There Is No Free Lunch!

 

2 Samuel 24:18-25

18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.  19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. 20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. 23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. 24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

[i]

Milton Friedman, an early 20^th century economist, who studied the Great Depression in depth made this famous comment:

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Milton Friedman

What he was saying was; in life there is nothing free!

Everything costs someone something.

§  When a store announces a FREE gift, it’s not really free – we’re paying for it when we buy the rest of our goods.

 

§  When a cellular phone company announces a FREE phone, it’s not really free, we’re paying for it with our monthly dues.

 

§  When someone mistakenly refers to their unemployment check as FREE money, it’s not really free, the working masses are paying for that check.

And yet this word FREE is tossed about in our society as freely as baseballs are tossed about in spring training.

But, the fact of the matter is that nothing worth having comes without a price!

I.)                WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY THAT IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.

Sean: “I want a job where I don’t have to work hard and I make a lot of money”

We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes non-work.
Milton Friedman

We have confused the free with the free and easy. Adlai E. Stevenson

This “something for nothing” mindset prevails in our society.

The word “sacrifice” is a word that’s not spoken often in our society.

SACRIFICE: To forfeit (one thing) for another thing considered to be of greater value.

The words we hear often spoken in our society are:

Wealth                                               • riches                        • superabundance

§  Convenience                        • amenity                            • accommodation

• creature comfort                    • affluence                • ease

• well-being                                   • success                         *good life

• luxury                                           • plenty                                 • prosperity

 

But, what works in our economy doesn’t necessarily work in God’s economy!

What moves God is sacrifice!

§  What moves God is the inconvenience to the flesh so that the spirit may prosper!

§  Luke 9:23

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [ii]

§  1 Corinthians 15:31

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  [iii]

§  What moves God is the sacrifice of the flesh to gain the power of the spirit!

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [iv]

II.)              TRYING TO LIVE FOR GOD EASY IS HARD; TRYING TO LIVE FOR GOD HARD IS EASY!

Zechariah 2:1-5

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. 3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, 4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

[v]

God honors sacrifice!

Not just trying to get by with the least possible, but someone who will say, “I’m going to be right in the middle of this thing!”

I don’t care where the boundaries are, I’m going to sacrifice to be in the middle of God’s glory!

Zechariah goes on to say in verse Zechariah 2:10

10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. [vi]

III.)           GOD IS NOT INTERESTED IN A SACRIFICE THAT COSTS US NOTHING

Cain and Abel

God did not reject Cain’s sacrifice because it was bruised, or less than perfect. He rejected it because no blood had been shed!

And God had already said that without the shedding of blood there was no remission.

Abel had offered a sacrifice that was costly, Cain just gave of his surplus. No expense was incurred.

We cannot truly worship God unless something dies!

This is exactly what Paul meant when he said, “I die daily!”

He laid himself on the altar every day and destroyed the flesh so that the spirit could live!

IV.)           THE GREATER THE SACRIFICE, THE GREATER THE REWARD

 

The Bible says in Luke 12:48

………For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. [vii]

We’ve always used that scripture to denote the gifting of God in the life of his people.

 

§  If we’re given much talent, we’re required to use it for God’s glory.

§  If we’re given much money, we’re required to give much to the work of the Lord.

But, let’s reverse that principle for a moment, and use it to denote the converse relationship:

If we give God much praise, He is required to give us much visitation!

Psalm 22:33 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. [viii]

If we give God much worship, He is required to give us much Spirit outpouring!

Job 36:27

27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: [ix]

The amount of rain that comes down depends on the amount of vapors that ascend into the clouds!

The amount of Holy Ghost outpouring that we experience depends on the amount of praise and worship that we send up to the heavens!

If we give God much prayer, He is required to give us much revival!

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  [x]

If we give sacrificially of our finances, God will respond with abundance!

Luke 6:38

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. [xi]

Great sacrifice brings great anointing!

The more we give to God, the more He is required by His own word to respond to us!

§  We sit here and sing “Send down the rain, Lord, Send down the rain”, but God is saying “Send up the worship, saints, send up the worship!”

 

§  We sit here and say, “Send revival Lord, Send revival”, and God’s saying, “Humble yourselves and pray, saints, humble yourselves and pray!”

 

§  We sit here and say, “Come into this House, Lord, Come into this house”, and God says, “Build me a house of praise, saints, build me a house of praise!”

God’s presence is brought into our midst by the sacrifice of praise, of worship, of dedication!

CONCLUSION

Amos 6:1

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!   [xii]

We live in a society that encourages ease and inactivity, lack of effort, convenience and comfort.

But, as David said, “I can’t offer to God that which costs me nothing.”

We are saved by grace, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.

Salvation is free, but serving God requires sacrifice.

Jesus said, Luke 9:23

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [1]