Elements of Worship Genesis 22:1-14

As we begin this morning, please turn in your copies of God’s Word to the very first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis. This morning we will be looking at the first time the word Worship is used in Scripture. That use is in Genesis 22:5. We will be reading Genesis 22:1-14 shortly, so go ahead and mark the passage for that time.

The first Sunday of this year, we started a brief series on Worship with a message entitled Worship-Begins with A Proper View Of God & A Realistic Assessment of Ourselves. As we looked at getting a Proper View of God, we discussed seeing God for Who He is, in all His majesty and glory. Then we were challenged to have Proper Preparation For Worship, particularly but not limited to preparing for our time of corporate worship. Lastly, we were challenged to have A Realistic Assessment Of Ourselves, like that of Isaiah in Isaiah 6, that of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1, or the woman in Luke 7, who humbly bowed at Jesus feet as she wet them with her tears and washed them with her hair, and poured expensive perfume on them as a show of great adoration. In her worship of Jesus, she was willing and wanting to give her everything as an act of worship to Him. Which is a powerful challenge for us to do the same.

Two Sunday’s ago, in the message entitled Worship In Spirit & In Truth-from John 4:1-26 and the Biblical account of the Woman at the Well, we learned about Jesus divine appointment in the region of Samaria, and how He Worshipped the Father Through Obedience, and that His worship through obedience brought about a harvest, not only in the life of the woman at the well, but as the Biblical account continued in John 4, it was also in many other lives in Samaria. We found out that True Worship has Nothing to do with an Individuals Location, it isn’t tied to set places of worship, it has more to do with the individuals heart than a temple, altar or church building.

Then, last Sunday, we looked at Romans 12:1 & 2, in a message entitled: Worship Comes From a Heart of Gratitude, we looked at Paul’s Appeal to Believers to Present Their Souls to God through Salvation, salvation that is based, not one what we have accomplished, but on the Mercies of God. We reviewed a small sampling of the Mercies of God presented by Paul in the first 11 chapters of Romans, which brought us to the point where Paul challenges us as believers to: Present Our Bodies A Living Sacrifice, a Holy Sacrifice, an Acceptable Sacrifice. This is accomplished by Not Conforming Ourselves to the World....not letting the world force us into it’s mold, as we are now New Creations. Instead, we are to be Transformed By the Renewing of Our Minds. This comes through time in God’s Word, through prayer, through surrounding ourselves with Godly people, who challenge us in our walk with God. And through a devotion to the Spiritual Disciplines.

With this as an introduction, would you please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word? Again, we will be reading from: Genesis 22:1-14

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Genesis 22:1–14 ESV

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take 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.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Please be seated.

As I mentioned a few moments ago, this is the first instance in Scripture of the use of the word “Worship”. It is a very powerful passage that provides us with a beautiful picture of The Elements of Worship. The first Element is seen in verse 1 where we read: "After these things God tested Abraham”. The 1st Element is: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 1. Testing.

If you haven’t been tested, you will be, and don’t think every test you face comes from the devil. Because God gives tests. If you remember from our time in the Gospel of Mark, Who was it that lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tested? (The Holy Spirit).

What are tests for? First of all, they are an evaluation of our skills, our knowledge, our commitment, our love, our weaknesses, our strengths, and our faith. The bottom line is, before anything is put into use, it is tested. OJ and Denise recently bought a new to them SUV. Before they put a dime down on the vehicle, they tested it out, how did it drive, how did it feel, how comfortable was it, did it fit into their garage. It wasn’t until after they had thoroughly investigated the SUV out that they bought it.

Before an airplane is commissioned to fly, it has an air test. Before a soldier is sent to the battle field, the soldier goes through bootcamp to prepare them for all that comes with the battlefield.

Last Monday night, in Men’s Small Group, we looked at James 1:1-4. In verses 2 & 3 we read “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Steadfastness is a fancy word for “sticktuitiveness”. As we face tests we grow stronger and stronger in our dependency on God, which opens us up more and more to be used of God.

We grow stronger as we trust in Him.

Stronger in our weakness because His strength is displayed through our weakness.

More dependable as we depend on Him.

More trustworthy as we trust in Him.

The point is, testing is a key component of the Christian life and an important element of worship. This brings us to the 2nd Element of Worship: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 2. Relationship.

Reading on in verse one we read: “God tested Abraham and said to him ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’” How do you think Abraham knew this was God speaking to him? It was because, long before Genesis chapter 12, which took place at least 37 years before this Biblical account, Abraham, who was Abram at the time, had established a faith based relationship with the Father. Without a faith based relationship with God the Father, we do not have the ability to worship God. That relationship is the very first step of worship. If you don’t have a relationship with God, you have no way of knowing when He is talking to you.

One thing became abundantly clear in 2020, there is soooo much noise around us. So many confusing words and instructions, so many experts who were constantly changing their minds and the narrative. In my lifetime, 2020 was the most confusing year I can remember. You didn’t know who to believe.

But one thing I know, there was One, and only One voice I could trust every time, that of our Sovereign God. But if I don’t have a relationship with Him, how do I decipher His voice from the overwhelming noise around me? Jesus said, in John 10:27; “My sheep know My voice”. His sheep, and only His sheep know His voice! We cannot hear God and worship Him without a relationship with Him.

We see the next Element of worship in verse 2 where we read “He (God) said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah’”. The 3rd Element of Worship is:

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Elements Of Worship: 3. Journey.

Abraham went on a journey, and that journey, every step of the journey, was a part of Abraham’s worship of God. There are 3 types of Journey God’s takes us on in our walk with Him. Next Slide

3 Types of Journeys.

Intellectual Journey.

Spiritual Journey.

Physical Journey.

And we can go through any one of these journey’s individually, or sometimes we go on all of them at one time. But the bottom line is, God often times takes us on journeys where He can have uninterrupted times with us. You look at the vast majority of the greatest Biblical leaders, and they all had journeys with God where they gave Him their undivided attention. We see Abraham on a journey right here, and by the way, this wasn’t his first journey! Moses went on a journey when he fled Egypt. Joshua later went on a journey as he followed Moses into the desert. Joseph went on a journey when he was sold into slavery that took him to Egypt. David had multiple journeys as he cared for his father’s sheep on the hillside, harp..pen and paper in hand writing Psalms to God, and later as he fled from King Saul. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego all went on a journey…the list goes on and on of God taking His leaders on journeys. And this includes the New Testament leaders. John the Baptist, Jesus Disciples. Historians tell us that after his conversion, the Apostle Paul spent 3 years in Arabia being taught by Jesus Himself. Our devotion to God and worship of Him is strengthened when He leads us on these journeys where we have uninterrupted time with Him.

Now listen to me....listen to me....God does not always force us to take these journeys, and when we are on these journeys, He does no force us to listen to His voice....that part is up to us. But if we say “No” to these journeys…if we ignore His voice when on these journeys, we rob ourselves of the joy of watching God do the unimaginable through our attentive and obedient hearts. I praise God for the journeys He has brought Pam and Me through, including the journeys that brought with them great pain and loss. As I have watched Him take the threads of our suffering and pain and weave them into a beautiful blanket of His faithfulness.

The next element of worship is: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 4. Offering.

As we study the Old Testament, it doesn’t take long to clearly see that the burnt offering the Israelites offered to God always involved giving to Him something of value. I asked this question last Sunday morning, let me ask it again, “What was to be the condition of the animal the people brought to the Temple for the sacrifice? (Spotless). If they were going to bring a lamb for the sacrifice, they were to search their entire flock to find the very best one, the lamb without blemish, and that was the lamb they were to bring as an offering to God. This didn’t come without cost. The unblemished lamb was the preferred lamb for breeding. The better quality of lambs involved in the breeding process, they higher quality of the ewes produced. In other words the lamb they were offering in the temple, was the lamb of greatest value.

And here in this passage, Abraham is offering to God his very best. Issac, the son of promise. That is also the offering God wants of us. He wants us to offer to Him our very best. We saw this last week when we looked at Romans 12:1 where we read; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Our worship experience is inappropriate and incomplete without offering to God our very best.

We see the next element of worship in verse 3, where we read; “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.” The next element of worship is: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 5. Obedience.

Everything else you do in worship is meaningless if you are not obedient. Similar in some ways to the way the Apostle Paul describes love with regards to spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 13. Paraphrasing what Paul writes he says, I could literally do the miraculous with my spiritual gifts, but if I don’t do so with a heart of love, my efforts are wasted. Worshiping God obediently is, in many ways, bringing love into the equation, into our worship. Look at what Moses wrote of Abraham’s obedience; “So Abraham rose early in the morning”. Abraham rose early in the morning, in other words his obedience was immediate, without delay, because Abraham realized that delayed obedience is disobedience.

The next element of worship is: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 6. Preparation.

We read in the 2nd half of verse 3; “And he (Abraham) cut the wood for the burnt offering”. Keep in mind that at this time Abraham is probably at least 112 years old. Please understand that Abraham was a very wealthy man at this time. He had many servants. In fact as we read through this passage, we see that he had 2 young men as servants with him, as well as Isaac, during this journey of worship. But we read in this passage that “he cut the wood for the burnt offering”. When I read this, you know what comes to my mind? Nobody else can prepare my heart for the worship of our sovereign God, no one else can prepare me or my heart for the manifest presence of God. This is not something I can delegate to another. It is up to me to prepare for the worship of God, and my worship of God is not something reserved just for Sunday mornings. This is something I do daily, and as this becomes the habit of my life, God begins to transform me daily into His image.

Moving to verse 5 we read; “Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship’”. This verse brings us to the next element of worship: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 7. Separation.

We do not know the age of the 2 young men with Abraham, but I believe they would have been somewhere between 12-18. Knowing that Abraham was likely around the age 112 years old, had they been with Abraham and Isaac at the altar, they could have likely at a minimum tried, perhaps even successfully, to prevent Abraham from obediently worshipping God at the altar. I would imagine that Abraham understood that reality. As a result, he instructs them to stay put.

As I see it, the lesson for us from Abraham is, we need to be willing to Separate ourselves from anything that may distract us or prevent us from our worship of God. This is one of the reasons I suggested not using your cell phones or electronic devices as Bibles a couple of weeks ago, and why I suggested a few months ago that you not have these devices with you when you are having your quiet time in God’s Word. When we gather here together to worship God, we want to separate ourselves from anything that might adversely affect our worship.

The next element of worship is: Next Slide

Elements Of Worship: 8. Sacrifice.

Really, as we look at this entire passage, every bit of it is about sacrifice. I would imagine that when God spoke to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, on an altar, Abraham’s heart had to sink. There was probably some weeping involved, some questioning of God involved. God, are You sure? What about a lamb, or 10 lambs....my whole flock! Not my son! But in the end, Abraham agreed to do the unthinkable. Which leads us to the last and most important element of worship:

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Elements Of Worship: 9. Absolute Trust In God.

We see this clearly in verse 7 & 8 where we read: “And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.” It is also seen in verse 5 where he instruct his 2 servants to stay put and “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come to you again.” Abraham knew that something had to give. He knew he could trust God, that God would always be true to His Word. He knew that Isaac, and no one else, was the son of promise. God promised Abraham that He would bless the entire world through Isaac, that from Isaac would come many nations. As a result, he knew that even if he did sacrifice Isaac on the altar, God would raise him from the dead. But we get the impression from verse 8 that Abraham believed that God had another plan, and as we read on we find out that Abraham was right, God did have a better plan. Abraham had an Absolute Trust in God.

God desires the same from us when we worship Him, worship from a heart of absolute trust in Him and His perfect plan. Worship that understands Who it is we are worshiping, that we are worshipping:

The God of the Universe.

The only true God.

The God Who is limitlessness in power, and knowledge.

Whose mercies are new every morning.

Who is ever faithful.

The God Who is Holy, Holy, Holy.

The Alpha and Omega, beginning and End.

The Savior and Redeemer.

The God of Grace.

The God who doesn’t just love, He is Love!

The God in Whom we can always trust, even when He calls us to do the unthinkable.

That is the God we are called to worship, and I pray that as we close out our time this morning, that we will think back through these Elements of Worship, and do whatever it takes to devote ourselves to worshipping Him fully.

You know, as we see in the rest of the story, Abraham didn’t have to sacrifice His son. It was if God was saying to Abraham; “Abraham, you passed the test. I will not ask you to offer your son to prove your love to me, but I will offer My son, my only Son, Whom I love, to prove my love to you!” And that, church family, is why we worship.

Let’s close our time in prayer.