TOPIC: SACRIFICE THAT PRODUCES FRUITS
You can’t detach yourself from fruit bearing. For you to bear fruit, sacrifice has to be involved.
Fruit bearing is a product of sacrifice. It comes and grows through sacrificial vision.
How you know it is not a vision is when it is void of sacrifice.
John 12:24-26(KJV)24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Jesus’ Sacrifice shows God’s love.
Jesus our sacrificial master. He died to give life to others
We are the fruit of Jesus’ death.
God knows what it’s like to lose someone you love. He intentionally placed Himself in this position by sacrificing His Son because He did not want to lose us. That’s how great His love is for us, shown through the greatest gift to the world, His only Son Jesus Christ
John 3:16-17(KJV)16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Gal 1:3-4(MSG)3 So I greet you with the great words, grace and peace! 4 We know the meaning of those words because Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we’re in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God’s plan is that we all experience that rescue.
People want to bear fruit without counting the cost. More often than not, they want to be like men/women who have achieved success in life without accepting the cost and the cross they experienced.
There must be a price to pay.
You must be inconvenienced, persecuted, deprived, so much suffering for fruits to come.
Matt 16:24-25(KJV)24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Luke 9:57-62(KJV)57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Sacrifice is a door way to fruit bearing.
This is how the system of God operates.
Abraham experienced a mighty explosion of God’s blessings as a result of his sacrificial mind.
Gen 22:10-18(KJV)10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Joseph sacrificed his life to rescue his family. He did not become a Prime Minister overnight; he went through sufferings, prisons, accusation etc before he started reaping the blessings of abundance and Goshen
Gen 45:3-5(KJV)3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
The secret of Paul’s fruitfulness in ministry was when he sacrificed everything he was for the gospel.
2 Cor 11:22-28(KJV)22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
This is the root of bearing fruit.
You cannot bear fruit without sacrifice. You must give in something to take something greater.
Phil 3:8(KJV)8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
1 Cor 9:24-27(NLT)24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Every slightest thing that occurred in the Old Testament goes with a sacrifice before fruit comes.
As soon as Noah came down from the Ark, he sacrificed unto the Lord and the fruit he received was a change of mind from God.
Gen 8:20-22(NLT)20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”
v Whatever that is bothering you, whether you are merry or in anguish, in trouble or victorious, you need to live a life of sacrifice to sustain the fruit.
Luke 5:14(NLT) Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
Sacrifice of our lips bears a lot of fruits. As we praise Him, it comes as a sweet smelling savor.
Heb 13:15(KJV) By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
We cannot run away from sacrifice
These are sacrifices that must produce fruits.
It is very costly to worship God. It must be involving in other to bear fruit.
Look at series of sacrifices in the book of Leviticus 6:8 – (NLT)
Instruction for Burnt offering –
Lev 6:8-13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 9 “Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the next morning, and the fire on the altar must be kept burning all night. 10 In the morning, after the priest on duty has put on his official linen clothing and linen undergarments, he must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he must take off these garments, change back into his regular clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12 Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. 13 Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.
Instruction for grain offering
14-18 “These are the instructions regarding the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must present this offering to the Lord in front of the altar. 15 The priest on duty will take from the grain offering a handful of the choice flour moistened with olive oil, together with all the frankincense. He will burn this representative portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of the flour, but it must be baked without yeast and eaten in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. 17 Remember, it must never be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the special gifts presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. 18 Any of Aaron’s male descendants may eat from the special gifts presented to the Lord. This is their permanent right from generation to generation. Anyone or anything that touches these offerings will become
For the ordination offering
19-23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 20 “On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed, they must present to the Lord a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour, half to be offered in the morning and half to be offered in the evening. 21 It must be carefully mixed with olive oil and cooked on a griddle. Then slice this grain offering and present it as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 22 In each generation, the high priest who succeeds Aaron must prepare this same offering. It belongs to the Lord and must be burned up completely. This is a permanent law. 23 All such grain offerings of a priest must be burned up entirely. None of it may be eaten.”
God does not joke with sacrificial offering. It is compulsory. He demands it and it is a must for every Christian before you can bear fruit
