Title: Offer up Isaac/Genesis 22:1-18
Contents
Subject: Offer up Isaac
Verse: Genesis 22:1-18
Everyone has the most precious thing only to him. The son Isaac, given to Abraham when he was 100 years old, was more precious than life. God came to him one day and commanded him to offer up silver.
In front of this great command from God, he obeyed and walked for three days to sacrifice Isaac on the altar on Mount Moriah. However, what God required was not Isaac, but the faith of Abraham, who had sacrificed him. God said to Abraham: “You have not spared me your son, your only son, because now I know that you fear God” (22:12). prospered. What does today's text teach us?
1. God sometimes requires of us.
God sometimes requires Isaac to see our faith.
What is it for us? It means what I value most in the world. Sometimes it's a child, sometimes it's money, sometimes it's a wife. However, there are times when God requires us to do this. In the age of Elijah, in the three years and six months of famine, God appealed to the widow of Zarephath to bring her one last piece of bread that she and her only son were about to eat and die.
Our God requires our faith to be 100%, not 99%. Therefore, Matthew 22:37 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” For a subject to be recognized by the king, self-sacrifice and devotion must follow. How can you do something expensive when you are approved by God? We must ask for the spiritual ears to be opened to hear the voice of God asking for Isaac.
2. What kind of Isaac should I give?
Many believers tend to put their religious careers before God, but God does not put the measure of our faith there. He sees whether there are Isaac who are more precious than God in our hearts. When God made the most difficult decision of his life to Abraham, he did not say that he would approve at that time to Abraham who obeyed him, but only when he dedicated it, he acknowledged it.
What Isaac do we have?
1) There is an Isaac of blood.
For some, their husbands and children are more precious than God, and they cannot lead their religious life correctly. Children are not my children, but an inheritance and a gift from God. God-given children are used by God according to God-given talents and talents. Some of us have parents who stop church life when they are in their third year of high school because of college. His children become Isaac. So, a first-class university with good grades, a first-class job, and no parents telling them to go to a seminary if they can't study? is the best seed seed. God wants the best seeds and seeds. Because a lot of good fruit is bearing there. If we give as the smartest children, the smartest children, and God's servants, we are offering the Isaac. Among them, if a change of faith, a manager, a professor, or a doctor comes out, God is pleased and allows us to receive many souls through them.
2) There are ears of matter.
The tithe belongs to God, not to tithes. Tithing is our duty to God. It must also be given wholeheartedly. The grain of material is the most precious thing among mine, and it is given when God requires it. When building the church in the future, God requires Isaac. When the widow of Zarephath gave the last bread to eat, the house did not run out of food. If you donate material things, you are offering your faith in God. The Lord said that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
3) There is a grain of grain that must be offered as a body.
Abraham gave his lifelike son. Hannah gave her son Samuel. Daniel threw himself into the lions' den. Many servants of the Lord have dedicated their lives to the Lord. I gave it as an evangelist and missionary. We need young missionaries who devote themselves to the Communist and Southeast Asian schools. God is looking for people. Let us, young people, offer up Isaac with our bodies.
3. The result of sacrificing Isaac
God prepared a new land for Abraham and did not allow Isaac to be killed. There were countless descendants of Isaac. Isaac was the best seed of blessing given to God. What's the problem? God grants us miracles and blessings only when we offer Isaac.
When Hannah sacrificed Samuel, he gave her three more sons and a daughter.
If you give your body, the blessing of gaining life is reserved.
If you donate material, the blessing of obtaining material is reserved.
A certain sister in our church donated 1.25 million won by collecting coins. A certain brother promised to donate 2.5 million won to the Bangawan Mission Center in the Philippines. They sacrificed their Isaac. But it is not Isaac who offers the reward. It must be given by faith. When I pray, if God's commands come down to my heart, please obey them. It is because it is the way to meet the God who tests us and finally makes us worship and work to bless us.