THE FOUR FACES OF OBEDIENCE
Gen. 22:1-13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There are times when even doing what is right seems like it will backfire on you. Old habits are hard to break.
2. One guy invariably left off the cap to the toothpaste and for years his wife had hounded him about it. Finally, on their 25th anniversary, he made a private commitment to break the annoying habit.
3. With faithfulness and regularity he screwed on the toothpaste cap every time he used it. After a week of unbroken success the poor guy was blindsided by his very suspicious wife.
4. She cornered him at the breakfast table and said, "Why did you stop brushing your teeth?"
B. LIFE & DEATH OFTEN DEPEND ON OBEDIENCE
1. Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse told of a missionary home in the Congo where the little son was playing in the yard. Suddenly he heard his father's voice.
2. "Philip! Obey me instantly! Dropped to your stomach!" The boy obeyed without asking a question. "Now crawl toward me as fast as you can!" Again the boy obeyed. "Now stand up and run to me!" The boy obeyed and ended up in his father's arms.
3. Only then did he turn and look at the tree by which he had been playing. Hanging from a branch was a 15-foot snake! Suppose the boy had paused to ask, "Why, Dad?" or "Do I have to right now?" He would have been killed by the snake!
4. Instant obedience is a mark of faith and love. Philip knew he could trust his father, so he obeyed his voice. "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears."
C. YOU CANNOT REMAIN A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT OBEDIENCE
1. Christianity is not just a set of beliefs, it is a worldview and life style. Paul said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
2. But James states that belief alone does not constitute true biblical faith. He says in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Obviously the demons believe in God and even fear Him, but that doesn’t save them, because they don’t obey Him. That’s the true test of faith. Obedience is not Optional. In 1 Pet. 1:14, Christians are called “Children of obedience”(Gr.). Faith “works” by love. Gal. 5:6
3. Faith is not static, but dynamic. We walk, stand, live, and must continue in the faith. Faith is not just head-knowledge. To Not obey betrays the fact that one is not believing. There are different types of surrender in war – limited, conditional, etc. – but the only type God wants is unconditional surrender. James uses Abram’s offering of his son as proof that faith must be combined with obedience (2:20-23).
D. TEXT: Gen. 22:1-13
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom 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." 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey...When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out. 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. 7 Isaac...said..."The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering... 9 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. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy...Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns...and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
E. THESIS
Abraham demonstrates several characteristics about obedience. We will observe four of them and see if our obedience is of the same quality as Abraham’s. The title of this message is The Four Faces of Obedience.
I. SACRIFICE IN YOUR OBEDIENCE
A. WE WILL HAVE TO SACRIFICE TO FOLLOW JESUS
1. God usually asks us to give that which is most precious to us. In Matt. 19:21, Jesus told a young wealthy man, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." He wouldn’t do it & walked away from God.
2. God requires our complete surrender our lives. Who is in control? If God is, then there will be some things we don't want to do.
B. THE SACRIFICE REQUIRED OF ABRAM
1. It was in the town of Beer-Sheba, about 1860 B.C. A man over a hundred years old, knelt to pray. Perhaps no man ever loved God more than he. He and his wife Sarah were childless, but God promised them a son. Finally, when Sarah was 90 years old, she gave birth to Isaac. How Abraham and Sarah loved their only son! But now as Abraham prayed, God asked for this gift to be sacrificed to Him.
2. God knew well what He was asking, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering...”
3. BUT WAIT A MINUTE! Should a father slay his Son? Was there nothing else in Abraham's tent that God would have? Sarah & Abraham were too old to have children again.
4. "Whom You Love." God knew his heart. There was nothing that Abraham loved more. There are many things in life we don't think we can live without. Even the thought of losing those things sends flashes of panic through us.
5. The first Commandment is “You shalt have no other gods before Me” Exodus 20:3. If we put something before God (if He loves us) He will challenge that idol in our hearts.
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. A missionary in India was hurrying along the street one day by the Ganges River when he saw a native woman looking at the water. In her arms was a sickly infant, while at her side stood a beautiful, healthy boy.
2. The missionary, on questioning her, found she was in deep distress and was trying to make up her mind to give an offering to her god. He tried to dissuade her, telling her of the love of Jesus and His sacrifice for her. After a time he had to leave her.
3. Hours later he saw her again with the sickly baby in her arms; the beautiful boy was gone. He knew what had happened. She had thrown the boy to the crocodiles in the river. "I made an offering to my god," the woman said.
4. "But why did you give your boy, why not this sickly little one? asked the missionary. Rising to her feet the woman replied, "We give our gods our best." My question to you is, “Do we give God our best?”
II. EXCITEMENT IN YOUR OBEDIENCE
A. ABRAM’S ZEAL FOR GOD
1. “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about” (Gen. 22:3).
2. Knowing God waited for 25 years before giving them Isaac, how would you expect Abraham to react? But there was no arguing, no bargaining, no resisting or doubting!
3. Instead, Abraham got up EARLY in the morning to obey.
a. What grand faith! Most of us would have slept late, then laid in bed, and then argued with God till noon.
b. If God calls you to do something, do it immediately or you may miss your opportunity. Timing is crucial!
c. Abraham cut the wood himself. He left nothing to chance.
B. WE SHOULD SERVE GOD WITH ZEST!
1. So you say, "Okay, I'll give You my life." But there must be excitement in your obedience!
2. Have you ever had to “ride” your kids to get them to do something, and they finally, reluctantly said, "Okay! I guess I'll do it." That kind of response makes me feel like saying, "No. Never mind. I'll do it myself."
3. If are going to do it, let's do it with zest, excitement. We serve a Great King!
III. EXPECTANCY IN YOUR OBEDIENCE
A. ABRAHAM’S EXPECTANCY
1. Genesis 22:4-8. When you give 100% and have excitement, you can expect great things from God!
2. Abraham said to his servant, "We will come back to you." Abraham wasn't lying to his servant, but expecting.
3. Hebrews 11:18-19 says, “…even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”
4. Expectancy -- “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” 1 Cor. 2:9.
B. ILLUSTRATION
1. J.C. Penney ran a butcher shop early in his career. He was told that if he gave a bottle of scotch to the head chef at each hotel, he would get the chef’s business. He did it and it worked; he got their business.
2. But God convicted him. So in obedience, he quit giving the scotch to the chefs. Consequently, he lost the business of the hotels and went broke.
3. But God had better things for him than that. He got into merchandising and built a nation-wide business. Later, he was glad for the day that he had obeyed God!
IV. PERSISTENCE IN YOUR OBEDIENCE
A. ABRAM’S COMPLETE OBEDIENCE
1. Abraham had to endure three days of travel to Moriah!
a. Three days of seeing his Son for the last time -- his voice, his eyes, his features, to observe his precious personality.
b. Abraham's own hand would grasp the sacrificial knife!
2. But see the Holy Man as he:
a. Leaves the servants behind, lest they interfere;
b. Gathers stones, builds the altar, arranges the wood;
c. He binds his son and places him on the altar;
d. Finally (with tears flowing), he unsheathes his knife and raises it -- to plunge it into his Son's heart.
3. Why didn't God stop Abraham after a). Three days of travel or, b). after ascending Moriah -- but not until he raised the knife? God wanted total surrender!
4. Something Gut-wrenching happened when Abraham raised his knife! Isaac didn't die on Moriah, but Abraham did. His base nature and will died. His love for the world died.
5. Rom. 4:20. Abraham did not "stagger," which is defined as "wanting to walk straight, but not being able." Rather, Abraham became strong in faith giving glory to God.
B. COMPLETING OUR OBEDIENCE
1. Are there any things God has dealt with you about, or convicted you of that you have not followed through on?
2. Has God shown you any long-term goals or callings you have not yet accomplished?
C. ILLUSTRATION
A man used to have problems getting his son to clean his room. He would ask him to “Do it now,” and he’d agree but then not follow through. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps. When he came home after Boot Camp, he said, “Everything you said and did, Dad, when I was growing up, now makes sense. In the Marines I learned what ‘now’ means.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. I don't want to be like the boy whose father wanted him to do a few things for him. The father explained, very simply, how to do the things he was asking of him. To make sure he was communicating to his son, the father asked, "Now do you understand?"
2. The father was surprised when the boy said, "No!" "Why not?" asked the father. "Because I don't want to," said the boy.
3. “When you are on board a battleship,” said an old sailor, "there's only two attitudes -- duty or mutiny." The same is true of the Christian life -- duty or mutiny.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. How is your obedience to God? Is it the kind of obedience that God desires?
2. Does your obedience involve Sacrifice? Excitement? Expectancy? Persistence?
3. God is more concerned about our motives than He is what we do. Let's make a commitment to obey God, but especially with joy and pure motives.
