The Mountain Of Absolute Surrender

· I remember watching my favorite football movie and the main character being told by his best friend (who was also a football player) towards the end of a close game to “leave it all on the field”.

· What he was asking Rudy was for him to surrender his wants, his pain and his discomfort…and his fear.

· The coach and the game might’ve been the one Rudy surrendered to then, but there is one that we need to surrender to now…

· As we go through life there will be demands made on our lives by God.

· Often, these demands will call for personal and profound sacrifices on our part.

Today, we will look at Abraham as he ascends this mountain and we will see what it takes for us to be on The Mountain Of Absolute Surrender as well.

I. To reach the mountain, we must be in Position. (Genesis 22:1-2)

A. There are different parts to our position:

1. God revealed His plan for Abraham’s life. For as scripture says, no man can know the mind of God until it is revealed to man by God. Just like Abraham, through scripture the plan for our lives is also revealed. (Jer. 29:11)

2. Abraham came to know God, as we see in Ch. 12, he was far from perfect, but he was in a relationship with the Lord. This has to do with our standing with God. Are we in a relationship with the Lord?

3. Abraham was ready. As soon as God speaks, Abraham responds! This implies that he had been in a position where he could listen to the Lord and close enough to respond. (John 4:23; James 4:8)

II. To reach the mountain, we must be Prepared. (Genesis 22:3-5)

A. As we see Abraham respond we see a man that was prepared. There are 3 areas he was prepared:

1. His Hands- Abraham got up and gathered what he would need. Notice he took nothing extra, probably from learning by his mistakes of the past not to add to God’s plan. (Ps. 90:17; Col. 3:23-24)

2. His Head- Abraham had to have been mentally and spiritually prepared to give up what God asked for. (1 Cor. 16:13; 1 Peter 1:13)

3. His Heart- Abraham had to prepare his heart for the worship that was about to take place. Abraham had set in his heart that God was worthy to receive all he had. (Ps. 10:17) …how to properly respond- (Job 11:13)

III. To reach the mountain, we must be in Participation. (Genesis 22:6-14)

A. As we imagine Abraham’s participation, there are parts to his participation:

1. Personal- Abraham personally placed the wood and held the knife. He personally led the way up the mountain. We should all be intimately involved in God’s service and worship. (Ps. 5:3)

2. Profound- Abraham’s action spoke of his motives. He loved God and was willing to give up anything to participate in God’s love. (Ps. 51:17)

3. Powerful- it was powerful because it gave God an opportunity to flex his muscles. It opened the door for great blessings that would come from God to Abraham. (1 Cor. 6:14; Jer. 10:6)

CONCLUSION—Everything we have seen today involves us. We have seen that our position, our preparation and our participation is critical. Is everything you have and everything you do completely surrendered to God? Does He have all there is of you? We might need to visit The Mountain Of Absolute Surrender.

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