OBEDIENCE SACRIFICE AND BLESSINGS

Proclamation:

“Some time later God tested Abraham.  He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ … Then God said, ‘Take you son, you only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’  Early the next morning … he took his son … When they reached the place … Abraham built and altar … he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar … and took the knife to slay his son.  But The Angel of The Lord called out to him … ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy’ … Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram, caught by its horns … he took the ram and sacrificed it … The Angel of The Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said ‘… I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.’”  Genesis 22:1-18 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Lord God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him. (Genesis 17:1-7)  God kept His promise and Abraham was an old man when his son, Isaac, was born. (Genesis 21:2)  When The Lord God called to him and told what He wanted him to do, Abraham was obedient and took his son to the mountains to offer him as a brunt offering unto The Lord.  Before he actually slayed his son, The Angel of The Lord stopped him and showed him a ram that was caught in the bush.  Abraham called that place “The Lord Will Provide”. (Genesis 22:14)  Because he was willing to sacrifice his son to please God, The Lord promised to bless him and his descendants, who would be too numerous to count. (Genesis 22:16-17)  He promised that through Abraham’s descendants all nations on the earth would be blessed, referring to Jesus, The Christ. (Genesis 22:18)  The genealogy of Jesus can be traced back to Abraham. (Matthew 1:1-16)

Application:

Abraham passed his test of faith in God by showing his obedience to God.  He was willing to give up the son that he loved in order to obey God.  What sacrifices are we willing to make to obey The Word of God?  All too often we choose to please ourselves and our lustful, sinful nature instead of sacrificing our personal wants, wishes, and desires in order to please God.  We offer excuses when we are presented with the opportunity to choose to obey The Word of God and we give in to pleasing ourselves.  Abraham is often referred to as the father of the faithful.  He was truly blessed, God even used his enemies to be a blessing to him.  If we want to be blessed more in the future than we already are, then maybe we should be more obedient to God's word and His will than we are currently.  God gave us a free will and He allows us to choose to be obedient or not.  Following Him requires some personal sacrifices.  However, with obedience and sacrifice comes some special blessings.  Remember, some blessings are conditional.

WHO WILL YOU SERVE

Proclamation:

"But if serving The Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my household, we will serve The Lord."  Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Joshua to the people of God.  Joshua asked the people to decide and choose whom they would serve if they found serving The Lord God troublesome or a burden.  They could choose to serve one of the pagan gods worshiped by the people in land where they were living if they found that to be more profitable to them.  Then Joshua said that he, and all within his household, would serve The Lord God.

Application:

Joshua asked the people to make a choice regarding whom they would serve.  We basically have that same choice today.  There is no middle ground, either you love The Lord and will serve Him or you don't and won't.  Joshua also led by example, he publicly committed himself and his household to serving The Lord.  Leadership occasionally requires that one make a bold stand for what he believes in.  We can't lead people where we will not or do not go.  As Christians we need to publicly choose to serve The Lord.   We need to make that choice known to all those around us.  We need to live our lives in such a way as to make it clear for everyone to see that we have chosen to serve The Lord.

WE CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS

Proclamation:

"No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24 (NIV)

Explanation:
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke as part of the Sermon on the Mount which began in Matthew 5:1 and goes on until 7:29.  As recorded by the Apostle Matthew under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Jesus taught that loyalty cannot be divided.  One cannot be totally loyal to God and focus on earthly treasures, possessions, or wealth.  According to Bible scholar Thomas Nelson, "Jesus was not condemning money or possessions in and of themselves, but the improper attitude of enslavement towards wealth."

Application:
We can only be a slave to one master at a time.  Attempting to serve two masters will result in one of them being slighted and receiving less than our best effort.  We are either a slave to God or we are a slave to something or someone else.  We cannot walk with The Lord and hold hands with the devil at the same time.  We should be very careful choosing whom we will serve, for there are eternal consequences to the selection.  There is nothing wrong with having money, it is the love of money that gets us in trouble. (1 Timothy 6:10)

WE HAVE GUARDIAN ANGELS

Proclamation:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones.  For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of The Lord Jesus, The Christ, which were recorded by the Apostle Matthew as Jesus was speaking to His disciples.  "These little ones" refers to believers.  Here Jesus makes it clear that each believer has a guardian angel, although it is not clear if an angel has more than one charge or if we have more than one guardian angel.  Because we have our own free will, we like sheep occasionally wander off and stray from The Word of God.  It is not the desire of God that any should be lost.  Jesus was sent to earth to save the lost sheep. (Matthew 18:12-14)  Each of us is important to Him, and there is rejoicing when a "lost sheep" is found. 

Application:

We should be encouraged to know that each of us has a guardian angel.  God loves us and has made provisions for our care and protection.  The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was for our salvation from the penalty of our sins.  It does not matter what it is that we have done, we can be forgiven and welcomed back into the sheepfold.  Just because we are lost in sin, we do not have to stay that way. We all fall down, but we do not have to stay down.  If we want to get up then we have to accept His help in order to get up and out of sin.  Not everyone who is living in sin wants to stop.  There are those who are living in the darkness of sin that actually love what they are doing. (John 3:19-20)  But for the believer who has stumbled and fallen back into sin and is now lost in darkness, there is an angel waiting to show them the way.  There is joy in heaven when one of us, like the "lost sheep" is "found" and returns to the sheepfold and follows of The Word of God.  However, our guardian angels can only help us if we want to be helped because we have the free will to choose darkness or The Light. (Joshua 24:15)

RESIST THE DEVIL

Proclamation:

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by James, the half-brother of Jesus, The Christ.  His point was that we must choose virtues instead of vices.  We frequently obey the suggestions of the devil and sin instead of following The Word of God.  James states that we must make a conscious effort to resist the devil and choose to submit ourselves to God and follow His Word.  Only then will the devil flee from us.

Application:

The devil is busy.  He attacks us and tempts us all of the time.  If he is not bothering you, then maybe you are already doing what he wants you to do.  As Christians, we do not have to give in to the devil.  We have a choice in what we do.  However, we cannot resist the devil by ourselves.  The beginning of this Bible verse says, "Submit yourselves to God ..." and the verse which follows it says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you ..."  Only with God's help can we resist the devil.  We need to get closer to God and do His will or we do not stand a chance against the devil and his powers.  God has already defeated the devil.  We just need to get on The Lord's side and make a conscious effort to obey The Word of God and then the devil will leave us alone for a while.  Remember, the devil temped Jesus three times before he let Him alone. (Matthew 4:1-11)  Even after Jesus rebuffed him twice the devil continued to tempt Him.  So, don’t be surprised when you resist one temptation to sin and the devil presents you with another different temptation.  We have to continually be on guard for attacks by the devil.  That is why we must put on the whole armor of God in order to stand up against the devil and his attacks. (Ephesians 6:11-18)

"YOU SHALL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE"

Proclamation:

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: 'Aren't You The Christ?  Save Yourself and us!'  But the other criminal rebuked him.  'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.'  Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.'  Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.' "  Luke 23:39-43 (NIV)

Explanation:

Under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded that there were two criminals who were crucified along with Jesus, The Christ. (Luke 23:32-33)  One of the criminals insulted Christ.  The second one rebuked the first one and spoke up for Christ and then he asked Jesus to remember him when He enters His kingdom.  Jesus told him that he would be with Him in paradise that day.  These words which Jesus spoke are considered to be the second of the last seven saying of Christ on the cross. 

Application:

On that fateful day there were three crosses on the hill called Golgotha.  The criminals on either side of Jesus responded completely differently to Him.  They have been described as representing the choices we have in responding to Christ.  When all was said and done symbolically, the cross in the center, upon which Jesus hung, represented salvation.  The cross on one side of Him represented rejection of Christ, and the cross on the other side of Him represented belief and acceptance.  The two crosses represent the choices which we all have with respect to what Jesus has to offer.  Either we will accept Him and receive salvation and eternal life, or we will reject Him and spend eternity in torment. (John 3:16 and 1 John 5:13)  We each have a decision to make, to either be with Christ or not, please choose wisely.

Live In Accordance With The Spirit

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with The Spirit have their minds set on what The Spirit desires."  Romans 8:5 (NIV)

These are the words of the Apostle Paul, which were written under the direction, guidance, and influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in Rome.  He told them that those who live to please themselves, cannot please God. (Romans 8:8)  Those who have their minds set on that which The Spirit desires live in peace. (Romans 8:6) 

We cannot please God and please man at the same time. (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13)  If we live in such a way as to please ourselves, and our earthly desires, then we are not pleasing God.  Our sinful nature is in direct conflict with our spiritual nature. (Romans 8:7)  We have to choose to follow the direction of The Spirit.  Believers are not controlled by their sinful nature because they yield the control of their lives to The Spirit of God which indwells them. (Romans 8:9)  We choose to live in accordance with The Spirit, and we endeavor to keep our minds set on the things which please The Lord.  The Christian walk is a choice.  We must all choose who we will follow, obey, and serve. (Joshua 24:15)

Follow The Lord

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed Him."  Matthew 4:18-20 (NIV)

The Apostle Matthew recorded that at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus called the disciples which He chose to be His followers, and they answered the call and followed Him.

All of us follow someone.  The person that we follow is the one who has influence over our behavior.  Often we make a conscious decision to follow someone, but sometimes a person's influence on us is subtle and we are unaware of the effect on us until later on. The devil is very subtle in his ways of influence. (Genesis 3:1)   We are influenced by what we hear (Luke 11:28), read (2 Timothy 2:15), and see or watch (Psalms 101:3).  That is why we are encouraged to read and study the Bible, to fellowship with other believers, and to be very careful about what we allow to come before our eyes.  Those of us who choose to follow Christ must deny and resist the worldly influences on our lives, and submit to The Lord. (James 4:7)  God wants all of us to be saved. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  However, many are called but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)  The choice is up to us.  We cannot follow and serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13)   With respect to the salvation of our soul, we must choose who we will follow. (Joshua 24:15 and John 14:6)