Altar’d: Surrender it all

Introduction/Scripture

Genesis 22:1–19 NIV

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded 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. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 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.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 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. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I 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, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Pray.

Illustration Camp Eagle Surrender challenge

Context:

Abraham valued his son Isaac above everything. Yeah parents should all feel that on some level, but it is a whole different level with Abraham because this was the fulfillment of God’s promise in his life.

Genesis 15:2–5 NIV

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

After years of waiting and asking with his wife Sarah who was unable to have children, Abraham receives this covenant promise from God with the gift of a son and the continuation of generational blessing that was promised.

This story is a problematic one. Child sacrifice? This was a pagan ritual of the time. It is outside of the character of God. The question here is, did God ever intend for this to happen? Was God playing games? Are we put to the test with God? Abraham is surely being tested here.

I believe God is testing the depth of his surrender. The depth of his faith. And from Abraham’s perspective we see what it looks like to surrender it all.

The first step:

First Step of Surrender is Availability

Abraham had all that he ever wanted. His son was what he valued most on the earth, and God was about to test his commitment. Was it going to be to the life he had on earth or His Father in heaven? The first step of living a life of surrender is to be ready to respond. When God called, Abraham’s response was, “Here I am” (Gen. 22:1).

The Hebrew word for “here I am” means to behold or look. This is the first step of Abraham’s commitment: “Look, I am here, I am ready to respond when you call.” As a child of God, Abraham listened and responded. Not all children are like that when their parent calls.

We are in a stage right now where the selective hearing mechanism is being fully developed in my oldest’s brain. I believe this early. Really excelling, growing so fast. So when he is climbing to the top of that bookshelf to see if he can catapult himself across the room and drop a WWF people’s elbow on his sister…and like a good parent, you see it before it begins. You anticipate the action. “Hey don’t do that. Hey that is not safe. Hey do you hear me?

Do they respond immediately, ready to obey, or do they run away or just ignore? The first step of experiencing the transforming power of surrender is to show up and be ready to respond. Do not run away or ignore God’s call.

Abraham is available, but then he is obedient.

Surrender it all

When Abraham responded, God asked for Abraham’s son. He knew the depth of commitment that He was asking Abraham to give up, what he most valued, because He said, “your son, your only son, whom you love” (v. 2). And then God showed Abraham what a full commitment to following Him would mean. He told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering.

What does it mean to sacrifice as a burnt offering? In the book of Leviticus we learn there were five different offerings that God provided as a way for His children to be reconciled in their relationship with Him. Leviticus 1 provides instructions for a burnt offering, the most common sacrifice, but it was also the one that asked for the most commitment.

Leviticus 1:3 tells us that the animal chosen as the burnt offering was the best, the most valued, and unique to this first type of offering was that every part of the animal was sacrificed, nothing was held back. It was a full commitment. Abraham was being asked to surrender everything to the Lord. When the Israelites provided a burnt offering, it wasn’t about what they were going to get from God, but what they were going to give to God.

Romans 12:1 tells us to sacrifice our bodies “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” The Lord is not asking for part of our lives, He is not asking for just our Sundays. Like a burnt offering, we are to give God our whole selves, a full commitment. If you professed your faith in Jesus and responded through baptism or declaring your commitment as a disciple, what did that mean to you? A ten-percent financial commitment,choosing to serve once a month when it fits your schedule, or did it mean that you were all in? A full surrender to God?

The sacrifice wasn’t Abraham’s choice. He didn’t survey his possessions and pick the one he was willing to give. The choice of sacrifice was God’s and the choice to surrender was Abraham’s. He was willing to be fully obedient. In Genesis 22:6, Abraham carried the wood for the sacrifice just as Jesus carried the wooden cross to Golgotha, where He would lay down His own life as a sacrifice. That is the call to commitment that Jesus asks of us. Matthew 16:24 tells us if we want to be a disciple of Christ, we must be willing to pick up our cross and follow Him. This is the act of commitment without condition. It is through our surrender we encounter the transforming power of God.

And Abraham found faith and blessing in the surrender…

Surrendering is not a deficit

We think surrendering is loss. What do you think about when you hear the word surrender? Prisoners of war. White flag, giving up. Surrendering to God does not put you at a deficit. We think well surrender means giving more money away, more time, less control. Well yes surrendering to God involves generosity and time and control. But what you gain in partnering with God is so much greater.

As Abraham is ready to go through with this. As Isaac decides to trust that God will provide.

Genesis 22:11–12 NIV

But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

God intervenes. Their savior provides the sacrifice. Sound familiar? Don’t miss the undertones of the story of salvation here.

In Abraham’s surrender he gets to be a part of the blessing to the world. The covenantal promise of his life was that he would father the nations. If he chose to control this one son from God then he likely wouldnt have the many.

Surrender is daily and deepening

Explain….

I have heard pastors say all kinds of bad things about God in this passage. No, doubt, this is odd for us. Let’s be honest about that. How could God ask Abraham to do something like this? Abraham is no victim. He is learning to surrender everything. We get a hint at what Abraham gains by doing so as he names this spot, this altar, “The Lord will provide”

Notice that Abraham didn’t build an altar because he needed a son, he built an altar to give back to God what he had already received. It wasn’t about negotiating for his needs; it was about committing every part of his life, wherever it may lead.

Yesterday I did a funeral for John Horton. Long time member with his wife Patsy. They were a part of the beacon class. John had come from nothing. A parentless home. Foster care system. Apart from his sister, he did not know love for his entire childhood. And yesterday one by one, story after story, people told of his faith, dedication, quiet/determined/sacrificial love for his family. Not long ago, after his wife of 54 years passed away and he began to struggle with health problems. His son moved John into his home. His son set up a baby monitor in his room so he could call if he needed help. Late one night, his son heard some talking on the monitor. A little concerned he went to the monitor to see what was going on. John was praying. Over his family, over his life, over his grandkids. After each petition, he just said…

Thank you Jesus.

Surrendering it all is a posture of expectancy that God will provide. What does it look like for you to surrender today?