Spiritual Sacrifice Acceptable Unto God by Pastor Poju Oyemade: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Faith Expressed in Sacrifice

In Hebrews 11, the order of faith's expression is significant. It begins with Abel's sacrifice, then Enoch's walk with God, then Noah's assignment to build, then Abraham's calling to receive. The first thing that distinguishes a faith person is the level of their sacrifice before God. Receiving the promises is important — but it is the last expression. The first is sacrifice.

1 Peter 2:5: "You also are lively stones, are built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable unto God."

Hebrews 13:10: "We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." In the Christian faith, there is an altar — a place where spiritual sacrifices are offered up unto God.

When you see a distinction between people, what you should look for is the quality of the sacrifices those people are offering up to God. That is where the distinction is.

Noah's Altar and God's Response

Noah built an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings. And the Lord smelt a sweet savor. And the Lord said in his heart: I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake. The reason God sent the flood — every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually — had not changed. The condition was the same. But now, because of what came off that altar as a sweet smelling savor, God said: instead of destroying, I will now seek ways to cause that person to repent.

In the New Testament, we have the same thing. Philippians 4:18: The things sent from the Philippians were "a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing to God." And then Paul said: my God shall supply all of your need according to his riches in glory.

Incense and Prayer

In Luke 1:9-11, when Zechariah went in to burn incense, the whole multitude of people were praying without at the time of incense. They knew: once incense is going up, throw your prayers in. An angel appeared standing at the right side of the altar of incense. An impossible thing happened that day.

Revelation 8:1-6 (Amplified): Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censor. He was given very much incense — fragrant spices and perfumes — that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the people of God upon the golden altar. The smoke of the incense arose in the presence of God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censor, filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it to earth.

This is why Paul said you cannot offer prayers and supplication without adding thanksgiving. Prayer without incense is not complete. This is why when the angel came to Cornelius, he said: your prayers and your alms, they mixed something. This is why Paul and Silas prayed and sang. "God give me a job" is not a spiritual sacrifice. You are asking for something, but it must be mingled with something.

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and Praise

Psalm 50:14-15: "Offer unto God thanksgiving. Pay your vows unto the Most High. And call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." God said: if I were hungry, I would not tell you — the world and the fullness thereof are mine. Will I eat the flesh of bulls and drink the blood of goats? Let me tell you what I eat and drink.

The venison God loves is the sacrifice of thanksgiving. What God feeds on — what stirs Him — is when things do not appear to be going the way He promised, and the person responds with the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise.

1 Corinthians 2:9: He has prepared for those who love Him things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart of man has conceived. It is your love for God as a person that opens you to that dimension. And it starts with this sacrifice.

Mumbling and complaining are the spiritual sacrifices that make demons appear. Thanksgiving and praise are the spiritual sacrifices that make the angels and God's presence appear.

God said: the angels in heaven are constantly worshiping. They will only reside in a life where the presence of heaven has been created on earth. Anywhere there is murmuring and complaining, the angels begin to depart. Anywhere there is the sacrifice of praise, demons begin to depart. Psalm 8:2: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have ordained praise to still the enemy and to stop the avenger."

An avenger is one who has a right to get back at you for something you did wrong. When praise begins to come, the avenger has to stop.

The Vision of Two Scales

A woman was praying for healing over sores all over her body. She had been praying and praying. One day God gave her an open vision. She saw two scales — prayer on one side, praise on the other. Prayer was full. Praise was empty. God said: if your praise matches your prayer, once it matches you will get the manifestation. She stopped praying and for 48 hours praised God. The sores healed.

So the pattern is: pray, get the release in prayer, check — the result is still negative. Then praise. That is how you present your body as a living sacrifice — not moved by what you see, not moved by how you feel, not moved by what you hear. Moved only by the written word of God.

The Weapons of Praise

Job 5:22: "At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh. Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the field."

Psalm 2:4: "He that sits in the heavens shall laugh." And God said: read it again. He didn't say I laugh. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh — and where are you seated? Seated together with Him in heavenly places. Which means at the appearance of the devil, the seated one laughs.

There is a sound you make that causes demons to come out — a sound that signals you are trapped by the circumstances of life, and they feed on it. But where there is a shout of victory, a sacrifice of praise — that sound repels them.

Joel 1:12: "The vine is dried up... because joy is withered away." When something begins to wither in your life, the correction is not just to work harder. Isaiah 12:3: "With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation." Anything going down — if you start rejoicing over it, revival begins.

Habakkuk 3:17-18: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, the fields yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls — yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation." What is the effect? "The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like the hind's feet. He will make me to walk upon high places."

Only those who know the secret of joy can pass through certain places. There are terrains that say: four-wheel drive only. You need all four wheels moving — the labor of your hands in front, joy propelling it.

The weapons of praise:

• Laughter — at famine and destruction thou shalt laugh
• Dancing — he turned my mourning into dancing
• Singing — when you are filled with the Spirit you sing; to sing after manifestation is idolatry, worshiping the harvest not the God of the harvest
• Shouting — the shout of the king is among them; when Balak's spy returned after trying to assess Israel, he said: we cannot curse this people — the shout of the king is in them

David was dancing until his flesh showed. When Michal despised him, David said: this is how I was singing when God found me with the sheep and said, that is my next king. A person at the backside with nothing but singing praises — that is what God called a king.

Setting a Date for Your Crossing

Kenneth Copeland had a condition in his back for 35 years. He began to pray in the Spirit and remembered a woman in a wheelchair who was shown 1 Peter 2:24 and asked, "When were you healed?" As she read, her face brightened. She put up her hand and began to thank God — calling into existence those things that be not as though they were, speaking from the wheelchair about all the activities she was doing. God told Copeland: you have been putting this healing in the future instead of in the past. That is the mistake.

So he gathered all the ministers and said: I want to set a date — the day I crossed from sickness to health. They laid hands on him and pronounced it. From that day forward when pain came, he said: on the 6th of August I received my healing. Not only was the back healed — every ailment in his body was restored.

Draw a line. Whatever that line is for you, cross it today. From today, that thing is in the past. If the feeling or symptom returns, go back to the date. Offer the sacrifice of praise — whether a dance, a shout, or a song.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for your word. Anything your people looked at in the face and laughed at this morning — we declare that thing has come under divine judgment. We curse it from its roots in the name of Jesus. You shall not eat of that fruit of violence, of death, of famine, of harassment in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

That which you danced over — God has granted you beauty for ashes. We call forth a beautiful manifestation out of that particular situation in Jesus name. As you move your body, every single part of your body is healed in the mighty name of Jesus. Nothing shall be lost in Jesus name. Amen.