THE ATTITUDE OF SELF-SACRIFICE

There are certain demands made of every worshipper during worship, certain fundamentals which must be present if our worship is to be in Spirit and in truth. The attitude of thanksgiving, the sense of spiritual need and the knowledge that none but God can meet that need, and the sense of indebtedness to Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us, in whose death is our only hope and in whose Spirit is our only strength. All these attitudes must meet and mingle if our worship is to be really worshipped. Without them, a man may come to church and go away no better than he came. But there is another attitude, frequently ignored, the attitude of self-sacrifice. There are many to whom worship is a joy; but it is more than a joy, it is a duty too. No Jew came to worship God empty-handed. To give of his means was part of his devotions.

David will never offer anything to God which cost him nothing. Jesus equally made it clear when He observed the giving procession in the Temple, He found all the riches brought out of their abundance but only the widow brought hers out of self-denial. Zacchaeus had never entered the Temple without giving—but now, under the gaze of Jesus, he felt that he could not give enough. Beloved, that is the mark of Christian giving. Therefore, ask yourselves—have you been giving to the point of sacrifice? Have you ever denied yourself of anything? It is only thus that giving is a joy, only thus it brings us nearer Christ, only thus is it a means of grace as spiritual and as strengthening as prayer.

The truest offering is in the heart. In David case, a man who had been trained in ritual worship, you may be sure that from his earliest years he had never worshipped with that which cost him nothing. He had brought his offering, and he had paid for it, and he had denied himself that he might pay for it. The God whom he had found when he was shepherding was not a God to be worshipped cheaply. And then there came his kingship and his fall and the terrible havoc of his kingly character, and David found that all the blood of goats could not make him a true worshipper again. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit—a broken and a contrite heart. Let him give his kingdom for an offering, and he would not be an acceptable worshipper. He must give himself—he must deny his lusts—he must lay aside his pride and repent, or all his worship would be mockery and the sanctuary a barren place for him.

It is easier to lay down a generous offering than to lay down a long-continued grudge. And Jesus Christ insists that if worship is to be acceptable to God, the worshipper must lay aside his pride and humble himself as a little child. Worship is not easy; it is hard. It is not just a comfortable hour on Sunday with beautiful music and a fluent preacher; it is an attitude of heart and soul that is impossible without self-denial. And I hope you understand this in time.

Word Affirmation: “And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." - Psalm 30:6 (Don't just say it, mean it!)

“The truest offering is in the heart."

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