Power Of Sacrifice

Chapter Four | I will pay the price

“That day Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Go and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite’, So David went to do what the LORD had commanded him. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming towards him, he came forward and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. ‘Why have you come, my lord?’ Araunah asked. And David replied, ‘I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that the Lord will stop the plague’ | ‘Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish’ Araunah said to David. ‘Here are oxen for the burn offering and you can use the threshing tools and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice’. But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing’. So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped!!”

David’s mighty men

Jashobeam the Hacmonite

Eleazar

Shammah

And the three broke the ranks

“David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, ‘Oh, how I would love some of that good water, from the well in Bethlehem, the one by the gate’. So the three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from there, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord. ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ He exclaimed. This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me’. So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the three.”

Chapter Five | Follow me! We came for you!

Stephen Bass

“For service as set forth in the following citation for extraordinary heroism while serving with the British Special Boat Service during combat operations in Northern Afghanistan on 25 and 26 November 2001. Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass deployed to the area as a member of a joint American and British Special Forces Rescue Team to locate and recover two missing American citizens, one presumed to be seriously injured or dead, after hard-line al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at the Qala-i-jangi fortress in Mazar-i-Sharif over-powered them and gained access to large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the fortress. Once inside, Chief Petty officer Bass was engaged continuously by direct small arms fire, indirect mortar fire, and rocket propelled grenade fire. He was forced to walk through an active anti-personnel minefield in order to gain entry to the fortress. After establishing the possible location of both American citizens, under heavy fire and without concern for his own personal safety, he made two attempts to rescue the uninjured citizen by crawling towards the fortress interior to reach him. Forced to withdraw due to large volumes of fire falling on his position, he was undeterred. After reporting his efforts to the remaining members of the recue team, they left and attempted to locate the missing citizen on the outside of the fortress. As darkness began to fall, no attempt was going to be made to locate the other injured American citizen. Chief Petty Officer Bass then took matters into his own hands. Without regard for his own personal safety, he moved forward another three hundred to four hundred meters into the heart of the fortress by himself under constant enemy fire in an attempt to locate the injured citizen., running low on ammunition, he utilized weapons from deceased Afghans to continue his rescue attempt. Upon verifying the condition and location of the American citizen he withdrew from the fortress. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership; unlimited courage in the face of enemy fires and utmost devotion to duty, chief Petty officer Bass reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval service.”

THE UNITED STATES NAVY SEAL CREED

Chapter Six | I will preserve you

Let there be rain!

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’... And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel”

Pay your dues

Bitterness into sweetness

“Now the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha, ‘We have a problem, my lord’, they told him. ‘This town is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unproductive’. Elisha said, ‘Bring me a new bowl with salt in it’. So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have made this water wholesome. It will no longer cause death or infertility’. And sure enough! The water has remained wholesome ever since, just as Elisha said”

Come and eat

“Later Elisha asked Gehazi, ‘What do you think we can do for her?’ He suggested, ‘she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man. ‘Call her back again’, Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, ‘Next year at about this time you will be holding a son in your arm!..”

Give me a guarantee

“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families” | We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety; the men agreed. ‘if you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise when the Lord gives us the land..... Before they left, the men told her, ‘we can guarantee your safety only if you leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window. And all your family members - your father, mother, brothers and your relatives-must be here inside the house.”

Where you go I will go

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

“Yes, I know’, Boaz replied ‘but I also know about the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge reward you fully”

Chapter Seven | Cook that last meal

“So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a window gathering sticks, and he asked her, ‘Would you please bring me a cup of water?’ As she was going to get it, he called to her, ‘Bring me a bite of bread too.’ But she said, ‘I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of a jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.’ | “But Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that last meal, but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again.”

“Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. She then said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?’ But Elijah replied ‘Give me your son.’ And he took the boy’s body from her, carried him up to the upper room, where he lived and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy on this window who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’ | And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him’. The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer and the life of the child returned and he came back to life! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look, your son is alive! He said.”

Few loaves and a little fish

Others

“So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administration responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat. Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and about this time, Potiphar’s wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her. But Joseph refused. ‘Look!’ He told her, ‘my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He had held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

Chapter Eight | The power to save

“Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ they replied. ‘I am he’, Jesus said. Jesus identified himself. And as he said ‘I am he’, they all fell backward to the ground!”

“Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in linen night shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked. Jesus was led to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest’s courtyard. For a while he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.’ | “Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire, she looked at him closely and then said, ‘You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazareth’ Peter denied it. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’, he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed”

“At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three 0’clock. At about three 0’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli lema sabachthani? Which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?... | “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn into two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the Holy City of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God!”

The Third Day

“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shock with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women ‘don’t’ be afraid! He said, ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised form the dead.”

Chapter Nine | Praise, prayer and fasting

Praise

“I will thank you, LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O most High... ‘Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.”

“We praise you, LORD, for all your glorious power. With music and signing we celebrate your mighty acts.”

“The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving”

“Let the godly sing with joy to the LORD, for it is fitting to praise him. Praise the LORD with melodies on the lyre; make music for Him on the ten-stringed harp. Sing new songs of praise to him, play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy. For the word of the LORD holds true and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth. | “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”

“I will praise the Lord at all times. | I will constantly speak his praise | I will beast only in the Lord

As it is in heaven

“And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lighting and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lamp stands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.’ | “In the centre and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion, the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face, and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying. | ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come’. Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the thrown, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crown before the throne and say. ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything. And it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”

Jonah

“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, ‘I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and LORD, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence. How will I ever again see your holy Temple? ‘I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed in around me, and seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of the dead. But you, O Lord my God, have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death! | ‘When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did.”

Jehoshaphat

“Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. He prayed, ‘O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!”

“Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, ‘Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets and you will succeed. After consulting the leaders of the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’ | “At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other.’ | “So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, there were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables – more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today. Then they returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, full of joy that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies”

Paul and Silas

“Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, ‘Don’t do it! We are all here!”

Prayer and fasting

Elijah

Stretch out yourself

“And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him’ The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life!”

“When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hand. And the child’s body began to grow warm again! Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room a few times. Then he stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!”

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’ So Ahab prepared a feast. But Elijah climbed to the top of mount Carmel and fell to the ground and prayed. Then he said to his servant ‘Go and look out toward the sea.’ The servant went and looked, but he returned to Elijah and said, ‘I didn’t see anything.’ Seven times Elijah told him to go and look, and seven times he went. Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, ‘I saw a little cloud about the size of a hand rising from the sea’. Then Elijah shouted, ‘Hurry to Ahab and tell him, climb into your chariot and go back home if you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds.. a heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm.”

“Now stand here and see the great thing the LORD is about to do. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest, I will ask the LORD to send thunder and rain today. ... So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain. And all the people were terrified of the LORD and of Samuel.”

“Then Moses went up the mountains, and the cloud covered it. And the glorious presence of the LORD rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from the cloud. The Israelites at the foot of the mountain saw an awesome sight. The awesome glory of the LORD on the Mountain top looked like at devouring fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

“Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him. ‘Get up and eat!’ He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you. So he got up and ate and drank and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.”

“So Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. He was buried in a valley near Beth-poer in Moab, But to this day no one knows the exact place.”

“As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven,”

“It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching and he disappeared into a cloud.”

“Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil! For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry.”

A living sacrifice

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice. The kind he will accept when you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?”

“Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him”

Prayer

Very Important

Rev. Gabriel Agbo

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