November 2nd, 2025
The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!
Which That Cost Me Nothing
2 Chronicles 7
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
November 2, 2025
Memory Verse:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1 NIV
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are starting a brand new series I entitled "The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!" In this series we are going to study about the importance of making the right offering to God. What it truly means and what does God tell us to do when we make an offering to Him.
There are over four hundred references of the word "altar" in the Bible. It is used as early as the Book of Genesis up to the New Testament. An altar is a place of consecration and a place of offering. Often times it represents a place where a genuine encounter with God had taken place. In the altar we are commanded to offer to God which that is Holy, pleasing and acceptable to Him and Him alone.
Main Pointers:
“But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.” The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’” So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.” “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.” So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep— what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
2 Samuel 24:10-17 NLT
1. God hates the pride that overcomes the heart.
A. David was well advanced in his years. He had seen some mighty things in his lifetime. He had experienced some of the greatest victories Israel had ever seen. This brought him to a place of tremendous pride instead of humility.
B. We all have pride in our lives. We must be careful that this pride does not overcome us to a point that it becomes very detestable to God! God hates human pride!
C. “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins. I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze.”
Leviticus 26:18-19 NLT
2. It's in the altar where God teaches us real humility.
“That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. “Why have you come, my Lord the king?” Araunah asked. David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.” “Take it, my Lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”
2 Samuel 24:18-23 NLT
A. As soon as David admitted his sin before the Lord the plague has stopped. Now it's time to teach him again how to humble himself before the Lord. The prophet Gad had instructed him to create an altar exactly where God had called the angel to bring upon His judgment.
B. Why did God instruct David to build an altar? Are we altar builders for God? What is the difference of the world's mentality compare to what God really want us to do?
C. “Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”
Luke 12:16-19 NLT
3. Real offering is rooted in obedience and sacrifice.
“But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.”
2 Samuel 24:24-25 NLT
A. Many of our offering today is rooted on convenience not sacrifice. They are driven by compliance but not real obedience to God.
B. “And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:18-21 NLT
Conclusion:
We now enter the season of gratitude and giving thanks to our God. Almost synonymous to giving back to God with our offerings. Are driven by real obedience to God? Do we know how to offer to Him a sacrifice that is holy? Pleasing? Acceptable to Him? Let's start by creating an altar in our hearts where we put down any pride and any hindrances. Let's offer at the altar of our hearts real offerings of thanksgiving, praise, and our bodies as living sacrifice.
Which That Cost Me Nothing
2 Chronicles 7
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
November 2, 2025
Memory Verse:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1 NIV
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are starting a brand new series I entitled "The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!" In this series we are going to study about the importance of making the right offering to God. What it truly means and what does God tell us to do when we make an offering to Him.
There are over four hundred references of the word "altar" in the Bible. It is used as early as the Book of Genesis up to the New Testament. An altar is a place of consecration and a place of offering. Often times it represents a place where a genuine encounter with God had taken place. In the altar we are commanded to offer to God which that is Holy, pleasing and acceptable to Him and Him alone.
Main Pointers:
“But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.” The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’” So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.” “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.” So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep— what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
2 Samuel 24:10-17 NLT
1. God hates the pride that overcomes the heart.
A. David was well advanced in his years. He had seen some mighty things in his lifetime. He had experienced some of the greatest victories Israel had ever seen. This brought him to a place of tremendous pride instead of humility.
B. We all have pride in our lives. We must be careful that this pride does not overcome us to a point that it becomes very detestable to God! God hates human pride!
C. “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins. I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze.”
Leviticus 26:18-19 NLT
2. It's in the altar where God teaches us real humility.
“That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. “Why have you come, my Lord the king?” Araunah asked. David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.” “Take it, my Lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”
2 Samuel 24:18-23 NLT
A. As soon as David admitted his sin before the Lord the plague has stopped. Now it's time to teach him again how to humble himself before the Lord. The prophet Gad had instructed him to create an altar exactly where God had called the angel to bring upon His judgment.
B. Why did God instruct David to build an altar? Are we altar builders for God? What is the difference of the world's mentality compare to what God really want us to do?
C. “Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”
Luke 12:16-19 NLT
3. Real offering is rooted in obedience and sacrifice.
“But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.”
2 Samuel 24:24-25 NLT
A. Many of our offering today is rooted on convenience not sacrifice. They are driven by compliance but not real obedience to God.
B. “And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:18-21 NLT
Conclusion:
We now enter the season of gratitude and giving thanks to our God. Almost synonymous to giving back to God with our offerings. Are driven by real obedience to God? Do we know how to offer to Him a sacrifice that is holy? Pleasing? Acceptable to Him? Let's start by creating an altar in our hearts where we put down any pride and any hindrances. Let's offer at the altar of our hearts real offerings of thanksgiving, praise, and our bodies as living sacrifice.
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