My wife enjoys the smell of scented candles. I love the smell of barbequed/braaied meat. It is pretty remarkable how a smell can permeate through the entire house. As our custom we lit up some scented candles once the kids fell asleep and I was thinking to myself candles are so prophetic of self-sacrificing. They burn and even to the point of burning out so we can have light and that sweet smell. It reminded of the sacrifices of old;
Genesis 8:21
[21]And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.
Some translations use the phrase ‘pleasing aroma’ instead of ‘sweet savour’. This scripture is in the context of Noah and co. disembarking the ark. Note that they did not bring the sacrifices beforehand, before getting into the ark, as if they had to twist Abba’s arm or convince Him to rescue them from the deluge. The sacrifice overflowed from out of the cup of Yah’s goodness into Noah’s empty vessel flowing into a lifestyle of sacrificial living. No commandment of ‘thou shall sacrifice…’ here. Noah did it willingly.
If you have been involved in the mainstream church you probably have heard the verse in Romans:
Romans 12:1-2
[1]I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
[2]And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It is a hard thing to comprehend. Especially if we have been in Churchianity where sacrificial living is diluted into a life of self centred living sprinkled with some Christ spice. Nah-uh, brothers and sisters we (including me) need to read this again:
…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service
If we offer our bodies as a sacrifice, to Yah’s disposal, 100% willing to follow His will it is REASONABLE. He does not go Wow! He is not impressed by this. Sacrificial living the Most High expects from us. It is something that we expect from our earthly relationships and marriages. Why would it be any different when it comes to our covenant with the Most High?
Ephesians 5:2
[2]And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.
Philippians 4:18
[18]But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
Practically how do we do this? Maybe for a start we need to free up our lives to live sacrificial by;
· Limiting or eliminating programs, shows or YouTube videos we watch with little to no benefit
· Eliminating time and money you spend on useless things and hoarding material things
· Limiting or eliminating time wasted mindlessly browsing the internet and scrolling and scrolling social media feeds
This only gets you to the starting point. These are just tools to get you on the altar of sacrifice. This is not the actual sacrifices. One way of participating in sacrifices is through praise and thanksgiving:
Hebrews 13:15-16
[15]By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. [16]But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The ESV puts it this way:
[15] Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. [16] Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
We can see 3 ways of giving sacrifices here:
· Thanksgiving to Yah
· Acknowledging Yah
· Sharing with others
Just think about this for a sec; He supplies us with these things whether it is good health, finances or whatever. All things belong to Him. But for us to acknowledge and thank Yah is to bring a sacrifice – really simple.
The second part though costs us something. To share with others implies giving something of ourselves. We need to be forged through fire into the image of the Son that gave His life. We need to come to grips with this, that we will be poured out. We are not exempted from losing everything, including our lives.
Just keep in mind;
When we were enthroned
He was sacrificed
But now He is enthroned
We are the sacrifice
So let it burn.
