Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my thirtieth episode. Tonight I have a sermon for you on having enough faith to make sacrifices. Please enjoy.
You know I’ve been thinking a lot about sacrifice lately. It’s such a strange thing that we do. The craziest thing about sacrifice is how we feel so empty, so guilty, and so ashamed when we are not brave enough to step up and do it. But really, why should we? Why would we let go of what we want now – especially when it’s right there for us to take? Why would we voluntarily take on suffering when we are certain to go through enough of it just by being alive? Why would we leave our loved ones every day to go work somewhere we’d rather not be? What if we never get that time back? The absurdity of these questions becomes magnified the moment we understand that there is actually an easy way through life. There is a path of least resistance. That path is wide and it has always been there. What possible madness would keep us from taking that easy path every single day until we die? Why do we sacrifice?
The answer to that question is faith and future. We give up what we want now because we have faith that doing so will lead to what we want even more in the future. We volunteer to go through some suffering now because we have faith that doing so will prevent even more suffering in the future. We leave our loved ones to go to work because we have faith that we can build security in the future. Faith and future are inseparable. Think about it. You have pretty good evidence that tomorrow will come for you. Simply because you’ve lived through so many yesterdays and tomorrow has always come. But you also have pretty good evidence that your entire life can change in one phone call, in one moment, in one mistake. So your belief in tomorrow, in next week, in next month, in five years from now – is very much an act of faith.
Another property of sacrifice that I find absolutely fascinating is that the greater the sacrifice, the greater the results. Sacrifice could be something simple like giving up your next vacation so that you can save a few dollars. Sacrifice could be something greater like a student giving up eight years of her youth so that she can go on to become a doctor. And then, sacrifice can be so great that it almost takes on a new meaning – like when a soldier gives up his life for the well being of his entire homeland. You see, sacrifice scales and so do the results. How about when God Himself becomes a man to sacrifice his life on the cross? Just exactly how far does the ripple effect of that event travel? How far is it still traveling? Perhaps a sacrifice like that redeems the entire world. Perhaps a sacrifice like that defeats pain, defeats suffering, and defeats evil for all time. Perhaps a sacrifice like that creates a future that is heaven.
We can learn a lot from people who came before us. I want to show you some examples of good men and women who walked the road of sacrifice by faith. If you have your Bibles please turn to Hebrews chapter 11.
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying – “he disappeared because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes with faith.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith – for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead – a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on the earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
At the beginning of this message I said that sacrifice is all about faith and future – and I meant that. No one dies in vain when they die for the living God. It is true that we can navigate this life by sacrificing the present for a better tomorrow. But it is also the reality we face that we may not see the benefits of our sacrifices until we pass on into the presence of God. But we have his promise that if we pick up our cross and walk by faith he will not abandon us in the final analysis. He has prepared a city for you and for me. Verse 17:
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
I want us to pay close attention to these verses. If you have a prized possession, a dream, or a person you value above all else – give that up for God. Give that up for God and have faith that he will provide. Jehovah jireh – The Lord will provide. When Abraham obeyed God’s command and showed himself willing to sacrifice Isaac, he proved that God is the only One who sits on the throne of his heart. And instead of making Abraham give up his son, God returned Isaac along with an entire nation of descendants. Demonstrate the faith to sacrifice your highest value to God and not only will He return this value to you, He will give you life more abundantly. Verse 20:
It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
Could you be Moses? Do you have the faith to choose a life of oppression so that you can stand on principle in the moment you’re offered power? This is a question that we should search our hearts for every day. Think of all the ways Moses could have rationalized his position in Egypt. He could have said, “Sure, God’s called me to lead his people in the Exodus – but couldn’t I do many more good things from this position of power?” When someone comes along to trade you an empire for your principles – remember Moses. Remember that the pleasures of great wealth and prestige are fleeting. The loneliest moment in a person’s life is when they’ve just experienced that which was supposed to give them ultimate meaning – and it didn’t. Turn to God now, and you will be spared that darkness. Verse 29:
It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.
It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
Hebrews chapter 11 shows us that faith was the engine which drove the sacrifice of these men and women in the Bible. In the same way, faith was the engine which drove the sacrifice of the founders of our nation. Every signature on the Declaration of Independence belonged to a person who risked being executed for signing it. But they were willing to make that sacrifice because they had faith that all people were created equal. That all people were endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The room we are in right now sits on a foundation that was dug out by hand. Any of you who have experience using a shovel know just exactly how monumental that task would be. But they sacrificed their blood, their sweat, and their tears because they had faith that conversations just like this one would take place right here for a century on into the future.
Everyday we enjoy the benefit of men and women who have sacrificed before our time. People who have long since passed on. People who we never knew and who never knew us. But there is one sacrifice from long ago that will benefit you right now and forever into eternity. And the One who made this sacrifice is different from all the rest because He does know you and you can know Him. He was resurrected and He lives on even at this moment. The Bible says in John chapter 20:
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
“Blessed are those who believe without seeing me”, Jesus says. One of the great ironies of this world is that people will call you a fool for having faith in a God you cannot see and sacrificing sinful pleasures for that belief. But not a single person walking on this planet can see the future. Not one of them. Yet almost everyone has faith that tomorrow is coming and that their tomorrow could be better. The people who say “Sacrificing for an unseen God is foolish!” think nothing of sacrificing for an unseen tomorrow. Eternity is coming for us all, the only real decision we get to make is: Do we want to spend that future with God? Or do we want to spend that future by ourselves?
I’m throwing in my lot with God. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the results. God’s sacrifice on the cross is evidence of His love and the wonderful eternity he has ready for you and for me. If you’re with me today, if you want to join me in putting your faith in Him as we have already put our faith in the future – then close your eyes and go to Him while I pray this prayer. And if I could have the worship team please come forward. Everyone, eyes closed and heads bowed – go to Him.
Father in Heaven it is with reverent hearts that we approach you this morning. We’ve come here to lift up your Name and praise you as the Most High. Each day we remain watchful for the return of our King and the advancement of your Kingdom. Father God we thank you for your blessings. Each of us is alive today because you sustain us. We live because you love us and you died so you could save us. When we leave here, we will go back into the world with our spirits restored because you are good. Father we need your forgiveness and we ask for it now. We ask that you give us the courage to forgive those who have wronged us. And Father we ask for life more abundantly for all of us in your church. But if it is your will that we pass into your presence, we ask that you deliver us into your eternal home.
We pray for all of this in Jesus Name,
Amen.
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