Called to Obey
David Bowlby
Genesis 22:1-19
One of the most important stories in
the Old Testament is based on being obedient to God. We are called to obeying
God’s will no matter it is.
Now the first point I am going to make is the worship. Abraham brought glory to God
by Believing God could do something great. Gen 22:5 - And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the donkey and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” By saying this he declares that God has something in mind and will provide a way to bring both of them back. Even if it means God brining Isaac back from the dead. Heb 11:17-19 - By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in as a type. In the way Abraham lived he brought Glory to God.
We pretty much all want to be like Jesus? Sure, we all do. of course. John 17:1 - These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Many times in the gospels Jesus tells us He does only what He sees the Father doing
and was sent to bring glory to God. In what way did he bring this glory. By living a perfect and blameless life. Every moment before the cross, He lived a holy lifestyle. Jesus worshipped the Father by the way He lived, just as Abraham worshiped God the way he acted and spoke.
Then there is us. Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” In the way Abraham and jesus lived, so we must live. What do you think of when i say worship?
What is the typical idea of worship? Singing and dancing around most likely. Worship is more then music and dancing around. It is the daily adoration and respect we show to a superior being. (God). But we don’t just worship God. People worship things and other people all the time by placing them above God in their adoration and respect. By giving them more value then God. We have to be careful in the way we live to glorify God by giving him all priority
Now we move onto my next point. The Willingness.
Gen 22:3 - And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
God has spoken, Abraham didn’t waste anytime, but got up early and went to obey God. Later in verse 18. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” God tells us Abraham obeyed God's voice. He rose early to do the things which God called him to do. He didn’t know until he got to the place how long it would take him to get there it took him three days and in Abraham’s mind Isaac was dead from when the commandment came till later when God intervenes; three days. But I will leave that to you to think about.
Also we note that God said "Burnt Offering." Now a burnt offering we see in Leviticus
as a complete sacrifice this means God wanted Abraham to give Isaac completely
over to God. God calls Isaac the "son whom you love", your beloved son, your most precious possession. As far as God is concerned Isaac is the only son. Abraham had in the spirit and Abraham loved Isaac. The same word used for Abraham loving God is used in the love for Isaac but as this story shows we see how much more Abraham loved God.
By being what? Willing to give his only begotten son over to God completely wholly as a burnt offering.
We move into the New Testament. Matthew 26:39 - And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Jesus prayed for the Father's will to be done.
Knowing full well that He was going to be in for the most painful and dramatic moment in all history; the Cross. He is going to carry His cross up the mount and pay the price for our sins. Jesus was willing, Jesus was obedient. Philippians 2:8 - And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Now flash back to Isaac for a moment the word used to describe Isaac can be translated to mean young man meaning he wasn’t that little 10 year old we see on the flannel graphs in Sunday school. Isaac was old enough to carry the wood up the mount and there is no sign that Isaac resisted Abraham. Which would have been easy enough to do. Abraham was old and Isaac was willing to do what God wanted Him to do.
This brings me to the hard and difficult part of this. The call we have to be willing to obey God. 2 Corinthians 2:9 - For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” The hard part of this message is when we see that we are also called to be obedient to God “Acts 5:29 - Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. This is not any easier then Abraham or Jesus. But the truth is there. For my illustration on this i think back to when i started this study. My girlfriend Holly, whom i love dearly, and i were talking about her future. Where she wants to go, or what she wants to do. Well its pretty hard to make these choices and as much as i want her to move out here sooner the better. We both had to realize we have to let Gods will be the way we follow.
We are called to obey God in all things. This may indeed waiting a few years before we live in the same state. It could mean anything; in Gods will! The point is: no matter what we must put God first in ever area of our lives He must be first. Whether it be school, careers, family, boyfriend, girlfriend, possessions, goals, dreams, and all other areas. If he says go to India for a month, then go. If he called me to sell my car and ride my bike to school, i would, well. "Its a 40 minute drive God." You get the picture?!
We have been over the Worship, and we have been over the Willingness. Now we are going to talk about: THE Way.
Abraham. Gen 22:8 - And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” He knew God would provide a way. God provided the way for Abraham in response to the obedience. God also blesses Abraham as a result. Gen 22:17 - That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Gen 22:18 - And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Because Abraham obeyed Gods voice. He had a three day journey were I’m sure he was tempted to just forget it. But did he listen to even himself those days? No. He obeyed God.
What about Jesus then. The response to Jesus giving Himself up is that Jesus was able to take all of our sins all of them... completely....burnt.....all....our sins past, present, future.... all our sins upon Himself and then He rose from the dead on the third day to give us a new life in Him. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Abraham showed his love for God by giving up his most precious son, Isaac and God provided a ram in the place of Isaac. God tested His own love for us all by sacrificing His own son for us, His only begotten Son. After three days the Son rose again and later goes to the Father.
Now what about our needs? What about those. Philippians 4:19; “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches.” He will give us our needs. All of them. When we give to Him in obedience he will give us what we need.
We ask So what? Three things we need to remember. The first: We have to ask ourselves how obedient we really are? Are we giving completely as a burnt offering or not. The second, Are we willing to obey God and trust for his provision? Third: Like Abraham
we have been called to obey.
Now the first point I am going to make is the worship. Abraham brought glory to God
by Believing God could do something great. Gen 22:5 - And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the donkey and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” By saying this he declares that God has something in mind and will provide a way to bring both of them back. Even if it means God brining Isaac back from the dead. Heb 11:17-19 - By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in as a type. In the way Abraham lived he brought Glory to God.
We pretty much all want to be like Jesus? Sure, we all do. of course. John 17:1 - These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Many times in the gospels Jesus tells us He does only what He sees the Father doing
and was sent to bring glory to God. In what way did he bring this glory. By living a perfect and blameless life. Every moment before the cross, He lived a holy lifestyle. Jesus worshipped the Father by the way He lived, just as Abraham worshiped God the way he acted and spoke.
Then there is us. Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” In the way Abraham and jesus lived, so we must live. What do you think of when i say worship?
What is the typical idea of worship? Singing and dancing around most likely. Worship is more then music and dancing around. It is the daily adoration and respect we show to a superior being. (God). But we don’t just worship God. People worship things and other people all the time by placing them above God in their adoration and respect. By giving them more value then God. We have to be careful in the way we live to glorify God by giving him all priority
Now we move onto my next point. The Willingness.
Gen 22:3 - And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
God has spoken, Abraham didn’t waste anytime, but got up early and went to obey God. Later in verse 18. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” God tells us Abraham obeyed God's voice. He rose early to do the things which God called him to do. He didn’t know until he got to the place how long it would take him to get there it took him three days and in Abraham’s mind Isaac was dead from when the commandment came till later when God intervenes; three days. But I will leave that to you to think about.
Also we note that God said "Burnt Offering." Now a burnt offering we see in Leviticus
as a complete sacrifice this means God wanted Abraham to give Isaac completely
over to God. God calls Isaac the "son whom you love", your beloved son, your most precious possession. As far as God is concerned Isaac is the only son. Abraham had in the spirit and Abraham loved Isaac. The same word used for Abraham loving God is used in the love for Isaac but as this story shows we see how much more Abraham loved God.
By being what? Willing to give his only begotten son over to God completely wholly as a burnt offering.
We move into the New Testament. Matthew 26:39 - And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Jesus prayed for the Father's will to be done.
Knowing full well that He was going to be in for the most painful and dramatic moment in all history; the Cross. He is going to carry His cross up the mount and pay the price for our sins. Jesus was willing, Jesus was obedient. Philippians 2:8 - And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Now flash back to Isaac for a moment the word used to describe Isaac can be translated to mean young man meaning he wasn’t that little 10 year old we see on the flannel graphs in Sunday school. Isaac was old enough to carry the wood up the mount and there is no sign that Isaac resisted Abraham. Which would have been easy enough to do. Abraham was old and Isaac was willing to do what God wanted Him to do.
This brings me to the hard and difficult part of this. The call we have to be willing to obey God. 2 Corinthians 2:9 - For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” The hard part of this message is when we see that we are also called to be obedient to God “Acts 5:29 - Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. This is not any easier then Abraham or Jesus. But the truth is there. For my illustration on this i think back to when i started this study. My girlfriend Holly, whom i love dearly, and i were talking about her future. Where she wants to go, or what she wants to do. Well its pretty hard to make these choices and as much as i want her to move out here sooner the better. We both had to realize we have to let Gods will be the way we follow.
We are called to obey God in all things. This may indeed waiting a few years before we live in the same state. It could mean anything; in Gods will! The point is: no matter what we must put God first in ever area of our lives He must be first. Whether it be school, careers, family, boyfriend, girlfriend, possessions, goals, dreams, and all other areas. If he says go to India for a month, then go. If he called me to sell my car and ride my bike to school, i would, well. "Its a 40 minute drive God." You get the picture?!
We have been over the Worship, and we have been over the Willingness. Now we are going to talk about: THE Way.
Abraham. Gen 22:8 - And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” He knew God would provide a way. God provided the way for Abraham in response to the obedience. God also blesses Abraham as a result. Gen 22:17 - That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Gen 22:18 - And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Because Abraham obeyed Gods voice. He had a three day journey were I’m sure he was tempted to just forget it. But did he listen to even himself those days? No. He obeyed God.
What about Jesus then. The response to Jesus giving Himself up is that Jesus was able to take all of our sins all of them... completely....burnt.....all....our sins past, present, future.... all our sins upon Himself and then He rose from the dead on the third day to give us a new life in Him. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Abraham showed his love for God by giving up his most precious son, Isaac and God provided a ram in the place of Isaac. God tested His own love for us all by sacrificing His own son for us, His only begotten Son. After three days the Son rose again and later goes to the Father.
Now what about our needs? What about those. Philippians 4:19; “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches.” He will give us our needs. All of them. When we give to Him in obedience he will give us what we need.
We ask So what? Three things we need to remember. The first: We have to ask ourselves how obedient we really are? Are we giving completely as a burnt offering or not. The second, Are we willing to obey God and trust for his provision? Third: Like Abraham
we have been called to obey.
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