Title: Pass It On-Priorities
Date: 5/25/2014
Place: BLCC
Text: Genesis 22.1-14
CT: Put God first above all things to reach God’s Ideal!
FAS:
Father 'Replaces God' with His Hobby
At the age of 47, the writer William Giraldi's father died tragically in a motorcycle accident. Giraldi's father was a decent husband and father, but he also had a hobby that he seemed to cherish more than anything—his motorcycle. Every Sunday for most of his adult life he cruised the highways with his biker friends. His life advice often focused on two words: Ride hard. Eventually, his commitment to ride at "insane speeds" would lead to his death.
After his father's death, William Giraldi tried to make sense of and then write about his father's passion for biking. The younger Giraldi visited the scene of the accident and talked to the coroner who examined his father's mangled body. For his final stop, Giraldi and his uncle visited the motorcycle shop where his father's bike had been inspected.
Giraldi writes:
[The mechanics] at the shop looked at my uncle and me and solemnly nodded in respect: a comrade had fallen, and we were the comrade's family …. these men on motorcycles reveled in the camaraderie, the bond; they were a band of primordial hunters out for the kill that would sustain them …. [My father belonged to] a private club that chose its members carefully. It was noble to be part of this thrill that was larger than each of them. Every Sunday the ride replaced God, a substituting savior.
And what was the result of following this "substituting savior"? One of the mechanics told Giraldi, "… to go out doing what you love … that's the only way to die. It's honorable." But Giraldi wrote: "Of course I don't believe that … There's nothing honorable about dying a violent death at forty-seven years old and leaving behind a score of family members whose lives are all ruined in some way."
LS: It's the same way for all of us: when we replace God with something else, when we have "a substituting savior," it will, in one way or another, ruin the lives of others around us. We will leave a legacy. The question is this: will it be more a legacy of blessing or more a legacy of hurt?
BODY
I. A. Today I am going continue sermon series called, Pass It ON. Have you ever run in a relay race The most critical moment in the race is the passing of the baton from one runner to the next. If the baton is dropped, the race is most certainly lost.
B. Guys, as Christian adults we are biblically charged to pass the baton of faith to the next generation. It is especially important in our world today. Our kids are bombarded daily with concepts and beliefs that are completely opposed to God’s ideal for us. Most all peer pressure that our kids face today is anti-Christian. They are often ridiculed if they attempt to live towards God’s ideal. What are we as adults doing to help?
Our schools teach moral relativism: there are no absolutes and everyone should be free to do their own thing. Church is too judgmental. God’s ideal is not important even though it is for our own benefit. Grace meets us where we are, but we still have to strive for God’s ideal! If our kids graduate from High School with their values intact, they will face an even larger challenge on university campuses. Christianity is often ridiculed as a Bronze Age myth and the Bible seen as an ancient book of myths that has no relevance to our world today. Don’t buy into this! There is more factual truth that the Bible is reliable than any other writings in the history of the world.
Mass media gets more of our children’s time than any other source. TV, internet, music and movies are for the most part counter-Christian. We have to be the force that helps our kids have faith to seek God’s ideal in their lives in spite of all the negative pressure that attempts to steer them otherwise!
C. We continue our series with today’s sermon, Pass It On-Priorities
Deuteronomy 11.18-21, 18 Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. (The Message)
The Israelites understood that the transferring of their faith would not occur in a single event, like a baby dedication, but a continual life-long discipline. My goal is that we discover, as we look at the lives of several people in the Bible during this series, ways to better pass the baton of faith to our next generation.
Throughout the Bible we are instructed to teach the next generation to know the Word of God and to walk in his will or ideal for us. It is not just the responsibility of parents, but also grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, youth leaders, ministers and all Christian adults to influence the next gen. for Christ.
2 Timothy 2.2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
II. A. Genesis 22.1-14, The story of Abraham and his son Isaac being offered as a sacrifice.
As we unpack the text of Genesis 22. Verse 1 reads; Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied . God is the one initiating the dialogue . God tests Abraham’s faith by stretching it to its severest limit .
Verse 2 leaps off the page to show how far God will go to take Abraham’s faith to its limit. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, who you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about . God reveals in the text how he understands how precious Isaac is to Abraham. Not only is God asking for the offering of Isaac, but he is also requiring Abraham to journey to the mountains. We learn in vv. 3-4 that the trip lasted 3 days. The agony and doubt raging in Abraham’s mind had to be unbearable .
Verse 5 gives the first hint that Abraham is up to the challenge of this test of faith. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you .”
Is Abraham lying to the servants when he states “we” will come back to you? Does he believe God will stop the sacrifice before it occurs? Probably not. Abraham had faith that God would raise Isaac up from the dead. Abraham could not fathom God taking the son he had given him. Why would God take the son miraculously born to a barren woman, and not resurrect him?
A dialogue between Abraham and Isaac transpires in vv.6-8. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
This had to be torment for Abraham. Isaac questioned his father about the absence of a lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham, through his faith in God answers in verse
8,”God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son.”
Many view the act portrayed in vv.9-10 as barbaric even if Isaac was not killed.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
The fact that Abraham actually bound his son and took out a knife to slay him is incomprehensible to us living today. However, God was in control and he knew Abraham’s heart. God was using this test of faith to determine if Abraham was strong enough to be the leader of a people who would eventually bring salvation to the entire world.
The test is concluded in vv.11-12 just as Abraham is about to slay Isaac.
But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Once again God indicated how strong Abraham’s faith had to be to offer “your only son.” The test was over and Abraham passed. The purpose of the test was now clear. God had found the man he needed. God was in no way condoning child sacrifice. He found the man who put God’s ideal above all other things.
B. God has a way of testing our faith. He tests where our priorities lie. I told you in a previous sermon how we are to prioritize our lives as Christians.
1) God, 2) Spouse, 3) Kids, 4) work, 5) play.
Abraham was pushed to the limit here. God needed to know whom Abraham put first. This is tough. I have always struggled with this story in the Bible myself. Just remember, God was not testing his love for his son Isaac, he was testing Abraham’s trust and faith in Him, God.
God must come first. We must trust him to do what is right.
III.A. There is one message that Isaac learned that day. Abraham put God first in his life. Abraham’s faith in God was his first priority in his life. Isaac knew he was loved, but that day Abraham demonstrated he loved God even more.
Perhaps that the reason Isaac did not rebel against his father’s faith. He didn’t say later in life, “My dad’s fanatical religion almost got me killed! I don’t want anything to do with God! I don’t want my kids put through what I’ve been through.”
No. Isaac embraced his father’s faith because he saw his dad’s faith and realized how it was the most important factor in his own life.
In Hebrews 11, Abraham is listed as one of the great Old Testament heroes of faith. After giving such accolades to Abraham, the writer says in 11.20,
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
You see, Abraham had successfully passed the baton of faith to his son Isaac and Isaac had passed it to his sons as well.
III. Until next gen. (kids) sense that obedience to God is first in our lives, they will probably not listen to our lecturing and direction. They will reject our “claimed” values if they don’t see them in us. Let’s look at some real life ways from Bob Russell’s book, Find Us Faithful,we can show those that come behind us we put God first.
1.Our priorities are demonstrated by our attitude toward church.
If you want to eliminate the hassle of children complaining about going to church, make it clear it is non-negotiable. Don’t get me wrong, there has to be something for them to be a part of at church. That is our job as leaders. This is going to be a priority for us.
I have heard parents say they don’t want to force church on their children. They are afraid it will turn them off to it later. I say thanks for letting the devil have your kids.
We force them to take showers, at least I hope you do before you come here. We force them to eat their vegetables, to take their medicine, and to go to school. If we don’t make them go to church we are saying all these other things like school and science are more important than learning about God and his ideal for us.
For every person you find who says he doesn’t go to church because his parents made him when he was younger, I will find 20 who do go to church to serve God because someone loved them enough to make them GO!!!
One more thing on this. Demonstrating our attitude toward church is deeper than just attending. When our kids see us in worship, are we involved or passive? Do they see us supportive of the leaders or critical? Do they see an appreciation for the body of Christ or us seeking our own wants and preferences? Make church for our kids a place where they see us celebrating our Lord and Savior, not a place to complain and be irritated at.
2.Priorities are demonstrated by the atmosphere created in the home.
Our faith is not reserved for church only. It should be 24/7 including our home life. Become a Christ-centered follower of Christ in all aspects of your life if not for any other reason but to demonstrate it’s importance to next gen. And I don’t want to leave you next gens out. It might be you who can have an influence on some of us old folks.
3. Priorities are Demonstrated by Following God’s Commands
We most effectively show others that our faith to God comes first when we follow his commands. Why would our children love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind and soul and love their neighbor as themselves if we don’t.
Children watch everything we do.
“Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”
? Robert Fulghum
They watch to make sure our talk matches our walk! Who you are makes a far greater impact on children than could ever be countered by an hour of Sunday school or church. Be involved with our kids here at BLCC. Let’s not drop the baton.
Conclusion: Okay, we all have someone to remember who did their part in passing the baton to us. Don’t drop it for the person behind you. Commit yourself to show the priority of your faith to those who come behind us. Put God first. This goes for all ages. Be a part of what happens here at God’s church. If you’re not a baptized believer yet, the invitation is open now and any time, but if you need to make that demonstration of faith, won’t you come forward now?
