City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³ We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶ by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷ by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

¹¹ We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. ¹³ In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

II Corinthians 6:1-13 ESV

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2 ESV

Reflection

As I was reading through the passage in II Corinthians 6, it occurred to me that this could have been written by parents talking to their child, lamenting over the difficulties of parenthood:

Random traditional Dad – “Hey, I put no obstacle in your way, it’s your own fault.”

Random traditional Mom – “By great endurance, Oh the nights I stayed up for you.”

Random traditional Mom – “I slave and slave for you, and I’m treated like an impostor.”

Random traditional Dad – “I am poor, yet I’m making everybody else rich!”

We are told that Christ ended blood sacrifices, and that is true.  But can you hear the love sacrifice in these verses?  One could think that life is all easy now that there is no need for animal sacrifices anymore, but here we see an example of a deeper sacrifice; the sacrifice that comes from the heart and soul of your being.

Paul tells us that we are to be “…living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God….”  And in our Hebrews scripture today, we are told that we are to “…continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God….”  According to Pastor Paul LeBoutillier (Calvary Chapel Ontario), the key word here is “continually.”  So, it’s not something you do on Monday morning, to get it out of the way, and then the rest of the time is your own.  No, this type of sacrificial offering is the type of thing that you must live at all times.

But what is the offering here?  The writer of Hebrews says that it is “…the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”  So, it is not just saying the right things like “Oh God, you are so wonderful” or “Jesus is Lord.”  It is the fruits of doing such things. That is to say, the thing we are to offer is the things that come out of a life lived in faithfulness to the Lord.  So, we don’t just say “Jesus is Lord” with our mouths, we live such a way that His lordship is a blessing to others.

So, we do good things and share what we have.  Does this mean that suddenly lots of people will get saved because of your nice deeds?  Maybe.  But maybe not.  What it means for sure is that your faithfulness will be pleasing to God. No other reason is needed.

Application

I hope that you hear both the freedom and the burden that today’s verse in Hebrews is offering.  Live the life that God has laid out for you and let everything else fall away. You don’t have to chase every good idea to live a good life, just the things that God has set before you.  Take in the freedom that that offers.

But the burden comes in the laying down of those things we hold in our hearts so tightly. Not just the possessions we have stored up in our garage,  but the comforts and behaviors that we would rather not change. Those must be sacrificed too, for they are often the biggest obstacles for doing the good things that God intends for us to do.

Start simple. Serve in simple ways, and let that service grow.  Fellowship in simple ways and let God add to it. And of course, start praying with simple prayers and let God grow your prayer life, for He is the one that brings the increase.

Prayer

Oh Lord, how majestic is Your name.  I praise You from my inner most being, and delight in Your presence.  Search my heart and change me into the image You would have me be. Teach my spirit to sing songs that know Your beauty.  Teach my heart to be faithful to Your call.  And teach my mind to ponder the things of Your kingdom always.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.