This morning I continue our series entitled, “Standing on a Word from God.” This is Part 16. Yesterday I introduced you to a passage in Genesis 22. I want to go back to it today.
After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Yes!” Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.” In the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took Isaac and two servants with him. He cut the wood for the sacrifice. Then they went to the place where God told them to go. After they traveled three days, Abraham looked up, and in the distance he saw the place where they were going. Then he said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go to that place and worship. Then we will come back to you later.” (Gen 22:1-5 ERV)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Faith requires obedience.
a) The Lord told Abraham to sacrifice his son and to offer his as a burnt offering. The very next morning Abraham got his son, his servants, and a donkey. He was ready to go do what God said. He even made sure he had wood for the sacrifice. Living by faith requires a commitment to doing whatever God tells you to do, even when you don’t understand why He is telling you to do it.
b) Delayed obedience is disobedience. Abraham obeyed immediately. This is how we are supposed to live.
c) When God tells you to do something it is not a suggestion. He is not making recommendations. Our God is a sovereign ruler. When He speaks He gives commands. If you want to experience God’s best, you must be committed to doing whatever He commands you to do.
2. Faith involves discernment.
a) Back in Genesis 12, when the Lord told Abraham to leave his home and to set out for a land that He would show him, Abraham had to leave everything he knew WITHOUT A CLUE of where he was going. AS HE WENT it was revealed to him. In Genesis 22 we see something similar. God told him to go to the land of Moriah. He was supposed to sacrifice his son “on one of the mountains there.” But Abraham did not know which one. This did not stop Abraham. Abraham left and after three days, when they got to the land of Moriah, the Lord revealed the mountain to Abraham. This is how God does us. We won’t always have all the answers up front. But AS WE GO things will be revealed to us.
b) The text does not say that God spoke to Abraham and revealed which mountain the sacrifice was supposed to take place on. The text simply says: “After they traveled three days, Abraham looked up, and in the distance he saw the place where they were going.” Abraham looked up and when he saw the mountain he knew which one God was leading him to. God did not speak it externally. Abraham discerned it internally. Internal discernment is a key aspect of faith.
c) When Adam was walking with God in the Garden of Eden, he did not have a school to learn in, a Bible to read, or a church to attend. What Adam received he received directly from God. When Adam fell, he fell from discerning to learning, from revelation to education, and from instinct to intellect. Conversely, when we are born, we are born with the Holy Spirit. We are born without a spiritual connection to the Father. Adam lost this connection when he sinned and was kicked out of the Garden. Guess what? Jesus died to give it back to us. Because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out to give birth to the New Testament church. Once you are Born-Again and God’s Spirit lives IN you, you get to graduate from learning to DISCERNING, from intellect to INSTINCT, and from human education to divine REVELATION!
d) To live by faith properly you must be able to hear from God. If you don’t hear from God you won’t know what to pray for, what to say when situations are presented before you, or what to do in order to walk in God’s best. Revelation becomes the authorization for your faith. Once you know what God’s will is (even if you don’t have the specifics, like Abraham did not have the specifics), you can launch out IN FAITH to do what God is leading you to do.
We will stop here for today.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I expect You will do ALL You said You would do in my life. I live every day with a divine expectation of Your best. You reveal to me Your will and I pursue it by faith, even when I don’t have all the specifics. You reveal things to me AS I GO! So I declare that I walk and live by faith. AS I GO I graduate from learning to DISCERNING, from having to rely on my intellect to operating with supernatural INSTINCT, and from relying solely on human education to operating with divine REVELATION. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
