Sacrifice in Service

Numbers 7:83

And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

When each person came to give a sacrifice in the Book of Numbers, they were serving God. However, to serve God, each person sacrificed their livestock, time, and even themselves to please God. The result of the sacrifice of God’s people is found in verse 89. This verse says, And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. The mighty presence of God is found anytime someone is willing to sacrifice to serve.

We say that we want to serve God, but you cannot serve God without sacrifice. It is amazing that people are not worried about sacrificing certain things for their hobbies, entertainment, or sports, but many complain when they must sacrifice to serve the LORD. My friend, there is sacrifice with anything you do in life, but to sacrifice to serve the LORD always brings joy and blessings, whereas sacrificing for pleasure and the world brings disappointment and discontent. When it comes to serving the LORD, there are four things you must be willing to sacrifice.

First, there must be a sacrifice of finances to serve the LORD. These people took of their livestock to sacrifice to God, and that livestock was often their way of living. If you are not willing to sacrifice your finances to serve the LORD, you will never know the blessings that come from this sacrifice. It is interesting that some gripe that people “always” talk about money when it comes to serving God, but they never gripe about the money it takes for worldly entertainment and pleasures. Anything you choose to do takes a sacrifice of finances, whether it be pleasure in the world or service to God, but sacrificing finances to serve the LORD will bring God’s blessings on your finances.

Second, there must be a sacrifice of time to serve the LORD. You are sacrificing your time to live in the world, but your time in the world never gives back blessings. Sacrificing time to serve God always makes your time in service rewarding. Nobody has ever sacrificed to serve God and looked back at that sacrifice as time wasted; rather, they look back at that time as the best investment of their time.

Third, there must be sacrifice of self to serve the LORD. You are sacrificing yourself to live in the world, but what has that done for you? Sacrificing self to serve the LORD has always brought great blessings on your life. You cannot live for self and live the sacrificed life for God. You must die to self to please God. You will never know the joy of living the sacrificed life for Christ until you die to self to live for God.

Fourth, there must be sacrifice of pride to serve the LORD. There is no pride when you sacrifice yourself to serve the LORD because you will realize you are unworthy to serve Him. God will not always ask you to do something that makes you look good, but when you serve the LORD, it is not about how you look but about lifting up Christ.

Do you really want to serve the LORD? If you do, you must realize there is sacrifice in service. Everything in life asks you to sacrifice, but only sacrificing to serve the LORD is where you will find true fulfillment in life.