 |
The Sacrifice of Praise |
Dear Brethren,
In the Old Testament, God called for the sacrifice of
animals. The sacrifice of animals was commanded, and it was binding on all the
Israelites. Somehow, King David knew that the sacrifices, themselves,
were not ultimately what God sought after. David wrote in
Psalms 40:6, "Sacrifice and offering
thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and
sin offering hast thou not required." And in Psalms 51:16, "For
thou [O Lord,] desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou
delightest not in burnt offering."
What does this have to do
with us today? Does it have any relevance at all? How did David know
what God really sought? David knew what God really wanted.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
(Psalms 51:17) The prophet Samuel asked the same question, "Hath
the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to hearken than the fat of rams.
(1Samuel 15:22)
Brethren, it is no different today. Some
people still want to practice ritualistic religion in the place of pure
religion. God wants us to ask this question of ourselves. "To what
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I
am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I
delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats."
(Isaiah 1:11) "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6)
With God's Holy Spirit working in us, as
it was in David, we should be able to understand what it is that God
desires of us today. David realized that God’s ultimate purpose was not
in accumulating tokens of people’s repentance. God is not sending us a
mixed message - He expects more of us today. In the same way that
the blood of sacrifices was for the old covenant, so was the total
emphasis on keeping the Sabbath physically. God punished the children
of Israel for Sabbath-breaking. They went into captivity for it.
Physical Sabbath-keeping was all that Old Testament Israel knew to
do - just like the offering of sacrifices was to remind them of God's
covenant with them.
The New Testament Sabbath still demands
that we do not do our own labors - but much more than that, the Sabbath
is a time that God gives us for fellowshipping with Him and the
brethren. We are being held to an even higher standard today.
"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may
have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1John 1:3)
By not working on the
Sabbath, we have the time to fellowship more than we are able during the
week. So we use the Sabbath to the best of our ability to fulfill these
purposes.
We in God’s Church should be beyond
looking at the physical “rituals” as a means of pleasing God. Some
people believe that God is judging people on how well they physically
keep the Sabbath. Those who superstitiously keep
the Sabbath only in a ritualistically physical way are omitting the
weightier matters of the law. Look at how clearly Jesus said it. "They
that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye
and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I
am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
(Matthew 9:12-13)
Another example of superstitious religion would be how we
say our prayers. Do we think that God judges our prayers to Him on
their being "picture perfect" and eloquent? God isn't judging our
prayers in that way - He even understands perfectly when we hurt so much
we can't get the words out. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered." (Romans 8:26)
Sabbath-keeping and prayer are very necessary and
important. Both of them help us to develop a better relationship with
God. But, relegating them to a set of do’s and don’ts begins to border
on idolatry and superstition. We need to be able to see through some of
these wrong concepts that can weigh us down and take our eyes off of
what is truly important - being humble, serving one another, becoming
like God. As Isaiah 66:2 says, "But on this one will I look: On him
who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.”
God wants us to be a people who are putting our best
efforts into becoming humble by putting aside strife, competition and
vanity. As He tells us, we are to love Him and love our neighbor. We
need to have a continual attitude of footwashing with one another - that
of looking to one another’s needs and serving them. It is vitally
important that we realize that all those whom God recognizes as His
children - all who have His Holy Spirit - are our brethren.
***
| Sermon: |
"Mature Christianity" |
 |
|
|
