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00:00:02 Our sacred service is our sacrifice, 00:00:05 our gift to Jehovah. 00:00:08 But here’s a key point: 00:00:10 Before Jehovah looks at our gift, 00:00:13 he looks at us. 00:00:15 He must accept us first if he’s to accept our gift. 00:00:20 So here’s the key question, then: 00:00:22 What does Jehovah look for in us? 00:00:26 We’re going to use three Bible examples to explore that question. 00:00:31 Let’s begin in the Most Holy of the tabernacle 00:00:34 on the Day of Atonement. 00:00:37 The high priest’s mission is to offer a sin offering 00:00:40 for himself and for the nation. 00:00:43 But before he can do that, Jehovah tells him to do something very specific, 00:00:48 as depicted here. 00:00:50 It’s recorded at Leviticus chapter 16, 00:00:54 verses 12 and 13. 00:00:57 So please turn with me to that —Leviticus chapter 16— 00:01:01 the first time he enters the Most Holy on that day. 00:01:05 “He will then take the fire holder 00:01:07 “full of burning coals from the altar before Jehovah 00:01:10 “and two handfuls of fine perfumed incense, 00:01:13 “and he will bring them inside the curtain. 00:01:16 “He will also put the incense on the fire before Jehovah, 00:01:19 “and the cloud of the incense will envelop the Ark cover, which is on the Testimony, 00:01:24 so that he may not die.” 00:01:28 Clearly, from that last phrase, 00:01:31 Jehovah needed to approve of the high priest and what he did 00:01:35 if he was to accept the sin offering. 00:01:39 He had to bring in incense. 00:01:44 In the Bible, incense is associated with prayer. 00:01:48 So clearly, the high priest had to come in 00:01:50 with a humble, prayerful attitude. 00:01:55 Imagine, though, if he decided to bring his own incense recipe 00:01:59 because he preferred that smell. 00:02:02 Was Jehovah likely to accept that? 00:02:06 Or what if he followed the procedure perfectly 00:02:10 but yesterday he was leading the nation in worship to Molech? 00:02:15 Would Jehovah approve of what he did on this day? 00:02:19 So, what qualities was Jehovah looking for in the high priest? 00:02:28 A humble, prayerful attitude; 00:02:31 strict obedience to direction; 00:02:34 moral and spiritual integrity. 00:02:39 Everything on that day, the high priest and his sin offering, 00:02:44 pictured Jesus Christ. 00:02:47 So, what can we learn from Jesus while he was on earth? 00:02:51 There’s a beautiful description at Hebrews 5:7, 8. 00:02:56 So let’s read that verse together, 00:02:59 and pick out what this tells us about Jesus. 00:03:02 Hebrews 5:7, 8: 00:03:05 “During his life on earth, Christ offered up 00:03:09 “supplications and also petitions, 00:03:11 “with strong outcries and tears, 00:03:14 “to the One who was able to save him out of death, 00:03:17 “and he was favorably heard for his godly fear. 00:03:21 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience 00:03:25 from the things he suffered.” 00:03:28 Supplications and petitions— 00:03:32 Although he was the perfect son of God, 00:03:35 Jesus humbly recognized his total dependence on his Father. 00:03:41 From verse 8, it’s easy to pick up that key quality. 00:03:46 He was perfectly obedient 00:03:49 in carrying out Jehovah’s will for him. 00:03:52 And what about this phrase at the end of verse 7: 00:03:55 “He was favorably heard for his godly fear”? 00:04:00 Yes, Jesus’ fervent desire to please Jehovah in everything 00:04:05 —that was the source of his perfect integrity. 00:04:10 The question, though, is why? 00:04:12 What moved Jesus to do these things? 00:04:16 Well, in his own words, John 14:31: 00:04:19 “In order for the world to know that I love the Father.” 00:04:25 What did Jehovah see in Jesus? 00:04:29 He saw remarkable humility; 00:04:32 total dependence on his Father; 00:04:34 perfect obedience; 00:04:36 flawless integrity; 00:04:39 and the purest of motives —love for his Father. 00:04:46 It’s no wonder that Jehovah looked down and said: 00:04:50 “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” 00:04:54 Jehovah approved of Jesus, 00:04:56 and he approved of the ransom sacrifice. 00:05:00 So now it’s down to us. 00:05:02 What is Jehovah looking for in you and me? 00:05:05 Well, as with Jesus, he’s looking 00:05:07 for the right qualities and the right motive 00:05:11 —so qualities and motive. 00:05:14 That’s familiar to us, even in human relationships. 00:05:18 We’ve all seen the picture of a sheepish husband who comes home 00:05:22 carrying a big bouquet of flowers. 00:05:25 Well, he’s done something that’s going to make his wife angry when she finds out, 00:05:30 and he wants to appease her to make her less angry. 00:05:35 Is she going to be happy with that? 00:05:37 She may accept the flowers, 00:05:39 but she does not want to be appeased. 00:05:42 What she wants is a loyal husband 00:05:46 to give her a gift because he loves her 00:05:50 —qualities and motive. 00:05:53 With this in mind, let’s learn one further lesson 00:05:57 from the example of King David. 00:05:59 Jehovah had told David that he would not be the one 00:06:03 that would build the temple, 00:06:05 and David obeyed Jehovah’s direction. 00:06:07 But he loved pure worship. 00:06:09 He wanted to do something. 00:06:12 So David carefully studied the temple plan that Jehovah gave him, 00:06:16 and then he brought Jehovah a gift, 00:06:20 and what a gift it was, from his personal fortune 00:06:23 —gold, silver, and so many other things! 00:06:26 You know, just the gold and silver from his personal fortune 00:06:31 was worth almost six billion dollars. 00:06:36 Now, when David was ready to present that gift to Jehovah, 00:06:40 he said a special prayer. 00:06:42 And we’re going to look at it in 1 Chronicles chapter 29. 00:06:48 Verses 10-17 is the prayer. 00:06:50 It’s worth its own study project. 00:06:53 But we’ll look at just a few key points. 00:06:55 Please look to see what each of these reveals 00:06:58 about David as the giver of the gift. 00:07:02 So 1 Chronicles 29:14: 00:07:08 “Who am I and who are my people 00:07:10 “that we should be in a position to make voluntary offerings like this? 00:07:15 “For everything is from you, 00:07:17 and we have given to you what comes from your own hand.” 00:07:22 Wow! 00:07:23 Despite his rank, his seniority, 00:07:26 David humbly recognized what a privilege it was 00:07:30 to be able to do anything for Jehovah. 00:07:34 Now glance down at verse 17. 00:07:37 What would make Jehovah approve of this gift? 00:07:42 “I well know, O my God, that you examine the heart 00:07:46 “and that you take pleasure in integrity. 00:07:51 “In the uprightness of my heart, 00:07:53 I have voluntarily offered all these things.” 00:07:57 That’s why Jehovah would approve the gift. 00:08:00 Now, bear in mind, David has just presented to Jehovah 00:08:05 billions of dollars worth of gifts. 00:08:09 And yet look at verse 13, 00:08:13 this is his motive: 00:08:15 “And now, O our God, we thank you 00:08:19 and praise your beautiful name.” 00:08:23 His gratitude moved David to give 00:08:26 everything that he possibly could to Jehovah. 00:08:32 So how are we like David when we give gifts to Jehovah? 00:08:37 We humbly recognize what a privilege it is 00:08:40 to be able to do anything for Jehovah. 00:08:43 We keep strict obedience to direction. 00:08:47 We fight to maintain our integrity, 00:08:49 and it’s our love and our gratitude 00:08:51 that moves us to give Jehovah 00:08:54 everything that we can 00:08:56 —our very best. 00:08:59 When Jehovah sees these qualities and these motives in us, 00:09:04 then he’s very pleased, 00:09:06 and he will be pleased to accept our gift, 00:09:08 whether we give him the fortune of David or the widow’s mite. 00:09:14 So, what gifts will you bring to Jehovah today? 00:09:19 May Jehovah smile when he sees you, 00:09:23 and may he approve of your good qualities and your good motive, 00:09:28 and may he turn your gift into a blessing for you and for many others.
00:00:02 Our sacred service is our sacrifice, 00:00:05 our gift to Jehovah. 00:00:08 But here’s a key point: 00:00:10 Before Jehovah looks at our gift, 00:00:13 he looks at us. 00:00:15 He must accept us first if he’s to accept our gift. 00:00:20 So here’s the key question, then: 00:00:22 What does Jehovah look for in us? 00:00:26 We’re going to use three Bible examples to explore that question. 00:00:31 Let’s begin in the Most Holy of the tabernacle 00:00:34 on the Day of Atonement. 00:00:37 The high priest’s mission is to offer a sin offering 00:00:40 for himself and for the nation. 00:00:43 But before he can do that, Jehovah tells him to do something very specific, 00:00:48 as depicted here. 00:00:50 It’s recorded at Leviticus chapter 16, 00:00:54 verses 12 and 13. 00:00:57 So please turn with me to that —Leviticus chapter 16— 00:01:01 the first time he enters the Most Holy on that day. 00:01:05 “He will then take the fire holder 00:01:07 “full of burning coals from the altar before Jehovah 00:01:10 “and two handfuls of fine perfumed incense, 00:01:13 “and he will bring them inside the curtain. 00:01:16 “He will also put the incense on the fire before Jehovah, 00:01:19 “and the cloud of the incense will envelop the Ark cover, which is on the Testimony, 00:01:24 so that he may not die.” 00:01:28 Clearly, from that last phrase, 00:01:31 Jehovah needed to approve of the high priest and what he did 00:01:35 if he was to accept the sin offering. 00:01:39 He had to bring in incense. 00:01:44 In the Bible, incense is associated with prayer. 00:01:48 So clearly, the high priest had to come in 00:01:50 with a humble, prayerful attitude. 00:01:55 Imagine, though, if he decided to bring his own incense recipe 00:01:59 because he preferred that smell. 00:02:02 Was Jehovah likely to accept that? 00:02:06 Or what if he followed the procedure perfectly 00:02:10 but yesterday he was leading the nation in worship to Molech? 00:02:15 Would Jehovah approve of what he did on this day? 00:02:19 So, what qualities was Jehovah looking for in the high priest? 00:02:28 A humble, prayerful attitude; 00:02:31 strict obedience to direction; 00:02:34 moral and spiritual integrity. 00:02:39 Everything on that day, the high priest and his sin offering, 00:02:44 pictured Jesus Christ. 00:02:47 So, what can we learn from Jesus while he was on earth? 00:02:51 There’s a beautiful description at Hebrews 5:7, 8. 00:02:56 So let’s read that verse together, 00:02:59 and pick out what this tells us about Jesus. 00:03:02 Hebrews 5:7, 8: 00:03:05 “During his life on earth, Christ offered up 00:03:09 “supplications and also petitions, 00:03:11 “with strong outcries and tears, 00:03:14 “to the One who was able to save him out of death, 00:03:17 “and he was favorably heard for his godly fear. 00:03:21 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience 00:03:25 from the things he suffered.” 00:03:28 Supplications and petitions— 00:03:32 Although he was the perfect son of God, 00:03:35 Jesus humbly recognized his total dependence on his Father. 00:03:41 From verse 8, it’s easy to pick up that key quality. 00:03:46 He was perfectly obedient 00:03:49 in carrying out Jehovah’s will for him. 00:03:52 And what about this phrase at the end of verse 7: 00:03:55 “He was favorably heard for his godly fear”? 00:04:00 Yes, Jesus’ fervent desire to please Jehovah in everything 00:04:05 —that was the source of his perfect integrity. 00:04:10 The question, though, is why? 00:04:12 What moved Jesus to do these things? 00:04:16 Well, in his own words, John 14:31: 00:04:19 “In order for the world to know that I love the Father.” 00:04:25 What did Jehovah see in Jesus? 00:04:29 He saw remarkable humility; 00:04:32 total dependence on his Father; 00:04:34 perfect obedience; 00:04:36 flawless integrity; 00:04:39 and the purest of motives —love for his Father. 00:04:46 It’s no wonder that Jehovah looked down and said: 00:04:50 “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” 00:04:54 Jehovah approved of Jesus, 00:04:56 and he approved of the ransom sacrifice. 00:05:00 So now it’s down to us. 00:05:02 What is Jehovah looking for in you and me? 00:05:05 Well, as with Jesus, he’s looking 00:05:07 for the right qualities and the right motive 00:05:11 —so qualities and motive. 00:05:14 That’s familiar to us, even in human relationships. 00:05:18 We’ve all seen the picture of a sheepish husband who comes home 00:05:22 carrying a big bouquet of flowers. 00:05:25 Well, he’s done something that’s going to make his wife angry when she finds out, 00:05:30 and he wants to appease her to make her less angry. 00:05:35 Is she going to be happy with that? 00:05:37 She may accept the flowers, 00:05:39 but she does not want to be appeased. 00:05:42 What she wants is a loyal husband 00:05:46 to give her a gift because he loves her 00:05:50 —qualities and motive. 00:05:53 With this in mind, let’s learn one further lesson 00:05:57 from the example of King David. 00:05:59 Jehovah had told David that he would not be the one 00:06:03 that would build the temple, 00:06:05 and David obeyed Jehovah’s direction. 00:06:07 But he loved pure worship. 00:06:09 He wanted to do something. 00:06:12 So David carefully studied the temple plan that Jehovah gave him, 00:06:16 and then he brought Jehovah a gift, 00:06:20 and what a gift it was, from his personal fortune 00:06:23 —gold, silver, and so many other things! 00:06:26 You know, just the gold and silver from his personal fortune 00:06:31 was worth almost six billion dollars. 00:06:36 Now, when David was ready to present that gift to Jehovah, 00:06:40 he said a special prayer. 00:06:42 And we’re going to look at it in 1 Chronicles chapter 29. 00:06:48 Verses 10-17 is the prayer. 00:06:50 It’s worth its own study project. 00:06:53 But we’ll look at just a few key points. 00:06:55 Please look to see what each of these reveals 00:06:58 about David as the giver of the gift. 00:07:02 So 1 Chronicles 29:14: 00:07:08 “Who am I and who are my people 00:07:10 “that we should be in a position to make voluntary offerings like this? 00:07:15 “For everything is from you, 00:07:17 and we have given to you what comes from your own hand.” 00:07:22 Wow! 00:07:23 Despite his rank, his seniority, 00:07:26 David humbly recognized what a privilege it was 00:07:30 to be able to do anything for Jehovah. 00:07:34 Now glance down at verse 17. 00:07:37 What would make Jehovah approve of this gift? 00:07:42 “I well know, O my God, that you examine the heart 00:07:46 “and that you take pleasure in integrity. 00:07:51 “In the uprightness of my heart, 00:07:53 I have voluntarily offered all these things.” 00:07:57 That’s why Jehovah would approve the gift. 00:08:00 Now, bear in mind, David has just presented to Jehovah 00:08:05 billions of dollars worth of gifts. 00:08:09 And yet look at verse 13, 00:08:13 this is his motive: 00:08:15 “And now, O our God, we thank you 00:08:19 and praise your beautiful name.” 00:08:23 His gratitude moved David to give 00:08:26 everything that he possibly could to Jehovah. 00:08:32 So how are we like David when we give gifts to Jehovah? 00:08:37 We humbly recognize what a privilege it is 00:08:40 to be able to do anything for Jehovah. 00:08:43 We keep strict obedience to direction. 00:08:47 We fight to maintain our integrity, 00:08:49 and it’s our love and our gratitude 00:08:51 that moves us to give Jehovah 00:08:54 everything that we can 00:08:56 —our very best. 00:08:59 When Jehovah sees these qualities and these motives in us, 00:09:04 then he’s very pleased, 00:09:06 and he will be pleased to accept our gift, 00:09:08 whether we give him the fortune of David or the widow’s mite. 00:09:14 So, what gifts will you bring to Jehovah today? 00:09:19 May Jehovah smile when he sees you, 00:09:23 and may he approve of your good qualities and your good motive, 00:09:28 and may he turn your gift into a blessing for you and for many others.
