THE HIGHT COST OF FREE BLESSING
By Rev. Dr. Jerry Schmoyer jerry@schmoyer.net
http://india.christiantrainingonline.org/
INTRODUCTION
Thanks for praying for me, for holding rope
Don’t stop praying now
Bob: you only get the pastor you pray for!
Keep praying for people in India!
This AM – not focus on me but on God for it is HIS THANKSGIVING
HARVEST FESTIVAL in India last Sunday – bring first fruits to church
Us THANKS GIVING this Sunday, Thursday
But include something I am learning over again each time I go to India
VERY hard this time – very high cost
VERY blessed this time – more than can comprehend, explain
I’ve been thinking a lot bout the HIGH COST OF FREE BLESSING!
God popped that phrase in my head the last night I spent in India
Thought about it, developed it into sermon on airplane flying home
TRANSITION
First, lets talk about the high cost of being poured out
I. THE HIGH COST – BEING POURED OUT
A. OLD TESTAMENT DRINK OFFERING POURED OUT
2 types of offerings:
1. Sin, guilt
2. free will, Thanksgiving
Daily for the nation (Lev 23:37; Num 28:7)
Individually whenever wanted to THANK God in a special way
Festivals (Ex 29:38-41; Lev 23)
First fruits (Thanksgiving) (Lev 23:9-14)
Leviticus 23:9-14 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, 13 together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil — an offering made to the Lord by fire, a pleasing aroma — and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
God’s prescribed way of showing THANKSGIVINGwas sacrifice!
Us: bring food, etc., to share with others in need
OT: sacrifice basics of life to God
Basic foods in their diet
*Meat (lamb, ram, bull)
*Flour and oil
*Drink (wine)
Lamb 1 qt, ran 1 ¼ qt, bull 2 qt
MEAT – animal killed, burnt (take it up to God)
FLOUR & OIL – poured into fire to be burnt
DRINK – totally poured into fire/given to God
Given 100% to God, poured out before Him and His altar
Accepted by God – consumed by fire, offerer blessed by God
God’s way for them to celebrate FIRST FRUITS, THANKSGIVING
Offer the basic needs of life, life itself, to God
TRANSITION
The Jews understood this act as their gave their sacrifices
Not the objects themselves but what they stood for SELF
Jesus clearly referred to this at the Last Supper
B. JESUS BLOOD POURED OUT FOR US
Last Supper: this is my blood poured out for you (Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20)
Matthew 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus was giving His SELF, His total life, on the cross
Equated it to drink offering pouted out on altar for God
Disciples and readers would know, understand this
STARTED: Gethsemane: blood poured out with sweat (Lk 22:44)
Could understand that a little better the first week – 10 days of India trip
CONTINUED: on cross, life given for us
CULMINATION: Spear into side, blood poured out (Jn 19:34)
Gave 100% to God
Ephesians 5:2 Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Christ on cross poured out His life to God
Accepted by God – He was blessed and so are we
TRANSITION
Paul understood this analogy with the offering as well
Saw it as an apt picture of what he was going through
C. PAUL POURED HIMSELF OUT TO GOD
Like a drink offering, thanks for what God had done for Him – writes it 2x
Philippians 2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.
Gave himself 100% to Gods service
High cost of what he was going through, giving all his love, energy, life
Actually feel like his life was being poured out for God’s sake – good feeling!
Done in THANKSGIVING for what God did for him
Accepted, blessed by God
TRANSITION
So how does this apply to us?
That’s how we are to show THANKS GIVING to God as well – pour out everything for Him
D. WE ARE TO POUR OURSELVES OUT 100% AS WELL
We are to pour our entire life, all we have, on Christ
I’m learning a little more each trip about what that means, just scratching surface
Luke 7:36-38 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Perfume the extent of all her worldly wealth, all she earned given to Jesus
Another gospel says she ‘gave all she had’ – she poured out all she had on Jesus
Her response of love and THANKSGIVING that someone cared!
NOTHING we can give Jesus – he has it all
All He doesn’t have is our HEART – only gift He wants from us!
Not just an emotion during a moving song
But an action of giving every part of life to him no matter the cost
TRANSITION
It isn’t GIVING if it doesn’t cost us anything!
Watched Dahlits insist on giving offering, 2 cents, 4 cents – huge sum to them
Already given their hearts
Gift from child: not the value, but hearts love, sacrifice behind it
How God feels with us
So the cost of free blessing IS high – everything we are
But the blessing is much higher!
Don’t EARN it by paying the cost
Just put self in POSITION TO RECEIVE IT
II. THE FREE BELSSINGS – GREATER THAN THE COST
A. WOMAN WHO ANOINTED JESUS
Continue story of women we just read/talked about
Luke 7:44-50 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Pouring out cost all she had but Greatly blessed by God
-salvation, sins forgiven, peace inside
-public approval by Jesus before all rejecters
-in Bible, testimony for all ages
TRANSITION
Same true of Paul for having poured it all out
B. PAUL GREATLY BLESSED
IN THIS LIFE – find Gods grace is sufficient
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When Jesus is all you have, you realize that Jesus is all you need!
IN ETERNITY
2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Blessed in this life and also rewarded for all eternity!
TRANSITION
Principle always true – we give God all He gives us more back!
We give selves to Him in THANKSGIVING
He more than richly blesses us!
C. I HAVE BEEN BLESSED
Promise in SS week before going
Concerned about physically demanding schedule I’d face, different sleep, food, etc
Looking at ELIJAH in Sunday School:
1 Kings 17:7-16 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
As I read v 14 God spoke loudly and clearly to my heart that He would do that
PROMISE I leaned on and saw kept each of the 95 times I talked!
Knew God would provide physically as long as I was speaking in India
BUT I KNEW, TOO, I couldn’t hold anything back ‘in case’
– I had to first give it all to Him – so I did
Sit down exhausted when done, but when start again was fine!
LOVED speaking 4x a day every day – loved teaching those thing
God requires out ALL
Nothing in reserve, just in case
Need total trust like child
We must give all – different for each one
ME: traveling, no Nancy, unknown place, unknown audience
YOU: health, $, relationships, etc?
Giving up a dream you had, something thought you needed
we only receive what we give, not what we keep
FOOTBALL What I gave I kept, what I kept I lost.
v 13 DON’T BE AFRAID – hundreds of times in Bible
God never asks more of us than He promises to give us
One more example, a little later similar thing happened in Elisha’s life:
2 Kings 4:1-7
4 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
If kept some part-full jar just in case not filled
Only fills, blesses what we give Him
Pour out whatever is in so can be filled only by Him!
CONCLUSION
Are you holding anything back?
Holy Spirit bring something to mind when ask that?
HIGH COST for FREE BLESSING
But well worth it!!!
SHOW THANKSGIVING TO GOD by giving Him the one gift he wants
NOT some financial gifts we don’t really need and can do without
BUT the one thing He doesn’t have but wants more than anything – you 100%
THIS TRIP TO INDIA
Most costly thing I have ever done – higher price than I thought it would be
Most blessed thing I ever did, most satisfying & enriching, most loved by God ever
On the way back in the plane I told Him I’d do it all again if He wanted me to
ENCOURAGE YOU – pour it all out for Jesus!
Don’t keep anything back
– give self 100% poured out (faith, trust)
High cost – give self
Great benefit – filled, blessed by God