A BURNT SACRIFICE

Leviticus 1:9; 3:5; Romans 12:1-2

Today, we shall round up our meditations on the exemplary testimony given by Jesus about John the Baptist as a burning and shining light. John's life exemplified a life laid before the
altar of sacrifice, “And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey”(Matthew 3:4). You wonder why there still looms a frightening darkness in an age that has witnessed an astronomical increase in the
number of prophets and preachers. Do we still have preachers like John whose lives have truly become living sacrifices? Leonard Ravenhill in his 'Why Revival Tarries' thinks such men are
becoming too scarce. He says,“Why does revival tarry? The answer is simple enough – because evangelism is so highly commercialized. The tithes of widows and of the poor are spent in luxury-living by evangelists… Preachers who have homes and cottages by the Lake, a boat on that Lake, and a big bank balance, still beg for more. With such extortionists and unjust men, can God entrust Holy Ghost revival? This dear, doll-like preacher-boys no longer change their suits once a day, but two or three times a day. They preach the Jesus of the stable, but themselves live in swank hotels”. Who bewitched the church of today into thinking that they can get the same kind of
results that these men had at different levels of commitment and consecration. Nothing goes for anything. It demands sacrifice- the more the sacrifice, the more the shinning. Jesus became poor that you might be rich. It is by this that He became the best of what His Father desired Him to be. There is no single record of revival in the past without men and women who denied self and paid the price. You can afford the price of revival by making sure that God's grace upon your
life is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10).