AN OFFERING THAT IS WELL-PLEASING

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” (Isaiah 1:2-4).

 

My wife and I recently heard a preacher delivering a message to a large group of young people.  His text was from Luke chapter 6 which reads: “And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).  He said that Jesus often challenged the commitment of those who were following Him.  It was disciples that He was after, not just those who would follow when it was convenient for them – or wouldn’t follow Him at all.  To call Jesus our Lord and our Master and then not do the things that He asks us to do is hypocritical.

 

The preacher used a great illustration to bring his message to life.  He asked the young people (the majority of which were driving age) to imagine driving in their car and seeing Jesus on the curb.  They pull over to ask them in their car, but they open the trunk to let Him ride there.  They get back behind the wheel and continue on their journey until they have a flat tire or some other trouble, and then they let the Lord out of the trunk to help them.  Once they are done with Him, He goes back in the trunk until they have another need.  Alternatively, you could offer Jesus a place in the back seat, or even in the front passenger’s seat, but these are not the places where our Lord belongs.  What He expects is for us to hand over the keys and let Him drive us where He wants us to go while we sit in the back seat! 

 

How many Christians are there that keep Jesus in the trunk?  They call Him Master, but they are the Masters of their lives.  They only call on Him in trouble, and, sometimes, not even then.  Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).

 

In the book of Isaiah the Prophet, we find a solemn call to repentance to the children of God.  God calls them out for their rebellion against His Lordship, saying that even an ox or an ass knows its owner and Master, and who feeds it,  God’s people don’t even think about that, though!  God calls them a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters,” and says they have forsaken Him, provoked Him to anger, and backslidden from serving Him. 

 

Isaiah then uses an analogy that should be familiar to students of the New Testament.  Isaiah writes, “…the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Isaiah 1:5, 6).  We know that the Apostle Paul likened the Church to a human body.  For that body to function as it is intended, each member must be healthy and “fitly joined” to every other member.  Paul says, “…as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 13), and that we must,  “…grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from Whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15, 16). 

 

The Prophet sees a body that is much different from that ideal.  From the head to the sole of the foot it is weak and diseased, bruised and battered, and full of seeping sores.  Just as God’s children, Israel, lost their way and forgot who their Master and Lord was, so have God’s children today, the Church, Christ’s Body, forgotten to submit themselves to the only true King.

 

God then speaks through His Prophet to catalog the vain ways in which His people were choosing to draw closer to their Maker.  “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.  When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.  Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them.  And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” (Isaiah 1:11-15).  All of Israel’s traditions, rituals, sacrifices, observance of holy days, special assemblies and feasts – all those things were abominable to God because they were not presenting their lives to God as a living sacrifice.  God refused to even hear their prayers as long as they continued in their sins and rebelled against His will.

 

We find the same condition existing in the Body of Christ in our day.  Folks have traded ritual and traditions of man for true devotion and submission to God.  People have confessed Christ as their Savior, but then have continued their lives as before without yielding all to Him and letting Him transform them into His likeness.  Many would be aghast at anyone claiming that they could become like Jesus.  They even view it as a blasphemous idea much like the priests and religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought He blasphemed because He said He could be like His Father in heaven.  Jesus said, “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” (Luke 6:40).  Of course, this is a process, and we are all works in progress.  We bear this precious treasure of God’s grace and power in earthen vessels; and, by faith, we move from grace to grace as we grow up into Christ.  Jesus said, “…whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33).  This may sound frightening to some who have never considered this requirement of discipleship, but it is, nonetheless, the Lord’s condition.  Much like the Israelites when they began to conquer the Promised Land, our conquest of self happens stronghold by stronghold, and city by city.  It is our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ that gives us the victory over our enemies.  As we learn to apply His grace to our weakness, then He gives us the power to become a son of God (John 1:12).

 

What must we do then?  Isaiah had the answer.  God spoke through His Prophet and said, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:16-20).  We’re told in the Psalms that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).  These things, the Psalmist declares, the Lord will not despise.  Above all else, God desires truth from our hearts and spirits.  We cannot profess one thing with our mouth and live a different reality in our private lives. 

 

God invites us to wash away our sins in the blood of our dear Savior.  He asks us to put away our evil deeds and forsake them altogether.  Then we must learn to do well - something that does not come naturally to our carnal nature.  It takes study of God’s Word and faith in the promises He has given us.  This also includes ministering to the needs of those that God places around us who are less fortunate. 

 

No matter how stained our lives may be with sin, the blood of Jesus can make them white as snow.  God only requires two things of us: willingness and obedience.  If we do these things, the Lord will bless us with good things; but if we refuse and rebel against Him, we will be judged.

 

The path that the Lord leads us on is a narrow one, and difficult.  Jesus said, “…few there be that find it.”  You will not find a multitude of people who will choose to walk the narrow way.  The broad way is much more appealing.  However, it will lead to destruction in the end, whereas the narrow way will lead us to life eternal. 

 

There are also many leaders who will tickle our ears with a soft gospel that requires very little from us.  They will not expose the sins of the Church, or challenge the members of the Body to go deeper in God.  Instead, they sit by and watch the Body grow weaker and more afflicted without offering the healing ointment and soothing balm that can only come by true repentance and obedience to God’s Word. 

 

Psalm 116 is a beautiful song of praise and thanksgiving to God.  It is thought to have been written on the occasion of Israel’s return to their homeland after years of Babylonian captivity.  To me it expresses the response that God’s children should have to all the good things that He does for them continually. 

 

“I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.  Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1).

 

Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).  This love is born out of the realization that God first loved us.  He loved us when we were unlovable and when we didn’t even love ourselves!  While we were yet sinners, God gave His only begotten Son to die and redeem our souls from destruction.  We love Him also because He hears us when we call upon Him in truth and sincerity.  Knowing now that He hears us, we want to call upon Him for the rest of our lives, for He is a refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). 

 

“The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me.  Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.  For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.  I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.  I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: (Psalm 116:6-10).

 

The faithfulness of the Lord inspires our devotion and love.  God has helped us when we have been brought low by sin and circumstance.  Our souls can return to a place of peace and rest in the Lord because of the abundance of His grace and mercy toward each of us.  Truly the Lord has delivered us from death, tears, and falling!  Therefore, we can walk before Him in the land of the living, and not in a place of condemnation, doubt, and spiritual death.  Our faith and confession go hand in hand as we follow Christ.  Because we believe, we can then confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord – even through great affliction.

 

“What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me?  I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12, 13).

 

How can I repay the Lord for His goodness to me?  What sacrifice can I make, what offering can I bring?  If I were to catalog all the things that God has done for me in the 51 years that I have walked with Him, it would fill volumes.  To repay Him for all that He has done would be impossible.  There is no price, there is no recompense.  God Himself, however, prescribes a way, an offering that is well-pleasing to Him.  It is simply to “…take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.”

 

This “cup of salvation” is the path of life that the Lord has chosen for each of us.  It is the race that our Master has set for us to run, and the cross that we are called to bear.  Jesus said of this cup, which would include His rejection, persecution, and cruel death, “…the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).  The cup of salvation is connected to God’s will for our lives.  In the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion the Lord prayed, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42).  Jesus would have preferred to fulfill the Father’s will without all of the suffering of the cross.  This was the will of His flesh.  Jesus recognized this, and, in the end, submitted His life and will to God. 

 

There is also an important connection between this cup of salvation and our communion with Christ Himself (see 1 Corinthians 11:5).  Jesus said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you...He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53, 56).

 

The Bible warns of severe outcomes for those who have neglected the gift of grace and tread “…under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29).  If we refuse the cup of salvation, we are refusing God and His plan for our lives. 

 

“I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:14, 15). 

 

All of the promises of service and loyalty that we make to the Lord when we first come to Him are vain.  In our own strength and will we can do nothing.  It is in Christ, and Christ alone, that we find power to serve Him.  The vows mentioned in this psalm refer to free will offerings that the Jews would promise to the Lord for His blessings and help.  In a deeper sense, though, it refers to our offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices (See Romans 12:1).  This type of sacrifice – losing our life to gain Jesus’ life – is precious in the sight of the Lord.

 

 “I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:14, 15). 

 

Thanksgiving becomes a sacrifice when it actually costs us something to praise Him.  When we can suffer adversity and still offer up our praise, that is well-pleasing to God.  Don’t forget to call on Him, either.  He loves it when we become like children and depend on Him for every need!