Sacrifice has always been the key to pleasing God. From the time that God ordained that Adam and his sons should give sacrifice all the way to Calvary and beyond we can find numerous examples of how that God is pleased by sacrifices offered by men. In other words, God was teaching a principle that men do not please Him by doing nothing and in order to be pleasing to God, man has to put some effort in serving and giving to God. Many people use the term "serving God" today but we must ask ourselves: "what sacrifice am I giving God?" To "serve God" requires action and sacrifice on my part!

When God gave the law to Moses He got real picky about the kinds of sacrifices that He would accept. God outlined them in so much great detail that a lifetime of study would never exhaust the lessons to be learned from the scriptures. Of course, Jesus came to fulfill the law (not "do away with"), so we do not have to offer literal blood sacrifices of lambs and goats anymore. But the New Testament does tell us that the laws in the Old Testament were to teach us about the New Covenant to come. In other words, it is worthwhile to know at least the basics of the Old Testament sacrifices because they foreshadowed how we are to live today and the sacrifices that we can give. Let me explain.

There were 5 different categories of sacrifices offered in the Old Testament. When God anointed Aaron as priest and had him perform the first sacrifices, Aaron did the sacrifices in a particular order. This was no accident because this is the order that they must be followed even today in our lives under Grace.

1. Sin offering - This was the first sacrifice that had to be given. This is the sacrifice that we teach about all of the time. It was the offering of a spotless lamb to pay the price of sin. The blood of the spotless lamb, when properly applied, removed the barrier of past sins from the person's relationship with God. The most famous sin offering was the Day of Atonement, on which a sacrifice was done for all of the people.

You've probably already guessed how that this sacrifice applies to us today! Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God that was offered as a blood sacrifice on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins! But His blood is only profitable if it is properly applied! Hebrews 9:22 teaches us that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." In Acts 2:38 Peter told the people to be "baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." The great sin offering of Jesus Christ has been given, but you must apply the blood to have your sins washed away! If you have never been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, then you need to do so and have the sin offering in your life! You have never experienced a freer feeling than having God wash away the stain of every one of your past sins. God will not only forgive at repentance, but He will wash away the stains! It's the first sacrifice that you need! You need the blood of Jesus Christ in your life!

2. Burnt-offering - This was the second sacrifice offered to God by our example Aaron. The burnt-offering sacrifice was termed a "whole sacrifice" by God because the entire animal was offered to God and nothing was to remain (Lev 6:22). Also incense came under this category and frankincense and myrrh were used for the offering because they were completely consumed and no residue was left symbolizing that God had been given everything.

After you have offered up your sin sacrifice by having the Blood of Jesus Christ applied to your life, God desires a burnt-offering type sacrifice of dedication. God wants to consume your entire being. He wants to give you the Holy Ghost and will do so if you are willing to yield everything to Him! But it has to be a "whole sacrifice." Nothing can remain! You must be willing to give God every part and every desire of your being. You must be willing to submit every area of your life to God's will. We must hold nothing back to properly dedicate ourselves to God!

The other unique aspect of the burnt-offering was that it was to be "continual" and offered every morning and every evening (Ex 29:38-42). It was not a one time dedication, but a continual reminder to God of submission! God is not pleased in you being willing to give everything in your life in submission to Him for one day. It must be a continual offering of dedication. Every morning, you should offer your will and life to God as a burnt-offering. Every evening you should rededicate yourself to the will of God and what He desires for you to do. Our dedication cannot just be a Sunday affair, but we must live every day, morning and evening dedicated to God's purpose!

3. Meal offering (often wrongly called a "meat offering) - This was an offering of thanksgiving for what God had done. There were four types of Meal offerings.

First, was a daily sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Second, was the fresh shewbread that was replaced weekly. Third, was a great feast for all of the people every Sabbath. The Fourth kind was an offering of firstfruits.

We offer up a daily sacrifice of thanksgiving by living life with the attitude of thankfulness. God responds to an attitude of thankfulness with more blessing! Our attitude toward what we have been given determines what we will receive in the future!

The shewbread was given so that those who were serving God would never get hungry. It symbolizes the Word of God which is the bread of life! God has spiritual bread available for you throughout the week so that you do not have to go spiritually hungry. God wants to talk to you through His Word! God wants to show you great revelations, but we must eat the bread! The best thing about the shewbread was that it was changed out weekly so that it would not grow stale. Every week that goes by, God has a greater, fresh blessing to give us! He has even more knowledge and help to grant! Jeremiah said it like this:

God wants to give you the strength and mercy that you need to make it through the week, so pick up His Word and begin to read it!

The third kind of meal offering was a great feast served every Sabbath cooked on the altar of God! When I pray and fast, God always gives me direction for our Sunday services! God honors us gathering together by preparing a spiritual feast every week! Every blessing and spiritual food that you could possibly need is here today, all God is asking is that you "come and dine." The people who did not attend the feast on the Sabbath did not partake of the food and did not get the nourishment that God wanted to give them!

The other kind of meal offering was the first fruits. This was the people's tithing and offerings of their increase. Today our increase usually comes in the form of money so when we give our tithing and offering to God, we are giving a meal offering. It is a form of giving a sacrifice to God. It should be the "first fruits" of your increase. Do you pay the bills and then give to God of the remainder? Or is the first check that you write after a deposit written to God!? If you would give God tithing and offering first then you would find that He would make sure that you always had more than enough! Also notice that the people did not throw their tithing into the air and say "okay, God didn't want it because it came back down!" The way they gave to God was to bring it to His house and give it to the ministry. Some people cringe when the offering plate is passed and that's sad because they miss the point: my giving is an offering unto God! I am offering God a meal offering and I know that He will not be out given. The point of every meal offering was that it was an opportunity to give back to God and receive even more from God!

4. Peace offering - I like this sacrifice. This was also called a "heave offering" or a "wave offering." This sacrifice was done in front of all the people and performed for the congregation. When this sacrifice was offered, it was cooked upon the altar and then divided among the priests and the congregation. It symbolized a "dinner with God." God's portion was left upon the altar and when the priests and people would begin to eat of their parts, a miraculous event would happen! Fire would fall from heaven and consume God's part on the altar! God ate His portion!

The peace offering is our praise and worship service. You come and offer to God your praise with the ministry. When you do offer your sacrifice of praise, God comes and consumes the sacrifice! The Bible teaches that God inhabits the praises of His people. That's why when you begin to praise and worship God, God's presence comes into this place! The Holy Ghost, which is called the "consuming fire," falls from heaven among the congregation! You have invited God to fellowship with you and He responds! When you offer a peace offering unto God, He will join you!

5. Trespass offering - The last category of sacrifices was one of making things right if you had sinned against God or your fellow man. In these sacrifices, man offered whatever was needed to get in right standing again with their fellow man and God. Today we give trespass offerings by quickly asking forgiveness of our fellow brothers and sisters. When you offend someone and ask forgiveness from God and then go to them and get things right, you are offering a trespass offering. It is a form of sacrifice and God is pleased! We should be anxious to keep a right spirit and relationship with others! {Story of your neighbor dispute if needed?}

What's the point? To please God you are going to give some sacrifice! Man MUST do something in order to have a relationship with God. You give sacrifices by applying the blood of Jesus Christ to your life in baptism and receiving His Holy Spirit. You give a continual burnt-offering of your life to God by dedicating your life and everyday actions to Him! When we give of our time, attitude, attend church, and give of our tithing and offering, we are offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving for what God has done for us! When we come in and give the sacrifice of praise and feel God's Spirit come down, we are giving an offering unto God that is pleasing to Him. When we make things right with God and our brothers and sisters, we are offering pleasing sacrifices! How do I sacrifice? By doing these thing unto the Lord! Even today in Grace and in the 21st century, we still please God by offering acceptable sacrifices unto Him!

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For some strange reason I have been drawn to the story of Hosea for the past few months. You may have noticed that in 3 or 4 past sermons, I have quoted from the book of Hosea. In my personal devotion, I have been led to Hosea and have probably read the entire book 5 times in the last two months. For whatever reason, God has been speaking personally to me and consequently to this church through the words of this lesser known prophet.

Hosea lived in a time when Israel had fallen into idolatry and Baal worship. Hosea prophesied about the coming destruction of Israel by invading armies. Hosea was born into a wealthy family in the upper class in Israel (we know this because of the literary devices and educational level of the writing). The wild thing about Hosea's life is that God commanded him to marry a temple prostitute to symbolize God's relationship with Israel. Hosea's marriage would symbolize God's relationship with Israel. For a holy, upper-class prophet to obey God in marrying a known temple prostitute shows how committed and sure of God's calling that Hosea was! When Hosea and his wife had kids, God commanded them to name them certain names which symbolized what would happen or would be the "offspring of" their decision to be unfaithful to God. Just like Israel had been unfaithful to God, Hosea's wife, Gomer ran away and became a prostitute again leaving Hosea with the kids and a lot of questions for God. Months later, Hosea was walking by the slave market where prisoners and debtors were sold into slavery and there upon the auction block was his wife. Amazingly God spoke to Hosea and told him to buy her back to symbolize to the people how that God would purchase Israel's redemption even though they had strayed from Him. When Hosea bought her, God commanded that he place her in another house and provide for her food and clothing but to not have an intimate relationship with her until she had proved herself faithful over a long period time by not committing adultery. God said that it would be the same way with Israel, that God would not return to a meaningful relationship with them until they had proved over a long period of time that they would not return to idolatry!

The scripture that we read as our text reveals a remarkable principle about sacrifice to God.

God speaking to Hosea said about Israel "they love sacrifice" but that He did not accept and had "no delight" in their sacrifice. As the children of Israel were going about their Baal worship with it's prostitution and sexual parties, in between bowing and offering worship to their statues and images, in between their sinful lifestyles the children of Israel were STILL OFFERING GOD HIS SACRIFICES, AND LOVED DOING IT! They were sinning and yet offering trespass offerings! They were worshipping Baal and then offering a peace offering to God! It is obvious why God did not accept those sacrifices, but even after Hosea began preaching to the people, and some of the people began offering sacrifices of repentance to God, God would not accept their offering! Why not?

The reason is found in Hosea 4:8-15. God said that the people's heart was in the other worship. They loved sacrifices and they did not mind giving God His sacrifices but when He looked and saw how that their heart was in the Baal worship. When God saw them go through the motions of His sacrifices and yet long with great desire and anticipation for the temple prostituted, He would not accept their sacrifices because their heart was on other things!

When does God not accept sacrifice? When it is not done with your whole heart! When you are more passionate about other things in life, God is not interested in your sacrifice! When sin appeals to you and you long for it's ways more than righteous, God could care less about your sacrifice! The children of Israel were going through the motions of religion but only from a sense of obligation. They had been taught that they were to give those things to God, so they gave God His sacrifices and yet they were not passionate about the things of God. Offering sacrifices were just a ritual and a requirement, but their passion and longing and heart was somewhere else!

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Sadly, when Jesus returned to earth to buy back Israel from the auction block of sin, Hosea's prophecy proved true. Jesus' chief enemies were not the Gentile sinners, but the Pharisees, the ones who were in charge of teaching and performing the sacrifices of God! The Pharisees loved the sacrifices and yet had grown to a place where they performed them without desiring a closer relationship with God. They were interested in proving their own righteousness rather than allow God to work in their lives.

Jesus confronted them directly by quoting Isaiah 29:13-14 to them:

Jesus was saying, "you people are giving the sacrifices to God, and saying all the right things, but your heart is not in it." When a Phariseeical scribe came to Jesus one day and asked, what is the greatest commandment, then Jesus responded by saying:

The number #1 commandment is that there is only one God, but having that knowledge is not enough unless you love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength! To love God with all of your heart means "to love God with all of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions." We do not serve God because of emotion, but what gets our emotions excited tells us whether or not we are serving God with "all our heart."

This man had begun to realize that loving God with all of his heart was worth much more than any sacrifice! And Jesus answered him and said "thou are not far from the kingdom of God." In other words, "you're taking the right steps in getting a relationship with God that you never dreamed that you could have!" How was he getting close? By realizing that sacrifices would never be pleasing to God unless he loved God with his whole heart!

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Church, we need to heed the lesson of the nation of Israel. They got so comfortable in coming and giving God their sacrifices that they forgot the reason for why the sacrifices were there! They forgot that the presence of God was so that they could have a relationship with Him! Because of this they crucified Jesus Christ. Their temple was destroyed thirty years later and to this day, God has fulfilled the prophecy of Hosea in Hosea chapter 3 in that Israel does not have priests or even a temple. When they gave sacrifice without their heart being in them, God took away their opportunity for sacrifice and thus relationship with Him!

It's possible to become so accustomed to giving of our sacrifice to God that we do not do so with passion. It's possible to attend church because it's the thing to do, praise and worship God because we know that we are commanded to do so, give a sacrifice of our money and time, and even forgive others and keep peace, and yet do so without being passionate about the things of God. We can get to a place if we are not careful that we are comfortable "being Christians" and "doing Christian things" that we forget about our relationship with Jesus Christ and growing closer to Him. How can you tell? Because when you stop serving God with all of your heart, you will become passionate about other things! The things of this world will began to appeal to us! We will sacrifice more passionately for the things of this life rather than the things of God. We will more willingly give of our time to earthly pursuits rather than the kingdom of God. We will be more willing to fulfill the lusts of the flesh rather than building spiritual power through prayer and fasting.

And the danger of it is that if we allow ourselves to become too comfortable in our sacrifice, God will remove the ability to sacrifice forever! I cannot forget, that when I worship, I must not do it out of a sense of obligation but of a love and desire to know Him better. I cannot afford to attend church because "I'm supposed to" but I must walk through the doors every service with an anticipation of giving God a sacrifice of my life, time, and will. I am bringing God a sacrifice, for Him to be pleased, I must bring it passionately! When I live my life, I must be passionately dedicated to God's will in my life! There is nothing greater than loving the Lord God with ALL of my heart. If I do not do so, God is not interested in my sacrifice! How can people go to church for years and years and never win anybody for God and never see the miraculous hand of God using them to reach the world? By growing comfortable in their sacrifices and losing their passion!

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The church at Ephesus was founded by the Apostle Paul on one of his missionary journeys. Paul really loved the Ephesian church. We know this for several reasons. First, he spent over three years working to establish the church. Then he wrote one of the longest and special letters, the book of Ephesians, to them. Third, he sent his closest friend, Timothy who was like Paul's own son, to pastor the church. If any church got started correctly and had Godly leadership, it was the Ephesian church.

When Paul knew that his time was coming to die, he called the leaders of the church in Ephesus together and warned them:

He warned the Ephesians that when the false doctrines and teachings came "please do not follow after them!" He even mentioned that for three years, he had cried and taught them because of the hard battles against false doctrine that they would face. After this powerful exhortation, Paul bid them farewell:

These events of Acts chapter 20 took place in 57 A.D. 43 years later we find God giving instructions to John, who is now a very old man for the church in Ephesus. By this time Timothy had probably been martyred and the leadership had passed on to some of those men with whom Paul had exhorted and warned. In the letter we find that Ephesus had done marvelously at thwarting false doctrines and in the sacrifices of the Lord:

Despite willingly performing the sacrifices of God and standing for the truth of sound doctrine, the Ephesians had failed in one area: they had lost the passion of their first love, and forgotten about their relationship with Jesus Christ! Despite their labors and great sacrifice, God was not pleased because they were not serving Him with their whole heart!

And God told them to repent and go back to the way that they loved Him in the beginning or else He would quickly come and remove their candlestick, or anointing and blessings, from them!

Can there be a clearer message today? God is pleased by sacrifice but only when performed with our whole heart! Could it be that a church can have their doctrine correct, and selfishly sacrifice their time and labor and yet not love God with their whole heart?! Ephesus certainly had done so? We cannot perform our sacrifices our of obligation only, but we must be passionate about what we give God! If not it is possible that God would remove the anointing and liberty that He has given us. Notice God compared their anointing with a "candlestick." When we lose our relationship with God and our first love for Him, we lose the ability to shine out in the darkness and reach others! We must love Jesus with our whole heart!

David, who was man after God's own heart, learned this lesson well:

God's appetite for sacrifice leaves when His people are not giving themselves completely to a relationship with Him! The sacrifices of God are important to God but He only desires them when they are offered with a passion, with a zeal, with a hunger, and with everything that we have to offer!