AN ACT OF SACRIFICE PART 3

 AN ACT OF SACRIFICE PART 3-

THE ENEMIES OF SACRIFICE

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering;

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell

The Altar of Sacrifice is a delicate one. You can either derive blessings or curses if handled with levity. The seeds you sow can either bear good fruits or yield even worse results. We have earlier been made to understand what the nature of sacrifice is and what makes our sacrifice acceptable in God’s presence. We see Abel in the verses above, he offered a sacrifice acceptable unto God; this means it is possible for us to sow seeds unto rejection. The bible recorded that Cain also offered sacrifice unto the LORD but we know the outcome of his sacrifice as we see in Genesis 4. Unto his sacrifice, God had no respect and the aftermath of his sacrifice spelt doom for him. The bible says Cain was very wrought and we all know the Cain and Abel story but it all fell from a little mistake in Sacrifice. Genesis 4:11-12 says “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall henceforth not yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shall thou be in the earth”. God holds the altar of sacrifice dear to HIS heart and we see this in Exodus 28:43 “And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity and die: it shall be a statute forever unto him and his seed after him”. We see here that the Altar of sacrifice is sacred and this should also be the same way it is handled among ourselves as believers whether we sow unto God or unto other men. 

The nature of sacrifice is very paramount to the results that it yields. This nature has to do with the offering, the one who offers and to whom it is offered. Any shortcomings in the three levels will affect the propensity of our seeds to yield fruits. The nature of the offering and the one who offers the offering form a great deal in this bargain. If our sacrifice must be acceptable, then we must do well to run away from certain things:

1.Beware of sins: Sin is one enemy of anything Divine; even the natural laws, once you go against them, then you become liable to the punishments thereof (Genesis 4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD My punishment is greater than I). If we want our sacrifice to be accepted, it must be done holy and without sin. The bible says in Isaiah 59:1-2 “BEHOLD the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that He will not hear”.

2.Beware of hatred: Hatred is one common enemy of our seeds sown. We cannot reap the fruits if we have sown the seeds alongside the weeds. Hatred is a weed to our seed sown. The bible says Cain was very wrought… There was this anger that sprung from him and due to this he made a costly mistake. Love is very vital to see our desires on our seeds sown. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13b “but the greatest of these is charity(love)”.

3. Beware of Doubt: Another great enemy of the seed sown is doubt (unbelief). “Can my seeds germinate at all? Can this person even bless me back?” Never for once make second guesses on the seeds sown. Have Faith in He who is able to bless it and make yield fruits. Though there be delays, trust in the process. As long as there is a seed down, there will be fruits up. Matthew 13:58- “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”. The bible also says without FAITH it is impossible to please God. We cannot get anything from a God we cannot please.

4. Absence of Joy: Joy is very vital as it is one way through which we see the heavens open on our seeds. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:7b “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver”. Isaiah 12:3 says “with Joy shall I draw water out of the well of salvation”. Until our seeds are sown in joy, we would never see the results. Let us read up Joel 1:12- what the absence of Joy can do to our seeds sown. 

5. Beware of Murmurings and Complaining: Two brothers of destruction. We see what happened to the children of Israel when they murmured and complained against God (Numbers 21:6). What murmur and complaints do is that they drive God’s anger upon our seeds sown. They become thistles, chaff and rocky ground for the seeds we have sown. Never give in to murmur and complaints.

6.. Nature of our offering: The nature of your offering can either bring about good fruits or produce bad fruits. Good seeds will yield Good fruits while Bad seeds will yield Bad fruits.  Cain brought an unacceptable offering and he reaped an unacceptable result. Galatians 6:7b “God cannot be mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”.