Live a life of sacrifice

1Kings 3: 4-6 (KJV)

‘’And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ask what I shall give thee.’’

 Beloved, I know that this scripture is very familiar, but I want to draw your attention to the fact that God is always aware of what we give to Him or the things we do for the kingdom. From the above text, you can see that Solomon though a king, knew he had to give to God like every other person but more importantly, he also knew what to give. He did not appear before the altar in Gibeon like every other person. He chose to be different. He offered a thousand burnt offerings upon the altar. Think about it. Not a few hundreds, but a thousand. He gave so much that God came to him in a dream at night with a blank cheque saying ‘’ask what I shall give thee’’.

In verse 9 of that same scripture, we are told that Solomon responded by asking for wisdom and God responded by giving him much more than he asked for because He is the much-more God. He gave him wisdom, riches and honour as had never been recorded concerning any other king in Israel.

Beloved, only ‘sacrificial giving’ could have provoked that kind of blessing. The scriptures also tell us that Abraham was asked of God to sacrifice his son Isaac, and immediately he made arrangements to offer his son. That was a huge demand placed on Abraham and yet he obeyed. The question is why did Abraham go to that length? Abraham saw beyond the gift, he saw the giver of the gift, and he knew the giver could give him much more. Oftentimes we are concerned about our gifts and fail to realize that no man can out give God. God in response to Abraham’s sacrifice, said, now I know that you truly love me and therefore, in blessing I will bless you and in multiplication, I will multiply you; I will so much bless you that your seed will possess the gates of your enemies.

Beloved if you want to activate that level of blessing in your life, you must be ready to live a life of sacrifice. Yes, it may not be convenient, but when you think of the goodness of God upon your life, your act of sacrifice becomes a natural response. When you think of how much grace He has lavished on you, your response to Him can only be to give back out of the abundance He has given you. I challenge you today to cultivate a heart of sacrifice. Learn to give when the opportunity arises. Don’t grumble or murmur or rule out yourself because things appears tough for you. Sow your seeds cheerfully and you will experience the abundance that comes from the throne of grace for, God loves a cheerful giver.

As you go into this new week, I declare that God will meet you at the very point of your need and fill your mouth with good things. I declare that no more empty meal barrel, no more scratching the surface in your life. Abundance is your portion. You will not be stranded. The Lord Himself will pour you out a blessing that you will not have enough room to contain it.  As a father in the house, I bless you.

Maranatha!

In His Royal Service

Dr. Mike Okonkwo

The Presiding Bishop