True Sacrifice
The last thing that I want to mention is this. There was a second sacrifice in this story. The
first sacrifice grabbed God’s attention, and God answered David’s prayer. The second sacrifice
was given as a response to what God just did.
1 Chr. 21:28 (NKJV)
At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.
David offered up one final sacrifice to seal the deal. When we truly worship in a spirit of
sacrifice, God is going to move. But if we only worship to get God to do something, I believe
He will eventually stop meeting with us. Because there has to be a response of worship for what He has done.
David worshipped before the answer came, and he worshipped again after the answer came. Do you remember
the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17. All ten of them began to cry out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, have
mercy on us.” You see, they were coming to Jesus in their need. They knew that He was the only one
that could heal them. However, when Jesus did heal them they all left, but one turned back to thank
Him. And because of that, Jesus pronounced a special blessing on him. He said, “Your faith has made you whole”.
The Greek word that is translated ‘whole’ is ‘sozo’. It means not only ‘to heal’ but also ‘to save’.
As worshippers we must understand that God wants genuine sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says that this kind of
sacrifice is holy and pleasing to Him. True worship is done in good times and in bad. True sacrifice
is offered before the answer comes and once again after the answer.
Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord (praise and thanks) at all times (every season). His
praise (song) shall continually (regularly, perpetually) be in my mouth.” David wrote these words
at one of the lowest points in his life. He was being chased by King Saul who wanted to kill him.
The town that he fled to recognized him, so he began to act demon possessed to distract them. But
still in the midst of pain, suffering, and fear, he said, “In every season of life, I will keep a song
of praise on my lips.”
That is the secret to true worship and true sacrifice. Don’t ever give God something that costs you
nothing. Don’t rip God off and don’t be a cheap skate when it comes to worship.
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.