The Sacrifice of Praise

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:14-16, NKJV).

Such is the inconceivable superiority of Christ that the ocean of animal blood shed over the centuries to appease a holy God for our unrighteous evil has been completely supplanted by the once-for-all spilling of His blood on the Cross. The centuries of Jewish sacrifice performed in the Tabernacle and Temple were temporary coverings of sin until His one sacrifice not only covered, but took away, the sin of the entire world... forever.

Now instead of a plethora of innocent animal sacrifices performed multiple times each day there remains only one category of acceptable sacrifice to God – the sacrifice of praise. This is an astounding transformation from mandatory death to willful, and verbal, acknowledgement of God's immeasurable goodness and mercy toward us.

Now, instead of the complex rituals of ancient Jewish religious practices, where every action by priest and penitent was spelled out in excruciating detail to be performed in proscribed places and at proscribed times, this superior praise is comprised of three simple components: heartfelt thankfulness, doing good, and sharing. Amazing!

Each of these aspects is worthy of deeper exploration for each reveals profound truths about our relationship with our Creator God through faith in His magnificent Son.

Human enthusiasm and sincerity is typically measured by the effusiveness and vociferousness of expression. The more delight and joy we experience the louder we become. A child's “cry of delight” when acknowledging a parent's gift is music to the parent's ears. When something is heartfelt it is almost impossible to keep silent. Sometimes even when intelligible words escape us, the lips must speak something to convey the irrepressible joy and gratitude we feel.

Think of a mother reunited with a lost child, or a young boy finding a lost and beloved dog, or a spouse greeting a soldier long away at war but now returned safe and whole. The cries and tears of joy are sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips.

It is not formulaic or ritualistic, but eruptive and spontaneous, representative of an overflowing heart.

That is to be the natural reaction to our glorious relationship with our God. Scripture is filled with such praise. The Book of Psalms is only one such compendium.

Doing good in our own strength for our own reasons and purposes under the impetus of reaping some kind of return benefit to ourselves in this life is NOT the doing good that pleases God. That kind of philanthropy is an abomination to God.

No, the doing good in view in this focus verse is the kind that springs from the heart, mind and soul without any thought of self. It is the kind that rushes to assist someone because of a supernatural empathy that is impossible to deny. I say “supernatural” because such selflessness is bestowed upon our recreated hearts as a spiritual gift from God, and is not part of “natural” emotional equipment.

This type of doing good entails surrender to His will in order to walk in those good works which He has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. While it may involve herculean effort it is not expended in our own strength, but through the power of His Spirit within us. And regardless of the intensity of effort, we experience an underlying and indescribable joyfulness that emanates from the Throne of Heaven itself – a joyfulness in giving and grace that epitomizes the very nature and character of God. We do whatever He has set before us with joy because that is who He is – a joyful and merciful Being who delights in giving us the desires of our hearts.

Yet, this kind of doing good is not measured by effort or result, for, in truth, it is sometimes effortless and we may never know the end result this side of Heaven. For even something as easy as giving a drink of water to someone in Christ's name will reap tremendous reward from Him.

The final component of this sacrifice of praise is to share, and this opens up a wealth of possibilities. It is the selfless sharing of anything and everything merely for the sake of blessing someone in need. Nor is this limited to the sharing of material goods or services, but can (and does) involve sharing encouragement or support or simple kindness.

In doing so we are sharing the very love of God Himself, who gives us the privilege of being “His hands, feet, heart and mind” in a dark and fallen world.

In all these things He empowers us to fulfill His purposes, provides us with the very works of praise themselves, and promises to reward us as if it was all us when, in reality, it is all Him.

This is the God whom we serve!

Paul describes this perfectly in Romans 12:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1, NKJV).

The God of Heaven, our Creator, our Redeemer, the living, eternal, all-powerful Sovereign of Existence could require anything at all from us and be justified in His demands, but what He wants, what He most delights in, is our joyous thankfulness in all the indescribably good gifts that He bestows. A thankfulness expressed from deep within the wellsprings of our being, without thought of self, but with regard only to Him and others.

This type of joy and gratitude is ONLY possible through faith in His Son. No other kind will do.

This World is Not Our Home

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:14-16, NKJV).

There is an undeniable longing in the human heart for something larger than itself, something permanent and secure and everlasting. That there is nothing in this life that meets those criteria does not in the least negate or mitigate that longing. It is there, like a chronic, bittersweet ache, and expresses itself in oddly poignant ways.

Like that nostalgia for an event or a circumstance that has never quite happened, a kind of phantom memory of something just beyond reach. Children experience it the most, and over time as they mature, come to associate it mistakenly with real past events, romanticized to be the thing missed, but not ever really making the grade. C.S. Lewis said it this way:

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."

That is what we inherently seek, “the place where all the beauty came from”, the desire for which is God's lure to bring us finally to Him through His magnificent Son, Jesus.

The corollary truth is that the place we seek, that mysterious home, is not here, at least not yet, and accepting that fact is key to living life effectively as a Christian in enemy territory. We may find temporary shelter and respite in this life, but our continuing city, that place of everlasting beauty and undying allegiance, is still future. It is not that we are not seeking it intensely enough, or that we have somehow lost our way. It is that it is not to be found in this world at this time.

But it is coming, or God is a liar, and we are the most miserable of men.

Yet God has shown Himself to be true and faithful, in His Word, in the lives of His children, and in the world at large. His promises are sure and certain, as demonstrated by fulfilled prophecy, by the witness of saints throughout the last 2000 years, and through changed lives here and now.

Men, women, and children have inexplicably reversed course, become new, repented of sinful living, and through no effort of their own, have turned toward righteousness – the natural outcome of a recreated heart, and a spirit made alive again through faith in Christ.

This means then that in this world, that longing for home can never be satisfied, but rather than lead to defeat and despair, this realization must be followed remembering the promise: it is coming. Strangely, when that day arrives, God will bring that Home to us, not the other way around.

In the meantime, we live knowing that everything in this world will not last. All that we consider good, and worthy and beautiful, will be replaced by that which is immeasurably better. Grand vistas of earth and sky today are mere shadows of that which is to come - and remain - forever. Reunions and homecomings and glorious joy now, are but vague whisperings and glimmers of our guaranteed unimaginable destiny.

Love of nation, love of community, love of accomplishment, love of family are mere tastes of future meals; tantalizing appetizers only, not to be mistaken for the true feast. So we declare with Paul,

...what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11, NKJV).

So in practical terms, we hold onto the things of this world, to the places of this world, lightly, because this world is not our home. We are sojourners, pilgrims, and transients.

In holding lightly, we are also to seek the one to come. Our time in this life is to be filled with forward-looking purpose. No matter what our circumstances, or our situation here and now, these are not, and cannot, be permanent. Instead, I am to

...press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14, NKJV).

Beloved, are you suffering now? Not only will it end, but in its place will be joy unspeakable.

Are you oppressed now? One day you will rule and reign with Christ.

Are you in need now? One day you will be the inheritors of all the riches of God.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18, NKJV).

Can you see the power this knowledge can provide? Not power to dominate, but to endure, if not happily, then surely with a foundation of joy that surpasses all understanding.

We are children of the Most High God. He purchased us out of the slavery of sin and death with the blood of His Son on the Cross.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32, NKJV).

Armed with His promises, nothing in this temporary and Fallen world can defeat us, for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39, NKJV).