THE POWER OF SACRIFICE
2 Samuel 24:1-25
Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to
say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who
was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the
people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the
LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my
lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s
word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the
captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 5 And
they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the
midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of
Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold
of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah
as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at
the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people
to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword,
and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 And David’s heart condemned him
after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I
have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very
foolishly.” 11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet
Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things;
choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” 13 So Gad came to David and told him;
and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee
three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague
in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 14 And
David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His
mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 15 So the LORD sent a plague upon
Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men
of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it,
the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It
is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of
Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking
the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what
have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house. 18 And
Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing
floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord
commanded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So
Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Then Araunah said,
“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor
from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to
him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen
for wood. 23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king,
“May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy
it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs
me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And
David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the
Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
Sacrifice - an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else
regarded as more important or worthy.
I. GOD HONORS SACRIFICE
1. Old Testament Sacrificial System
a. The burnt offering (Leviticus 1; 6:8–13; 8:18-21; 16:24),
b. The grain offering (Leviticus 2; 6:14–23),
c. The peace offering (Leviticus 3; 7:11–34),
d. The sin offering (Leviticus 4; 5:1–13; 6:24–30; 8:14–17; 16:3–22),
e. The trespass offering (Leviticus 5:14–19; 6:1–7; 7:1–6).
2. Our Life
Romans 12:1
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.
Luke 9:24
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake will save it.
3. In Praise
Hebrews 13:5
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
4. In Prayer
Psalm 141:1-2
Lord, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to
You. 2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as
the evening sacrifice.
5. In Giving
Philippians 4:18
Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the
things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well
pleasing to God.
II. PRAYING THROUGH THE NIGHT
Mark 13:35
Watch ye therefore for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even,
or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning
Nighttime in Scripture is divided into four three-hour periods called "watches."
"Even," or the evening watch, is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Midnight watch, from 9 p.m. to midnight
Cockcrowing, from 12 M to 3 a.m.
Morning watch, from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.
1. Job
Job 35:10
But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,
2. David
Psalm 63:5-6
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise
You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the
night watches.
Psalm 119:148
My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your
word
3. Jesus
Luke 6:12-16
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and
continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His
disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named
apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James
and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of
Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas
Iscariot who also became a traitor.
4. Paul
2 Corinthians 6:4-5
But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in
afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in
labours, in watchings, in fastings
5. Fresh Anointing and Affiliates
October 1-30
Worship and Prayer. Pray in Spirit. Soak in Word. War.
III. EXPECTATIONS
1. Pandemic Relief
2. Breakthrough
Acts 12:5-11
Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for
him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter
was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards
before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord
stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and
raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the
angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he
said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed
him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he
was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts,
they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own
accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel
departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know
for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand
of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.
3. Being with Our Beloved
Song of Solomon 5:2
I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is
covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night
4. Preparation for Days Ahead
