Full Obedience: Abraham And Isaac On The Mountain Series

Now God has not and will not ask us to do what He asked Abraham to do, but God still asks for the same obedience. Does He have it from you? God asks for total, complete, absolute obedience. Does He have it from you?

Our society has taught us that we are in control, that we get to choose our way, that we can even decide what is true and what is not true. It has drummed into our head and our heart that the point of life is to be our own boss, to make our own decisions, to rule our own life. To “look out for number 1”, unless we choose to look out for someone else first, but we still get to choose that and we remain in control. It is so deeply engrained in us that this idea of total, complete, unreserved obedience to God is, I think, rather foreign to us.

Well my friends, let me tell you this. Obedience to God is not an option for anyone who claims to follow Jesus. Some of us have this idea that we can follow Jesus generally, that it is fine if we do our own thing as long as we are generally following Jesus, mostly heading in the same direction, and if there are a few areas of our lives where we aren’t following Jesus well that is ok, everybody has a few, no big deal. And that entire line of thinking reveals one critical reality: we are still the lord of our own lives. If that is how we are living, then Jesus is not our Lord – or He is Lord in name only.

When we accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord, the “Lord” part means nothing less than 100%, complete, total, absolute obedience. You can’t be a part-Christian any more than you can be a little bit pregnant. Now of course we might occasionally fall, we may from time to time commit a sin, but that is different from living life with certain areas under our control where we have decided that it is ok to live like that even though we know it is disobedient. It is one thing to be on the straight and narrow path, and occasionally step off the path into some mud, and a very different thing to say “I’m going to walk the straight and narrow path in this area and that area of my life, but over here in this area I’m going my own way because I’m not so sure about Jesus’ way.”

What we learn from Abraham is this: God asks for it all. And God expects complete obedience.

Conclusion:

And God provides. That is the glorious ending. The sacrifice and the obedience look really hard, and sometimes they lead down a really hard path. Sometimes that path of obedience is painful for us. But then, after we obey (and that is a crucial part of the story – “after we obey”), we look up and see the ram caught in the thicket; we look up and we see. God provided.

So I’m going to ask you once again, in closing, this key critical question: Does God have your full obedience? 100%? All areas of your life, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ?? If your answer is “yes”, then I praise God and delight in that with Jesus! But if your answer is “no”, then I’m going to plead. Plead, and give you an opportunity right now to make that change. Maybe this is a pivotal moment for you, maybe as you’ve considered the story of Abraham and Isaac the Holy Spirit has been tugging on your heart, showing some area of your life that you are holding back, keeping for yourself, being “lord” over yourself. Is Jesus your Lord? In all areas? Let go, give them to Jesus, let Jesus be Lord, 100%, over all of your life.

And let Him provide.