The Right Sacrifice
Halloween. Whether or not people admit it, it is a holiday that is filled with controversy within the Christian church. There are those who believe churches and Christians should stay out of it; and there are others who believe that since Christ overcame evil on the cross and resurrection, we have the freedom to participate and have good Christian fun in it. No matter what we believe, the one fact we have to admit is that there are those who celebrate Halloween as an evil holiday.
I used to work for the Denny’s that was located right next to Six Flags in St. Louis. One of the assistant managers there was of the Wicca religion. If you are not familiar with it, they are witches and warlocks. They literally protect themselves with spells, superstitions and their big holiday is Halloween. In addition, a server there was of the satanic worship religion. He did not practice sacrificing, but Halloween was his big holiday as well. To see their excitement arise as the holiday got closer was a little more than scary. It really made me question celebrating Halloween.
Fast-forward to a couple months ago, after years of struggling with the subject, I finally did some research into the pagan origins of Halloween, Christmas and Easter. I found out that all three holidays have traditions within them that are derived from pagan traditions. So, I seriously thought about what it is that I was searching for. Was I looking for an excuse to ban Halloween? Well if that was the case, then I would have to ban the pagan traditions of the other two holidays as well which includes Christmas trees, wreaths, mistletoes, the word Easter, Rabbits, and the list goes on.
It was then that I realized that it isn’t about what we are banned from doing. It is what we have the freedom to do in the safety of Christ. That is what got me thinking about the word sacrifice and what it means. True, there are some very evil things that happen on Halloween night. So just because we dress our kids up as Batman or Cinderella, does that mean we are participating in it? No, it isn’t.
So, what does it mean to sacrifice things? On Halloween night, things are indeed sacrificed in the name of pagan gods and other entities all over the world. But what is the right sacrifice? Even if we have the right idea, can the right sacrifice be done wrong?
Today we are going to study Isaiah 1:10-20. At first, it might sound as if this scripture is a little off of what I have started with, but if you hang with me, we’ll tie it all together. Let’s read.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 18 "Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
In the situation here in the first chapter of Isaiah, the Hebrews are in the middle of a long stretch of disobedience to God. God is addressing them through the prophet Isaiah and he addresses them as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah. I’m not sure about you, but if God started addressing the U.S. as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah, I do believe I would be just a little scared. In fact, the Hebrew people got scared too.
They were in the multitudes sacrificing burnt offerings, burning incense, pouring out drink offerings, festivals and feasts. But God was telling them that what they were doing was worthless and that he hates the sacrifices they are bringing. The feasts and festivals have become burdensome to God.
But why? Were they not doing exactly as commanded by God himself? Yes, indeed they were. They were sacrificing exactly what they should have been for the things they have done. The problem was, the attitude toward what they were doing.
You see, they were sacrificing out of fear, not repentance. The question then becomes did God expect them to be perfect? Well, no not necessarily. We are human. We will never be perfect. Ever. So, if we will never be perfect, and the only way to please God is by sacrificing, and attitude matters, how in the world do we sacrifice correctly to please God?
In short, the Hebrew people needed genuinely to leave the idols, false gods and inhumane practices they were following. It was not just a one-time slip up. This was going like an alcoholic going out to drink all day Friday and Saturday, then going to church Sunday, repenting to God for doing what he did, then going out right after church and bar hopping. The Hebrews were sacrificing to God out of fear to appease him, and yet going right out and sacrificing to the other gods that they worshipped. They were continuing in their sins without a care.
I got an email story last week about a cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls who was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma." As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green. Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."
"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here daddy, this is for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny ... He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures. God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.
Sacrifice. Are you ready to give up the things that matter the most to you? What kind of attitude do you bring with your sacrifice? Do you give of your time willingly, or are you bitter sometimes when it’s inconvenient? Do you give your service, tithe, or possessions willingly or do you do it because “you have to?”
From the story of the Hebrews in Isaiah 1, to the poor widow’s offering in Mark 12:41-44 which reads,
“41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
My friends, a sacrifice is nothing unless your heart is in it. That is the heart of the issue in both Isaiah and Mark. God only wants your gift of sacrifice if it means giving yourself along with it, otherwise, no matter the worth, it’s worthless in his eyes. So, let’s go out today, making the right sacrifice, just as Christ did on the cross, not because he had to…but because he wanted to. The attitude of the sacrifice matters, otherwise what we believe in is all for naught. Let’s make the right sacrifice…because we want to, not because we have to.
I used to work for the Denny’s that was located right next to Six Flags in St. Louis. One of the assistant managers there was of the Wicca religion. If you are not familiar with it, they are witches and warlocks. They literally protect themselves with spells, superstitions and their big holiday is Halloween. In addition, a server there was of the satanic worship religion. He did not practice sacrificing, but Halloween was his big holiday as well. To see their excitement arise as the holiday got closer was a little more than scary. It really made me question celebrating Halloween.
Fast-forward to a couple months ago, after years of struggling with the subject, I finally did some research into the pagan origins of Halloween, Christmas and Easter. I found out that all three holidays have traditions within them that are derived from pagan traditions. So, I seriously thought about what it is that I was searching for. Was I looking for an excuse to ban Halloween? Well if that was the case, then I would have to ban the pagan traditions of the other two holidays as well which includes Christmas trees, wreaths, mistletoes, the word Easter, Rabbits, and the list goes on.
It was then that I realized that it isn’t about what we are banned from doing. It is what we have the freedom to do in the safety of Christ. That is what got me thinking about the word sacrifice and what it means. True, there are some very evil things that happen on Halloween night. So just because we dress our kids up as Batman or Cinderella, does that mean we are participating in it? No, it isn’t.
So, what does it mean to sacrifice things? On Halloween night, things are indeed sacrificed in the name of pagan gods and other entities all over the world. But what is the right sacrifice? Even if we have the right idea, can the right sacrifice be done wrong?
Today we are going to study Isaiah 1:10-20. At first, it might sound as if this scripture is a little off of what I have started with, but if you hang with me, we’ll tie it all together. Let’s read.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 18 "Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
In the situation here in the first chapter of Isaiah, the Hebrews are in the middle of a long stretch of disobedience to God. God is addressing them through the prophet Isaiah and he addresses them as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah. I’m not sure about you, but if God started addressing the U.S. as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah, I do believe I would be just a little scared. In fact, the Hebrew people got scared too.
They were in the multitudes sacrificing burnt offerings, burning incense, pouring out drink offerings, festivals and feasts. But God was telling them that what they were doing was worthless and that he hates the sacrifices they are bringing. The feasts and festivals have become burdensome to God.
But why? Were they not doing exactly as commanded by God himself? Yes, indeed they were. They were sacrificing exactly what they should have been for the things they have done. The problem was, the attitude toward what they were doing.
You see, they were sacrificing out of fear, not repentance. The question then becomes did God expect them to be perfect? Well, no not necessarily. We are human. We will never be perfect. Ever. So, if we will never be perfect, and the only way to please God is by sacrificing, and attitude matters, how in the world do we sacrifice correctly to please God?
In short, the Hebrew people needed genuinely to leave the idols, false gods and inhumane practices they were following. It was not just a one-time slip up. This was going like an alcoholic going out to drink all day Friday and Saturday, then going to church Sunday, repenting to God for doing what he did, then going out right after church and bar hopping. The Hebrews were sacrificing to God out of fear to appease him, and yet going right out and sacrificing to the other gods that they worshipped. They were continuing in their sins without a care.
I got an email story last week about a cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls who was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma." As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green. Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."
"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here daddy, this is for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny ... He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures. God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.
Sacrifice. Are you ready to give up the things that matter the most to you? What kind of attitude do you bring with your sacrifice? Do you give of your time willingly, or are you bitter sometimes when it’s inconvenient? Do you give your service, tithe, or possessions willingly or do you do it because “you have to?”
From the story of the Hebrews in Isaiah 1, to the poor widow’s offering in Mark 12:41-44 which reads,
“41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
My friends, a sacrifice is nothing unless your heart is in it. That is the heart of the issue in both Isaiah and Mark. God only wants your gift of sacrifice if it means giving yourself along with it, otherwise, no matter the worth, it’s worthless in his eyes. So, let’s go out today, making the right sacrifice, just as Christ did on the cross, not because he had to…but because he wanted to. The attitude of the sacrifice matters, otherwise what we believe in is all for naught. Let’s make the right sacrifice…because we want to, not because we have to.
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