How much do you love God?

Genesis 22:1–14 NKJV

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Gen.

Pray that scripture would open hearts and those who hear would receive it openly.

Introduction:

I ask a question this morning that is a deep one. How much do you love God? I know you love Him, but how deep does your love go for Him?

Our God is great, marvelous, wonderful, merciful, abundant in love.

This morning our text reminds of a time in scripture that conveys deep love for God, Abraham’s trek to offer Isaac on the altar.

Can you imagine through this ordeal the conversations that must have taken place betweekn Abraham and Isaac as they made the journey to Moriah?

We don’t know the method God used to communicate His will to Abraham. Nor do we need to know that. Whether God spoke through an audible voice, through a dream or vision, or in some other way is not nearly as important as the fact that Abraham understood God’s will and was obedient to it.

The basic truth of this story runs like a golden thread througout the OT. Two themes from this story continue through the OT.

First, God wants the best from us in worship

Second, sacrifice is at the heart of God’s plan for humankind especially in redemption.

These two truths are expressed in our text this morning and are repeated many times and under many circumstances throughout the rest of the OT accounts.

I have said time and time again we have been created with a void in our being that only God can fill. God loves us and what is even more important He wants that love reciprocated.

God wants us to love Him

God’s command to Abraham came soon after Abraham’s covenant with Abimelech. God’s promise to give Abraham an heir had been fulfilled, nothing seemed in the way of the Lord’s remdemptive program being worked through Abraham. But God felt that Abraham needed another test.

He wanted the patriarch to be a person of unquestioned faith and to produce a family of like character. The command for Abraham to offer Isaac was actually a command to demonstrate how much love he had for God and how much faith he had in both the resources of God and his integrity to keep His word.

We need to be known to be people of our word. In this day there are so many conartists this standard means so much more. As men and women of God we need to stand behind the things we say and live our lives according to the standards we preach.

When God commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac to Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice, he added the phrase:

“whom thou lovest” - this indicates the affection the father had toward the son.

Child sacrifice was common among Abraham’s neighbors believe it or not. So this was God’s way of saying “How much do you love me, Abraham? Do you love me as much as the pagan peple around you love their gods? If so, are you willing to do for me what they are willing to do for their gods?”

I remember when I was ready to have my first child. All of the anticipation of her arrival was looming. This was the first grandchild for my inlaws and second for my parents. Our church was so eager to welcome this precious new life and love on it as their own. I went to an appointment that was routine weekly at that time because the due date was close and by close it was that day. While at my appointment the doctor I saw was filling in for my doctor where he was away on vacation. Normally it was a quick in and out. But today was different. The doctor asked about movement and I said there was not a whole lot and I didn’t think anything of it where I was almost there and there was not a whole lot of room for the baby to move in. I felt as big as a house. Then he decided to check the heartbeat and normally one touch of the doplar you knew loud and clear there was a baby because the heartbeat was loud, fast and strong. The best sound in the world to me at that time. This time however there was no loud, fast and strong sound. I saw the demeanor of the doctor change and he quickly left the room and made a call and I overheard him. Asking to talk to the gynocologist and asking for advice because there was something very wrong. I remember the tears welling up in my eyes that day and crying out to God saying please Lord don’t take us to this point and let us be without our baby.

When I read these scriptures and think about this passage I think about what this boy Isaac meant to Abraham. They wanted this boy for so long and here they had him. Their precious son and now God is asking him to give him up to Him as a sacrifice?

I thought of this moment in my own life where God wasn’t asking me to sacrifice my baby but the very real reality was looming that I would not be a mom at that point and the loss was so great. I thank God that He brought me through that time and we have our precious baby girl and when I look at her I see His hand and how He saved her.

So when this decision was presented to Abraham to make this sacrifice you know it had to be difficult.

Yet Abraham “rose up early in the morning” and began the journey. He loved God and wanted to obey as quickly as possible. He saw the urgency of obedience. Prompt obedience is the best demonstration of respect and love.

Illustration:

During the Civil war General Robert E Lee dispatched a note to Stonewall Jackson saying “At your convenience I would like to see you on a matter of not much importance”. Later that night, although the rain was pouring, General Jackson knocked on the door of General Lee’s headquarters. “Come in, man, come in. What on earth brings you out on a night like this?” Jackson replied, “Your note, sir”. General Lee replied, “I said ‘at your convenience’”. General Jackson raised his hand in a salute and said “General your slightest wish is my command, and this general delights in prompt obedience”.

This morning I have to highlight this act for a moment because when we are asked by God to be obedient the expectation is not at our own convenience but at God’s call. We must keep that in mind and be prompt in our actions.

We may never lose what we put on the altar for God.

Abraham’s heart must have beat rapidly as he took his precious son and led him up the mountain. To add heartbreak, he laid the wood on Isaac. How beautifully we see the symbolized coming event when God the father would put the cross on his own Son for the world’s redemption!

Actually Abraham offered Isaac and the book of Hebrews states emphatically

Hebrews 11:17 NKJV

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

When Abraham’s will was completely dedicated to the fact that he was going to do it, he had, in his heart performed the act. God will accept the will even though the deed had not been done, but he will never accept the deed if the will has not truly been surrendered.

Although Abraham than offered Isaac, he did not lose him. We never lose what we give to God. This should be something that we will always keep in mind. It think it should not be our motivation for giving but it should certainly make the giving that much more meaningful and insightful.

We often hear “You can’t outgive God”. When we dedicate ourselves and our possessions to God, He gives back, sometimes tenfold, sometimes fiftyfold and somtimes a hundredfold. This does not mean God will make us wealthy merely because we become tithers. God can give us many blessings besides material ones. But we also need to remember that we are called to give Him what is His, meaning our tithe is not ours to keep but God’s to be honored with and given back to Him.

God has a marvelous way of making the nine-tenths go further than the ten-tenths when the first tenth is dedicated to Him.

Although Abraham then offered Isaac, he did not love him. We never lose what we give to God. We

Another strange fact about his matter of “laying upong the altar” is that God often gives back, with extra dividends, that which we give to Him. God takes our talents when we are dedicated to Him and multiplies them far more than we ever could in our own selfish pursuits. When we, as Hannah did:

1 Samuel 1:28 NKJV

Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

“Lend” our children to God, he makes them far greater than had we chosen to push them into the rat race for materialistic things and worldly acclaim. Abraham gave Isaac to God, and he received Isaac back and many descendants through him.

You see what happens when you surrender or give your all to God? Blessings beyond comprehension.

True Stewardship requires Gret Faith

Unless we are people of faith we can never be effective stewards for God. Abraham was a man who literally lived by faith. Every step in his life required that he trust God to the uttermost.

When Abraham left Ur, when he left Haran to go to Canaan, when he left Canaan to go to Egypt and then returned to Canaan, when he waited patiently for the seed God promised and finally when he was willing to offer the seed at the altar - all of these and many more events in his life required faith.

The writer of Hebrews gives another interesting commentary on this great steward of God. He wrote that Abraham believed:

Hebrews 11:19 NIV

Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

This of course agrees with the statement of Abraham to the servant in:

Genesis 22:5 NIV

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.”

To give our posessions to God on a regular, sustained basis requires faith. The real test is, of course, how much we love God.

“Love ever gives, forgives, outlives and ever stands with open hands. And while it lives, it gives, for this is love’s perogative - to give and give and give”.

Conclusion:

With open hands.

This entire story of Abraham and Isaac memorializes God’s goodness and His promise for the future. To those wh trust in Him, God gives deliverance in times of extremity. The name Jehovah-jireh that means literally “the Lord will provide”.

Perhaps the nearest equivalent in English is our familiar truth: “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity”. Only those who love the Lord and obey Him to know this gret truth.

This morning as we go into our time of communion and remember the Lord’s sarcifice. As we remeber how Abraham’s sacrifice did not end in death of His son God’s did and because of this we are able to see how amazing His love is and we get the chance to reciprocate that deep love in serving God through making all things in our lives a priority to serve Him and put Him first in our lives.