Show the video “What defines you?”
In the video we just watched this statement was made. “What you love most will define who you are, what you become, and what you do with your life.”
Paul is quoted in the video as declaring, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)
Paul described himself as “a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.” (Philippians 3:5-6)
He was a man highly honored and respected by the Pharisees and the Jewish people. He would have been cheered for persecuting the rebellious Jews who insisted on following this false Messiah. However, Paul concluded that all this respect, honor, and righteous living were garbage when it came to following Jesus.
His love for the Jewish law defined him as a man who had the goal of destroying the church. He became a man who participated in the murders of the followers of Jesus. (Acts 22:20)
His entire life would have been motivated toward the destruction of the church and the protection of the law.
However, one day he encountered Jesus (Acts 22:6-8) and all these things became worthless. He now had a love for Jesus and his church. He became a missionary, church planter, writer of the Gospels, and accepter of his Gentile brothers. His entire life was devoted to following Christ until he was executed.
We also have examples of others who chose a different path. In Luke 9:59 we read about this encounter that Jesus had. “He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” He felt a responsibility to bury his father. Notice he is not with his father because he requests to return home. The man agrees to follow Jesus but under his terms. His responsibility to his dead father defined him, as one who would reject his calling to carry out what he felt was most important. He desired to be known as a responsible man and this defined his life.
And what was the reply of Jesus. “But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)
Responsibility is a very good virtue unless that responsibility stops us from fulfilling our duty. Often we use our responsibilities to other things as an excuse to delay doing what God has called us to do.
Another example is found in Luke 9:61 “Another said, ‘Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family’.” Notice this man was not called, he volunteered. He wanted to follow Jesus. However, he really loved his family. What he is asking sounds simple enough. The question was how long would this farewell take? His love for his family defined him as a good family man. And his being unprepared to follow Jesus left him as just that, a good family man.
Again, the reply of Jesus was “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
Being a good family man is wonderful. This seems to be lacking in our culture today. However, when we have decided to follow the calling of Jesus and we hesitate because of our family and friends we are in danger of being found unfit. We must not allow our past relationships hinder us from moving forward spiritually.
Jesus had another encounter with a young man in Matthew 19:21 “Jesus told him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’.”
Jesus knew what this young man loved the most, his possessions. Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to accumulate wealth with little effort? It seems the wealthier they are the wealthier they get. He was defined as a rich man and he became richer because of it. Now he was at a cross road as to what he would do with his life.
Notice Jesus did not ask him to give his possessions to the poor. Jesus knew it had taken him a lot of time and effort to accumulate all of his possessions. This young man had begun to love wealth, became known as a rich young ruler, and was living that life style. Now Jesus tells him to do three things; go, sell, and give. Unlike the other two, this man is given time to accomplish a cleansing process because his possessions had a strong hold in his life. It would require him to be physically involved in ministry. It would require him to sacrifice. It would require him to serve.
His response was “when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. “(Matt 19:22)
Selling some may have worked for him. Selling half may been acceptable. However, to sacrifice everything was impossible for him, so he went away.
Wealth in itself is acceptable. Wealth becomes a problem when we allow it to separate us from God. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt 6:24)
Jesus said “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matt 16:26)
Paul, in writing to Timothy, warned him “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Tim 6:10)
So now, we return to Abraham. Let us begin our adventure today by reading Gen 22:1-2 “Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
Notice a couple of things here. God says, “Take your son.” As we have already discovered Abraham actually had at least two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Perhaps it would have been easier for Abraham if he could chose between the two whom he could sacrifice. So God says “Your only son.” Here again a problem arises about which son but deep inside Abraham knew which son God meant. And God affirms it when He says “Yes, Isaac, whom you love so much.”
Also, God does not reveal his final destination. His first encounter was God’s command to “go to the land I will show you.” Now He commands him to sacrifice Isaac “on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
Here is lesson number 1 - God does not always reveal his plans in full. How much easier would life be if God’s plans for our lives were just laid out in front of us? It would be wonderful if God were to tell us where to live, where to work, whom to marry. However, He does not. Instead, He tells us to occupy this land where we do live and work. He tells us to make sacrifices on mountaintops, not for our glory but for his, so all can see. And it is in our lives and our sacrifices that our faith is shown.
We continue. Abraham’s response was immediate, the next morning. He saddles his donkey, enlists the aid of two servants, calls for his son Isaac, and leaves. I find it interesting that there is no reference to him sharing his plans with Sarah. Perhaps he has learned how persuasive she can be and rather then be tempted to allow her to interfere he decides to keep this between him and God.
Along the way, he chopped wood and probably placed the logs on the donkey.
After three days, he sees the place of sacrifice in the distance. He leaves the donkey and the servants behind, telling them that both will return, perhaps speaking a word of faith that all will be well. He carries the fire and the knife while placing the wood on Isaac’s shoulders.
Based on the fact that Isaac is carrying firewood on his shoulders as they walk for a distance and then climb a mountain, it is doubtful that he is a small child. He may be in his late teens or even a man at this time. He recognized the signs of a sacrifice. I am sure he had seen it performed many times. There was the wood, the fire, and the knife. But there was no lamb. Something was strange about this sacrifice and he asked questions. His father’s reply was simply “God will provide.”
Let us read Genesis 22:9-10 “When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.”
Imagine being Isaac here for a moment. You sit back and watch your dad build an altar. You watch your dad arrange the wood for a fire. Then dad turns with a thick vine in hand and says, “I must tie you up.” Once you are bound hand and foot, he lays you on top of the wood and lifts a knife over his head to kill you. What would your reaction have been? Why didn’t Isaac fight for his life? Perhaps he understood his father’s relationship with God. Perhaps he saw in that relationship a total trust in God. In that example, he trusted his father to do the right thing.
Lesson two- Your trust in God affects your family
It is easy for us to make claims in trusting God for our provisions and care. Isaac had been witness to his father’s faith his entire life. We realize that his father was not perfect. The fact is Isaac followed some of dad’s deceptive practices. However, Isaac realized that Abraham’s faith would see them through and because of his faith in God; Isaac had faith in his father. One of the greatest things we can do for our children is to teach them the honor of sacrifice. Sacrifice of their time, possessions, and pleasures to glorify God. We must realize they learn this by example.
Let us read what happens next. “At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” (Gen 22:11-12)
Lesson 3 - If you withhold from God then you do not fear him.
This is not “tremble in my boots, God will strike me” fear. This is a reverent fear. Proverbs tells us that this fear will lead to true wisdom and true knowledge (9:10, 1:7) This fear will lengthen your life. (10:27) In fact this fear is life giving. (14:27) This fear will lead to riches and honor, two things we seek from the world. (22:4)
We are witness to a world that no longer has a reverent fear of God. The world staggers like a drunk from lacking wisdom and knowledge. Lives are cut short from foolish decisions. The world runs amok seeking satisfaction in gadgets, possessions, and pleasures hoping to find purpose for their mundane lives. They seek riches and honor among men only to find as the Bible says in Haggai 1: 6 “Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!”
Abraham gained a lot that day. He is to the Jewish people and to us an example of true wisdom and knowledge through his faith.
Genesis 25:7-8 says, “Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life.” What a wonderful epitaph. A ripe old age means his life was fruitful. It was long and satisfying. I would like that to be said about me.
Due to his fear of the Lord Abraham became the father of the nation that our source for eternal life would come in the form of Jesus. Abraham recognized his wealth came from God and this morning he is still being honored.
Today I want to introduce you to the God of Abraham. Abraham was introduced to him by Melchizedek. He is “El Elyon, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.” Abraham lived in a culture of many gods. Melchizedek stated the fact that El Elyon was the God of all gods.
In Deuteronomy 10:17 Moses introduces God to the Jewish people. “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God.”
God declares himself to be the God of gods. From this, He gave us this commandment, “You must not have any other god before me.” (Exodus 20:3) The Hebrew word for ‘before’ meant a face-to-face relationship.
When God declares himself to be our God of gods He recognizes the fact they we will indeed create for ourselves other gods. We create gods of relationships, jobs, possessions, riches, and personal glory. He allows these gods to co-exist with him. However, it is when we develop intimate relationships with these gods the problem begins. God states fact when he says “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”(Exodus 20:5)
Lesson 4 - To what god do you bow?
This is why Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac. It was a test to see if El Elyon was God or had Abraham began to worship his relationship with his son. Perhaps it was a test to see if he had began to worship the promise rather than the promise giver. Maybe God wanted to be sure that Abraham was not worshiping the provision over the provider.
There is nothing wrong with responsibilities, family, and riches as long as these gods are not the focus of your affections. When you allow these gods to inhibit your willingness to sacrifice any portion of them to God, then they have your affections and God says it will not be tolerated.
There is a promise that Jesus gives to us in Matt 19:29. “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.”
Abraham passed this final test. Can we say we have also? This is a never ending test. If you haven’t been doing so well, you can change that today.
