Beyond what I see Genesis 22:1-13
- We just came from Lincoln city, OR – I could tell you about the best Hamburger place
- We get in our room that is next to the water and all we can see is a wall of fog
- You can’t see further than a few yards – if we didn’t know better, we would have thought that was all that was there
- The following days, it cleared out and we could see as far as the eyes could see
- This got me thinking about what was beyond what I could see
- This is not a debate about the round or flat earth
- It was a matter of perspective, what’s beyond what I see
- It’s a realization that though we don’t see beyond what we can see, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any more out there
- On Monday during prayer meeting, I spoke on a message called “God is doing something – that if we cling on to the Lord, spend intentional time with Him, Just like Elisha’s servant in 2 King: 6 – God can and will open our eyes to see the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire – see beyond what I can see
- Looking at that ocean that day, there is a feeling that the furthest I could go was only as far as where the fog was- but the reality of it is that if you go to that point, then you would see a little further and so forth
- This pretty much sounds like the Christian Walk
- Against all our wishes and attempts to know it all, there is a reason why God does not give us the entire picture – Most of us, if you knew the price you had to pay to be here today and stay here – you would have opted to forgo the benefits – which are out of these world
- Psalm 37:23 ( Nkjv) The steps of a good man are [a]ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
- This means that if you a child of God, you don’t get the entire plan, you rely daily on Gods leading and direction
- Proverbs 16:9 (Nkjv) “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps”
- Proverbs 3:5-6(Nkjv) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall [a]direct your paths.
- Isaiah 30:21(Nkjv) Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
- Isaiah 48:17(Nlt) This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
- Direction after direction, step by step- God is promising to lead us
- He even promises to take our burdens so the journey that He is leading can be easier –our mere obligation is to obey his instructions (Turn right, turn left)
- The Bible says in John 14:15( Amp) If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
- Obedience = accepting the unknown – Allowing the one that you love and trust to sometimes walk you blindfolded
- But fear, doubt, laziness, passiveness and intimidation from the enemy causes us to not move (deer in a head light) or to move in our own strength (Self-reliance)
- This evening, I want to challenge you to trust the one that is sending and calling you beyond what you see
- Deuteronomy 31:8(Nkjv) -And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed
- Today we are going to look at a very familiar story that required a man of God to act even though he was being called to look beyond what he could see
- Genesis 22:1-13(Nkjv) Sometime later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains– (Beyond what he could see) which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”
- “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
- “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
- “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
- 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So, he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
- What can we learn from this story:
1. Put a price on it
- Vs2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah
- It takes faith to submit, to say yes to that thing that doesn’t make sense – event though we can recite the Bible verse – His ways are higher than my ways – we are still hesitant if we don’t know how it will end
- I believe that most of us are willing to give up whatever the Lord requires; to be obedient
- The issue comes when He asks us to give up more than we are willing to do or more than we can see
- Abraham, had already been promised a son from whom the nation would come from – yet now, the same child was to die, the same dream was about to die, the same goal was about to die through his hands
- But Lord, you said start this business, go to this place, marry this person, have kids, move to this place, do this thing- and looking at my situation today, I can’t see how it’s going to be successful
- When God first calls us- its usually costs us ZERO ( at this point, easy to give it up) – because we don’t have anything at that point, but after the child is grown and its now OUR Child – Not willing to sacrifice that which was not ours in the first place
- Jesus interaction with a young ruler in Matthew best illustrates our heart condition most of the times:
- Matthew 19:16-22 – 16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good[a] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, [b]“Why do you call Me good? [c]No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones? Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept [d]from my youth. What do I still lack?”Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
- I love the interaction:
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- But if you want to enter, then keep the commandments
- Which ones?
- Jesus is so patient with Him – He list them out –“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
- All these I have kept, which one do I still lack?
- I think the thing here is that the young ruler knew that he lacked something – we all know what we lack
- Maybe it’s the dedicated time to read His word, meditate on His word daily, maybe it’s our personal worship time, daily – maybe it’s our one on one prayer time, maybe it’s the discipline to stop something
- And Jesus said to him – if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and come follow me
- Yes, we are called to be perfect – Matthew 5:48 (Nkjv)- therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
- This man went away sad – Because He treasured his stuff more that his relationship with God
- This man put a price on as far as he could see but missed what was beyond what he could see
- God has a way of bringing out those things in our lives that we are not willing to give up -it almost like He knows our hearts
- God said to Abraham – Take your son, whom you love very much
- What is that you love very much – Are you willing to put it on the altar?
- The story of Julius Arreola (Jose Alaska) – If you say yes to the big things of God, then when simple stuff comes up- it will be easy to say yes
2. Trust the one that is calling you
- There is enough evidence of Gods faithfulness all around us
- Today, you are here at FVC because of God’s faithfulness
- Abraham had known this faithfulness – and hence even thought it was hard, his response was not – We will see, or I don’t know, maybe it will all work out
- “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
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- His response was that “God will provide”
- When He calls you to the unknown, what is your response – Well, I gotta be obedient, its hard it must be God, I have peace – it is of God
- Obedience has no feelings – its either do or don’t – And actually obedience is tested best when you disagree with something
- Or is your response – take me deeper than my feet could ever wonder, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior?
- Hebrews 11:19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
- It takes Faith to know that He will see you to the end, that He has a plan beyond what you see
- Deuteronomy 31:8(Nkjv) It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
2. Will you answer his call to go beyond what you see?
- A yes is not enough – You have to resolve in your mind and heart that whatever He requires of you, you will do it
- Abraham didn’t just say yes and then waited for things to happen naturally
- The next morning Abraham got up early
- He saddled his donkey
- Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about
- “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” – Reminded himself of God’s promises
- (Side note – surround yourself with people of God) Took two of his young men with him –These young men would be the first to hear about this faithfulness story – by Abraham himself and also from Isaac
- And went to the place of which God had to told him – He was a willing participant!!
- Also be ready to go beyond what you see alone
- 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants
- Some of you will not reach your destination because you are not willing to go alone
- My wife and I realized very early in our Christian Walk that we have to be willing to be alone and different
- Yes, is not enough – you have to keep your eyes on Jesus
- Yes, means that sometimes you will have to go through that valley with Jesus and only Him
- His promise is that He will never leave you nor forsake you
- You are never alone – this is a reassurance
- 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham! ”Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
- 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
- 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
- Behold there was a lamb – God was already at that place – beyond what Abraham could see
- He had made everything right, not just then but even before He asked Abraham to step out
- I want to reassure you this evening, that the same God that saw, planned and prepared beyond what Abraham and Isaac could see is the same God who will see you beyond what He has called you to!
- Your mere obligation when He calls you beyond what you can see is to respond as Abraham did “Here I am Lord”
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