Lesson 12: Joy’s sacrifice
Philippians 2:1-30 – www.bible.com/bible/59/php.2
17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
We read Romans 12:1-2 a few lessons ago as we looked at the transforming power joy has in our life. Today we return to these verses to again look at the sacrifice asked of us, and remember the sacrifice God asked of Abraham as we read about in last lesson.
God will never ask us to kill our children on a fiery altar – this is not the kind of sacrifice either of these passages is about. The sacrifice God asks of us is all about what is most precious or dear to us.
* What is the most precious thing or person or dream or desire or goal in your life?
For some people, it might be our children or our spouse. Some might say their dream is to be rich or famous. Some might say they want a good job so they can be successful or powerful. None of these things, of themselves, are wrong. However, God wants to be more important in our lives than any other person or dream or desire or goal. Read Luke 14:26 for Jesus’ words about loving someone else more than Him. Read Matthew 19:21-22 for Jesus’ words about loving possessions more than Him. Read Mark 9:34-37 for Jesus’ words about positions of authority and power.
Again, power or wealth or authority or family are not the issue in Jesus’ kingdom – the only important thing is who or what has first place in our life. It is so easy for us to switch our love from the Giver to the gift. Far too often we seek God for what we want from Him rather than simply wanting HIM. We want the blessing rather than being satisfied simply to be near the Blesser.
What is the purpose of our sacrifice? The obvious answer (as we have already discussed) is to show us who is most important to our heart. But another answer in our verses today is that we sacrifice for the benefit of others, so they can grow in Christ because of what we are willing to give. Most of us might think of sacrificing money to give someone else what they need, and this sacrifice is often found in the Scriptures. But the picture in our verses today is something quite different. The drink offering as it was designed by God in Exodus and Leviticus was the offering of a source of pleasure (wine) onto an offering of thanksgiving or praise. So here, the sacrifice was the faith of the Philippian Christians, and Paul’s part was the drink offering poured on top of their sacrifice. We might think, Paul’s joy was the drink offering (the pleasure, the praise) for the sacrifice of faith from his friends. Together, their combined sacrifice was a pleasure to God, even as each of them experienced greater joy simply for having shared with each other.