Life on the altar demands sacrifice because an altar is a place of sacrifice. It’s all about denying one’s own life on behalf of others.

Jesus said to everyone, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). In other words, a Christian can never put down his personal cross. Neither can he count on others to help him carry it. The requirement to follow Jesus and enjoy the reward of eternal life is to deny oneself and depend entirely on God. Is it easy? No, it’s not! That’s why few are chosen.

To have one’s life on the altar means to die to the world and to sin. It’s not possible to live a life dedicated to God and to the world at the same time. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Among the many Egyptian gods, there was one who bore a ram’s head. Because of that, shepherds were not welcome among them. Shearing a sheep—not to mention sacrificing its flesh—was considered an insult to the Egyptian faith.

God’s request to sacrifice a lamb and spread its blood to the lintel and two door posts of the outer entrance to their homes was not an easy task for the Israelites. It would require courage. Without a doubt, it would offend the Egyptians and make them more aggressive towards the Jews.

The children of Israel had to choose between either sacrificing to God and risking their lives, or not sacrificing in the hope of saving their skin.

Those who are converted have to go through this same dilemma every moment of their lives. That’s the test of our faith.

I’ve learned that the exercise of faith is a matter of having courage to obey God’s voice rather than feeling it.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Nobody gets saved through feelings. Salvation demands attitude, action, and making faith become real. That is courage!

There was a blind girl who hated the fact that she had been born blind. She also hated everyone, except her boyfriend.

One day, she said that if she could see the world, she would marry him. One lucky day, someone donated a pair of corneas to her, then her boyfriend asked, “Now that you can see me, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind. She said, “I’m terribly sorry, but I cannot marry you because you’re... blind.”

Her boyfriend, stepped back and, with tears in his eyes, said, “Please, just take good care of my eyes. They were the best that I had.”

Never reject those who love you. Sometimes, people sacrifice for us and we don’t even show consideration for them. Jesus gave His whole life for us, yet most people in this world reject Him.

The handwriting was perfect, the letter looked like it was all covered in gold, my eyes turned blue... The feeling was inexplicable! It wasn't the letter that made it so special for me, it was the way everything happened from a simple trust in God. It was as if I was being rewarded for giving Him the upper hand in my life...

I immediately remembered my sacrifice in the previous campaign of Israel. It had been a ring, but not just a golden ring, my only ring. My father had given it to me as a birthday gift for my 15th birthday. It meant a lot to me, so much so that it was the only thing I had to sacrifice. I didn't work, I didn't have any money, I didn't have any valuables.

After placing it inside the envelope, I felt proud of my faith somehow, as if I had finally done something with it all those years. I asked God for one thing in that envelope, I wanted to marry my first boyfriend, who would have to come from Him (and no one else).

I was the bishop's daughter, everybody wanted to set me up with somebody... In their eyes, I was available. In my eyes, I wasn't. I wanted God to set me up because I knew He'd choose someone perfect for me. He knew my expectations and so, it wouldn't be anything less than those!

When Renato wrote me that love letter, out of the blue, not having met me or once spoken to me, it was as if God had written the perfect romance for me. I couldn't stop smiling... and I have a feeling, God couldn't either.

Cristiane Cardoso

We are experiencing a great moment of faith, in Brazil, as well as all around the world because of the Campaign of Israel.

Who should my sacrifice be for and what are my intentions for participating?

Sacrifice comes from the Latin word sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" + facere, "to make". It is commonly known as the practice of offering something valuable to the gods as an act of worship.

Sacramentum: in the beginning was an oath to God;

Sacrificium: what is offered to God becomes sacred or the act of offering.

Studies of ancient civilizations such as in Rome, Africa and India show that everyone offered sacrifices either to God or to other false gods. In the Bible, sacrifice appears right from the beginning of mankind: "But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering" (Genesis 4:4).

Every important event required a sacrificial offering to God: Noah (Genesis 8:20), Abraham (Genesis 22:1), Moses (Exodus 29:38 and Leviticus).

Sacrifice is part of human nature. People make sacrifices all the time, either for themselves or for their gods. What we must be aware of is to whom are we presenting our sacrifice, and what are our true intentions. It’s clear that a perfect sacrifice brings an immediate response, but we must understand that a sacrifice can’t be a means of escape or be seen as a simple request for a solution to a problem. It must be obediently presented in response to God's voice and, above all, a sacrificial worship of faith that requires self-denial, ridding us of any human conditions.

Sacrificing isn’t for everyone. The word sacrifice is a scary word and can be a burden to many people. Many church leaders teach people about sacrificing, but refuse to say the word sacrifice in fear of losing their tithers and offering givers. This is why they only preach about the cross as the greatest example of unconditional and selfless sacrifice. They know that this way won’t offend and disperse the uninformed, the weak or all those who lean on other people’s faith. I admire the Universal Church and its leader, Bishop Edir Macedo, and I’m proud to be part of this universal army because all who do have a great experience to tell on account of a prior sacrifice.

Everyone who comes to the church during this time; those who are suffering and drained because of so many problems, in life or death situations, between a rock and a hard place, go on to present their sacrifice to God followed by prayer, worship and gratitude because they’re certain God will answer. Unfortunately, many people, after having such needs met no longer see a reason to sacrifice.

"We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant." (Psalm 123:4)

The way we look at sacrifice changes with every campaign because with every campaign our faith matures, just like all the men in the past had a different reason to sacrifice. For some it meant worship, for others it was a request, for others it was an act of gratitude, but for Abraham it was an act of obedience to God.

We must ask ourselves: "Who am I presenting my sacrifice to? Is it for a man, the institution called the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, or is it truly for God?"

In short: sacrifice is in the DNA of those who are born of God.

"When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf." (Leviticus 19:5)

"When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable." (Leviticus 22:21)

"Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD." (Deuteronomy 12:11)

Unfortunately, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is split in half. On one side we have the weak and on the other, the strong. On one side we have the winners and on the other we have the defeated. This is because on one hand we have people with a pure heart but a cowardly faith when it comes to sacrificing, but on the other hand, people whose hearts are not pure but are fully willing to sacrifice. If only we could have people with pure hearts, fully willing to sacrifice.

"To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted." (Titus 1:15)

DECEMBER 13TH IS THE DAY THAT WE PLACE OUR SACRIFICES ON THE ALTARS OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, IN BRAZIL AND WORLDWIDE, SHOWING GOD OUR OBEDIENCE TO HIS REQUEST.

IN FAITH,

Assistant Marcos
São Paulo, Brazil

(A perspective on the faith of Bishop Edir Macedo, by Bishop Marcelo Crivella)

Faith, revolt and sacrifice are the essence of a life with God. The prophet Habakkuk showed us a great example of faith, when at that time, Jerusalem was surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar’s army and destruction was imminent. His book only has three chapters and begins with a question: Why?

Who hasn’t, at least once in their life, asked “why?” Why would a child be born with birth defects? Why would lightning strike and destroy a poor person’s home? Why would a stray bullet shot in a poor community kill an innocent child? Why?

While reflecting, Habakkuk received a brilliant and beautiful revelation deep in his heart that could only come from God: "The righteous will live by his faith." What else could we possibly add to this?

In such an unfair world filled with so much injustice, only faith can guarantee a fulfilled life. Without it, we are overcome by worries and fears; we become doubtful, flavorless, neither hot nor cold, a leaf carried by the wind; the living dead.

Faith naturally sparks a revolt against all these things, creates a sacrifice and ultimately acheives victory. This straight and narrow path is what God planned for the birth of the Universal Church.

As a young man Bishop Macedo attended an evangelical church on the south side of Rio de Janeiro for about 10 years. His desire was to preach, but the leaders didn’t feel that he had virtue or talent worth noticing. He wasn’t even given the opportunity to serve as an assistant. Ten years is not 10 days. Anyone else would have given up. Anyone else would have gotten discouraged, but he didn’t. Faith was responsible for that.

Moved by the desire to serve God, he and two friends went to another church in the suburbs. I was just a boy at the time but remember the new pastor evaluated them to be all on the same level. After some time, his two other friends were consecrated as pastors, but not him. Once more he was pushed aside, belittled and put down; again he faced new prejudices, discouragement and frustration. Again, anyone else would have felt discouraged. Anyone else would have given up.

One day, I was having lunch at my grandmother's house when he came in. And let me stop here to modestly pay homage to that very special lady. She was an exceptional example of selflessness, devotion and love.

The bishop was stopping by to tell us that he was leaving his job to begin preaching the Gospel. By this time he was already married, had a daughter and his wife was expecting their second child. This was an extreme act of faith for someone who had been discredited by everyone. For a humble family like ours a government job like he had, guaranteed a life free from unemployment.

My grandmother simply pondered: "Don’t forget to pay your taxes to ensure your retirement fund when you get old."

When I now hear the degrading and ridiculous insults, the hatred, the relentless hounding, the flood of name-calling, slander and defamations written with great conviction that his plan is to exploit the poor leaves me deeply bitter, because I know that such things are being published due to misguided opinions of the bishop and the church. Certainly, they know nothing about the Universal Church or who we are and where we came from.

It may have happened in one of our churches in Brazil, Africa, Europe, Asia or anywhere else in the world, that someone, sometime, placed a similar sacrifice on the altar but none greater than his. He gave everything he had. He gave his job without any guarantees, without any expectations, just faith.

A month later, his second daughter was born and he went to visit her in Iaserj hospital that morning. She was born with a cleft palate, and babies with this type of birth defect are also very thin, with dark circles around their eyes and facial deformities. There was an open wound in her mouth. She was missing a part of her lips and the roof of her mouth, making it impossible to breast or bottle-feed because she couldn’t produce suction to drink, causing her to often choke. It was days, months even years of terrible suffering.

On the way back, all the way from the Red Cross Square until Glory Square, with every step along Riachuelo Street there was were tears falling from his eyes. Like Habakkuk, I wondered why? Why would a poor yet faithful tither, at a crucial point in his life, after deciding to leave his family’s only source of income in order to preach the Word of God, be awarded this, the worst kind of punishment? I don’t know if there’s any greater pain than when a father enters the hospital nursery only to find out that his daughter is the only sick, frail, suffering and crying child, while all the other babies are so beautiful.

As usual, during crucial times, my family would gather at my grandmother's house. He arrived in the afternoon. He was obviously sad, but he said two things that I will never forget. The first was: "I'm going to like her even more than the other one."

The other one that he was referring to was his first daughter, a beautiful child. I don’t think that you can like one child more than the other but there was a deeper meaning to what he was saying. It was much more than a father just compensating, protecting or venting his pain.

Later, I realized that the essence of those words would be reflected in the formation and function of the Universal Church, which is more inclined to help the suffering, poor and needy. From there we begin looking for the lost souls who are at life’s crossroads, in the slums, the centers of witchcraft, in mental wards, entombed by addictions, amidst the destruction of broken homes. This is when the assembly halls, auditoriums and theaters began to fill with the sick, poor, unemployed, afflicted and possessed in search of relief and deliverance. The people that once walked in darkness began seeing the light.

The second thing he said was: "I'm not angry with God. I’m angry at the devil. Now, I’m definitely going to invade hell to rescue lost souls."

It was no longer a doubtful young man that stood before us. It was then that a leader was born. It was also when a nation was born, able to face the greatest of challenges and virulent persecutions. A nation of quality and strength that won’t turn back, won’t bow down, won’t run away from the fight or fear sacrifice. A nation with their eyes set on God's promises to reach their perspectives in the horizon of their destiny; determined, formed and sealed by faith in God. This is all because; during the hardest, cruelest, most difficult moment a righteous man lived by his faith!

The Universal Church didn’t rise from the determination of an assembly of illustrious men, or a group of executives or a notable foundation, nor was it subsidized, sponsored, paid for by government funds or a generous millionaire. This church is a simple, direct and faithful answer of a God who honors faith, revolt and sacrifice.

The phrase, "I'm not angry with God. I'm angry at the devil,” marks the uprising of faith. If he became angry at God, he would have been rebelling. The result would have been an ocean of failures, a Himalayan-sized frustration. Rebellious people blame God for life’s misfortunes. Rebelliousness is subtle and can be manifested in many different ways. Some rebellious people challenge God’s commandments by their disobedience to Him with sins and crimes. Others are cold and indifferent with the things of God, making their lives a huge waste of time and a sad story of mediocrity. There are also the Pharisees, they are the rebels within the church, who know the Word but don’t practice it.

Abraham was angry while he was wandering in the desert, waiting for the promise to arrive. However, he never rebelled. Moses felt a sense of revolt at seeing his people enslaved just like Joshua wanted to revolt when he found walls and giants in the Promised Land, but they were never rebellious. David became revolted with the affronts made by Goliath. Job, the most revolted of them all, at the height of his suffering cursed the day he was born, yet never rebelled. Even after all this time, he continues to be the most powerful example of what a man can endure and overcome when moved by faith. It was because of his sacrifice that God restored his fortunes sevenfold.

To live a righteous life doesn’t mean you must live in a convent, a monastery on top of a mountain or be an absolute saint. It is a life of faith, where you have to face the struggles of ordinary daily life. You’re your virtues and imperfections, suffering injustice and persecutions like a sheep among wolves, when you may cry at times but know you’ll be comforted, when you hunger and thirst for justice but know that you’ll be satisfied. Simple humble people from the bottom of their soul. They are people who put their hand to the plow and don’t look back, whatever the cost may be, even if it hurts. Neither weaklings nor cowards, they are the sons of faith, revolt and sacrifice.

“Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him.” (Isaiah 51:2)

Why does God ask us to look to Abraham? What does He want to show us? If there was nothing important to be seen, why should we look to him?

What God wants to show us is where Abraham’s obedience took him: He gave something to God that no one would ever give because of its value and importance. Something that was irreplaceable.

God is showing us a man at the limit of his faith, and God pushed to the point of swearing an oath, offering Himself as a guarantee (Genesis 22:16).

In other words, if I look at what he did and do the same, God will do to me what he did in the life of Abraham. The greatness of Abraham’s faith is his obedience.

There are people who believe and people who don’t believe. To whom do you look? Those who believe look to Abraham!

Do you believe that God can change the terrible situation you are facing in your family, love life, health or finances? So take your Isaac – whatever that may be – and place it before God. And on the altar, you can say, “God, You now owe me because I have also reached the limit of my faith!” And, because God cannot be indebted to anyone… WE WILL SET THE WORLD ON FIRE!

God bless you abundantly!

Bishop Romualdo Panceiro

Question:

Bishop Macedo,

I’m a 17-year-old girl from Namibia. Regarding the sacrifice that I made, I asked God to increase my mother’s salary. She’s not a church person, and believes that we’re demanding God to answer our request… My sacrifice got me into trouble with her because I didn’t tell her about it... I sold my clothes and things she bought me for my birthday—a gold and silver watch, a radio etc. How do I get God to perform this miracle? I know that He will answer me; I don’t have doubts about God!!! I know it, but how do I make it happen? Please help me. My mother is also not having a good relationship at the moment! I need advice, please.
-Coco

Answer:

Dear Coco,

Faith is above everything. God never forgets our sacrifices—the highest expression of our faith. And because of that, God has not rejected the sacrifice you made on behalf of your mother.

But let me explain something to you: a blessed financial life depends on a person’s faithfulness to God. As a matter of fact, there is a formula for a blessed financial life: conversion + faithfulness = prosperity.

By all means, keep your sacrifice alive by praying, fasting and attending the church, but bear in mind that, once your mother converts to God, the blessings will be a natural consequence—whether in her finances, love life, health etc. Therefore, I advise you to focus on praying for her to convert first rather than for her to prosper.

God bless you abundantly.