Tonight, we are looking at something that the Lord cherishes a lot, which we must cherish. Something that is valuable to God that must become valuable to us, if we will become valuable entities in our generations. We are looking at The Offering that Moves God. Now, there are so much to be observed from that title. The first thing is offering. But it is not just an offering, it is the offering. Now, there is 'move' and there is 'God'. so, you know that we are dealing with three things or three issues here; starting from the matter of God, how God is moved and what moves God. The offering that moves God.
We will be examining two Scriptures as our texts for study tonight. Luke 20:45-47, 21:1-4 and then Hebrews 10.
"Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,"
I am sure tonight that we are aware that we are in Disciplers' Convocation. It is because we know, first and foremost, that we are disciples of Jesus, that is why we are here. So, in this passage, we know who Jesus was speaking to, lest things are confused. Somebody could say, is there any sin in all these things that Jesus have instructed His disciples to beware of? Perhaps, you did not see any sin, I want you to understand that Jesus was not just talking about what they did. His emphasis was also on why they did what they did. Do we understand? He says "beware of the Scribes who desire.." Can we see that? There is a desire in them.
Listen To Podcast: THE OFFERING THAT MOVES GOD – SUSTAINING DIVINE SUPPLY IN AND FOR MINISTRY
Now, notice the Bible didn't say "who go around in long robes.." Jesus have even emphasized the matter. He said they desire to go around in long robes, they love greetings in the market places, and they love the best seats in the synagogue. The question is: "Why do they love the best seats in the synagogue?" Is sitting at the best seat in the synagogue a sin? But there is something that is driving that. There is a motive that Jesus was not comfortable with and so, He said to His disciples and not to the multitudes; beware of the Scribes.
These Scribes are known as servants of God, but beware of them. Why? They love and desire to go around in long robes, they love greetings in the market places and the best seats in the synagogue and the best places at feasts.
47 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."
Is there any praise for them? Now, if you look at what Jesus mentioned; most of them actually happens in places that we can call worship centres. They devour widows houses, this could have happened outside of the synagogue. They, out of pretence make long prayers, this happens in the Sanctuary, now they love the best seats in the synagogue; there is also a reason why they do that. So, Jesus was emphasizing on certain people that have position of authority in the synagogue. People that others considered to be highly placed, perhaps in a religious setup. And Jesus said to His own followers, beware of them!
If there is nothing injurious to the disciples, Jesus would not warned them against them. But He said, "beware of them." Now, haven stopped with that, He continued in Luke 21:1-4. The Bible says:
"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites…"
He just warned against the Scribes, and haven concluded with that, He looked and saw certain rich people putting their gifts into the treasury. And He also observed a certain widow putting in two mites. The previous verse says who devoured widows houses. So, let us even assume that this widow has been devoured by them in the past. But in spite of what might have been done to her, she still decided to also do something.
"3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;"
Now, when you say somebody has put in more than all, you are indirectly weighing the person side-by-side with other people that have also done something. There is a comparison taking place here. They have put in something, but she has done more than them. Now, Jesus also saw the rich, and someone could have concluded that the rich were the ones giving their best or the best. But the Bible says that poor widow gave more than them all. And let us see what Jesus said in verse four.
"4….for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."
The emphasis in this verse here is 'offerings for God'. That is why the object of attention for the poor widow and the rich, was God. They put in offering for God, however, God was moved with one offering than the others. For Jesus said this widow has put in more than them. So, indirectly, it means this particular widow has done something that moves God. They gave out of their abundance to God, but she gave her all. The question is, how is she expected to survive after that offering? Does it not mean that she was given her life indirectly? That is it!
Now, the Bible says the rich, out of their abundance, they gave gifts as an offering unto God. But the widow, out of her poverty, gave all her livelihood to God. And Jesus said she has given more. So, there is an offering that moves God and there is an offering that moves men. The question is who do you want to ultimately move with your offerings? Our conversation tonight is going to be on two dimensions: first, we are looking at that offering that moves God and not the ones that moves men. We are also looking at the offering, that has been once offered, that really moves God. So, there are two dimensions to that.
Let us now go to the book of Hebrews 10, starting from verse one. Yesterday, at the Leadership Fellowship, we read this particular passage of the Bible and so, the Holy Spirit has directed us here again.
"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect."
You know, in my spirit, I feel a kind of pity to a group of people in our generation, as it was in this generation. The Bible says certain people offered continually, year after year, sacrifices that can never make those people who approach perfect. The questions is, what is actually your primary desire? Do you want to be busy doing something, or do you want to do something that moves God or something that builds you up? The Bible says those who do that kind of offering yearly were not made perfect by the things they were busy with. That is another way of seeing that verse one.
Now, because of that, there was a need for the replacement of that practice. They were doing this, even though it got them busy, it didn't produce any perfection in them. So, let us go to verse two.
"For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
You know, when the message yesterday was going on, one of the things that I thought of was that when a man sins, he kills his goat so that God will forgive him. And if he has one million goats for instance, so he will continue sinning and be killing these goats. That does not produce perfection in those who practice it. But Jesus said, a body you have prepared for me, now it is now something for me to use to please you. Instead of me now offering goats and bulls and all of that; it is now the moment for me to offer my body to you.
Can a man love to sin, and the consequences of it is that he must offer his body to pay for the atonement of the sins, will such a person sin repeatedly? If every time you sin you must die, will you sin? But if you have to just kill a chicken or a goat, you might do it and then buy more chickens and goats. I don't know if you understand? Jesus said sacrifices and offerings you do not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. You prepare this body for me and then it is my responsibility to offer this body to you. We are looking for "The offering" that moves God, not "An offering." Let us continue in verse six.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”Let us jump to verse nine.
9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
So, what was used as a means for our redemption and forgiveness as it were was the blood of bulls and animals, the things that did not produce perfection in us. Now, Jesus said a body you have prepared for me. And now that body, He offered it for the sins of the world, He did it once and for all, and that offering moved God. Why? It was His body that was offered. You know in John 3:16, the Bible says for God so loved the world that He gave, Now, the love of God Made Him to give His only begotten son, what about that son? You know, we are not dealing with the emotions of the son here!
The Son had to willingly sacrifice Himself. What about the pain He went through? I don't know if you understand? This was not a son killing a goat for all of us. This was the son as it were killing Himself, making Himself a lamb that was slain for our own sins. So, He was offered. The Bible says without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. But the Bible says He did it once and for all, and therefore, Jesus became the offering that moved God. And we must never forget that.
If your offering will move God, as we have seen in that widow's case, it must be an offering at the expense of your life. If your life will continue to be rosy after an offering, then perhaps, it was just one of those offerings, not the offering. I am sure we remember the story of Elisha and the widow of Zarephat, the Bible says she had a little thing for her and her son to eat, and she said after eating, they will die. She said the little they had was only enough to keep them alive for that moment. So, that, as far as they are concerned, was their livelihood. That was what their life was holding unto. If they need to give that away, that means their time left to stay here on earth would have been shortened. It was all about their life.
When the widow came to the place, she was not giving hoping she would live afterwards so to say, because there was nothing remaining she could live on. The Bible says she gave all her livelihood, which indirectly means she offered her life. Others, out of their abundance, they gave. So, even though they have given, they still have so much more. They have give so much, but they have so much more. Their lives could continue endlessly. But this woman, when she gave all she had, her life then became dependent on whatever God wanted to do with it. I don't know if you understand? And Jesus said that woman has done more than them all. In a way, she satisfied God, God was pleased with Her.
God said concerning Jesus, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased! He has not come to offer bulls. He has not come as a priests to kill goats for the sins of the world. Don't forget that for the priest, when people sin, they come to the priest, who in turn offer sacrifices on their behalf. Now this priest did not offer goats and animals, He offered Himself. So, He became the offering that moved God. At a point He said to the Father, My Father, why have you forsaken me? He was being offered! And I am sure you remember Apostle Paul saying to Timothy in letter, talking about his time of departure and how he is being offered up as an offering.
He used the word an offering because he knew there is no other foundation that can be laid, except that Christ has laid already. Jesus was the offering, he is an offering. And the implication was that he was given up Himself that they may live. Jesus said concerning John, when he was with you, he was a burning and a shining light. When we buy bulbs, led bulbs or whatever, usually at the cartons, you will see where the lifespan is written. Some have as much as a hundreds of thousands of hours. Some could have lesser. No matter how fantastic the bulb is, it sure has a lifespan. Why? You cannot as it were burn limitlessly.
Jesus said, when John was with you, he was burning and a shining light, meaning he was a dyeing offering. He kept on telling the people to repent, he was dealing with the sins of men, and he was offering himself. Ultimately, he was killed for their sake. So, when you are talking about offerings that moves God, it is not about the quantum of the offering, but what happens after you give it.
Number one: what is moving you to give it? What happens after you give it? The Bible says something about a man who goes about bearing precious seeds and weeping. Let us read it in Psalms 126:6. It says:
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
SO, the offering you are giving, is it such you are weeping with it? Do you give in your local church, and you are weeping? Have you done it before? If you have not done it before, it means you don't do it. The man goes about, bearing seeds for 'sowing' and not for 'showing', shall doubtless come again, this is so sure. No wonder when Jesus offered Himself as the offering that moves God, the Bible says God has given Him a name that higher than every other names, that at the mention of the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. Why? He offered Himself as the offering that moves God.
That is one aspect of our discussion tonight that I wants us to know very clearly. Jesus had to suffer, so that you will not have to suffer. He had to go through the pain, because it was really a painful process. In fact, the Bible says the sweats that was emanating from His body at the time was as His thick as blood. At some point He asked of the Father whether the cup could be taken away from Him, but before the thought settles, He said not at His own will, but as the Father wills. That is why He said in Psalms and Hebrews that "I delight to do your will Oh God."
Those who give offerings in churches and Synagogues, do they do it by their delight or by obligations? You wan God to be moved by your offerings, is it a product of your joy, or a product of your sadness? If the offering cannot move you, there is no way it would have moved God. I pray that God will help is in Jesus' Name. The offering that moves God. Jesus is the offering that moves God, and we must know how He offered Himself. A body was prepared for Him, and then He gave up that body. That Body was precious to Him, that Body had feelings, that is why the Bible says we do not have an High Priest who is not touched by the feelings of our infirmities. He was in the same way tempted as we are, yet, He did not sin.
He had feelings, He had emotions as well, He could feel pain. Of course, He could have opted that God should kill a very large Elephant for the sins of the world, but He knew killing Elephant for the world could not produce perfection to anyone who practices it. And this is a food for thought, because Jesus, at a point, directed the teaching to His own disciples. Other disciples of others could what they want to do, but my disciples must know the truth and the truth must make them free. Don't get carried away in the things that the Scribes get carried away in, it has not produced any perfection in them.
They haven't been able to walk on sins and circumstances, it has not been able to give them authority over sin. Why should you practice what they do? Things that have made them to become the victims of their circumstances? Victims of their own emotions? Jesus had an emotion that wanted to enjoy, but He was not a victim of His own emotion. He says "Nevertheless, not as I will.." There are certain people who are calling the name of the Lord or Christ, who cannot suffer for anything. Except it has to do with something that has to do with their own survival. Let us quickly go to a portion of the Bible in Joel, so that we can see what is going on here.
So that you will know that as a disciple of Jesus, there is an attitude that you must have about offering and giving, that is different from what many people carry around. Joel 1:4-10, 13-14, and 17-18
What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.Awake, you drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
For it has been cut off from your mouth.For a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
7 He has laid waste My vine,
And ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For the husband of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
The priests mourn, who minister to the Lord.
10 The field is wasted,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.Verse 13
Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
Wail, you who minister before the altar;
Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
You who minister to my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.Verse 17
The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in our hearts in Jesus' Name! Something happened, the economy of the land was in a serious mess. And because the people do not have in their store houses, remember in Malachi, bring all the food into the storehouse, so you know the storehouse. It is usually located in the temple. The storehouses, the Bible says they were in shambles. Nobody was bringing in anything, and so, nobody even accepted responsibility to tidy up the storehouse. Nothing was coming in, and so, everything was rough. And Bible says, the Priests, they mourn. If somebody mourns, it connotes something was wrong somewhere.
This aspect of our discussion tonight is to help us to understand that, what we call corporate supply in the church, or what we call income, or offering that we gather in the church; is ultimately from the Lord; that is number one. And number two, there is an attitude that God expects from anyone who is involved with it. Either who is bringing it, or who is receiving it. And this can also be connected with what we saw in Luke. The rich, out of their abundance, they brought gifts to God. The widow brought all her livelihood, signifying that she got them from the Lord, and she is returning them back to Him. But the rich, even though they got it ultimately from God, they only brought some to God. There is an attitude issue.
Now, see the expression of the priest here, in Joel that we just read. The Bible says they mourn. Why? The supply has been cut off. Grain offering, drink offering has been cut off. There has been no water in the brook (verse 20), no pasture, and there is nothing to be harvested in the farm. So, the resources that people bring to church, are the resources that God gives to them. And haven received them from God, they bring it to the church or into the work of God. So, it is important for anyone receiving such offering to understand that it is God that has provided it. If the Lord has not provided, these people would never bring it. That attitude would help the priests and the minister.
Let me show you a Scripture. The Bible says, I am sure you remember the story, in 2 Kings. A nation besieged Israel and there was famine in the land. And then, a woman came to the King and said.. "Help Oh King.." And the King said, "Where can I find Help for you? Is it from the winepress where there is nothing, or from the Threshing floor, that is empty? If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you?" So, until God supplies, the people that you call congregation can never bring offering. So, don't see the people as the ones supplying your needs as it were, you must note that God is, lest, the offering supply is cut off.
Because ultimately, there is something that God can cut off that will distort the flow towards you. It is because it is first released, and then channelled, that is why it got to you. If God cuts it off from any point, you will actually mourn and you will wail. So, if you don't want mourn or wail in ministry, you must see every resource that comes as God's supply to the work that He has commanded. Not the people, but God. And then the people who wants to bring it, and wants God to be moved by it; must know that it is God that has given them the power to get wealth. If the Lord has not supplied, they will have nothing to bring.
It keeps everybody in the right attitude, and the supply is steady, nothing stopping it, because God is the one that is glorified each time people bring and people receive. The ones that brings glorified God in their bringing, the ones that receives glorifies God in their receiving. I am sure we remember the story of Samuel and his children, how the children of Israel were bringing things, but they were messing things up. The same thing with some other priests in the Bible, and God actually declared His judgment. I pray that God will help us.
The offering that moves God is a multidimensional one. It involves the ultimate offering, the attitude of the offering; the giver and the receiver. Some people have this entitled attitude to resources in ministry. Wrong attitude will cut off the supply, because if you read that Joel chapter one, in two instances the Bible says "cut off, cut off." That is a strong statement. It is like God blocking the flow, something is blocked. I pray that God will never block our flow, our supply in life, in ministry in the name of Jesus. Let us have the right attitude. What we have is ours simply because God has enabled us. The Bible says it is God that makes rich without adding sorrow to it. You shall remember the Lord your God because it is Him who gives you power to get wealth.
He gives power to get wealth. That you went to office and you smiled, and somebody dashed you N20,000. It was not the person who dashed you the money, it was God. You must have the right attitude so that such supply will not be cut off. Jesus was offered to God as an offering on our behalves. He did not give a portion of Himself, but He gave all of Himself, and anyone who intends to move God in anything he is offering, whether his body or time or money, such a person must do it as a whole, and wholesome offering. An offering that has nothing left.
Apostle Paul said I die daily, and I want to talk about that in one minute. Sometimes, we do things thinking that there will be an opportunity for us to do it again; so, we do it anyhow. Imagine that is your last opportunity, how would you do it? Imagine that woman is the only woman you would ever marry in your lifetime, would you not marry her jealously, carefully, sensitively, and committed? If you know that what you have might be the last you will ever have, you will treat it with a different attitude. Anytime we are giving anything to God, let us give it as if that is the only time we will ever give, and let us give it with all sincerity and wholeheartedly.
That is why the Bible says do all things as unto the Lord. I pray that the Lord who has sent this word to us will bless us and help us in Jesus' name.
