Worship requires a Sacrifice

Open: Lent is the 40 day period before Easter, excluding Sundays. This year lent started on March 6. Lent began as a period of fasting and spiritual preparation for Easter. The participants ate only the evening meal, which during Lent would not include meat, fish, butter or eggs (“What is Ash Wednesday?”, Christianity.com) Over the centuries, the strict discipline of fasting has lessened, and in modern times the items “given up” are much less substantial

Transition: The idea of spiritually preparing for Easter is a good one. Sadly, for many Christians their preparations for Easter Sunday only begin the week before and are solely focused on material goods such as clothes and Easter goodies.

While the practice of Observing Lent is not required for Christians, spiritual preparation for worship is definitely required. What we do, or don’t do on Monday through Saturday has a very real impact on our worship. God is worthy of more sacrifice than giving up chocolate for 40 days, and as His people we are to understand what True Worship involves

True Worship requires Obedience ()

Explanation: God tells Abraham to take his son Isaac out to a mountain and offer Isaac as a human sacrifice. The phrasing is important is that God tells Abraham to take his only son and offer Isaac as the sacrifice. Abraham had two sons, the older was named Ishmael, his son by Hagar. It is not as if God forgot about Ishmael, but Isaac is the only son of the Promise. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son when he was 75 years old (), and he and Sarah had to wait for 25 years for Isaac’s birth. Abraham & Sarah got impatient after waiting 10 years and “tried to help God” by taking a shortcut with Hagar. Ishmael was born, and as a result there is still no peace in the Middle East between the Jews and Arabs. After waiting more years, Abraham asked God to use Ishmael as his heir, but God specifically told Abraham that the promise would be through Isaac ( & ).

Knowing that the son for whom he had waited 25 years, and knowing this son was the chosen channel for God’s blessings, Abraham was still obedient to the call of God to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham existed prior to the Law of Moses so he did not have the prohibitions against human sacrifice. And Abraham understood what was involved in a burnt offering - this was the real deal, not just something symbolic. Knowing all this, Abraham rose early in the morning and started the journey. Abraham trusted God to be faithful, and he expressed that trust through obedience.

Explanation: God is planning on teaching Abraham what true worship looks like. God is going to expand Abraham’s understanding of His nature and His faithfulness. God’s testing is designed for Abraham’s benefit, not for his harm. God is going to take Abraham out of his comfort zone and allow him to deepen his faith through this experience

Application: Delayed obedience is disobedience. When God clearly calls us to do something (or not do something), one who desires to be a true worshiper will be obedient. Worship does not start in this building. A worshiping heart is prepared through obedience. If you know you are being disobedient, don’t expect to engage in true worship. Repentance, followed by obedience is a prerequisite

True worship has a faith that goes all the way (Gen 22:4-8)

Explanation: God sent Abraham to Mount Moriah, a journey of at least three days. Abraham gave no evidence of just starting the journey and then hoping God would call it off. His preparations included taking wood, fire and a knife. Abraham did not, could not understand how God was going to fulfill His promise to bless the nations through Isaac while requiring that Isaac be killed on an altar. In spite of his lack of knowing the details, God had showed Himself faithful to Abraham in the past, and Abraham had faith to believe God for his present and his future

Illustration: the feeling of dread that comes with some unpleasant task that you have to do personally (Sandra & high school SS). I put it off and dreaded it, and kept hoping there was some other way.

Argument: There is no indication that Abraham prayed and asked God to change His mind about this. And this was not a blind leap of faith on Abraham’s part. In his context, the pagan gods required child sacrifice, and Abraham would have been aware of that practice. The True and Living God was going to show Abraham the difference between Himself and all the other false idols. He was giving the lesson of the priority of worship that comes through a real faith.

That Abraham’s faith was solid and established on the God who can is seen by the statement he makes to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. Even without a revealed teaching on Resurrection, Abraham had faith that both he and Isaac would come down off the mountain. (Read )

Application: As you worship, as you yield yourself to God, you will come to better understand Him and His ways. As you experience and respond to God’s call, your faith will become more established. However, if you fearfully hold back, if you have an idol you will not lay down, you will never experience His fullness in genuine worship. What are you holding and refusing to lay down? What is that one thing, that if you lost it, your life would be meaningless and not worth living? That is your idol, and God would have you lay it down.

True Worship is possible because God provided the Ultimate Sacrifice ()

Explanation: This was not the first sacrifice that Abraham and Isaac had experienced. Isaac, who was probably between 8 to 14 years old, realized something was missing. Isaac was carrying the wood himself, and he saw that his dad was carrying the fire and the knife. Isaac also saw that the main ingredient was missing so he asks his dad where the lamb was (v. 7) Abraham still could not see the outcome, but through his faith in His God, he was able to tell his son that God would provide the sacrifice.

Abraham & Isaac both prepared for the sacrifice. Abraham was well over a 100, and Isaac could have easily resisted being bound on the altar. As Abraham prepared to complete the sacrifice, God stopped him. God reveals that it was never His intent for Abraham to complete the sacrifice. God’s intent was to grow Abraham’s (and Isaac’s) faith through this act of worship.

Illustrate: young person who is protected by a parent during some type of confrontation or accident. The child knows the parent loves her, but through this experience, her faith in the parent’s love will grow

Argument: Worship has always revolved around sacrifice. The pagans who worshiped false idols understood this need in that they killed goats, lambs, cattle, etc. in order to appease their false gods. Even they had an understanding that payment was required. The One True and Living God also requires payment. Because He is Holy and Perfect, only a Holy and Perfect Sacrifice will satisfy.

God Himself provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac. He did not require Abraham to pay his debt with his son’s blood. Two thousand years later on that same mountain, God would provide Himself a sacrifice for the sins of the World. Jesus, the eternal 2nd person of the Trinity, God Himself in human form, became our substitute. And unlike the ram that God provided for Abraham, the Sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient. It was a one-time, non-repeatable, all sufficient sacrifice ()

Application: The Ultimate Sacrifice provides no salvation for those who are not in Christ. Scriptures declare that the wrath of God remains on those who have not obeyed Jesus through faith. Scripture also tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ ().

Humans were created with a desire to worship, and we will worship something or someone. Make sure your object of worship is the One True Living God who gave His perfect Son as the Ultimate Sacrifice

For believers: What is it that you are holding close and refusing to give to God? What person or thing is more important to you than God? Experiencing God in true worship requires that we all lay our Isaacs down