It feels good to hear them going back there doesn't it again, getting to join us and then get a chance to hang out with folks their own age. I've been doing my Bible a little bit, so stay on the right
page.
So this is a something that's been on my heart the last, you know, we go through a lot of books like we did Daniel and stuff like that. Last week I was, had been on my heart since being on vacation and going on that trip to Pennsylvania. What is a disciple? That's what and then this week, I've had this on my heart, and actually it actually came up at one of our meetings is, what is I guess there's three things here? What is worship? Like? What is worship, what is sacrifice, and even testing that God allows us to go through? As I had this in my mind, and I was thinking about sharing on this I was at a church, something this week or so ago, and, and the worship leader encouraged us if y'all remember, do you remember the story of David when he did the census, and like he was not supposed to do the census? He calls for the census. And then this plague like starts sweeping over Israel. How horrible would that be? Like, I'm just saying, like, how awful the David must David felt to recognize I people are dying because of what I did. And so he begins to want to build an altar on the threshing floor of arona aroona. I can't remember it. Okay. And as he's doing that, um, is it a runner? Or runner? a runner? I can't remember. A runner, runner. Okay, anyways, I could just say Corona, probably get your attention a little bit better. He's on the threshing floor of Corona with lime. Sorry, that's bad. He's on the beach. And he goes to me says, hey, I've got all these oxen in this threshing floor. Hey, King, you know, I mean, hey, David, do whatever you want. And David's responses? Well, I can't do something that doesn't. Like, I can't offer a sacrifice and offering that doesn't say, I cannot offer an offering that doesn't cost me anything. I just got Corona on the brain now, I guess. And the person was encouraging us to really sing with all of our gusto and all these things like that. And I thought, Man, that's good. I'm super glad I'm not to be critical. I'm like, I wonder if that's really the type of sacrifice, you know, that David's talking about here. And so I've been wrestling with this and thinking through this passage and looking like just diving deeper into what is worship? What a sacrifice again, what is it? What is, what does it mean to be tested by God? I think it's a super encouraging, I've had to do a lot of repentance. As I've read through this, honestly, God's really just showed me some really, really cool stuff. So let's dive in. Let's look at these things. Because I think that these will give us insights. That was not the only place in Scripture, there's so much more we can look at, but some insights into these things. Genesis chapter 22, starts off by saying after these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham, here I am, he answered. So after these things, there's a lot of things that are happening. And just briefly, we all know, or I think most of us probably know that. God gave Abraham a promise, right? He made a covenant with Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to birth an entire nation out of you. Look at the stars, Abraham, like this nation is going to be mighty is going to be huge. It's going to be fantastic. And Abraham's got a problem with his wife, Sarah, and he cannot have children. So they try to solve God's problem, this thing for me, you guys ever do this? Where God gives you a promise? Justin, we were talking about this in Iran a little ahead of God by trying to do it in your own strength. I mean, Abraham's happened to wait for years and years, Abraham and Sarah are like, it's not like, Oh, yeah, I just had to wait six weeks, and I'm like, they're waiting years to have this child. And they can't, so of course, they decide to do it in their own strength, and we get Ishmael. And but in the midst of that, as they, as they've had Ishmael, God has a conversation with Abraham, I think this is important for this passage, because in the conversation, Abraham is going us Ishmael, God, and Gods like, No, I'm not. I'm going to fulfill the promise that I gave to you. You're going to have a son, his name is going to be Isaac. And he says, I will confirm my covenant with you through Isaac. I think that that's important to like have in the back of our minds as we're reading through what's taking place, that there was an absolute promise from God, that He would have a son that he would confirm the covenant and it would be through Isaac that the nation of Israel would be birthed. So it opens up here by saying God tested Abraham. Do you guys love tests? I knew he would get that. But you know what I thought about this today? There's a lot of times we test things. And it's actually like, not bad at all. Like if one
of the white sockets went out and I went over there and and I fixed it, what would I do immediately afterwards? I would test it to see if it actually worked, right? Or if I'm cooking, if I'm a good cook, what am I going to do? As I'm making my food? I'm going to taste test, right? Because I don't want to just bring a bunch of food out in front of a bunch of guests in this bland because I didn't put the right amount of salt or it's nasty, because I put too much salt in it or whatever. So you do that? What are you doing, Seth? Are you like, is this something to do with? He's always is this taste testing or something? I'm just sitting over here. He's going. I love I love Seth. But we do that in everything that we do, honestly, right? Like I've been going to the gym, I test my strength, you know, whether you know, it's a hobby or something like this, we have these tests. And God allows us to go through tests, like, let's just get this out of the way right off the bat. Because I've heard some people say, Well, God doesn't do that anymore. Everything is great. And tests are to refine us. And we'll talk about that and to do some really powerful things in our lives. But God allows us to go through tests as he as he's allowing them, Abraham to go through this test, I'll read a couple verses real quick, just to kind of point out in case someone goes well, well, God doesn't let us go through tests and also to kind of help us think about why God may test us. Just read a couple verses real quick, James opens up his letter, right? We've heard this a lot of times, but I'm just gonna, I'm gonna reiterate this, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various when you meet trials of various kinds. So whenever you meet a trial in your life, James says, and this is in the midst of persecution, it's not like, my TV went out. So I'm getting persecuted. You know, this is a trial for me. This is like Christians in the dispersion, the 12 tribes and him, they're getting persecuted. And he's saying, count it joy. Count it joy whenever you meet these trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. So when we have tests that come into our lives, what is it producing us? So have joy, recognizing that yeah, it might stink, even to go through, but it's producing steadfastness. But what is steadfastness to do? The rest of that versus and let steadfastness have its full effect. So whenever we become more steadfast in our faith with God, right, we learn how to trust him more through trials. That's how we do it, right? We trust him more as we go through trials and challenges and tests and things in our lives. as that happens, it produces a steadfastness in us. And what does that steadfastness do? When steadfastness has its full effect? It says that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. James doesn't say pray this prayer, you will be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. No, he says if you want to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing, you're gonna have to go through trials, you're gonna have to go through tests. Which makes a lot of sense whenever, in Hebrews five, although he was a son, Jesus, right? He learned obedience through what do what he suffered, and having been made perfect. He became the source of salvation to all who obey Him. Like that passage is not saying that Jesus was not perfect at some point. But Oh, Jesus must have sinned and he had to be a perv. That's not what he's talking about. When you look at James James is saying we become perfect through what? through testing through trials. That's how Jesus Jesus became perfect. through what he suffered, he learned obedience, he learned how to trust God through challenging things in our lives. So isn't that that's feel good sermon so far, huh? You guys ready to go? It's good, though. Because we need to hear these things. Because what happens is, is we don't in a trial comes and we start going woe is me. And God doesn't love me anymore. And I guess, I don't know, maybe I'm questioning my faith. And I'm just being real, right? We got to get that foundation strong. The last one verse, I'm gonna read them we'll move back thinking about this test that God gives Abraham. And I love this proverb is proverbs 17. Three, a crucible for silver, a smelter for gold. And the Lord is tester of hearts. How he liked that. Yeah. You know, we quote, you know who God is and the names of God. Let's just say the Lord is the tester of the hearts. Yeah. Who knows what a crucible and a smelter is. I was watching some videos yesterday, just to remind myself and think through it. So I watched this guy on YouTube. And he had some gold and it was kind of in like dust type form. It had impurities and all that kind of stuff. And he had a little crucible, which is kind of like a little company can be made of metal or ceramic or different things like that. He puts this gold dust impure stuff inside and puts flux, I didn't know what flux was, but I need to, and he puts this in this is black powder. Then he takes that and he puts it into a smelter, and it's an enclosed thing. And he just, you just hate that sucker up. And you guys have seen what happens to metals and stuff. When they get really hot. It's like lava. So it gets that hot. Then he pulls the crucible out and he dumps this thing out after it gets cool and there's just a little gold and a bunch of black stuff all around it, he takes his hammer and just taps it and there's this little gold ball right there, in all of the impurities in the flux was all around the edges.
So what was happening was he was heating it up in order to reveal the impurities inside of it, in order that it can be more pure. That's what he's saying. That's what the proverb is saying that God heats things up in your life. He allows it to take place, so that you can see the areas that we need to grow in, in our lives. Isn't that fun? Like you have, you know, you have that conversation, you get done with it, and you just, you know, you feel kind of bad. It's probably the Holy Spirit saying, hey, that's not how I created you, you know? And it's kind of difficult to go through, but he's changing your character, you know, he's changing. What are you gonna do in this situation? I think I mentioned that last week with being a disciple when it ties back to a disciple. Because I know last week, I mentioned that this is not a, you know, we treat so many things like it's just a silver bullet, a magic prayer, whatever. That's not what it means to walk with the Lord. Its growth, it takes time. And so God is going to test Abraham. Abraham has already done some, you know, left his family all of a sudden now God's like, Alright, Abraham, let's go for another test. So the test don't really stop. We just continue to grow and it refines us. That's why we should should consider it joy. So next time you go through a trial, tribulation, we're going to jump up and down and praise the Lord, right. Praise the Lord. Sorry, I have someone where my Bible studies and she says it like that. I just love it. She's so country. Praise the Lord. Alright. verse two, actually, when he responds, here I am. Think that's a pretty good response we should have, huh? Samuel and Isaiah does it here I am, Lord, use me. When God's speaking to respond, here I am, take your son, he said, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Mariah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I tell you about. We've heard the story so many of us so many times. So let's just put ourselves as Abraham right now. All right. God comes to you here I am, like, you're probably excited what God's gonna say like is this, you know, God, what great thing do you have to happen next? And he says, Okay, this is what I need you to do. Abraham, I need you to go kill your son. I mean, just like put yourself in that, like, a lot of people don't like this, this passage, right? Like, they think like, God is like crazy. Like, why would God do this? Why is he you know, asking this because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God thinks that child sacrifices support to him, right? People, even some people believe that this is actually part of that is one of the reasons that this is in this passage to show that that is not God's heart. But God tells you to kill your only child. What How do you respond to something like that? You know? And then on top of it, maybe you'll have some kids that you would be okay with that. Maybe not him, but maybe him Actually, no. That's bad. Okay. But on top of that, not only is it the horror, of like, kill your child, all of God's promises are wrapped up in this child, right? So you guys ever have like, you feel like a calling from God or something that God is calling you to? Or a promise, some type of a ministry something and you've been? And maybe you've been praying about it for years, and you've been like, God, when are you going to fulfill this thing? And finally, it starts to blossom like he has Isaac, right? They won't have it like it starts to blossom and you like you're in tears. You're like, God, thank you. Thank you, God that for 10 years I've sowed into this and I've wanted to have prayed for this for five years. I've done this. And now we're starting to see the fruit. And then God says, Now go kill it. Who do you trust? What do you trust? Do you trust me more? Are you trust this blossoming ministry, or this thing that I've called you to? So now it's a double whammy. It's his son who he loves deeply. And it's the promise that God's given as the calling in his main calling in his life to birth the nation, all of us wrapped up in Isaac, and God says, alright, put him on the altar. was so intriguing is the next verse that says simply so Abraham got up in the morning. Like not that far before. Abraham is arguing with God about Sodom and Gomorrah. Do you remember, like, God says, I'm gonna wipe out saddam, because of the evil that they've done. I'm gonna put my judgment on saddam. And Abraham's like, God, well, what if there's 50 righteous people, where there's 45? What if there's 40? It kind of gets monotonous as you read through that where there's 10 righteous people. Maybe it's not recorded. There might have been a deeper conversation, but it's interesting that it's not isn't it? He would argue with God about Sodom and Gomorrah. And with this you simply just so Abraham left he went.
I think that's a huge order that God tall order that he asked him to do. In Abraham's response, though, maybe he did. Maybe he argued, we just don't have it recorded. But it just says Abraham got up early in the morning. In that call to he went the next day. God didn't he didn't delay. He didn't like think about that, like he just went, he doesn't walk in obedience to God. Some of the way that he responds here may show us why God used Abraham. He saddled his donkey and took with him two of his young men, and his son, Isaac, he split wood for the burn offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. Now on the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. So this wasn't only like a, this wasn't like a, let's sacrifices a 30 minute worship session. This is like, go kill your son. I'm just being like, this is B, it's wrong, right? Go kill your son, go kill all your promises, and now be on a journey. And this is going to take three days to even get there. Then Abraham said to his to his young man, so the guys that came with him, he said, stay here with the donkey, the boy and I will go over there to worship, then we'll come back to you. Do you know where the first mention of the word worship in the whole Bible is? Right here. It has nothing to do with instruments or voices or acquires or none of that, huh? Or songs? Yeah, songs, none of it. The first mention of the word worship has to do with giving your most prized possession in honor of God. And I thought about that so much, because you know, we just have these mindsets, you know, we have to decompartmentalize I think, hold up, I'm thirsty. Sometimes I get parched. You know, you have to talk in front of people, you get a little thirsty, deconstruct not decompartmentalize sometimes we have to deconstruct the way that we thought about church and all these different things. Like we hear the words worship and nine times out of 10 our minds oftentimes just go to singing right? Or to listening to music as we sing to God and stuff like this. This is this is this is what worship is that that word worship means to prostrate in this in this verse means to prostrate and to bow down to show honor. So right so a king would come and you would prostrate yourself down before and that's what the word worship means. Okay? And I really thought about that, because God has spoken to my heart a lot this week, and I've had to be in repentance that I have, often man, I make my wife about me so much. I'm just being real, like even ministry, like God's been bring me through some things. I'm like, Man, this. I'm selfish. Like, I'm worried about me. Whenever we recognize the value of God, our eyes get fixed on him. Worship is us. Like, this isn't about Abraham and Isaac, they participate in it. But it's about bringing a sacrifice to God and walking in obedience because he's worth it right. I thought God gave me this like cool analogy. Like, you know, if we had a wedding right here, we have the center aisle. And some of you ladies have had the chance to walk in us as guys stood up, probably shaking in our boots like this. Trying not to, you know, my wife was so beautiful. I just couldn't so nervous. I was nervous. I was nervous. I was only 20. So I know what was going on. I was like, let's just get married, I guess. But it's good. He worked out. best decision of my life. That's what she said. Maybe not kidding course of this. I just the best decision was following the Lord. second best decision. Alright, but when that moment happens, and you know whether you play the traditional bride March or whatever the heck that is, or they play something else. When the bride comes in, what do we all do? We stand like that's kind of a cultural thing for us. We usually stand to honor people would be our culture, right? And so we stand up and we honor and dead gummit every eye is on her in a good way. I don't mean dead. That's probably bad. Every eye is on her. My eyes are like on her no matter who I am. Whether it was my wife or anybody else's. That amazing lady to get all these eyes are on us and make you nervous. I don't know you just looking at your husband probably and thinking I'm getting married and getting excited. But when you know when the wedding is over, do you ever hear anyone go? Dang, man, did you see the way we stood up? We killed it. I swear, man, I was like this, hey, I was like this dude.
It's not about us. Like in that shoe that worship is we're honoring the person that's walking in. Right? We're so caught up in the beauty in the majesty of God. Like that's what worship is is so focused that it's not just a song or a moment of this. It's a lifestyle of being so captivated by God, that everything is his. And that if he asked us to do things that are really hard, we just know it's for good. We know that it's going to produce something good that God is doing, even though it may be very hard. So that's the mention of the first worship. The first match of the word worship in the whole Bible. Verse six, says, Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on us on Isaac in his hand, he took the fire in the knife, and the two of them walked on together. Then Isaac spoke to his father, this moment had been like, heartbreaking I feel like unless Abraham just had the faith, and just like, no way, this isn't gonna happen. And he may have, we'll talk about that. But can you imagine, like you're walking with your son, God's saying, you're gonna lay them on the altar. He says,
Hey,
Daddy, he says my father. And he replied, here I am your son. Isaac said the fire in the water here. But where's the land for the burn offering? Like, I just that just touched me to think like one of the things of Judah or one of my kids going, dad, Daddy, we've got all this stuff. Where's the where's the sacrifice? And like, Abraham's responses God, and Abraham answered God himself would provide. Actually that word provide a See, though, I'll tell you about that real briefly in a second. The the lamb for the bird offering my son will show. Then the two men walked on together. So right here, Abraham either lied to his son. He's either being deceptive towards the sun, or he actually believes that God's going to provide something here, right. I'll read very briefly, Hebrews 1117. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested is talking about this exact thing offered up Isaac, he received the promises, and yet was offering his one only son he had received God's promises and that everything was coming through Isaac, and yet he was willing to give it all up, to walk in what God was calling him to do. The one whom it had been said, your offspring will be traced through Isaac, verse 19, he considered God to be able to God to be able even to raise someone from the dead. Therefore, he received him back figuratively, if figuratively speaking. So the Hebrew writer says, and it gives us that insight into Abraham, at least thought, no matter what God will raise Isaac from the dead. Why? Because God promised it. God promised I'm going to confirm my covenant with Isaac, that it's going to the nations of the earth are going to be blessed through this one nation. And it starts with you, Abraham, and it's going to go to your son, Isaac, so he knows on this journey, he's thinking, alright, even if I have to kill my son, God will raise him up, because God promised and God doesn't fly. So when they arrived, verse nine, when they arrived at the place that God had told him about Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, he bound us on Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood, then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. So I mean, like Abraham is going through with this. But the angel of Lord call to him from heaven said, Abraham, Abraham, and he replied, here I am. So right. I mean, he's got the knife, man, he's pulling it out. He has bound his son. I wonder what Isaac was thinking. There's some rabbinical things that say that Isaac said time tighter dad, whether that's true or not. It is what it is. Or he could have been horrified. What is happening. Guess we'll find out one day I can hopefully I can sit down and talk with Isaac and say, hey, what was that like when your dad strapped you to alter? What was going through your head? Here, but here I am. Then he said, Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now, I know that you fear God. So it wasn't they didn't this. God did not know that Abraham feared him just because Abraham said I fear you. Right. It wasn't just because he's quoted a Bible verse or, or prayed a prayer. It was because he laid down everything, even his own son and all the promises of God on an altar before God. Now I know that you actually fear be Abraham. You've left your family, the debt, all these things, but now I know that you fear that you fear me. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horn. So Abraham went and took the RAM and offered as a burnt offering in the place of a son. And Abraham named the place the LORD Will Provide. So today, it is said it will be provided on the Lord's mountain you know, like jehovahjehovah IRA. This is the only time it's in the in the whole Bible By the way, and it's not really the Lord provided the Lord will see the literal show. The reason that they use the word providers to in English, try to contextually help us understand what it's what it's saying. So those who've saying, Jehovah gyri by provider, and you love that song, just bursted, your bubble potentially The Lord will show her see. But it makes sense contextually. So it says here, y'all. I'm just gonna kind of read through this really quickly, and then share just a couple more things. The angel Lord called Abraham a second time from Heaven is said, by myself, I have sworn This is the Lord's declaration, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your only son, I will indeed Bless you. It's interesting that God already said he would do it. And now that he's confirming again, what he's going to do because of what Abraham did, I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky, and the sand on the seashore, your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. That's serious stuff.
And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command. I love this. Because I thought, you know, some people say, again, why why did God do this? I think there's a lot of different reasons that God put Abraham through this. And we've seen some of those today. I think, another really cool thing is, you know, whenever the birth of the nation of Israel took place like this is God's chosen people, right? When they were when this was being birthed, isn't it incredible, that it was being birthed in this much sacrifice, in this much willingness, like I thought to myself, I wonder what the accuser and the principalities of the air, and the enemy, thought, who have rebelled against the Lord, when they looked at a man through whom a nation would be birthed. And they watched a man surrender everything to God, and say, I don't care what happens to me, God, I give you everything. Like just speaking to them, and they are the ones who fell because of that, it just, it's just really beautiful, incredible in such a moment, such such a redeeming moment, even for mankind, right there, that Redemption of there are, there can be healing for mankind, there can be men and women who do surrender themselves to the Lord instead of taking the selfish out. And it's just such a it's such a beautiful moment. But the last thing I want to quickly share is that something that God had just really put on my heart this week was that I never kind of looked at it like this. And it goes back to what I was mentioning earlier on. So I think that some of us we have like these Isaac's in our lives, like we have these things that God has promised us. Whether it be a ministry or whatever, what you want to call it, we can have tons of things or ministries. But God has promised these things. And oftentimes, when that takes place, God does test our heart along the way. I mean, he does straight up he does. So ask yourself, are there places where God has? has even I'm even seeing, as I mentioned earlier, the birth of something like, oh, wow, I've been waiting for this for years. And I'm starting to see it. And ask yourself what God wants you to do with that? Because I think specifically, there's times whenever God says, You know what, let's just see where you're at. Lay it down. Lay it down. Now he like Isaac, did he lose Isaac? He didn't lose Isaac. But where is your heart? Are we fully surrendered to God? Are we completely surrendered? Are we really willing to do I know old worship leader of Justin and eyes, he used to sing on tours and tour with Bob Dylan and stuff. And when he gave his life to the Lord God told him to put his guitar down for a year Don't touch it. And like for some of us, I Oh, that's so easy. It's probably not so easy. I like to play music. Not so easy. But God just wanted to see his heart, you know, what is he is his heart with the Lord or is it with music, but then when our heart gets straight with the Lord, that our music becomes more beautiful than it ever could be? You know what I mean? And so that's there's something that God has just really been. And then the very last thing I think I already said the last thing, so I'm doing the preacher thing I hate when preachers do this, I hate it. I do. I that's my, my critical nature comes up like you had three last points, you said, I've got three points, and now you're making your fourth in your fifth, it kind of gets under my skin. So I repent for doing this. I try not to never do this. But I'll just read Romans 12 so many of us have had this. But I know Paul had this in mind. You know, therefore brothers and sisters, in the view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, right? Not just not just a song, though. God loves songs, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true worship. Our true worship is laying down everything and surrendering it all to God and ask yourself this week, is there anything that I'm not surrendering to God? Ask yourself this week or whenever we go through tests, what is God refining in my life and how can I yield everything to him? Father, we really I'm in awe at the obedience of Abraham as I read through this. And I'm so thankful that this nation of Israel that you that you birthed so many years years ago that would bless all of us to this day was birthed in a place where a man surrendered everything to you, Lord. God, I pray that we would be people like that, that God that no matter what we have in our lives, no matter what's going on in our lives, Lord, no matter God if we if we see some good things happening, and if you say, I just want you to put that on the altar, I just felt that on my heart, that there's the Lord speaking that to some people today, like there's something God's just saying, I need you to put this on the altar. Not that he won't give it back but that that it's become bigger than obedience and following him in love this, like even ministry can become like an idol to us. And I have had to repent for that so many times, God,
that and I pray this prayer for myself to Lord, any area, any blind spot in my life, God, where there's something where I haven't allowed myself to be a living sacrifice, or I've got some other things, Lord God, that my eyes are set on, they're not set on you. I just pray that you would reveal it lower so that we we can all be refined as pure gold Lord, because you are worth that type of people, of people who are wholly surrendered and in total love with you, that show your love and your mercy and your truth and your justice to this world. God we want to be like that. So we open up our hearts. And we thank you for your work today. In Jesus name, amen.
