 10). As far as Abraham was concerned, this drama didn't have a surprise ending. The knife was up in order to bring it down and kill his son. I don't think Abraham raised the knife and then stopped and looked around to see if the pardon had come down from the governor's office. Just as he was going to sacrifice his son, at the last possible moment, God intervened. (vv. 11-12).
As the Lord stopped Abraham, He said in effect, "You've passed the test. You've proven to Me who is first in your life. Your willingness to give up your only son has demonstrated that while you love the gift; while you're holding onto Isaac, you're not holding on too tightly and you love the Giver more than the gift." Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the bushes and used that as a sacrifice instead.
As humans, we zealously worship something or someone. It's either God or some other idol that we establish in our lives. When we worship something, whatever it is, we are affirming its value to us. If we worship possessions it's because we value them; if we worship dreams it's because they are valuable to us; if we worship relationships it's because we find them valuable and important. We worship those things that we love the most. Here's the question we need to answer: What are you worshiping in life? Are there possessions that you love more than God? Are there dreams you're holding onto? Do relationships take first place? Or do you love God most? Do you adore the Giver more than the gifts? Is God's will more important to you than your own personal dreams? Does God have first place in your life over all of your other relationships?
We all know what the right answer is to those questions. But it's important that we evaluate our lives. Look deeply at your heart and be honest as you evaluate yourself to determine where it really lies and what you really love and worship. We know we need to love God more than anything else. If you do, that's awesome. But if not, then what needs to be done in your life to rectify that? What do you need to sacrifice?
Do you need to give up a possession? Maybe a job or a dream or even a relationship? The Lord may be in the process of taking from you whatever you're holding onto too tightly. He may gently tug at first to get it from you. But if you resist, He may have to pry your fingers away. That can be painful and hard. Whatever it is, voluntarily release it. Only after you have placed your sacrifice on the altar will you be ready to receive God's provision and His blessing. If you have something to sacrifice, place it onto on the altar right now. Surrender it to the Lord as an offering.