1Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. 2Then 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.”
3Early 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. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5He 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.” (Genesis 12:1-5)
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
Have you realized that the Christian life is about surrender and not conformity? Many who come to Jesus think that the first thing they need to do is conform to the status quo of the group - dress like others, talk like the others, make sure their prayers sound “spiritual.” In trying to fit in they miss God’s purpose, and it’s not conformity, its surrender.
A rural village was located in an area inhabited by parrots. One day a falcon landed on a windowsill. The owner of the house caught it. The villagers had never seen such a bird. They decided to trim back its feathers. They cut its talons. The beak was the next to go; it was filed down so that the falcon looked like a parrot.(1) We should look alike in our efforts to be like Jesus, but we should allow for unique giftings and talents to develop in accordance with God’s plan not our preferences.
Each person gives his or her life over to something. You surrender to a schedule, pleasure, other people’s expectations, to your past failures - each of us surrenders to something. Do you realize that God wants all of your life? Not a fraction, but a whole life. E. Stanley Jones said, “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you’ll surrender to chaos.”(2)
You were created by God to give all your affections and allegiance to Him. If you hold anything back, you end up sending it off to lesser unions. This sending off of your affections and allegiance is called surrender. If God doesn’t get all of you, you will surrender partially or completely to something or someone else.
Billy Graham was once asked the secret to victorious Christian living. He said there is no magic formula for such a life; then he went on to offer what he thought was the one word that described it - “surrender.” (3) So, what does a surrendered life look like? I’m glad you asked. Let me give you a verse that best describes the only person who ever completely surrendered his life. His name was Jesus. “I have finished the work which thou hast given me to do.”(John 14:4 KJV)
Look with me at a snapshot of another life that was surrendered to God. In our photo we see beautiful mountains in the background and a father and son walking hand-in-hand. On Dad’s face is a look of determination to please God. Nearby is the sound of a ram caught in a bush. We learn several things from this scenario.
Surrendering your life to God starts with trust. (Vs. 1-2)
It’s the “bottom of the ninth” for Abraham. The bases are loaded and his team is a run down. Abraham delivers when the game is on the line. You are about to see what a “bottom of the ninth” experience looks like with God. Abraham has faced many tests up this point, but they are nothing more than batting practice compared to what he is about to experience. It is this last test that establishes him as the Father of Faith. Abraham’s life teaches us what it means to surrender our lives completely to God. Only when you completely surrender your life to God will you ever experience the Heart of Worship.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. (This is the true worship you should offer). (Romans 12:1-2)
Did you notice the word offer in this verse? That’s what true worship is about, offering yourself to God. I think it is interesting that the first place in the Bible that the words love (vs. 2) and worship (vs. 5) come on the scene is in our story today. When you love, you surrender.
God calls this action of surrender many things: yielding to the Spirit, making Jesus Lord of your life, taking up your cross daily, denying and dying to self. Don’t get caught up in what to call it, just do it.
The first step to surrendering your life to God is trust. You’ll never surrender your life to God unless you can trust Him. I am thoroughly convinced that one of the reasons this story is included in God’s word is to teach us that God can be trusted. There will be times in your life when it seems like your whole future seems to balance on a single decision. This is where we find Abraham. Does he trust God and do what He asks, or does he act as though God had never spoken or perhaps he misheard?
It is when Abraham’s heart was fully devoted and entwined with Isaac that God made his mountainous request. Some time later God (passionately) tested Abraham (vs. 1). The word for tested here conveys the kind of passion associated with music concept of the fortissimo, meaning strong or passionate. When God wants to bring you into a greater relationship through surrender, He passionately tests you. And why is God testing you? He wants to teach you how to love Him. Only then will you ever experience all God has designed for your life. It is through a series of tests that I lead my children into obedience and surrender so they will know how to love their parents. Because in loving their parents they learn how to love others and love God.
Our story provides three reasons that God can be trusted.
1st. God already knew what Abraham was capable of pulling off, even if Abraham didn’t. God was asking Abraham, “Who do you love more, the dearest thing in your life or me?
2nd. God could be trusted because His name is Jehovah Jirah. The Hebrew word for Jirah can be translated to see. So, what is the connection between seeing and providing? When you look at the meaning of the word “provision,” you notice that it comes from two Latin words that mean, “to see beforehand.” God is anticipating before what Abraham’s needs and your needs are. He is making personal provision for each need you have. When Abraham named the place “Jehovah Jirah,” it was a personal declaration that mankind can trust God, and know for certain friend, He will be your provider.
3rd. God can be trusted, because to trust yourself is a loosing proposition. We aren’t God and never will be. We are filled with endless limitations in life. We give in to temptation. We prefer to look out for selves over others. We want more and are seldom satisfied. The third reason God can be trusted is because you and I cannot.
Surrendering your life to God is strengthened through obedience. (Vs. 3)
3Early 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.
You can’t travel far up the mountain with Abraham and Isaac without seeing a roadside attraction identified as obedience. Life wears us down. The provision God offers is a life of surrender strengthened through obedience. Every step Abraham took closer to the altar was accomplished because of obedience. Abraham’s journey started early because of obedience; he saddled the donkeys and pulled the straps tight because of obedience. Every swing of the ax handle was done in the power and strength of obedience. At the heart of surrender is the only motivation that keeps us yielding, and that’s obedience. Listen to what God says about Noah as it relates to obedience. Noah did everything that exactly as God had commanded Him.” (Genesis 6:22-NLT)
What was true of Noah was doubly true of Abraham a few hundred years later. The building of an ark and the building of an altar offer us a tandem look at how God teaches His servants obedience. Noah and Abraham completely obeyed every instruction given by God, and they obeyed exactly.
The purpose of an ark is safety. The purpose of an altar is to arrange hard things before the Lord through surrender. Abraham and Noah teach us simply that God doesn’t owe us an explanation or reason for the things He requires. One day we will have insight; today we have obedience. You will never grow close to God in worship nor be able to surrender until you learn to obey. Why? Obedience is the key that unlocks the mystery of understanding what God is doing.
After Abraham had obeyed God, he clearly understood that God was Jehovah Jirah and that he loved God more than his son. Abraham learned the lesson that all of us need to learn:
Surrendering to God means having faith that God alone knows what is best for your life.
For Joni Eareckson Tada, God’s best is living as quadriplegic, showing those who live with limitations all that God is able to do in spite of those limitations.
For Corrie Ten Boom, God’s best was walking through the concentration camps of World War Two and teaching a world what forgiveness looks like.
For General William Booth, God’s best was discovering what He could do through a person with a passion for the lost in London. Booth is the founder of the Salvation Army.
God is looking for men and women who are willing to live for eternity rather than the temporal; who would rather be committed to the supernatural than the natural; who would rather learn to see the invisible than the visible. Will you make being obedient to God your mission in life? God will never withhold anything from the person who is committed to “mission possible” obedience. Our text today simply offers us this analysis: will Abraham, and we, for that matter, do as God commands? Or will our love for something greater than God prevent us from carrying out the Father’s will? My prayer is that your response is that of Abraham: “Here I am.” Looking below the water line at the deep meaning, we see that Abraham was really saying, “I am ready. I am at your disposal, God.”
Surrendering your life to God is nourished by faith. (Vs. 4 –5)
(4) On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. (5) 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.”
Earlier I mentioned that this is the first place in the Bible where the word worship is used. I don’t hear any instruments in this verse nor do I see people singing congregationally. And I guarantee that Abraham wasn’t shouting on his way up the mountain. It is so easy to limit the definition of worship to singing or rejoicing before God. Do you understand that these are only outward manifestations of worship? The “law of first mention” introduces us to the core meaning associated with a word, and here the word means, “We have a heart to worship even when it costs us everything.”
How could Abraham have such confidence that he and Isaac would not only go and worship but also return? Wasn’t Isaac to be sacrificed? Abraham had been promised descendants through Isaac. Abraham learned that God keeps His word, and his confidence in God produced extraordinary faith.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” 19He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. (Hebrews 11:17-19 NASB)
When Abraham demonstrated his great faith (“we will come back” Genesis 22:5c) could he have been hinting that maybe he was being tested? Since Abraham had confidence that God could raise someone from the dead, is it possible that he was testing God? God wants us to test Him, but only when unconditional obedience is demonstrated.
Surrendering your life to God is rewarded through sacrifice.
15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22: 15-18)
What reward did Abraham get for his obedience? He got back a son that he now valued with new perspective. Isaac was now a son that belonged to the purposes of God. God always rewards obedience; most of it will be in the life to come. God’s word is filled with a who’s who of servants who surrendered to God and were rewarded.
Abraham followed God not knowing where it would take him. Reward: Promised Land with cool tropical temperatures and lush mountainous landscapes.
Noah followed God not knowing why he should build an ark in the desert. Reward: he floated away to safety.
Joseph followed God not knowing why he was left in prison. Reward: place of prominence and land for his family.
Mary followed God not knowing how a miraculous birth would come about. Reward: mother of the Savior of the world.
Paul and Silas followed God not knowing when He would deliver them. Reward: they led the jailor’s family to Christ.
No act of service done on behalf of the Savior will ever go unrewarded. The Purple Heart, the Heisman Trophy, an Oscar - all are awards for accomplishments on this side of eternity. Rewards that last for eternity come only through surrender. Surrender is your only option if you want to please God and be a worshipper.
At Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78, George Washington and his troops were in utterly desperate straits. He appealed to the governor of Pennsylvania for help. Jacob DeHaven was a staunch believer in the revolutionary cause and lived near Valley Forge. Hearing of Washington’s appeal, he loaned him $50,000 in gold and $400,000 in supplies.
The army survived the winter, but after the war DeHaven was never repaid. Now his descendants are trying to collect. They claim that the loan, compounded at 6 percent interest daily, amounts to 1.61 billion dollars. DeHaven saved the cause of freedom for America, but there no way the debt could afford to be paid.(4)
Do you realize that 2,000 years ago Someone believed in the cause of our freedom? Jesus Christ secured our freedom through the cross - a debt we cannot repay. God redeemed us with His precious blood so that we might have spiritual freedom. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Although the DeHaven family wants something in return for the family fortune invested in the revolutionary cause, all God wants from us is our faith, our obedience, and complete surrender.
One day each of us will be given a final exam. That event is alluded to in 1 Corinthians 3:13: “his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.”
On that test, you will be asked two questions. You might jot these down, and do a little study ahead of time so you can get an A and make the honor roll. You can be a 4.0. This is your pre-test. Mark my words you will see these questions again:
1. Did you choose Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? God won’t ask you what you believed about the end times. He isn’t even interested if you understood everything about the Bible or had a theology that was perfect. His only concern is, did you live for Christ, did you love Jesus, and did you surrender your life to become like Him? Did you trust Jesus Christ for everything?
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14)
2. Were you a good steward and manager of what God gave you as talents, resources, gifts, and life? This has to do with stewardship of relationships, money, health, energy, and abilities. Were these areas of your life used for God, or were they used for your personal gain.
Getting ready for these two questions is the purpose and vision of the ministry here at Marysville First Assembly. I was recently asked what the vision of the church is. There it is in those two questions.
The first question will determine where you spend eternity,
The second question will determine what you do in eternity.
This is not the opportunity of a lifetime; it is the opportunity beyond a lifetime, as Rick Warren says.
End Notes
(1)Dave Egner. Our Daily Bread, 2003 RBC, Volume 48, Numbers 3-5, June 22
(2) Rick Warren. The Purpose Driven Life. Zonervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pg. 82.
(3) Billy Graham, Unto the Hills, Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas, 1986, pg. 145.
(4)Vernon Grounds. Our Daily Bread (Special Edition), 2001 RBC, Day 30.
