This morning I continue our series entitled, “Standing on a Word from God.” This is Part 24. We have been looking at the life of Abraham for weeks. In our last message we saw how Abraham was willing to do what God was leading him to do. He was willing to sacrifice his own son, if that was what it took for God’s will to be done in his life and in the life of his son. He knew in this heart that some way, some how, both he AND the boy were coming down the mountain. Because he was willing to do it, God did not require it of him. God had already provided a ram in the bush for the sacrifice and once Abraham was in position to hear God, the Lord spoke to him and highlighted the ram.
Today I want to focus in on the fact that Abraham had received Isaac from God and he was willing to do whatever God said to do with Isaac. My point is that when it comes to the things of God, you don’t really have something until you are willing to give it away.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Jesus said, “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34,35 ERV). Jesus made it clear that your life is not your own. Once you know you have been redeemed — bought with a price, paid for with the Blood of Jesus — you are supposed to live your life doing whatever God leads you to do.
- Jesus did not sugar-coat the requirement. God has never required any less than ALL OF YOU! Either He is Lord OF all, or He is not Lord AT all!
- Jesus taught that you don’t truly have life IN HIM until you die. You must be willing to die to live. You must be willing to decrease to increase. You must be willing to give yourself fully to God, so He can fully live through you.
- Jesus gave up everything to fulfill His assignment. This is the mindset we are supposed to live with. There should be nothing in our lives that we are NOT willing to give up in order to become the man/woman we are called to be.
- If Jesus was willing to leave heaven and to strip Himself of His divinity in order to fulfill a His divine purpose as man, then surely you should be able to give up whatever God requires of you.
- The mindset of Jesus was that He put NOTHING above His divine assignment. That’s the same mindset we should live with. NOTHING should be more important to you than the assignment God sent you the planet to complete.
- The more selfless you are, the more God will flow through you, and the more of an impact you will make in this world. Because at that point it won’t be you doing the work. It will be the Father, living in you. He will give you the words. He will perform the work. And He will leave a mark in this world, through you, that will not easily be erased!
- Paul made it plan. He said, “We don’t live or die just for ourselves. If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:7,8). That’s about as plain as you can make it. Your life is NOT your own!
- Abraham was living with Isaac, but Isaac was not the full promise. The promise was to bless the entire earth through his bloodline. Isaac represented the blessing. Everything God promised Abraham was locked up inside of Isaac. So God wanted to know if Abraham believed him enough to sacrifice the boy. God wanted to know if his trust was in Him or in Isaac. God wanted to know if Abraham’s faith was in the boy or in the one who gave him the boy. Since Abraham was willing to sacrifice the boy, he was not required to. Since he was willing to give up Isaac, God allowed him to truly receive Isaac and the FULL BLESSING associated with him. The point is that in God you don’t ever truly have something until you give it away. When you give it to God, He can give it back to you, knowing that you trust Him enough to handle the blessing correctly.
Tomorrow I will talk about how a seed remains a seed until it is sown and dies.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I live with an expectation of full manifestation. I live in anticipation of all You planned. I do so with an understanding that my life is not my own. I was bought with a price. That price was the Blood of Jesus, Your Son! So the life that I now life, I live for You! I place NO-thing and NO-one above You Father! I die to self. I yield to You. I die to live, and because I am dead to self, I get the live the life You designed me to live from the foundations of the world! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
