Upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Look at these wonderful words. In whatever translation you may have in front of you, whether the Living Bible or the Authorized Version, or the Revised Standard, it matters not. The message comes through just the same. Look carefully. I read it once more slowly to you, this time slightly altering the translation to a more accurate translation. "Even if I am poured as a libation upon the sacrifice and service of your faith." Not just sacrificial offering, but sacrifice and service, which is how it stands in the original.
Now what picture comes out of this? What do you see as you look at this verse? Poured out, libation, sacrifice. What is all this? What is this the language of? The language of the priesthood. The language of the temple. This is what the language is. Now the word that is used here for what is translated "libation" is simply a drink offering. Don't be worried sometimes by long words in the Bible that you find difficult to understand. It is saying quite straightforward, simple things. It is a drink offering. The drink offering was that which is offered in the temple. It was offered with the sacrifices. You'll read about this in detail in Numbers chapter 15 verses 1 onward. With every sacrifice of a lamb or whatever sacrifice was offered, there was offered also with it a drink offering. This drink offering was not poured out upon the sacrifice, it was poured at the foot of the altar. But it was offered together with that sacrifice.
So you see Paul's picture here. He says, when you offer yourself as a sacrifice for God, the sacrifice of your faith, it will be my joy, my privilege to be poured out upon your sacrifice. At the same time with you, that together we, with one sacrifice, offer up our lives, not just in death, but also in life to God. Isn't that a beautiful picture?
You see, the Christian life is not just a question of believing in certain doctrines. It is amazing how many Christians still imagine that being a Christian is simply a matter of believing a set of doctrines to be true. I believe point number one, point number two, point three, and apparently the longer the list, somehow you are more religious and more spiritual. Now I don't say that believing the right things is not desirable. It is very important to believe the right things. But that is not all there is to being a Christian.
You can believe all the right things and you will not find your way into the kingdom of God. You see, James in his letter said exactly this. He said, "You say you believe. What is the evidence of your belief? You believe there is one God? You are doing well. But let me tell you something. Even the devil believes that. He knows there is only one God." So James is saying, where are you better off than the devil then? You see, James is going on to say, you have got to prove it by your life. That is what Satan fails to do. He believes all these things, but he does not obey God. He does not worship God. He does not follow God. He believes it, all right. He doesn't act upon it. You believe it, but do you act upon it? You see, it is the doing, the action of faith that proves the genuineness of that faith.
So, what are the four pictures of the Christian here? We see today the second one. As I pointed out to you yesterday, we have in Philippians four pictures of the Christian. Just as we have in the Gospels four pictures of the Lord Jesus Himself. And we saw that in chapter one, the first picture of the Christian was that of the soldier. A soldier fights and he knows what he fights for. He doesn't just say he believes in it. He goes forth into battle in full armor.
In chapter two, we find that the Christian is a living sacrifice. That I may be poured out. How many of you think like this, brothers and sisters? How many of you realize that the Christian life is a matter of being poured out? And please notice the words, "the sacrifice of faith." What does it mean? What sacrifice? What is this sacrifice? What does faith offer to God? What can you offer? What have we got to offer but ourselves?
So we read then, that being a living sacrifice, as Paul says in Romans chapter 12 and verse one, is not just an optional extra for Christians. It's not just something that you can tag on, you can take it or leave it. We must each one be this living sacrifice. You are not even a Christian. You don't even begin to be a Christian until you are a living sacrifice. Did you know this? Being a sacrifice is not something that you can take it or leave it if you please, but you'll still be saved at the end of the day. The sacrifice of faith. Faith itself is sacrifice. Faith is nothing if it is not sacrifice.
Is not the church today all too often a disgrace in the world? Are you not sometimes ashamed to have to say in front of many non-Christians? Not because you are ashamed of Christ, but you are ashamed too often of the witness of the church. When we commenced work in Liverpool, in England, I can tell you it was an agony. Because those people who had called themselves Christians before had dishonored the name of Christ in the eyes of the whole non-Christian population. We had for years to fight against this terrible legacy of a bad reputation. Finally, in the grace of God, we are beginning to change the notion of what people had about Christians.
And I say this to you who are non-Christians. I never preached the gospel on false pretenses. I never preached the gospel saying it's all going to be nice and easy. You just become a Christian, everything will be smooth. I am not going to say this any more than I would say this to a soldier. Any more than I would say this when I say, you have to be a living sacrifice.
You know, the Apostle Paul is a wonderful expositor. The best commentator on the Lord's teaching that you will ever find. And let me read to you the words in Matthew chapter 10 verse 38. "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake will find it." Now there is something to think about. Did I make the gospel difficult? Not me. But it is my responsibility to tell you what Jesus said.
And here Paul is expounding in Philippians exactly what Jesus said. Taking up the cross and following Him. Look at Philippians 2. What does the first part say? It tells us that Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient. Where to? Unto the death of the cross. Yes. And what goes on then? He goes on to say, so also we must take up our cross and follow Him. So in verse 5 of this chapter we read, "Let this kind of thinking be in you, which was in Jesus." What thinking? The thinking of taking up the cross.
You know, these words are through all the Gospels. Not only in Matthew. Being a Christian then, I beg of you to understand, is to take up the cross and follow Jesus. If you do not do this, the Lord Jesus says, you cannot be my disciple. Being a Christian is no easy thing. I became a Christian in China because I saw these living sacrifices in China. The Christians are the only people in China that really impress the Communists. Communists are people with tremendous dedication. The Communist cadre in China works for next to no pay. He works as hard or harder than anyone else. He lives the simplest kind of life. And he is expected to set an example to the people.
But the Christians in China, because you dare not become a Christian except you know what is involved, I became a Christian because I knew that I was expected to be a living sacrifice. I was not brought into the kingdom of God on any false pretenses. Everything was made clear to me. And I knew what it meant to have to suffer for His name's sake, to have my name taken down by the police, to have political cadres coming to my room and saying, "Why do you go to church? How is it that you go there three times a week? What do you do in church?" I said, "I don't have to go to church. I just want to go there." "Why do you want to go there?" "Because I want to worship God."
In 1955, I had the privilege of hearing Wang Mingtao preaching in Peking. I will never forget the time that he preached there. Because he preached as a man who knew that his hour had come. He preached as a man who was going to the cross. He knew very well what was waiting for him. He knew what lay ahead. And death would have been a quick release. For him there waited years yet ahead of imprisonment, interrogation, and torture. But with steadfast faith, setting his face as a flint towards Jerusalem, he went unwavering to that cross. And he said, "Brothers and sisters, if the Lord Jesus calls upon me to suffer for His name's sake, I will consider this the highest honor. I am not worthy of such honor. But if the Lord Jesus calls me so to do, I will thank Him for that honor." He spoke these words knowing very well that his time was at hand.
Now, who offers the sacrifice? The priest offers the sacrifice. Who are the priests today? You are the priests. You, each one of you, are priests of God if you are a Christian. Did you know this? Let it burn into your heart. I am a priest of God. I am given the high calling. For this Luther fought in the Reformation, the priesthood of all believers. Right there in 1 Peter and many other passages. The priesthood. That you are called to be a holy nation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood.
When you sit there in that chair, I want you to understand this. You are not just a believer. Not just a lay person. If you are a child of God, you are a priest of God. We pastors are not special people. We are very ordinary people. We are nobodies in this world. You, before God, are every bit and perhaps more important than I am. You are a priest of God. I beg of you to understand. To offer up sacrifice. Pleasing, acceptable to God. How do you fulfill your priesthood?
Sacrifices must be offered without blemish. No sacrifice that is offered to God must contain any blemish. And so here in verse 15 we read these words: "That you may be blameless and innocent." This word "blameless" in the original is exactly the same word that is used in Leviticus chapter 1 and verse 3 in the Greek Old Testament. The same word is used to translate those references to the sacrifices which must be without blemish. "That you may be blameless in this generation. Innocent. Shining as lights in the world."
Now once you are cleansed, once you are a blameless sacrifice, what do you do? You don't take it home again. The sacrifice is not for yourself. He has made you spotless and blameless and clean so that you can be the sacrifice.
The first thing we see in this chapter is to be concerned for other people's welfare. Verses 20 to 23 we see an example of this, a living sacrifice. Here we see in verse 20: "I have no one like Timothy who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare." Think of it. The great apostle is saying among his co-workers there is nobody whose love for other people can be compared to Timothy. "They all look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." Oh alas, how true it is of Christians today. All look after their own interests. You look after your interests, your studies, your future. When have you got time to think about anyone else?
Being a living sacrifice, this total committal, means that you stop from today just being occupied with your own interests. A priest does not serve himself. He serves others for God's sake. You are a priest, remember this. But how few they are. Paul has even to say, "I have no one who loves you and has concern for you as Timothy."
Let me give you an example from my own life, inadequate as it is. When I was in Hong Kong, shortly after coming out of China, I was walking down the street one day. In those days in Hong Kong there were thousands and thousands of refugees squatting in little wood huts. One day as I was walking back to my lodging and it was evening, I was walking up the stairs and somebody called to me behind and said, "Sir, can you help me, please help me." I turned around and I looked at this man and here was a man very thin, very dirty, and really half starved. His cheeks were sunken and I looked upon him with such pity and compassion. I said to him, "What can I do for you?" He said, "You see, I have a very difficult time finding a job. I've been trying to sell newspapers and the police grabbed me because I have no license. I have a wife and four children to care for and I can't make a living at all."
I said to him, "Listen, there is only one person who can really help you and that is Jesus. I have just come out of China, three years of hunger I've had, and God has never failed me. I want you to know Him." At the end of our conversation he knelt down with me and he opened his heart. As he was about to leave, I put my hands in my pocket. I had about two dollars. That was my total possession at the time. I thought to myself, what have I got? I've got a jacket. I have two jackets and this one that I'm wearing he can have. So I took off my jacket. "What are you doing?" "You take my jacket." He said, "No, I can't take your jacket." "Why not? I've got another one." And the Lord Jesus said if you have two coats, then share one. So he took my jacket and the tears came to his eyes.
A few days later he came back. He said, "I only want to know about Christ. Don't give me any money this time, please. Just tell me more about Jesus." A few weeks later the porter called me and said, "There's a gentleman waiting for you downstairs." I came downstairs and I saw a man in a suit and a tie and a briefcase. I looked at him and said, "Do I know you?" I looked again. That's Lao Zhang! I couldn't recognize him. He had washed his face, combed his hair, and he had a suit on. He said, "You know, the Jesus that you talked about, He is real. I have found it so. Everything you said was true, because I proved it." He had found a job. God had provided.
Be faithful in small things. I say this again and again to young people because they live in dreams of the future. You have got to start now. If you are faithful in these things, God will honor you and give you great opportunities in the days to come.
When you are prepared to be a living sacrifice for God, then what does God do? He exalts you. Anyone who humbles himself, God will exalt. Secondly, only as we are prepared to be the sacrifice will we shine as the light. You will never shine unless you are first a sacrifice. Only sacrifices shine in the flames of the altar. And thirdly, we see here the joy of sacrifice. Paul says, "I am glad and will rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me." Don't be sorry about my sufferings. You can be happy about this, the privilege of suffering in this way.
So the Lord Jesus shows us the picture in this passage. First, a Christian is a soldier. The second picture, the Christian is a priest who offers sacrifice. And the sacrifice is himself, even as Jesus offered up Himself an eternal sacrifice. We are called to follow in His footsteps. That is our supreme privilege as a priest of God. So go forth in the small things and you will know how wonderful God is. You will come to experience that for yourself in a way you never knew was possible before. May God speak to every heart. Let us now turn to the Lord in prayer.